As soon as he opened his eyes, a heavy foot came crashing down toward him, slamming his head straight into the ground.
“How dull,” Xu Zimo shook his head slightly and asked, “Anyone else want to continue the match?”
Everyone fell silent.
Gong Three, who had reached the Arcane ImMortal Ascension Heaven, was crushed like an insect, effortlessly and without resistance. The spectators, who had expected a fierce battle, were left speechless.
“Who is that young man?” people around the arena whispered to each other, but no one had an answer.
“Father, I’ve won!” Bei Xiao laughed joyfully as he walked up to the middle-aged man, his face beaming with excitement.
“Promise me one thing,” the City Lord of the North Sea said weakly.
“Father, just say the word,” Bei Xiao replied.
“I’ve passed the position of City Lord to you,” the North Sea City Lord said slowly. “But you must swear that for the next hundred years, your younger brother will live in peace.”
Before Bei Xiao could answer, Bei Qinghai snorted coldly. “I don’t need his protection.”
“I’m not asking him to protect you,” the North Sea City Lord corrected. “I’m asking him not to kill you.”
“Don’t worry, Father,” Bei Xiao said with a smile. “No matter what, he’s still my brother. I won’t kill him.”
The North Sea City Lord nodded and took out a token. “Every generation of City Lords must receive the Dragon Maiden’s recognition. Take this token and go to the North Sea tomorrow. After that, you’ll officially be the true City Lord of North Sea City.”
As he finished speaking, his pale face turned ashen. Moments later, his breathing ceased entirely.
“Father!” Bei Xiao and Bei Qinghai shouted, but there was no response. The City Lord was gone.
“Send the word,” Bei Xiao ordered calmly. “After I return from the North Sea, give my father a proper burial.”
He held the City Lord’s token tightly in his hand. The surrounding soldiers bowed and began following his orders.
A separate group of soldiers surrounded Bei Qinghai.
“What are you doing?” Bei Qinghai asked sharply, frowning. “Have you already forgotten Father’s final words?”
“Until my succession is complete, I’ll have to trouble you to stay confined for a while,” Bei Xiao said with a faint smile. “Once I return, you’ll be free.”
He couldn’t afford for Bei Qinghai to stir up trouble at such a crucial moment.
After swiftly taking control of the situation, the other gathered nobles and prodigies stepped forward to offer their congratulations.
Bei Xiao thanked them one by one, then turned to Xu Zimo and his companions. “Brother Xu, I’ll remember your kindness. Tomorrow, I’ll personally escort you to the North Sea to meet the Dragon Maiden. As for the Qi brothers, if there’s anything you want, just say it.”
Xu Zimo nodded slightly.
Bei Xiao’s attitude was decent enough. After the banquet concluded, Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu were arranged to stay in the City Lord’s mansion.
“Do you think the Dragon Maiden will be an enemy or an ally?” Sword God Xie Changliu asked.
“An enemy,” Xu Zimo said calmly.
He sat in the courtyard as the autumn winds rustled the falling leaves. Thunderclouds gathered in the distance.
“Prepare yourself for a great battle.”
“You haven’t even met her yet, and you’ve already decided that?” Xie Changliu smiled faintly.
Xu Zimo didn’t answer. The bull horn of the Red-Blade Bull-Demon had told him enough, the North Sea was no ordinary place. And since the Dragon Maiden ruled it, she was most likely the mastermind behind the scenes.
The two talked until dusk before returning to their rooms for the night.
The next morning, the City Lord’s mansion was already making preparations for the journey to the North Sea.
Ordinarily, the succession of a new City Lord would be a time of public celebration. But since the previous City Lord had just passed away, everything was kept low-key.
Soldiers carried ornate sedan chairs, one for Bei Xiao and one for Meng Yu. Bei Xiao had also arranged two new sedan chairs for Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu.
Xu Zimo didn’t refuse. Though slower than flying, it would suffice.
The four sedan chairs left North Sea City, heading northward.
As they traveled side by side, Bei Xiao opened the window and smiled. “Brother Xu, I suppose this is your first time in the North Sea?”
“You could say that,” Xu Zimo replied.
“The North Sea is the greatest among the mortal seas,” Bei Xiao said proudly. “It stretches across two entire regions. When we meet the Dragon Maiden, remember, speak little, and don’t offend her.”
Xu Zimo nodded with a faint smile.
By afternoon, the sedan chairs reached the shore of the North Sea.
The sun was setting, its red-gold light spilling across the endless water. The sea stretched beyond sight, vast and boundless, its horizon lost to the mist.
“Meng Yu,” Bei Xiao said, smiling. “I’ll trouble you to open the path.”
Meng Yu turned and looked deeply at Xu Zimo before stepping toward the water.
Forming seals with her hands, she sent several complex wind marks into the sea.
The calm surface suddenly began to churn.
Waves surged, massive swells roaring up like walls of water, a thousand layers deep.
Between two towering waves, a strip of solid land emerged, stretching far into the unknown.
On both sides of the path, countless shrimp soldiers and crab generals stood poised atop the waves.
“Let’s go,” Meng Yu said, taking the first step onto the path.
Xu Zimo and the others followed.
After about ten minutes of walking, they reached an enormous iron gate.
It stood a hundred meters tall, rusted and ancient, with two lion heads mounted on it, their faces fierce, their eyes bulging wide.
“This is as far as I go,” Meng Yu said.
Bei Xiao immediately knelt and shouted loudly, “Bei Xiao, new Lord of North Sea City, requests an audience with the Dragon Maiden!”
“Brother Xu, kneel!” he urged quickly when he noticed Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu still standing.
“I’ve never knelt to anyone in my life,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile.
He looked at Meng Yu. “Take me to the Pool of Demonic Transformation.”
“Without my master’s order, you can’t enter,” Meng Yu replied.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Xu Zimo said coldly, narrowing his eyes.
“This is the North Sea,” Meng Yu frowned. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Xu Zimo raised his hand and struck.
Thunder and wind exploded outward, engulfing her completely.
“Bold fool! How dare you cause trouble in the Realm of the North Sea!”
A booming voice echoed from all directions, not just one, but several, overlapping with fury.
The iron gates swung open.
Several figures of immense power stepped out, their presence shaking the air.
All around, the sea roared to life.
Countless shrimp soldiers and crab generals stood atop the waves, beating war drums in unison, their numbers beyond counting.
At the forefront stood three towering figures, each one radiating the aura akin to that of a Grand Emperor, an Immortal Monarch.
An old man with a long beard.
A woman with the body of a serpent.
And a burly man with a tiger’s head resting on his shoulder.
Behind them stood a host of Immortal warriors.
Xu Zimo smiled faintly. “Since you’ve been waiting for me all this time, why bother hiding any longer?”
From the moment he arrived, he had already sensed their powerful auras lurking beneath the surface, waiting for his appearance.