Pilgrimage Road!

"Sea God Priest!"

"What role did you play in all this?"

At the Crown Prince's Residence in Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue set down the intelligence report, her expression troubled. She could not help recalling her battle with Lin Hao in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

They were both heirs to gods. If there was a Sea God Priest, why had she never heard of an Angel Priest?

I'll have to ask Grandfather.

As the Sea God Festival drew closer, more and more people from inland arrived in the once sparsely populated coastal cities.

The number of ships at sea grew as well.

Legends of gods had always circulated, but until now, everyone had thought they were no more than elusive tales with no way to verify them.

The appearance of Sea God Island gave them a glimmer of hope.

Whether they came to test the truth or simply join the excitement, Sea God Island was becoming the eye of the storm on Douluo Continent.

"Raise the sails! Set sail!"

"The festival for Lord Sea God is about to begin. As children of the sea, we ought to go and celebrate."

"If Lord Sea God hadn't bestowed the Sea God Crossbow upon us, I'd have been buried at sea a year ago. Praise the great Lord Sea God!"

"Praise the great Lord Sea God!"

Hearing the devout words of the Sea Soul Masters around them, the inland Soul Masters on their first voyage could not understand their faith.

To Sea Soul Masters, the Sea God was their faith, and attending the Sea God Memorial Ceremony was a pilgrimage.

Even if it meant being buried at sea, they would go without hesitation.

Aboard one large ship, members of Skywater Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, and Godwind Academy had gathered to sail for Sea God Island with the others.

The novelty of it all had Shui Bing'er, Huo Wu, and the others looking everywhere.

Clinging to Shui Bing'er's arm, Shui Yue'er asked with a smile, "Sister, do you think we'll get to see Lord Sea God this time?"

Most Soul Masters at Skywater Academy had water or ice attributes, so they adapted to life at sea quickly.

They were faring far better than the listless members of Blazing Fire Academy across from them.

"Probably!"

"I've heard Sea God Island is a powerful force on par with Spirit Hall, with a unique way of cultivating. I wonder what we might learn from it."

Shui Bing'er nodded, a thoughtful glint in her eyes.

To her, improving herself was more worthwhile than chasing an elusive god.

"Bing'er's so talented. Once the people of Sea God Island see her, they'll surely insist she stay as their Holy Maiden."

"Maybe Sea God Island already has a Holy Son. She could stay as his wife instead!"

"Exactly! Once she's one of them, whatever Bing'er wants will be hers for the taking!"

Xue Wu, Yu Hairou, and several other members of Skywater Team stood nearby, joining forces to tease her.

"Sister, you want to stay on Sea God Island and not come back with us?"

Shui Yue'er's eyes darted. She stared at Shui Bing'er, wide-eyed with disbelief.

Shui Bing'er's ears reddened. She pinched Shui Yue'er, then glared at Xue Wu and the others for egging her on.

"When we get back, your training doubles!"

"Someone's lost her temper! Hahaha..."

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere at Skywater Academy, the members of Blazing Fire Academy slumped miserably in their chairs, unwilling even to move.

"Huo Wu, would you like some water? Or medicine for seasickness? Maybe I should carry you up into the air. You'd feel better flying."

Feng Xiaotian, her devoted admirer, crouched happily beside Huo Wu. Seeing how exhausted she looked, his eyes filled with concern.

"Feng Xiaotian, get away from me. With you this close, I can hardly breathe."

Huo Wu glared at Feng Xiaotian without the strength to raise her voice. She was beginning to regret coming.

Why did I come to Sea God Island?

Didn't I know water and fire clashed?

Worse, she had to share a ship with Feng Xiaotian.

Huo Wu felt even more stifled.

"Look! What's that?"

Just then, a startled cry drew everyone's attention.

A dozen or so large ships sailed across the sea. In the waters ahead of them,

the once-calm surface suddenly churned. Dark-red ripples swept toward the ships, seeming to freeze the surrounding air and water.

Everything took on a faint red sheen.

Their surroundings seemed to turn translucent, as though transformed into a magnificent pale-red crystal.

"That's the Evil Spirit Orcas' innate Soul Skill, Evil Spirit Orca Mirror Annihilation."

"We've run into Evil Spirit Orcas—one of the ocean's three great overlords!"

Some recognized the attacking Sea Soul Beasts; others shouted in terror.

"Attack! Don't let them reach the ships!"

Experienced Sea Soul Masters began issuing orders. Soul Rings lit up aboard ship after ship, and Soul Skills struck the sea.

"So this is how Sea Soul Masters fight Sea Soul Beasts? How unusual!"

The battle soon caught everyone's attention. Even the listless Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, and the others leaned over the bow, craning their necks toward the fighting.

The Evil Tiger Demon Whale in the sea seemed enraged by the attacks. It let out a low roar and slammed its massive tail fin against the surface.

Several blades of water streaked toward the fleet, trailing dark-red energy.

A Soul Saint from Godwind Academy rose into the air and swept out his hand. Azure wind blades flew forth, intercepting every attack from the Evil Spirit Orcas with unerring precision.

Before long, the fighting claimed lives. The smell of blood spread, drawing countless Sea Soul Beasts from the surrounding waters.

"This is bad. The blood has attracted Sea Soul Beasts from elsewhere. We need to break through quickly, or we'll be surrounded."

Shui Bing'er realized what was happening, and her expression changed.

At the same time, the teachers from the academies noticed it too. They stopped watching and joined the fight, helping kill the Evil Spirit Orcas ahead.

"Roar!"

As Evil Spirit Orcas died one after another, an enraged beast's roar came from the distant depths.

"Humans! You killed my kin! You're all going to die!"

The Evil Orca King led more than a hundred Evil Spirit Orcas out of the deep sea to reinforce them.

At the sight of his slaughtered kin, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's fury sent a chill through everyone.

Boom!

Enormous jets of water erupted from behind the Evil Orca King. He meant to wipe out every ship in the fleet at once.

"No! It's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"

"Damn it! How did we run into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast so easily? The sea really is more dangerous than land."

"Go! Make for Sea God Island at full speed! Only its Island-Guarding Sacred Beast can stand against him."

The ordinary Evil Spirit Orcas were within their power to kill.

But faced with the hundred-thousand-year Evil Orca King, they could only pray they outran the others and did not end up last, an outlet for his rage.

"So this is the power of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

Shui Bing'er, Huo Wu, and the others watched the thirty-meter behemoth charge once and smash a ship apart. Shaken to the core, they stared with eyes wide in horror.