Kanari’s sudden insertion into the battle caused the Spirit Beasts to flee in a forced retreat. Most of her adversaries were below the Tier 5 realm, which meant that Kanari’s flames alone were able to hold them at bay. In her Kumiho form, the woman was invincible physically as well. There’s a reason why Kanari had become a Spirit Lord faster than anyone of her age, Shin included. As the future bride of the heir, Kanari’s status in the Lantis Republic could be equivalent to that of a princess-regent. While Shin was busy with the billion-odd tasks he had to do, Kanari could reap the benefits of both the Lantis Republic and Highgarden Duchy.

Training every day at a dormant volcano with a breathtaking ocean’s view, Kanari was able to absorb the Fire and Wind Element at a rate that no one could compare. Not to mention, her close proximity to Shin had also spurred her cultivation speed rapidly. A Rank 51 Spirit Lord at twenty-three. Kanari was really showing the Lantis Republic that she was the only person worthy to stand side-by-side with Shin.

Whhhhhhhhhooooossshhhhhhhhh!!!

Angered by Kanari’s blatant arrogance, one submarine unleashed all of its ammunition from the bottom of the ocean. The red-tipped harpoons sped through the depths and rushed right at Kanari, who seemed utterly oblivious to the threat. Yes, the Spirit Lord might be able to take down the Beast Horde, but her flames would be rendered completely ineffective when defending against an underwater threat.

The Shudra captaining the submarine wore a disgusting smile, ready to watch as his harpoons rip Kanari’s flesh into a thousand little pieces. Unfortunately, they had forgotten one minor thing…

Swwoooooooooooooooooshhhhhh!!!

A massive shadow entered the depths of the ocean, blocking the line of sight of the submarine. The trajectory of the explosive harpoons was instantly distorted as millions of bubbles hindered their path. In the end, unable to bear with the sudden change, the trump card of the submarines exploded fifty metres before it could reach Kanari.

“What the?” The Shudra jaw was at his feet. He couldn’t believe the magic that had just flashed by his eyes. Before he could even question his very existence, the shadow darted down at a speed untraceable to the human eye and before he knew it…

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!

A hole had been drilled into the submarine, sending gallons of salty seawater gushing in. Bubbles were all the Shudra could see as the pressure continued to mount within the submarine. There was no saving him or his crew. The Shudra gasped within the final pocket of air that he had before finally sinking down into oblivion.

Finishing up her job, a burly middle-aged woman emerged from the ocean like a beluga whale. Drenched to the bone, one could clearly identify her colossal figure, which was as fit as can be. With a sigh, the woman chastised the master she served. “Mistress Kanari… Please, inform me of your plans before you act…”

“Ah, my apologies,” Kanari replied with a smile that hinted her lack of remorse. “It’s just that I trust you too much Thea.”

“Even so, there are some situations where I can’t react fast enough...” The Spirit Venerate that was meant to be Kanari’s guard shook her head. Only Thea’s head was visible as she continued to thread the water around her. She looked to the north, where most of the longboats were located. Many of them only contained Black Masks that were Rank 40 and below while the select few with a more potent force were already embroiled in a battle with the Lantis Navy.

‘Hmmm... Mistress Kanari should be capable of handling those weaklings on her own. The only problem is those pesky underwater boats...’ The elite bodyguard surmised. Over the past three years, Kanari had trained her fighting capabilities to an astounding degree. Not only had Kanari perfected her domain, but she had also learnt how to effectively combine her three innate abilities.

Foxfires were powerful. Just ask the poor Shizen who had acted as Kanari’s training partner when Shin was too busy. However, what if her foxfires were condensed into a single point and amplified by an intense gale tornado? What effects could Kanari possibly show? Well, the answer was right before the Black Masks’ eyes.

VVVVVVVRRRRRRRROMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Yet another condensed flame escaped from Kanari’s palm and flew viciously towards a nearby longboat. Without any protection from a Spirit Lord cultivator or higher, the poor ship could only serve as cannon fodder. An intense explosion decimated the longboat. Blue flames expanded rapidly, incinerating everything in view, and when that wasn’t enough, Kanari twisted her hand once more. The fire instantly stopped and condensed back into a small little ball. The seamen on the longboat took this opportunity to abandon ship, thinking that it was all over. Alas, the hell was only beginning.

Kanari’s flames unleashed yet another explosion, breaking the hull and mast. The pattern repeated itself a dozen times until the Black Masks’ longboat was nothing but ash and char.

‘Yup, nothing I can do here...’ Thea snorted and descended back into the ocean. Kanari only had one weakness, and that was underwater combat. Her flames were practically useless within the sea, and her gale control was incapable of affecting the currents like Shin could. In the end, it was up to Kanari’s bodyguard to protect her from the threat of the depths.

“Fire!!!” One Kshatriya gritted his teeth and laid down the order. They were supposed to distract the Lantis Navy as long as they possibly could, and a kill onto the Prince of Water’s consort would be a good start. So, against his better judgement, the Black Mask assumed that he could take on the Princess. Wrong move.

The Kumiho claws that Kanari possessed unleashed a torrent of concentrated flame energy. Blades the size of two yachts positioned side-by-side dyed the snowy grey afternoon into a merciless violet hue. Viciously, Kanari’s new claws descended down like a tiger’s paw strike. The longboat that attempted to take her down… Was now split into six equal pieces, with five distinct lines made with flames separating them all

See, once Shin’s fighting style had morphed over the years. At the start, he was nothing more than a healer that could spray water around. Then, in Imperius Academy, Shin learnt to fight at close-quarters. He’d even acquired Spiritual Body Enhancement, just to enhance his overall martial capabilities.

However, in more recent years, Shin had changed into more of a control-based Spirit User. Instead of fighting with his spear in hand, the Prince of Water liked to dominate the battlefield like a tactician. Analysing his opponent’s every move while formulating plans to either mimic or utterly destroy them. That was Shin’s new signature style, and the Domain of Dreams was the perfect example of how he fought.

So, to complement Shin’s abilities, Kanari opted to go for a more combative style. Kanari’s close-quarters combat was already top-notch, and her domain could help her dominate her opponents with relative ease. Also, her Lunar Beam and Spiritual Body Enhancement was powerful enough to make most enemies run with their tails stuck behind their legs. Thus, Kanari’s trajectory to become one of the world’s best combatants was already set in stone. All she needed to do was to refine her abilities just a little more.

And that was precisely what she did.

Kanari adopted Shin’s cunning mind and created a spiritual ability that morphed her foxfires into tremendous forms of energy. She could create condensed blades that were sharper than any legendary sword. Bloom a deadly flower that detonated with the force of a volcanic eruption. And possibly its most important attribute, Kanari could create layers of defence to protect her supple skin from taking any sort of impurities.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!

The Nine-Tailed woman continued to wreak havoc amongst the Black Masks’ fleet. Flames flew everywhere as Spirit Beasts began to fall in complete agony. Shudras looked to their superiors for help, but they were somewhat preoccupied with the Lantis Navy’s officers. Clashes between Spirit Kings and Emperors became all the more frequent while the warships that the Lantis Navy boasted were tearing through multiple longboats at a time.

Some of the more critical cargo had already crossed the narrow waterways and were speeding farther away from the Lantis Sea. It was understandable for the Black Masks to abandon their expendable army.

“Kanari should be fine…” Shin’s tense shoulders eased a little after watching Kanari’s spectacular one-man-show. The young maiden should be able to defend herself and the warship ferrying the twins and Lady Seph. “It’s those longboats that are the problem...” The Prince of Water’s warm gaze turned into a death glare. Shin might be a few kilometres away from the sailing longboats, but his eyes could see their contents clearly.

Tier 7 Spirit Beasts that were clearly unable to fly or swim stood with gnarly scowls on the deck. Black Masks with crescent moons and emerald snakes engraved on their foreheads also stood on by. However, the most critical cargo wasn’t the powerful beings that could change the fate of a battle if they were unleashed. The most essential resource that the Black Masks were trying to save was…

“Mmmm, you were right, my Prince.” Zishen stroked his white dragon’s beard as his wrinkled face broke into a smile. “The mana signatures of those longboats… They do hide something sinister. This feeling… I had only sensed it in those dastardly Payircis.”

“I knew it!” The youth exclaimed. “They really can move the Paradise Hearts around!”

The fact that there were that many more Paradise Hearts lingering in the Lantis Republic, even when most of the Payircis were closely monitored by the Lantis Republic sent shivers down Shin’s spine. It meant that the Black Masks had plans to erect even more of those dastardly levitating towers that reaped the lives of any who dared to venture deep inside of them.

‘They’re all focusing on the Lantis Navy...’ Shin sent his spiritual senses straight at the fleeing longboats. None of their protectors was looking at Shin’s direction. Their gazes were all glued towards their rear, where the warships and powerful cultivators were. Even Shin’s summoned Beast Horde was kept at bay by the Black Masks’ own Spirit Beasts.

‘Perhaps I can use this...’

Unconsciously, the ends of Shin’s lips curled upwards, taking the shape of an impish smile. Zishen, who had been observing Shin for the longest time, shook his head with a sigh: “Mmmm... My Prince, what exactly are you scheming now?”

“What?”

“That face of yours… It’s too easy to read...” the Azure Dragon said. “You’re going to try something absurd once again, right?”

“What makes you say that?” Shin frowned at the lack of distrust that stupid dragon had.

“Mmmm… I’ve been burned too many times by that smile, My Prince.” Zishen shook his head as his fingers climbed up to support his falling neck. At the side, Heigui Xuegang coughed twice and turned his gaze far away. The Spirit Venerate was a newcomer, but even he had heard of Shin’s legendary twisted smile.

When the Prince grins, the world will burn.

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning to leave the barrier one bit!” Shin reassured the concerned duo. He raised his left hand, and the familiar siren’s wail rang within all of their heads. Zishen watched as his former fingernail appeared right behind of Shin. Unlike the previous times Shin had ignited the Shard, it seemed far more restrained. The tempest of spiritual energy was kept within Shin’s Spectre Soul, and the mana it generated was as stable as a tranquil lake.

‘I’d never tried this on a moving target, but here goes...’

Shin closed his eyes and concentrated everything that he had onto the waters right ahead of the first longboat. He ‘sensed’ the flow of the ocean, the moving tides that rose and fell with every passing second.

‘Concentrate… On… The… Space...’ Shin continued to drip down sweat as his forehead turned more vermillion.

The Shard wasn’t ignited to throw an immense energy surge, but instead, it was used for Shin to heighten his mana output. The ‘attack’ that he was going to commit to wasn’t all that powerful. However, it was as challenging as threading a needle that was ten thousand kilometres away.

The water that surrounded the first longboat glistened in starlight just a little bit. Since all the Black Masks were preoccupied with escaping, they didn’t catch the subtle difference. That would prove to be their undoing…

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzssssssssssssssssssttttttttttt!!!

At the peak of his power, Shin finally unleashed his spatial attack. Fifteen water lances sliced through the hull of the longboat and protruded out the other side above the deck. Seawater gushed into the ships, and before long, the Black Masks had to scramble up the boat and save their most precious cargo. Some Shudras attempted to cog the holes with their own spiritual abilities, but they were far too late. Half of the longboat had already been filled with the love of the ocean.

It was pure, unadulterated mayhem. And the cause of the catastrophe remained smiling throughout.

“What?” Shin raised his brow at the twitching eyelids of Zishen and Heigui Xuegang.

“Mmmm… Like I said… You’re fucking absurd...”