The armored young woman quickly said, “Father, don’t be hasty. We should understand the situation first.”
“You, explain, what’s going on?” the middle-aged man glared at the nearby guards and asked angrily.
The two guards trembled all over, not daring to hide anything, and told the whole story in detail.
After hearing it, the middle-aged man frowned slightly and looked at Xu Zimo. “Even if my son was at fault, you think you can bully someone from the Jin Clan?”
“What a hassle,” Xu Zimo shook his head. “In that case, why don’t you gather all the members of the Jin Clan in a line? I’ll just kill them all at once.”
“You…!” the middle-aged man grunted, and the aura of an Empyrean Meridian realm cultivator surged from him.
“Father, don’t forget why we’re on this trip,” the young woman beside him said.
“Zhao’er, what do you mean?” the man asked, suppressing his anger.
Jin Qizhao took a deep breath and calmly said, “Father, let me handle this matter.”
She turned to Xu Zimo and said, “Young master, regardless of the circumstances, even if my brother started it, you did strike him. Why don’t we call it even?”
“Zhao’er, you…” the middle-aged man looked surprised.
Even Jin Chicheng looked confused. “Sister, you’re just letting me get hit for nothing?”
Jin Qizhao didn’t look at anyone else. Her eyes stayed on Xu Zimo, waiting for his reply.
Xu Zimo glanced at the one-armed elder, the Bloodthirsty Mad Blade. That elder had seen his strength on the ship. He must have given Jin Qizhao a warning. Otherwise, this incident wouldn’t have ended so easily.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Xu Zimo said, returning the elder’s smile, then turned and reclined on the lounge chair again.
“Zhao’er, why?” the middle-aged man asked in confusion.
“I won’t allow anything to go wrong with this mission, Father. You understand why,” Jin Qizhao said coolly. “There’s no need to stir up trouble.”
The man snorted but didn’t say more. Even though the Jin Clan was the top clan in Gold Forest City, it had gradually declined in recent years. Now that his daughter had joined Sky Blade Sect and become the sect leader’s personal disciple, the family’s future depended on her. He dared not go against her.
More importantly, his daughter had always been strong-willed and independent, always striving to be better than others.
After the conflict died down, the middle-aged man and Jin Chicheng left in a gloomy mood.
Jin Qizhao then looked to the Bloodthirsty Mad Blade and asked softly, “Master, is he really that powerful? He looks about my age.”
“Zhao’er, never underestimate the people of the world,” the elder said with a shake of his head.
“Even I am just a speck of dust in the tides of fate. Always remember, there’s always someone stronger.”“I’ll remember,” Jin Qizhao nodded seriously.
……
The ship continued sailing forward.
Xu Zimo noticed something interesting. Every day, crew members sprinkled some kind of powder around the ship. He didn’t know what it was.
By noon on the third day, the weather cleared up, with brilliant sunshine.
A blazing sun hung in the sky, lighting up the waves and making the sea glisten.
Just as the passengers were resting, a loud boom was heard.
With it came a beast’s roar and a powerful impact. It felt as if something had slammed into the ship, causing it to shake violently.
“Activate the formation!” Jin Qizhao had clearly anticipated this and gave calm orders.
A six-pointed star formation lit up under the ship, and violent spiritual energy surged. A blue barrier formed around the entire vessel.
The thing outside kept slamming into the ship, rocking it more and more violently, several times, it almost capsized.
Waves surged wildly. What was once calm sea now roared with angry tides. Under the storm, a massive black shadow suddenly covered the ship.
People looked up in fear and saw a giant beast, shaped like a bat, towering over a hundred meters tall.
Its entire body was dark gray, between black and ash.
Its surface was smooth, with two wings connected at the waist.
Its head was triangular, and its facial features were so small they were barely visible.
The moment this monster appeared, its size dwarfed the ship by several times.
“It’s a Jade Beast, a Jade Beast!” some frightened passengers shouted.
“There are still Jade Beasts alive?!”
“Looks like our intel was correct,” the Bloodthirsty Mad Blade narrowed his eyes and said coldly.
His voice was grim, and the sharp intent from his blade began to spread.Everyone knew he had a deep grudge against the Jade Beasts.
In the early days of the Imperial Era, both humans and beasts were weakened after their great war. The Jade Race took that chance to seize control of the Endless Sky Sea. It was a dark age for the region.
His father was killed by a Jade Beast. He had spent his life fighting them.
Eventually, with help from many forces, he wiped out their race and liberated the sea.
He never thought one would appear again.
……
When the Jade Beast appeared, aside from a few panicked passengers, most stayed calm.
Because their mission was precisely about this creature.
“Senior Mad Blade, how were you sure the Jade Beast would attack us?” Jin Haizhou, head of the Jin Clan, asked in confusion.
“Because of the powder we spread around the ship,” the elder replied calmly.
“What was it?”
“The ashes of its kin.”
“Then what do we do about this Jade Beast?” Jin Haizhou asked, stunned.
“It’s still in its juvenile stage, but that doesn’t make it easy to deal with,” said the elder. “If we can, capture it alive. If not, killing it is fine too.”
The Jade Beast loomed hundreds of meters tall. Its dark eyes stared at the ship.
Its aura was powerful, clearly at the Empyrean Meridian level.
Now, a bit about Jade Beasts.
Unlike normal monsters that grow over time, Jade Beasts must devour immense amounts of energy.
Only power can evolve them from juvenile to mature stage. Without it, they’ll remain juveniles forever, dying in that form.
It’s easy to tell a Jade Beast’s stage: anything below the God Meridian realm is a juvenile. Only once it enters the Immortal Path does it become mature.