[Sun Wukong: For a Saint to not only miscalculate but to be so completely wrong—this is too much. If the Jing River Dragon King had believed that, it would have been outrageous!]
If the difference had been small, or even just slightly off, Sun Wukong wouldn't have said anything. But these two outcomes were worlds apart—one predicting peace and the other foretelling decapitation for violating heavenly laws.
[Guanyin Bodhisattva: For a Saint to miscalculate someone of such a low level of power, this level of error is highly unlikely. The chance of such drastically different outcomes is small.]
[Chiyou: Even Saints make mistakes, which allows us weaker beings to see clearly. But now, can we even trust the Saints' calculations in the future?]
[Luya: Originally, there was little doubt about Saints, but this result is so shocking that it inevitably leads to suspicion!]
[Haotian Jade Emperor: Jing River Dragon King's death is entirely his own doing. Violating the heavenly laws means punishment is inevitable. If he hadn't violated them, there wouldn't have been such a heavy penalty as decapitation.]
The Haotian Jade Emperor was equally curious as to why the Jing River Dragon King would violate the heavenly laws. For a Dragon King, controlling rainfall should be easy. As long as there was no deliberate mistake, there shouldn't be a problem. But now that the future has been shown, anything could happen. Even with the warning, whether Jing River Dragon King could avoid this fate remained to be seen. The Haotian Jade Emperor wouldn't intervene; if the Dragon King failed to abide by the laws, then punishment would follow, regardless of premonitions.
Jing River Dragon King's feelings toward Laozi were now complex. Laozi had told him his future held no danger, yet the Golden List revealed that he would die for violating heavenly laws. Between the two, Jing River Dragon King chose to trust the Golden List, not because Saints were unreliable, but because the power and authority demonstrated by the Golden List were far beyond that of any Saint. Even the Saint Hongjun had no means to control it, meaning the list itself was extraordinarily powerful.
Laozi hadn't expected this outcome either. Not only did he miscalculate, but he got everything completely wrong. Now, he felt ashamed toward Jing River Dragon King. Yet, Laozi couldn't just pretend nothing had happened—his reputation as a Saint was at stake. He had to offer some explanation to preserve his dignity.
[Laozi: Calculations are not always exact. Errors are indeed possible, and this miscalculation was merely an accident!]
Jing River Dragon King, despite knowing that Laozi had been wrong, dared not argue. Especially now that Laozi had offered an explanation, if the Dragon King didn't show respect, his future might turn out even worse. After all, Laozi was still a Saint.
Other Saints stepped in to support Laozi as well.
[Yuanshi Tianzun: Even for Saints, it's impossible to guarantee the accuracy of every calculation. Sometimes, when the Heavenly Dao interferes, errors are normal.]
[Zhunti: If the Heavenly Dao is concealing something, then there must be hidden secrets. Even Saints may have to pay a significant price to uncover the truth, and Laozi wouldn't expend that much effort for a single answer.]
[Nüwa: Now that we know the reason, let's focus on ensuring the Dragon King avoids breaking the heavenly laws!]
However, Jing River Dragon King wasn't particularly moved by their words. He was instead deep in thought, reflecting on where he might go wrong and determined to never violate the heavenly laws.
[Sun Wukong: With the first question already answered incorrectly, the second one will be even harder. The real question is whether Laozi can answer it correctly.]
[Ancestor Minghe: Exactly. If he gets both questions wrong, there will definitely be a punishment!]
[Chiyou: We've never seen something that could actually punish a Saint. Maybe the Question Card is just for show?]
[Bai Ze: We'll find out soon enough. The second question hasn't been asked yet. Laozi might still have a chance to answer it correctly.]
[Manjushri Bodhisattva: Perhaps the second question will be an easy success, and at least Laozi won't face punishment!]
[Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva: But the fear is that the second question will also be wrong. Given how difficult the first one was, and it being something Laozi was supposedly confident in, the next question seems much riskier.] Chapters fırst released on novel⟡fire.net
[Kong Xuan: No matter what happens, Laozi has already suffered a loss. Not only did he fail to claim any reward for placing fifth, but if he can't answer the second question correctly, he'll be punished and lose the chance for a great reward.]
At this moment, Laozi's confidence was significantly shaken. Initially, he thought it would be easy to answer these questions, but the difficulty of the first one took him completely by surprise. It was as though something had been blocking him from seeing the truth. However, there was no turning back now—he had to put all his focus on the second question. Since the first question was already a failure, nothing could be done to change that. If the second question went wrong too, he'd be finished.
The second question came swiftly, and the person chosen was none other than the Bull Demon King.
The Bull Demon King had been relaxing in his cave, enjoying the spectacle of the livestream. He hadn't expected to be selected, especially with so many powerful beings watching. For someone with relatively low strength like him to be chosen meant he was extremely lucky.
He immediately thought of the earlier scene. Jing River Dragon King had believed he would live peacefully, only to face such a grim outcome. The Bull Demon King became anxious. This was his chance to have a Saint calculate his future, and even if the Saint got it wrong, the Golden List would provide hints. This could help him avoid a life-threatening crisis.
Actually, there was one thing he was particularly curious about—why Sun Wukong and his son ended up fighting. Normally, these two wouldn't have crossed paths, but they did, and the Bull Demon King wasn't even present. There must be some hidden reason behind their conflict!