“The Hardwork Boat? Is that Fang Muyun?”

Madam Mer and Ink Toad King appeared beside Long Ao and said urgently, “He mustn’t escape, Your Highness! It would be terrible if he did!”

They were now grasshoppers bound to the same rope as Long Ao. If Fang Muyun managed to escape and expose their conspiracy, they would all die.

Long Ao crossed his arms and declared with confidence, “Don’t worry. He won’t escape.”

As he predicted, right before the Hardwork Boat could carry Fang Muyun into the Sea of Learning, the deafening roar of a dragon suddenly resounded throughout the sea region. At the same time, a palace appeared in the sky.

The palace was massive beyond words. It was so big that it blotted out the entire sky, and thousands and thousands of divine dragons were flying around it. When the dragons transformed into mysterious draconic scripts, draconic roars filled the air, sealed heaven and earth, and intimidated all of creation.

The literary river carrying the Hardwork Boat toward the Sea of Learning shattered without a sound, causing the vessel to slow down drastically as if trapped in a quagmire. At the same time, the mysterious space that was the Sea of Learning also disappeared into thin air.

“The Myriad Dragons Palace!”

On the Hardwork Boat, Fang Muyun looked up at the titanic palace above his head with a glare.

He knew that escape was no longer an option.

The palace above everyone’s head was called the Myriad Dragons Palace, and it was a Disaster-class Strange Artifact and the ultimate treasure of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.

The Myriad Dragons Palace boasted no offensive capabilities, but it could seal heaven and earth and muddy the rivers of fate.

Once the Myriad Dragons Palace appeared, all land, water, and even space within a radius of fifty kilometers were trapped. The rivers of fate were muddied as well. Unless the Myriad Dragons Palace was destroyed, or its wielder was killed, it was impossible to escape the sealed space no matter what.

Not only that, anyone who wasn’t a dragon within the affected area would become weaker. It was why the Hardwork Boat suddenly lost the ability to connect to the Sea of Learning and reality itself.

On White Fish Island, Long Ao crossed his arms and declared, “Surrender, Fang Muyun. You cannot escape.”

“Would you let me live if I surrender to you?” Fang Muyun turned around to look at Long Ao.

Long Ao smiled. “Sure. You may have seen what you should not have seen; learned what you should not have learned, but I am a generous and broadminded man. I can consider letting you live if you surrender to me and swear me your loyalty.”

“Is there no other option?” Fang Muyun asked again.

“What do you think?” Long Ao scoffed.

To his surprise, Fang Muyun countered seriously, “I think there is.”

“Oh? Tell me.” Long Ao looked curious.

“Killing you is another way to leave this place,” Fang Muyun answered emotionlessly.

“Kill me?” Long Ao’s expression turned scornful as he burst out laughing. “I know you are strong, human genius, but I’m not weak either, not to mention that I have many allies who are on the same level as me, if not stronger. Do you seriously think you can kill me?”

“I won’t until I give it a try.” Fang Muyun said calmly, “Besides, what if you’re really just a bunch of weaklings?”

“Stubborn fool!” Anger crept onto Long Ao’s face. “I tried to be kind and extend you an olive branch, but you’re too stubborn to accept it. In that case, I shall grant you the death you so wish.” Ŕ

“Kill him, my brothers and sisters. Offer his blood to the aquatic races of the four seas!”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“Kill the genius, offer his blood to the four seas!”

“Kill the genius, offer his blood to the four seas!”

“Kill the genius, offer his blood to the four seas!”

The Strangers who survived the eight winds earlier shouted and pounced toward Fang Muyun once more.

Everyone who survived the eight winds was an elite at the minimum a Phenomenon-class Stranger. On top of that, the geography was in their favor. They were either riding the wind or the waves toward Fang Muyun and mustering enough power to sink the earth. It was quite scary to say the least.

Fang Muyun remained calm despite this. His response toward the incoming Strangers was to produce a painting and tossed it into the air.

As soon as the painting unfolded, the air turned cold like it was late autumn, and killing intent shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption.

The war drums beat, and the horse hooves clopped against the ground. Ten thousand elite cavalry troops leaped out of the painting just like that.

The cavalry troops were wearing silver armor and riding on white horses. They stood still for a moment after emerging from the painting, but the light reflecting from their armor was anything but warm.

Then, the cavalry troops raised their spears and spurred their horses. When the charge began, it was as if a thunderstorm had suddenly burst into existence, deafening the ears and chasing all sleep away from one’s head.

At the same time, Fang Muyun wrote in the air with his Literary Essence Brush:

“Silver armor, white horse, cold steel.

A bloody flag waves under a round sun.

Today is most likely the day we die.

But then, I heard a familiar laughter all the way from home.

Lend me strength, my love, my children.

May your cheer become the thunder I need to trample my enemies under foot.”

When the brush stilled, and the poem was complete, a wave of solemn, grave, yet unrelenting will washed over the sea region.

The poem of six lines combined into a bloody banner and hovered above the cavalry troops. As it flapped to the wind, faint bloody light enveloped each cavalry troop and increased their aura significantly. At the same time, the qi of murder gathered above their heads and transformed into a fierce tiger.

The tiger roared, and the cavalry charge became even faster and stronger.

Boom!

The Strangers were scattered at first contact, crushed by steel and trampled by hooves. Unfortunately, their numbers were great, and their power greater. Despite the initial setback, they quickly regained their wits and clashed against the cavalry troops.

In the sky, Fang Muyun chose to step toward Long Ao instead of withdrawing to a safer location.

Every time he took a step, someone would appear next to him. One of them was carrying a sword, another was brandishing a saber and stroking a horse, a third was standing on a dragonsnake, and a fourth was mustering a storm…

It was at this moment a bloody cloud suddenly appeared behind Fang Muyun. Churning within was all kinds of bones, stench and filth.

Even before the bloody cloud got close, a hill-sized toad was sitting in the sea while its stomach swelled and deflated. An anomalous, demonic sound spread throughout the sea region, inaudible to the ear but not the heart. It possessed the power to disrupt one’s will.

A humanoid shark-headed Stranger manifested its true form and grew hundred of meters in an instant. He was carrying a Ghost God Square Sky Halberd across his shoulder and running like thunder. When he swung his halberd downward, countless ghosts paraded the night, and formidable strength shook heaven and earth.

A mermaid was lurking in the dark waters and singing softly. Her voice was soft, touching, and exciting.

The four Strangers attacking Fang Muyun were none other than the Blood Sovereign, Ink Toad King, Shark General and Madam Mer.

Despite being surrounded and attacked by four powerful Disaster-class Strangers, Fang Muyun’s footsteps did not slow even a little. He did not need to because the companions he manifested automatically faced his enemies.

The swordsman turned around and swung his sword vertically, causing starlight to rain from the sky. The starlight was really sword qi, and they painted the blue sky silver white in just the blink of an eye.

“The blue sky is mine to use,

My sword falls like rain of stars.”

The rain of starlight instantly turned the bloody cloud that was the Blood Sovereign into a pincushion. For a time, he was unable to recover from his injuries.

The swordsman wasn’t done yet. After executing a “Stars Like Rain”, he stepped forward as his sword qi turned as cold as late autumn.

“The cold of late autumn is like a dream. It ends all life to restart the cycle of life anew.”

The cold, murderous sword qi drove the bloody cloud back again and again. Amazingly, the Blood Sovereign was no match for the swordsman.

The Blood Sovereign was manifested from a pool of filthy blood sitting tens of thousands of meters at the sea bottom. It did not possess a fixed form, and it enjoyed feeding on fresh blood. Boasting extraordinary darkness and filthy energies, it could corrode and whittle away all things into nothing. Considering its immense powers, it was incredible that the swordsman was able to push it back for a time.

While the Blood Sovereign was being pushed back, the Ink Toad King inhaled and exhaled deeply. As if the ground itself was a burst dam, a torrent of cold, black water shot out of the bottom of the sea and into the sky. Everything within hundreds of meters instantly froze into ice including the wind, the clouds, and even the sword qi.

For a moment, it felt as if the entire world had frozen into ice.