"Hello, may I ask?"
Just as Jing Shaoyu and his companions were standing in a corner enjoying the delicacies, a young girl in a blue dress approached.
Jing Shaoyu was somewhat surprised to see this girl, while Gu Yue and Na'er were quite wary, scrutinizing her. Although the girl's beauty couldn't compare to theirs, she was undoubtedly a rare beauty.
"It's you, what's the matter?" Jing Shaoyu asked with a smile.
This girl was none other than Lin Yuhan, a forging genius from the Star Luo Continent.
"Didn't Mo Hentian come with you?" Lin Yuhan, momentarily distracted by Jing Shaoyu's flawless and handsome face, quickly remembered her purpose and asked.
To her, Jing Shaoyu's appearance might be unparalleled, but it was Mo Hentian, who had defeated her in forging, that truly captivated her. Thus, upon recognizing Jing Shaoyu, she wanted to inquire about Mo Hentian.
Hearing Lin Yuhan's question, Jing Shaoyu's expression turned peculiar, and he turned around to call out, "Xiao Mo, someone's looking for you."
"Huh?" Mo Hentian, who was chatting with Xu Xiaoyan and Wu Siduo, hadn't noticed Lin Yuhan's arrival. Hearing Jing Shaoyu's call, she walked over, puzzled.
"You're Mo Hentian?" Now it was Lin Yuhan's turn to be dumbfounded. She widened her eyes, looking incredulously at the baby-faced girl before her, "How did you become a girl?"
"I've always been a girl," Mo Hentian replied, confused, "Who are you?"
"Uh!" Lin Yuhan felt an urge to burst into tears. Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, she said, "Sorry for disturbing you."
With that, the girl turned and ran, her solitary figure giving the impression of a hasty retreat.
Jing Shaoyu, Gu Yue, and Na'er couldn't help but laugh at this dramatic scene, while Mo Hentian remained clueless.
"Class monitor, who is she?"
"Lin Yuhan, the one from the forging master association headquarters who came to challenge us last time. She came specifically to find you, but your 'who are you' shattered her heart," Jing Shaoyu said, barely containing his laughter.
"Oh, it's her," Mo Hentian finally remembered but just smiled indifferently, "Too much happened that day, I didn't have the mind to pay attention to a stranger."
After this little episode, they continued to enjoy the pleasant evening.
The first night of the voyage ended with a lively banquet. The giant ship moved steadily across the ocean, and the members of the two delegations were all well, no longer holding overly grand banquets. After all, they would be drifting at sea for more than two months, and it was necessary to maintain a calm atmosphere.
Jing Shaoyu's days were also quite mundane, mostly spent in his own or others' cabins.
During the day, he either worked on his Battle Armor in his cabin or relaxed on the deck with the six girls. At night, he would engage in Dual Cultivation or sleep with them in their rooms, which was no different from being on land, except for the addition of Na'er.
At the academy, it was impossible for Jing Shaoyu and Na'er to sleep together. Yun Ming kept a close watch, and Na'er had to return to Sea God Island almost every night, leaving no opportunity for the two to sneak around. However, now that they were at sea, without Yun Ming around, Na'er had essentially let herself go. As long as Jing Shaoyu was alone at night, she would inevitably drag him to her room.
This caused quite a bit of discontent among the other five, especially Wu Siduo.
She was genuinely anxious. Everyone else had already had intimate moments with Jing Shaoyu, while she was still stuck at the stage of hugging and holding hands—and that was only during the dance party back then. She felt that if things continued this way, she might really be the first one to be eliminated.
But while the others had legitimate reasons to interact with Jing Shaoyu, she didn't. Could she just confront him directly and say she wanted to sleep with him? If she really did that, not only would she look down on herself, but she would also never be able to hold her head up in front of the others.
She was already at a disadvantage from the start, so how could she even talk about being on equal footing?
Thus, Wu Siduo was extremely anxious, especially when she saw how Na'er and Jing Shaoyu were always so close. It made her envious, but she didn't have any good solutions.
Jing Shaoyu also didn't seem to have any intention of taking the initiative to develop a closer relationship with her.
Wu Siduo was caught in a dilemma of hope and fear.
On the vast, boundless ocean, two massive ships sailed steadily, one after the other. They were both enormous and yet tiny—enormous to the passengers on board, but minuscule in comparison to the vastness of the sea.
The deep, dark waters resembled an abyss that one dared not gaze into. There were no signs of life on the surface, not even a single seabird. The sky was a clear blue, and the sea a deep azure, making it impossible for the naked eye to distinguish where the sky met the ocean.
After a month of sailing, the Star Luo officially entered the deep-sea region. This was the farthest point the ship had ever been from land. Whether they were heading toward the Star Luo Continent or returning to the Douluo Continent, the journey was equally long.
In this vast expanse of ocean, there was not a single piece of land, island, reef, or even floating ice for thousands of miles in any direction. This was the most dangerous area for any long-distance fleet.
At this moment, in the uncharted depths of an endless trench, a colossal beast opened its massive eyes. These were bright eyes, glowing like two full moons in the pitch-black darkness of the trench, emitting a faint light.
"This is... such a profound aura!" A deep, thunderous voice echoed, breaking the silence that had lasted for thousands of years in the trench. The surrounding seawater began to bubble uncontrollably.
"Such a profound aura! So familiar! So natural!" The deep voice rang out again, this time with a hint of excitement and exhilaration.
"I must, I must find it!" The beast moved, swimming out of the dark trench and into the brighter depths of the ocean. Its massive body gradually became visible under the scattered light—a whale over a hundred meters long, its body a dark blue. Its enormous scales shimmered with a magnificent texture under the faint light of the ocean floor. Its aura was incredibly steady, clearly a terrifying existence with a cultivation level exceeding a hundred thousand years.
"Woo—"
A long and continuous whale song echoed through the depths of the ocean, accompanied by endless waves.
After a short while, a completely different, yet more muffled and gentle whale chant arose. Along with this sound appeared an even larger and more terrifying black whale. This black whale had a single horn on its head, tens of meters long, grotesque and sinister, as if it had condensed infinite malice.
"Your Highness, you called for me?" The black whale spoke in a rough human voice, yet its tone was unusually respectful and humble.
"Yes, Uncle Black," replied the dark blue whale, also speaking in human language. Compared to its previous low tone, its voice now was exceptionally ethereal and pleasant, resembling that of a human girl.
"Follow me. I need to find something," said the Highness.
"What could be so important that Your Highness would personally go after it?" The black whale was puzzled and asked.
"I can't describe its exact appearance, but I know it is absolutely a unique treasure. If we can find it, perhaps—no, definitely—it could change the fate of our kind!" The Highness spoke with conviction, its eyes shining brightly.
"In that case, let me gather our kin to help Your Highness in the search," the black whale suggested, no longer dissuading.
"Very well," the Highness replied.
With that, the large black whale turned and swam away, while the dark blue whale slowly rose to the surface of the sea. Only then was its full form revealed in the light. The calm waters around it seemed to boil as countless marine creatures, regardless of their size, swam up from the depths and leaped out of the water, as if performing for the Highness or hoping to gain favor from a noble.
However, the Highness paid no attention to these creatures, whose cultivation was only a thousand or even a hundred years. Its eyes gazed blankly at the empty sky, lost in thought. Such a massive creature floating aimlessly on the surface of the sea was indeed a frightening sight.