Crash—
Crash—
On the beach of the nameless deserted island, the sound of waves rose and fell.
Zhao Xuan stood quietly before Ruan Zhe's corpse, his expression completely blank.
Time passed—
Bit by bit, second by second.
After more than ten minutes—
The previously motionless Ruan Zhe suddenly opened his eyes.
"Wh—why?!"
Ruan Zhe's face twisted in ferocity as he rasped, "Zhao Xuan! How did you know? How did you know I wasn't dead?!"
How did I know you weren't dead?
Isn't that obvious?
I'm a man with a system.
Zhao Xuan silently replied in his heart.
But—
Although Ruan Zhe was certainly doomed—
There was no way Zhao Xuan would ever reveal the existence of the system.
After all—
Better safe than sorry.
What if, by some absurd chance, this man managed to escape?
Even if the probability was practically zero—
Zhao Xuan still wouldn't say a word.
"You might not know this," Zhao Xuan said mockingly.
"Someone tried playing dead in front of me before. That guy was even a Seventh-Rank Venerable. As for how that ended… you can imagine."
Hearing this, a trace of self-mockery surfaced on Ruan Zhe's face.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
He collapsed weakly onto the sand, panting heavily.
"So that's how it is… so that's how it is… hahaha… hahahaha—cough! cough!"
As he laughed weakly, Ruan Zhe suddenly began coughing violently.
Mouthfuls of blood spilled out.
After coughing for a long while, he finally calmed down.
He looked at Zhao Xuan weakly and said,
"Zhao Xuan… let's make a deal."
"A deal?" Zhao Xuan narrowed his eyes.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know," Ruan Zhe said in a hoarse, exhausted voice.
"But afterward—please give me a clean death."
A hint of expectation appeared on his pale face.
"Fine."
Zhao Xuan nodded indifferently.
"That's good… that's good…"
Ruan Zhe smiled in relief, then spoke again.
"This place… is the Endless Sea."
"As expected," Zhao Xuan replied calmly.
He wasn't surprised.
The reason was simple—
The spiritual energy here was extremely dense.
At least fifty percent denser than in Jiuzhou.
Roughly one and a half times as concentrated.
That was no small difference.
"What else?" Zhao Xuan asked coldly.
"Be specific."
"I don't know the exact location," Ruan Zhe said bitterly.
"But I can be certain—this island is in the front half of the Endless Sea."
"That spatial gate," he continued,
"I bought it from a market on Sky Star Island. It allows instant travel to Sky Star Island, which lies in the central region of the front half of the Endless Sea. But due to limited energy, it only allows one person to pass."
"So this island must be located in the early portion of the front half?" Zhao Xuan pressed.
"Yes," Ruan Zhe nodded weakly.
Zhao Xuan fell silent.
After a few seconds, he asked again,
"What do you mean by 'front half'? Is there a back half as well?"
"Yes."
Ruan Zhe nodded.
"The Endless Sea is divided into three regions: the front half, the transitional middle zone, and the back half."
"The front half rarely experiences extreme weather, and Ninth-Rank Sea Kings are extremely uncommon. People call it Paradise."
"The transitional zone is plagued year-round by violent storms and extreme weather. One mistake and it's shipwreck and death."
"As for the back half—people call it the New World."
"The average spiritual energy concentration there is ten times higher than on land. It's filled with ruins, and due to the extreme energy density, the spiritual herbs and medicines produced there are almost all high-tier. Even legendary divine medicines appear frequently."
"Even on random deserted islands, you can easily find large quantities of low- and mid-tier herbs—and even high-tier ones."
"That's why the back half of the Endless Sea is called the New World."
Silence returned to the beach.
After a long while, Ruan Zhe spoke weakly again,
"Zhao… Zhao Xuan… is there anything else you want to know?"
Zhao Xuan scanned the island before asking,
"Do you still have any portable spatial gates on you?"
"You may not understand how valuable that thing is," Ruan Zhe said weakly, shaking his head.
"That spatial gate was created by a Ninth-Rank Door-Door Fruit user on Sky Star Island using massive amounts of rare resources. In theory, even if you angered a Ninth-Rank Emperor, as long as you entered the gate before being caught, you'd basically survive."
He looked at Zhao Xuan with faint admiration.
"Not everyone is as reckless as you. You were lucky—when the gate's energy ran out, you landed on an island. Had you ended up over open sea instead, death would've been almost guaranteed."
"The sea water here contains traces of Seastone energy. Even Ninth-Rank Emperors would be weakened if they fell into it."
"And the Endless Sea is boundless. You could sail for days without finding a single island."
"A one-time chance to escape a Ninth-Rank Emperor—do you think that would be cheap?"
"No. Of course not."
Ruan Zhe shook his head violently.
"That spatial gate cost me ten billion. How would I have money for a second one?"
"Then do you have any means of transportation for the sea?" Zhao Xuan asked.
The Endless Sea was vast.
Without a ship, even a Ninth-Rank Emperor stranded on an island could be trapped indefinitely.
Distances between islands were unknowable.
A hundred nautical miles?
Five hundred?
A thousand?
Even direction was uncertain.
Without a vessel, the outcome was almost always death—unless another ship happened to pass by.
"No."
Ruan Zhe smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Boom!
Zhao Xuan stomped down violently on Ruan Zhe's left leg.
"AAAAAH!!!"
A piercing scream echoed.
"Really none?" Zhao Xuan demanded.
Clearly, he didn't believe him.
"I— I really don't have one!" Ruan Zhe screamed in agony.
"Why would I carry something like that?!"
"Still lying to me."
Boom!
Zhao Xuan stomped again.
Crack—
After three brutal stomps, Ruan Zhe's left calf shattered.
"AAAAAH!!!"
"Gasp… gasp… Zhao Xuan… you— you promised… you promised a quick death…"
"Our deal was that you answer honestly," Zhao Xuan said coldly, stomping again—this time onto Ruan Zhe's thigh.
Blood burst from torn flesh.
"I've told you everything! I really don't have a ship! I really don't!"
Boom!
Another stomp.
"AAAAAH!!!"
"Still not telling the truth?" Zhao Xuan said coldly.
"Then don't blame me for being ruthless."
"But I really don't have—"
Boom!
Bone shattered.
Ruan Zhe finally broke.
"Stop! Stop! I'll give it to you! I'll take it out now!"
Zhao Xuan withdrew his foot.
Ruan Zhe shakily pulled out a glass bottle from his relic space.
Inside was a miniature single-mast sailboat.
"This?" Zhao Xuan asked curiously.
"How do I use it?"
"J-just smash it," Ruan Zhe replied weakly.
"That simple?" Zhao Xuan asked.
"Yes— it's an emergency lifeboat made by a spatial-type ability user. Many people entering the Endless Sea carry one."
Zhao Xuan examined the bottle.
Suddenly—
Boom!
He stomped down again—this time on Ruan Zhe's right calf.
"AAAAAH!!!"
"You lying again?" Zhao Xuan said coldly.
"Is smashing it really how it works?"
"It— it really is!" Ruan Zhe screamed. "AAAAH!"
"Still trying tricks."
Zhao Xuan's voice turned icy.
"Last chance. Tell me exactly how it works—or you won't die easily."
"Throw it—throw it into the sea!" Ruan Zhe cried.
"Just throw it into the water!"
Boom!
Another stomp.
"AAAAAH!!!"
"I'm telling the truth this time! Really! Just throw it into the sea!"
Zhao Xuan's eyes flickered.
He tossed the bottle into the ocean.
Seawater flooded in, triggering the mechanism.
The compressed sailboat expanded instantly.
A real single-mast sailboat appeared before him.
"So you didn't lie this time."
Zhao Xuan exhaled in relief.
"Zhao… Zhao Xuan… can you… give me a clean death now?"
"Not yet."
Zhao Xuan boarded the ship, scanned it thoroughly with Observation Haki, then returned.
He raised his foot toward Ruan Zhe's chest.
"Wait—wait—cough—wait!"
"Speak."
"Why… why were you so sure I had a ship?" Ruan Zhe asked weakly.
"You didn't even know basic things about the Endless Sea…"
"That's simple."
Boom!
Zhao Xuan stomped down.
Ribs shattered.
His heart was crushed.
Zhao Xuan had read thousands of web novels in his previous life.
He knew—
Villains always die from talking too much.
So he ended it.
As for why Zhao Xuan was certain Ruan Zhe had a ship—
The answer lay in Ruan Zhe pretending to be dead.
If he had no ship, pretending was meaningless.
On a small island like this, he'd be discovered eventually.
Thus—
He had to have a way to leave.
That's why Zhao Xuan was certain.
As for the glass bottle—
Zhao Xuan wasn't completely sure at first.
He just suspected the method was too crude.
So he tested him.
And it worked.
Had Zhao Xuan smashed the bottle—
The compressed space might have collapsed, destroying the ship.
Looking at Ruan Zhe's corpse, Zhao Xuan sighed.
"Trying to screw me over at death's door… human hearts really are sinister."
"If you'd just been honest from the start, wouldn't this all have been easier?"
He shook his head lightly.
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