Raise the Spear

Xie Tianshu swept his gaze over the graduate students, narrowed his eyes, and asked coldly, "Where is Cai Yutong?"

"We haven't found her for now," Xie Jin said.

"Didn't find her, or did you hide her?" Xie Tianshu's tone carried a trace of severity.

He had secretly gathered so many people, yet mistakes kept piling up. First, those people from Laboratory 705 and Li Weiyi had vanished without a trace. Now even Cai Yutong, a frail woman, had managed to disappear.

Xie Tianshu worried that Xie Jin had failed to resist the allure of beauty and deliberately let Cai Yutong go.

"Brother Shu, do you take me for someone who disregards the bigger picture? Cai Yutong really isn't in the Planting Area. If you don't believe me, ask them," Xie Jin said.

One of Professor Xu's graduate students was named Sima Tan. With rimless glasses perched on his nose, he looked refined and scholarly. He was one of the three people standing behind Xie Jin.

Three days ago, under Xie Tianshu's threats and inducements, he had chosen to submit.

He said, "Doctor Qi came to the Planting Area not long ago. She was the one who took Dr. Cai away."

Xie Tianshu's expression eased somewhat. He sighed. "A-Jin, beautiful women may be scarce resources, but compared to survival, they are at most temporary playthings. Send two people into the Graveyard Forest to look for her. Once you find her, she'll be a resource for all of us to use."

Xie Jin's expression changed, but in the end, he nodded.

Sima Tan looked at Chen Hong, who was interrogating Gao Huan, and reminded him, "Questioning him like that is useless! Everyone has a weak spot. Gao Huan's weak spot is Liu Ying. He has liked Liu Ying for three years. He took the graduate entrance exam for her, then pulled strings to get into Professor Xu's laboratory."

Liu Ying was one of the five trainees who had just been brought back from the Planting Area. Her skin was very fair, her eyes exceptionally bright, and she was strikingly pretty. Back on the Research Vessel, she had been the one who asked Li Weiyi to help take their group photo.

"You're classmates, yet you sold him out thoroughly," Chen Hong said with a smile.

Sima Tan said, "Same to you. Neither of us should laugh at the other. Everyone has darkness in their heart; we finally have the chance to release it without worrying about the law's punishment. Brother Shu, give Liu Ying to me for half an hour. I guarantee that whatever you ask Gao Huan, he'll confess honestly."

Roars of laughter immediately erupted around them.

Kong Fan chuckled. "Half an hour? Young people really are confident. But our new Captain Xie has said that beauties are resources for everyone to use. Why not count Old Kong in too?"

Laughter broke out again.

From their departure until now, they had spent nearly two months aboard the ship, surrounded by nothing but tedium, loneliness, and exhaustion.

Who didn't want to seek some excitement?

Now that they had arrived in this lawless place where no one could control anyone, and no one knew which day would be their last, their courage naturally grew.

How could the evil and malice in their hearts still be restrained?

Throughout history, after certain emperors became victors, they had inevitably seized the women of the defeated. How could this group of people be any different? How could they avoid following the common path?

Ever since Kong Fan obtained the Silver Thread Gloves and tasted the sweetness of Transcendent power, his state of mind had changed without him realizing it. Looking at the people present, he felt the superiority of someone above, gazing down at servants.

And servants could be toyed with however one pleased.

Gao Huan cursed, "Sima Tan, you really are a beast! Liu Ying is my classmate—wasn't she your classmate too? I don't know where Li Weiyi went. I really don't know."

Whether he knew or not was sometimes not important at all.

Liu Ying herself was the benefit Xie Tianshu had promised Sima Tan.

Using beautiful women to win over subordinates and turn hostile people to one's side had existed since ancient times. It was nothing new.

Liu Ying had already been frightened to tears and ran toward the Graveyard Forest.

But with her hands tightly bound behind her back, she could not run quickly. Sima Tan soon caught her and dragged her toward the nearby Medical Tent.

Kong Fan smiled cheerfully and followed him into the Medical Tent.

Professor Xu lay sprawled on the ground, crying as he slammed his head against the deck and roared, "You're too savage! Do you have any morality or conscience left? Let Liu Ying go! If you want something, come at this old man! Sima Tan, with morals as corrupt as yours, no matter how good your academic performance is, I will never let you graduate..."

Xie Jin said, "This old fool sure talks a lot. Throw him into the Sea of Souls and feed him to those dead souls, so we don't waste the ship's food."

The two Security Team Members looked toward the Medical Tent, then at Professor Xu, whose legs were broken as he kept smashing his head against the ground. They could not bear it, and guilt welled up inside them.

Their consciences were uneasy. It had only been seven days, yet it seemed that more than just the social environment had changed!

The changes in people's hearts were even more horrifying to behold.

At that moment, a string of camel bells drifted out of the Graveyard Forest, faint and illusory.

Bloodshot streaks surfaced in Xie Jin's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "What? Has your conscience awakened? Do you want to become good people again? Once you start doing certain things, there is no road back. Throw that old fool down..."

"I'll talk... I'll talk... Li Weiyi went toward the Nine-Story Ship Tower. He was heading for the Stern. He told me earlier—it's absolutely true!"

Gao Huan knelt on the ground, kowtowing and pleading through tears. "Let Liu Ying go! Spare the professor, please! I'm begging you! I'm begging you!"

Bang! Bang! Bang...

His forehead soon turned bruised purple and began to bleed.

Naturally, he had considered deceiving these utterly wicked people into feeding themselves to the Ghost Bear Emperor. Yet he truly had no other choice, and he genuinely hoped his pleas might save Liu Ying and Professor Xu.

Zhao Meng rebuked him, "Once you reveal my Junior Brother's whereabouts, you'll have no value left at all! You think kneeling and begging will make them turn from evil and let us go? Naive! Foolish... Once a person bares their fangs, they are no longer human!"

Xie Tianshu watched everything with detached calm. "Don't think I don't know what is happening at the Stern. Little Huan, why are you so dishonest? You've disappointed me too much!"

His final sentence was almost a roar.

He waved his hand.

The two Security Team Members directly threw Professor Xu, whom they had lifted into the air, into the Sea of Souls.

As the sound of a splash rang out, countless vicious souls beneath the Bronze Ship let out excited howls, accompanied by the sounds of flesh being torn apart.

Professor Xu only managed a few shrill screams before falling completely silent.

Gao Huan stopped kowtowing and remained kneeling there, staring blankly as though stunned senseless.

The Deck was deathly quiet.

Everyone with bound hands looked stricken. Not one dared make a sound. Some even curled up and avoided the gazes of Xie Tianshu and the others.

Another female trainee, whose beauty rivaled Liu Ying's, was even more terrified. Her ten fingers clenched tightly together. She wanted to cry, but could only force herself to hold it in.

"There is a price to pay for lying."

Xie Tianshu slapped Gao Huan's face with sharp smacks. "Next time you speak, think it through before opening your mouth."

The next instant—

He shouted, "Two more people, get inside!"

At once, two Security Team Members entered the Medical Tent, their faces carrying both shy guilt and burning anticipation.

Human nature was always contradictory.

A bottom line was like a woman's clothing. Taking everything off at once was difficult, but once one began removing it piece by piece, how could it possibly remain on forever?

Chen Hong disdained Xie Tianshu's methods of "winning people over with beauties" and "binding them with sin." He said, "Rather than force him, we should force the First Mate. Brother Meng and I are as close as brothers. I can't bear to watch what comes next. I'll take some people and find those who are hiding first."

Li Weiyi ran through the Graveyard Forest with the Yellow Dragon Sword in hand, finally shaking off that hair.

A skeleton had actually seemed on the verge of coming back to life, capable of devouring his blood.

It was horrifying and bizarre.

Even though Li Weiyi had already gained some foundation in Transcendent cultivation, he was no match for her. If not for the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish and the Yellow Dragon Sword, he would have died there.

Fortunately, she had remained lying in the Ice Coffin, seemingly not fully awakened yet. Moreover, the range of her hair attacks was only five zhang.

He did not dare imagine what a terrifying thing it would be if this "White Bone Spirit" truly escaped.

"Senior Brother really knows how to hide things. Why did he hide the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish and the Yellow Dragon Sword in her grave mound? He nearly got me killed."

Li Weiyi recalled Senior Brother saying that when he fell onto the Bronze Ship, he had landed right on her grave mound. Fortunately, the mound had cushioned his fall, or he would have been smashed to death.

What damned fate!

Li Weiyi gazed toward the glow cast by the Golden Crow's corpse within the Nether Mist, somewhat unable to understand. There was clearly light to guide the way, so why had Research Team Members still become lost in the Graveyard Forest? Did the forest contain other mysteries and unknown dangers?

About two hundred meters from the Golden Crow's corpse, Li Weiyi walked out of the Graveyard Forest and arrived beside the Bulwark. Raising his arm, he saw that his slashed wrist had already scabbed over and was nearly healed.

Those armored Bone Humans, along with weapons of all shapes and types, lay scattered haphazardly and silently nearby.

According to Director Yang, the zhang-long Black Spear was the lightest, yet even two people could only barely lift it.

With no one around, Li Weiyi no longer had any reservations. He gripped the Black Spear near its tip with one hand.

It felt quite heavy in his hand, but he still lifted it.

"One hand is far stronger than two people combined?" Li Weiyi was surprised, but not overly excited, because he had just witnessed the White Bone Spirit's power.

Without the Yellow Dragon Sword, he could only fight her for a moment.

Even with the Yellow Dragon Sword, he could only flee in miserable defeat.

Suddenly—

Light footsteps came from the direction of the Golden Crow's corpse.

A moment later, Qi Shanshan, dressed in a white doctor's coat, hurried out of the Nether Mist. Her expression was somewhat panicked and wary.

"Li Weiyi... why are you here?"

Qi Shanshan looked around, unable to believe it.

In nearly two months, this was the first time Li Weiyi had seen Qi Shanshan without high heels. Instead, she wore a pair of pink sneakers. His gaze then shifted to the hazy Nine-Story Ship Tower, like a mirage, and doubts flooded his heart. Doctor Qi clearly knew that the Ghost Bear Emperor was still alive. How did she dare come near this place alone?

Li Weiyi asked, "Doctor Qi, aren't you afraid of the Ghost Bear Emperor?"

"Something terrible has happened!"

Qi Shanshan's face was grave. As she walked toward Li Weiyi, she reached into her pocket and gripped the damp medical cotton towel inside. "Second Mate Xie Tianshu has joined forces with many people and launched a coup. The Bronze Ship is in complete chaos now. I had no choice but to flee here despite the danger. Didn't you hear the gunshots just now?"

"Gunshots? They made their move early?"

Li Weiyi had not heard any gunshots. He guessed it had happened while he was dragged into the Ice Coffin. Though he still harbored suspicions toward Qi Shanshan, Senior Brother's side was surely in critical danger. There was no time to think further.

Whoosh!

His toes hooked upward. Scalding currents surged wildly through the Trace Meridians in his legs, and all his strength erupted in an instant.

The zhang-long Black Spear flew up and landed steadily in his hand, its tip ringing with a trembling clang.

Yellow Dragon Sword in one hand and spear in the other, Li Weiyi stood tall and resolute, ready to rush toward the Ship Bow at once.

Qi Shanshan had already come within five steps of Li Weiyi. Seeing this, her charmingly alluring face filled with shock. "Your injury has healed... Did Yutong give you Golden Crow Blood to drink?"

Other than Golden Crow Blood, Qi Shanshan could not think of any possibility that could heal someone whose arm had nearly been crippled within a few days.

And give him such terrifying strength.

Li Weiyi had no time to explain.

"Come back!"

Qi Shanshan had no confidence in taking down a Li Weiyi who had become this strong. Moreover, wariness was plain in his eyes, and a new thought immediately arose in her heart.

She quietly put the medical cotton towel away, withdrew her hand from her pocket, and said softly with concern, "Weiyi, Sister Shanshan understands how worried you are about Senior Brother, but they have guns. No matter how strong you are, a single bullet can still take your life. We need to plan carefully. Before acting, we at least need to understand the current situation and how many people they have."