Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

Lu Cang asked, "So, according to Director Zhou, what do you mean?"

Zhou Zhenshan said, "Qingshi Reservoir is temporarily listed as a disputed area, and the Ninth Injunction will not enter the core Zilian area."

"But it is necessary to establish observation posts on the periphery to monitor the East China Sea system and the movements of the Zhenhai Navy, while conveying three requirements to the Qinglian restricted area."

"First, the Zhenhai Navy is not allowed to enter the surrounding human villages and towns."

"Second, the civilian water supply system must not be cut off."

"Third, if the Qing Shi Water Mansion continues to expand outwards, it must notify the Ninth Bureau in advance."

Lu Cang frowned and asked, "What if the Lord of the Azure Lotus disagrees?"

Zhou Zhenshan calmly said, "Then I will go to Black Dragon Mountain to talk in person."

The meeting room fell silent.

Lu Cang then remembered that Zhou Zhenshan was no longer the peak fourth-tier cultivator he had been before, but the first sixth-tier expert among humans.

Although they are still no match for a sixth-tier Azure Lotus Lord, at least humanity has now earned the right to sit at the negotiating table.

Zhou Zhenshan continued, "Lu Cang, I understand your anger, but we cannot let anger cloud our judgment now."

"The reservoirs can be guarded by them temporarily, but Lingnan is not something that belongs to whoever occupies it first forever."

"What humanity needs to do is not to fight a war it can't win over a momentary impulse, but to become stronger as quickly as possible."

Lu Cang remained silent for a long time before finally straightening up and saying respectfully, "Director Zhou, I understand."

Zhou Zhenshan nodded: "In addition, the intelligence on the East China Sea Mother Nest is classified as the highest level."

"All Ninth Bureau branches along the coast are on Level 1 alert."

The communication ended quickly, and the meeting room fell silent again.

Just as Su Wan was about to say something, the communicator suddenly rang.

She glanced down and her face instantly turned cold.

"A suspicious vehicle was found near Lin Qingxue's home, suspected to be an awakened individual from overseas."

Lu Cang raised his head, the anger he had suppressed in his eyes turning into killing intent again, and said coldly, "Put aside the matter of the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone for now, and first find out these people who dared to harm our people in Lingnan."

Su Wan had already turned and walked out: "I'll go myself this time."

After Su Wan finished speaking, she did not linger and walked straight out of the conference room.

Several team members had already assembled downstairs.

The black SUV started and quickly drove towards Lin Qingxue's home.

Lu Cang stood by the window, watching the convoy disappear into the night, his face still gloomy.

Qingshi Reservoir is occupied by Qinglian Forbidden Zone.

The East China Sea Mother Nest has appeared, and at this time, awakened individuals from abroad have infiltrated Lingnan. These bastards really deserve to be taught a lesson.

After the second spiritual tide ended, the entire world seemed to be spiraling out of control at a speed that left no time to react.

Time was running out, and Lu Cang's expression turned serious.

A full month has passed since the end of the second spiritual energy tide.

The changes that have occurred in Kyushu in the past month have been even more dramatic than those following the first spiritual energy revival.

Mountains expand, rivers change course.

The underground spiritual veins, which had been dormant for many years, are gradually reviving.

A large number of Awakened Ones who were originally stuck at the peak of the third tier began to break through to the fourth tier one after another.

What truly inspired everyone was the battle at Donghai Port three days prior.

On that day, hundreds of thousands of sea monsters stormed the East China Sea port.

Among them was even a deep-sea demon king who had just entered the sixth rank.

The three lines of defense surrounding Donghai Port have fallen one after another.

Several coastal cities were evacuated.

Everyone thought that Donghai Port would become the second human city to be completely destroyed by the beast tide.

At a critical moment, Zhou Zhenshan personally arrived at Donghai Port.

He first used his peak fifth-tier strength to directly block the Deep Sea Demon King.

Both sides advanced from the coastal defense line all the way into the East China Sea.

The sea was stained red with blood.

The battle lasted for an hour. At the last moment, Zhou Zhenshan completed the second fusion of his essence, energy, and spirit on the brink of death, and stepped into the sixth level in one fell swoop.

With a single punch, he shattered a thousand-meter-high wave and smashed a skull in front of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Donghai Port.

Although in the end the Lord of the Azure Lotus descended and killed the Black Tide King, for humanity...

Zhou Zhenshan's breakthrough was the most exciting, so much so that his battle videos have been trending on various platforms for the past few days.

In the video footage, Zhou Zhenshan stands on the crest of a wave, covered in blood, with the well-preserved Donghai Port behind him.

From that moment on.

Humanity has its first sixth-tier powerhouse.

This is also why Lu Cang is so anxious now; in the past, he was only one major realm away from Zhou Zhenshan.

Zhou Zhenshan has now entered the sixth rank, the Lord of the Azure Lotus is also in the late stage of the sixth rank, while he is still in the late stage of the fourth rank.

A fourth-tier cultivator is considered a top-tier expert among ordinary awakened beings, but when faced with an existence that truly determines the fate of a region, they still have little say.

Lu Cang looked down at the table he had just cracked.

His late-stage fourth-tier power was enough to easily destroy a building, but when a fifth-tier egg appeared in the Qing Shi Reservoir, he didn't even have the qualifications to personally go there to deal with it.

By the time the news reached the branch, the battle was already over.

"Still too weak."

Lu Cang muttered to himself, and he did not stay in the conference room any longer.

Instead, he picked up the combat jacket from the table and headed directly towards the branch's underground training area.

From today onwards, unless an emergency occurs in Lingnan.

He will use all his spare time to try to reach the fifth rank.

It's not just Lu Cang.

Now, an unprecedented wave of cultivation has swept across the entire Dragon Kingdom.

The Ninth Bureau announced a revised basic martial arts training method.

Awakened Academy in various locations has extended its training time.

The military has formally incorporated ancient martial arts, supernatural abilities, and modern weaponry into its combat system.

Meanwhile, those sects and martial arts families that had been dormant for many years gradually came into the public eye after the second spiritual energy tide.

……

Wudang Mountain.

Cloudy and misty.

Three days ago, an otherwise unremarkable stone wall on the back mountain suddenly split open.

There were no gold or silver treasures inside the stone wall.

There was only one narrow stone chamber.

The walls of the stone chamber are covered with countless ancient sword marks.

Each sword mark retained a strong mental fluctuation.

In this stone chamber, Song Yunhe, the old master of Wudang, sat in front of the chamber for three days and three nights.

He is 107 years old this year.

She was thin and had long, white hair.

Before the spiritual energy was restored, he had already practiced the Wudang sword technique to the limit of human strength, but no matter how hard he studied it, the sword technique was still just a sword technique.

Unable to unleash true sword energy, he only discovered that the sword techniques left behind by the Wudang patriarchs were not ordinary sword moves after the second spiritual energy tide ended and the stone chamber opened.

It is a complete tradition of controlling the sword with spirit and nourishing the sword with qi and blood.

The third day at dusk.

Song Yunhe opened his eyes. The ancient sword that was placed in front of his knees had been untouched by anyone, yet it had been drawn three inches out of its sheath on its own.

A clear, crisp sword cry resounded throughout Wudang Mountain, causing the branches and leaves of nearby trees to bow low.

The Wudang disciples waiting outside were excited and knelt down one after another: "Welcome back, Ancestor!"

Song Yunhe ignored everyone and looked up at the north.

That's Changbai Mountain.

The East China Sea animal tide just ended three days ago.

The Tiger King, after being polluted by Changbai Mountain, began to drive the strange beasts south.

Three small cities in Northeast China have entered a state of high alert.

Song Yunhe reached out and grasped the ancient sword, saying, "Prepare the carriage."

A middle-aged Taoist priest stepped forward and asked, "Grandmaster Uncle, where are you going?"

Changbai Mountain.

The middle-aged Taoist's expression changed slightly: "That tiger king seems to have already entered the late stage of the fifth rank, and there is also a source of pollution on its body. If you go, it may be dangerous."

Song Yunhe stood up, leaning on his sword, and said solemnly, "That's why we have to go. Zhou Zhenshan was able to reach the sixth level in the East Sea."

"This old Taoist also wants to see if this sword path, which has been followed for a hundred years, can take another step forward."

He has already reached the mid-stage of the fifth rank, and with the arrival of this great era, he wants to take it a step further.

After saying that, Song Yunhe stepped out of the stone chamber.

As they passed through the mountain gate, a third-tier blue-backed giant bear, driven mad by the spiritual tide, crashed through the outer wall.

Just as the Wudang disciples were preparing to fight, Song Yunhe didn't even draw his sword. He simply raised his hand, pointed forward, and gently tapped the ground.

The ancient sword was drawn from its sheath on its own.

The sword flashed by.

The giant bear with its blue back maintained its charging posture and continued running for another ten meters or so.

Then the massive head slid off the neck, and blood spurted several meters high.

Seeing that he had killed a third-tier demonic bear with just a wave of his hand, all the Wudang Mountain disciples were dumbfounded.

His eyes gleamed with fervor as he exclaimed excitedly, "Our ancestor is mighty!"

Song Yunhe ignored the Wudang Mountain disciples kneeling on the ground. He walked past the corpse and said, "Keep the bear gallbladder, and give the rest of the flesh and blood to the disaster-stricken people nearby."

……

Coast of the South China Sea.

The sea breeze still carried a strong smell of blood.

After the second spiritual energy tide, the frequency of sea beasts landing increased.

Although the beast tide in Donghai Port has been suppressed, a large number of low-level sea beasts are still approaching human villages and towns along the coast of the South China Sea.

Outside a fishing village.

Hundreds of mutated sea crabs are crawling along the mudflats.

The leader was a red-armored sea centipede that was over 80 meters long.

Its carapace has a dark red sheen.

Ordinary shells landing on it only leave a small white mark.

The Ninth Division squad stationed on the coast has retreated to the village entrance.

A third-tier awakened being knelt on the ground, his left arm corroded by venom until only bone remained.

The red-armored sea centipede was about to rush into the village.

A Buddhist chant came from the sound of the tide.

"Amitabha."

A barefoot monk walked along the sea.

The seawater parted automatically at his feet.

The monk's name was Fakong.

The contemporary Dharma protector of Chaoyin Temple in Nanhai.

Sixty-three years old.

After the second spiritual tide, the thousand-year-old bronze bell of Chaoyin Temple rang 108 times on its own.

Fakong also used the remaining Buddhist traditions within the temple to cultivate the Vajra Body to the late stage of the fourth level.

The red-armored sea centipede noticed his approach and opened its mouth to spew out a cloud of red poisonous mist.

Fakong did not dodge; he clasped his hands together and his chest suddenly bulged.

"roar!"

The roar of the Buddhist lion erupted.

Golden sound waves swept across the sea.

The crimson poisonous fog instantly reversed direction.

The bodies of dozens of mutated sea crabs at the very front exploded simultaneously.

The massive body of the Red Armored Sea Centipede was thrown backward by the sonic boom.

Before it could get up again, Fakong was already in front of it.

The red-armored sea centipede opened its serrated mouth and bit down on Fakong's right arm.

Click!

A cracking sound rang out, but Fakong's arm was not broken; instead, the fangs on the mouthparts of the Crimson Armored Sea Centipede were shattered.

Fakong glanced at the white bite mark on his arm, raised his hand, and threw a punch from a distance, shouting angrily, "Beast! How dare you, a sea monster, run wild on human territory!"

With a single punch, the carapace on the head of the Red Armored Sea Centipede collapsed with a deafening roar.

The massive body was slammed directly onto the beach.

The entire coastline trembled.

Fakong withdrew his arm and turned to walk towards the injured ninth inning player.

Golden light fell on the corroded arm, forcing out the toxins little by little.

A young monk behind Fakong watched excitedly: "Master, you've saved people and subdued demons; this is sure to make the headlines today."

Fakong glared at him: "You're the one who talks too much nonsense. Hurry up and drag that sea centipede back."

The young monk was stunned and asked, puzzled, "Why drag him back to the temple?"

Fakong said irritably, "Are you stupid? Such a huge sea beast's flesh and blood can't be wasted. Besides, the disaster-stricken people nearby are short of food, so it's good to share it and solve the disaster relief problem."

The young monk muttered under his breath, "I thought you were going to eat it yourself."

Fakong rolled his eyes speechlessly and said irritably, "Idiot, I can't finish it all by myself. By the way, when I'm dividing the meat, remember to livestream it for me and make sure you film me looking good."

The young monk just said, "Fuck!"

Damn it, what happened to not seeking fame or fortune? Why are you being so high-profile? Fakong put his hands together and said, "Don't look at me like that. I'm just spreading Buddhism. When more people believe in Buddhism, that will be a great good."

The young monk was speechless. How could he not understand what "Fa Kong" meant? Wasn't it just about collecting a lot of money?

You secretly keep over a hundred old lovers, yet you act so sanctimonious. But the thought of them coming to kill sea monsters makes me feel...

The Dharma is unafraid of life and death.

For a moment, even the disciple had a complicated expression; this bald man was truly a strange person.