Sea Gate opened to welcome the flying torrent; startled clouds for ten thousand miles came and went.
As the Near-Sea Archipelago's gateway facing the mainland, and the purest trading island upon the sea, Sea Gate Island was as clamorous as ever.
What surname the Sea Suppression Alliance bore, and who ruled the Near-Sea Archipelago, did not truly matter to the seafolk.
Their catches, the wind and waves, travel between the islands... the simplest matters of food, clothing, shelter, and travel were what weighed most heavily on their minds from the moment they opened their eyes until they closed them.
"Look! What's that flying in the sky?"
"A cloud? An island?"
"It looks... like a giant turtle!"
People poured out of the taverns in a swarm, looking up at the colossal shadow sweeping across the sky.
It truly was an enormous turtle, drifting through the heavens, with a heavy shell, sharp teeth, and cold, indifferent eyes.
Its four legs were like oars, stirring the airwaves.
When it flew a little farther away and their view broadened, people could see that many soldiers stood upon its back, clad in yin-yang battle armor with three-foot Dao Swords hanging at their waists.
Soldiers of Jing Kingdom!
Even the Dou'e, famed as the finest in the world!
Why had the army of Great Jing at the center of the world come to the Sea Frontier?
A man abruptly rose into the sky, blocking the giant turtle's path, and asked without reservation, "You soldiers of Jing Kingdom—how dare you come uninvited to our Near-Sea Archipelago?"
He had sword-like brows and starry eyes, a jade band wrapped around his forehead, and a tall, straight figure. He cut a truly valiant and gallant appearance.
Though dressed in casual clothes, he could not conceal his heroic bearing.
Though alone