The Sima Family, the Puppet Fleet

Within the increasingly dim protective shield, the seawater swirled wildly, surging towards the Earth Realm the Sea Race who had emerged.

The five Sea Race Earth Realm calm, and with a surge of Psychic Energy in their hands, they attempted to calm the raging waters.

However, the normally docile seawater did not calm down; instead, it became even more turbulent due to the infusion of their Psychic Energy.

What happened?

Before they could figure out why this was happening, an Earth Realm Sixth Realm on the outskirts suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head.

Before he could even scream, his consciousness vanished instantly.

Shisui emerged from the storm of Feather Powder, its scorpion tail stinger extending from its lower back piercing directly into the back of its prey's head along the cervical vertebrae.

Brain death, for intelligent species that cannot separate their souls, is death in the truest sense.

The scorpion's stinger, buried inside its prey, grew and hooked onto the already cold body, dragging it before Shisui.

Shisui stepped back, disappearing once again into the encirclement of Feather Powder.

In less than two seconds, the Sea Race that came to surround and annihilate the enemy decreased from five to one.

The other Sea Race, struggling against the thick fog, belatedly felt a chill run down their spines.

They tried to escape, but they were surrounded by impenetrable gray seawater.

We vote...!

Before he could finish shouting "surrender," Bikaku suddenly flew over, grabbed his throat, and dragged him into the Feather Powder.

The blade usually cut his throat directly with its Blade Scales.

The blood did not spread as a result.

The rough patterns that appeared on the scales after the ascension were activated by Psychic Energy, and a simple Water-Gathering Formation was activated.

A large amount of blood is drawn out by the Bikaku, and Rc Cells take the opportunity to fill the gap.

Another Sea Race has fallen.

The remaining three Sea Race showed barely suppressed terror in their eyes.

They began to unleash their full psionic Psychic Energy and potential, preparing to take a desperate gamble.

However, the plan was ambitious, but the reality was harsh.

The biggest impact of withdrawing from defense and switching to an offensive stance is that the advance speed of the Feather Powder is no longer suppressed.

Before they could prepare their attack, the gray seawater engulfed them.

In less than half a minute, the battle—no, the massacre—was over.

As the last remaining Sea Race who had a chance to escape were turned into puppets, the Psychic Energy Shield maintained around the fleet simultaneously went out.

If you could see the escort ships through the thick fog, you would discover them.

At this moment, the outermost layer of the warship's hull had already been eaten away by the Rc Cells.

The areas engraved with array patterns were pitted and uneven, and are now being filled in by Rc Cells.

A thick fog enveloped the Puppet Fleet, slowly propelling them toward their designated target— the Sea Race Second Research Institute.

They will become the perfect source of infection for the Second Research Institute to fall.

Meanwhile, Chongming City.

The eldest prince Yuan Rong, has already set his sights on his goal.

He didn't seek the position of crown Crown Prince; he only wanted to survive and live the rest of his life as a freeloader.

Therefore, he wanted to use public opinion to make the final decision on the Crown Prince a prominent issue, in order to gain a chance to survive the trial.

The first step was to frantically spread the idea among the Sea Race that the Crown Prince should be elected in the end.

Whether the public will actually accept this view is not important; what matters most is winning over high-ranking officials and nobles who hold power.

The eldest prince, having made his plans, instructed his attendant, "Go and invite the third young master of the Sima Family to my residence for a gathering."

"Yes."

The attendant received the order and immediately hurried out of the First Prince's residence, heading towards the Sima Family mansion outside the Dragon Palace.

Soon after, Yan Fei, who was sitting in the Reed Pavilion, received a message from his subordinates who had been left in the Sima Family.

"Third Young Master, His Highness the First Prince invites you to his residence for a gathering."

Yan Fei listened to her subordinate's report, her knuckles lightly tapped the armrest of the seat beside her.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

After thinking for a while, lacking sufficient information, Yan Fei couldn't guess what the long-neglected eldest prince wanted to do by suddenly contacting him.

Surprisingly, he didn't continue the brainstorming session.

He got up, went to the dressing room in the VIP box, and chose a more formal outfit to change into.

Then, he turned and went out.

"Prepare the car; let's go to the Sima Family first."

"Yes."

The eldest prince contacted him, but it was unclear what he wanted.

In order to avoid revealing his identity and to protect himself, he had to use the Sima Family's name as a shield.

Reed Pavilion enjoys a superior geographical location, situated in the most prosperous commercial district in the center of Chongming City.

Therefore, whether going up to the city or down to the Dragon Palace, the journey is not too far.

The carriage took a shortcut along a secluded path and quickly arrived at the cluster of mansions where powerful officials lived outside the Dragon Palace.

The Sima Family was located in the middle to lower tier of the first tier, and their residence was not as close to the Dragon Palace as the Guan Family's.

But it's definitely a place where you can see the outer walls of the Dragon Palace from your home.

Yan Fei's car entered silently through the side door, deliberately concealing its presence.

As soon as the car stopped, he jumped off.

Quickly straightening her slightly disheveled clothes, Yan Fei completely concealed the subtle sharpness that usually lingered in her demeanor.

At this moment, he was no longer the unpredictable owner of the Reed Pavilion, but had reverted to being the obedient pawn of the Sima Family, the illegitimate son Yan Fei.

He strode to the main courtyard of the Sima Family and greeted the old Guan Family in a practiced tone.

Afterwards, in exchange for an ingot of Psychic Energy metal, the old Guan Family was allowed to go in and inform the family head.

It only took Yan Fei ten minutes to get from the Reed Pavilion to the Sima Family patriarch's study.

"Speak, what is it?"

"Master, His Highness the First Prince just invited me to the palace for a gathering."

As soon as Yan Fei finished speaking, she keenly caught a fleeting, calculating glint in the patriarch's eyes.

He knew that the head of the family would allow him to go to the appointment as a member of the Sima Family.

"Go," the patriarch said, handing Yan Fei a brooch adorned with reed runes. "But don't make promises lightly."

Yan Fei respectfully accepted the brooch and immediately wore it on her left breast, a hint of suppressed joy showing on her face.

He obediently replied, "Yes, Master."

Afterwards, he left the study, changed into the Sima Family's carriage, and headed towards the Dragon Palace.

He got off the carriage at the outer city wall of the Dragon Palace, walked through the side of the Dragon Palace, and began walking towards the First Prince's residence.

Half an hour after receiving the Crown Prince's invitation, Yan Fei arrived at the main gate of the Crown Prince's residence.

"Your Highness, Yan Fei has arrived."

"Let him in."

"Yes."

Yan Fei stepped inside, and looking at the ever-luxurious yet bloated decor of the First Prince's residence, a hint of mockery flashed through his mind.

"This humble Yan Fei, greets Your Highness, the First Prince."

"We're all family, no need for formalities."

As Yuan Rong spoke, he sat in the main seat, merely smiling as he looked down at Yan Fei without making any move.

"Please take a seat."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

After Yan Fei finished her greetings, she got up and sat down on the solid wood carved chair that the servants had temporarily brought over.

A naive show of force.

As Yan Fei offered his assessment, he said with a smile, "I wonder why Your Highness has invited this humble subject into the palace?"

"Young Master Fei, I greatly enjoy the storytelling during morning tea at the Reed Pavilion, and therefore wish to further enhance the success of your storytelling troupe."

"Here is a rather excellent play, which I would like to present to the storytellers of the Reed Pavilion."

Yuan Rong summoned his servants and instructed them to deliver the storybook to Yan Fei.

"This is a small token of my appreciation."

The implication is that refusing would go against the wishes of this prince.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

Any other issues can be discussed later; for now, Yan Fei must accept the script.

Seeing Yan Fei accept the storybook, Yuan Rong's smile became even more sincere.

"In addition, there is one more thing I would like to trouble the Sima Family with."