Refining the True from the False: Becoming a God Starting with Devouring a True Dragon

"Where did this great religion come from?"

Wang Qi pressed for details, realizing that this information must have been leaked by Ge's second uncle.

"The Divine Eagle Cult".

When Ge Daniu spoke, his eyes lit up when he mentioned those three words.

"The doctrine of this religion consists of eight large characters."

"Hunting across the land, devouring pythons and dragons."

"Why isn't there a dragon?" Wang Qi said half-jokingly.

"Eating dragon meat is taboo."

Ge Daniu said solemnly, "The Divine Eagle Sect's influence is spread throughout the Northern Protectorate, and they are even more powerful than the military leaders."

"Normally, such forces wouldn't come to Heihe County... but after hearing that a giant dragon had appeared in Heihe County, a group of important figures came."

"Where are the people from the Divine Eagle Sect staying now?" Lu Shun asked from the side.

Ge Daniu shook his head. "Who knows? Such important figures are always elusive."

"We could only hear their voices, but not see them."

"In the coming period, we need to put in even more effort than before in our cultivation. Perhaps we will be chosen by a powerful figure in the Divine Eagle Sect for our 'hard work' and taken away."

Ge Daniu offered his suggestion in a low voice.

"Don't tell anyone else about this."

"This is a perk for us brothers!"

"Thank you so much, Brother Niu!"

"Thank you so much, Brother Niu!"

Wang Qi and Lu Shun clasped their hands in greeting, for this was indeed invaluable good news.

Although both of them felt that they had little hope of becoming a major sect whose influence covered most of the Northern Protectorate, they still had to try.

Even if there's only a one in a million chance, you should still try.

This is the nature of martial arts training.

As Wang Qi was eating, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Stream shelter: A trickling stream that can harbor shrimp, crabs, fish, and snakes.]

Clang~

The sound of swaying water seemed to echo in Wang Qi's heart.

After a moment of contemplation, he saw a 'water tank' about half a meter square.

There was also half a tank of water in it.

What does that mean?

Is this still a 'water-attribute spatial ring'?

Comes with a tank of water!

He got up and jogged to the outhouse, where he closed the door.

Then they tried to draw the water out.

Splash...

Water gushed out from the fingertips.

Wang Qi even put it in his mouth to taste it; it was just ordinary water, nothing different.

What does "can hide shrimp, crabs, fish, and snakes" mean? Can it hide live creatures?

His mind started racing again.

Before long, he attracted a sparrow and held it in his hand.

Snapped!

The sparrow in my hand vanished into thin air in an instant.

Looking at the creek sack again, sparrows were already darting around inside, which was only half a meter in size.

"It really can release live creatures!"

Wang Qi was pleasantly surprised.

A 'space ring' that can hold living creatures—that's definitely a high-end item.

Although the current space is relatively small, its development potential is limitless!

Soon,

The once lively sparrow seemed to have lost its strength and began to grow weak and dying.

"It seems there isn't enough oxygen."

Wang Qi quickly released the sparrow, and it soon became lively again.

It really is an oxygen problem...

"This thing is convenient. It separates the wet and dry parts by using pebbles to divide the space in half."

"Dry items are for clothes and such, and the pond is for keeping other things..."

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

Now all that's left is to get the [Prestige] to level one, then I can open a big gift pack.

……

The soap shop of the Heihe County government office.

The Heihe County government has over a thousand registered members from various departments and factions, each with their own independent faction.

Each of the Zao Ban, Zhuang Ban, and Kuai Ban has a spacious courtyard large enough to accommodate dozens of people practicing martial arts at the same time.

The sand dunes, wooden stakes, bronze figures, and racks for all eighteen kinds of weapons are all complete.

Dozens of people stood in the courtyard.

With his hands behind his back, Xu Mao, nicknamed "Soap Head," strolled around the training ground, pointing out movements.

"When I was a constable, practicing the Ox-Snake Knife Technique only required me to focus on cultivating my qi and blood and breaking through external training."

"Once the classes are divided, the training will be more detailed."

"I think everyone here has heard of the term 'cultivation of the five elements,' which means cultivating oneself by refining the food according to one's own needs... This is cultivation."

"The Fast Class spends their days roaming among demons, seeking nothing more than how to enhance the lethality of their moves."

"Of course, all martial artists pursue these things."

"But our bailiffs, as the face of the government... strength is naturally the most important thing, but secondly, it's our aura!"

"We don't have many opportunities to make a move openly, but how can we give face to the county magistrate and the Heihe County Chief without actually taking action? That's where momentum comes in."

Xu Mao looked at everyone and coughed lightly.

"May I ask, Soaphead, how can you cultivate with such an ethereal and indistinct aura?" Zhou Fu shouted loudly.

Xu Mao nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "That's a good question. You can't cultivate an aura... at least not at our level."

"Then how can we make amends?"

"Appearance, figure, and eyes."

"If you eat water, your skin will be as smooth as mutton fat; if you eat wood, your body will be slender; if you eat metal, your eyes will be sharp as knives."

"Remember this, everyone. From now on, eat exactly as I say."

Xu Mao gave earnest advice.

His gaze swept around the room, finally settling on Wang Qi.

His eyes lit up when he saw Wang Qi's fair skin, then he looked at his face...

"Unfamiliar face, newcomer?"

He asked with great interest.

"Your subordinate, Wang Qi, was just promoted to a bailiff three days ago," Wang Qi replied.

Who is your father?

Xu Mao said very politely.

"He has no parents." A voice drifted slowly from afar. "He works for Zhang Yuanzaotou."

"Zhang Yuan's apprentice."

Xu Mao showed displeasure at the abrupt sound, but that was all.

He did some quick calculations and thought, "Zhang Yuan's daughter is only five years old. Why are they preparing so early?"

Wang Qi's lips twitched slightly. "You're overthinking it, sir."

"Your training is excellent, your blood and energy are great..."

Xu Mao praised it repeatedly.

He disliked Zhang Yuan's aloof and arrogant personality, which made him intolerant of any wrongdoing.

When the giant dragon's meat was being distributed, the higher-ups tacitly agreed that the official constables should not be told what happened and that they should secretly divide it all up and eat it.

As a result, Zhang Yuan insisted on following Master Huang's orders to give each of the underlings a bowl of dragon meat soup. In front of everyone, he even took his own pot of soup to the underlings' courtyard.

What was supposed to be a happy occasion ended up making everyone uncomfortable.

In his opinion, Zhang Yuan was being too naive.

That's too offensive.

After this incident, Zhang Yuan, who was already disliked by few people, was completely isolated by everyone in Class 3.

That's not right.

The mortgage on this courtyard house, located far away on Zhengyu Street, is still not paid off.

Where do they get the resources to support apprentices?

Or is it that this apprentice is just too talented?

"It's a pity that following Zhang Yuan was a complete waste..."

"Many opportunities are earned through favors and exchanges. Zhang Yuan doesn't have many connections in the government."

Xu Mao patted Wang Qi on the shoulder, "Kid, how about switching sides?"

Xu Mao pried open the corner of the wall in front of everyone.

This made many of the servants in the courtyard envious.

Because Xu Mao was the best martial artist in the police station, and he used to be one of the top two constables in the fast squad. He was transferred to the police squad after he was injured.

Countless people want this Xu Zaotou to teach them martial arts.

In his daily life, he would describe any constable as "good enough" or "acceptable."

This is the first time.

Xu Zaotou poached someone from his team in public.

Is Wang Qi really that talented?

"Zhang Zaotou has done me a great favor, I have no face to switch allegiance."

Wang Qi adopted a very humble attitude, but his refusal was also straightforward.

"Okay, keep practicing."

Xu Mao had anticipated this outcome, after all, Zhang Yuan didn't easily accept apprentices, and the one he did accept... his character was definitely not a problem.

In the courtyard, shouts of "Hey!" and "Ha!" rose and fell.

Xu Mao could casually manipulate some stances and the angle of his sword strikes, instantly making people sweat profusely in the next set of movements.

This is roughly what is meant by "practicing to the point of perfection".

Two hours later,

Only the sounds of two swords being drawn remained in the courtyard.

Because Wang Qi ate the flesh of the Rain-Splashing Dragon, he had to train until the heat throughout his body dissipated before he could finish.

And the owner of the other sound of a knife...

He is Jia Zhengshu, the fourth son of the Jia family.

His gaze kept falling on Wang Qi, and seeing that Wang Qi was still cultivating, he swung his sword even more vigorously!

Wang Qi sat down to rest, drenched in sweat.

Jia Zhengshu finally breathed a sigh of relief. After performing one more round of exercises than Wang Qi, he slumped to the ground.

He looked smugly at Wang Qi, who was resting in the distance, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

……

Heihekou.

The river surface is gradually showing signs of freezing over.

The boat owner, Li Fengchao, wearing a straw hat and holding a harpoon, stood with one foot on a wooden crate, looking at the lively fish inside.

"This year is another bumper harvest."

"Finally, I dared to finish my work in front of the glacier."

Li Fengchao chuckled and tossed the harpoon to his subordinate beside him.

"Is there any progress on the birthday gift?"

The man lowered his head. "Boat owner, as you know... Brother Xiong has been handling everything from beginning to end, and he hasn't let us get involved at all."

"After Brother Xiong's accident, we were rushed into this situation and had no time to spare... We could only find a fifty-year-old silver-scaled fish..."

Li Fengchao glanced at his subordinate. "We fishermen are offering fish? Silver-scaled fish? What do you mean by that?"

"Are you trying to make the pond owner think I don't take this matter seriously?"

He asked four questions in a row, and the subordinate was sweating profusely.

"Damn it!"

Li Fengchao slammed his fist into the houseboat, creating a large crater.

"That guy, what's his name, Duck..."

"Wang Ya, no... I mean Wang Qi, he's been promoted to a bailiff now. We shouldn't ask too many questions..."

"Is the workload of the soap-making officials very large?"

Li Fengchao sneered, "Our boss is also a county magistrate!"

"Go ask! Go and find out for yourself!"

"Either he explains himself, or you go down into the ice cave."

"Damn it, which bastard is deliberately trying to annoy me? I'd better not find out who it is..."

He suspected that it was either a rival of the Crocodile Gang or one of the gang's ship owners who had secretly conspired with the constables of the Third Shift to kill Li Xiong in an attempt to cause him to fall out of favor.

This matter must not be let go easily.

Otherwise, everyone will be riding roughshod over you in the future!