Warm steam filled the spacious bathroom. Xu Zihuang, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, slowly opened them after a long while. The purple-gold glow deep in his eyes faded, returning to calm.
While soaking in the bathtub, he had used his spiritual force to thoroughly probe the full contents of the plan that Ju Zi and the others had discussed.
First, over the past five or six years, every so often, a ship sailing from the southern seas of the Sun Moon Empire toward the Yue Nan Islands would go missing. The frequency wasn't high, and the intervals were irregular; on average, only one or two incidents per year. To ordinary people, this was most likely due to attacks by powerful sea soul beasts in the deep ocean.
Despite the known dangers, the enormous profits from trade meant that large merchant associations were still willing to take the risk. To ensure safety, they would typically assign a considerable number of soul masters and soul engineers as escorts.
In the adjacent room, Ju Zi and the other nineteen people were all elites of the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps. Some time ago, the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps, to which Ju Zi belonged, had discovered traces of the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group behind these incidents.
The purpose of this mission was to use a merchant ship from the South Sea Merchant Association as bait to lure the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group into taking the hook.
Although the South Sea Merchant Association and the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps shared similar names, the two organizations had no connection whatsoever.
To avoid any leaks, Ju Zi had not revealed even the slightest information about this operation to the person in charge of the South Sea Merchant Association's ship.
On the day the merchant ship set sail, Ju Zi, Captain Yan, and the twenty elites from the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps would disguise themselves as ordinary passengers and board the vessel. They would then use the latest positioning soul tool developed by the Sun Moon Empire to transmit their exact location to the main forces of the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps. Once the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group took the bait, they would coordinate from inside and outside to annihilate them.
Of course, the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps was taking such a huge risk to deal with the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group primarily for the interests in the Yue Nan Islands. Not long ago, a veteran ninth-level soul engineer from the Sun Moon Empire had visited the Yue Nan Islands and detected a considerable number of rare metal veins in the surrounding waters—some of them extremely precious.
Extracting rare metal veins from the seabed was indeed difficult, but with the advanced soul tool technology of the Sun Moon Empire, it was not impossible.
The ninth-level soul engineer had reported this to the ambitious Crown Prince Xu Tianran, who immediately formed a plan.
Eliminating the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group was only the first step; his ultimate goal was to fully control the entire Yue Nan Islands. In recent years, the Yue Nan Islands had essentially slipped out of the Sun Moon Empire's grasp, and this move was also a way for him to indirectly assert his authority.
"Splasha—" Xu Zihuang stood up in the bathtub, sending ripples of water splashing. Completely bare, his body lines were exceptionally smooth, his muscles perfectly defined, and his lustrous skin carried a faint jade-like sheen. There was also a natural aura of life that instinctively drew people closer.
His wet black hair clung to his back, with a few strands of purple standing out strikingly. If not for the obvious muscular contours and tall stature, viewed from the side or back, one might mistake him for a woman.
That flawless fair skin was enough to make any woman envious.
Xu Zihuang casually picked up a bath towel to dry himself, his deep gaze flashing with a cold snort.
"Xu Tianran."
If there truly were high-quality rare metal veins in the waters near the Yue Nan Islands, he naturally could not let Xu Tianran succeed. Compared to the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group, he was far less willing to see Xu Tianran get his way.
The reason was simple: he could wipe out the Demon Crocodile Pirate Group anytime with Wang Xiao and the others. But if Xu Tianran extended his reach to the Yue Nan Islands, things would become uncontrollable.
It was not yet time to reveal his cards.
However, he had no intention of meeting Ju Zi right now. Given her special feelings toward him, she would definitely try to persuade him not to board the merchant ship heading to Yue Shu Island. And he absolutely had to go to Yue Shu Island. With Ju Zi's intelligence, if he appeared too insistent, he might accidentally expose something.
He had to be cautious and nip any potential risks in the bud.
The safest approach was to pretend to run into Ju Zi by chance after boarding the ship the day after tomorrow.
After all, at this stage, he still could not fully trust Ju Zi.
Xu Zihuang reclined on the soft, comfortable sofa in the living room. In his perception, Ju Zi had once again begun studying a sea chart alone. After the nineteen members of the South Sea Soul Engineer Corps left the Haiyue Grand Hotel, he lightly pressed a metal button on the table in front of him.
Not long afterward, a crisp doorbell rang from the direction of the room door.
The top-floor premium rooms of the Haiyue Grand Hotel were equipped with sound-insulating soul tools. As long as doors and windows were fully closed, no sound from inside could escape, and no outside noise could enter. Guests could only hear the doorbell or knocking at the door, fully protecting their privacy.
This was why Ju Zi and the others had felt safe discussing their battle plan in the room.
If not for Xu Zihuang's exceptionally powerful spiritual force, even a Soul Sage or Soul Douluo-level soul master would likely have been unable to detect anything.
Xu Zihuang rose and opened the door, which was made primarily of red sandalwood with embedded metal panels. Standing outside was a pretty young girl wearing the standard white ruffled long skirt uniform of the Haiyue Grand Hotel female staff.
Unlike the typical wheat-colored skin common in Haiyue City, the girl had the fair complexion more typical of inland residents.
Upon seeing Xu Zihuang's appearance, she froze for a moment, but quickly lowered her head respectfully, her face flushing red. Even her voice became softer.
"May I ask what you need, honored guest?"
Xu Zihuang calmly took out a gold card worth one thousand gold soul coins from his storage soul tool and said indifferently, "Go to the South Sea Merchant Association and buy me a ticket to Yue Shu Island. I want a room on the very top deck, preferably near the deck with an open view. Money is no object."
"Yes."
The girl was skilled at reading people and accepted the gold card obediently, not daring to overstep. She bowed and withdrew from the room.
The staff at the Haiyue Grand Hotel were highly efficient. In less than half an hour, she returned with a jade card engraved with the characters "South Sea" and the remaining five hundred gold soul coins.
This jade card was the ship ticket. Boarding required verification through a special soul tool, making forgery impossible.
The ticket cost five hundred gold soul coins and included three meals a day for the half-month voyage. It was expensive, but considering the protection provided by powerful soul masters and soul engineers, it was reasonable.
After handing these to Xu Zihuang, the girl no longer disturbed him. Thereafter, she only delivered sumptuous meals at mealtimes.
Over the next day or so, Xu Zihuang spent all his time cultivating, except when eating.
Early the following morning, Xu Zihuang arrived at the Sun Moon Port. As the largest port in the Sun Moon Empire, it was far grander than Qianling Port, which he had visited before. Though the sky was still dim, the area was already bustling with workers unloading cargo and boarding passengers. The clamor of voices mixed with the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Large cargo and passenger ships were docked in the central area of the port. The South Sea Merchant Association's merchant ship stood out prominently.
The vessel was over 150 meters long and more than 60 meters wide. Its sturdy iron hull was painted iron-gray, not for decoration, but infused with a special poison derived from certain plants.
This served two purposes: to prevent marine organisms like barnacles and mussels from attaching to the bottom, and to deter attacks from sea soul beasts to some extent.
The overall color of the deck was a deep blue similar to the ocean, intended to confuse seabird-type soul beasts.
However, most seabird soul beasts had excellent eyesight, so attacks still occurred frequently. Fortunately, powerful individuals were rare among seabird soul beast groups, making them less threatening to ships than soul beasts living in the sea.
Iron stairs extended dozens of meters upward from the dock to the wide deck of the merchant ship.
Two white-robed deacons from the South Sea Merchant Association stood on either side at the bottom of the stairs, checking tickets.
Since Xu Zihuang had arrived early, he was the only passenger nearby preparing to board this massive ship bound for Yue Shu Island.
Without waiting for the deacons to speak, he handed over the jade card.
One deacon took it and pressed it against a metal box-like soul tool. The characters "South Sea" on the jade card immediately shone brightly.
The deacon returned the card to Xu Zihuang, exchanged a glance with his companion, and both made a welcoming gesture with warm smiles.
"Welcome aboard the Sea Dragon. We wish you a pleasant journey."
Xu Zihuang calmly stepped onto the iron stairs and ascended to the deck of the Sea Dragon, instantly releasing his spiritual force.
The two white-robed deacons were soul masters, but their soul power was only in the twenties.
There were many such deacons aboard the Sea Dragon. White-robed deacons were the lowest rank, all Great Soul Masters with two rings. Yellow-robed and purple-robed deacons corresponded to Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, respectively.
There was only one black-robed deacon, standing at the front of the deck. Xu Zihuang spotted him the moment he boarded.
The black-robed deacon was of medium build and appeared to be in his forties. He wore a gentle smile that easily inspired trust.
According to Xu Zihuang's perception, this black-robed deacon was a Soul Emperor-level expert with soul power around level 67.
Hearing Xu Zihuang's steady footsteps, the black-robed deacon instinctively turned around, not because he had detected the released spiritual force, but simply out of curiosity toward the first passenger to board.
Seeing Xu Zihuang's deep gaze and composed aura, he paused briefly before nodding politely in greeting.
Two more white-robed deacons on the deck approached proactively and led Xu Zihuang toward the rooms on the top deck. The merchant ship had seven levels in total: two below deck and five above.
Upon seeing the jade card in Xu Zihuang's hand, the two deacons realized he had purchased a ticket for the very top deck and became even more attentive.
Five hundred gold soul coins were no small sum for ordinary people or low-level soul masters. Xu Zihuang was so young, with outstanding appearance and temperament, one could tell at a glance that he came from an extraordinary background. Building a good relationship was always beneficial.
As time passed, more and more passengers boarded the ship.
At that moment, a woman wearing an orange-red long dress and a straw hat stepped onto the deck. The corner of her eye inadvertently scanned the surroundings, and her heart tightened.
It was Ju Zi.
Including her, all twenty members had successfully boarded disguised as ordinary passengers. Although each of them was at least a fifth-level soul engineer, the mission remained arduous and highly dangerous.
She had also purchased a ticket for a room on the top deck.
The environment on the ship naturally could not compare to a city hotel. Each room on the top deck was only about forty square meters, consisting of a bedroom and a separate bathroom. But they were clean and tidy, and gazing far out through the crystal window beside the bed offered a unique charm.
Xu Zihuang stood by the crystal window, watching Ju Zi approach him directly toward him.
By an extraordinary coincidence, Ju Zi's room was directly opposite his. Both rooms were at the end of the corridor near the bow. Exiting the corridor led to a balcony-like area enclosed by railings, overlooking the vast deck below, comparable in size to a fighting soul arena.
More than an hour passed, and departure time approached. Any passengers who had not yet boarded would no longer be waited for.
"Rumble—" The iron stairs were retracted by the South Sea Merchant Association deacons. The leading black-robed deacon channeled his soul power, projecting his voice to every corner of the Sea Dragon.
"Handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies, my name is Ruan Xinghai, and I am the person in charge of this Sea Dragon. On behalf of the South Sea Merchant Association, I welcome you all. I must say this upfront: long-distance ocean voyages inevitably involve risks, and I believe everyone is mentally prepared for that. However, there is no need to worry excessively. Since you have boarded the Sea Dragon, we will do our utmost to ensure your safety. To that end, the South Sea Merchant Association has specially assigned fifty deacons, and the Sea Dragon is equipped with numerous powerful soul tools. Please relax for now and enjoy this wonderful journey."
Ruan Xinghai's words elicited compliments from the passengers on the deck.
"Deacon Ruan is too modest; we certainly trust the capabilities of the South Sea Merchant Association. With all of you protecting us, this voyage will surely be uneventful."
"Exactly, we chose this ship precisely because we trust the South Sea Merchant Association."
"Deacon Ruan is too frank. As far as I know, the South Sea Merchant Association's ships have never had an accident."
"…"
Listening to the flattery, Ruan Xinghai felt somewhat helpless. In the deep sea, who could guarantee absolute safety?
But he certainly would not show it now. As the person in charge of the Sea Dragon, he had to appear confident. Otherwise, if they encountered a sea soul beast attack, panic could easily spread and cause casualties amid the chaos.
Taking a deep breath, Ruan Xinghai waved his right hand and shouted.
"Weigh anchor, set sail!"
With that command, the Sea Dragon officially departed.
The weather that day was excellent, with calm winds and gentle waves. After weighing anchor, under the coordinated control of the South Sea Merchant Association deacons, the sails billowed in the wind, and the ship smoothly left the port, heading deep into the southern seas.
After sailing for two hours, the coastline had vanished from sight. Some timid passengers, fearing sea soul beast attacks, returned to their rooms.
Feeling something, Xu Zihuang stood and walked out of his room. At the same moment, the door opposite opened.
Xu Zihuang and Ju Zi locked eyes, both showing surprise in their gazes.
Of course, Xu Zihuang's surprise was deliberately feigned.
"Senior Ju Zi?!"
"Tianhuang?!"
"What are you doing here?!"
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