Two weeks later, at dawn.
Under a sky full of snowflakes, the Ghost Ship and the Ice Demon ship were covered in a thick layer of frost.
“So cold, so cold…”
Fen stood on the deck, wrapped in a heavy cowhide coat, arms hugged around herself, shivering all over.
She turned her head and looked toward Chen Qi, who was cooking soup in the galley:
“Qi, I’m hungry…”
“Coming.”
Chen Qi lifted a scalding pot of at soup with both hands, poured it into bowls, and distributed them to the crew mbers suffering from the cold, and to the water spirits who were almost turning into ice statues.
Fen took the bowl of soup and drank it in one gulp, then said in a dazed voice:
“Tastes good!”
After finishing, Fen’s cheeks flushed, and a little yellow flower wobbled up from the top of her head:
“My body’s still a bit cold, my head feels dizzy…”
Fen suffered from Blood Blossom Disease. As the weather grew colder, the wounds on her body worsened and began to “solidify,” making her stagger when she walked.
“Achoo!”
Fen sneezed a huge sneeze and almost fell.
As Little Crow had said, in places rich with spiritual energy, legends were more prone to illness.
In the short term, it couldn’t be cured… Chen Qi could only say:
“Drink more hot water.”
After saying this, Chen Qi suddenly felt a little regretful, wondering if he should have said sothing warr.
Fen mumbled groggily:
“Mm, thanks for caring, Qi. Your soup is delicious.”
Chen Qi reminded her:
“We don’t have much mutton left lately…”
In heavy snow, food had been turning strangely blue;
even when stored in Backpack Cards, this mutation couldn’t be prevented.
Fen stubbornly said:
“Don’t worry about . Even without food, I can get power through photosynthesis.”
Saying that, the scalded Fen hugged her bowl and wobbled like a sunflower.
Oh no—Fen really was losing her mind.
After helping take care of Fen, Chen Qi took a few steps forward and looked up at the bright sky.
Cold snowflakes landed on his face.
“Snow over the sea isn’t common. This isn’t normal weather…”
In this snowy weather, even Transcendents could catch strange colds.
Of the twenty-five crew mbers from the Ice Demon Pirates participating in this operation, half had already been affected.
Hunger and cold were spreading;
Chen Qi hadn’t felt this for a long ti.
Little Crow squatted by the captain’s cabin, holding her bowl of soup, exhaling a puff of white steam:
“This abnormal weather ans we’re getting closer to an A-rank dinsional rift.”
A powerful A-rank rift could affect the entire marine ecosystem even before it fully opened.
Then Little Crow raised her hand and handed a newspaper to Chen Qi.
Chen Qi took the paper — the Weather Tis published by the Beiguo teorological Bureau.
Like a thoughtful tape recorder, Little Crow recited the article:
“At the current speed, we’ll enter the Great Glacier’s waters in about half an hour.
Three weeks ago in this area, a gigantic sea monster appeared and wiped out a passenger ship. That ship was equipped with the Book Tower’s rune weapons, carried ten third-tier hunters, and even the Pirate General couldn’t take it down easily.”
Her tone turned heavy:
“In the end, out of 210 people on board, only one person survived.”
Chen Qi asked:
“Only one person survived?”
“Yes. Plus one pet beast. It’s said the pet dragged the survivor to shore;
he’s currently being treated at the Book Tower.”
Little Crow said in a low voice:
“If we push forward, we very likely will run into that sea monster. According to the Disaster ssenger’s report, besides the monster’s spiritual energy, there’s sothing else…”
The closer they approached an A-rank rift, the more likely they were to encounter dangerous monsters.
“eting the Ice Witch is going to be difficult…”
Chen Qi exhaled warm air and stared at the sea ahead.
After day-after-day of practice, he had consud 30,000 inspiration points and used seven Hunter’s Fire to reach Rift Slash Lv2, allowing him to rip a wound in the world with a blade.
And just yesterday, he had spent 20,000 inspiration points and one Hunter’s Fire to raise Crimson Stance to Lv2, taking its power a step further.
However, after reaching Lv2, both Crimson Stance and Rift Slash were extrely difficult to push to Lv3.
It felt like only one rank away, yet practically separated by a thousand-ter abyss.
With only 5,000 inspiration points and one Hunter’s Fire left, he’d fallen into a serious bottleneck.
Chen Qi increasingly felt he might need a teacher now.
Rumor said the Ice Witch was also superb in Lamp Affinity;
he wondered whether she would accept a new disciple.
He vaguely rembered forum gossip: the Ice Witch was truly cold and ruthless, acted decisively and without rcy, but she repaid debts. Most importantly, she commanded one of the safer paths to sainthood.
Chen Qi also knew the ways to advance to Saint: the Blackfin Crew’s Whale Blood plan, the Black Blood Empire’s demon-room deals in underground rifts, the Goldenfinch Kingdom’s pleasure commissions, Book Tower saints’ trials, and random major events in various A-rank rifts.
All were perilous. The Ice Witch’s path was considered the safest route through the Witch Sea.
Little Crow lifted her head and, as if reading Chen Qi’s thoughts, asked:
“Qi, is the Ice Witch really reliable?”
Little Crow had heard many legends about the Ice Witch: she was an unfeeling hunter who specialized in deep-sea monsters.
Soone like Chen Qi would be her favorite target!
Indeed, the Ice Witch seed to prefer female disciples… Chen Qi felt a flicker of doubt.
Strictly speaking, advancing to Saint through the Ice Witch involved many uncertainties.
Still, in the Witch Sea and the White Tower Sea, there didn’t seem to be a more dependable option.
At that mont, a groggy Fen walked over and put her hand on Chen Qi’s shoulder:
“Don’t worry… Qi, I’m here. My teacher will treat you like she treats !”
Like how she treats the Flower Witch… Chen Qi nodded and gazed out at the sea, half-awake.
The snow intensified, the temperature dropped further, and they were approaching the Great Glacier.
According to the Disaster ssenger’s intel, the A-rank rift’s range was very likely expanding.
Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the Ice Demon ship emitted a huge sound.
“What’s happening?”
In an instant, Chen Qi’s deep-sea perception sensed a ripple of spiritual energy.
This energy was wildly agitated and sowhat familiar.
Lamp, blade…
A flash of surprise crossed Chen Qi’s eyes.
Soone with my profession?
In the distance, Palu raised his hand and shouted:
“We’ve hit a shipwreck! There are solidified corpses onboard!”
“Jin Li! Scan the surrounding ten kiloters!”
Palu’s expression was grave;
his years of experience told him sothing had its sights set on them!
Yet he had detected no dangerous spiritual aura.
Jin Li from the Ice Demon Pirates dug into her belly pocket, pulled out a card, tapped it lightly, and said:
“Spirit search.”
The card vanished and transford into a huge circular spiritual rippling that probed the surrounding sea.
Three seconds later, Jin Li said in a low voice:
“The first sweep is complete. Within ten kiloters, no dangerous units.”
Palu clenched his fist and repeated:
“No danger is the greatest danger…”
Normally, the closer to an A-rank rift, the more terrifying the monsters would be.
Chen Qi noticed this peculiarity too.
All the ferocious sea beasts seed to have been wiped out.
Suddenly, above the vast sea surfaced a faint ripple approaching their ship.
At the mont that ripple touched the ship, Chen Qi’s deep-sea sense expanded.
In that instant, he saw schools of fish moving, layered ripples stacked beneath the seabed, and deep under the ocean, a creature burning with blue flas steadily approaching them!
In the deep sea, the spiritual field of this creature was nearly nonexistent, like a piece of pitch-black stone.
Yet that concealnt could not escape his deep-sea perception.
The monster was very close — so close it was pressed against the Ice Demon ship’s hull, reaching out its hand aid directly at Palu —
Chen Qi imdiately shouted:
“Under the hull!”
A beastly low growl filled everyone’s ears, chilling them to the bone!
In an instant, the Ice Demon crew drew weapons.
“Below…”
Jin Li clenched her fists, lowered her head, and stared at the deck in astonishnt.
Was there truly a monster capable of evading both her and Palu’s spiritual sensing?
Slash!
Almost instantaneously, a figure burst through the deck!
Right after the figure tore through, a blue column of fla erupted where it had passed!
Those blue flas were like countless blades, relentlessly shredding Jin Li’s body!
“Ah…”
Jin Li’s heart was pierced;
she was ripped apart with countless wounds.
She didn’t even have ti to scream.
Her shredded flesh continuously transford into one bloodstained coin after another!
Coins and gems rained down like at a deluge, their clinking painfully bright on the deck.
Clang, clang, clang!
Blood-sared coins fell from the Ice Demon ship and bounced to Chen Qi’s feet.
Jin Li was instantly killed, her flesh turning into 200 million Shell Coins, plus gems worth another 100 million Shell Coins.
The great rchant Jin Li just exploded into coins!
On the deck, the blue-fla-burning creature stood behind Palu, put a rough hand on Palu’s head, and said quietly:
“Mysterious rchant…”
The Azure Beast picked up a bloodied coin from above Palu’s head and repeated:
“Shell affinity: a weak profession with low combat power. Just grab the deceased’s coins and you can easily pick up their spiritual aura to complete a hunt.”
“That is…”
Fen lifted her head and looked at the man behind Palu!
The monster stood two ters tall, draped in pale blue clothing, appearing like a burning blue statue with no emotional expression.
Beneath ssy blue hair was the weathered face of a hunter;
the red blood at his lips and his azure eyes made him seem more beast than man, a cold-blooded deep-sea monster.
But more astonishing to Fen was the opponent’s spiritual field!
If Palu’s spiritual field flexed like clay, able to expand and contract at will,
the monster behind Palu possessed a spiritual field like the sea — not the raging surface, but the deep ocean a thousand ters down!
Cold, dark, boundless!
Fen felt an unprecedented crushing spiritual pressure in an instant.
She felt as if an entire ocean pressed down on her, infinite seawater pouring into her body!
That imnse spiritual pressure alone made her heart race and breath shallow!
As a legend, she hadn’t felt such an oppressive spiritual force in a long ti!
“Azure Beast…”
Chen Qi inhaled deeply, his hand on the hilt at his waist.
The Azure Beast was a renowned humanoid BOSS in the Witch Sea, considered the hardest humanoid BOSS at the legendary tier.
Unlike the Deep Sea Hunters, the Azure Beast did not die after being captured by the navy;
it had barely survived, and over the long years its mind and reason had warped.
Yet despite that corruption, it still possessed saint-level combat power — arguably the Witch Sea’s most terrifying mid-to-late presence besides the deep-sea titan.
Chen Qi could clearly sense the Azure Beast’s fourth-tier legendary profession was the sa as his own!
“Shapeshifter: skilled in disguise. n like to beco won;
won like to beco n. They rely on luck—hunting a Shapeshifter requires choosing a good day.”
The next mont, the Azure Beast grabbed Palu’s head and slamd down hard.
A massive force slamd into Palu’s skull like two colossal trains colliding!
Crack!
In that instant, the top of Palu’s skull cracked, and a blood-spinning dice erged from his head.
The dice spun rapidly in the air and rolled a twenty!
The mont it rolled twenty, Palu instantly restored to full health, bowed his head, broke free with ferocious speed, and lunged to Chen Qi and Fen’s side!
Palu wiped blood from his mouth and looked toward the Ice Demon ship’s monster with a wry smile:
“Don’t worry. Every ti I die, I roll. Only if I roll a one will I actually die…”
Palu possessed a peculiar life-preservation skill that only failed inside another’s domain.
Combined with his own domain, unless his luck was atrocious, he could withstand more than ten lethal blows.
After speaking, Palu asked sharply:
“Run?”
The monster before them exceeded any of their expectations in strength.
If they were to flee, they’d have to initiate a spatial jump imdiately!
After witnessing Palu’s ability, the Azure Beast’s burning eyes glanced at Chen Qi and Fen.
At first its gaze landed on Fen, and it growled:
“Witch…”
But suddenly, it focused on the long blade at Chen Qi’s waist. The beast’s predatory gaze, which had held a trace of amused malice, froze instantly!
That was the weapon it had lost: Flesh Cleaver Bone Breaker!
And the clothing the Azure Beast wore was Ember’s Touch, the Deep Sea Hunter’s residual fire!
His precious weapon, so close with Ember’s Touch — a humiliation to his blade!
And the witch, the Ice Demon ship’s captain — the one that looked easiest to kill!
Whoosh!
In that instant, the Azure Beast moved like an afterimage, drawing its bone knife and rushing to Chen Qi like a blue fla.
Residual Fire Great Slash!
At a distance of only one ter, the Azure Beast suddenly drew its knife and slashed!
Chen Qi also drew his blade at the sa ti!
The sa move!
Too slow — prey had no right to match the hunter’s speed… Rage flashed in the Azure Beast’s eyes;
he could already picture Chen Qi’s entrails spilling out.
Their speed and power were not on the sa level!
In 0.3 seconds, Chen Qi would be howling and crying—
0.3—
0.2—
0.1—
0.09—
0.08—
The Azure Beast held his blade;
the flas in his eyes dimd and turned into astonishnt, into impatience!
0.07…
Why? Why hadn’t his blade touched the opponent’s throat yet!
His expression didn’t change;
his whole body stiffened, becoming an icy statue.
He tried to look elsewhere, but his eyeballs refused to move.
To be precise, they turned — very, very slowly.
At that speed, not only would it be hard to hit a legend — an ordinary person could hardly be hard.
His body could not keep up with his thoughts.
In this instant, his body beca the prison of his mind.
The whole world took on a strange blue tint.
Everything around slowed down—
In his mind, reflected in the Azure Beast’s pupils, Chen Qi’s blade shone, and the beast cried in terror:
“The Ice Witch’s… technique…”
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