The Gaze Beneath the Deep Sea

"Waaah--"

Wu Zhangkong paused in taking off his coat, then picked up the terminal.

"Notice: All members of the Sea God Pavilion currently enrolled at the school are requested to arrive at the Sea God Pavilion Meeting room within five minutes."

There was no signature, no closing, no redundant information such as "please reply" or "confirm receipt," and the sender's field only displayed a cold abbreviation: SSC.

Half-Sweet Coffee.

Wu Zhangkong pinched the edge of the terminal with his fingers.

He had just finished practicing the Heavenly Frost Sword, his forehead still covered in a thin layer of sweat, his coat half off and hanging on his left shoulder. The training ground was empty, and the night wind blew in through the broken window, making the back of his neck feel cold.

Five minutes.

He didn't even have time to wipe his sweat; he threw his coat over his shoulder, picked up his sword, and left.

It normally takes twelve minutes to walk from the training ground to the Sea God Pavilion.

He ran for seven minutes.

On the way, he saw Zhuo Shi, an old man wearing a single garment and slippers. His silver hair was disheveled like a bird's nest in the moonlight, but he was moving more than twice as fast as usual, leaping and bounding across the rooftops.

Even the Zhuo Shi saw him.

"You received it too?" Zhuo Shi didn't stop, jumping directly down from the roof and landing beside him. As he landed, his knees bent and straightened, and his casual shoes made a muffled sound on the stone pavement.

"Um."

The two remained silent and ran side by side toward the Sea God Pavilion.

After running a few dozen steps, Zhuo Shi suddenly said, "That kid never posts this kind of thing without a reason."

Wu Zhangkong hummed in agreement and quickened his pace.

The lights in the Sea God Pavilion are all on.

When Wu Zhangkong and Zhuo Shi pushed open the door, there were already people sitting inside.

Yun Ming sat at the far end of the long table in the main seat, his collar open, clearly having just been woken up from bed, but his back was ramrod straight. Ya Li sat to his left, still wearing her medical robe, the cuffs stained with unwashed medicine.

Long Yeyue and Cai Yue'er arrived almost at the same time. They entered one after the other, exchanged a glance, and then took their seats.

The Good Corpse stood in the corner of the conference room, as quiet as a statue.

Yun Jingheng stood at one end of the long table, with a silver-blue orb of light floating in front of him.

Behind him stood a person dressed in a white robe.

The first thing everyone saw upon entering was the man in white robes.

The same face, the same figure, silver-blue eyes swept over everyone present with indifferent expression and emotion, like a mirror standing behind Yun Jingheng.

Yun Jingheng and the others sat down, waiting for Tang Yinmeng, who was the last to enter, to close the door. Then he raised his hand and lightly touched the floating silver-blue orb with his fingertips.

The sphere of light exploded silently, transforming into countless tiny rays of light that filled the entire area above the long table.

A three-dimensional image unfolded before everyone, revealing the complete structure of the Abyss Plane.

Yun Jingheng spoke.

"I'm too lazy to beat around the bush."

His voice wasn't loud, but the conference room was so quiet you could hear a speck of dust falling.

"Notify all students and teachers above the sixth ring level that, led by Elder Cai, Elder Zhuo, and Elder Feng, they will proceed to the Extreme North to aid Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena."

"Led by Wu Zhangkong, Tang Yinmeng, and Lan Muzi, they will each lead a team from the east, south, and north, respectively, to join forces with the team on the west side to encircle the Holy Spirit Cult."

"During this period, the academy will be on holiday. Students and teachers whose academic level is insufficient will be included in the holiday list."

"Goodness Self."

The two corpses turned their gazes to Yun Jingheng, "Find the Qiangu Dongfeng, life or death is irrelevant."

The meeting room fell silent for a few moments.

Zhuo Shi was the first to stand up. The old man pulled his thin robe tighter around himself, looked around at everyone present, and finally fixed his gaze on Yun Jingheng's face.

"The old man is going to aid the north."

"Leave the Holy Spirit Cult to the younger generation."

Cai Yue'er also stood up, her silver hair neatly tied back, her tone neither warm nor cold, "I'll select some students and teachers above the sixth ring level."

Yun Ming remained silent.

He sat at the far end of the long table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface, once, twice.

Everyone knew what he was waiting for: for everyone to finish speaking.

Yun Jingheng put the ball of light back into his palm, his gaze sweeping across the conference table before finally settling on his father.

Father and son locked eyes, for a moment, then two.

"... What about my mission?"

Yun Jingheng's lips moved slightly, "Elder Long, and the two Vice Pavilion Master... defend Shrek to the death."

The air in the conference room seemed to be sucked away for a moment.

Long Yeyue raised her head, her eyes beneath her silver hair fixed on Yun Jingheng.

She didn't respond immediately, but turned her head to look at Yun Ming, who was sitting at the far end of the long table.

Yun Ming's gaze was fixed on his son's face.

"Difficult?"

"Compare..."

Yun Jingheng said two words and then stopped. He raised his hand and gently flicked the silver-blue light sphere with his fingertip. The three-dimensional image rotated half a circle, and a thin line extended from the direction of the East Sea, stopping on the coastline east of Shrek City.

Then he moved that finger down, pointing below the sea surface.

Yun Ming's pupils contracted slightly.

How deep?

"I can't see clearly."

Yun Jingheng said, "I tried it. My Divine Power probed below three thousand meters and was bounced back. That thing was dormant, but its heartbeat was so loud that it could be heard across the entire continental shelf."

How big?

"Half-Sweet Coffee estimates its length to be over four thousand meters."

Someone in the conference room gasped.

Yun Ming tapped his fingers on the table once, then again.

"Is it coming for us?"

"It's all about what we have, and it's also about Tang Wulin."

He stared at his son for a long time, while the others present couldn't understand what they were saying—what was that thing? What was at sea?

Long Yeyue and Cai Yue'er exchanged a glance, Zhuo Shi frowned, and Tang Yinmeng tightened her grip on the doorknob.

Only Ya Li, sitting next to Yun Ming, slowly and silently withdrew her hands from the table and placed them on her knees.

"Are you sure?" Yun Ming asked.

"Uncertain."

Yun Jingheng said, "I've used my Divine Power to circle around outside three times this year, and I've seen everything I needed to see. If it was just passing by, it should have left three months ago, but it didn't."

"What is it waiting for?" Yun Ming asked again, but this time his tone was different; he was confirming a question he already knew the answer to.

"Waiting for the fruit to ripen, then I'll eat it in one bite."

The father and son looked at each other across the long table, and everyone around them remained silent, no one interrupting.

Zhuo Shi finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Can't you two speak like human beings? What's waiting for what?"

Yun Jingheng turned his head and glanced at Zhuo Shi. There was no extra emotion in that glance; it was as calm as a lake.

"Old Zhuo, do you know about the Deep Sea Demon Whale?"

"I know, the largest Soul Beast in the sea, said to have lived for over ten thousand years, rarely appears, and every time it does, it is accompanied by a tsunami of natural disaster magnitude."

"That whale is waiting for its Godhood to mature."

Zhuo Shi's brows furrowed. "Godhood?"

Yun Jingheng did not answer. He simply raised his hand, pointed to himself, and then pointed to Yun Ming.

The expressions on the faces of those present changed drastically.

"Once you leave, Shrek City will have a gap in combat strength. Although it won't make much difference to her, she doesn't want to give me time to react, so..."

"You want to send that whale?"

"Yes, since she wants it, let her try and see if she can take it."