Hai Qiqi’s eyes burned bright as she glared at Hong Ying. “That’s impossible. There are too many experts on Grayweed Continent. Even if we don’t mention the seventy two dojo masters, my Sea King’s Dome has left experts on Grayweed Continent. You guys are destined to lose.”
Hong Ying sneered. “More than half of the seventy two dojo masters are already dead. As for the people from your Sea King’s Dome, not even a tenth of them managed to escape to Grayweed Continent. It might be true that the Sea King is a slightly thornier problem, but my Master has already promised the Tong family that she will make a move to take care of him. Even if the Tong ancestor doesn’t act, my Master alone is still enough to sweep across Grayweed Continent.”
Hai Qiqi grew excited. “Did you just say that the Sea King is a thorny problem? Is he very powerful?”
Hong Ying’s face grew much more solemn. “He’s considered an extremely strong expert, but he still can't stop my Master.”
Hai Qiqi heaved a sigh of relief, as her main goal just now had been to worm out some more information. Specifically, she had just verified that the Sea King was on Grayweed Continent.
Lu Yin also tried to weedle out some information. “Since your Master is already planning on heading over, then why are you also going? There’s a limit to how much strength the younger generation can wield, and even Realmlings can’t deal with powerhouses whose power levels are in the hundreds of thousands, even if their power levels are suppressed.”
Hong Ying’s expression changed. “You are right. The ordinary powerhouses of the younger generation are indeed not a match for Imprinters, and they’ll be in trouble even when going against Enlighters. However, the Realmlings are an exception, just like your Fifth Mainland’s Ten Arbiters.” Hong Ying suddenly seemed to think of something, and she frowned deeply. “That actually makes no sense. Your Fifth Mainland has no Imprinters or Progenitors, and even your old Progenitors’ inheritances have been severed. Just how did monsters like those Ten Arbiters come to be?”
“What’s with the Ten Arbiters?” Lu Yin asked hurriedly. He wanted to hear more about them, not just because they were also a part of the younger generation, but also because he had enemies among them. Thus, the more he knew, the better.
Hong Ying looked at him and sneered. “Do you really think that I’m stupid? That woman is obviously connected to the Sea King’s Dome, and she’s clearly trying to get some information from me, but it doesn’t matter what I tell her since none of that’s secret. But you? Forget it.”
Lu Yin blinked awkwardly.
“You’re a despicable man, so don’t bother trying to get any information out of me!” Hong Ying declared coldly, and as she looked at Lu Yin, she actually grew even angrier. “You’re shameless!”
Lu Yin rolled his eyes and proceeded to ignore her.
Hai Qiqi smiled, and her mood suddenly improved. The news concerning the Sea King had allowed her to finally relax.
The situation on Grayweed Continent was still quite intense. After ten days of travel, while Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were sitting within their spacecraft, they saw a black line off in the distance that extended out endlessly. That line was Grayweed Continent.
In the distant sky, star-like objects illuminated Grayweed Continent with a glittering radiance. Each one was scattered a certain distance from the others, and when they fell, it indicated that a day had passed on Grayweed Continent.
The Grayweed Continent covered a vast area, and although the Sixth Mainland’s Tong family had sent over a few million cultivators to conquer it, that was just a drop in the ocean compared to Grayweed Continent’s overall scale. That number of cultivators was not even enough to seal off the coastline.
Lu Yin easily found an isolated, hidden bay, and he led Hai Qiqi along as they dragged Hong Ying onto the beach.
They had landed on a vast shore that spread out in both directions, and the sandy beach was extremely soft when they stepped on it.
There were not many rune lines in Lu Yin’s vision when he looked past the coast.
“It will take us at least half a day to reach the closest dojo, and that’s with our speeds. For a Limiteer, or an even weaker cultivator, they wouldn’t be able to reach it even after traveling for half a month,” Hai Qiqi said. She then glared at Hong Ying. “Where’s the Sea King?”
Hong Ying snorted. “I don't know.”
Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll strip you nȧkėd.”
Lu Yin was puzzled by their exchange.
Hong Ying grew furious, and she glared at Lu Yin. “You’re despicable.”
“Shameless!” Hong Ying stared straight at Lu Yin.
Hai Qiqi was getting uncomfortable, as she felt like she was being ignored. “Hey! I’m the one threatening you!”
Hong Ying would not look at the other girl, and she only glared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin felt as if he had become someone else’s scapegoat.
“Forget it, just let her go. She hasn’t even been to Grayweed Continent before, so there’s no way she could possibly know where the Sea King is,” Lu Yin said.
Hai Qiqi agreed before knocking Hong Ying unconscious in a practiced manner. She then proceeded to dig a hole and bury the girl.
A cultivator of her strength would not suffocate even after being buried alive, and she would wake up after a few days.
Lu Yin was baffled by her smooth actions. “You’re quite familiar with that process.”
Hai Qiqi clenched a fist. “While you were comprehending that thing at the Sea King’s Dome, I had to knock her unconscious a few times. Relax, the strength that I used will only leave her unconscious for three days.”
Hai Qiqi nodded, as not only was Mt. Stacks Dojo Grayweed Continent’s largest dojo, but it was also the one that held the most experts. It was located at the very center of the continent, and it should not have been taken over by the Sixth Mainland yet. Even if the Sea King was not there, he should not be too far away.
Hai Qiqi spent half an hour determining the best route, after which she then began leading Lu Yin in a specific direction.
Along their way, the two of them avoided all other dojos, as the ones that they passed by should have all already been seized by the Sixth Mainland.
Not only did they avoid all the dojos, but they also evaded all other cultivators since none of them were from the Innerverse. By now, many cultivators from the Innerverse had already cast their lot in with the Sixth Mainland and become mere lackeys of the Sixth Mainland. Otherwise, with just their own people, the Sixth Mainland would not have enough manpower to seize the Innerverse’s resources.
In this manner, the two concealed themselves with their domains as they quickly approached the center of Grayweed Continent.
Both of them were Explorers, and they were also able to move extremely quickly. However, they had landed a considerable distance away from Mt. Stacks Dojo, which showed just how vast Grayweed Continent was.
“After passing through that forest up ahead, we’ll officially enter the central region of Grayweed Continent,” Hai Qiqi delightedly exclaimed.
Lu Yin suddenly grabbed her. “Someone’s coming.” He then dragged Hai Qiqi away to hide.
Not long after they hid themselves, a group of cultivators passed by, though they kept close to the ground. There were about a dozen people in their group, and all of the people on the edges were using their gadgets to scan around them, and one of them had even unleashed their domain. Their group advanced carefully, looking as if they were afraid of being discovered. One look was enough to determine that they were cultivators of Grayweed Continent.
“It’s Little Ben! It’s Little Ben!” Hai Qiqi suddenly cried out excitedly, and Lu Yin could not stop her from shouting.
The group of cultivators was alarmed to see a person suddenly rush towards them, and they looked warily in Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi’s direction. The man in charge seemed to grab a hold of lightning that formed into a blade. “Who is it? Come out!”
Hai Qiqi flew out, and as she looked at the man leading the group, she emotionally said, “Little Ben, it’s me! Sister Qi.”
The leader’s eyes lit up. “Sister Qi? You- What are you doing here?”
Hai Qiqi hurriedly approached the crowd, and Lu Yin followed close behind her, though he was not too nervous. Everyone in this group of cultivators was a Limiteer aside from the Explorer leading them. Lu Yin could wipe out such a group on a whim.
“Little Ben, it’s really you!” Hai Qiqi was incredibly excited as she approached the leader of the group.
The man was also happy to see her, which caused the rest of his group to relax, and they all descended to the ground. The man looked at Hai Qiqi. “Sister Qi, didn’t they say that you wouldn’t come to Grayweed Continent? Why are you showing up here now?”
Hai Qiqi was extremely happy to see an old friend. She had spent four years searching for a path back to the Innerverse, and discounting Elder Ren’s corpse, this man was the first familiar face she had encountered.
The two chatted for a while as the other cultivators scattered throughout the surroundings to guard the area.
She then looked over at Little Ben. She was about to introduce Lu Yin, but Lu Yin stepped forward himself. “You can call me Seventh Bro.”
Little Ben looked confused. “Seventh Bro?” He then looked at Hai Qiqi. “Sister Qi?”
Hai Qiqi did not know how to reply, as she was also very reluctant to accept the self-given title of “Seventh Bro” that Lu Yin preferred to use. She wanted to correct him, but she also could not.
Little Ben looked down and moved closer to Hai Qiqi. He then sniggered. “Should I call him Seventh Bro or Seventh Bro-in-law?”
Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a jerk. Next time, find a guy for Baobao. Then, you’ll be happily calling him Bao bro-in-law.”
Little Ben’s face turned sour. “Sister Qi, your tongue’s as sharp as ever.”
Hai Qiqi was proud of her wit, but she could also see that Lu Yin did not understand what they were talking about. “Little Ben likes Baobao from the bottom of his heart, but it’s a pity that Baobao doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.”
“Sister Qi, don’t say any more! Let’s go, and I’ll lead you guys to the Thundercharge Dojo. Baobao’s there too.” Little Ben quickly changed topics.
Hai Qiqi was delighted. “Right, Little Ben, do you know where Father is?”
His answer disappointed Hai Qiqi.
After that, the group followed Little Ben, heading in a different direction.
With Little Ben’s explanations, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi soon grasped a better understanding of the situation on Grayweed Continent.
It was even worse than what Hong Ying had told them. Of the seventy two dojos on Grayweed Continent, the Fifth Mainland only had control of twelve, and the Thundercharge Dojo was one of those twelve. This group’s objective was to find more of Grayweed Continent’s cultivators.
“You guys really aren’t afraid to die. What will you do if you run into some Sixth Mainland cultivators?” Hai Qiqi was looking down on this group.
Little Ben grudgingly answered, “We don’t have a choice. There are a bunch of small teams like ours, so it’s no loss if they lose us. However, it’s a different story if a group of strong reinforcements are found.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, but he did not say anything.
Half a day later, in the distance, a ring-shaped mountain emerged that was topped with black clouds. Lightning constantly swam through the thick clouds and occasionally struck down, releasing a trembling rumble every time they did so.
“That’s the Thundercharge Dojo, and it’s considered to be extremely powerful among the seventy two dojos, which can be seen from the fact that it’s even ranked in the top ten. The former dojo masters were all known as the Thundercharge Dojo Master, and they each had a power level of at least 300,000,” Hai Qiqi quickly shared with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was astonished by Grayweed Continent’s strength. “Are all of the seventy two dojo masters actually Enlighters? Are you saying that just Grayweed Continent has more than seventy two Enlighter?”
This time, Little Ben was the one to answer. “Of course not. There are seventy two dojos in name, but that’s really just a number. Not even half of these dojos have dojo masters, and the rest have largely been abandoned, though they can also return to glory in just a short amount of time. Just a few years ago, there was one dojo that was a wasteland. However, one of their members actually obtained some sort of inheritance and used it to attract others to their dojo, rebuilding it. In fact, they even managed to pull in an expert who became their dojo master.”
“You must be talking about the Blacktop Dojo,” Hai Qiqi said.
Little Ben nodded. “I believe that the person who obtained the Blacktop Dojo’s inheritance went to the Sea King’s Dome to participate in the Sea King’s son-in-law competition a few years ago. He should have went with Lan Yu. Sister Qi, you should have some impression of him.”
Hai Qiqi disdainfully replied, “No impression—he didn’t make it to the end.”
Lu Yin’s heart lurched. “What’s that person’s name?”
Little Ben replied, “Lan Dao.”