Shadows on the Sea

Luo Chen patted Xue Yan on the shoulder. "Alright, don't think too much about it. Just remember that you are Su Heng now. Once you grow strong enough, if you wish, you can go seek your revenge."

The night passed in silence. After learning that Su Heng was the Third Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Luo Chen had been lost in thought, but the next day, both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the matter.

Luo Dashan saw Luo Chen and said, "Little Chen, there's a shipment of fish today. Do you want to come with me to the pier to take a look? Little Heng, you should come along and have some fun too."

The two exchanged a glance, and Luo Chen replied, "Sure, it's a good chance to take Su Heng out for a stroll and show him around our town."

Su Heng was more than happy to join; he had never seen the ocean before!

"That's right, that's right! I haven't seen the ocean yet!"

Hailun City was enjoying a rare stretch of fine weather. Sunlight spilled across the sea, making the surface shimmer, and the port was bustling with activity, the air thick with a salty, briny scent.

Fishermen were busy at the docks, calling out to one another. Some of the seafood was snatched up by buyers the moment it hit the shore—that was when it was at its freshest.

From a distance, Luo Chen spotted Uncle Fule, the man who had recommended him for enrollment.

Fule also caught sight of Luo Chen from afar and raised his hand to wave.

Today was a big day for Hailun Town—the Sea God Festival. The local residents believed that all seafood was a gift from the Sea God, so Fule, as the town mayor—or rather, the city lord—naturally had to preside over the proceedings.

It wasn't a convenient time to go over and greet him, so Luo Dashan led Luo Chen and Su Heng to the unloading area.

Luo Chen rolled up his pant legs and stood on the pier to help his father unload the catch. Crate after crate of shimmering silver fish passed through his hands onto the shore, his movements as nimble as a veteran worker of ten years.

"Little Chen, slow down. Don't throw out your back," Luo Dashan said with a chuckle from the side.

"Dad, I'm a Spirit Master, at least. Can a few fish really tire me out?"

Luo Dashan laughed and said nothing more. Ever since his son had gone to Tiandou City, he had returned a completely different person, carrying a sense of composure in everything he said and did.

Su Heng crouched at the edge of the pier, staring blankly at the sea. This was his first time seeing the ocean from such a close distance; the shimmering water stretched out to the horizon, endless and vast.

"What are you spacing out for?" Luo Chen walked over and sat down beside him.

Su Heng snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "Nothing. It's just... the sea is so big, and people are so small."

"As expected of a prince, you talk like an old man," Luo Chen teased.

Just then, Luo Chen overheard a conversation between a fisherman and a merchant nearby and couldn't help but listen in.

"Hey, why is there so little fish for the Sea God Festival this year? Have you been slacking off?"

The fisherman replied, "How could I dare to slack off during the Sea God Festival? It's the Sea God's bounty, but I'm puzzled too. In previous years, one cast of my net would bring up plenty of fish, but this year, the catch is cut in half!"

"That's strange," the merchant remarked.

The fisherman whispered, "And I noticed something else, though I don't know if my eyes were playing tricks on me."

"What kind of anomaly?" the merchant asked curiously.

The fisherman lowered his voice. "When I was fishing, I noticed something in the distant waters. It looked like a massive, dark shape!"

Hearing their conversation, Luo Chen instinctively looked out at the sea. It was calm and tranquil; there was nothing there.

He didn't take the matter to heart and followed his father to transport the batch of fish home.

But the turn of events happened with startling speed. Just as they were unloading the final crate from the cart, they suddenly heard a commotion on the street.

The crowd erupted into cries, their voices filled with immense grief.

Luo Chen and his group immediately rushed out of the door to find a crowd gathered, discussing something.

Luo Dashan immediately looked at the owner of the neighboring shop to ask what had happened, only to be told that someone had died at the pier!

This was no small matter!

Upon hearing this, Luo Dashan immediately sprinted toward the pier. Lin Xiaomei cried out in alarm.

"Dashan! It's dangerous, don't go!"

But Luo Dashan had already run too far to hear her.

Seeing this, Luo Chen immediately comforted his mother. "Mom, don't worry. I'm going to go protect Dad. A-Tian, stay here at the shop and watch over Mom. Su Heng, let's go!"

Without waiting for the others to react, Luo Chen pulled out a Gulu Ball and tossed it forward. "Blazing Wolf! Full speed ahead!" The next second, Luo Chen was already on the back of the Blazing Wolf.

The appearance of the Blazing Wolf caused a stir among the passersby, while on the other side, Su Heng activated his Spirit Avatar and flew toward the pier.

The people of Hailun Town had rarely seen such a Spirit Beast and were instantly startled, but seeing the Blazing Wolf being ridden so tamely by Luo Chen, they couldn't help but be astonished.

Luo Chen saw the sprinting Luo Dashan and called out, "Dad, get on! I'll take you there!"

Luo Dashan turned his head, equally shocked by his own son—what was up with this flaming wolf? But there was no time to dwell on it. He climbed onto the wolf's back and followed Luo Chen as they raced toward the pier.

By the time the three of them reached the docks, Fule had already led his men to cordon off the coastline.

"Uncle Fule!" Luo Chen shouted.

Hearing Luo Chen's voice, Fule turned around to see him riding a Blazing Wolf, with a flying Spirit Master hovering above.

Fule approached Luo Chen and said, "Little Chen, what are you doing here? It's too dangerous. If something happens to you, how am I supposed to answer to the Chief?"

"Uncle Fule, I can contribute, too!"

"Nonsense! What level are you? We have it handled here—"

Before Fule could finish, Luo Chen released his spirit rings: one yellow, one purple!

"Purple? A thousand-year spirit ring?" Fule was stunned. He knew that even for geniuses with the optimal spirit ring configuration, it was only the third ring that was purple.

The child before him, not even seven years old, had not only become a Great Spirit Master, but his second spirit ring was also purple.

In Hailun City, this could be considered high-level combat power, so Fule stopped talking; he was indeed short on manpower right now!

Counting everyone, Hailun City only had three Spirit Ancestors. Even though he had reached level fifty, he was still only at the strength of a Spirit Ancestor since he hadn't obtained his next spirit ring.

The remaining number of Spirit Elders and Great Spirit Masters was also small, so Luo Chen joining them would be a boost to their strength.

"Alright, Little Chen, Uncle Fule won't say anything more. I need to tell you what I've learned about the situation! The ones attacking the pier are a group of sea spirit beasts. Leading them is a thousand-year Iron-Spine Shark, and the rest are five hundred-year spirit beasts and some decade-level ones!"

Luo Chen's expression remained unchanged as Fule continued, "With our current combat power, the other two Spirit Ancestors are not in the city. I can handle the leading Iron-Spine Shark myself, but the remaining spirit beasts will be very difficult to deal with! Not to mention, we are on land while they are in the sea!"

"Uncle Fule, leave the remaining five hundred-year spirit beasts and those decade-level ones to me!"

Without waiting for Fule to react, Luo Chen took out the other five Gulu Balls he carried with him and threw them forward.

The Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign, Plate Armor Turtle, Tide Jellyfish, Feather Eagle, Beetle Immortal, and the Blazing Wolf he was riding—all six of Luo Chen's spirit beasts appeared!