Chapter 318: Revered as a God

The God of the Chijiang River.

Li Rui's mouth twitched.

His little jade dragon subordinate's ambitions were truly grand.

Just like human officials.

Though both are county magistrates, the gap between one county magistrate and another is vast; the magistrate of Qinghe could rival a prefect, and the mayor of the capital was beyond compare.

The same applied to river and sea gods.

Qinghe was merely a tributary of the Chijiang; the true Chijiang was a great river spanning east to west through Yu State, ranking among the top five in its river system.

The God of the Chijiang River could stand shoulder to shoulder with a second-rank Minister of the Six Ministries.

He was among the pinnacle figures of Yu State.

It was said the current God of the Chijiang was an ancient tortoise eight hundred years old, his power unfathomable, at least second-rank.

Even the old father of Little White Dragon was no match for him.

Seen this way, Little White Dragon's ambitions were indeed grand.

At only fifth-rank, he was already looking toward becoming a second-rank river god.

Far more ambitious than Li Rui, who, as a lowly Assistant Regional Commander, had never dared dream of sitting as a Minister of the Six Ministries.

Seen this way, Little White Dragon's ambitions were indeed grand.

Little White Dragon looked at Li Rui with surprise:

"Big Brother, are you injured?"

Li Rui: "Why do you ask that?"

"Where did your true dragon aura go?"

Only then did Li Rui realize, and his heart leapt with joy.

Little White Dragon carried Yinglong blood and had undergone one transformation; his perception of dragon aura surpassed all other beasts. If even he couldn't detect it, no other beast could.

'Safe.'

Li Rui then explained: "I've cultivated a technique to conceal my true dragon aura."

Little White Dragon understood immediately, grasping why Li Rui had done this.

After the incident with the great jade dragon, Little White Dragon fully agreed.

True dragon aura was too precious; once detected by beasts, they would frenzy to seize it.

If a great demon took interest again, there might not be such good fortune a second time.

His Yinglong blood had already been concealed by Yuan Dingting; he had come to Qinghe merely to warn Li Rui of this, but he hadn't expected Li Rui to have already prepared.

"Big Brother is still level-headed."

As Li Rui and Little White Dragon spoke,

lines of small text appeared on the panel.

【Congratulations, Host! You have completed the Intermediate Plot Achievement: Revered as a God.】

【Mortals fear gods, hence revere them. Since ancient times, emperors have called themselves Sons of Heaven, demanding reverence as if fearing a deity—this is the highest realm of fame and glory. Congratulations, you have manifested before mortals, making the people of Qinghe regard you as a god. Keep striving.】

【Achievement "Revered as a God" completed. Reward calculation in progress.】

【Achievement rating: A.】

【Obtained 40 Achievement Points!】

【Name: Li Rui】

【Age: 15】

【Talent: Martial Bone, Extraordinary Comprehension, Insightful Eyes, Great Dream Immortal Travel, Overcoming Demons and Securing Victory】

【Techniques: Changchun Art, Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens, Dragon Elephant True Qi Power】

【Item: Shengling Book】

【Achievements: 70/100】

Li Rui stared at the small text on the panel, his eyebrows rising high.

Truly, he had planted a willow without intent, and now it flourished.

Little White Dragon's accidental act had enabled him to complete the "Fame and Glory" achievement.

Clearly,

after this, many old mystics in Qinghe would regard him as a deity—perhaps even build temples and erect statues.

'This must be prevented!'

Li Rui murmured inwardly.

Unless he died, if the imperial court discovered temple-building, it would be a grave crime.

As far as he knew,

Yu State had granted temples to only one person: the founding emperor. Beyond him, only figures like the Buddha, the Daoist Ancestor, and the Sacred Master—long since mythic beings worshipped for millennia—had received such honors.

That was all.

Even the greatest in the land, Gao Tianxia, was no exception.

Li Rui was pondering how to eliminate this risk when Little White Dragon spoke again: "Lord Yuan ordered me to patrol the river, saying it would soon be needed. Apparently, a witch-country woman is coming—annoying as hell."

At once, Li Rui understood.

Little White Dragon was referring to the marriage alliance.

A few days ago, he had heard rumors.

Yu State's envoy had already gone to the imperial palace; the marriage was settled.

Now followed a series of tedious procedures.

Mostly sacrifices, blessings, rituals, and the like.

The entire process would take many more days.

Finally, the witch-country's third princess would be sent to the capital's imperial palace to complete the grand ceremony.

The witch-country's third princess would travel by water, departing from Qinghe, entering the canal, and heading north along the canal to the capital.

Hence Yuan Dingting had ordered Little White Dragon to patrol the river.

To ensure no mountain spirits or water monsters lurked in Qinghe—even if the imperial escort was numerous, any mishap would make Yu State appear disrespectful.

Witch Country was no small nation.

The third princess was of exalted status; propriety could not be neglected.

Otherwise, it would not be Witch Country's royal family that lost face, but Yu State's imperial court.

The imperial family prized face above all. Others might think this excessive, but it was not; a dynasty enduring a thousand years required such things—they upheld dignity. If a royal house lost its dignity, collapse and the shattering of rites were near.

Li Rui: "Little White, have you noticed anything unusual?"

He was already responsible for escorting this stretch of Qinghe; with Little White Dragon scouting ahead, many troubles could be avoided.

Little White Dragon thought briefly:

"No unusual signs. Qinghe has no powerful figures to speak of—perhaps just a band of river pirates. I killed their leader, and that's all."

Li Rui nodded slightly.

This matched his expectations.

In recent days, he had dispatched two battalions of Anning Guard to clear the Qinghe riverbanks.

Yu State had enjoyed peace for a long time.

Qinghe may have once harbored great demons, but all had been slain under Yu State's rule.

No error, no deviation, no content in sight!

At least in the decades Li Rui had lived in Qinghe City, he had never heard of great demons causing havoc.

As for that band of pirates,

he had already informed the county office.

According to the Platoon Leader of Battalion Bing, they were refugees from Witch Country who had fled into Qinghe's marshes, mostly robbing merchant caravans but always restrained, never provoking the wrong people.

Anning Guard was only responsible for martial sects and demonic disturbances.

River pirates fell outside Anning Guard's jurisdiction; Li Rui was sensitive to duty boundaries, so even though he eliminated them, he still reported to the county office, letting Magistrate Jia lead the cleanup—if they couldn't handle it, Anning Guard could then be called in.

This order could not be reversed.

If Li Rui had sent men to kill the pirates outright, Magistrate Jia might not appreciate it, even resent it, thinking Anning Guard was overstepping, seizing county affairs, and causing others to see him as humiliated.

But by informing Magistrate Jia first, Li Rui saved effort—and if Jia came begging for help, he gained goodwill for free.

Thus, Li Rui always adhered to the official principle: mind your own business.

Otherwise, you wouldn't even know when you'd made enemies.

Li Rui: "Little White, this matter falls under my purview too. If you find anything on patrol, let me know."

Hearing this helped Li Rui,

Little White Dragon's enthusiasm surged.

In its eyes, Li Rui was a brother worth dying for.

Not only had Li Rui helped it transform, but he had also dared to aid it despite knowing it would anger a second-rank great jade dragon—this was a bond of life and death, and must be honored.

Little White Dragon: "Big Brother, rest assured, I've got this."

Eight hundred li of Qinghe River.

Passing through seventeen counties, it derived its name from its source, twenty li outside Qinghe City, in a valley.

It was somewhat renowned within Yunzhou.

Along the banks of Qinghe River, a small hollow held a scattering of thatched huts.

Many people had gathered in the space between the huts.

They stood around a corpse, their faces filled with grief.

"Second Boss, the First Boss is dead—what do we do now?"

A ragged young man spoke to a sturdy middle-aged man.

This was the bandit camp that had been raiding the area around Qinghe today.

The corpse in the center was their First Boss.

Yesterday, a sudden giant water dragon appeared and slapped him to death.

The bandit camp had now lost its First Boss.

The Second Boss's face was grim.

All of them had fled from Wugu, where they could no longer survive; the First Boss had been skilled in Wu Gong, leading them to rob small merchant caravans just to scrape by. Now that the First Boss was dead, their pillar was gone—this camp would surely fall apart.

The Second Boss looked at the sorrowful faces around him, then made up his mind:

"The First Boss is dead, but I'm still here. I won't let you starve. We've crossed the Ten Thousand Mountains—can we not survive here?"

The others heard him.

Their expressions lifted—though the Second Boss had always been overshadowed by the First Boss's prestige, he was now unquestionably the leader of this camp.

With the Second Boss stepping forward, the camp would not disband.

Everyone exhaled in relief.

If the camp broke up, where would they go?

They had all come out of the Ten Thousand Mountains together; staying together meant at least they wouldn't die randomly.

"Second Boss, we follow you."

A young man spoke up first.

Once someone took the lead, everything else became smoother.

One by one, their faces flushed as they endorsed the Second Boss as the new First Boss.

Seeing everyone's support, the Second Boss's gloom lifted greatly, and a surge of boldness rose in his chest:

"Let's bury the First Boss first, then lead everyone to find food."

He dared not mention revenge even once.

The giant water dragon not coming after them was already a stroke of luck—they would never dare provoke it.

Just as everyone's emotions reached their peak,

the cheers abruptly stopped.

Their faces turned to terror.

A stranger—a middle-aged man with a hooked nose—suddenly appeared in the camp, then slapped the newly crowned First Boss dead with one blow.

The hooked-nose man didn't even glance at the others in the camp.

Instead, he looked beyond the crowd:

"Ancestor, this bandit camp is perfect."

Then they saw:

An old man in a blood-red robe stepped slowly into the center of the crowd.

At that moment,

countless blood-colored specters surged from the old man's body.

In moments,

not a single living soul remained in the bandit camp.

(End of Chapter)