The sun and moon rotated, and in the blink of an eye, fifteen days had passed.
As they sailed further south, the temperature gradually rose.
The night sea breeze was no longer biting cold; instead, it carried a refreshing feeling.
Finishing his cultivation, Xu Zihuang walked out of his room and leaned against the corridor railing, looking down at the rolling waves.
The sea breeze fluttered the purple strands at his forehead.
His exquisite face carried a touch of majesty—the very picture of a graceful young noble.
Having fused the Brilliance Dragon Claw, his physique was improved by the soul bone, and his skin had become even fairer.
Stretching lazily, he caught sight of an honest-looking youth around eighteen out of the corner of his eye.
Among the Imperial Dragon soldiers, he was the youngest.
“Meng Lang, you don’t need to guard me all the time.
I’m just getting some air.” Xu Zihuang rubbed his forehead, regretting the words the moment he said them.
Sure enough, the youth replied mechanically as before.
“Young Master, my father ordered me to stay by your side at all times to ensure your safety.”
Xu Zihuang was used to being watched constantly during his imprisonment, so it wasn’t exactly unfamiliar.
It was just that having finally regained his freedom, having someone follow him around constantly gave him the illusion that he was still locked up.
But he didn’t force Meng Lang to leave.
On these dangerous seas, it was better to be careful.
On the broad deck, Imperial Dragon soldiers constantly walked about.
Noticing Xu Zihuang leaning on the railing, they respectfully saluted before resuming their watch.
“Thump, thump, thump—” The sea wind battered the sails, creating a series of loud flapping sounds from the tough canvas, which seemed to be intensifying.
His black fur cloak blowing in the wind, Xu Zihuang looked up at the giant sail.
“The wind direction suddenly changed?”
On the ocean, a sudden shift in wind direction is very dangerous.
Not only can it create rip currents, but it often indicates the presence of powerful sea soul beasts.
These were basic facts he had learned from chatting with the crew.
In the night sky, two yellow phantoms flashed past, landing steadily on the deck surrounded by electric sparks.
Their martial soul was the Lightning Falcon, granting them extreme speed and astonishing vision.
They had been scouting the surrounding waters from the air to prevent accidents.
“Commander, a school of fish seems to have been startled by something and is fleeing this area.
There might be sea soul beasts nearby.” One of them respectfully reported to Wang Xiao, who stood in the center of the deck.
Wang Xiao looked thoughtful and turned to Yao Yang.
“Uncle Wang, I also feel something is off,” Yao Yang said deeply.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have detection-type soul skills.
With my spiritual power, I can only sense up to five kilometers around the warship.
I haven’t found any anomalies yet.”
Five kilometers sounds far, but on the boundless ocean, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
“Elder Wang, Brother Yang, look at the sea ahead.” Relying on his Golden Eyes’ powerful vision, Xu Zihuang noticed countless light blue specks surfacing in the water ahead of the ship.
Hearing Xu Zihuang’s warning, everyone looked over.
They saw the light blue specks getting closer.
Many even leaped out of the water, tracing brilliant arcs in the air.
Was this a school of flying fish?
Although flying fish are considered sea soul beasts, they are among the rare few capable of flight.
Each fish was covered in deep blue scales, its slender body full of aesthetic appeal.
Long pectoral fins stretched all the way to its tail, looking just like the wings of a flying soul beast.
Faint soul power glowed around their semi-transparent fins.
After leaping out of the water, they glided through the air at incredible speeds.
The school of flying fish before them numbered over five hundred, including quite a few at the thousand-year level.
What exactly could cause such a massive school of flying fish to panic like this?
Without needing Wang Xiao’s orders, the Imperial Dragon soldiers swiftly moved to the ship’s edges.
In front of each soldier was a protruding metal block used for injecting soul power.
When injected simultaneously, a soul barrier would form to protect the entire warship.
Although the soul barrier would struggle against a ten-thousand-year soul beast, this school of flying fish—with the strongest among them maxing out at five thousand years—could not break it.
However, Wang Xiao and Yao Yang seemed to sense something sharply, staring intently at the water behind the flying fish.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz—” The seawater suddenly seemed to boil.
Dark red ripples spread from behind the flying fish toward the warship, causing the surrounding air and water to solidify.
Everything appeared to take on a pale red hue, crystalizing as if turning into a massive, gorgeous pale-red crystal.
Five massive water columns shot into the sky from the distant sea, and cracks simultaneously appeared across the giant pale-red crystal.
With a crisp sound like a musical melody shattering, the solidified pale-red crystal was crushed into powder by a strange force, scattering in the air.
The flying fish, frozen in various bizarre poses, didn’t even leave behind corpses.
All that remained were rings of white, yellow, and purple condensing in the air.
Five distinct, pitch-black dorsal fins rapidly sliced across the sea’s surface.
Wang Xiao and Yao Yang’s expressions turned incredibly grave.
“The innate soul skill, Evil Orca Mirror Annihilation.
It’s actually a pod of Evil Orcas ?!”
As one of the three supreme overlords of the ocean, the Evil Orca’s power was unquestionable.
Fortunately, the group before them was just a small pod.
Typically, such small pods were led by two adult Evil Orcas.
This meant that among the five, at least two were at the ten-thousand-year level.
Yao Yang unhesitatingly released his martial soul, closing his blood-red eyes to sense the five Evil Orcas approaching the ship.
“Uncle Wang, among the five Evil Orcas, one is twenty thousand years, one just crossed the ten-thousand-year mark, and the remaining three are under five thousand years.”
“All personnel, prepare for combat!
Do not spare the stationary soul cannons.
Finish this quickly.” Knowing the general situation, Wang Xiao swiftly issued combat orders.
The advancement of soul tool technology had long given humanity the capital to fight sea soul beasts head-on.
No matter how powerful an Evil Orca pod was, it couldn’t withstand continuous bombardments from stationary soul cannons.
If there was a fifty-thousand-year Evil Orca, he might be wary.
But just two hovering around the ten- to twenty-thousand-year mark didn’t scare him.
“Yes, Commander!”
Evil Orcas?
Xu Zihuang’s expression shifted, but he didn’t want the crew to divert manpower to protect him right now.
He immediately vaulted over the railing and jumped down to the main deck.
Currently, the deck was heavily guarded by the crew; it was the safest place to be.
Meng Lang hurriedly followed him.
Yao Yang, who had released his martial soul, glanced sideways at Xu Zihuang.
Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed.
He pulled Xu Zihuang behind him and shouted, “There’s another soul beast!
This one actually shielded itself from my spiritual detection.
Everyone, be careful!”
Before he finished speaking, a white whale-like soul beast over three meters long leaped out of the sea, stretching its body.
When it touched the warship’s soul barrier, layers of golden ripples appeared, yet it passed through completely unhindered and landed heavily on the deck.