Two yellow and two purple—four optimally configured soul rings hovered and pulsed slowly around Meng Lang.
The second yellow soul ring was glowing.
In his Martial Soul Avatar state, his already dark skin emanated a distinct metallic texture.
Looking down at the Thousand-Year Swordfish encased in the dark red crystal at his feet, Meng Lang couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
With his cultivation at the Soul Ancestor level and his powerful Black-Striped Narwhal martial soul, a mere Thousand-Year Swordfish naturally wasn’t enough to severely injure him.
But if he had taken the swordfish’s sharp upper jaw head-on, it certainly wouldn’t have felt good.
He glanced sideways at Xu Zihuang’s indifferent, brilliant golden eyes, his reverence for him deepening even further.
His cultivation was nearly twenty ranks higher than Xu Zihuang’s, but he knew he couldn’t have subdued the Thousand-Year Swordfish as effortlessly as Xu Zihuang just did.
At the same time, a sense of guilt and unease welled up within him.
He had promised to protect the Young Master closely, yet he had unexpectedly forced Xu Zihuang to act and bail him out.
“Young Master.”
Xu Zihuang gently patted Meng Lang’s shoulder, signaling him not to worry about it.
Meng Lang was at least 1.8 meters tall, while the eight-year-old Xu Zihuang had barely reached 1.5 meters.
The gesture of patting his shoulder looked very odd, but everyone present felt it was perfectly natural.
“The meat of a Thousand-Year Swordfish isn’t any worse than a Thousand-Year Bluefin Tuna.
Have Rong Jin come process it so we can have an extra dish for everyone,” Xu Zihuang said, smiling at the crowd while casually cracking his knuckles.
He found his strength seemed even greater than he expected.
“Yes, Young Master,” the crowd responded respectfully, their attitude toward Xu Zihuang becoming increasingly natural and affectionate.
They also felt a bit nostalgic.
Back when they followed Xu Zihuang’s father, the Prince Zi Huang—despite holding immense real power in the Sun Moon Empire—often mingled with them just like this.
And now, reaching Xu Zihuang’s generation, it seemed things were still the same.
Notified of the catch, Rong Jin happily began cutting up the tender Thousand-Year Swordfish right there on the deck.
During this past month, it had been a long time since he’d handled such a top-tier ingredient.
For him, wealth, glory, and soul power cultivation were all secondary; his greatest pursuit was turning top-tier ingredients into delicious delicacies with his own hands.
The belly and tenderloin were made into sashimi, arranged neatly on a massive tray covered in crushed ice.
The fish head was used for stewing soup, while other parts of the meat were either pan-fried with butter or grilled over charcoal.
The Thousand-Year Swordfish, weighing thousands of pounds, was quickly processed by Rong Jin.
The Imperial Dragon soldiers tasted the food with a sense of shared honor.
After nearly a month of dull sailing, they finally got a rare moment of relaxation.
Wang Xiao and Yao Yang stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the lookout post near the top of the main mast.
Watching this harmonious scene, they didn’t act like buzzkills and try to stop it.
After this long journey, everyone was indeed mentally fatigued.
Appropriate rest was perfectly fine.
A smile touched the corners of Yao Yang’s mouth as he suddenly spoke up: “Uncle Wang, have you noticed that Zi Huang acts like a natural-born ruler?”
Wang Xiao gave Yao Yang a hard look, somewhat annoyed that his thoughts had been seen through.
“Yao Yao, I suddenly realize the name the Prince gave you back then really wasn’t a mistake.”
Yao Yang’s smile froze, his fair, effeminate cheeks flushing slightly.
Even when facing the entire Western Sea Legion earlier, he hadn’t shown such a bashful side.
“Uncle Wang, didn’t we agree not to mention that name anymore…”
This was a hidden secret between the two of them.
When Yao Yang was rescued from the Evil Soul Masters by Xu Zihuang’s father years ago, his effeminate face made Xu Zihuang’s father mistakenly think he was a girl.
That was how he got the peculiar nickname “Yao Yao” (which sounds delicate/girly).
Wang Xiao’s underlying meaning was that Yao Yang’s mind was as delicate and observant as a girl’s.
Wang Xiao didn’t continue provoking Yao Yang, and Yao Yang knowingly fell silent.
Yao Yao…
that really is a nostalgic name.
…
Night fell, and the evening lights were lit.
The deck was brightly illuminated by several soul tool lamps.
Xu Zihuang sat cross-legged in the center of the group, listening to them recount various stories from their youth.
Guard duty was done in shifts.
Although there was no fine wine, the atmosphere steadily grew more vibrant.
When the next morning arrived, everyone reverted to their usual solemnity.
Starting today, they would enter the southern seas of the Sun Moon Empire.
Only by passing through here could they safely reach the Yuenan Archipelago.
Because this area of the sea had been explored by humans, the probability of encountering powerful sea soul beasts or sudden emergencies was much lower compared to uncharted waters.
Xu Zihuang sat at the desk near his wooden bed.
On the desk were chunks of rare metals in various colors.
The most prominent piece, however, was the upper jaw taken from the Thousand-Year Swordfish the day before.
This Thousand-Year Swordfish’s upper jaw was harder than refined iron, making it an excellent material for crafting soul tools.
Obscure, complex patterns flashed with brilliant golden light around Xu Zihuang’s pupils.
In his right hand, he held a slender, deep purple carving knife, carving into a chunk of deep blue metal.
His movements were fast, yet his hand was incredibly steady; every stroke of the knife landed with deep precision.
The strokes flowed like swimming dragons and slithering snakes, completed in one smooth motion.
As the last speck of metal shaving fell onto the desk, a complex array quietly appeared on the metal’s surface.
Frowning slightly, Xu Zihuang slowly injected gentle soul power into it.
Immediately, the deep blue metal block emitted a dazzling blue-gold light.
The soft halo formed a pillar of light that rose two feet high.
The blue halo was straight and steady, without the slightest flicker.
The metal block itself emanated a translucent blue hue.
“A Class 3 soul power amplification core array.
It’s a success.”
Seeing this, Xu Zihuang finally relaxed, a smile appearing on his face.
Mental-attribute soul masters indeed possessed an innate advantage when crafting and using soul tools.
With his mental-attribute Golden Eyes martial soul, his eyesight was at least several times better than a normal person’s.
This allowed him to avoid many unnecessary mistakes when carving core arrays.
And with his powerful spiritual power, he could easily memorize each complex core array.
When carving core arrays, failures often occur due to minuscule errors, but for Xu Zihuang, this rarely happened.
This didn’t mean he could be called a Class 3 Soul Engineer just yet, but since he had successfully carved a Class 3 core array, the rest was merely a matter of natural progression.
This was entirely thanks to the solid foundation he had built during his childhood and the time he spent imprisoned on the isolated island.
Storing all the materials on the desk into his soul ring, Xu Zihuang stood up and stretched his body.
He understood very well the principle of “going too far is as bad as not going far enough,” so whether it was cultivation or crafting soul tools, he adhered to a balance of work and rest.
Stepping out of his room onto the deck to feel the gentle sea breeze, Xu Zihuang was surprised to find the sails had been furled at some point and the anchor dropped into the sea.
Several drenched Imperial Dragon soldiers were reporting something to Wang Xiao.
Among them were Meng Lang’s father, Meng Cang, and Lin Long, who had recently advanced to Soul Sage.
Meng Cang’s martial soul, like Meng Lang’s, was the Black-Striped Narwhal, while Lin Long’s was the Black-Scaled Dragon Shark, a powerful mutated martial soul.
Because they had officially entered the southern seas of the Sun Moon Empire, out of caution, Wang Xiao had sent both men out to scout the surrounding area.
Noticing Xu Zihuang approaching, Wang Xiao reported with a grave expression: “Young Master, this sea area has been blockaded by the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.”
“The Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion?” Xu Zihuang raised an eyebrow, his heart sinking completely.
Known alongside the Imperial Dragon Legion as one of the Hands of the Nation, the Evil Tyrant Legion was on a completely different level from the Western Sea and Vast Sea Legions they had encountered previously.
A full-strength Evil Tyrant Legion boasted three hundred personnel, all with cultivation levels above rank forty.
Each of the five legions known as the Hands of the Nation had its own unique characteristics.
For instance, the Imperial Dragon Legion had the strongest overall combat power, the Fire Phoenix Legion consisted entirely of female soul masters, and every member of the Evil Tyrant Legion was a soul master specializing in speed.
Facing the Evil Tyrant Legion head-on left almost no chance of escape.
Not to mention, their commander was a genuine Class 9 Soul Engineer.
“Xu Tianran, what a clever move you’ve played.”
Without a second thought, this was absolutely a pursuit force sent by Xu Tianran.
“Elder Wang.
What are your plans?” Xu Zihuang looked up and asked Wang Xiao.
Knowing Wang Xiao, he likely already had a countermeasure prepared.
Wang Xiao exchanged a look with Yao Yang beside him, who then said softly, “Zi Huang, Uncle Wang and I have discussed it.
We plan to split up right now.
I’ll take a portion of the men and sail openly through this sea area.
Back then, to protect me and avoid drawing too much attention so the Evil Soul Masters wouldn’t target me again, Uncle Zheng Xuan never exposed our relationship.
I brought this warship myself, and the men coming with me are all new additions to the Imperial Dragon Legion, like Meng Lang.
There won’t be any issue with familiar faces.
They’ll disguise themselves as my subordinates, under the pretext of hunting chaotic sea soul beasts.
The frozen Evil Orca meat in the cold storage will serve perfectly as a cover.”
“The other group will be led by Uncle Wang.
Zi Huang, you and that group will land directly at the coastal city in the southwest of the empire.
The terrain near the coastal city is treacherous, with numerous primeval forests.
It’s impossible for every spot to be blockaded.
They definitely won’t expect you to do the exact opposite and willingly step onto Sun Moon Empire territory.
Furthermore, there’s a war going on right now between the southern Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
You can easily take advantage of the chaos to cross into Star Luo territory, and then detour to Yuanshu Island.”
“We can’t delay; let’s do this,” Xu Zihuang said without hesitation.
This was indeed the most secure plan.
Rather than gambling on whether they’d be discovered by the Evil Tyrant Legion, he vastly preferred the feeling of keeping his fate in his own hands.