After a brief lull, Li Qiye gently spoke: “I can only say that the times have changed. If I was still the Dark Crow, it would be my time to take care of everything and harvest. Afterward, it would be a fruitful and brilliant age. Unfortunately, it’s time for me to leave…”

“Young Master, whether it be your lovers or fallen brothers or even me, you don’t need to stay for anyone.” Ruonan replied in a serious manner: “Just keep walking forward to fight the last battle. No one can stop your advance; this is your greatest charm and why people admire you. If, say, you were to stop because of me, I would be a sinner in your life. In my eyes, you are the one I admire the most, so I don’t want to leave a stain in your life. That would be an unforgivable crime.”

She spoke sincerely; each word came from the heart.

“I know.” Li Qiye nodded: “I won’t be stopping for you, that’s just how life is. Even if someone used to be the ruler of the nine heavens or master of the universe, they still can’t have everything go their way.”

“Young Master, there’s no need to worry about me. I made my own choice so even if I die in battle one day, it will be without regrets since that would still be accomplishing one of my goals. In my life, to have met you and be able to follow you are my best moments and memories. You taught me how vast the world is, gave me a pursuit in life, and showed me the profundities of the grand dao.

“How many people in the world are actually aware of this? Most lives are ephemeral. Without your guidance, I could still have become a blessed daughter of the heavens, an existence that could walk proudly across the nine worlds. However… I wouldn’t be me, someone who withstands the arduous passing of time. You gave me a firm dao heart — this is more precious than anything else!” Her eyes turned red at this point.

“Silly girl.” He wiped away the tears and smiled: “You are definitely a blessed existence. Even without me, you could still make it to this level. Your success today isn’t necessarily because of me. You yourself are worthy of pride. If your father was here, he would be proud because of his daughter even if your choice conflicts with his wish.”

Ruonan eventually smiled and gently shook her head.

“Okay, I’m going to try again and see if there are more people without eyes.” He lifted his head and chuckled: “Another big wave might create some effect.”

Ruonan knew what he wanted to do and smiled back. Her invincible Young Master has returned.

She eventually advised: “Young Master, you could go ask Terminus. Maybe he knows something.”

“Old Terminus does know quite a few things, but there’s no way for him to know the exact location. Someone of his level isn’t qualified to know about this or I would have figured it out long ago.”

***

While everyone was awestruck by Li Qiye’s battle record, the sky over at the Dragon Demon Sea seemed to have been torn open.

“Whoosh!” A boundless light surged out and illuminated the entire region.

“Boom!” Waves of endless height were set off after a loud explosion. The entire Dragon Demon Sea quaked. All of the existences there were trembling with fear. Many fish and shrimp at the seabed didn’t dare to come out.

At this time, many people in this region and even in other places of Heaven Spirit saw a gigantic ship. It was the size of a continent. The moment it entered this region, it set off the terrifying waves that impacted everything.

After seeing this, an expert exclaimed: “The Roaring Conch!”

Many fresh cultivators had never seen this scene before and were completely stunned. This might be the largest ship they have ever seen. Perhaps there wasn’t another one of this magnitude in the world.

Even a few older experts were dazed and murmured: “The legend is true, that’s the Roaring Conch.”

In Heaven Spirit, there was a rumor that the Roaring Conch wasn’t only a sect’s name. It was a ship, and the sect was established on it.

In fact, many people didn’t believe in its existence. After all, how could a lineage with two sea gods be built on a mere ship? How could it contain such a great lineage?

But the truth was as clear as day right now after people saw the size of this ship.

“Boom!” A pure sun slowly rose on the horizon. Once it reached high enough, the original sun in this region immediately turned bleak and lost its colors. [1]

In front of this second sun was a royal throne with a middle-aged man sitting on it. He was in high spirits as he presided over the heavens itself as well as all other insignificant existences.

Despite not exerting his aura in full, this existence made others think that they were looking at a deity of legend!

An ancestor from Gu Chun’s four branches back at the Abyss Sea startlingly exclaimed: “Ling Fengyun!”

A young cultivator who had never heard of this name before asked: “Who is that?”

“An Emperor Assailant.” The ancestor explained with a solemn expression: “His battle record is illustrious and almost to the point of being invincible. In his life, he has only lost to Immortal Emperor Hao Hai! Even after the emperor took the Heaven’s Will, Ling Fengyun could still last several hundred moves against him.”

“He’s strong to that level? Several hundred moves when an emperor is using his Heaven’s Will?” Many juniors were astonished to hear this.

Immortal Emperor Hao Hai had many legends about him. He created the Thousand Emperors Gate that produced four emperors! Nevertheless, Fengyun could still fight him for several hundred moves. This was no easy task.

“Yes, Fengyun is extremely heaven-defying.” The ancestor went on: “Even though he came from a small sect and never cultivated an imperial law in his life or came into the possession of an imperial weapon, he was still matchless until he met Immortal Emperor Hao Hai. The people of that era believed that if Immortal Emperor Hao Hai didn’t exist, Fengyun would have become emperor.”

The juniors from the four branches took a deep breath. This was a real Emperor Assailant!

“Li Qiye, you owe the Roaring Conch an explanation. Give me an answer after five days or face the consequences.” Fengyun’s voice echoed across the world as if he was ordering everyone.

Fengyun showed up and challenged Li Qiye right away — this shocked the experts in Heaven Spirit. Even those who didn’t know about him could tell that he was no joke due to his aura.

The disciple asked again: “Ling Fengyun is an ancestor from the Roaring Conch?”

“No.” The ancestor shook his head: “He’s not an ancestor or a disciple there. According to legend, he owed them his life when he was young. Because of this, he became a sworn brother of their second sea god, the River Devourer Sea God. People even said that it was due to this connection that the sea god was able to reign supreme. Before being accepted by the Trident, Fengyun helped him many times. Some accounts stated that he even taught the sea god how to cultivate.”

The ancestor became serious after revealing this.

An old man on the verge of death back at the Seven Martial Pavilion slowly said: “The Roaring Conch still resorted to asking Ling Fengyun for help.”

The Seven Martial Goddess was standing next to him and stared at Fengyun with a dignified expression: “Ancestor, Fengyun is one of the strongest people in Heaven Spirit right now, right?”

This dying old man was the pavilion’s legendary being, the Hallowed Ancestor!

“That’s a fair statement. He is very powerful indeed.” The Hallowed Ancestor admitted: “He is one of my main concerns in protecting you during this generation. He’s much younger than me with a vigorous blood energy. Since he owed the conch his life, if they were to actually ask him, he would do his best to return the favor.”

1. I’m not sure what the author meant here so I went with a complete literal translation of pure sun (Yang). The word itself is the name of a county; the classical/poetical meaning of the word is spring. A “spring” slowly rose on the horizon doesn’t make sense.