Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The managers looked at each other, their expressions complicated.

During the six months that Xilun was in existence, although he was recuperating behind closed doors, he was like an iron stake stabilizing the sea.

Those forces that coveted the Ronte family all quieted down after he occasionally intervened to intimidate them.

The Langte family had finally gotten a chance to catch their breath, but no one expected that this lord would leave as soon as he came out of seclusion.

Horn opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything to persuade him to stay.

He knew the Ronte family couldn't keep Celen.

Such a person will never be trapped in Emerald Lake for long.

"Where...are you headed?"

Xilun said, "The central island."

The expressions of the people in the hall changed slightly.

The central island is the true whirlpool of the Prisoner Star Islands.

There is the Sea Demon Temple, five major forces, and fifth-order and even rumored sixth-order powerhouses.

For marginalized families like the Ronte family, it was almost like another world.

Xilun continued, "Before I leave, please find out one thing for me: how to get to the central island, how to join a faction, or how to obtain a long-term stay permit as an extraordinary outsider."

Horn immediately realized what was happening.

This is an opportunity.

If the Ronte family can pave the way for Xiren in this step, even if it's just by providing a few useful pieces of information, the rewards the Ronte family will receive in the future when Xiren truly gains a foothold on the central island will be immeasurable.

He immediately said, "I'll take care of it right away. Although my family isn't powerful, we have old connections with several merchant fleets and know material merchants who travel between the central islands and mainland China."

Obtaining the necessary documents is likely not a simple matter, but one can always find a way to do it.

"it is good."

Xiren glanced at the nautical charts and letters on the table.

"If any difficulties arise during this period, I will intervene as appropriate."

Horn's face immediately lit up with joy.

That's exactly what he was waiting for.

But he didn't immediately burst into tears. Instead, he first gathered his thoughts before speaking in a deep voice:

"To be honest, sir, we have indeed encountered some trouble recently. A small group of marine mammals has appeared in the eastern sea area and has already destroyed two fishing grounds."

If it were just sea monsters, that would be fine; the family could organize a fleet to drive them away. But there are several other forces lurking nearby, seemingly planning to launch a sneak attack on Emerald Lake while we're out dealing with the sea monsters.

Karls added, "There might be members of the Miluo family among them. After their assessment, they were still unwilling to give up. They didn't dare to take action openly, but they never stopped secretly."

Horn smiled wryly: "The family is short-handed right now. We have to guard the lake and protect the boats. If we make the slightest mistake, someone might take a piece of our flesh."

Xilun remained calm after hearing this.

Sea monster hordes, surprise attacks, and resource competition.

This is the norm in the Chaotic Sea.

"What is the sea monster's level?"

"Most of the creatures that have appeared so far are Tier 1, and there are suspected Tier 2 leaders, but this has not yet been confirmed. If there are Tier 3 sea beasts, the Silver Shell Council will intervene to prevent marginal families from bearing the burden alone."

Xilun nodded: "If it's only at the second tier, I will make a move."

Horn was overjoyed: "Thank you, sir!"

After finishing his business, he hesitated for a moment and then looked at a middle-aged man next to him.

The middle-aged man immediately took the hand of a boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old.

The boy was not tall, but he stood very straight, and the outline of the Ronte family bloodline could be seen in his eyebrows and eyes.

He had obviously been waiting in the hall for a while, but hadn't dared to approach earlier. Now that he was being pushed out, his face showed both nervousness and anticipation.

Horn said, "Sir, there is one more small matter, which I apologize for being so presumptuous."

Xilun looked at the boy.

Horn quickly explained, "This is my youngest son, Evan. He has quite good talent and has already reached the peak of the first tier, only one step away from the second tier."

However, no matter how hard it tries in the past two months, it has always fallen short.

Our family doesn't have any truly skilled teachers, and we're afraid he might go astray, so we'd like to ask you, sir, to take a look at him."

Young Evan lowered his head nervously.

"Greetings, Lord Siron."

Xilun did not agree immediately, but walked up to him.

Evan felt an invisible pressure approaching, and he subconsciously softened his breathing.

The person in front of him was pale and had no violent energy, but when he stood in front of him, he was like a bottomless cold lake.

Xilun raised his hand, his fingertips landing on Evan's shoulder.

A faint chill seeped into the skin.

Evan froze, but dared not move.

Xilun sensed the flow of qi and blood within his body.

At the first level of the ultimate realm, one's qi and blood are abundant, but the breathing technique is rough, and there is obvious stagnation in several major tendons.

Perhaps due to long-term consumption of marine animal materials, there are still many impurities accumulated in the body, like fine sand blocking the junctions of qi and blood.

If one forces an attempt to reach the second tier, success is possible, but there will be significant potential risks in the future.

A moment later, Xilun withdrew his hand.

"It's nothing."

Horn's eyes lit up: "Does Your Excellency have a solution?"

"have."

Xilun looked at Evan.

"It's not that you haven't accumulated enough energy, it's that there are too many impurities in your body, and your qi and blood disperse when they rush here."

He pointed to the boy's left rib area, then to his right shoulder.

"If you force a breakthrough in these two major meridians, it will damage your foundation."

Evan's face turned slightly pale.

Horn also tensed up: "What should we do?"

Xilun said, "Stop using all sea monster ointments for three days, drink only water and eat ordinary food."

Every morning, jog three laps around Emerald Lake, using only the strength of an ordinary person, without using any extraordinary energy or blood.

After he finished running, I used my strength to help him improve his blood circulation.

He paused.

"On the fourth day, I will attempt to break through to the second tier again."

This statement is too bland, as if the second-tier threshold is just a slightly higher step.

The people in the hall were deeply moved by what they heard.

The Langte family had been preparing for Evan's breakthrough for months, providing everything from medicinal herbs and rituals to guards.

When it reached Xilun's mouth, all that remained was water, running, and two dredging sessions.

If someone else had said that, Horn would have just thought they were arrogant.

But the one who said this was Xilun.

He was the one who effortlessly defeated a seasoned second-tier warrior in the assessment arena, and who, for half a year, prevented surrounding forces from crossing the line.

Horn took a deep breath and solemnly said, "I will follow your instructions, sir."

Evan nodded vigorously, the tension in his eyes gradually replaced by fervor.

Xilun looked at the nautical chart on the table.

"Also, give me the locations where the sea monsters have been spotted recently. If there are any Tier 2 leaders, I'll go check them out too."

Horn immediately had someone fetch the latest nautical chart.

Xilun lowered his eyes to look.

In the eastern sea area, a reef bay circled in red stands out, with a new label next to it.

"There was thunder at night, and black fins were seen on the water."

Xilun's finger stopped there.

thunder.

Black fins.

The Storm Bloodline within him, which had been dormant for a long time, seemed to throb slightly at this moment.

He raised his eyes and looked out into the deep night outside the hall.

Before leaving the central island, perhaps we should first take a look at that sea area.

……

Before dawn the next day, a wind began to blow outside Emerald Lake.

The winds of the Chaotic Sea are different from those of Saint Laurent City.

The rain and wind in Victoria are mostly cold and damp, like wet hands emerging from chimneys and sewers, groping into your bones.

The wind here, however, is much rougher, carrying the smell of salt, gravel, and the blood of some living creature tearing apart. It blows in gusts from the sea, bending the treetops and causing the copper bells outside the lakeside cabins to ring incessantly.

When Xilun pushed open the door, Karls was already waiting outside the courtyard.

He was wearing a thick leather coat, with a short harpoon hanging from his waist, and his boots were covered in wet mud, indicating that he had been out for a long time.

"Sir, something has happened again in East Reef Bay."

Upon seeing Xiren, Karls immediately took a half-step forward and lowered his voice, saying:

"In the latter half of last night, half of the fish farm was destroyed by the flood. Three of the seven people on night watch died, and the bodies of the other two were dragged into the water and have not been found."

The chieftain has already led his men to set up defenses at the river mouth, awaiting your arrival.

Xilun glanced at the gloomy sky.

A deep rumble came from the distant sea, like giant rocks rolling in the clouds.

The thunder wasn't particularly frequent, but it still made one feel a tightness in their chest.

"Walk."

Xilun didn't ask any further questions.

Karls breathed a sigh of relief and immediately led him into the carriage.

The carriage traveled eastward along the gravel road outside Emerald Lake.

The roads are in very poor condition.

Last night's torrential rain turned many places into mud pits. When the wheels rolled over them, mud and water splashed onto the sides of the vehicles, making a dull sound.

The closer you get to East Reef Bay, the stronger the fishy smell in the wind becomes, and occasionally you can even smell a faint trace of blood.

Karl sat opposite, one hand gripping the car wall, trying to keep his balance.

He glanced at Xilun and noticed that the other man was sitting with his eyes closed, his face still somewhat pale, like someone recovering from a serious illness.

But that calmness made it impossible for him to associate Xilen with ordinary injuries.

Karls still remembers those matches he assessed on the field six months ago very clearly.

Not to mention that those who later secretly tested the power of the Langte family were almost all easily slapped away by Xilun.

On one occasion, two second-tier extraordinary individuals sent by the Miluo family sneaked into Emerald Lake at night, but were stopped by Xilun at the lakeside.

The next morning, the two men were found hanging from an old tree beside the reef road. They had no fatal injuries, but the cold had almost stopped their blood and qi from flowing, and they were unable to get out of bed for three whole days.

Since then, many forces have truly realized that the Ronte family, this outsider who has been paying homage, is not just a figurehead.

But sea creatures are different after all.

Especially marine mammals.

Karls couldn't help but say, "Sir, this situation is different from the past."

Those sea creatures were cunning; they weren't like ordinary schools of fish rushing around randomly. It was as if someone was directing them, and they specifically targeted the weak points in the fishing grounds to tear open.

Several veteran hunters in the tribe suspected that there was a leader sea monster among them.

Xilun opened his eyes.

"Has the rank been confirmed?"

"It's not fully confirmed yet."

Karls said gravely, "But judging from the scales and bite marks left behind, it's at least Tier 2, and... it's very likely that it's already close to the pinnacle of Tier 2."

A brief silence fell over the carriage.

Karls, fearing that Xiren might underestimate their opponent, added:

"My lord, the sea beasts of the Chaotic Sea cannot be judged solely by their rank. Things in the sea naturally possess the power of the water, and most extraordinary beings of the same rank are no match for them in the water."

If that leading sea beast truly possesses the characteristics of thunderous black fins, it likely also carries the bloodline of the Thunderscale Fish.

"A thunderscale fish?"

"It's the bloodline of a rare sea creature found here."

Carls said, "Legend has it that they can store lightning in their bodies, making them especially ferocious on stormy nights."

Ordinary or extraordinary weapons, when pierced into their backs, may not be able to penetrate the spinal scales; instead, they may be injured by the shockwave from the lightning.

If you can hunt it, the scales, spine, and tendons on the carcass are all valuable.

If you're lucky, you might extract something with extraordinary properties or rare, exceptional materials—these are all valuable commodities.

At this point, he realized he had said too much and quickly shut his mouth.

Xilun simply looked out the car window.

Rainwater slid down the glass, distorting the distant coastline into a blurry black shadow.

Although he has now stabilized his third-level status, his body is still not in a complete state.

The chilling aura of darkness, the mangled limbs of the evil god, the black feathers left behind by Lady Black Crow, and the faintly visible Storm Bloodline all restrained and tore at each other.

He needs new strength.

The carriage traveled for another half hour before finally arriving at East Reef Bay.

As soon as I got off the bus, the gust of wind almost lifted the corners of my clothes.

Beyond the bay lies a broken coastline, with jagged black rocks resembling animal teeth, where the tide crashes and bursts into large swathes of white foam.

Several wooden fish farms were built between the shallow sea and the estuary. Two of them had already collapsed halfway, with thick wooden stakes bitten off and fishing nets tangled in the water with broken planks.

A large crowd had gathered on the shore.

The guards of the Ronte family wore old armor with patches on their shoulders and chests, and carried not standard long guns, but harpoons, spears, and barbed animal-catching spears.

There were also quite a few men who looked like fishermen who were temporarily organized together. Their faces were pale, but they dared not retreat.

Three rows of barricades were placed at the river mouth, covered with iron chains and barbed nets.

Several veteran hunters stood in the wind, shouting and directing the others to pour buckets of foul-smelling fish blood into the river.

The blood spread along the water flow, quickly staining the river mouth area red.

A dark shadow immediately swam by underwater.

"They're here!"

Someone screamed.

The next moment, the sea surface suddenly exploded.

Several gray-black sea monsters, each the size of an adult, leaped out of the water. They had long, flat heads, mouths full of fine, sharp teeth, and dorsal fins like scimitars, and slammed into the wooden stakes at the river mouth.

boom!

A thick wooden stake collapsed on the spot.

The guards at the front simultaneously raised their harpoons and thrust them down. The harpoons pierced the sea monster's back, but it was like piercing hard, slippery iron; most of them were torn apart.

Only one harpoon pierced the abdomen, immediately drawing out a large amount of blood.

The sea beast let out a sharp screech, and its tail swept across, sending one of the guards flying.

The guard crashed into the mud, his breastplate dented, and blood gushing from his mouth.

Chaos erupted on the shore.

"Replace it! Don't let it climb over the barricade!"

"Harpoon! Got it in the eye!"

"There's more on the left, on the left!"

In the shadows, two more sea creatures came ashore on the waves.

They slid their wet bodies across the muddy ground, seemingly clumsy, but incredibly fast, and in one swift motion, they bit a fisherman's calf who didn't have time to back away.

Screams tore through the wind and rain.

The blood splattered on the rocks was quickly diluted by the rain.

Xilun stood on high ground, calmly watching everything unfold.

Slaughter, bloodshed, terror.

Survival at the bottom of the Chaotic Sea is more direct than in the lower city of Victoria.

There, you find scheming and oppressive systems operating in the shadows; here, you find only bare teeth and knives.

Karls rushed over and pointed to the churning sea in the distance.

"Sir, look there!"

Xilun looked in the direction he was pointing.

Far from the shore, beneath the gray-black waves, a shadow thicker than any other sea creature slowly swam.

The thing didn't rush ashore.

It circled the fish farm in the water, occasionally revealing a section of its thick back.

Its back was covered with dark blue scales, the edges of which had silvery-white patterns. When rain hit them, tiny flashes of electricity would appear.

What's even more striking is its head.

Broad and fierce, its jawbone resembles two iron gates closed together.

Unlike ordinary fish that are numb, it occasionally raises one of its cloudy yet lively eyes to observe the people and defenses on the shore.

"That's it."

Karls swallowed hard. "The old hunter said that the leader of the pack has killed at least two Tier 1 Extraordinary Beings. An ordinary fishing boat would capsize if it rammed it. It also sends those small sea beasts ashore first to wear us down."

Xilun asked, "Is there anything else?"

Karls was taken aback.

In the midst of this chaotic scene, Siren's question was so calm that he didn't react for a moment.