Mu Ye, the Body Sect

Blood still hung in the air on the deck.

The Evil Orca King's corpse floated on the sea, its gray-white belly turned up. The waves slowly washed its dark red blood away.

Chunks of ice knocked against one another in the swell, making little crackling sounds.

The passengers who had survived the disaster were sprawled across the deck, gasping for breath; clutching their loved ones and weeping; or leaning over the railing to vomit.

Several low-ranked Soul Masters leaned against the railings, their hands still trembling. They hadn't yet recovered from the aftereffects of the sustained, high-intensity barrage.

Then every gaze in the crowd fell on Lin Qingzhou.

The boy in plain cloth clothes stood on a patch of broken ice, soaked through, holding a battle hammer. The hammerhead was still smeared with the blood and flesh of a Ten-Thousand-Year Evil Spirit Orca.

His breathing hadn't completely settled, and his chest rose and fell slightly. The hammerhead rested on the ice, pressing a shallow dent into it. The scene of the battle still lingered on everyone's retinas. The sight of that hammer smashing through the Ten-Thousand-Year Orca's bony plates was impossible to forget.

Especially the deep-purple phantom that had appeared behind him. Its oppressive force hadn't come from Soul Power. It was something deeper, like someone had reached out and squeezed your heart.

"That boy... Who is he?" someone asked quietly.

No one answered.

Lin Qingzhou paid no attention to the stares.

It wasn't that he was showing off over there. He was simply heartbroken that so many Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings had dissipated right before his eyes, and he couldn't absorb them himself.

If only I had a Soul Tool to collect them. How much could I sell them for?

At the thought, Lin Qingzhou's heart ached. He was now completely broke, with only a few thousand Federation Currency left in his pocket.

He hung the battle hammer back over his shoulder, his mind entirely occupied by something else.

The middle-aged man in the chef's uniform had floated above the sea with such ease, as if he were standing on the floor of his own living room.

A god-level mecha and Four-Character Battle Armor—either one alone was enough to let someone run rampant across the continent. Yet both were piled onto one person.

He'd slapped a hundred-thousand-year Evil Orca King to death and casually collected its Soul Ring and Soul Bone. The whole process had been so clean it made Lin Qingzhou's scalp prickle.

Today, he'd witnessed the limits of this world's strength with his own eyes, and it was nothing like what the original story had described. What you read on paper and what you saw with your own eyes were worlds apart in how deeply they shook you.

The voices on the deck gradually grew louder.

"Did you see that Martial Soul? That purple phantom. I've never seen anything like it..."

"He didn't use a Soul Skill for that last hammer strike, did he? None of his Soul Rings lit up."

"He looks less than ten, and he can kill a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast on his own?"

Lin Qingzhou came back to himself and frowned. He didn't like being watched, especially after using his End-of-All Martial Soul.

There were too many people around, and too many eyes. Who knew if there were Federation agents here, or spies from some other faction? The news about Aolai City had only just been suppressed. He didn't want to become the next thing to be "harmonized."

Just then, a hand reached over from behind and landed on his shoulder.

The hand was rough, its palm covered in thick calluses. Its five fingers clamped around his shoulder blade like iron pincers.

Lin Qingzhou's pupils shrank. He instinctively tried to wrench himself forward, but the hand's strength was absurd. His Innate Divine Strength was practically a joke in the other man's grip. Before he could even take the battle hammer off his back, his heels were already off the ground.

Several cries of alarm rang out across the deck.

"That boy's gone!"

"Did someone just...?"

"The one in the chef's uniform? Was it him?"

Only a faint whistle of wind remained in the air. Where the boy had stood on the ice, only the shallow dent left by his battle hammer remained.

Lin Qingzhou felt like he'd been carried through the air for ages.

Wind rushed into his ears and collar, while the briny smell of the sea flooded his nose.

He tried to open his eyes, but they were moving so fast that everything blurred into a smear. He could only make out that he was speeding above the sea.

The hand stayed firmly clamped on his shoulder, its grip controlled just right. It wouldn't hurt him, but it gave him no chance to break free.

When his heels touched something solid again, he stumbled and nearly fell. He was standing on a wooden deck, damp with seawater and smelling of fish. It was a small fishing boat.

The vessel looked old. Paint had peeled off the gunwale in several places, a few fishing rods lay across the stern, and fishing nets hung to dry above the cabin.

The boat rocked gently with the waves, its rhythm much quicker than that of the luxury liner.

A man sat at the bow.

Mu Ye. He still wore the same white chef's uniform, with his apron on and sleeves rolled to his elbows.

He sat on a small stool, holding a fishing rod that looked well-used. The line dangled into the sea, its float rising and falling with the waves.

Beside him was a little charcoal stove with an iron grill on top. Two freshly grilled sea fish rested on it, their skins golden and slightly charred, oil sizzling as it dripped. The sea breeze carried the savory smell of grilled fish across the whole boat.

Lin Qingzhou's first reaction was to reach for the battle hammer's grip.

The purple-gold magic markings glimmered faintly beneath his skin, and a vague outline of the deep-purple phantom appeared behind him. It didn't fully coalesce, but its oppressive force had already spread silently through the air.

He didn't attack or say anything. He simply kept enough distance to move at a moment's notice.

Mu Ye didn't even turn his head.

"Kid,"

His voice was a little hoarse, as if years of cooking fumes had roughened it. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead back on that tin can. Why go to all the trouble of bringing you here? Was I after the few Federation Currency you've got on you?"

Lin Qingzhou stayed silent for a few seconds. Mu Ye was stating a fact, and he had no grounds to argue.

The hundred-thousand-year Evil Orca King hadn't lasted a single slap against him. Lin Qingzhou's own strength was indeed nothing in comparison.

He took his hand off the battle hammer's grip. The phantom behind him slowly faded, and the magic markings sank back beneath his skin.

"Come over and sit down."

Mu Ye nodded toward the small stool opposite him. Without waiting to see whether Lin Qingzhou sat, he picked up one of the grilled fish from the charcoal stove and flicked his wrist. The whole fish, skewer and all, flew toward Lin Qingzhou.

Lin Qingzhou reached out and caught it. The skewer was still very hot, and he had to switch hands twice before he got a proper grip.

The fish's skin was crisp, and the flesh inside was so tender it was almost translucent. The steam carried a faint hint of sea salt.

He'd fought across the deck for a long time, and his stamina and Soul Power were both running low. He really was hungry. Besides, if Mu Ye wanted him dead, he couldn't escape anyway. Thinking of it that way, he stopped being so fussy.

Besides, that wasn't the only reason. Zero had already sent him a message a moment ago. Her reply had been simple.

"No danger. You can interact with him freely."

Inside the Holy Temple of the End-of-All Divine Realm,

a virtual panel floated before Zero's eyes. The energy fields of the entire Divine Realm were clearly visible, and several large screens were fixed on the scene around Lin Qingzhou.

He took a bite. The fish was so tender he barely had to chew. Its juices burst in his mouth, salty and fragrant, with a hint of charred bitterness from the coals. It was the simplest way to cook fish, and the best.

Mu Ye saw how readily he ate. His face remained expressionless, but the fine lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly. He picked up the other grilled fish and took a big bite himself. After chewing a couple of times, he produced a small clay flask from who knew where and took a swig.

The smell of liquor drifted over on the sea breeze. It was strong, probably something like homemade rice wine.

"You're not shy, kid." Mu Ye wiped his mouth. "Aren't you afraid I poisoned it?"

"Would being afraid help?" Lin Qingzhou replied indistinctly, his mouth full of fish.

Mu Ye stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly threw back his head and laughed. His laughter was coarse, startling several seabirds at the stern into flapping away. He laughed and slapped his thigh, making the little stool creak.

"Good! You're interesting. Kids these days either shake like leaves when they see me or drop to their knees and call me Senior. But you just tuck in like you're eating at a street stall."

He took another swig, then held the clay flask out toward Lin Qingzhou. "Want some?"

"No." Lin Qingzhou kept eating.

Mu Ye didn't press him. He took the flask back, leaned against the gunwale, and watched him eat with narrowed eyes.

The sea breeze blew for a while before Mu Ye finally spoke, unhurriedly.

"I used to be the head chef on that tin can."

He pointed behind him with his thumb at the luxury liner, now out of sight.

"Every three months, I switch to a different ship. I work for half a month, then get off. Don't ask me why. I do it because I like it. Chopping vegetables is a lot more interesting than killing people. The Body Sect's a damn lonely place. There's nobody to talk to, and I can't stand staying there."

Lin Qingzhou paused mid-bite. He'd already guessed, but hearing Mu Ye admit it himself was different.

"With so many people on that ship, why'd you single me out?" He looked up at Mu Ye.

"Your blood and vitality were too strong."

Mu Ye said it bluntly, without the slightest buildup.

"The first day you came aboard, I sensed powerful blood and vitality from you. You know, Body Martial Souls have a way of sensing one another."

"As the sect master of the Body Sect, I can naturally sense the presence of a Body Martial Soul. Of course, it's not exactly a presence. The blood and vitality of a Body Martial Soul are simply stronger than those of ordinary Martial Souls."

"I thought to myself, there's an interesting little fellow on this ship."

"So you started keeping an eye on me."

Lin Qingzhou remembered the gaze he'd felt in the corridor that night. He stared straight at Mu Ye.