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The Dream Jellyfish were like the harbingers of death. Every captain knew that encountering a swarm of Dream Jellyfish meant the chances of the ship escaping safely were virtually zero.
"Killing God Domain Evolution Skill, Asura Ice Realm."
A freezing chill radiated outward from Ning Tianchen's body at an incredible speed.
Under his control, the Manta Ray was enveloped in ice, preventing the jellyfish from breaking through the hull.
At the same time, the sea surface around the ship froze, slowing the jellyfish's advance.
"Boss, there are too many jellyfish! Even if we go down to clear them, I doubt we'll have enough soul power to finish the job," Chen Huayu said despairingly.
Ning Tianchen had frozen the sea surface not to dive into the ocean and eliminate the jellyfish swarm but to buy time by holding back their attack while they discussed a solution.
"Captain Chen, what is the natural predator of the Dream Jellyfish?"
It was like how cats hunted mice—even a group of mice would scatter upon hearing the sound of a cat.
Chen Haobai quickly replied, "Whales, especially the Moon Narwhal. The horn of the Moon Narwhal emits light, and any jellyfish that sees it will flee."
(T/N: Turns out narwhals are whales too, TIL)
Ning Rongrong immediately chimed in, "Big Brother Tianchen, I think we have some."
In the black market, Ning Tianchen had purchased three millennium-level unicorn horns.
Taking them out from his soul-guiding tool, the horns glowed with a bright emerald light under the moonlight.
He handed the three horns to two others, and the three of them raised them above their heads, standing at three different points on the deck.
Even beneath the frozen ice layer, the Dream Jellyfish sensed the fear embedded in their bloodlines.
For a moment, the jellyfish slowly began to sink.
"We're saved!" Chen Huayu leaned against the railing, gasping for breath.
"Not so fast—the mental attacks haven't weakened!" Ning Tianchen shouted a warning.
Soon after, several enormous pink jellyfish surfaced from below. Their massive bodies were even larger than the Manta Ray.
Needless to say, these were undoubtedly high-year Dream Jellyfish.
In the game of cats catching mice, if the mice were far larger than the cat, would they still be afraid?
Similarly, the horns they held came from thousand-year-old Moon Narwhals. How could ten-thousand-year-old jellyfish possibly fear them?
Ning Tianchen summoned his Seven Kill Sword martial soul. Wings of swords sprouted from his back as he hovered above the ship.
His five black and three red soul rings gleamed around him.
"A hundred-thousand-year soul ring!" Chen Haobai's eyes lit up.
Though he didn't understand how Ning Tianchen's soul configuration could be so extraordinary, with his presence, perhaps they could solve the jellyfish problem and save the Manta Ray.
Feng Xiaotian and the others exchanged glances, activating their martial souls to guard the ship.
Wielding the Seven Kill Sword, Ning Tianchen swung it casually, releasing a fierce burst of sword energy that struck the sea surface, creating massive waves.
Fighting in unknown waters carried unknown risks—who knew how many powerful sea soul beasts lurked beneath the waves?
If they could drive away this swarm of jellyfish, it would naturally be ideal.
However, his hopes were dashed.
The high-year jellyfish beneath the surface launched a collective mental attack on him.
"Killing God Domain Evolution Skill, Asura Eye."
A pair of crimson eyes appeared behind him, unleashing a powerful mental impact that collided with the jellyfish's attack.
Neither side gave an inch, and the intense spiritual shockwave spread toward the Manta Ray.
While Feng Xiaotian and the others, being powerful, could withstand the attack, the weaker sailors suffered greatly.
Soon, several sailors jumped off the rear railing into the sea. But since the sea surface was frozen, they were instantly killed upon landing.
Ning Tianchen couldn't afford to focus on them—if he faltered, the entire Manta Ray would become sitting ducks.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Shadow Clone."
The crimson soul ring dyed the surrounding sea blood-red. The overwhelming pressure from the soul ring caused the jellyfish below to pause their attacks momentarily.
Under Ning Tianchen's control, the clone dove into the water to engage the jellyfish swarm in a decisive battle.
The clones were energy constructs formed from soul power—they had no life and could even self-destruct when necessary, killing the jellyfish with the explosion.
Water was incompressible, and the shockwave from the explosion would devastate everything in the nearby waters. If the Manta Ray were caught in the blast, it would certainly break apart.
Ning Tianchen withdrew the icy aura from the sea surface, and the ice instantly melted back into seawater.
The bodies of the fallen sailors were wrapped by countless pink tentacles and dragged into the deep sea.
"Xiaotian, push the ship!" Ning Tianchen shouted.
Feng Xiaotian understood his meaning and quickly activated his Martial Soul True Body.
With wings sprouting from his Stormwind Doubleheaded Wolf martial soul, he soared into the air. Under Ning Rongrong's amplification, he pushed the Manta Ray, swiftly retreating from the area.
With Ning Tianchen holding the jellyfish swarm at bay, they dared not attack the ship. However, Ning Tianchen himself was now surrounded by the Dream Jellyfish.
"Xiaotian, increase your speed! Once we retreat to safety, Big Brother Tianchen can disengage," Ning Rongrong urged anxiously.
Ning Tianchen possessed flight capabilities, so escaping wasn't an issue. But if he escaped, the jellyfish swarm would immediately turn around and attack the Manta Ray.
Feng Xiaotian clenched his teeth, his face bitter. "The Manta Ray sits too deep in the water, creating too much resistance—I can't push it."
Moreover, applying too much force could cause the ship to break apart.
Chen Haobai regained his composure, quickly returning to the bridge to steer the ship, cooperating with Feng Xiaotian to sail the Manta Ray out of the area.
"Send a few people to the bottom of the ship to row the oars—we can pick up the pace!"
Leaning out from the bridge, Chen Haobai shouted loudly.
Chen Huayu, with the greatest strength, went first.
Yu Die followed closely behind. "Rongrong, Zhuqing, stay on deck. If anything happens, support Xiaotian at any moment."
"Xiao Ao, Cai Die, let's go down."
All four were high-level soul masters, and their rowing could replace many ordinary sailors.
---
Beneath the sea, the clones continued to tangle with the high-year jellyfish swarm; on the surface, Ning Tianchen kept suppressing them with bursts of sword energy.
With this dual approach, for a short time, the jellyfish swarm was completely held at bay.
But fighting with both clones and his main body simultaneously drained Ning Tianchen's soul power rapidly. Without replenishment, he could only last for half an hour at most.
In such a short time, the Manta Ray wouldn't be able to reach safe waters.
His left hand touched the crimson Asura mark on his forehead.
After gaining Asura affinity, he could barely draw upon a small amount of Asura divine power.
When absorbing the Ice-Fire Dragon King's arm soul bones, the excess power was converted into Asura divine power and stored within him.
But this divine power was "non-renewable"—using it meant losing it forever.
If he used it all to deal with these jellyfish, he'd have no means of self-defense against stronger opponents later.
As he hesitated, a whale's call echoed from the distant sea.
The sound wasn't loud, but it traveled far.
Looking far into the distance, multiple emerald lights shimmered beneath the distant sea surface.
"A Moon Narwhal pod!"
Ning Tianchen's brows instantly relaxed.
Through his perception, he realized that the strongest among the Moon Narwhal pod had a cultivation level of sixty thousand years.
Prey always panicked in the face of predators.
The glow of the Dream Jellyfish gradually faded as they quickly submerged into the deep sea.
"Heaven helps me! But I should leave them a little 'gift' as well."
Snapping his fingers, the underwater clone instantly self-destructed. A massive column of water erupted dozens of meters into the air.
Such a powerful shockwave instantly killed countless jellyfish, leaving transparent jellyfish remains scattered across the sea surface.
Ning Tianchen quickly turned and slashed a burst of sword energy toward the stern, protecting the Manta Ray's hull from the underwater shockwave.
After completing this, he quickly flew back to the Manta Ray.
From here on, it was up to the Moon Narwhal pod to clean up.
---
The first light of dawn spilled onto the deck, and the still-shaken crew of the Manta Ray finally began to calm down.
Chen Haobai quickly called all the sailors to the deck to take stock of casualties.
Before setting out, the ship's management included the captain, the first mate, second mate, third mate, navigator, helmsman, and fifteen other crew members.
The last island incident had cost them the first mate and five sailors, and now they had lost a few more.
Only seven sailors remained, and aside from Chen Haobai, the management was now reduced to the second mate, third mate, and the helmsman.
These eleven people would have to work nonstop just to keep the Manta Ray sailing normally. If they lost any more personnel, Ning Tianchen and his group would have to step in as sailors to ensure the ship's continued operation.
As for the distribution of the deceased crew members' property, Chen Haobai declared, "No one is allowed to touch the treasure they previously received. When we return to Hanhai City, I will personally hand it over to their families."
After the events of the previous night, the sailors could no longer hide their fear. "The sea clearly has no end—why do we have to keep going? So many people have died. Can't we just turn back?"
"We don't need to conquer the sea. We just want to go home!"
For a moment, even Chen Haobai struggled to suppress the sailors' emotions.
Ning Tianchen sighed and said, "If we continue forward, each of you will receive an additional ten thousand gold soul coins. For those who have fallen, I will deliver the money to their families once the ship returns to port."
As he spoke, he extended his hand, and with a thought, countless gold soul coins poured out of his soul-guiding tool, forming a small golden mountain on the deck.
They had already come this far—if the ship turned back now, all their efforts would be wasted.
Spending some money to stabilize the sailors' morale was crucial.
Before boarding the ship, the gold soul coins had already been handed to each sailor's family, so the sailors didn't fully grasp the value of ten thousand gold soul coins.
Seeing the coins piled up before their eyes, the greed on each face was unmistakable.
"Everyone listen up—no grabbing!"
Chen Haobai barked an order, and the sailors quickly lined up.
"If you're not grateful to our esteemed guests, then know that ten thousand gold soul coins are enough to buy your lives several times over. If anyone still has complaints, I'll personally toss them into the sea to feed the fish."
With money on the line, the sailors' attitudes naturally shifted.
As long as they could complete the mission and return alive, this money would be enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives!
---
In the subsequent voyage, it seemed that fate favored the poor souls aboard the Manta Ray. They encountered no dangers along the way, and the seas remained calm.
As the color of the seawater grew lighter, everyone realized they were drawing closer to a continental landmass.
One day, as the Manta Ray navigated through a reef zone, the coastline suddenly came into view.
"Look! There really is land ahead!"
The sailors, all experienced navigators, knew the ship's direction.
The distant landmass was definitely not the Douluo Continent but rather a completely new continent, just as Ning Tianchen and the others had described.
Chen Haobai was overcome with emotion.
His father might have reached this land before. Once they set foot on shore, perhaps they could find traces of him.
Ning Tianchen gently patted his shoulder, signaling that he shouldn't get his hopes up too high.
After all, the coastline of the Sun Moon Continent was vast. Even if Chen Haobai's father had arrived here, he might not have landed at the same port.
On such a massive continent, searching for a single person's trace would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Still, they had indeed discovered another continent—a significant achievement in the maritime history of the Douluo Continent.
"All hands, speed up! We must reach land within two days."
At Chen Haobai's command, the sailors worked with renewed vigor.
Though they could see the coastline, it was still far away—two days might not be enough time to reach land.
---
Three days later, the coastline drew closer, and the city at the port became faintly visible.
Meanwhile, the patrol team on the shore noticed a strange-looking ship appearing near the coastline and immediately sent people to investigate.
Soon after, several large ships approached the Manta Ray, shouting for them to prepare for inspection.
Chen Haobai had experience dealing with this kind of situation.
But just as he was about to speak, Ning Tianchen stopped him and reminded him, "We cannot reveal our true origins."
"If the people here learn of the existence of the Douluo Continent, it could very well lead to an invasion war in the future. Moreover, they might see us as invaders and use us as sacrifices on the battlefield."
These words weren't just for Chen Haobai—they were meant for every sailor.
Ning Tianchen wanted these sailors to understand the trouble that revealing their true origins could cause, ensuring they kept their mouths shut.
Chen Haobai understood his meaning and added, "Hanhai City's prosperity largely stems from staying out of the wars between the two empires."
"Think about your families, your children. If the people here invade Hanhai City, will your families be spared?"
The sailors lowered their heads and promised not to reveal any information.
Satisfied, Chen Haobai stepped forward to negotiate with the patrol team.
When asked about their origins, Chen Haobai fabricated a story, claiming they were natives of a certain island. Their ancestors had fled there generations ago, and by their generation, they had lived there for hundreds of years.
Not long ago, after hearing about the mainland from passing fishing boats, they decided to send the island's young men to scout the land and prepare for the eventual migration of their clansmen.
The patrol team wasn't concerned with their origins—they just wanted an opportunity to extort some money.
Thus, the patrol captain pointed at Ning Tianchen and the others on the ship, saying, "Your island sure is rich—it can even produce such fine cloth?"
Ning Tianchen stepped forward and took out a large amount of gold soul coins from his soul-guiding tool.
Gold soul coins were made of pure gold, and even if they weren't the currency of this continent, the value of gold was universally recognized.
"Esteemed sirs, we've fallen on hard times and plan to start a new life in your city. Could you kindly make an exception for us?"
Seeing the large bag of gold before him, the patrol captain nodded in satisfaction. "Ah, you should've said so earlier!"
"Brothers, these are guests from afar. Let's disperse—there's nothing suspicious here."
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