Liu Xing looked ahead. The only things in front of him were the vast sea and dark clouds. When he glanced behind him, he saw the island, the ship, and the two men who had jumped from underground. They landed on the ship and ran along its length as if trying to catch him. When they reached the stern, however, their eyes searched left and right. They knew he was there, but they did not know where.

  He looked down toward the sea. Though he was high in the air, gravity was taking hold, and he would soon plunge into the water. He could summon his shield and use it to propel himself forward, but that would reveal his location. Doing nothing meant falling into the ocean. Even with his invisibility, the splash would likely be noticed. Moreover, he would be at a disadvantage in the sea. They were disciples of a sect named the Boundless Ocean, which would surely produce adept water-fighting cultivators who could control the sea.

  As Liu Xing pressed his lips, he considered his options and was ready to risk summoning his shield—thinking it was better to fight in the sky than in the sea—when Tide Walker decided the solution for him. The shark moved adeptly from the top of his head and came down, careful to keep its body touching him to maintain their invisibility. A moment later, instead of the shark being on top of him, Liu Xing was on its back, riding it like a horse. Its shape was a bit too small, and if they were visible, the sight would have been comical. Even so, Liu Xing could not help but smile at his shark's decision. His shark could fly. He did not know how, but it could. Riding a small shark was something that had never crossed his mind.

  As they flew forward at a steady height, Liu Xing patted the spot between the shark's eyes. The shark's expression twisted into a proud smile, and it sped up as if wanting more praise. Liu Xing patted the shark again, conveying that it should maneuver left and right randomly. There was still a chance the enemy could trace them, so it was wise to be careful.

  He looked behind him, expecting the two to either chase him on their own or pursue him with their ship. Yet, while their heads turned left and right and the man with black hair tinged with blue activated a technique, they did not find him, let alone give chase.

  At that moment, Liu Xing realized they were not hell-bent on finding and killing him, and so, he let Tide Walker accelerate, leaving the mysterious ship and its two passengers behind.

  After a moment, they were out of sight, and Liu Xing sighed in relief. His heart beat fast in his chest.

  He was glad their meeting had not ended in a fight. In truth, while risky, fighting them was not impossible for Liu Xing. He knew he was strong and could contend with even an inner disciple of his own sect with a cultivation slightly higher than his. Not only that, but he was also not alone. Tide Walker was with him, and the shark, it seemed, was growing stronger like its master. Still, it was the first time Liu Xing had ever crossed paths with disciples from other great sects. While he knew one needed to brave risks to get rewards, killing them and absorbing their qi was not a strong enough motivation. After all, he was still in enemy territory, and there was much easier and more numerous prey all around him.

  Liu Xing nodded, accepting his logic, and patted his shark once again. "Good boy. If you were a bit bigger, riding you could be a way to intimidate an opponent."

  A small smile returned to his lips as he thought about riding a shark. Then, a thought occurred to him. Did he have a saddle in his spatial ring?

  Liu Xing tried to remember and, after a moment, sighed in disappointment. He did not have one. Although he had seen one when he looted the Jin clan, at the time, he had not thought it valuable or useful.

  Soon, Liu Xing centered himself. Riding his shark was a new and effective way to travel, especially after it grew bigger. However, he remembered the moments he had ridden his turtle statue, and the simple joy from riding the shark vanished from his face, replaced by sharp eyes and a focused expression.

  Liu Xing inhaled deeply, then thought about his next destination. It was another island that functioned as an information relay. But this time, he also needed more information about that brother-sister duo.

  ***

  Mo Changye, a man with a serious face and black hair tinged with blue, tried to determine where the enemy was. After a full minute of searching, he finally shook his head.

  "I think the enemy is truly gone," he said, pressing his lips. In his heart, he was a little frustrated by the current situation. He was a man who prided himself on his sensory ability, yet he could not sense this enemy.

  Lie Canyang, the man with wild red hair who liked to smile like a predator, looked at the sea intently. "A shame. I thought that finally, I could have a good fight."

  "You could leap off this ship and try a wide-area attack. The enemy cannot be sensed, but surely that kind of attack would reveal him."

  The man looked to the side and smiled wide, yet it conveyed not joy, but a challenge. "And you could do that too. In fact, you're more suited to attack, considering this," he gestured toward the ocean, "yet, you didn't choose to attack. Why?"

  "My reasoning is the same as yours."

  "And that is?"

  "An enemy, so thoroughly hidden, decided to barge into our ship. A ship so rich in history it would be better to preserve it in some kind of museum."

  "A ship that spawned from another ship rich in history," the man with red hair corrected.

  Mo Changye glared at him. "You know what I mean."

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  Lie Canyang held his chin high, as if challenging Mo Changye.

  Mo Changye chose to snort. "Such an enemy is of course dangerous. There's a possibility that he was a man specialized in stealth, but considering our ship, either his stealth is so great that he could fool an ancient vessel, or something else is at play. Someone like that should be handled carefully. Fighting an unknown enemy is not my style. I prefer to at least know their appearance."

  "Then, our reasoning is a little different," Lie Canyang stated.

  "How so?"

  "I don't mind fighting someone unknown, but while I always have an itch for a good fight, there's a time and place for it, and this was not a good time or place. Unlike you and the majority of our peers, I am actually not very good at fighting in the sky and in the sea."

  The man snorted. "I know for a fact you are capable of fighting anywhere, even in the depths of an ocean or inside a volcano."

  "Being capable of fighting in certain conditions doesn't mean I prefer it. Also, I'm not some muscle-brained fool who always craves a fight. I want a good fight. And a good fight needs a good opponent and good compatibility, like finding a lover."

  Mo Changye narrowed his eyes at Lie Canyang, and Lie Canyang looked back at Mo Changye. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Lie Canyang opened his mouth.

  "Do you think he is a member of the Nether Lotus Sect?"

  Mo Changye looked behind him. "Likely not. It seems he is the one who destroyed their base. I think he must be from another great sect. After all, spreading out to cover more ground is a good strategy, and I would not be surprised if other great sects employed it too."

  Lie Canyang nodded. "I see. Well, if we meet him again, and there's a reason to fight, I don't mind fighting him. You too, right?"

  "Yes," Mo Changye nodded. "If there's a reason to do it, I don't mind fighting him. But if he doesn't attack us, and there's no specific mission to eliminate him, I'd rather be cultivating. It's been a long time since I've been stuck in the third stage of the Core Splitting realm."

  At that time, a ringing suddenly sounded for both of them. It was a similar ring to the one that had alerted them to an intruder entering their ship, but it was slightly different.

  "A summon?" Lie Canyang asked. "Do you think it is related to the intruder?"

  "Likely," Mo Changye nodded. "Let's go."

  Both of them walked toward the main room. When they arrived, the door mechanism had already closed it. Mo Changye pushed the door and entered the room. Unlike what Liu Xing had seen, the room was not white. Rather, the walls were decorated with artwork, banners of the Boundless Sea Sect, and more. There was also no packed projection inside; instead, there were only two people. While they were projections, their appearance was normal, as if the two of them were truly there. The man who stood in the center of the room, with his hands behind his back, wore the dark blue robe unique to the Boundless Sea Sect and a black coat that indicated he was an elder. His eyes were entirely dark blue, to the point that they looked almost black, and the wrinkles around his face made him look wise, strong, and full of experience. In front of him stood a young woman with white hair, and when Mo Changye saw her, he narrowed his eyes.

  "Mo Changye and Lie Canyang, it's good you're still alive," the elder said.

  His words made Mo Changye and Lie Canyang look at each other. His statement indicated that it had been the correct choice not to attack the intruder.

  "What do you need from us, Elder?" Lie Canyang asked.

  "And why is she here too?" Mo Changye added, indicating the young woman.

  She looked at him and glared. Not only did Mo Changye dislike her, but she also disliked him. In the entire sect, only Mo Changye dared to insult her. They were former fiancés. And while he was not as talented as her and had already been left in the dust, she still needed the backing of Mo Changye's family.

  "I assume you didn't engage with the intruder?" the elder asked.

  "Yes," Mo Changye nodded.

  "Did you catch a glimpse of him?"

  "No, Elder," Mo Changye replied. "He hid himself so thoroughly that not only could we not detect him, we could not even sense his presence."

  "I see," the elder said, stroking his chin.

  "If I may inquire, Elder," Lie Canyang asked, "is there anything important about him? Do we need to chase him? Our friends alerted us to this intruder, but they also shared that he didn't gain anything from our ship. He tried to take the scroll using a bubble of qi, but of course, he failed. There's nothing important that was corporeal on this ship. In fact, there's nothing important at all on our ship. It was merely a vessel we use to move from point A to point B, like the other disciples."

  "Let me be the one to answer that question," the young woman with white hair said. "You already know that I am one of the people who has enough qi and the right quality of qi to power our ancient ship."

  "Not at full power, though," Mo Changye commented.

  She glanced sharply at him but decided to continue her explanation. "A moment ago, I noticed a noticeable increase in the ship's energy reserve. It resulted from the ship assigned to both of you absorbing qi."

  Mo Changye and Lie Canyang looked at each other, and both of them were confused. The ship assigned to them was a spawn of the ancient ship. While it did not inherit its origin's full capability, it had a good enough mechanism to be operated using an outside source of qi, be it the qi they provided, spirit stones, or even ambient qi.

  What she had just said was essentially that the intruder had left behind enough qi to be noticeably sent to the main ship. As far as they knew, their ship would only do that if it were at full capacity. Both of them knew that was impossible. The energy the ship absorbed from ambient qi was not that great, and they had to take turns recharging it. Sometimes, they even had to burn through spirit stones if they wanted to move a bit faster.

  "Let me check it first," Mo Changye said. He swiped his hands, and the elder and the young woman were gone. What appeared in front of him was a fuel gauge. The needle was indeed pointed to the right, indicating that it was at full capacity.

  Curious, Mo Changye chose to swipe his hands again. This time, the room vanished, revealing the sea and the island they had just checked. Then, he connected his mind to the ship, pulled the anchor up, and willed it to speed forward. When the ship lurched forward so fast, as if it were leaping, he could not help but open his eyes wide. Then, he swiped his hand again to return to the first projection.

  "From that face, I assume she is telling the truth?" the elder asked.

  "Yes," Mo Changye nodded absentmindedly.

  "Then, you must understand the situation. That bubble of qi, so small in quantity and used merely to grab a scroll, was enough to fill your assigned ship to capacity. You cannot imagine how valuable that qi was."

  The young woman added, "I suspect it was either a qi so condensed that it was filled to the brim with energy, or it's a certain type of qi that is so compatible with our ship, and by extension, lots of our ancient treasures."

  At that, Mo Changye, Lie Canyang, the elder, and even the young woman could not help but think about the implications.

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