Translator: CinderTL
Swoosh!
The flying seagulls scattered as the stone statue creature soared past the twin-masted sailing ship.
The stone wings flapped, stirring up gusts of wind that rippled the sails and the sea surface, creating waves.
"Sha!"
The Giant Octopus, Gata, made a sound in the water. Through the Soul Flame, Chen Feng sensed its emotions.
It seemed surprised, as if it hadn't expected the short figure who had once beaten it up to suddenly become so powerful.
As for the others on the ship, Lei Long and the rest were still in a daze, their gazes filled with awe and amazement as they looked at the Holy Shield Colossus.
It was a sight that defied their usual understanding, almost as if it could destroy heaven and earth.
Most of the crew and their families were ordinary people who had not stepped onto the path of the extraordinary Sequence. Only Lei Long, his eyes filled with shock, quietly formed a guess in his heart.
"A Saint..."
He had heard the Duke Charles's incredulous words before his death on the scaffold.
A sixth-tier Saint, a true high-level Sequencer after the gods had fallen into slumber.
Such a figure, whether in the great kingdoms or the divine churches, would be revered as an honored guest.
At that moment, seeing the calm expression of the young man in black standing at the bow of the ship, Lei Long knew he had made the right decision.
To follow such a Master, even if it meant leaving Banli Port, was completely worth it.
With this thought, he quickly descended from the deck to search for the items he had hidden in the ship's cabin.
Unaware of Lei Long's complex thoughts, Chen Feng stood at the bow, feeling the slightly salty sea breeze, and took out the envelope he had found earlier in the Charles Family's manor.
He disliked doing useless work, and this impulsive trip had not let him down.
As he had expected, the Charles Family's capture of the Mermaid had indeed left some clues.
[Prince Seth...]
This was the true master behind Duke Charles, the one who had given him the audacity to act so recklessly in Banli Port.
The third son of the Iron King, one of the truly significant figures in this world.
As for the Mermaid, she had become a tool for him to win over the great nobles of the capital and vie for the position of Crown Prince.
Shaking his head silently, Chen Feng soon heard footsteps approaching. Lei Long came over, carrying a small wooden box.
His perception had already discerned the contents of the box. Chen Feng put away the envelope and turned to face Lei Long.
"Master, inside are twenty Blue Heart Stones I brought back from Merman Bay."
"I hid them on the ship just in case..."
He explained, and Chen Feng nodded, accepting the box with a word of thanks.
Lei Long had been implicated because of him. If not for his sudden intrusion, the other man wouldn't have had to leave Banli Port, where he had been rooted for so long, in such a disgraceful manner.
Even in the latter half of his life, he would likely have to live under an assumed name.
"Master, if it weren't for you saving us, we would have already died at the hands of the Great White Shark - Tiger."
"From that day on, I, Lei Long, made a vow that my life belongs only to you!"
"Please allow me to follow you forever!"
He suddenly knelt on one knee and spoke solemnly.
The crew behind him, as if instructed, including Tulin, all stepped forward and knelt on the deck, pledging their allegiance in the same manner.
There might have been selfish concerns, worries about an uncertain future.
But there was also genuine gratitude for the life-saving grace.
Seeing this, Chen Feng remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on Andi, who was being held by Lei Long's wife in the distance, too timid to speak.
There were also the more than ten family members of the crew who boarded the ship, all looking bewildered.
Without much hesitation, because he truly needed trusted individuals to gather resources for him in this world.
"From today onward,"
"You are all my Familiars."
"As long as there is no betrayal, you will forever be under my protection."
Splash!!! The moment his words fell, water columns erupted from the ocean, shooting skyward.
Gata cheered and roared, while the kneeling crowd was shaken, nodding in unison and swearing oaths of eternal loyalty.
Finally, as everyone stood up, Lei Long stepped forward alone.
"Master, where are we heading next?" he asked.
Although Chen Feng was not very familiar with the map of this world, he still voiced his thoughts.
"Hurricane Island."
That was the second piece of information left by the Charles Family estate.
The fleet tasked with capturing Mermaids actually had another branch, led by a fourth-level Sequencer named Bernard, specifically responsible for handling affairs at Hurricane Island as a transit point before transporting the Mermaids to the Steel Capital.
If the timing was correct, there should still be several Mermaids stranded there.
Compared to the Steel Capital where Prince Seth resided, Hurricane Island was undoubtedly much safer and could yield additional gains.
"Hurricane Island," Lei Long beside him pondered thoughtfully, unaware of Chen Feng's intentions, but still full of admiration.
"As expected of the Master, always so thorough in your considerations."
"Oh?"
"Hurricane Island is in a very special location, situated at the maritime border between the Steel Kingdom and the Tulip Kingdom."
"And to the south, one can also reach the Holy Star Empire of the Southern Continent."
With a tone of awe, Lei Long continued, "Because of this, Hurricane Island is a melting pot, with people from both kingdoms and the empire frequenting it. Although it nominally belongs to the Steel Kingdom, in reality, it is constrained by other forces."
"There are also many surrounding shipping routes, so if anything goes wrong, we can leave for anywhere at any time."
He said a lot, and Chen Feng hadn't expected to stumble upon such a favorable situation.
Shaking his head, he didn't say more, just instructed Lei Long to take control of the navigation and handed over the giant shark ring found at the Charles estate.
Tap tap.
With crisp footsteps, he went inside the cabin.
Opening the small wooden box, twenty pieces of ore resembling blue crystals came into view, glowing faintly.
Reaching out, Steel Bones activated silently.
[Metal Essence +1!]
[Metal Essence +1!]
[Metal Essence +1!]
After a dozen seconds, continuous cracking sounds rang out.
The blue crystals turned into a box of debris, their color fading as if drained of energy, becoming a lifeless gray-white.
In an instant, the panel flashed, and the progress of Steel Bones increased again.
[Steel Bones LV4: 73/100]
"Twenty Blue Heart Stones, their effect is almost equivalent to that one piece of Radiant Alloy."
"If I can find a few more Mermaids, I should be able to upgrade Steel Bones again."
Chen Feng thought to himself, actually considering the idea of exploring the storm canyon at the bottom of Merman Bay once more.
But the underwater storms there were truly terrifying. Recalling them, he felt that even the Holy Shield Colossus, despite being sixth-level, would struggle to enter unscathed.
"Wait a bit longer,"
"Let the Mermaid clan gather more for me for a while longer."
With this thought, he then looked at the other talents on the panel.
[Heart of Glory LV4: 27/100]
[Azure Armor LV5: 91/100]
The progress of the Heart of Glory was slowing down. The Holy Shield Colossus, being a sixth-tier entity, was powerful because of this, but it also made advancement increasingly difficult, demanding higher and higher amounts of Glory.
In contrast, the Azure Armor, which had been lagging behind, was quietly nearing another upgrade.
"Just a little more," Chen Feng thought, his eyes bright with new ideas.
Several days later.
A transformed two-masted sailing ship departed from a small port in the Steel Kingdom.
The sails and most parts of the deck had been adjusted, making it distinct from Lei Long's previous vessel. Even Lei Long and his crew had changed their appearances—some wore different woolen clothes, others had shaved or added fake beards, and a few donned round-top hats. At a glance, they looked subtly different from before.
"It seems the Steel Kingdom hasn't reacted quickly enough. When we went to the black market, we didn't see any wanted posters related to us," Lei Long remarked, standing on the deck beside Tulin, who was now dressed in clean black cotton clothes.
"However, someone did mention the execution platform. They might have passed through Banli Port," he added.
"The Great Shark Ring is quite conspicuous. They might have guessed my identity."
Chen Feng turned to look at the small port gradually fading into the distance. Two similar two-masted ships had quietly set sail, coincidentally heading in the same direction.
"Hmm," Chen Feng nodded, not entirely surprised that they were being followed.
He had instructed Lei Long to sell the Great Shark Ring in the black market, using the proceeds as seed money for their new identities as merchants and their plan to settle in Hurricane Island.
The black market was a place of chaos and prying eyes. It wasn't unusual for someone with sharp ears to notice something amiss.
"Let's go," Chen Feng said, shaking his head and turning his gaze away.
Lei Long paused for a moment before understanding and signaled the helmsman to continue sailing.
The salty sea breeze brushed past, and Chen Feng could feel his mental state slowly recovering.
His physical strength was also gradually increasing, bringing him back to the threshold of the fifth tier.
"It seems that even in a second dream," Chen Feng mused, "as long as I don't get injured, the wounds I suffered in Qinggang City will slowly heal."
He became more certain of his decision to leverage the cycle of these two dreams.
Lei Long, unaware of these thoughts, continued teaching Tulin how to navigate until the ship was far from the port. As they passed the intersection of two sea routes, he glanced back.
The ocean stretched endlessly, and the port city had become a tiny speck of white and black in the distance.
The two seemingly coincidental two-masted ships continued to follow, and someone appeared to be observing them through a monocular telescope.
The sunlight reflected off the lens, flickering intermittently. Lei Long paid it no mind, instead focusing on the deep blue sea.
Suddenly, a massive whirlpool appeared, and the two ships were swiftly pulled into it.
A flash of deep blue, and tentacles wrapped around the vessels, as if a colossal creature from the Deep Sea had emerged, dragging them into the ocean.
Struggling shouts echoed briefly before being drowned out by the gurgling of water.
"This!" Tulin exclaimed, utterly shocked.
Lei Long shared the same expression. Although he had anticipated something like this, he still found the Giant Octopus terrifying—a fifth-tier sea beast capable of standing against the Blood Sea Vice Admiral.
His awe and admiration grew stronger as he turned to look at the black-clad young man on the deck, who was frowning slightly.
"Master?" Lei Long asked.
"Nothing," Chen Feng shook his head, glancing at Gata beneath the sea.
The tentacles bound tightly, and high-pressure water jets sliced through everything.
The fleet that had pursued them, intending to turn the tables, was effortlessly dealt with. In the process, he made a crucial discovery.
"Gata has actually grown a bit stronger."
This was an unexpected revelation, something he had overlooked before.
It seemed that the fifth rank wasn't Gata's limit, and the title mentioned in the panel was well-deserved.
[One of the rulers of the Deep Sea, a unique Star Realm Creature]
"Perhaps Gata has a different origin."
With a flicker in his eyes, Chen Feng recalled the memories of Gata from the Soul Flame.
Born in the East Sea, Gata had been without parents from the start.
Always alone, Gata had never encountered any of its kind.
Having formed a rough guess, Chen Feng decided to investigate this matter thoroughly when the opportunity arose.
"Give it two gold coins."
Chen Feng said. Lei Long was momentarily stunned, then quickly nodded, pulling two gold coins from his pocket and tossing them into the ocean.
Plop! The sound of the coins hitting the water echoed, and the sea remained calm.
But faintly, everyone on the ship heard a sound.
"Sha!!"
A cry of joy and satisfaction. The Soul Flame clearly reflected all of Gata's emotions.
Chen Feng shook his head with a smile, beginning to look forward to Gata's future growth and increased strength.
The expressions of the crew varied, but all showed deeper reverence.
The two-masted sailing ship continued its journey, heading straight for the northern edge of the East Sea.
The vast sea stretched endlessly, and during the voyage, they passed by other fleets.
Most encounters were uneventful, but they did come across a small group of pirates attempting a sneak attack.
Unfortunately for the pirates, under Gata's protection, they all became bones and spirits at the bottom of the sea.
The journey was smooth, until the day Chen Feng felt they were about to leave this realm.
The waves crashed, and white seagulls flew away from a distant horizon.
"Hurricane Island!"
"Captain, we've arrived!"
The lookout helmsman shouted loudly, and everyone looked on with excitement.
The distant horizon was vast, making it hard to believe it was just an island.
Dense clusters of ships with volcanic masts were anchored nearby, various flags fluttering in the air—some with flowers and trees, others with swords and shields, and even patterns of water and mountains.
Buildings were scattered across the island, from wooden shacks to red and gray villas.
People came and went near the island's port, looking like tiny black dots the size of ants.
At the center of the island stood a massive dormant volcano, like a giant standing tall.
"So many fleets."
"Look, the Ironwood Fleet, the one that escaped from the hands of one of the Seven Generals, the Admiral of the Evil Prison."
"And over there, the Starmoon Fleet, a large fleet from the Holy Star Empire that even repelled an attack from the Admiral of the Firebone."
Exclamations and sighs rose continuously, and Chen Feng also faintly sensed the powerful auras lurking or moving about on Hurricane Island.
"Hurricane Island..."
After a deep glance at the distant massive island, he turned his gaze to the fluttering flag on their own mast.
A burning flame—the flag left after Lei Long's fleet had undergone a transformation.
The Crimson Flame Fleet, that was the new name of the fleet.
Splash!
Amidst the sound of the waves, the ship rocked and swayed, moving forward to the island's port.
Soldiers and constables managing the area patrolled around, and Lei Long and the others had disguised themselves well, smoothly disembarking and stepping onto the island.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Tulin turned back in confusion.
Where was Master Feng Chen? He looked at Captain Lei Long.
"The Master will appear."
"And all we need to do is pray and wait."
He patted Tulin's head as he spoke, keeping in mind the instructions Chen Feng had given him.
Among the fleet left behind by the Charles Family in this area, there was a high possibility that a Mermaid had been stranded.
If they encountered danger, they were to throw silver coins into the sea to seek the intervention and protection of Envoy Gata.
"Let's go."
Leading Tulin and the others away, Lei Long glanced back once.
The two-masted sailing ship was now empty, and the Giant Octopus that had escorted them all the way had quietly retreated to the depths of the sea around Hurricane Island.
(End of the Chapter)
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