Translator: CinderTL
"Will he really go to the overseas territories?"
"That area is near the border, beyond the Sky Eye's surveillance range. Would he accept such a threat?"
"For just three insignificant individuals? Three non-legendary nobodies?"
Within a secret base of the Roth Family, silver alloy walls reflected blue light.
Holographic light screens hovered in the alloy chamber, displaying the faces of the Roth Family's core leadership.
Unlike their usual composure, the members were now frowning, shaking their heads, and arguing in hushed tones.
Most voiced doubts, including Ouna, who had appeared in person to avoid the public eye. Her expression flickered between worry and apprehension.
She understood her Lord Father's plan:
To use these three as bait, luring the Martial Artist to the overseas border where they could eliminate him.
This would allow them to avoid congressional scrutiny, fulfill their deal with Han Mingchuan, erase all evidence, evade the Red Nation's investigation, and demonstrate the Roth Family's untouchable status.
But...
Her azure eyes flickered incessantly as she watched the projections of the family's senior members arguing. A subconscious doubt surfaced in her mind.
Just three friends?
Would that Martial Artist really risk everything for them?
The question lingered until Lord Father's projection finally materialized.
"In nature, a territorial lion never refuses a challenge."
"And humans are no different."
His detached voice resonated through the room as the middle-aged white man sat at the mahogany table in the projection, his elbow resting on the edge, fingers interlaced beneath his chin as he surveyed the assembly.
"The more domineering and ruthless one is, the less they can tolerate threats or provocations."
"Even knowing the danger, they will wade through blood to prove their authority."
Those azure eyes, identical to Ouna's, reflected everything. His gaze withdrew, finally settling on the holographic light screen at the center of the projection.
It displayed the vast, bottomless ocean and the gray ferry following its designated route.
The ordinary scene transmitted back, and as he explained, the expressions of those listening varied, but ultimately, the debate ceased.
Only...
Someone voiced their concern, raising another crucial point.
This individual's combat power far exceeded that of a typical second-stage legendary. Could their carefully laid ambush truly handle him?
"Will is undoubtedly brutal and uncontrollable," one voice argued.
"But as a third-stage legendary, his intervention would be enough to kill any enemy below the divine level."
A chorus of dissenting voices rose, and many core members, including Ouna, nodded in agreement.
Though the bloody experiments of the past had left them with indelible, haunting memories, they couldn't deny the truth.
The mad king Will was already among the strongest individuals below the divine realm.
Splash!
The sea churned, waves crashing against the hull.
The gray ferry glided across the surface, following its predetermined course away from the federation.
"Port Victor is one of the most renowned ports on the Western Continent. Its casinos are lavish and never close, earning it the nickname 'The City That Never Sleeps.'"
"Rest assured, travelers. Our tour group will take excellent care of you throughout this journey, ensuring your comfort with accommodations, meals, and transportation."
"We have now left the Federation and entered the White Moon Strait of the Great Ocean. The ferry will maintain its current speed. You are free to move about, but please exercise caution."
Several white tour guides from the travel agency announced loudly on the ferry deck, outlining the itinerary and explaining the plan.
Federation citizens of various ethnicities—white, black, and a few mixed-race individuals—mingled among the passengers. Some sat in the ship's dining hall, savoring gourmet meals, while others stood on deck, leaning against the railings to enjoy the sea breeze and admire the vast, horizonless expanse of the Great Ocean.
A small group of Red Nation overseas compatriots chatted among themselves, while young waiters in vests and shirts weaved through the crowd, carrying trays of drinks.
The atmosphere was lively and noisy, carried by the sea breeze.
The entire ferry exuded an air of relaxation and ease.
"Hey, ladies, care to get acquainted?"
A burly white man blocked their path. Celine and Iphia, their faces disguised, stopped.
"We have plenty of time on this trip to Port Victor," he said with a grin, wearing a denim vest that revealed a tiger's head tattoo on his arm. "Why not join us? It'll be more fun, don't you think?"
In the distance, two figures, clearly his friends, whistled and cheered him on.
The federation's social norms were far more liberal, especially when it came to interactions between men and women.
Nearby tourists noticed the commotion, their expressions varying from amusement to disapproval, but none intervened.
This guy...
Celine glanced at the man and shook her head inwardly.
She subtly signaled Iphia to remain calm.
With a slight wave, she took two glasses of dragon orchid tongue from a passing waiter.
"Oh, is this for me?" the tattooed white man asked with a grin, his features striking.
He reached for the drinks, but Celine shrugged.
"I prefer my men a little bigger than you," she said, brushing past him with Iphia to walk to the end of the deck.
The onlookers froze, and the white man and his friends stared in stunned silence.
Following their gaze, the crowd saw Celine and Iphia approach a solitary figure.
The person wore a long gray trench coat, their yellow-skinned face unremarkable.
"Want to be friends?"
Celine smiled and handed over her wine glass.
To her surprise, the man didn't refuse. Instead, he smiled back and clinked glasses with her.
"Tsk!"
"Shhh!"
The crowd hissed, and the earlier white security guard's face flushed with embarrassment.
Yang Wudi took a sip of his wine, the slight spiciness lingering on his tongue.
As he set down his glass, he shook his head slightly, noticing the white security guard rejoin his friends, who glared at him with a mix of shame and anger.
"You could have handled that more gently," he murmured, knowing Celine had acted deliberately.
"I just wanted to teach him a lesson," Celine replied casually, leaning against the railing and raising her glass in a mocking toast to the white security guard.
"Not everyone appreciates being hit on like that, especially in front of so many people."
Tap, tap!
Before she finished speaking, the white security guard lowered his head and slunk away in humiliation.
Celine smirked triumphantly. Iphia, standing beside her, remained silent but wore a faint smile.
Yang Wudi shook his head again, deciding not to press the matter further.
Although this trip away from the Federation required them to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, dealing with such minor figures was inconsequential.
The three leaned against the railing, simultaneously gazing out at the sea.
They had joined the tour group under false identities, planning to use it as a means to reach Port Victor, where they would make a second transfer to completely escape.
The environment there was more complex, and the immigration checks were much more lenient.
"I wonder how Chen and the others are doing," Celine suddenly said, watching as the waves swallowed the surging tides.
Yang Wudi and Iphia remained silent. The former observed the figures moving about on the deck, while the latter recalled the news broadcast she had seen earlier.
Buzz!
The next moment, Celine's phone vibrated in her pocket.
Puzzled, she pulled it out.
A message appeared on the screen:
[ Chen: Get out now. ]
"Huh?"
Frowning, she remembered already informing him about their departure from the port.
Why would he suddenly send such a message?
"Something's wrong."
A chill ran through her as she suddenly felt a sense of oppression.
Yang Wudi and Iphia, sensing the abnormality, turned to look at her simultaneously.
"Something feels off," she said, her expression grave as she relayed the situation.
All three knew Chen Feng's personality well. He would never contact them so abruptly without a compelling reason.
"Could someone be tracking us?" Yang Wudi speculated, his mind racing. Iphia, standing beside him, shared the suspicion. Her eyes narrowed, her body tensed, and she scanned their surroundings.
They observed the white men and women sipping champagne, the small groups of black men and women clustered together, the sea breeze blowing against the railings where scantily clad women mingled, and the pairs chatting in the glass-walled lounge.
Faces flashed before their eyes as Celine, Yang Wudi, and Iphia swept their gazes across the entire deck.
Even the tattooed white man who had approached them earlier came under scrutiny, but they found nothing amiss.
"Are we overthinking this?" Celine frowned, but Yang Wudi quickly dismissed the idea.
Before she could speak, a massive wave suddenly erupted ahead, sending the ferry lurching violently, nearly capsizing.
"What was that?!" someone on deck cried out as seawater sprayed everywhere.
A colossal shadow enveloped the deck, blocking everyone's view.
Through the dim, murky light, the crowd craned their necks upward to see a massive black humpback whale breaching the surface, its body stretching dozens of meters long.
Splash!
The waves churned and surged relentlessly.
Like a moving mountain, the humpback whale leaped over the ferry, its massive body arcing through the air before crashing back into the sea on the other side.
Boom!
The water trembled, and the ferry rocked violently.
Bright sunlight streamed down once more, illuminating the swaying figures of passengers who nearly lost their footing.
Federal passengers gripped handrails and furniture, their faces etched with awe. The spectacle they had just witnessed felt like a miraculous, unforgettable, and rare event. Some even pulled out their phones to capture the moment.
In stark contrast, Celine, Yang Wudi, and their companion stood at the far end of the deck, immediately sensing something was amiss. Yang Wudi, having achieved Transcendence, planted his feet firmly on the deck, his gaze fixed on the spot where the humpback whale had plunged back into the sea.
"That's..."
Wooo!
A mournful cry echoed from the depths of the ocean.
Crimson blood suddenly surged upward, staining the surrounding waters crimson.
This unexpected sight sent shockwaves through the passengers. Their faces paled as corpses of fish and fragments of flesh began to surface.
The crimson stain around the ferry continued to expand, as if countless marine creatures had perished simultaneously beneath the waves, turning the sea blood-red.
"Ah!!"
Suddenly, a passenger on the deck let out a piercing scream, her face pale as she collapsed to the ground.
Shock, suspicion, and fear spread across the faces of everyone present. Even Yang Wudi and Celine frowned deeply, their gazes fixed solemnly on the ocean.
Wooo!!
The final whale song echoed, filled with sorrow.
In an instant, they sensed a violent disturbance erupting from the seabed. A massive shadow surged upward beneath the crimson surface.
"Not good."
Yang Wudi's expression darkened as Force surged through his body. He stepped forward, ready to act.
Splash!!
The waves churned violently, sending a towering pillar of water skyward.
The colossal whale's body, as if struck by an invisible force, was hurled backward, breaching the surface with tremendous force.
The shadow loomed overhead, blotting out the sun.
The ferry rocked violently in the turbulent waves, on the verge of being crushed and capsized by the falling whale.
The sailors and security personnel turned pale, feeling utterly insignificant in the face of this overwhelming power. The passengers, meanwhile, were gripped by despair.
At the last moment...
Roar!!
A burst of amber Force erupted, echoing across the sea like the roar of a lion.
The crowd's eyes flashed as the deck trembled. A massive phantom of a lion-tiger materialized in mid-air, transforming into a predatory bird that soared skyward.
A few meters, ten meters, nearly a hundred meters.
The earth-shattering martial arts strike slammed into the whale's massive body.
Boom!!
Chunks of flesh exploded skyward, and blood rained down in torrents, splattering across the deck like crimson raindrops.
The travel agency's security personnel on deck wore expressions of shock and disbelief, while terrified citizens of the federation stared wide-eyed at the carnage at the far end of the deck.
"How could he be so powerful?"
The Red Nation man in their line of sight had an ordinary, unremarkable face.
Yet the tattooed white man who had tried to hit on Celine earlier, along with his companions, trembled in shock, their faces pale with belated fear.
Good thing we held back our anger and didn't cause trouble.
Otherwise...
Their pupils dilated as they watched the bloody fragments rain down, the whale's blood staining the ferry deck and splattering across everyone's clothes. They couldn't help but feel this would have been their final fate.
"What's going on?"
Celine snapped out of her daze first, ignoring the shock and confusion of the other passengers.
She and Iphia stepped forward side by side, positioning themselves beside Yang Wudi.
Force surged from their bodies, coalescing into an invisible aura that enveloped them, repelling the bloody rain a foot away.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Amidst the hurried footsteps, figures scrambled to their feet, some supporting others, some fleeing in panic toward the ship's cabins.
As chaos began to erupt, Yang Wudi didn't turn back. He slowly withdrew his fist, frowning as he studied the crimson seawater.
He was certain the humpback whale had already been dead before he even struck.
But in this vast ocean...
To directly kill such an Ocean Overlord and defy gravity by sending its tens of tons of carcass soaring through the surface...
The true attacker's power must be unimaginable.
Thump!
Thump!!
Suddenly, muffled explosions reverberated from the seabed.
Sensing the familiar tremors, Yang Wudi, Celine, and the others grew grim, realizing the situation was spiraling out of control.
"What's going on?"
A security captain from the travel agency strode forward, confident that his Fifth-Tier Security Personnel status equipped him to handle most situations.
The Federation language in his translator morphed into familiar characters, but Yang Wudi and his companions ignored him, their expressions growing increasingly grave as the muffled thumps drew closer.
"Why aren't you answering?"
The white security captain frowned, his irritation growing.
Behind him, other subordinates rushed forward, drawing specialized firearms and high-energy explosive rounds.
Still no response. Yang Wudi and his companions felt their Force surging ceaselessly, as the Martial Truths of lion-tiger and hunting falcon began to coalesce around them.
"It's coming," Yang Wudi said gravely, his Perception the keenest among them.
Celine and the other woman nodded, bracing themselves. The white security personnel nearby gradually sensed the impending danger and hastily ordered their subordinates to swivel their gun barrels toward the ocean.
Boom!!
The sea erupted as a Giant Octopus was hurled skyward.
Ghostly Blue and colossal, nearly a hundred meters long, its bulk dwarfed even the earlier humpback whale.
"Is that it?" the white security personnel asked, startled and suspicious, about to order an attack.
But then—
"No, wait!" Yang Wudi interrupted sharply, his voice ringing with authority. He clearly saw the Giant Octopus's tentacles shattering inch by inch.
Simultaneously, the sea turned crimson, a stench of blood filling the air as countless chunks of fish beast flesh floated to the surface.
Ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters...
The entire surrounding sea transformed into a blood hell, countless fish beasts dying instantly.
Even stranger, a half-human, half-fish creature seemed to have been struck hard, vanishing in a flash.
"What..." The white security personnel struggled to regain his composure, almost convinced he was hallucinating.
Celine and the others swiftly shifted their gaze past the Giant Octopus to the sea surface.
Splash!
A figure burst through the water.
Wine-red hair, short in front and long in back, cascaded loosely over his shoulders. Half-naked, he casually punched a tiger shark into oblivion.
His sharply chiseled face was strikingly rugged, with deep-set eyes that revealed crimson irises.
In that instant, an inexplicable chill ran through everyone's hearts.
Every person on the ferry, including Yang Wudi and his companions, felt the world transform into a crimson-soaked nightmare.
(End of the Chapter)
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