The towering giant tree that Fen'ao had transformed into seemed to still be struggling. His trunk morphed into a colossal beast, appearing as if it would devour everything. Possessing a powerful and burgeoning vitality, countless branches sprouted from the monster's head, with emerald leaves serving as its fur. His physique was massive and distorted, resembling a giant dragon, yet not quite the same.
Li Yue had already put away her long sword. She paced across the sea's surface, looking around. At this moment, she felt even more lost than when she had absorbed the Death Abyss, yet somehow, the feeling was not entirely overwhelming.
As she strolled across the water, she inexplicably felt the sunlight was a bit too piercing. She snapped her fingers, and the sun turned black. The world upon the sea plunged into darkness as the sunlight transformed into a pitch black radiance, painting this crimson hued world of death.
She stepped onto the pool of blood, finding the texture somewhat sluggish and cloying, lacking the gentle comfort of walking on the sea. Behind her, the giant beast still loomed. No matter how massive he became, the wound split open across his chest refused to heal. Instead, it began to spread outward, his body slowly succumbing to necrosis.
His body was dragged toward Hell by countless bloody hands from beneath the Death Abyss. His soul was torn to shreds, like pieces of filthy, discarded rags. Meanwhile, his physical form in reality slowly crumbled into a pile of dust, vanishing into the air.
With the giant creature's total annihilation, the pitch black world vanished. The piercing sunlight shone down once more. Li Yue's blood-red vertical pupil stared directly at the sun, yet she felt an immense sense of gentleness and freedom.
Her figure vanished instantly. In the next moment, the girl dressed in the black divine raiment and wearing a crown appeared in the center of five Great Mages. They were looking around, seemingly entirely unaware that an incredibly powerful girl had appeared right beside them.
“Hel... lo?” A young and hearty sailor leaped down from the crow's nest. Following his gaze, the others finally noticed a girl in divine raiment standing in the middle of the ship.
The atmosphere instantly became tense. They could not sense any hostility from this girl; in fact, they felt as if they were being ignored. The magic each of them had gathered was completely disregarded by her.
In the next instant, they found their prideful magic dissolving into faint wisps of light, vanishing into the air as if it had lost all effect. A powerful aura of death emanated from the girl.
“Your compass, thank you.” Li Yue took out a positioning tool and tossed it to the young captain. “You're the one from the meeting, aren't you? I've heard much about you.”
“I never expected that after putting on such a show of being old and decrepit at the meeting and disguising my voice, I’d still be tracked down and recognized instantly in reality.” The young captain smiled, feeling inexplicably awkward, as if he had been confronted in person after hiding behind a mask, especially by a girl whose beauty seemed unearthly.
“Those remains... did you get them?”
“I got them. Everyone who needed to die is dead. It has all come to an end for now.” Li Yue's voice held no trace of emotion. She felt as though nothing had changed, yet everything was different. She no longer struggled as she had in the past, but this overwhelming power made her worry about the future.
I'm finally about to see Clo... but in this state, how am I supposed to get along with those young apprentices? If I glare at them, will they all just drop dead?
Based on her current strength, if Li Yue were to give a murderous glare, lower level magic users like trainees and apprentices would indeed be stared to death. After all, it was the contempt of “Death,” a power so immense it could even overawe a Great Mage.
“Next... are you going to the Academy?” The young captain smiled. “Just like you said at the meeting?”
“Yes, but... there's no rush now. Spring has only just begun. If I go now, it will be around the end of the semester... the new year is coming soon...” Li Yue sighed, feeling a strange exhaustion. Logically, her body, which was now more powerful than a demigod, should no longer feel fatigue.
“There is another place I want to visit, right here.” Li Yue produced a letter with an address clearly written on it. The captain took it, glanced at it, and immediately knew where it was.
“This place, huh? It has beautiful scenery. Very nice. Suitable for retirement. If I ever get tired one day, maybe I’ll go there to spend the rest of my life.” The captain smiled. “Do you want me to give you a lift?”
“If it's on the way. Otherwise, I can go by myself.” Li Yue's expression seemed indifferent. She had originally only intended to ask where this address was on the map. With her current level, she could cross the ocean, but it would cause quite a stir. Any Great Mage would be able to feel the intense fear and pressure of death passing through.
“It just so happens we need to restock our supplies.” The captain laughed. “Boys, let me introduce you. This is a member from my gathering. This is...”
“My name is Li Yue.”
“Ah, right. This is Miss Li Yue, a very powerful magic user.” The captain seemed very enthusiastic, showing no fear despite Li Yue's immense strength. To Li Yue, it felt as though this man with wheat colored skin did not fear death.
“I am William Louis. This is Bronte, this is Charman, this is...”
The magic users on the ship nodded in respect to Li Yue. They could clearly sense that this extremely powerful young lady's strength far exceeded the realm of a Great Mage, seemingly reaching the legendary Calamity class.
The powerful magic fluctuations from far away just now, as well as that strike that had cleaved the sky, were likely the traces left behind after this lady's battle.
“Thank you for your help.” Li Yue gave a slight bow. Several female sailors had already gone to prepare a clean private room. Although Li Yue disliked filth, given her current constitution, it was difficult for her to be stained by anything. She walked across the deck barefoot, yet her feet remained pristine.
“What are your plans for the coming days?” Louis seemed curious about this member of the gathering. After all, he had only heard of the others in the gathering through reputation and had never had actual contact with them. He felt that while everyone was human, their habits seemed to differ greatly.
“Practice the violin, write letters... let me think...” Li Yue fell into deep thought. “I want to refine my cooking skills.”
“That’s no problem. Before my father passed away, he was the head chef at a Black Diamond 3 star restaurant. It’s a pity that after I inherited his mantle, I decided to become a pirate.”
“For what?”
“Revenge!”
“Revenge is a fool's game... did you succeed?”
“No! In the end, I forgave him!”
The young captain gave a hearty laugh.
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