In the first ten years of the Jiazi test, the Jiahu Dragon King gave all the dragon sons and dragon girls except Ao Lin and Ao Xia whipping punishments, ranging from ten to thirty lashes.
This is not an ordinary whip in the mortal world, but a dragon whip used by the dragon clan to target sinful dragons. If one is lost, the dragon clan will investigate it thoroughly.
A whipping will not kill you or seriously hurt you, but it will hurt for three days and three nights. It is the kind of pain that will be remembered forever and penetrate deep into the bone marrow.
Because it was the negligence of the young dragons that caused disasters in the mortal world, a large part of the decline in the fortune of Jiahu Dragon Palace came from this.
Of course, the Dragon King also understands that the young dragons have to be given time. This is not just because Ao Lin and Ao Xia are barely qualified.
…
In the second ten years, Zhou Bai had read through all the books in the Dragon Palace Library, and he only had to memorize them backwards.
In the past ten years, the young dragon has grown up a lot, and may be called a little dragon.
The number of times they came to visit Zhou Bai decreased a lot, and instead they put more energy into keeping an eye on the jurisdiction of the mortal world, fearing that they would not notice when the water vapor increased or decreased drastically.
Moreover, we also strive for perfection and excellence in the rainfall tasks specified by Dragon Palace.
No one wants to try the feeling of beating a dragon whip again.
The fortune of the Jiahu Dragon Palace slowly recovered, and new incense was added to the dragon temples in Fang County. People began to regain their confidence in the Dragon God who was in charge of rainfall.
At the end of the last ten years, the Dragon King of Kingswood did not show up in person, but only asked a maid to bring the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to convey the order.
"No merit, no fault, no reward, no punishment, hope to keep up the good work."
The other dragons all breathed a sigh of relief, but Ao Lin and Ao Xia were a little dissatisfied. Logically speaking, their performance was a level higher than that of their peers, so why were they not rewarded.
So Ao Lin took Ao Xia to Zhou Bai and complained: "Master, is it unfair for my father to do this?"
"If you didn't get into trouble, how could the Dragon Palace alarm the Dragon King like it did in the first ten years? And the Prime Minister Turtle and even some water gods who are responsible for reporting the results would think how well you two little dragons did?"
"Compared with previous young masters, you were barely qualified in the previous ten years, and you can only be considered mediocre in these ten years."
"If you want to be recognized by Dragon Palace, you need to do better!"
…
In the third decade, Zhou Bai left Fangjun for a trip. He wanted to see what the areas farther away were like.
Could it be that other scholars came to Fangjun and Jiahu Dragon Palace?
However, unlike what he imagined, the border of Fangjun was not an invisible barrier. He easily left Fangjun with an escort team heading to the capital of Shenglong Kingdom.
With a territory of thirteen states and thousands of miles, it is as big as an ordinary dynasty on Blue Star. It is a very normal country.
So, Zhou Bai began his journey to Thang Long Kingdom.
Read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles, get rid of the dust in your chest, and naturally camp in the hills and valleys.
There is no point in studying hard behind closed doors anymore. He should come back to digest it after experiencing more.
Zhou Bai didn't have much to teach the Dragon Clan students. In the second ten years, he served more as a spiritual mentor.
This move also hopes that the dragons can get rid of their dependence on him, mature faster, and take charge of themselves.
The passage of time and the change of seasons, regardless of people's will, this decade still passes very quickly.
Zhou Bai returned to Fangjun again, only to realize that things had changed. The private school in the countryside was taken over by another master, and the Mengtong whom he had taught was now an adult and it was difficult to recognize him.
In the third decade, the little dragons who left Zhou Bai were very uncomfortable, but they still did better.
Basically, there are no droughts or floods in Fang County due to rainfall errors.
Prime Minister Turtle of the Dragon Palace expressed his approval and reported the results truthfully.
Although the Dragon King of Jiahu is still not out of seclusion, he also asked a dragon concubine to come forward on his behalf and hold a banquet to reward the dragon son and dragon girl who have made great achievements in making clouds and rain.
After learning that Zhou Bai had returned and the Dragon Palace banquet had just ended, fifteen little dragons came to visit.
"Master, where have you been? We are so worried..."
"Bah, Master, you have so many magical powers. What can happen if you walk in this world?"
"Master, don't you miss us?"
Looking at a group of little dragons that were gradually losing their youthfulness, Zhou Bai felt a little emotional and relieved.
"There are half a dozen left. I'm watching you and won't leave."
…
The fourth decade.
After thirty years of hard work, the dragons seem to be very comfortable with the task of rainfall in these ten years.
Zhou Bai quietly followed and observed, and found that Ao Lin and Ao Xia, two of his most popular disciples, could accurately grasp the amount of rainfall to a certain point.
On this day, the Dragon Palace issued a rainfall order as usual according to regulations.
"Ao Lin listened to the order. The clouds will move at midnight tomorrow and rain will fall at noon. It will not stop until sunset. The rainfall will be four feet, two inches and thirty-six points."
"This rainfall is related to human sacrifices and prayers for rain, so there must be no mistakes!"
Ao Lin, who had already shown some power and was gradually rising to prominence, did not show any disrespect to the Dragon Palace envoy. Instead, he was still respectful and polite: "Ao Lin accepts the order."
The same scene happened in various places in Fang County. The messengers from the Dragon Palace ran around one after another regardless of their fatigue, making sure to convey the decree of rain to every dragon son and dragon girl.
They also remember the last lesson.
You work hard all day long, and you are vigilant at night, and you are strict and blameless.
Halfway through the Jiazi, the Dragon King has become more and more concerned about their performance, and a word from the messenger may cause them to lose points.
There has been no rainfall for many days, causing a drought in Fang County. The water in the Pitang canal is close to drying up, which is about to affect the harvest.
So the official organized people from all counties to go to the local Dragon King Temple to hold a grand ceremony and pray for the Dragon King to show mercy.
Of course, the Dragon King of Jiahu knew about such a major event in advance, so he issued a decree to notify Long Zi and Long Nu who were still in the Jiazi assessment.
In the clouds, the dragon sons and dragon ladies listened to the condolences of mortals and felt compassion.
"There is a severe drought. Lord Dragon, please open your eyes and see the world. If it doesn't rain, how will you spend this year's cold winter?"
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.We have no food left. We are waiting for the autumn harvest. Please give us rain!"
"Please send down the rain from all the Dragon Gods. The food in my field will be mature in just one month..."
However, even if they couldn't bear it, they still had to make clouds and rain according to the time of the rain law.
Ao Lin was anxious and stared at the direction of the sun to estimate the time. Finally, when the festival was at its climax, the time had come.
A dragon's roar echoed through the sky, responding to the people's prayers.
The wind suddenly picked up, the sky gradually darkened, and the white clouds were stained with a layer of ink.
"I knew there were real dragons hidden in Jiahu. They are all righteous gods who care about us mortals!"
"It is going to rain……"
As soon as noon arrived, raindrops as big as beans began to fall. This was a heavy rain, and it was a veritable rain for the drought-stricken Fang County.
At sunset, the rainfall in the Jin County area had just reached four feet two inches and thirty-six points, and Ao Lin turned his hands to disperse the water vapor in the clouds to prevent excessive rainfall.
Looking at the vibrant land and the ordinary people who were grateful to the dragon shadows in the clouds, Ao Lin felt a surge of excitement in his heart. Is this a blessing to the world?
At the end of ten years, due to the joint efforts of the fifteen little dragons, the incense in the dragon temples in various places increased greatly, and the fortune of the dragon palace returned to its peak state.
Moreover, the entire Fang County was safe and sound, free from drought and floods, and gradually became prosperous.
The Dragon King finally issued an edict to praise them, thinking that they could protect a whole county.
Among them, the Dragon Son and Dragon Girl who performed the best were specially selected, and Ao Lin and Ao Xia were naturally included.
…
The fifth decade, the sixth decade.
Whether it was his past life or this life, Zhou Bai had never been so immersed in thinking and learning as he was now.
In the third decade, Zhou Bai traveled and expanded his knowledge, while in the fourth decade, he digested and comprehended everything.
Zhou Bai felt that describing himself as "learned and rich" is not enough. It can be said that he has read and understood all the classic knowledge of mortals.
We have seen almost everything that needs to be seen in the picture scroll world.
Unless those Confucian saints are used to suppress him now, his knowledge of ancient and modern times is probably nothing more than this.
So in the remaining twenty years, Zhou Bai began to specialize in Taoism, which was even more important in Chunwei.
After all, the ultimate purpose of the imperial examination is to provide talents to heaven, and the imperial court only picks up the rest.
With the experiences and trials of the past forty years, the dragons have developed a certain bond with the land of Fangjun. The more they see, the stronger their sense of responsibility for this land becomes.
Protecting the people of this land seems to have become a matter of course.
They completed the rainfall task seriously and worked hard to maintain the water vapor balance in Fang County.
Over time.
When the Jiazi test was in its fiftieth year, Fangjun had become a well-known land of plenty.
With good weather and good harvests, Fang County's population of one million began to grow rapidly.
There are immigrants who come here because of its reputation, and there are also local people who start to multiply in large numbers because they don't have to worry about food and clothing.
One and a half million, two million, three million...
For Fang County, which has few plain areas, there is simply no more place to host the excess population, so people began to focus on the mountainous areas with the most areas in Fang County.
In the beginning, it was a small mountain, and the entire mountain was carved out to build houses and dig terraces.
A large amount of firewood, rare herbs, and game animals continued to flow into the market, and business travelers from other counties continued to come and go, and they were greatly welcomed.
For a time, the people who moved to the hill not only did not live in poverty, but also gained a fortune.
But there are not enough hills that are suitable for living and easy to develop, so we can only move on to the big mountains.
There are ferocious beasts and poisonous insects in the deep mountains and old forests. They are not afraid of this. People who have no place to live in Fang County decide to use fire.
Burning the mountains and forests to obtain habitable land, the Fangjun government could not stop it, nor did it want to stop it.
They must be given a way to survive, otherwise they will become bandits and harm the local area, making it more difficult for the government to deal with them.
In this way, a large amount of mountain forests were cleared out, leaving bare patches everywhere, which was perfect for the human race to outline.
The extra population has a place to live, and people from other counties who are prohibited from entering can be let in again.
The more people there are, the stronger the productivity will be, and the development will be more prosperous. How could Fangjun's parents and officials not understand this truth.
They even thought that Fang County might hope to become the most powerful county in the country. What a political achievement this would be.
Of course, some highly intelligent people have warned that without forests, Fangjun would be unable to bear the consequences of floods and droughts.
But the people of Fangjun, who have long been accustomed to the protection of the Dragon God, cannot listen to such words. The new generation does not even know what it is like to suffer from hunger.
Floods and droughts follow people, they don't know about hunger, and there is no shortage of food. This is called Fangjun Tianfu!
This is the pride of Fangjun people, and they take the good weather for granted.
However……
In the last year of the Jiazi test, the mountains and forests were mined excessively, and the consequences of soil erosion finally broke out.
Dazzling white lightning tore apart the night sky across Fang County, followed by deafening thunder rolling in from the sky.
Countless Fangjun people's hearts skipped a beat, and they all woke up from their dreams. Is there a big disaster coming? !
They opened the door and saw the roaring wind carrying the torrential rain, crazily hitting the hills full of houses.
This is a heavy rainstorm naturally formed by heaven and earth, which is completely different from the previous mild rainfall.
The sharp increase in rain washed away the last few forest trees. These lonely big trees tried to use their roots to fix the water and soil, but they were ultimately unable to support themselves.
The heavy night rain directly washed away countless mountain tops, causing mudslides and even floods.
"Help, Dragon God, help us!"
"Stop the rain, we will make offerings to you..."
Seeing that a large number of "innocent" people were calling the Dragon God again, praying for the clouds to clear up and the rain to stop, the dragons immediately wanted to cast a spell to disperse the dark clouds.
Suddenly, more than a dozen little dragons emerged from the clouds. Their expressions were impatient and full of worry.
The Jiazi test is about to end, and the result is such a big mistake, who can be in a good mood.
A bolt of lightning pierced the night sky again, and the people looking at the sky to pray were overjoyed because they saw the shadow of the dragon.
"The Dragon Gods will take action soon. They won't watch us suffer!" Most of the people in Fang County thought so at this time.
After hearing this, the little dragons didn't know why, but felt their chests felt tight.
But they still followed their custom and decided to help, and the howling wind and clouds rolled up.
At this moment, a yellow dragon and a white dragon stopped them, it was Ao Lin and Ao Xia.
Ao Lin shouted loudly: "Have you forgotten that when the human race excavated the mountains and forests, Master said that this was a way of bringing disaster to the people of Fang County because of their greed and lack of restraint?"
"The old man made suggestions to the county government, but was shelved. This is his own fault!" Ao Xia continued.
"But the people of Fang County have been worshiping me for many years, so why don't they just ignore me?"
"Is our sixty years of hard work going to be ruined by a heavy rain?!"
"Master is also a human race. We are saving people like Master."
Ao Xia Ao Lin could not stop the other dragons. For a long time, they had regarded themselves as the patron saint of Fang County.
Facing his glaring classmates, Ao Lin sighed and said, "Master is from the human race, but he also understands the principles of heaven and earth."
"He also said that the heaven and earth have their own laws of movement, and there are also unpredictable disasters."
"As dragons, we are born to be responsible for rainfall, but sometimes we have to learn to obey God's will!"
A period of time is enough for the little dragons to grow up.
They were endowed with great power, and gradually felt that their master, who they regarded as a god at the time, seemed to be just like that, and they could not fully listen to some of his words.
Finally, Ao Lin and Ao Xia got out of the way and allowed the disobedient Xiao Long to cast a spell to drive away the clouds.
The thirteen little dragons all decided to follow their inner "sense of responsibility", and in less than a moment, all the heavy clouds dispersed.
The clouds closed and the rain stopped, and the bright moon and stars appeared in the night sky. The people of Fangjun were saved and expressed their gratitude to the dragons.
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Everything seems to be developing for the better.
Then the next moment, the wind surged, and the dispersed dark clouds suddenly gathered. The amount of water accumulated in the thick clouds was three times more than before!
The people of Fangjun were shocked, and the thirteen little dragons were also shocked. Why was this?
Boom!
Explosive thunder sounded, and boundless rain poured down again.
This time, no dragon dared to disperse the clouds. If they were dispersed, no matter how much more water there was, no one in Fang County would be able to survive.
When the thirteen little dragons were confused and struggling, and Ao Lin and Aoxia looked at the disaster-stricken world and lamented, the Jiahu Dragon King, who had not been out of seclusion for a long time, appeared, followed by a large number of water god soldiers from the Dragon Palace.
But he was not here to provide disaster relief, but in front of Fangjun, who was gradually transforming into Zeguo, he declared the end of the Jiazi test with the decree of heaven.
"There are calamities in heaven and earth, and the power of God is unpredictable. God controls the rules, but he needs to always understand God's heart and comply with God's will."
"Ao Lin and Ao Xia, with the heart of heaven and the human world, specially entrust Ao Lin with the title of Young Master of Dragon Palace and Ao Xia with the title of Princess of Dragon Palace."
"The rest of the dragon sons and dragon girls have no clear will and intend to violate the natural principles of heaven and earth. They should be punished. However, they have worked conscientiously since the beginning of Jiazi, and their merits and demerits have been balanced. They have all received their vocation and been demoted to the third level."
After finishing speaking, the imperial edict came into effect immediately, and the fifteen little dragons shone with divine light, each of them manifesting their vocation according to their merits.
