When Chen Xuan landed on the sea's surface, the silver motes beneath his feet rippled in faint circles.
Immediately afterward, he sensed a strange force surging up from beneath the sea, condensing into a silvery-white shield of light beneath his feet.
He stamped on the shield. It was solid as land, enough to support him. But farther ahead, those shields were not connected. Some were merely solitary fragments floating on the sea, while others resembled winding bridges only to break into several sections midway, with considerable gaps between them.
A deep voice descended from the vault above. "In the Starfall Sea, every step taken upon the surface will draw upon the power of the stars within the stellar sea to form a supporting platform. But every platform exists for only three breaths before vanishing. Use the platforms to cross the stellar sea. Flight is forbidden, and no Divine Ability may be used to cross the gaps. Violators will be eliminated."
Chen Xuan took a deep breath and stepped forward.
As his toes touched the sea ahead, a silvery-white shield of light condensed beneath his feet and held him up. Then came the second step, the third. Three breaths after he passed, the shields behind him vanished soundlessly, as though they had never existed.
The disciples behind him surged into the Starfall Sea. Some stepped into empty air and fell onto the surface, only to be engulfed by silvery-white motes and teleported out of Taihao Star the next moment. Others lost their rhythm after taking several steps and hurriedly took another step just before their shields vanished, staggering as they barely managed to steady themselves.
The first half of the Starfall Sea was relatively peaceful. The disciples kept their distance from one another, each focused on finding footholds, and everyone minded