Lu Zheng's expression was calm, Lin Wan's expression was calm, Yue Honghai's expression was calm, but Ao Kuo's expression wasn't calm at all.

Staring blankly at Lu Zheng, Ao Kuo looked bewildered and said, "Brother Lu, how did your cultivation improve so much?"

He remembered clearly that last year during New Year at the East Sea Jade Dragon Palace, although Lu Zheng had already surpassed Ao Qi and was stronger than him...

He wasn't this much stronger!

Judging by how Lu Zheng easily restricted two top experts who were hardly weaker than himself, could he even fight him with one hand?

"Oh, just another fortuitous encounter last year, coincidentally had some advancement," Lu Zheng laughed pleasantly.

Ao Kuo, "..."

Everyone here is a master with a hundred years of Dao practice, and yet someone can easily have such opportune advancements; are you the favored son of heaven?

I've long heard how the geniuses of the Human Race are terrifying; today's encounter proved their reputation is well-deserved!

But now is not the time to dwell on these matters. No matter how powerful Lu Zheng is, he remains a friend. The relationship between the Eastern Sea Dragon Race and the Central Plains Dynasty is also good.

So, Ao Kuo collected his thoughts and turned to look at the two individuals in black robes who aimed to seize his position and even harbored the intent to eliminate him.

"Who are you? With your level of Dao practice, surely you are not nameless rogues. Why do you seek to usurp the position of Water God of Gui Ling River, even daring to plot against me?" Ao Kuo asked coldly.

It's a joke; two demons with seven or eight hundred years of Dao practice could be considered pivotal members within any force.

This level of cultivation could easily secure positions like Mountain God or River God if they sought refuge with the Da Jing Court, so why conspire against Ao Kuo?

This act is an affront to both the Dragon Race and the Da Jing Court. Ao Kuo doesn't believe these two black-robed individuals are out of their minds, so the only explanation is...

These two are either enemies of the Da Jing Court or enemies of the Dragon Race.

The two black-robed individuals exchanged glances, baring their teeth and their eyes flashing with uncertainty.

They never expected their foolproof plan to encounter such a mishap.

With their combined strength, not only did they fail to kill the Dragon expert coming to take over as Water God of Gui Ling River, but they also ended up captured here themselves.

They looked at Lu Zheng with disbelief; who is this person?

Seeing the two remain silent, Ao Kuo squinted his eyes and stepped forward, tapping one of them on the shoulder.

"Pa!"

Dragon Power surged into their bodies like a primordial beast, rampaging through their flesh and bones, tearing their meridians apart.

"Ah!!!"

"Urgh!!!"

The two black-robed individuals screamed in agony, writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.

The True Dragon Power is one of the most supreme forces of this world, and when used as punishment, it inflicts pain that touches both the Spirit and the body's meridians, too harsh for most cultivators.

After a moment, Ao Kuo retracted the Dragon Power, looking at them coldly and demanding, "Speak! Do not force me to continue tormenting you, or I will perform a Soul Search!"

These two are not weak; to perform a Soul Search, their Divine Souls must be weakened significantly, and even then the search might not be complete.

Unless the power gap is enormous, or one possesses a specialized soul-searching technique, Soul Search is no easy task.

If it were too easy, this world would have no secrets left.

The two black-robed individuals, having endured the torment of True Dragon Power, were filled with lingering fear and immense pain.

"My lord... we two brothers cultivated as spirits in the upper reaches of the Gui Ling River, but accustomed to being untamed, we dislike constraints, so we didn't want to serve the court. However, we did want some incense offerings, thus planned to occupy the Water Mansion..."

The other black-robed individual said, "We didn't expect the new Water God to be from the True Dragon Race, so we didn't specifically target you."

"Now as your captives, our fate is in your hands, and we naturally leave our fate to your discretion," the first black-robed individual licked his lips, casting a cunning glance.

The second black-robed individual nodded, "If you wish to kill us, it's up to you; if not, we will serve under your command, at your disposal."

"Hmm?"

Ao Kuo couldn't help but blink, is it possible to recruit them under his command?

He was well aware of the circumstances under which Yue Honghai joined Lu Zheng's ranks.

"Would you allow me to set restrictions within your Divine Souls?" Ao Kuo asked.

"Of course!" They nodded in unison.

"Good!"

Ao Kuo nodded, having no reason to refuse such a favorable turn of events.

However, just as he was about to act, Lu Zheng reached out and stopped him.

"What's the matter?" Ao Kuo turned his head to ask.

"Aren't you worried that there might already be someone else's mark in their Sea of Consciousness?" Lu Zheng asked.

"What?" Ao Kuo was taken aback, his pupils constricting, "Do they intend to commit suicide?"

If there were already someone else's mark within their Sea of Consciousness, any new mark placed would immediately trigger the pre-existing one's response.

Should a new mark enter the Sea of Consciousness, what does it imply? It indicates the person has been captured; what follows? Surely triggering the mark to silence them!

Lu Zheng had set marks in Yue Honghai's Sea of Consciousness before; he was quite familiar with the process. Of course, Lu Zheng hadn't set up a failsafe against Yue Honghai, but that doesn't mean he couldn't.

"Whether they're telling the truth or not can be revealed by bringing other people from the Water Mansion in for questioning,"

Lu Zheng said casually, "If they truly were demons from the upper reaches of the Gui Ling River, there's no way everyone in the Water Mansion wouldn't know about it, right?"

"Right!" Ao Kuo clapped his hands and went out to fetch people immediately.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the two black-robed individuals drastically changed, glaring at Lu Zheng with anger.

Lu Zheng arched an eyebrow, "It seems I guessed correctly; before dying, you intended to pull a last-ditch scheme on Ao Kuo. Does this suggest the power behind you is quite formidable?"

"Hmph! Our master's plans are meticulous; you won't get any information out of us."

"Heh, disciple of the White Cloud Temple, soon our master shall rule over the White Cloud Temple, razing White Cloud Mountain!"

The two black-robed individuals sneered at Lu Zheng, uttering threats.

"Such grandiose talk, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?" Lu Zheng scoffed, "Who is he? Dare to say it and let me hear it; do you believe I can wipe him out by bringing just anyone?"

Even Si Lingxi wouldn't dare claim to rule over the White Cloud Temple, what do you amount to?

Even if a major figure stands behind them, Lu Zheng doesn't believe they could surpass Si Lingxi's power.

With Si Lingxi, Lu Zheng dares to go anywhere in the Great Jing World.

Such confidence!

Just then, Ao Kuo returned, dragging one person with each hand, striding forward impetuously.

"Damn, these two aren't subordinates of my clan uncle; they are two spirits they conscripted midway, posing as others. The real Bei Yue Hai, Fan Yuwen, and the five hundred Water Soldiers from the Water Mansion are all confined in the backyard fishpond by them."