“The teleportation coordinates have shifted.”
Jiang Lin frowned slightly.
“Spatial coordinates over the ocean aren’t stable enough and require constant calibration. We’ll rest here for the night and continue tomorrow.”
The four of them landed on a relatively flat ice floe.
Fenrir took out the wind-wing beast leather tent from his spatial ring, while Alicia was responsible for setting up the camp.
Elune squatted at the edge of the floe, reaching out a finger to lightly touch the seawater before quickly withdrawing it.
“The water temperature is very low, and there’s floating ice on the surface. We might have reached the northern region of the Endless Sea.
“If we continue west tomorrow, we should encounter warmer waters.”
Jiang Lin nodded, then sat cross-legged and continued to operate his breathing technique.
He needed to recover his state as quickly as possible because, according to his plan, he would need to use space folding at least three times in a row tomorrow to cross this cold sea and reach a warmer, more stable area.
Night fell.
The ice floe shimmered with a faint blue light under the starlight.
The sea was unusually calm, with no wind or waves, only the subtle sound of the water gently lapping against the edges of the floe.
The night sky was as clear as a polished piece of obsidian, studded with dense stars that were brighter and more brilliant than those seen from land.
The Milky Way spanned the sky like a flowing band of light, emitting a hazy halo in the darkness.
“It’s beautiful,” Fenrir said, lying flat on the ice floe. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful starry sky in my life.”
...
Early the next morning, Jiang Lin opened his eyes from his meditation right on time.
His magic essence was fully recovered, and he was in good condition.
“Let’s continue.”
Over the next few days, their journey was surprisingly smooth.
Although they occasionally deviated from the intended coordinates and needed an extra rest to correct the route, they encountered no major issues.
While they met a few curious sea beasts, most were low-rank creatures of the 3rd or 4th-rank. They would sense the aura Jiang Lin released from a distance and avoid them on their own.
They encountered no storms, no high-rank sea beasts, and no obstacles of any real significance.
Everything was so smooth it felt almost surreal.
However, on the evening of the seventh day, Jiang Lin had a premonition that something was about to happen.
They stopped on a relatively calm stretch of sea, preparing to camp and rest.
Fenrir was setting up the tent, while Alicia was placing warning runes on the surrounding ice floes.
Elune was squatted on a higher ice floe, using the nautical positioning device to confirm their current location.
Then, the surface of the sea began to vibrate.
Jiang Lin stood up abruptly, his Space Perception fully expanded.
To the southwest, deep beneath the ocean floor, something was rising rapidly.
The creature’s size was immense, far larger than any sea beast they had encountered before.
Its aura was cold and frenzied, carrying a suffocating sense of pressure, as if the entire seabed were trembling beneath its presence.
“Everyone, get behind me!”
Jiang Lin barked a low command, and the Eight Extremities Holy Sword condensed in his palm.
The white-gold blade was entwined with deep blue ice soul power, the eight-colored runes on the crossguard spun rapidly, and liquid holy light magic essence surged wildly within his body.
The seawater exploded.
A massive dark shadow burst from the sea, bringing with it a cascade of spray.
It was a giant beast over a hundred meters long.
Its shape resembled a squid magnified countless times, but its entire body was covered in dark purple scales, with pale green slime flowing through the gaps between the scales.
Dozens of dark red eyes grew on its head, each the size of a millstone, all of them now locked onto the four people on the ice floe.
Its tentacles were as thick as century-old trees, with dozens of them waving over the sea. Each tentacle ended in a massive suction cup, the edges of which were lined with hook-like serrated teeth.
A 6th-rank late stage sea beast.
“Prepare for battle!”
Jiang Lin shouted, and the deep blue light on the Eight Extremities Holy Sword’s blade suddenly flared.
His figure left an afterimage in place, while his actual body appeared dozens of meters above the giant beast’s head.
Eighth Style · Extreme Cold!
A streak of deep blue sword qi, refined to the absolute limit, shot from the tip of the sword. Everywhere it passed, the air condensed into fine ice crystals, and a long path of ice was frozen onto the sea’s surface.
The sword qi accurately struck the largest eye on top of the beast’s head.
The eye exploded, and dark green fluid splattered everywhere.
The giant beast let out an ear-splitting roar, and dozens of tentacles lashed out at Jiang Lin simultaneously, moving so fast they tore through the air with sharp whistling sounds.
Jiang Lin’s figure flickered repeatedly in the air, each flash perfectly evading the attack of a tentacle.
His Space Perception was operating at full capacity. The trajectories of those tentacles were as clear in his mind as a slow-motion video; the starting position, speed, and angle of every single tentacle were under his control.
He appeared at the base of one of the giant beast’s tentacles and made a casual swipe with the Eight Extremities Holy Sword.
Spatial Cutting!
A razor-thin black rift emerged where the sword tip passed, and the tentacle was severed cleanly, the cut as smooth as a mirror.
Dark green fluid erupted from the wound.
The giant beast thrashed in pain, its remaining tentacles waving frantically.
But Jiang Lin’s sword was too fast.
Every strike landed precisely on the beast’s weakest joints. The thick tentacles were severed one after another, the dark green fluid staining the entire area of the sea a bizarre color.
In just a few minutes, the hundred-meter-long beast had lost all its tentacles. Like a tiger with its teeth pulled out, it floated on the sea, its aura growing weaker and weaker.
With a flash of his sword, Jiang Lin accurately sliced open the beast’s skull.
A deep green crystal core the size of a fist rolled out of the skull, emitting a faint green glow.
He stored the crystal core in his spatial ring and used Spatial Cutting to slice off several of the beast’s most intact scales.
“Let’s go. The scent of blood here will attract more sea beasts.”
The silver-white spatial tunnel expanded once more.
The four of them leaped into the tunnel and vanished into the silver-white light.
Over the next three days, Jiang Lin didn’t encounter much trouble.
They headed west, occasionally running into a few blind sea beasts, which Jiang Lin handled with ease.
On the afternoon of the eleventh day, just as he was opening a spatial tunnel to continue forward, an unexpected change occurred.
He had just finished condensing the frame of the spatial tunnel and was about to stabilize it when he suddenly felt a terrifying sense of pressure weigh down from the sky.
The pressure was as heavy as a mountain, nearly freezing the space around him completely.
Jiang Lin’s pupils constricted. The Eight Extremities Holy Sword instantly condensed in his hand, and liquid magic essence surged wildly, only then allowing him to barely resist the pressure.
“Who is it?”
His voice spread through the sea breeze, but there was no response.
However, the pressure became clearer and heavier.
It emerged from high above the clouds, from the very edge of the horizon, like an invisible chain locking down the small patch of sea where they were located.
Jiang Lin looked up, his golden eyes gazing toward the sky.
Above the clouds, a black figure was slowly descending.
It was a demon.
He wore a magnificent black robe embroidered with intricate dark gold patterns, with a wide dark red belt tied around his waist.
At the center of the belt was a blood-red gem the size of a fist, emitting a heart-palpitating crimson light.
He was taller than an average demon, about two and a half meters tall, but his frame was not bulky; instead, it appeared slender and well-proportioned.
His skin was a bizarre dark red, like coagulated blood.
A pair of curved black horns grew from his head, entwined with dark purple lightning.
His face was handsome yet sinister, with sword-like eyebrows reaching his temples, a high bridge to his nose, and thin lips slightly pursed, a trace of a faint smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.
But it was his eyes that drew Jiang Lin’s full attention.
They were a pair of deep purple eyes, with vertical pupils like a snake’s.
As his gaze shifted, it was as if an endless sea of blood were churning within them, with countless living beings wailing, making the entire world seem small under his watch.
Jiang Lin’s heart suddenly tightened.
A 9th-rank powerhouse!
This demon descending from the sky was a 9th-rank powerhouse!
Why was he here?!
And his aura was locked directly onto him!
It felt as though an invisible chain were wrapped around his neck; the pressure made every one of his nerves scream.
Fenrir’s greatsword was already unsheathed, but his arms were trembling slightly.
This 5th-rank elven swordsman, who had roamed the Silver Moon Kingdom for years, now had a face as white as paper, with cold sweat sliding down his cheeks.
Alicia was no better.
She had drawn the rapier at her waist, but the tip of the blade was trembling slightly in the air, her hand gripping the sword shaking uncontrollably.
Her pale gold eyes stared fixedly at the black figure in the sky, her lips pressed tight, even her breathing becoming cautious.
“Professor Matthew... what—what is that?!”
Fenrir’s voice was shaking.
He had shouldered his greatsword to slay countless magic beasts and had never retreated a step even when facing thousands of troops.
But now, before this aura, his body felt frozen, unable to even take a single step.
It wasn’t a problem that courage could solve.
It was absolute suppression on the level of life itself.
In all their years of living, they had never felt such a terrifying sense of pressure.
The 9th-rank!
In Alderon, every 9th-rank powerhouse was a legend, a name written in golden ink in history books.
Most people might go their entire lives without ever seeing a 9th-rank powerhouse with their own eyes.
And now, a genuine 9th-rank powerhouse had descended from the sky, and his aura was locking onto them without any concealment!
Jiang Lin forced himself to breathe, forced himself to maintain the condensation of the Eight Extremities Holy Sword, and forced himself to look up and meet those deep purple eyes.
“I did not know a senior was descending. May I ask what brings you here?”
His voice spread through the sea breeze.
The black figure in the sky did not answer.
He merely looked down at the four tiny figures on the sea, his deep purple eyes like two bottomless pools of blood, showing no emotional fluctuations.
Fenrir’s teeth were chattering, the clacking sound exceptionally clear on the silent sea.
His greatsword was still in his hand, but the golden light on the blade had completely dimmed, just like his face, which was now deathly pale.
Alicia gritted her teeth, her hand holding the sword trembling.
Elune stood a step behind Jiang Lin, her silver-purple hair fluttering gently in the sea breeze.
She looked at the figure in the sky, feeling a pressure she had never experienced before.
With her life level at the 4th-rank early stage, facing a 9th-rank powerhouse was like facing a towering mountain; she felt as if she could be crushed at any moment.
But what confused her was that the demon 9th-rank powerhouse’s gaze was fixed on Jiang Lin from beginning to end.
And in that gaze, there seemed to be a hint of... nervousness?
It was as if he were breathing a sigh of relief, yet also as if he had finally found a long-lost treasure.
There was even a bit of caution.
As Jiang Lin asked, he was already searching through his life-saving items.
First was the sword intent his master had left him, which should be able to block one of the opponent’s attacks and cause them some trouble.
Next were the life-saving items that could move him a long distance.
He also needed something that could take the other three along...
At that moment, the black figure spoke:
“Human youth... you are Jiang Lin, aren’t you?”
Jiang Lin’s heart suddenly tightened.
He knows me? And he knows my real name?
He had been using the alias “Matthew” on this continent and had never revealed his true name.
How could this demon 9th-rank powerhouse know his name?
He pondered for a moment; there was no point in hiding it anymore.
Before a 9th-rank powerhouse, any lie was futile.
The fact that he could recognize him meant he had at least some intelligence regarding him.
Otherwise, he would only provoke the other party.
“It is I.
“What instructions does Senior have?”
The black figure in the sky remained silent for a moment, then slowly descended.
His movements were very slow, one could even say cautious, as if he were afraid his movements might be too fast and startle something.
That cautious posture formed a massive contrast with his status and position, leaving everyone present stunned.
He finally landed at a distance of ten steps from Jiang Lin.
He stood there, making no further move to approach, and even bowed slightly.
“My name is Karna, one of the Four Great Demon Kings of the West Continent.
“You may call me Lord Demon King, or simply call me by my name.”
He paused, a trace of inexplicable exhaustion and... pleading in his voice?
“I have been searching for you very hard.”
“You... why is Your Excellency the Demon King looking for me?”
Jiang Lin’s voice carried clear vigilance.
He remembered who the Four Great Demon Kings of the West Continent were.
The Molten Demon King, the Blood Pupil Demon King, the Shadow Demon King, and the Frostbone Demon King.
He had killed their successors; logically, they should be here to seek revenge.
But the opponent hadn’t attacked immediately upon meeting him, and from his appearance, he didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking at all.
Karna didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned his head and whispered something to the empty sky behind him.
A moment later, three more auras rushed over from the horizon.
The Molten Demon King, the Shadow Demon King, and the Frostbone Demon King had also arrived.
Three more 9th-rank powerhouses!
Including Karna, the Blood Pupil Demon King before them, all four Demon King lords of the East Continent’s demon territory were now standing on the ice floe.
Fenrir felt like he was about to faint.
He hadn’t seen a single 9th-rank powerhouse in his entire life, and today he had seen four all at once.
And they seemed to have come specifically to find their Professor Matthew.
Gromheart, the Molten Demon King, was burly, his entire body covered in dark red scales.
His crimson-gold eyes fell upon Jiang Lin. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
A dignified 9th-rank Demon King was actually at a loss at this moment.
...
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