The sun rose in the east and set in the west, casting large shadows on the ground along the western edge of the island’s wall.
Over the past three years, Xu Zihuang didn’t know how many times he had seen this scene.
He was like captive livestock, imprisoned on this island.
The blowing sea breeze had already caused the mellow black tea in the porcelain cup to lose its warmth.
A soldier guarding the door walked quickly up to Xu Zihuang with his head bowed, knowingly taking the teapot from the table, preparing to go down and brew a fresh pot.
Xu Zihuang waved his hand with a lack of interest.
“No need.
You can step down first.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The soldier retreated respectfully, exchanged a glance with the other soldier guarding the door, and then both continued to stand straight on either side of the entrance.
Hai Xiao indeed didn’t place any restrictions on his actions, but he would constantly have his subordinates monitor him.
Xu Zihuang knew this was mostly likely the instruction of his cousin, Xu Tianran, so he didn’t make any meaningless attempts to rebel.
Placing the porcelain cup on the table, he looked thoughtfully toward the port in the east.
Possessing the mental attribute body martial soul, the Golden Eyes, his own spiritual power was exceptional, which made his five senses unusually sharp.
Listening to the sounds from the port, the ship carrying the one hundred noble ladies that Hai Xiao mentioned earlier should have arrived.
Not long after, a steady rhythm of knocking came from the door.
Xu Zihuang looked sideways knowingly; the visitor was none other than the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion Commander he had seen earlier, Hai Xiao.
“Your Highness, the empire’s ship has arrived at the port.
Are you preparing to go now, or…”
“I’ll go now.
Commander Hai Xiao, please go down and prepare first,” Xu Zihuang interrupted before Hai Xiao could finish.
Given his current situation, what was the difference between choosing early or late?
For the sake of his pitiful pride?
Even his life was in someone else’s hands.
The rose-gold sun sank below the horizon, and the night gradually shrouded the boundless sea.
The soul tool lamps in the room had already been lit by the soldiers outside, but Xu Zihuang still sat in the chair by the glazed window, resting his head on one hand.
His glowing, noble purple eyes were mesmerizing.
The soldier who had just lit the lamp suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart and looked toward Xu Zihuang in shock and uncertainty.
For a moment, he actually felt an extremely dangerous aura from this Prince.
But he quickly recovered, mentally cursing himself for letting his imagination run wild, and backed out of the room.
…
The bright silver moon hung in the night sky, casting a hazy reflection on the surface of the sea.
This was an uncharted sea in the west of the Sun Moon Empire.
A dark shadow suddenly burst out from the seawater, kicking up a massive splash and shattering the silver moon’s reflection.
The shadow’s shape was bizarre.
Its upper body maintained a human form, but its lower half was a broad tail fin.
Its skin was entirely pitch-black, giving off a metallic texture.
Most bizarrely, there was a giant spiral horn on its forehead, over three meters long.
“Fourth Soul Skill, Raging Waves!”
A low shout rang out, and the fourth soul ring around the shadow instantly shone brightly.
Rich sky-blue soul power dissipated from the surface of his body, and an ethereal, drawn-out cry pierced the sky.
A translucent narwhal phantom gradually solidified behind him, turning almost tangible as it crashed forward with a loud boom.
On the sea directly in front of him, a dark purple phantom flashed by, followed by a ferocious behemoth abruptly appearing before him.
This monster was covered entirely in dark purple scales.
Just the part of its body exposed above the water was over ten meters long.
Cold purple vertical pupils glowed like lanterns, and its sharp, terrifying teeth were still stained with crimson blood.
“Hiss, hiss—” The monster let out a sharp, heaven-piercing shriek.
The originally calm sea began to turn turbulent, and a tail, similarly covered in dark purple scales, surged out of the water, directly meeting the solid blue narwhal phantom head-on.
The narwhal phantom was at least twenty meters large, but it was instantly shattered by the monster’s tail.
A mist of water rained down on the sea, producing a crisp, splashing sound.
By the moonlight, one could clearly see the grim, water-like expression on the shadow’s face.
This was a rough-looking middle-aged man around forty years old.
The reason he had turned into this form was naturally because he was using his martial soul’s ability.
A beast soul master’s martial soul possession.
The middle-aged man was covered in blood, and one could even see many blurry, mangled wounds on him.
“Damn it, how can there be a twenty-thousand-year Sea Viper here?” The middle-aged man cursed inwardly, a ruthless glint flashing in his bright eyes.
“Since I’ve already made it here, there’s no need to worry about alarming those two soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire.”
He prepared for a desperate, life-or-death struggle.
Possessing rank sixty-four soul power, his Black-Striped Narwhal was also a very powerful martial soul.
If he were at his peak, he naturally wouldn’t fear the twenty-thousand-year Sea Viper before him.
But right now, he was heavily injured, and the soul power in his body was less than fifty percent of its peak.
Against such a powerful sea soul beast, his odds of winning were not high.
But he had no other choice.
If he continued to flee, it would be hard for him to hold on.
In order to rescue the young master, he had to survive and deliver this crucial information.
A series of metallic clanking sounds rang out as two thick, pitch-black cannon barrels appeared out of thin air on his shoulders, and several slightly smaller barrels materialized on his arms.
He was not only a Soul Emperor, but also a powerful Class 6 Soul Engineer.
Previously, he hadn’t used these soul tools—which increased the burden on his body—simply to save soul power while escaping.
Dazzling white light spat from the barrels, seemingly ready to turn into a dense barrage of soul beams to blanket the Sea Viper.
But right at this moment, a low tiger’s roar echoed through the clouds.
A black-winged giant tiger, even larger than the Sea Viper, circled in front of the silver moon.
Two yellow, two purple, four black.
The seventh black soul ring was shimmering with a faint light.
It was an elite at the Soul Douluo level, currently using his Martial Soul Avatar.
The twin-winged black tiger’s fur was a mix of dark purple-red and black.
Willow-leaf-shaped stripes in black, gray, and white ran from its head down to its hindquarters.
Its body was thick yet slender, with a few speckles on its face.
Its sky-covering wings flapped, and in a single breath, it arrived in front of the ten-thousand-year Sea Viper.
As the pure black, unblemished tiger claws swiped, the surrounding space seemed to be sliced open, making the middle-aged man’s skin sting in pain.
“Thud, thud, thud…” Several massive segments of the snake’s body crashed into the sea, the spilling blood dyeing the surrounding water a bloody red.
Deep light condensed over the shredded corpse.
A powerful ten-thousand-year sea soul beast had fallen just like that.
Looking at the fiercely imposing black-winged giant tiger before him, the middle-aged man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Feeling a heavy burden lifted, he quickly said, “Commander, I have confirmed the location of the island where the young master is being held.”
The soul power light on the black-winged giant tiger faded, turning into an old man around fifty years old.
The old man wasn’t particularly tall, but he gave off a ferocious feeling.
He was entirely covered in dark purple dragon-patterned armor, with three deep claw marks over his right eye, and a pair of tiger eyes that were extremely oppressive.
Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, a hint of surprise flashed across the old man’s brow, but he quickly reined in his emotions and stared coldly at him.
“This is the first time you’ve acted on your own, and it will be the last.”
The middle-aged man retracted his martial soul, his pale face changing color.
“Yes, Commander.”
Standing in the void, the old man coldly waved his right hand.
Drawn by a robust surge of soul power, the middle-aged man was roughly tossed backward.
A bizarre scene occurred.
On the originally empty sea, a hundred-meter-long warship gradually revealed itself.
The entire ship was covered in an unknown metal, with rows of soul cannon barrels mounted on both sides, their cold gleam flashing under the moonlight.
On the ship’s deck stood forty to fifty soldiers, similarly clad in dark purple dragon-patterned armor, standing proud and giving rise to an aura of chilling slaughter.
The middle-aged man landed heavily on the deck, jarring his wounds and causing his mouth to twitch in pain.
The old man closely followed and landed on the deck.
The soldiers had naturally heard the conversation between the two and were looking at the old man with burning gazes.
As expected, the old man swept his gaze over the crowd, pondered for a moment, and then shouted coldly, “Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion!
Rest for two hours, then follow me to rescue the young master!”
The emotions brewing in the soldiers’ eyes finally ignited.
They dropped to one knee, heavily pressing their right fists against their left chests.
“Yes, Commander!”
The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was one of the five direct soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire, known as the Hand of the Nation.
They were the most powerful force, second only to the Sun Moon Imperial Royal Soul Engineer Legion.
Every generation’s commander was a member of the Sun Moon Empire’s royal family.
The previous commander was Xu Zihuang’s father.
And the old man, named Wang Xiao, was the former deputy commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.
(END CHAPTER)