Gods of the Nation: You worship the God of Longevity, I worship the King of Hell!

Chapter 252 The Dragon King of the East Sea – The Great Sage Makes His Debut!
"Think it over carefully before you answer!" Lan'er added urgently.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

Actually, Lan'er's meaning was quite clear.

If one were to establish the throne of the Dragon King of the Seas, one would inevitably engage in a direct war with the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas in the future.
However, even if one were to become the Dragon King of the Rivers, one would still be unable to escape the encirclement and suppression of the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas.

After all, the Four Dragon Kings would never sit idly by and watch the "Four River Dragon Gods" rise again and threaten the rule of the sea tribes.

Since choosing either path inevitably leads to a battle...

Lu Chen's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he spoke:

"build--"

Lan'er's heart skipped a beat.

"—The Sea Dragon Throne!"

hold head high! ! !
The moment the words fell, Chun'er suddenly soared into the air, her body swelling in the wind!
Divine light flowed around his body, and his originally immature dragon scales visibly became much more solid and thick.

Its pair of dragon horns atop its head are even more piercing, exuding a power capable of shattering gold and splitting rocks.

Boom! ! !

Almost simultaneously, thunder roared outside.

Just moments ago, the sky was clear and blue, but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered over Cloudtop Manor, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down.

Passersby stopped and stared at the sudden phenomenon, their faces filled with astonishment.

Faintly, they also heard a series of deep and majestic chants coming from somewhere.

"That sound... it sounded like a dragon's roar?"

"Where did this dragon's roar come from in Jiangdu City?!"

The crowd looked at each other, bewildered and uncertain.

……

Thousands of miles away, in the East China Sea.

As the strange phenomenon appeared in Jiangdu, a crimson bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl suddenly struck the sea!
In an instant, the entire sea surged with raging waves, towering into the sky.

Fortunately, there were no fishing boats or merchant ships nearby, otherwise, who knows how much disaster might have occurred.

Beneath the deep sea lies the magnificent Dragon Palace of the East China Sea.

On the dragon throne, Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, suddenly opened his eyes, his anger almost bursting forth.

hold head high! ! !
He transformed into a hundred-foot-long dragon and was about to rush out of the Dragon Palace, but he was firmly locked by a Ren Water restriction and could not break free no matter how much he roared.

"Who is it?! Who on earth dares to attempt to seize the Sea Dragon King's throne right under my nose?! What kind of remnant are they?!"

The dragon roared in fury, and the entire dragon palace trembled violently. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals staggered and almost couldn't stand up.

tear-

Almost at the same moment, a void above the East China Sea was suddenly torn open.

Several figures stepped out, looking down at the churning sea below.

The leader was dressed in a purple-gold royal robe, with white hair and a youthful face, a majestic countenance, and an awe-inspiring aura between his brows.

Seeing this, he frowned slightly, and with a wave of his hand, a vast and unparalleled magical power, carrying thousands of bolts of lightning, swept out, transforming into an invisible cage that instantly froze the churning sea for thousands of miles!

The two middle-aged men dressed as his subordinates behind him exchanged a glance and praised in unison, "Your Majesty's divine powers are unparalleled, and your magical abilities are boundless. We admire you to the fullest!"

"Enough with the empty talk."

The old man simply waved his hand, his brow still furrowed: "What's wrong with Ao Guang? Why is he so enraged all of a sudden?"

"It's really strange. The Four Dragon Kings were confined to the palace by the Water Deity. They made a fuss at first, but then quieted down. Why are they acting crazy again today?"

"Never mind, as long as it doesn't cause any trouble." The old man calmly withdrew his gaze, stood with his hands behind his back, and suddenly remembered something, asking, "By the way, what was that young man's name again, about that incident in Longhu County?"

"It seems to be called... Lu Chen. Yes, it's Lu Chen."

"This lad does have some skill," the old man said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The two men behind him nodded, their expressions filled with speculation: "Your Majesty, we have investigated, and the supernatural powers this person uses are quite bizarre. Could it be... the reincarnation of some powerful being from the Heavenly Court?"

The old man smiled calmly: "So what if it is? At our level, the reincarnation of powerful beings is not as common as hairs on a cow, but it is not as rare as phoenix feathers. Didn't some people speculate in the past that I was the incarnation of the Thunder Ancestor? If that is true, with my current status, I may well be able to join the ranks of the first and second academies in the future."

"What the Holy Lord says is absolutely right!" The two quickly echoed, their tone full of flattery and envy: "The Holy Lord is now the Thunder Commander—the Nine Heavens Thunder General, with extraordinary supernatural powers. It is only a matter of time before he ascends to the Divine Firmament Jade Palace and becomes the Thunder Ancestor's right-hand man!"

The old man smiled calmly: "Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since I went to the Heavenly Court to report for duty. Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll find an opportunity to go up there for a visit. I wonder if there's anything new happening in the Heavenly Court lately."

"The might of the Holy Ruler!"

The two bowed immediately.

"Let's go."

After the old man finished speaking, he raised his hand and tore through the void again, and the three of them disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Only after they left did the East China Sea, which had been frozen for thousands of miles, resume its flow and slowly return to calm.

……

Meanwhile, in Jiangdu, at Yunding Mountain Villa.

Looking at the bizarre scene outside, Lu Chen's eyes widened: "No way? I just said something casually, and the commotion is this big?!"
"Although you only said one sentence, those words are like a divine decree to Chun'er and even to the dragon offspring of the Four Rivers, setting the foundation and the future."

Lan'er sighed softly, her expression complex, a mixture of joy and sorrow.

He gazed at Chun'er, who was tumbling and stretching in the air, but a hint of worry lingered between his brows: "Now that you have appointed them as the Sea Dragon Kings, a deadly battle with the Four Sea Dragon Kings in the future is a foregone conclusion."

Lu Chen remained calm: "Even if the River Dragon King is chosen, do you think the Four Seas Dragon Kings will let them go?"

Lan'er nodded silently. She understood this principle all too well.

"Very well, this is precisely why I want you to establish 'dragon positions' for them as soon as possible. The last line of the Four Rivers Dragon Gods in the world must at least cultivate to become 'River Dragon Kings'. But as you said, the Four Seas Dragon Kings will never tolerate their growth."

Lan'er looked out the window at the gradually dissipating thunderclouds and said in a deep voice, "Now that the Four Seas Dragon Kings are imprisoned in the palace by the Water Virtue Star Lord, it is the best time for Chun'er to improve her strength."

"It's alright, at worst I'll just ask the Water Deity Star Lord to suppress them for a few more years." Lu Chen pursed his lips.

"You make it sound so easy," Lan'er shook her head. "Even if you suppress it for another ten or a hundred years, Chun'er will ultimately have to prove herself 'Sea Dragon King' on her own. And this path has only ever been taken..."

"Defeat (kill) the Four Dragon Kings of the Seas."

The man and the dragon spoke almost simultaneously.

Lan'er paused for a moment, then chuckled, "It's about the same meaning."

Lu Chen took a deep breath and reached out his hand.

Chun'er withdrew her divine light and returned to his side; the dragon's body was now much more powerful than before.

Lu Chen patted Chun'er's head: "Since we are going to take this path eventually, let's walk it steadily."

Lan'er nodded silently.

"Okay, I'll go get busy now."

"Go."

Just as he reached the door, Lu Chen stopped and turned back: "Oh, right, Lan'er, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"what?"

“I spoke with your master last night.” “What?!” Lan’er instantly stiffened. “Master? What…did he say?”

"It's nothing. They just gave me the position of Deputy Marshal of the Ministry of War, called 'King Dingta'."

——Buzz! !
Lan'er's mind went blank.

"He also gave me a magical artifact, the Demon-Binding Rope," Lu Chen said casually.

Lan'er was completely stunned, her pupils dilating in shock.

"Master's... most treasured artifact? He gave it to you?!"

“Yes, I was just about to go get it. You can borrow it to play with when I get it back.” Lu Chen said, then pushed open the door and went out.

A moment later, a scream came from inside the house:
"What a monster—!!!"

……

South of the city, the Sun Family Temple.

Lu Chen, who had traveled almost across Jiangdu City to get here, paused for a moment at the mission information board at the entrance after stepping through the temple gate.

He used to never care about these things, but now whenever he arrives at a temple, unless it's an emergency, he always subconsciously takes a look.

"Five S-class missions..."

Lu Chen clicked his tongue: "Uncle Sun's family is still quite well-off."

Sun Yourong had previously mentioned that the Sun family spent three S-rank [Divine Missions] to invite Lei Zu and two S-rank missions to invite Wang Lingguan.

There are five in total.

However, only by completing it firsthand can one truly understand the difficulty of an S-rank mission.

This demonstrates the formidable strength and resources of the Sun family as a powerful clan.

Meanwhile, several spiritual practitioners nearby were also whispering among themselves:
"This temple is quite powerful, with five S-rank warriors, one of whom even soloed!"

"It's likely that there's a master in charge."

Sure enough, the bounty hunters still valued this brand.

Lu Chen's heart stirred slightly, and he spoke to the two spiritualists beside him who seemed to be from out of town: "Brothers, you're not locals, are you?"

“Yes.” The two men turned around at the sound of his voice and saw that he was a well-dressed young man. Their tone was polite: “We came from another province. We heard that Wang Lingguan and Lei Zu of the Sun family are very effective. We just happened to be worshipping these two, so we came here specifically to make offerings to them.”

"I see." Lu Chen took the opportunity to promote the Sun family: "Then you've come to the right place, this place really is effective."

"Really!" The two men perked up, and one of them immediately asked, "By the way, young man, are you a local? I heard that there's a Lu Clan Temple in Jiangdu, dedicated to the Plague Emperor Haotian?"

“That’s right.” Lu Chen hadn’t expected the other party to be interested in the Plague God as well, and his interest was piqued. “You want to make offerings to him?”

"Is it effective? I saw a young man online who worshipped the Plague God and then completely destroyed the mission hall in Qianjiang City. If it's really effective, I'll bring one back with me."

"Me too! If it's a spirit, please!"

Seeing a "big business" coming his way, Lu Chen solemnly patted his chest and guaranteed: "Giant Spirit! More effective than the Giant Spirit God! If you feel it's not effective after making offerings, just go to the temple's incense window and get a full refund!"

"Really? Is there really such a good thing?"

The two expressed their skepticism, saying they had never heard of such a thing as a money-back guarantee.

"If you don't believe me, go try it and you'll see. I guarantee your Divine Rank will increase faster than others, guaranteed!"

"Okay! If it's really like you said, my brother and I will definitely go. Thanks a lot!"

"polite."

Lu Chen cupped his hands in a smile, then turned and walked towards the incense burner.

"Hey, who were you two talking to just now?"

At this moment, another man walked over; he was the local guide hired by the two outsiders.

"A local guy, asking about something."

"What are you asking about?"

"Ask the Lu family temple if it's effective. They said it's guaranteed to be effective, or they'll give you a refund."

The guide watched Lu Chen's departing figure, his brows furrowing slightly: "This person... why does he look so familiar?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen happened to turn his head and glance at the furnishings at the incense burner, revealing half of his profile.

The guide's pupils constricted sharply: "So it really is Patriarch Lu! No wonder he looked so familiar!"

"Patriarch Lu?" The two were taken aback, then realized, "You mean he's... the patriarch of the Lu Clan Temple? So young?!"

"Yes, that's him!"

The two outsiders exchanged a glance and were immediately dumbfounded: "So he's just like Wang Po selling melons, praising his own wares."

"What do you know! That ruthless guy who wiped out the Qianjiang City Mission Hall was him! He single-handedly completed three S-level missions in three months! He set a record for the fastest temple establishment!"

The guide's voice rose with excitement: "If he says it works, then it absolutely works!!"

——Buzz!!!

The two were stunned.

"So he's the genius who invented the 'Plague Sweep' strategy?"

"My God...I've seen the real God..."

……

The place of incense offerings.

Lu Chen bought a stick of ordinary incense for 100 yuan and headed straight for the Giant Spirit Temple.

"Huh? Lu Chen, what brings you to my Sun Clan Temple?"

A familiar voice suddenly sounded beside me.

Turning around, Sun Yourong suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Sister Sun? What are you doing here?"

"Nonsense, this is my family's shrine. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to be here?"

Sun Yourong rolled her eyes helplessly.

Lu Chen thought about it and agreed, then chuckled twice, "That's perfect, shall we go together?"

"You've come to worship the gods?"

Sun Yourong glanced down at the incense in Lu Chen's hand, paused slightly, then craned her neck to look, her face immediately freezing: "Wait, you're worshipping... the Giant Spirit God?!"

Lu Chen patted her shoulder mysteriously: "Don't worry, don't worry, I won't fight you for it. Come on! Since we've run into each other by such coincidence, I'll just give you a chance!"

　I have a question. Did you miss a single update yesterday during the third watch?
　　The first chapter is titled "The Human Demon Li Chenghuang".

　　Chapter Two is "The City God's Secrets"

　　Chapter Three is titled "Xu Xian and Ning Caichen..."

　　That's right, why are so many readers saying there's one page missing, even though there's nothing wrong with my system?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)