NO_NAME
patreon
Chapter 224: The Arrival of the Myriad Ship and My Master, Liu Tianning
🕑 Added 2024-11-11 13:42:52 +0000 UTC"Brother Pei, feel free to ask any questions. I will answer to the best of my knowledge," Zhao Xing said.
"Do you know where it came from, where it went, its size, and what special abilities it displayed?"
Zhao Xing immediately replied, "It seemed to be traveling from the west towards the northeast. I didn’t see its entire body, but its tail fin was over 300 meters long, and its fin spines were around 20 to 30 meters."
"It opened its massive mouth and swallowed everything within a radius of a thousand meters. It likely used the Dragon Whale's innate ability, Devouring Heaven Whirlpool. The ice layer here was originally about ten meters thick, but it easily broke through it."
Pei Yuanchang looked regretful. "My subordinates had previously spotted its shadow underwater, but it was only about 400 meters deep. We thought it had already left the southwestern region of the Night Fortress. To think it was still lurking in the deep sea."
"Brother Zhao, do you have any idea how strong this Dragon Whale might be?"
Zhao Xing shook his head slightly. "I couldn’t gauge its strength, but according to The Deep Sea Beasts Manual, an adult Dragon Whale's strength is typically between the fourth and fifth ranks. Older Dragon Whales can reach the fourth rank."
"However, based on this one’s size, it's already far larger than what’s described in the manual. It must be at least of fourth-rank strength."
Pei Yuanchang nodded. He did have intentions of hunting the Dragon Whale, but knowing the strength of such a beast was crucial. After hearing Zhao Xing's description, he understood what preparations were necessary: the size of the ship, the type of bait to use, and other details.
Originally, Pei Yuanchang hadn’t planned to ask more questions, but being a careful observer, he noticed that there were only fish baskets inside the warm shelter, with no fishing gear in sight. A thought struck him. "Brother Zhao, did the fishing gear you purchased include the Seven-Star Hook?"
Zhao Xing smiled inwardly, thinking that Pei Yuanchang truly had a sharp eye—he immediately grasped the key point.
"It did."
Pei Yuanchang was delighted. "So your fishing gear was swallowed by the Dragon Whale. Do you still have the Fixed Star Disk?"
"I do, and I’ve confirmed it’s inside the Dragon Whale."
"However, I can’t give the Fixed Star Disk to you, Brother Pei."
Zhao Xing spoke candidly and openly. Sooner or later, people would find out. It was better to tell the truth now rather than lie, as being caught in a lie later would make Pei Yuanchang look down on him. Honesty in this situation would be much more beneficial.
Zhao Xing's straightforwardness surprised Pei Yuanchang. After a brief pause, Pei Yuanchang smiled. "Good! Brother Zhao, you are indeed forthright! True to your word."
Pei Yuanchang clasped his hands and said, "I will contact your master to discuss the Dragon Whale hunt. I hope you can put in a good word for me. I can prepare many things that will save your master the time of organizing ships and supplies."
Liu Tianning had yet to arrive in the Extreme Night Sea, and even if he did, he might not have everything prepared. If Liu had to go back to gather equipment, supplies, and manpower, the Dragon Whale might be long gone by the time everything was ready.
The Frost King originally rose through the ranks of the navy, and Pei Yuanchang would be an ideal partner.
"Of course," Zhao Xing cupped his hands in return.
After that, Pei Yuanchang stopped asking questions, not even glancing at the miraculous plants inside the warm shelter. If Zhao Xing wanted to share information, there would be no need to ask. If he didn’t want to, asking would be pointless.
He didn’t linger long and quickly left, clearly off to make preparations.
Zhao Xing didn’t remain idle either. He immediately took out the Earth Mirror and reported back to Liu Tianning.
His projection appeared inside the Myriad Palace.
Originally, Liu Tianning should have already been on his way, but after Zhao Xing reported the Dragon Whale incident, Liu Tianning began making further preparations, so his real self was still in the Myriad Palace.
"Master, as expected, Pei Yuanchang approached me and noticed I left a hook inside the Dragon Whale."
"He suggested cooperation and should be contacting you soon."
Liu Tianning said, "He’s currently talking with another one of my projections. What do you think of this cooperation?"
Zhao Xing thought for a moment. "The Pei family rose through the navy, and we’re both in the same region of the sea. Given the personal connections and his strength, it would save you time in mobilizing resources. Cooperation seems appropriate."
Liu Tianning nodded. "Very well. Where is your Blood Shadow Airship now?"
Zhao Xing responded, "It has already passed Yang City and has been flying for over an hour beyond the boundary marker."
"Ensure your safety. If you encounter any danger along the way, you can invoke the name of Lord Luohou."
"Lord Luohou?" Zhao Xing was taken aback. Liu Tianning’s revelation at this moment surprised him—his master’s backer was none other than Lord Luohou.
No wonder Liu had risen so quickly. It turned out he had a powerful patron behind him.
"Understood."
The projection faded, and Zhao Xing’s consciousness returned to his Blood Shadow Airship, where his clone opened its eyes.
"Senior Brother," Ji Ziyun noticed Zhao Xing had returned.
"Mm." Zhao Xing walked over to her. "How far are we?"
"We’re approaching Tianhuo Path," Ji Ziyun pointed ahead. In the distance, a fiery cloud appeared in the sky.
Meteors, ablaze with fire, occasionally fell from the cloud, leaving burning craters on the ground.
"Let’s take a detour around it."
"Senior Brother," Ji Ziyun suggested, "Beyond Tianhuo Path, the days grow shorter and the nights longer. If we fly for another six hours, we can reach Songxue Lake, saving us more than two hours of travel."
"Are you confident we can pass through?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I am!" Ji Ziyun pointed to the map. "I’ve studied it for over two hours. I’m confident we can navigate through the star-fragment belt of Tianhuo Path."
Her eyes were filled with determination, eager to prove herself and earn recognition.
"Very well. Go ahead," Zhao Xing nodded.
Ji Ziyun had shown remarkable learning ability since they arrived at Ten Sun Cave-Heaven. She never wasted time, constantly absorbing spiritual energy and studying military intelligence and other news.
Her combination of diligence and humility made her the type of person Zhao Xing appreciated. Just like Liu Tianning, Zhao Xing had a low tolerance for incompetence, and Ji Ziyun was smart enough to avoid that pitfall.
As soon as Zhao Xing logged back in, she seized the opportunity to seek guidance.
"If you encounter people along the way, avoid them if possible. If avoidance is impossible, call for me and don’t get involved yourself," Zhao Xing instructed. "Master wants you to reach the Extreme Night Sea as soon as possible."
"Understood." Ji Ziyun nodded obediently.
Back at the Extreme Night Sea, after the Dragon Whale incident, the area around the warm shelter had become devoid of fish.
The remains of the Kirin Airship were gone—whether they had been washed away or swallowed, no one knew.
However, not long after Pei Yuanchang left, he sent over a fifth-rank Hailan Airship as a replacement.
It was quite thoughtful.
"We can’t fish anymore," Zhao Xing remarked. "We don’t even have fishing rods left, so we might as well catch them by hand."
"There’s still a lot of Water Immortal Lotuss and Fish-Devouring Grass in the warm shelter. Whether we can deal with the Dragon Whale is uncertain, but we should first make full use of the smaller fish and their benefits."
"Pei Yuanchang not only sent us a ship but also provided a sea chart marked with locations of fish swarms by a fortune-teller," Chen Shijie added. "That will make things easier for us."
"What about the Bihai Cloud Vine?" Ji Ziyun asked. "Are we just going to leave it here?"
They were definitely going to move to a new location. Although the Water Immortal Lotuss were easy to transplant, the Bihai Cloud Vine was a different story.
That vine had already extended over 3,000 meters into the depths, and it was impossible to relocate it. At least, Zhao Xing and his team didn’t have that capability.
"I planted the Bihai Cloud Vine mainly to create a passage to the seabed and monitor the underwater situation," Zhao Xing explained. "We’ll just leave it here. Once it’s rooted in the seabed, Old Chen and I can use it to explore the depths and search for treasures."
"We can harvest another three rounds of Fish-Devouring Grass, which should give us about two and a half barrels," Chen Shijie said. "The problem is that we’re running out of soil. Fish-Devouring Grass is only semi-aquatic, so it still needs soil."
"That’ll be enough," Zhao Xing nodded. Once his master arrived, they wouldn’t lack soil and supplies.
For now, they had enough to keep themselves busy.
Catching small fish wasn’t something they could trouble Liu Tianning with—he was a master, not a babysitter. He could teach them to fish, but he wouldn’t do the fishing for them.
Of course, the Dragon Whale was a different matter.
If they managed to catch it, Zhao Xing would undoubtedly receive a share as Liu Tianning’s favored disciple.
"Let’s follow the sea chart and head to the marked location. Xia Jing, Long Xiao, you two are in charge of cutting through the ice."
"Ji Ziyun, you set up the Ice Well Formation. Once Old Chen and I finish planting the Water Immortal Lotuss and Fish-Devouring Grass in the warm shelter, we’ll join you to bait the fish."
"When the fish surface, we’ll use magic to catch them."
With the next step of the plan decided, the five of them split up to take action.
Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie remained in the warm shelter, continuing to tend to the crops. After three more rounds of Fish-Devouring Grass harvesting, they stopped.
The surrounding soil had completely turned to gravel, with only a small patch of black soil remaining near the Bihai Cloud Vine.
On the fertile, high-quality soil, seedlings of the Water Immortal Lotuss, Bihai Cloud Vine, and Fish-Devouring Grass were still growing.
After that, they stopped casting spells and left everything for Liu Tianning’s arrival.
Once they finished harvesting the Fish-Devouring Grass, Zhao Xing’s real body and Chen Shijie each carried a military-grade Wenzhu box and headed toward Xia Jing, Long Xiao, and Ji Ziyun’s location, leaving nine Myriad Straw Puppets to guard the shelter.
By the time they arrived, the others had already cut through the ice, exposing the water beneath.
The Water Immortal Lotuss from the boxes were transferred into the water.
"Gurgle~"
The Water Immortal Lotuss sank to the bottom.
After waiting for half an hour, bubbles began to rise from where they had descended.
It was time to start baiting.
With the earlier lesson in mind, Zhao Xing was more cautious this time, not wanting to attract any more deep-sea behemoths.
With a flick of his hand, he poured out one-fifth of the Fish-Devouring Grass seeds. They drifted down to the area where the Water Immortal Lotuss had settled and dissolved into the water.
"Gurgle~"
"Gurgle, gurgle~"
More bubbles appeared as the water churned.
"Splash!"
A fish with shimmering red scales leaped out of the water.
"Whoosh!"
Before it could land on the ice, a shadow darted by.
The Mountain Cat bit into the fish and trotted over to Zhao Xing, laying it at his feet.
"Meow~" The Mountain Cat nudged the fish toward Zhao Xing with its paw, signaling for him to eat it first.
"You eat it," Zhao Xing smiled. "You’re always complaining about being hungry, so go ahead and eat your fill this time."
"Meow~" Seeing that Zhao Xing didn’t want it, the Mountain Cat picked up the fish and trotted over to Long Xiao, laying it at his feet.
"Hahaha, Aotian is so obedient." Long Xiao laughed, using his sword to slice the fish into smaller pieces to make it easier for the Mountain Cat to eat, while he casually plucked a piece of the fish and popped it into his mouth.
The physical work was done.
Now it was time for Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, and Ji Ziyun, the magic users, to take over.
Once the Fish-Devouring Grass had taken effect and the fish swam to the surface, the three began their fishing spells.
With the lessons learned from last time, they managed to avoid fish raining from the sky.
The three of them coordinated their water manipulation, scooping up a large chunk of water along with the fish, like cutting a piece of cake, and lifting it out of the sea.
The ice was now topped with a cube of water, densely packed with colorful fish.
Splash~
The water cube was then gently lowered into an ice pool they had prepared earlier.
"It’s done." Xia Jing breathed a sigh of relief.
This ice pool had been dug out by Xia Jing himself.
Last time, many of the fish they hadn’t eaten in time had died, and much of their spiritual essence had gone to waste.
Now that they had an ice pool, they could take their time and didn’t have to rush to eat.
Ji Ziyun used her magic to raise several ice walls in the pool, dividing the fish into different sections.
Thanks to Zhao Xing having already had Xia Jing taste-test many of them, it was now easy to sort them based on their effects.
"There are 546 magic fish. Eating them can enhance one’s understanding of spells and martial techniques, but most of them are for water-element spells and martial arts, with few belonging to other elements."
They didn’t know the names of these fish since the sea contained countless species, so they could only classify them by their effects.
"I’ll eat these five fire fish," Zhao Xing pointed to one of the sections. "My Heavenly Fire spell has yet to reach the advanced level."
Zhao Xing still had his sights set on the benefits he had yet to claim from the Yin-Yang Twin Killing Formation in the Ten Sun Cave-Heaven. He planned to return and clear that stage once he left.
The Heavenly Crafts Hall's fourth trial, the Yin-Yang Twin Killing Formation, involved four calamities: earth, wind, fire, and thunder. Zhao Xing needed a fire-element spell to pass the fire calamity.
"My thunder techniques still have room for improvement," Ji Ziyun said, pointing to another section where five or six fish that looked like electric eels were crackling with lightning. "If no one wants these, I’ll take them."
"Do you want them, Aotian?" Long Xiao glanced down at the Mountain Cat.
Aotian shook its head, having already reached a bottleneck with its innate lightning abilities.
"Meow~" It pointed its paw at a few large green fish in another section.
That’s what it wanted to eat.
"I’ll take a few spear and sword fish," Long Xiao said. "They’re metal-element spirit creatures that can enhance my Gengjin Sword Technique."
With plenty of fish to go around, there was no need to worry about who got what—everyone simply took what they needed.
Zhao Xing selected four types of fish.
The first were five large fire fish to enhance his Heavenly Fire spell.
The second were ten fish that contained fortune energy, primarily to increase his Five Elements Water Fortune. Each fish weighed around 40 to 50 catties.
The third were fish that contained life essence, their bodies translucent like glass.
The fourth were fish packed with pure spirit energy. Although Zhao Xing had already reached the forty-ninth level of Essence Gathering, these spirit creatures could still help strengthen his physical body.
"I’m eating!"
Zhao Xing expertly deboned and cleaned the fish, then began devouring them.
At the same time, notifications appeared on his interface.
[You have consumed life essence spirit creatures. Lifespan increased by one year.]
[You have consumed life essence spirit creatures. Lifespan increased by one year.]
[You have consumed fire-element spirit creatures. Your understanding of fire techniques has improved. Your Heavenly Fire spell has broken through the intermediate level and reached Advanced Stage One.]
[You have consumed fire-element spirit creatures. Your understanding of fire techniques has improved. Your Heavenly Fire spell has reached Advanced Stage Two.]
[Your right middle finger bone has evolved from Iron Bone Perfection to Silver Bone Beginner.]
[Your right pubic bone has evolved from Iron Bone Perfection to Silver Bone Beginner.]
…
Although Zhao Xing hadn’t practiced the Gluttony Technique, the Yin-Yang Self Technique contained a similar technique to accelerate absorption and digestion called Heaven and Earth Transformation Technique.
It wasn’t as efficient as the Gluttony Technique, but it got the job done.
"Hngh~"
While Zhao Xing was focused on eating, Long Xiao suddenly let out a strained noise, his entire body glowing golden as it became transparent.
Zhao Xing turned to see Long Xiao's bones emitting a radiant glow, seemingly absorbing golden light from all over his body.
"What’s he doing?" Ji Ziyun was taken aback.
"He’s attempting a breakthrough," Zhao Xing set down his food, wiping his mouth. "He’s trying to condense his Pure Essence Sword Body."
"Will he succeed?" Ji Ziyun asked, surprised.
"Probably not," Zhao Xing shook his head. "It’s too soon. His foundation isn’t solid enough, and he hasn’t accumulated enough energy."
"HRRAAAAH!!" Long Xiao roared with effort, using all his strength.
However, as Zhao Xing had predicted, advancing from the Heavenly Gang stage to the Pure Essence realm required an enormous amount of energy. Breaking through to this new stage would require more spirit energy than what was required for all the previous forty-nine levels combined.
"Ugh!" Long Xiao suddenly began vomiting uncontrollably, his face flushed red as he braced himself against the ground. The golden glow from his bones retracted, while his blood and muscles became more visible again.
"Hahahahahahaha~" Xia Jing burst into laughter, slapping his thigh and pointing at Long Xiao.
"Hahahaha." Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing, and Ji Ziyun couldn’t help but join in the laughter.
The aftermath of Long Xiao’s failed attempt had left him with a comical side effect—his body had ballooned, making him look like a round, plump figure!
At a glance, he even seemed somewhat adorable.
"When the excess spirit energy can’t be absorbed into the bones, it disperses into the flesh, causing rapid growth," Xia Jing laughed heartily.
"Long Xiao, you may be a talented sword cultivator, but you’ve gotten a bit too arrogant. You should change your name to Long Fat now! Hahaha!"
Long Xiao wasn’t too bothered at first, but when he saw Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing, Ji Ziyun, and even Aotian the cat all laughing at him, his defenses broke down.
"You think you’re so great? Why don’t you try it? Didn’t you eat over 3,000 catties? Why don’t you give it a shot?"
"Fine! I will!" Xia Jing sat down cross-legged. "Watch closely!"
"Why must warriors compete with each other like this?" Ji Ziyun covered her mouth, giggling.
"Wait a moment…" Zhao Xing stifled his laughter and removed a Dragon Soul Jade from around his neck. "Brother Xia, take this. It’ll reduce your chances of going berserk."
"Zhao Xing, why are you still laughing? I’m getting angry!" Long Xiao’s face was so plump that his cheeks squished together.
"I’m not laughing. I just pulled a muscle in my face from a fishbone."
"You’re lying! You haven’t stopped laughing this entire time!"
"I just remembered something funny."
"What funny thing?"
"The fish laid eggs."
"…"
Xia Jing waved off the Dragon Soul Jade and said, "No need for it. If Long Fat doesn’t need it, neither do I."
"HRRRAAH!"
With a shout, Xia Jing also unleashed his energy.
There was no denying the sheer ferocity of a warrior’s aura. When Xia Jing roared, it felt as though a human-shaped beast had appeared in front of them.
Just like Long Xiao, Xia Jing’s breakthrough began with the purification of his blood and meridians, followed by his bones.
The two were evenly matched in speed. When Xia Jing reached the point of Golden Bone Purification, he encountered the same problem as Long Xiao.
"YAAAAHHH!" Xia Jing roared in frustration.
However, breaking through this bottleneck wasn’t something that could be achieved with a mere shout. Soon enough, he, too, failed in his attempt.
Like Long Xiao, he experienced the same backlash, his spirit energy swelling his blood and muscles, and within moments, he too became a plump figure.
"Hahahahaha~" Long Xiao, waving his pudgy hands, laughed mercilessly at Xia Jing.
"Meow meow meow~" Aotian was having the time of his life, rolling on its back atop a fish, utterly amused.
These humans were hilarious.
"Hmph, you’re laughing too soon." Xia Jing brought his hands together, golden light flashing between them, and growled, "Devour Heaven and Earth!"
With the Gluttony Technique active, Xia Jing’s body began to return to its normal size at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within just a few breaths, the side effects had completely disappeared, and he was back to his normal form!
"You…" Long Xiao’s smile froze on his face.
Damn, he forgot this guy’s Gluttony Technique had already reached the seventh level!
How frustrating!
"At the seventh level of the Gluttony Technique, any side effects are child’s play!" Xia Jing said proudly. "Brother Long, you’ve got some catching up to do~"
"Just you wait!" Long Xiao huffed. "I’ll surpass you soon enough!"
"Of course, Long Xiao! You’re a sword cultivator—the strongest among warriors!"
"I’ve long been annoyed by Xia Jing’s arrogance. Does he really think his Gluttony Technique and Black Tortoise Shield are invincible? Can they withstand my Divine Sword Qi?"
"Fight, fight, fight!" the two warriors egged each other on while the three mages and one cat sat nearby, munching on fish and fanning the flames of the argument.
The scene was a perfect example of how spectators often enjoy stirring up conflict.
If any etiquette masters were present, they’d likely applaud the group’s mastery of the art of provoking drama.
In the end, it was Pei Yuanchang’s men arriving that prevented Xia Jing and Long Xiao from actually starting a brawl.
"Greetings, Marquis Yuanrang!" The sixth-rank warrior Pei Yuanchang had sent over treated Zhao Xing with great respect.
"What’s the matter?" Zhao Xing returned the gesture.
"The exploration team, under Young Master Pei's orders, has discovered an unknown fish about three hundred nautical miles southwest. After capturing three of them, he specifically sent one here to you and asked if you’re interested in heading there."
The warrior handed over a box wrapped in cloth.
"Oh?" Zhao Xing unwrapped the outer layer to reveal a crystal box inside, his eyes lighting up. "A Yin-Yang Fish?"
Inside the crystal box was a palm-sized fish swimming around. It resembled a crucian carp but was split into two distinct colors: black on the bottom and white on top.
As it swam, the water inside the crystal box became clearly divided between black and white.
With each movement of its mouth, the fish produced two phantom images—one entirely black and the other entirely white—turning into two fish!
"Please inform Brother Pei that I’m on my way immediately!" Zhao Xing instructed.
"Understood." The warrior clasped his hands, then leaped aboard his airship to return.
After the messenger left, the others gathered around Zhao Xing. "What’s that treasure?"
"I’ve named it the Yin-Yang Fish, but the name isn’t important," Zhao Xing said excitedly. "What matters is that eating it can enhance the Life Soul!"
"What?" Ji Ziyun was shocked. "There’s actually a fish with such an effect?"
"The world is indeed full of wonders," Chen Shijie marveled.
The Life Soul—the core of a person—was one of the three souls and seven spirits that made up a person’s existence. Of the three, the Heaven and Earth souls existed outside, while the Life Soul resided within.
The Life Soul was the foundation of a person’s being, but in the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were no known methods to cultivate it. Even treasures that enhanced the Life Soul were extremely rare.
The only known methods to cultivate the Life Soul were practiced by outside demonic sects, but their methods came with great costs and dangers.
Typically, only those who reached the third rank could enhance their Life Soul without any negative side effects.
Now, in the Extreme Night Sea, they had found a fish capable of strengthening the Life Soul?
"This is a huge discovery!" Xia Jing exclaimed. "It seems Pei Yuanchang has already made an agreement with your master. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told you about this and even sent a fish."
"There’s no such thing as a free lunch," Zhao Xing pulled out the sea chart. "Three hundred nautical miles southwest—this is in newly charted territory, far from the Night Fortress. If I’m not mistaken, Pei Yuanchang’s forces must have already clashed with other factions."
The seven major exploration teams had been staking claims, and as they continued to recruit more people and expand, conflicts were inevitable.
But now that they had formed an alliance with Pei Yuanchang, it was clear they had to go. Benefits weren’t simply given—they had to be earned.
"It’s extremely difficult to cultivate the Life Soul, and only higher ranks have access to the visualization methods needed to do so. If we can enhance our Life Soul at the mid-rank stage, the benefits will be enormous," Ji Ziyun said.
There was no need for Ji Ziyun to elaborate—Zhao Xing already understood. By consuming the Life Soul Pill, he had opened his Heavenly Eye, and his Sleep Bug Technique had advanced to the high level. Strengthening his Life Soul had improved his control over his body and spirit energy, increasing the power of his spells.
Even though he had reached the forty-ninth level of Essence Gathering, reaching the peak of the Heavenly Gang realm, his Life Soul was still only at the mid-sixth rank.
"Pack up. We’re moving out!" Zhao Xing ordered. "Let’s fish in a new spot!"
"Got it!"
The fish in the ice pool were loaded onto the Hailan Airship. As a mid-sized naval vessel, it was significantly larger than the Kirin Airship, even though both were of the same quality.
The Kirin Airship was more of a ceremonial vessel, designed to showcase royal craftsmanship and authority.
For actual sea expeditions, the navy’s ships were much more practical.
"Old Chen, we’ll leave the mature Bihai Cloud Vine here with a Myriad Straw Puppet to guard it."
"We’ll pack all the other seedlings in the Wenzhu boxes and take them with us," Zhao Xing decided.
Now that they had better opportunities ahead, it was only natural to head for more promising locations.
Exploring the seabed could wait for later.
Since Pei Yuanchang’s flagship and the Yin-Yang Fish's location were in different directions, Zhao Xing set off immediately, using the Earth Mirror to contact Pei Yuanchang.
"Brother Pei, what’s the current situation at the Yin-Yang Fish location?"
Pei Yuanchang pointed to the sea chart. "The location of the Yin-Yang Fish is near Icefire Island to the west. Aside from you and me, three other forces have also discovered the Yin-Yang Fish."
"There are Prince Liang’s nineteenth son, Ji Ye, and thirteenth son, Ji Chen—two prince-led exploration teams—and the combined exploration team led by Xing Ming, which consists of several Marquis and influential family heirs."
Pei Yuanchang tapped a corner of the map. "Prince Liang’s thirteenth son, Ji Chen, has been respectful of the rules, sticking to the northwestern area of Icefire Island as he originally claimed."
"But Ji Ye and the combined exploration team have been far less disciplined, often crossing boundaries."
Zhao Xing nodded. Technically, the seven exploration teams had previously agreed on boundaries. Now, with newly discovered areas, the logical move would be to stick to those divisions to minimize conflict.
However, logic rarely stood in the way of greed. Whenever new benefits arose, boundaries were often ignored.
As long as the imperial court didn’t intervene, conflicts between nobles and influential families ultimately boiled down to whoever had the bigger fist—and thus, the stronger argument.
Emperor Jing was content to let things play out, stepping in only when he deemed the infighting had gone too far.
This method of resolving disputes wasn’t unique to Emperor Jing. It had been a tradition in the Great Zhou Dynasty for a long time.
Even during the reign of the Taizu Emperor, it was common for people to gather and brawl like street thugs. As the empire stabilized, these scuffles evolved into formalized military tournaments.
Even Emperor Wen had hosted a few such events.
After the reign of Emperor Wu, the Zhou royal family’s power waned, and this practice gradually evolved into the Vassal Alliance.
Pei Yuanchang had invited Zhao Xing for a straightforward reason.
As the grandson of the Frost King, Pei Yuanchang was under pressure and urgently needed Liu Tianning’s faction to help share the burden.
With Zhao Xing, Liu Tianning’s direct disciple, showing up, it would send a clear message: Pei Yuanchang was no longer the weakest faction—he had powerful backing now. Anyone looking to cause trouble would have to think twice.
"Rest assured, Brother Pei. I’m already on my way," Zhao Xing knew it was time to rally to his master’s banner.
"Brother Zhao, be careful. When you arrive, I’ll assign some men to accompany you," Pei Yuanchang said.
…
Flying west for three hundred nautical miles, they soon spotted an island amidst the glaciers.
In the frozen wasteland, a sudden appearance of a volcano was indeed striking.
However, the volcano wasn’t erupting—it was merely emitting faint plumes of black smoke.
Buzz~
The Earth Mirror suddenly vibrated.
Zhao Xing opened it to find a message from Liu Tianning.
[Myriad Ship has arrived at the Extreme Night Sea.]
Liu Tianning had arrived?
Zhao Xing’s confidence swelled. "He even brought the Myriad Ship!"
As he flew, just about to reply to Liu Tianning, he was suddenly interrupted—
"Stop! Who goes there?"
Before reaching the designated location, a Silver Shuttle Airship intercepted them.
A flag bearing the insignia of Marquis Wucheng was displayed on the ship.
Zhao Xing immediately recognized this as part of the Combined Exploration Team's forces.
"This area is under lockdown! Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from approaching!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
Several fire bolts were launched from the airship, intentionally missing and falling short of the Hailan Airship’s protective barrier.
This was clearly a warning shot, meant to deter them from getting closer.
"Who do you think you are to blockade this area?" Zhao Xing’s voice echoed as he used wind-based transmission, projecting his words directly onto the Silver Shuttle Airship.
Before long, a chubby young nobleman stepped out to respond. "My father is Marquis Wucheng. Can’t you see the large flag?!"
"I am Xiao Baoyu, heir of Marquis Wucheng," the young man announced smugly. "This area has been sealed off by the Combined Exploration Team. I’ve got at least thirty fifth-rank warriors on board. You’d better turn back and leave the way you came!"
Thirty fifth-rank warriors? Zhao Xing could tell at a glance that Xiao Baoyu was exaggerating.
Using his Heavenly Eye Technique to observe, Zhao Xing saw that Xiao Baoyu himself was only a seventh-rank warrior, and even that rank seemed unstable, as if he had just barely advanced.
While Marquis Wucheng had some reputation, he definitely didn’t have the resources to deploy thirty fifth-rank warriors. Where did Xiao Baoyu get such confidence?
"Does Marquis Wucheng think he can suppress all the heroes under heaven? You don’t even care to ask who I am?" Zhao Xing replied.
"Hmph!" Xiao Baoyu snorted. "Alright then, let’s hear it! Who exactly are you?"
"MY MASTER IS LIU TIANNING!!!" Zhao Xing declared.
Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter
