The situation below was indeed making the Cyan Dragon lose a bit of face. He had assumed that once he manifested as a Divine Dragon, mortals would fall over themselves to kowtow and worship him, so overwhelmed with excitement they’d be beside themselves.
But... but reality was always cruel. A dragon’s plans were no match for heaven’s.
The current scenario was completely different from what Zhang Qinglong had imagined—the difference was like night and day.
Down below, the people were certainly excited, but there was absolutely no sign of worship. One young man, overcome with emotion, was just about to let his knees go weak when an elder beside him landed a resounding slap and shouted, "You little brat, what do you think you’re doing?"
"Worshipping the Divine Dragon!"
"Worship my ass!" The elder landed another slap, cursing, "We believe in Lord Snake King! Why would we kneel to some dragon? What if Lord Snake King gets upset because you knelt to a dragon?"
"This..." The young man was speechless. ’Would Lord Snake King really get jealous?’ he wondered.
The elder said earnestly, "Don’t forget, if Lord Snake King hadn’t manifested, our Bai Town would no longer exist."
It went without saying that the older generation revered the Snake King even more. They were unwavering believers. Since they had pledged their faith to the Snake King in this life, they would not worship any other animal totem or Divine Spirit.
Similar scenes played out in many parts of Bai Town. Young people who excitedly tried to kneel were all stopped by their elders.
It was just as the saying goes: a servant cannot serve two masters.
"I get it now! To believe in the Snake King is to gain eternal life!" a quick-witted young man blurted out, making many of the elders smile in satisfaction.
Among the dense, dark sea of people, not a single one knelt. This made Zhang Qinglong very awkward. Extremely awkward. As the noblest animal totem of Huaxia, one of the Four Great Divine Beasts, he had actually been given the cold shoulder.
A major upset, at that. This was not the outcome he had wanted.
Up on the temple tower, Tu Xiao’an roared with laughter. The Cyan Dragon had tried to act all high and mighty, but this attempt had clearly been a failure. He didn’t even have a graceful way out.
Since ancient times, Dragons have been noble, domineering, and majestic, but at the same time, they are tragic figures. It’s as if any creature in the Three Realms wanting to make a name for itself had to step on a dragon’s shoulders to get there, otherwise they couldn’t prove how awesome they were.
It’s said that dragon meat from the heavens is a delicacy on par with donkey meat on earth. Unfortunately, legends also say that dragons were easier to kill than donkeys. The ancients ate and ate, and by the time the modern era rolled around, dragons had gone extinct, becoming creatures of myth that no longer appeared in the world.
Of course, that was all just a joke.
Dragon culture in Huaxia has always been the ultimate symbol of status and position. However, this was Bai Town, a place that had revered the snake as its totem for a thousand years. Moreover, the emergence of a snake like Tu Xiao’an had made the people of Bai Town worship the Snake King with unparalleled devotion.
To put it bluntly, no matter how awesome the Divine Dragon was, it had never protected the people of Bai Town. What did it have to do with them?
"Zhang Qinglong, what are you still standing up there for? Come on down, stop making a fool of yourself," Tu Xiao’an’s teasing voice drifted up.
Zhang Qinglong’s current form was incomparably majestic, yet he couldn’t see a single person kowtowing or worshiping him. The injustice of it all was galling.
"Master, how about I go take a tour somewhere else?"
He’d finally figured it out. He just wasn’t suited to the local conditions in Bai Town.
Tu Xiao’an rolled his eyes. ’Does he not understand the concept of accomplishing great deeds while remaining hidden?’
"Go to the entrance at the border of Bai Town’s territory and stand guard. If you discover any Fierce Beasts, kill them on the spot," Tu Xiao’an said lightly.
"Yes!"
Joking aside, Zhang Qinglong obediently transformed into a massive streak of azure light and shot toward the entrance of Bai Town. From that day forward, an imposing Azure Dragon Statue stood at the town’s border entrance. Slender, with cyan scales, horns, long whiskers, and four legs, it was so lifelike that it inspired a formless, overwhelming urge to bow down and worship.
The legend of the Bai Town Snake King protecting from within and the Cyan Dragon guarding from without began to spread far and wide.
Afterward, everyone said the people of Bai Town must have had smoke rising from their ancestral graves. To receive such treatment, their luck was just too good.
Tu Xiao’an was quite devoted to his hometown. If he could, he would even post the Four Great Divine Beasts to guard the north, south, east, and west corners of Bai Town, making it an impenetrable fortress.
Unfortunately, he had only evolved the Cyan Dragon so far. The White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird were still to come.
He already had a candidate for the White Tiger: his subordinate, Golden Pupils, who possessed the might of a tiger and the presence of a lion, was the best subject for evolution. As for the Azure Owl, it would evolve into either a Phoenix or the Vermilion Bird. There wasn’t much difference between the two, as both could be endowed with the Flame Element.
As for the Black Tortoise, that was a problem. In all his time, Tu Xiao’an hadn’t encountered any turtle-like creatures.
’Do I have to go catch one from the sea?’
’One step at a time,’ he thought. He still hadn’t dealt with the Bull Demon King’s bloodline yet. He didn’t have enough Faith Points and would have to wait a couple of days.
Once Bai Town was completely stabilized, Tu Xiao’an’s next task was to find the real Taotie. Otherwise, Wencheng would never know peace, and the same went for Bai Town.
Even with the Cyan Dragon standing guard, having to deal with an endless stream of the Taotie’s avatars was no long-term solution.
「Two days later.」
The growth rate of Tu Xiao’an’s followers had slowed noticeably, even reaching a point of stagnation. After all, the effect of online videos was naturally different from him appearing in the flesh to vanquish demons in a region.
But even so, his number of followers was approaching the two-million mark.
His Faith Points were accumulating rapidly, reaching a total of 150 million in just two days.
After eating and chatting with his mom and older sister, Tu Xiao’an stood on the temple tower and summoned the Bull Demon King.
"Master, is it time to evolve this old bull?"
The Bull Demon King had been waiting for this day for far too long.
"How does the Primordial Bull Demon King bloodline sound?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Whatever you say, Master!"
Are you kidding? The Bull Demon King! He was the great ancestor of the Bull Race from the Primordial Era. If the Bull Demon King could evolve into *the* Bull Demon King, it would be like a pheasant transforming into a phoenix.
At this moment, the Bull Demon King was so excited he could barely contain himself. His huge, bell-like eyes gazed at Tu Xiao’an, filled with tender affection as he repeatedly sent flirtatious glances his way.
Tu Xiao’an nearly turned and threw up. ’Does he have to be so disgusting?’
Speaking of subduing the Bull Demon King, it had all been a series of strange coincidences. In that moment, Tu Xiao’an’s thoughts drifted to Luo Ziyun. It was she who had led him to the Bull Demon King’s villa, resulting in him unexpectedly acquiring this bull.
Ever since he’d acquired the Bull Demon King, the demon had been a great help. According to the old bull himself, forgetting everything else, he had handed over three hundred million right after being subdued.
That was hard cash. Moreover, whenever there was trouble, he was always the first to charge in.
In truth, Tu Xiao’an should have evolved the Bull Demon King’s bloodline long ago.
He just never had enough Faith Points. After all, the Bull Demon King was a Rank Three Demon Spirit and had long since become extraordinary. Any evolution for him would be in the direction of a Divine Beast.
The cost was relatively high.
Now, everything was ready. Tu Xiao’an secretly communicated with the system and spent his entire fortune to purchase the Primordial Bull Demon King bloodline.
"Bestow bloodline immediately?"
Tu Xiao’an’s eyes lit up. He looked at the eagerly waiting Bull Demon King and declared, "Bestow!"
"Heh heh, this old bull is finally getting his evolution!"
As he spoke, a startling light enveloped the Bull Demon King’s body. It was warm and pleasant, making the bull feel comfortable all over and causing him to let out a series of strange, excited bellows.
Under the enveloping light, the Bull Demon King’s tall and mighty body slowly bent over. He then manifested his true form on the spot, turning into a black bull with thick hide and tough flesh.
Immediately after, Tu Xiao’an saw the black bull’s fur fall off rapidly, leaving it completely bare. Then, its body began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye, getting smaller and smaller.
Finally, the light flared brilliantly. Tu Xiao’an was momentarily blinded. He blinked, and a strange expression crept across his face.
A giant egg had appeared before him.
"System, can you give me a reasonable explanation? Why does a mammal like a bull have to turn into an egg? What kind of crazy maneuver is this?"