On the pier, two young disciples of Mountain-Sea Divine Palace in white robes were waiting. When they saw Ian Song, they showed no hostility—instead, they greeted him politely: "General Song, Senior Sister Lyra, please come with us."
Ian nodded and followed the two disciples, climbing up the stone steps behind the pier.
Soon, they arrived at a spacious martial arena.
Yet in the huge arena, only nine young men and women in white star robes, each carrying a longsword, stood waiting.
But when Lyra saw these nine, her expression changed slightly. She quietly warned Ian, "Brother-in-law, be careful. These nine are Mountain-Sea Divine Palace's secret-line disciples. All of them have reached Earth Realm Sixth Layer, and the longswords they carry are top-grade magic treasures.
Before I went to the Shenzhou Continent, they were already training in an ancient sword formation taught by the Sea God King. This sword formation is extremely powerful—even an Earth Realm Ninth Layer expert would suffer if trapped inside."
Although the spiritual energy of this world far surpasses that of the real world, the development of cultivators here is much weaker.
First, their cultivation of the middle dantian severely limits the number of practitioners. In this world, there simply can't be too many cultivators—after all, the lower dantian is naturally open for everyone, but those with an open middle dantian are one in ten thousand.
Second, their ability to refine energy is far weaker than that of martial artists in the real world.
The energy cultivated by martial artists here is somewhat light and impure. Not to mention compared to immortal cultivators' true essence—even compared to the true qi of martial artists from the real world, it's slightly inferior.
Of course, this world has its own advantages.
People here can refine and use magic treasures—even if they can only bring out twenty or thirty percent of a treasure's power, having a magic treasure means their overall strength at the same realm surpasses martial artists from the real world.
However, as far as Ian Song knows, the highest grade of magic treasure in this world is only Third Grade.
A Third Grade treasure that can only be used at twenty or thirty percent power is still weaker than a Second Grade treasure used at full strength.
Also, magic treasures here only come in two types: defensive and offensive. Their functions are extremely limited.
In front of the bronze mirror, Dominic Donghuang, the Sea God King, Vivian Gee, and the others stared intently, because at this moment the mirror was showing the scene at the martial arena.
Seeing Lyra quietly warning Ian, the Sea God King laughed, "Brother Donghuang, looks like your disciple Lyra has already defected to Ian Song!"
"Hmph!" Donghuang snorted coldly, clearly displeased. "Elder Ethan, go send word for that wretch Lyra to come see me."
Mountain-Sea Divine Palace has only five true-lineage disciples; among them, Lila Quinn and Lyra Hale are the most outstanding, both having reached Earth Realm Sixth Layer.
Who could have guessed that both of these top disciples would betray Mountain-Sea Divine Palace and join Ian Song's side? To make matters worse, of the twin sisters Longlong and Rina, one was killed and the other surrendered—four of the five true-lineage disciples are now lost.
Fortunately, Dominic Donghuang has secretly cultivated a batch of secret-line disciples; otherwise, Mountain-Sea Divine Palace would have a gap between Earth Realm Fourth and Sixth Layer.
Elder Ethan accepted the order and left.
On the martial arena, the nine young men and women drew their longswords, the tips all pointing at Ian Song. One of them said coldly, "General Song, if you want to see the Palace Master, you must first get past us."
"Hold on."
A burly, black-robed elder strode over with steady steps.
"Greetings, Great Elder."
All nine secret-line disciples bowed deeply.
"No need for formalities." The black-robed elder nodded with authority, his eyes sweeping over Ian Song before settling on Lyra. "Lyra, come with me. The Palace Master wants to see you."
At these words, a look of hesitation flashed across Lyra's face.
But Ian just smiled faintly, reached out and slipped his arm around Lyra's waist. "Lyra is my woman now. No one can order her around anymore."
Several of the male secret-line disciples glared with jealousy and hatred at Ian Song's hand around Lyra's waist.
Lyra and Lila Quinn were the most beautiful women in the palace.
Before this, they'd already heard that Lila Quinn had married Ian Song and were furious. Now that Lyra was also his woman, these male disciples felt a nearly uncontrollable urge to tear Ian apart.
"Ian Song, you're out of line! This is Mountain-Sea Divine Palace, not the Qi Kingdom!" the black-robed elder barked coldly.
Ian just curled his lip. "Under Heaven, all land belongs to the king; within the seas, all people are his subjects. From now on, Mountain-Sea Divine Palace will submit to the Qi Kingdom. So, to me, it makes no difference whose turf this is."
"Arrogant brat! Do you really think you can walk out of Mountain-Sea Divine Palace alive?" The black-robed elder was livid.
Ian waved dismissively, bored. "Enough, old man. I have no interest in bickering with you. Go back and tell Donghuang that from now on, Lyra is his principal wife, and he should hurry over to kowtow and greet her!"
"You insolent wretch! How dare you insult the Palace Master? I'll kill you!"
With a roar, two pitch-black short swords appeared in the elder's hands. His figure blurred as he closed in on Ian Song, both swords turning into streaks of black light—one slashed for Ian's throat, the other stabbed at his heart like lightning.
This black-robed elder was Mountain-Sea Divine Palace's Great Elder, named Ethan Long. His cultivation was at the peak of Earth Realm Seventh Layer, just one step from Eighth.
The two short swords in his hands were both offensive magic treasures.
Both treasures possessed unstoppable destructive power—even Earth Realm Eighth Layer experts wouldn't dare challenge him when he wielded the twin swords.
"Truly courting death!"
Ian replied blandly, his eyes flashing. Instantly, he unleashed the first two forms of Raging Tidal Surge in rapid succession.
Boom! Boom!
As Raging Tidal Surge erupted, it seemed that a towering wave appeared behind Ian, surging toward Ethan Long and instantly engulfing his figure.
After reaching Innate Eighth Layer, Ian had enough power to use every move of Raging Tidal Surge.
Especially after his ordeal at sea, having witnessed true ocean waves, his understanding of Raging Tidal Surge deepened even further. So even just the first two forms were more than Ethan Long could handle.
Bang!
The giant wave vanished abruptly, but Ethan Long's body was sent flying, landing heavily over ten meters away. His robe was torn, hair disheveled—he looked utterly miserable.
In front of the bronze mirror magic treasure.
Seeing Ethan Long defeated by Ian Song in a single move, Dominic Donghuang and the Sea God King both tensed.
Vivian Gee's expression, though, was hard to read. Her clear, deep eyes fixed on Ian Song's figure in the mirror, and a faint light seemed to flicker within them.
"You scoundrel! How dare you harm Elder Ethan—prepare to die!"
On the martial arena, seeing Ethan Long sent flying, the nine secret-line disciples erupted in fury.
"Idiots! Didn't you see he attacked first?" Ian Song retorted with a cold laugh.
"Still trying to argue? Everyone, attack together! Capture him and bring him to the Palace Master!"
The nine disciples' figures blurred as they surrounded Ian Song, forming a subtle and intricate joint attack formation.