Chapter 202: Great River Flood Dragon

"There are a total of 888, huh? That's enough! But the number is a bit vague."

Mu Yi looked at the death prisoners gathered together; it was obvious that some of them were from other countries.

The authorities acted with obvious swiftness; in an era when most nations have abolished capital punishment, only Shen Zhou could locate so many death row inmates.

"Indeed... such deep sin!" Mu Yi drew his Holy Sword and looked ahead; the view was almost a sea of blood‑red, each one glaringly crimson.

Obviously, before being sent here they had been screened, each one a terrorist who should have been taken out for a ten‑minute cannon execution.

"Then, it's time for judgment!"

Mu Yi gripped the Holy Sword with both hands; the sword burst with endless holy light. When the light fell upon these unforgivable death row criminals, in an instant it enveloped every judged villain.

The holy light, which should have been full of hope, turned into a raging torrent of destruction upon these villains.

The sanctified light that heals all was, at that moment, turned into a furious destructive light.

The death row inmates covered by the destructive light evaporated completely in an instant; neither body nor soul left any trace.

"Do you accept the recruitment mission!"

With the power of an entire nation behind him, the impact on his growth was evidently substantial.

"Zongwang Prompt: the Recruitment Platform has refreshed a precious recruitment mission; please pay attention and check!"

He opened his eyes, scanning the gray‑hued sky; the air felt damp, accompanied by extreme oppression.

By extending training time and expanding its scale, Mu Yi successfully reached an agreement with reality.

Although he knew the mission was a guaranteed trap, the rich rewards were irresistible; even knowing it was a pit, he still wanted to jump in.

Seeing the mission rewards, Mu Yi's eyes lit up; he chose to accept outright, whether it was the strategist or the position that came with the Recruitment Platform, both greatly appealed to him.

"Judgment complete, you have earned 88 Virtue Points!"

Mu Yi tightened his grip on the Holy Sword, nodded at the empty arena.

Only when the level reaches this tier does a portion of true radiance begin to shine; Mu Yi saw merely the tip of the iceberg, yet even that was enough to astonish him.

Mu Yi gave a sharp glance; the Holy Sword in his hand, together with the accumulated Virtue Points, would become a new trump card for him.

"This weather... the Flood Dragon's home field!"

In the mission list, a golden‑glowing recruitment quest flickered, with a disappearing countdown attached.

Just as he imagined, physical redemption is also redemption, granting the so‑called redemption points.

Having once suffered from a closed‑off seclusion, they now face the changing era without clinging to the past, meeting challenges with a proactive attitude.

…

"Perhaps this kind of event could be made routine?"

After a moment's thought, Mu Yi still nodded; after all, the death of these inmates mattered little, and their becoming his strengthening fodder was also their glory.

Yet they lacked the power to halt such societal shifts, so they could only prepare as best as possible for the impending changes.

Mission countdown: 59 minutes 35 seconds

Mu Yi stared at the Holy Sword in his hand with a mix of astonishment and uncertainty; its power exceeded his expectations, and Level 20 is a threshold, the dividing line into Legend.

Strength and weakness always accompany conflict, and conflict is the beginning of chaos.

Curious, Mu Yi opened the Recruitment Platform's interface to inspect.

For the strong, chaos is an opportunity, a chance to break the shackles.

But for Mu Yi, the difference was minimal; after all, the more soldiers with Elite Talent, the more advantageous it would be for his future.

"You have completed a redemption activity, begin the judgment!"

1. Slay the Flood Dragon

Mission reward: one follower (creature level 15, profession Strategist, follow duration 100 years).

Additional reward: Ninth‑rank Benevolent Courage Colonel position.

Although everyone fantasizes about being the capable strong one, no one can guarantee they will surpass others.

Ninth‑rank position effects: maximum recruitment level increased by 1, recruitment cost reduced by 10%, recruitment cap increased by 10%.

Mu Yi stood silently as the Frenzy holy light, accompanying the inmates' evaporation, settled into calm tranquility.

"Transcendent... what a simultaneously good and bad era!"

If possible, they certainly would not wish for Transcendent to arrive; heroes who wield weapons in defiance, handing power to the masses, bring disasters akin to gun freedom.

"Transferring to the mission location, please wait!"

Mission requirement: defeat the Great River Flood Dragon (Challenge Level 16).

Watching Mu Yi's figure vanish in place, Director Yan of the Transcendent Bureau patted his own face.

For the weak, lack of stable order is a disaster for the masses.

While Mu Yi was daily meditating to forge his will, a Zongwang message shattered the tranquility.

Before this, even legendary weapons were far from true legend, nowhere near legendary level.

"Each consumption of 1 Virtue Point enhances holy light effect by 5%!"

"Yes!"

Mu Yi furrowed his brows at the sky; the originally gray sky gradually darkened, and drizzle began to fall.

Creatures like Flood Dragons are destined to be tied to water; rain falling is as if the heavens are cooperating.

Moreover, this place sits beside rivers, with both heaven and earth favoring the Flood Dragon; the Jiuzhou mission performed steadily as always, truly not disappointing.

"General, we are here to slay the Flood Dragon!" A mounted figure rode from afar, greeting from a distance.

"I am! How did you know?" Mu Yi asked curiously.

"I come by Lord Wen's command, specially to receive the General; please follow me swiftly to support Lord Wen and others. Once the Flood Dragon completes its metamorphosis, it will be beyond human strength!"

In a few words, Mu Yi already understood where the mission's big trap lay.

Leaving aside the issue of the Flood Dragon's transformation under the Four Seas Dragon jurisdiction, its power alone after metamorphosis would make anyone break into a sweat.

The Jiao Dragon and the True Dragon appear only a hair's breadth apart, but the meaning they represent is as different as clouds and mud.

Given the Jiao Dragon's current challenge level… after its metamorphosis it will likely become a Legend creature, and it could never be weaker than a Dragon.

"Give me the approximate direction!" Mu Yi's face darkened, instantly realizing what the countdown meant, before the newcomer could point the way.

"Boom!" A massive pillar of lightning descended from the sky, thunderclaps echoing through heaven and earth.

"Trouble!"

Mu Yi immediately rushed toward the spot where the lightning pillar struck.

When Mu Yi arrived, he saw a group of people building a bridge on the river; although it was a newly erected bridge, under the illumination of a manuscript held by a middle‑aged scholar,

the bridge acquired an ancient, solid feel, as if it had stood there for years, weathered by wind and frost, exuding an indescribable weight.

"Whoosh—" The great river's waters surged endlessly, whipping up towering waves under the gale, while both banks trembled incessantly beneath the surging waves.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Nine successive thunderclaps exploded, and the sky seemed torn by a huge, ugly wound of lightning.

After the lightning faded, a gigantic Jiao Dragon rolled continuously in the river, alleviating the pain of the thunder tribulation, while lightning flickered over its body.

"Roar!" The Jiao Dragon howled amid the thunderous boom, and anyone could hear the joy in its cry.

"I'm here to help; what's the situation now!"

Mu Yi landed on the great bridge and asked the scholar who held the manuscript aloft.

"The Jiao Dragon's transformation into a dragon concerns none of us, but it uses the great river's water veins as a shield against heavenly thunder. If it departs now, without the river's veins to regulate, the river will breach its banks, and the people on both shores will face catastrophic floods! The ensuing devastation to all living beings would be incalculable!"

The scholar briefly explained the whole background.

"I am a Confucian scholar, having appealed for aid with an ancestral token, and I never expected it would truly summon assistance!"

"I understand the situation; what should I do now?" Mu Yi nodded and then asked.

He is no saint, but upon hearing the scholar's words, and given the depth of the abyss involved, he felt an undeniable responsibility.

"Kill this Jiao, bind its corpse to suppress the great river; once the water veins regenerate, this place will be destined for peace!" the scholar declared resolutely.

"Roar!" As if hearing the scholar's words, the Jiao Dragon screamed wildly, and the turbulent river once again hurled massive waves toward the bridge.

Yet the bridge remained unmoved under the manuscript's shroud; thereafter the wind and waves calmed, as if an iron curtain blocked all storm and rain to the other side.

However, Mu Yi saw pallor on the scholar's face, blood blossoms seeping from his mouth corner, clearly indicating he was not feeling well.

"I have appealed to the Court, but whether the Court or the major sects, at this moment they are too far to reach this place!"

"Everything is now entrusted to the General!"

The scholar wiped the blood from his mouth corner and earnestly pleaded with Mu Yi.

At this moment he had no other recourse but to trust the ancestral token and stories, placing his hope in Mu Yi.

"What a huge trouble indeed!"

Mu Yi watched the Jiao Dragon soar skyward, as if reborn, swallowing all the thunderclouds in one gulp.

"Is this the Heaven‑Thunder Body Refinement?" Mu Yi gleaned a new insight from the Jiao Dragon's movements, though now was not the time to dwell on it.

As the Jiao Dragon ascended, the river's waves grew even more turbulent, the flood tide rose and fell along both banks as if about to lose control.

"Six Paths Reincarnation!"

Mu Yi opened the barrier, pulling the Jiao Dragon from the sky into the barrier.

"Roar!"

The Jiao Dragon, mid‑air, bared its claws and fangs; the thunder tribulation had passed, and like the Rakshasa King Mu Yi once faced, it had crossed the final threshold and needed only a short time to fully transform into a Legend life.

And this interval was Mu Yi's final chance.

"Cloud Energy, rise!"

As Cloud Energy surged, after completing a metamorphosis, Mu Yi spent Zongwang Disaster Coins to replenish his personal guard to 1,600 men; the soldiers who had fallen in battle, their souls transformed by the barrier, could consume Zongwang Disaster Coins and be reborn through the connection between the mortal realm and the Talent Recruitment Platform.

Thus this legion proved even more formidable than when confronting the White Dragon.

Mu Yi frowned at the Jiao Dragon, which still floated under Cloud Energy's suppression; this was troubling—he had assumed the Jiao Dragon couldn't fly before fully transforming into a dragon, but the opponent had already mastered that ability.

"Fire!" Mu Yi ordered, and the arrows, reinforced by Cloud Energy, rained down on the Jiao Dragon.

However, the arrows that struck the Jiao Dragon's body were almost all deflected, and Mu Yi realized the Jiao Dragon's defense was far stronger than that of the White Dragon he had slain earlier.

"Roar!"

After being attacked, the Jiao Dragon let out an angry roar, spiraling in the sky as clouds gradually enveloped heaven and earth, and a light rain fell within the barrier.

Mu Yi's complexion changed dramatically; since opening the barrier, this was the first time he felt it being eroded again.

He had once asked Bai Qi what to do if the independent conviction zone were broken and the original world's forces intruded.

Bai Qi answered that the two would return to the same starting line.

"Hungry Ghost Path, devour the clouds!" Mu Yi inhaled deeply, determined not to let the barrier be broken.

Although after the barrier is broken both sides retain home‑field advantage, the raging river would become the opponent's weapon, and just the thought seemed troublesome.

To put it mildly, if the opponent can't pierce the great river, what else can they do?

"Roar!"

While Mu Yi was pondering, the Jiao Dragon launched the first attack, diving down through the clouds.

"Bang!"

A "Bang" sounded as the Jiao Dragon's tail struck the Formation's battle array, shattering the Cloud Energy‑supported shield instantly.

The tail, still bearing force, flung several shield‑bearing soldiers, their bones shattered; they fell dead before even touching the ground.

"Now we have to risk our lives again!" Mu Yi's face darkened, but the opportunity was before him, and at such a moment he could only press on.

Mu Yi darted to the side of the Jiao Dragon, his long spear twisting with his body and arms, then, after a circular swing, he slammed it down fiercely.

Bang!

Scales shattered, blood spattered everywhere, and the Dragon‑Slaying Spear at that moment produced a rule‑like effect.

Useful!

Mu Yi's face lit up with joy; the special attack effect of the Dragon‑Slaying Stone also applied to the flood dragon.

But the next second, the flood dragon swung its tail and flung Mu Yi away.

Immediately after, a massive head rushed into Mu Yi's view at high speed, like a train barreling forward, and slammed into the airborne Mu Yi.

"The divine dragon shows only its tail, not its head! You're still far from it!" Mu Yi sneered at the flood dragon's head that was charging at him.

Mu Yi hurled the Dragon‑Slaying Spear, and then the flood dragon's head struck him again, sending him flying.

Mu Yi flipped in midair, then used his sword to cushion the impact on the ground, leaving a deep trench.

Poof!

Mu Yi just stood up, felt a pressure in his chest, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

"It really hurts!"

Mu Yi winced, baring his teeth, his ribs nearly shattered; if his sword hadn't blocked the blow at the last moment, he would probably be lying on the ground waiting for death now.

The Holy Sword radiated holy light that enveloped Mu Yi's body, and his wounds healed at a visibly rapid speed.

But the goal was achieved: using himself as bait to lure the flood dragon, he finally managed to thrust both Dragon‑Slaying Spears fully into the flood dragon's body.

Cloud Energy, under Mu Yi's control, transformed into chains that coiled around the flood dragon that had fallen to the ground.