"Qiuyue, can you activate the concealment array within the ship? We'll be camping up here for a few days." Su Yang said to her after returning to the ship.

Qiuyue nodded, and a few moments later, a transparent barrier surrounded the entire ship.

"This is it? Are we invisible now?" Xie Wang asked him.

"Yes, and unless they bump into us or have someone skilled enough to see through the formation, they won't even feel our presence." Su Yang said.

"Then all we have to do now is wait for their Leader to appear…" Xie Wang said as he stared at the unconscious people below them.

A few minutes after Su Yang wiped their memories, the Moonlight Blades' members began waking up one by one, and they were all completely baffled by the mysterious situation.

"W-What the hell happened? Why were we all sleeping?" One of them said.

"I… can't remember anything... "

"I don't recall anything, either!"

Meanwhile, a few thousand miles away from their location, a middle-aged man with a large, ugly scar on his face stood before ten other figures, and all of them wore the Moonlight Blades' uniform.

"Leader Lai, the reinforcements from the Holy Central Continent should arrive within the next three days," said one of the figures.

The middle-aged man, who was the leader of the Moonlight Blades nodded, and he spoke with an expression that could hardly contain his excitement, "At long last… after spending countless efforts throughout many decades and sacrificing thousands of our soldiers, we can finally take down the Xie Family once and for all!"

"Congratulations, Leader Lai!"

"Congratulations, Leader!"

"The Eastern Continent is finally yours, Leader!"

The ten figures began praising him, who burst out laughing, "Once the Eastern Continent is in my hands, I will finally be able to exact my revenge on the Xie Family! I will make that bastard Xie Yimu regret ruining my life, and I am going to do so by ravaging his beloved daughter right before his very eyes! If he dies an early death, I will play with her body on your damn grave instead, Xie Yimu!"

The Leader's aura radiated with killing intent, his voice filled with deep hatred.

"Leader, I have a question." One of the figures suddenly said. "Can we really trust the reinforcements from the Holy Central Continent?"

"What if they want more than what we offered?"

"Isn't it a bit too late to ask that now?" The Leader said, and he continued, "Even if they decide to betray us, as long as I can have my revenge, nothing else matters."

"..."

The ten figures became silent.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Jade Sea, a massive ship could be seen approaching the Eastern Continent at an extreme speed.

"Patriarch, there's another Dragon Eel approaching us!" Someone on the ship alerted Patraich Gold.

*ROOOOOOOAR!*

A powerful roar suddenly resounded, and a massive serpent-like beast leaped out of the water with its fangs aimed at the moving ship.

"Get lost!"

Patriarch Gold suddenly appeared in front of the Dragon Eel and punched it with his fist glowing gold.

"Heavenly Lion's Smash!"

Boom!

A massive hole opened up in the Dragon Eel's body exactly where Patriarch Gold had punched, instantly killing it.

"As expected of the Patriarch! He can kill even a peak Heavenly Spirit Realm Dragon Eel in a single strike!"

"Hahaha! He's the Sect Leader of the Golden Lion Academy for a reason!"

The people on the ship quickly celebrated Patriarch Gold's overwhelming victory.

"Without Patriarch Gold, we would've never made it this far. The Jade Sea is simply too dangerous — even more so than I'd imagined."

"Indeed. We have been attacked constantly ever since we began our sail many months ago, and the sea creatures were all between the Earth Spirit Realm and the Heavenly Spirit Realm with even a few at the Sovereign Spirit Realm."

"If the surface of the Jade Sea is already this dangerous, I do not want to imagine what it would be like deep within the Jade Sea."

"Can you not talk about that? My body is shivering just from the mention of it…"

After defeating the Dragon Eel, Patriarch Gold returned to the ship and said to the crew, "We should arrive in the Eastern Continent in a few days. Prepare yourselves, because we are going to have some fun once we get there!"

The entire ship trembled with people shouting from excitement shortly afterward.

"Xing'er, you can sleep in any of the available rooms." Su Yang said to her once the sky turned black.

"Thank you, but I don't feel tired at all." Xie Xingfang said.

"Would you like to watch the stars with me?" she suddenly asked him.

"It would be my honor." Su Yang said.

A beautiful smile appeared on Xie Xingfang's face, and she gently patted the floor beside her.

"You can sit here," she said.

Su Yang nodded, and he sat beside Xie Xingfang on the floor.

Once he sat down, Xie Xingfang returned to staring at the flickering stars in the sky and spoke in an admiring voice, "I have never seen so many stars in the sky before."

"Maybe it's because I am always stuck inside my room by my father's will and I never get the chance to experience this kind of situation before. However, I don't blame him, as I know it's for my own safety."

"But ever since I met you, Su Yang, I feel as though I am leaving my room more and spending more time in the outside world."

Su Yang smiled and said, "I have met many people in similar situations — people who are born with elite statuses along with invisible shackles that bind their freedom. And for some reason, I always feel the desire to help them escape their shackles."

He then turned to look at her with a handsome smile on his face and said, "If you ever need help removing those shackles, I will gladly assist you."

"Su Yang…" Xie Xingfang looked at him with a slightly dazed face, seemingly mesmerized by his dazzling smile.