Three thousand li outside Demon Lotus City, where sea and sky met.
An official Great Jin treasure ship hovered in silence.
The treasure ship was roughly three hundred zhang long, with faint phantom images of the words "Sea-Calming" flowing along its sides.
On deck, two men stood shoulder to shoulder.
The man on the left wore a brocade robe and jade belt, his face as handsome as ever. He was Tie Ming.
Yet his brow now held less of the exuberant abandon of his years in Qiongzhou and a greater depth. His nascent soul early stage aura was perfectly rounded; astonishingly, he had already reached minor achievement in the nascent soul early stage. Clearly, he had not wasted the past century.
The tall, valiant man on the right, clad in Azure Battle Armor, was Wei Ting.
His expression was complicated as he gazed at the distant outline of the enormous city, half-hidden in mist, its killing intent soaring into the sky. For a long time, he said nothing.
"General Wei." Tie Ming suddenly spoke, his voice lowered almost to a whisper. "Do you think he really will show himself to meet us?"
Wei Ting was silent for a moment before answering. "Qing Chen has always valued tangible benefits, but he isn't someone entirely without regard for old ties. Officially, you and I have come bearing formal command tokens from Heavenly Abyss Pass, so it would be awkward for him to avoid us. Personally..."
He thought for a moment. "When he left Qiongzhou back then, I saw him off in a private capacity. Before we parted, he said that if I had time, I could come to the Gouwu Sea for a chat. Today, I've come to keep that old appointment.
"Besides, your Iron Household still has a marriage agreement