The story of the Fire Dragon Burner has caused great unease among publishers, who fear that this path to fortune might be abruptly cut off, yet they find themselves helpless—for even Shen City’s government office is at a loss, so what can these publishers do? They can’t even deal with their authors who stop updating—Three Lives Stone can seek a ghostwriter only if the pen name isn’t registered—but for those authors who have registered their pen names yet often stop updating, the only option is to burn incense and pray to the Celestial Fire Dragon to soon burn to death those slackers who don’t update on time.

When the third hastily-made Original Jade Plate from the Publishing Alliance was incinerated by heavenly fire, most publishers had already lost hope. However, as the story spread wider, it displeased certain individuals when it reached their ears.

Shen Ruoshi, the eldest son of the City Lord of Shen City, and the current acting Deputy City Lord, who manages Shen City’s internal and external Seventy-Two Arrays, scoffed at the tale of the Fire Dragon Burner, publicly voicing his denial.

"Ridiculous, if there’s really such a Celestial Fire Dragon, how could Shencheng City’s City Defense Array not react?! I’ve been stationed in the array these past few days, and no subtle change escapes my eyes. Let’s not even mention major changes like alterations in the Heavenly Dao Laws; even if someone disguised themselves as a Yu-surnamed youth trying to sneak into the city, I’d detect it immediately! So, what you’re saying about the Fire Dragon Burner is pure nonsense, and it even slanders my work ethic and capability! I see this whole thing from start to finish as merchants creating a fuss, concocting a topic for hype. Fire Dragon Burner, heh, even after seven or eight burns, no one knows what extravagant price that lousy novel will fetch then."

These comments immediately stirred up a substantial reaction from the Publishing Alliance. On one hand, Zhao Kai, the president of the association, sternly stated that calling this hype a pure fabrication was ridiculous, merely an excuse used by certain officials to shirk responsibility. The Publishing Alliance has ample grounds and evidence to prove that everything is not man-made, a fact that many investigative masters from the government office can attest to.

On the other hand, Zhao Kai eagerly held a late-night alliance meeting, declaring that the Fire Dragon Burner was an excellent opportunity for hype, and with a verbal battle against Shen Ziqiong, the topic could be blown sky-high. If there’s ever a chance to formally publish, the attention it receives will skyrocket by at least tenfold. And if it never gets published, with the Jade Plate constantly being burned by the Fire Dragon, it wouldn’t be a problem at all; we can easily style it into a wonder of Shen City. As long as factories are arranged to regularly manufacture Original Jade Plates, scheduling regular Fire Dragon appearances, one wonders how many people from all over Xiangzhou would come to see.

After setting things in motion, the Publishing Alliance officially started a duel against Shen Ziqiong. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

As a publishing entity, these publishers controlled many channels for expression, and soon magazines and newspapers across Shen City began to publish articles, depicting the Fire Dragon Burner’s authenticity from various angles with abundant examples. For instance, Granny Fang, residing in the east of the city, claimed to have seen flashes of fire in the sky when she got up at night. Meanwhile, Old Master Hong from the south insisted he was taken away by a fire dragon one night, losing consciousness for two whole days and nights.

These stories, rich and vivid in perspective, interweaving with each other, made the Fire Dragon Burner seem as certain as the sun rising from the east.

In response, Shen Ziqiong promptly produced the main alarm records of Shencheng City’s Seventy-Two Arrays, showing that in recent times, none of the city’s risk points had anything to do with the Fire Dragon Burner. Rather, certain magazines and newspapers have a notorious record of making something out of nothing.

This counterattack caused an uproar. The Publishing Alliance, feeling like they had found a treasure, convened another nighttime gathering, organizing writers to band together for a counter-strike. The very next day, an avalanche of fresh articles emerged, most of which questioned whether the acting Deputy City Lord now has sufficient qualifications to guard the Seventy-Two Arrays.

Rumors and tales about Shen Ziqiong have been circulating within Shen City for quite some time. As the eldest son of the former City Lord, he was supposed to inherit his father’s position and manage important city affairs. However, his talents and disposition were relatively mediocre, deemed by Shen Ruoshi to be unsuitable for significant tasks and having accomplished nothing noteworthy in his life save for fathering two outstanding sons. In his previous job, he was often idle, absent from work nine out of ten days, shamelessly claiming to be building rural areas when asked, yet no one knew what villages those were...

With the power reshuffle at the top of Shen City, he seized the chance to become the acting Deputy City Lord, in charge of Shen City’s Seventy-Two Arrays, yet he couldn’t even detect the grand occurrence of a Celestial Fire Dragon descending. Post-event, he shamelessly blames others to evade responsibility, placing his character nearly on par with the Cyan Cloud Li Family before 2018. It is puzzling how he could have fathered the elite brothers Shen Feihong and Shen Feihu.

Although hardly proficient in anything else, these magazines and newspapers are adept at creating rumors and fabricating sensational news. Besides throwing accusations, they fabricated loads of sensational stories about Shen Ziqiong, such as his debauched private life, maintaining several mistresses in a village around Shen City and having many illegitimate children. Shen Feihong and Shen Feihu were supposedly picked from hundreds of children, much like those cultivators who enjoyed extreme imaging, erasing hundreds and thousands of failed attempts and presenting only the successful one, making it appear magnificently wondrous.

One must admit the magazine and newspaper’s suggestion, though pure fabrication, provides an excellent explanation of how an unremarkable man could father two leading figures of the young generation, gaining widespread acceptance among readers and spreading rapidly.

Naturally, Shen Ziqiong was enraged, wanting nothing more than to uproot the Publishing Alliance instantly, yet the rumor spread so swiftly it encompassed the entire city within half a day. Striking now would rather play into others’ hands, and the resulting media storm could persist for a long time. Considering someone who had left a long time ago might quietly return to Shen City disguised as a Yu-surnamed youth soon, Shen Ziqiong decided to address the matter swiftly and decisively.

"So, I’m leaving the matter to you. Your father’s reputation depends on you now," he said earnestly at home to his two promising sons.

"Your father is a mediocre man, and in terms of talent, aptitude, and even disposition, he can’t match up to Ziyu—of course, few in this world could compare to him. At the age of 10, Ziyu could wield the Dust Sand Sword, a rare prodigy in family history. By 20, he had broken through to the Cloud Flipping Realm, steadily progressing without relying on external aids, a rarity...

The two brothers, stuck in the main hall all night, barely survived listening to tales. Finally, as Shen Ziqiong sadly recounted Shen Ziyu’s departure from home to join the Saint Sect, the topic shifted to them.

"Your father has many regrets in this life, but fortunately, I have you two. You have always been my pride. Although you’ve both grown with flaws, together you’re nearly comparable to Ziyu. Each of you has some of Ziyu’s strengths, Feihong your strength and determination, and Feihu your agility and quick-wittedness. Speaking of which, I have another story to tell..."

The two finally couldn’t hold it in any longer: "Dad, we’ll definitely take care of this Fire Dragon Burner fiasco for you! We won’t let Uncle Ziyu hear a single word about it when he returns!"

Shen Ziqiong coughed lightly: "This matter, has nothing to do with Ziyu... But your consideration is thoughtful, let’s proceed with that plan."

——

After leaving home, the two brothers looked at each other, both feeling a sense of difficulty.

This is truly our father; he casually handed such a daunting task to two young people who had just started their cultivation journey.

Although in the Outer Courtyard, the two of them were undoubtedly elite, restricted by their cultivation time, they still belonged to the young and inexperienced generation within the entire Shen City. Even those seasoned detectives couldn’t find any clues, what could they do?

"The best scenario is to uncover the truth about the Fire Dragon Burner, proving that those treacherous merchants have been stealing for themselves. Otherwise... with the Celestial Fire Dragon descending and the City Defense Array not responding, it just doesn’t make sense," suggested Shen Feihu.

"Understood, then the priority is to uncover the truth. Start with the basics," Shen Feihong said in a serious tone. "I’ll conduct an on-site investigation at the warehouse, and you review the relevant investigation reports."

"That stack of reports is taller than you, are you sure you want to read them?" Shen Feihu scratched his head, looking pained.

Shen Feihong furrowed his brow: "Father has already entrusted us with this task, even if we can’t succeed, we must try our best before saying anything."

Shen Feihu truly admired this straightforward thinking. If he were ever appointed by the family to manage a cultivation sect or participate in running a business, he would definitely employ such straightforward employees, letting them do the work of three people for one person’s salary, adding up to four times the happiness.

But to expect him to emulate this—absolutely impossible.

After a while, Shen Feihu spoke up: "Relying on the two of us alone, no matter how hard we try, it would be a waste of time. Why not seek help?"

Shen Feihong frowned and asked, "Who?"

Shen Feihu replied, "In matters like this, of course, Mr. Wang Jiu should be sought. After all, even the government’s most elite detectives were dispatched before, and if they couldn’t find anything, looking for ordinary people would be pointless."

Mentioning Wang Jiu, Shen Feihong felt a deep respect, yet he hesitated, "But will he agree?"

Shen Feihu said, "We just need to play to his interests."

Shen Feihong asked, "Then... what does Mr. Wang Jiu like?"

Shen Feihu was silent for a moment, then said, "I may not know, but I do know someone who certainly does."

——

Half a day later, the brothers, slightly anxious, arrived in front of Li Wanqing with gifts.

"In any case, that’s the whole story. We hope you can help us contact Mr. Wang Jiu and ask for his assistance."

Li Wanqing, looking at the premium maid café voucher in her hand, nodded very straightforwardly, "Rest assured, leave it to me."