Setting Out to Sea

Na'er blinked her large purple eyes and asked in confusion:

"Big brother, she is..."

"She's so adorable?!"

Before she could finish, the blue-haired girl's cry of surprise cut her off.

Bai Chen complained helplessly, "Did you only just snap out of it? Your reaction time is way too slow."

"Because, because, because..."

The girl was clearly at a loss. After hesitating for a moment, she moved closer to Bai Chen and asked,

"Um... Brother Bai Chen, can she be my little sister?"

"Hey."

"Sorry, but she's just way too cute!"

"I don't object to that."

"Um, big brother...?"

Na'er seemed rather confused by their conversation and looked to Bai Chen for help.

After spending the past few days together, she had not yet completely opened her heart to Bai Chen, but in her current mind, he was indeed one of the people she could rely on most.

Bai Chen pointed at the blue-haired girl and introduced her. "Her name is Xu Xiaoyan. She's the daughter of one of our father's friends, so we're basically childhood sweethearts."

As he spoke, he pointed at the blue-haired boy who had just come upstairs.

"His name is Xu Xiaoyu. He's Xiaoyan's older brother, and he's already a Soul Grandmaster."

As a giant in the shipping industry, Bai Jiaming naturally had close ties with high-ranking government officials from all walks of life.

Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Xiaoyu's father, Xu Zhiguang, was even a close friend of his.

Though the two were not as close as Bai Jiaming and Xue E, who were like brothers, they still had decades of friendship between them.

Bai Jiaming's own abilities had naturally been the most important factor behind his current success, but Xu Zhiguang's support as Eastsea City's Chief Financial Officer had also been indispensable.

With their fathers being so close, Bai Chen and Xu Xiaoyan, their descendants, naturally shared a close relationship as well.

Although they did not live in the same city, Xu Zhiguang would bring his children to Skysea City to visit the Bai family every so often. At some point, Xu Xiaoyan had become especially fond of sticking to Bai Chen.

Even after Xu Xiaoyan had displayed such strong hostility earlier, Bai Chen still dared to bring her to meet Na'er because he understood her personality too well.

She had zero resistance to cute things, and a girl as exquisitely adorable as Na'er, even more delicate than a doll, had struck directly at Xu Xiaoyan's weak spot.

Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Xu Xiaoyan had already pulled Na'er aside for a heart-to-heart talk. There was no trace left of her earlier attitude.

"Sorry, my sister caused you trouble."

Xu Xiaoyu came to Bai Chen's side and spoke somewhat sheepishly.

Bai Chen shook his head and asked, "Did you come to Skysea City this time just to have fun?"

"Of course not."

Xu Xiaoyu denied it. "We came here on business."

"To help Xiaoyan obtain a Soul Spirit?"

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you."

Xu Xiaoyu nodded with a bitter smile, confirming Bai Chen's guess.

As playmates who had known each other for years, he understood Bai Chen's personality quite well.

This boy, who was about the same age as his sister, possessed a frighteningly mature mind. At the very least, Xu Xiaoyu felt he could not compare.

He explained, "Xiaoyan has Innate Full Soul Power, so she can obtain a Soul Spirit now. We originally came to this major city of Skysea City to see whether there were any outstanding Soul Spirits suitable for her. We didn't expect to hear that you also have Innate Full Soul Power and were planning to head out to sea soon to hunt Soul Beasts."

"So you're planning to hitch a ride?"

"That's right~"

Xu Xiaoyu chuckled.

"Don't tell me the illustrious Bai family can't even get free tickets?"

For the coastal city of Skysea City, the shipping industry was one of its most essential industries.

As one of the leaders in that industry, the Bai family had always been a key target of the city's upper echelons.

Therefore, Xu Xiaoyu was right. For Bai Jiaming, getting a few extra tickets was no more than a casual matter.

Bai Chen shrugged.

"Well, I don't mind."

To him, Xu Xiaoyan was not only a childhood playmate, but also a future companion.

In the original story, her Absolute Control had left an extremely deep impression. In the Douluo III Era, where stat monsters ran rampant, she was one of the few characters who relied on mechanics.

The strongest controller beneath the stars—she truly deserved that title.

At least in Bai Chen's eyes, she was far more outstanding as a teammate than players like Yuanen Yehui or Ye Xinglan, who focused entirely on raw stats.

Teammates like Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan could be perfectly replaced by any powerful Limit Douluo, but an absurdly powerful controller like Xu Xiaoyan was a rare commodity in this era.

Helping someone destined to become his teammate grow stronger brought Bai Chen nothing but benefits.

Besides, given the relationship between Bai Jiaming and Xu Zhiguang, he would definitely agree.

Setting Sail

Just as expected, Bai Chen soon received word from Xue E that Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Xiaoyu would be joining them on this voyage to hunt Soul Beasts.

When Na'er learned that Bai Chen and Xue E were both preparing to go to sea, she silently grabbed Bai Chen's sleeve and gazed up at him with pleading eyes.

Bai Chen knew what she meant.

After a brief discussion with Xue E, they decided to bring Na'er along as well.

The Soul Beast hunting operation would only take place in nearshore waters. The Sea Soul Beasts in that region were not particularly strong overall, making it very safe.

Rather than leave Na'er at home by herself, it would be better to bring her along and let her see more of the world.

Thus, two days later, Bai Chen, Xue E, Xu Xiaoyan, Xu Xiaoyu, and Na'er arrived at the shore together.

"Beep—"

"..."

Na'er stared at the ships coming and going along the coast, so astonished that she could not close her mouth.

It was her first time seeing such a sight.

As the largest city on the Federation's East Coast, Skysea City was a first-tier city even when looking across the entire Federation.

Although its Soul Masters were rather mediocre, it handled the Federation's maritime trade and held a pivotal position throughout the Federation.

Bai Chen and the others boarded the ship assigned to Soul Beast hunting. More than a hundred Soul Masters had already gathered aboard.

According to Xue E, the main clients of this voyage were Soul Masters below the Soul King rank. The primary targets were Soul Beasts between the hundred-year and millennium levels. Among the Soul Masters preparing to obtain Soul Rings, Soul Grandmasters were the most numerous, though there were also a few Soul Ancestors.

However, they were not truly the main force of this hunt. The real power behind this expedition lay in the people accompanying those Soul Masters.

In this era, when Soul Beasts were on the verge of extinction, even a Century Soul Spirit cost one million Federation Coins. How could living Soul Beasts possibly be cheap?

As far as Bai Chen knew, this hunt charged according to the age of the Soul Ring desired. A Century Soul Ring cost a full five million Federation Coins, while a Millennium Soul Ring cost more than fifty million Federation Coins.

Do not forget that even one million Federation Coins had nearly driven Tang Wulin's family to ruin. Tang Wulin and Na'er's enormous appetites had certainly played a part, but it was still enough to show that one million Federation Coins was no small sum for an ordinary family.

If one million Federation Coins was already so much, five million went without saying.

As for the fifty million Federation Coins required for a Millennium Soul Ring, that was an astronomical price that ordinary families could never afford.

Clearly, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to participate in this operation. Only those from wealthy families could bear such sky-high expenses.

Since they could afford such fees, these Soul Masters naturally would not be stingy about spending money to ensure their own safety.

Nearly every Soul Master had brought bodyguards. Even the weakest of those guards were Soul Ancestors, and there was even a Soul Saint among them.

They were the core force ensuring the safety of this voyage.

Not long after Bai Chen and the others boarded, a bell rang out. The ship let out a long "Woo—" and departed from the shore.

"..."

Na'er stared blankly at the coastline slowly receding into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

Bai Chen came to her side, looked at the ships sailing across the sea, and asked, "Na'er, you've learned about the history of our Douluo Continent over the past few days. Why do you think humans became the rulers of the world?"

After taking Na'er in, Bai Jiaming had discovered that she had lost her memory. Other than knowing that her name was Na'er, she knew almost nothing.

Therefore, over the past few days, he had specifically arranged for someone to teach Na'er the basics.

The requirements were not high. She only needed to know basic things, such as what a Soul Tool was, what a Soul Master was, and what kind of organization the Spirit Pagoda was.

But clearly, the common knowledge she had learned was not enough to let her answer Bai Chen's question.

So Bai Chen waited for a moment. When no answer came, he gave his own.

"There is no single correct answer to that question, but if you ask me, humans became the rulers of the world because they possess the ability to use and transform the things around them."

He smiled. "Creatures that live in the ocean can only remain trapped in seawater for their entire lives. Creatures that cannot fly can only gaze at birds in the sky and sigh helplessly."

"But humans are different. Through continuously reshaping nature, humans have gained the ability to conquer land, sea, sky, and even everything else."

"Because of that, humanity was able to break through all the limits imposed by heaven and ultimately become the strongest race, standing above all things."

Once upon a time, when faced with overwhelmingly powerful Soul Beasts, humans could only flee in panic, without even the possibility of fighting back.

But the strength of Soul Beasts was merely inborn strength. Their limits had been locked in place by their talents from the beginning.

Humans were different. Humans learned how to use the things around them—creating tools, taming animals, building shelters. After countless years of evolution, they had ultimately formed the incomparably brilliant human civilization of today.

As the saying went, survival of the fittest. Humanity's current position was precisely proof of its strength.

The countless ships on this sea were proof that humanity had conquered the ocean step by step through its unique creativity.

As the era continued to develop, humanity would eventually fly beyond the planet, set foot on the moon, explore the universe step by step, and reach for worlds higher and farther away.

In Bai Chen's eyes, that was what made humanity superior to Soul Beasts and every other race.

"Can Na'er even understand any of that?"

Xu Xiaoyu walked over and complained helplessly, "She's only five years old, and she's lost all her previous memories. Even if you want to tell her this, you should wait another two years."

In his eyes, Bai Chen was plainly crazy for saying such things to a little girl who understood nothing.

However, Bai Chen merely smiled meaningfully and shook his head.

"It's fine. Sooner or later, she'll understand."

"That's true, which is why I said you should tell her when she can understand it."

Xu Xiaoyu did not catch the deeper meaning behind Bai Chen's words. With a rather speechless sigh, he instructed, "Forget it, let's not talk about this for now. If we run into Soul Beasts later, remember to protect Na'er. Her Martial Soul hasn't awakened yet. Even a minor attack would be dangerous for her."

"I know. Don't forget to protect Xiaoyan too."

"Hmph, I don't need you to remind me."

Xu Xiaoyu replied smugly, then wandered away again.

They had only just set out to sea. It would still be a while before they encountered any Soul Beasts.

Bai Chen looked toward the ever-more-distant coast, took a deep breath, and patted his cheeks.