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

With that thought in mind, Chu Zhou stopped wasting words and immediately unleashed his aura. The next moment, countless underground water veins beneath Black Dragon Lake lit up simultaneously.

The cyan light spread outwards along the water flow at an extremely fast speed, taking only a few breaths.

Centered on Heilong Mountain, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and even some large artificial water bodies within a radius of 500 kilometers all shimmered with a faint bluish light.

The calm water surface gradually became smooth, like mirrors embedded in the earth.

Immediately afterwards, everything that was happening in Heilong Lake was clearly reflected on every part of the water's surface.

A silvery-blue lotus rooted itself in the heart of the lake, with eight enormous lotus leaves covering its surface.

Zhou Zhenshan hovered a thousand meters in the air, with a golden-red sun constantly condensing behind him.

The lake shore was surrounded by the demon clan members and members of the Ninth Bureau from the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone.

This confrontation, which took place deep in the Heilong Mountains, was revealed for the first time without any concealment to the people of several cities and dozens of counties.

Linjiang City.

On the banks of the Linjiang River.

It was evening.

As people finished get off work, cars drove slowly along the riverside road. Along the riverbank, many elderly people were taking walks, young people were jogging, and citizens were fishing.

A middle-aged man was squatting on the shore, tidying up his fishing rod.

Suddenly, he noticed that the fishing float, which had been swaying with the waves, had stopped moving, and it wasn't just his float.

The entire river stopped flowing at that moment.

"What happened?"

The middle-aged man stood up instinctively.

The next second, a blue light rose from the bottom of the river, and the entire riverside area was covered by a layer of blue gauze, illuminating both banks at the same time.

Vehicles on the roadside slowed down, and many citizens stopped to take pictures with their mobile phones.

"The river is glowing!"

"Is the third spiritual energy tide coming?"

"Notify the Ninth Inning immediately!"

Just as everyone was filled with surprise and doubt, the blue-tinged river surface slowly reflected the scene of Black Dragon Lake.

The first thing to appear was a giant blue lotus that covered the entire surface of the river.

Eight bluish-silver lotus leaves swayed in the wind.

Above the lotus flower stood a figure shrouded in golden-red light.

In the crowd, a young man stared at the figure for a few seconds, then suddenly shouted excitedly, "Zhou Zhenshan, that's Director Zhou!"

"He's the one in the video of the Battle of Donghai Port!"

This statement immediately caused an uproar.

The beast tide at Donghai Port three days ago is known to almost everyone in the entire Dragon Kingdom.

The scene of Zhou Zhenshan breaking through to the sixth level in the face of battle and directly blocking the Black Tide King was repeatedly broadcast on various platforms.

For ordinary people in the Dragon Kingdom

He was not only the first human to reach the sixth rank.

He was a hero who had just saved hundreds of thousands of people in Donghai Port, but now, this strongest human being has appeared in the sky above Black Dragon Mountain.

And what he was facing was the Lord of the Azure Lotus, who had just broken through to the seventh rank.

Why did Director Zhou go to Black Dragon Mountain?

"Could they be preparing for war?"

"If a fight really breaks out, will Linjiang City be affected?"

"Didn't the Lord of the Azure Lotus help kill the Black Tide King three days ago?"

"Does anyone know what happened?"

The crowd gradually became restless.

Many people immediately called their families, telling them to stay away from the riverbank and be prepared to evacuate at any time.

Some people showed no fear at all, instead pointing their phone cameras at the river and trembling with excitement.

The strongest human at the sixth rank, and the master of the seventh-rank Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone.

This level of confrontation had previously existed only in fantasy.

Now it was actually happening right in front of them. The Ninth Branch of the Linjiang City Public Security Bureau quickly received the report, and patrol cars drove towards the riverside area.

The radio then began to broadcast over the city.

"Please remain calm, citizens of Linjiang. There is currently no conflict between Heilongshan and the Ninth Bureau. This confrontation is a test of strength between the two sides regarding their cooperation in the Lingnan waters. Please do not crowd or enter the blocked waters without authorization."

The broadcast echoed repeatedly along both banks of the Linjiang River.

Upon hearing that it wasn't war, the citizens who were about to leave stopped in their tracks.

However, many more people then headed to the riverbank from nearby streets, residential areas, and shopping malls.

In just a few minutes.

The riverside walkway was already packed with people.

Many vehicles were parked directly on the side of the road.

The driver and passengers got off the bus and looked up at the huge water mirror that stretched across the entire Linjiang River.

Some people carried their children on their shoulders, some set up communicators, and some elderly people wore reading glasses, afraid of missing any detail in the water mirror.

Everyone knows.

This scene will likely be forever etched in history.

A young girl with a ponytail asked nervously, "What does 'strength verification' mean?"

A man wearing glasses next to him pushed up his glasses.

"To put it bluntly, it's like the Lord of the Azure Lotus is arm wrestling with Zhou Ju, a sixth-tier expert from our side."

The girl paused, somewhat puzzled, "What if Director Zhou loses?"

The man gazed at the silvery-blue lotus in the water mirror, his expression complex, and said, "Losing means that from today onwards, the Lingnan region will no longer be entirely under the control of humans."

Upon hearing this, many people around fell silent.

In the past, no matter how dangerous Heilong Mountain was, it was ultimately just a forbidden zone deep in the mountains. But after the changes in the Lingnan Mountains, everything became different.

If Zhou Zhenshan loses, it will affect the lives and safety of countless people living in the Lingnan area.

In addition, the drinking water for tens of millions of people, agricultural irrigation, and reservoir power generation will also be affected.

Once the Qinglian Forbidden Zone truly takes control of the natural waters of Lingnan, its tentacles will extend from Heilong Mountain to every city.

Some people are worried, while others don't think it's a bad thing.

An elderly man with gray hair shook his head and said, "If the Lord of the Azure Lotus really wanted to harm Linjiang City, he could have done it long ago."

"Last time, it was His retinue that helped hold back many of the beasts."

Another middle-aged man retorted coldly, "Helping is helping, and power is power; they can't be confused. A beast is still a beast; who knows if it will change in the future?"

The two wanted to continue arguing.

The scene on the river suddenly changed.

The golden-red sun behind Zhou Zhenshan became increasingly solid.

Even though it's hundreds of kilometers away, it's just a projection of water veins.

People on both sides of the river still felt a tightness in their chests, as if a huge rock was pressing on their hearts.

The argument gradually subsided.

Everyone looked up.

From the crowd, someone shouted first, "Go, Director Zhou!"

Immediately afterwards, more and more voices rose from the riverbank.

"Keep it up, Director Zhou!"

"Let Him see, we humans also have a sixth rank!"

"Director Zhou, don't lose too badly!"

The moment the last sentence was uttered, the people around immediately turned and glared angrily. The young man who had spoken froze, quickly correcting himself, "No, I meant, Director Zhou will definitely win!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

The previously oppressive atmosphere eased slightly.

However, the tension in everyone's eyes did not lessen in the slightest. Clearly, they had no confidence whatsoever in this test by humans against the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone.

……

Linjiang City.

A secure neighborhood arranged by the Ninth Bureau.

Lin Jianguo stood on the balcony, gazing at the ornamental pond in the center of the residential area.

The artificial pool, which was originally only a few dozen meters wide, has now been completely transformed into a blue mirror.

Everything in Heilong Lake is clearly reflected on the water's surface.

Almost all the residents in the community came out of their homes.

Someone was standing downstairs.

Someone is leaning on the balcony.

Even several members of the Ninth Bureau, who were responsible for the security of the community, couldn't help but turn their attention to Shui Jing.

Yang Xiulan came out of the kitchen, carrying freshly cut fruit in her hands.

She saw the azure-silver lotus in the center of the water mirror and stopped in her tracks: "Qingxue, is that the Lord of the Azure Lotus?"

Yang Xiulan was also shocked, and she and Lin Jianguo stared wide-eyed, even though this was the second time the spiritual energy had been restored.

But in their eyes, such a terrifying phenomenon covering a kilometer was truly exaggerated; it was no plant, but a miracle.

Lin Qingxue stood at the front of the balcony, her expression complex, and said, "It is the Lord of the Azure Lotus."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianguo asked in a deep voice, "Why did Director Zhou of your Ninth Bureau choose to fight him?"

Lin Qingxue briefly recounted the information she had just received.

Upon learning that the Qinglian Forbidden Zone wanted to acquire management rights to the natural waterways of Lingnan, Lin Jianguo's expression visibly turned serious: "All natural waterways, including Linjiang?"

"include."

Lin Jianguo asked, "So, from now on, Linjiang City will have to depend on Heilongshan's attitude regarding water supply?"

Lin Qingxue said, "It seems unlikely at the moment. The intelligence reports indicate that urban water supply, farmland irrigation, dams, and military waterways will remain under human management."

"What the Lord of the Azure Lotus wants is control over the aquatic beasts, the right to deal with pollution, and priority development rights for spiritual vein resources."

Jianguo fell silent. Although he was just an ordinary person, he understood that these powers did not seem to affect the city's livelihood.

In reality, this means that all the strange beasts born in natural waters in Lingnan may be incorporated into the Qinglian Forbidden Zone in the future.

Spirit stones, spirit ores, and special spiritual herbs that appear in underground water veins will also be given priority to Black Dragon Mountain.

Over time.

The Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone will only get stronger.

Yang Xiulan, however, did not consider so much.

She just stared nervously at Zhou Zhenshan, who was suspended in mid-air.

"Could they end up killing each other?"

Lin Qingxue did not answer immediately. The Azure Lotus Mark within her body was heating up slightly, and through this mark...

She was able to sense the changes in Heilong Mountain more clearly than others.

At this moment, the consciousness of the Lord of the Azure Lotus was no longer confined to Black Dragon Lake; that vast spiritual power was extending along countless water veins.

Every drop of water in Linjiang, Nanjiang, the surrounding reservoirs, and even the community's landscape pond seems to have become part of Chuzhou.

The golden-red sun behind Zhou Zhenshan was indeed powerful.

Even if it's just through the blue lotus mark.

Lin Qingxue could feel a scorching pressure, comparable to that of the Lord of the Azure Lotus.

That great sun was more like a ball of fire falling into the ocean; no matter how intense it was, it could never burn the entire sea dry.

Lin Qingxue said heavily, "Don't worry, if the Lord of the Azure Lotus wanted to kill Director Zhou, he would have done it already. The fact that nothing has happened means that the other party does not want to kill Director Zhou."

Yang Xiulan breathed a sigh of relief, but Lin Jianguo sensed another layer of meaning in her words: "Are you so sure he'll lose?"

Lin Qingxue shook her head and smiled wryly, "Dad, given the terrifying phenomenon of the Azure Lotus Lord's breakthrough just now, he's probably already at the seventh level. Do you think Director Zhou has a chance?"

Lin Jianguo frowned even more deeply and said, "Zhou Zhenshan is the first sixth-level expert in the Dragon Kingdom. In the battle of Donghai Port, he directly blocked the Black Tide King."

"Now we don't even have a chance to fight the Lord of the Azure Lotus?"

Lin Qingxue did not say anything more.

Seeing this, Lin Jianguo slumped into his chair, utterly exhausted. He finally sighed and said, "The world has changed after all. I hope the future won't be too bad, otherwise I really don't know what to do."

"I used to think that I would drive a taxi every day to support Xiaoxue's college education, cure your mother's illness, and then the spiritual energy would revive and your mother's illness would be cured. That would be a good thing, but also..."

A moment of silence fell over the room.

Yes, everything is changing, and no one can predict what the future will hold. Let's cherish the present.