In the last hour or more of the Demon Hero Hall, besides meeting with friends, many had also sent Yang Zicang off with gifts and supplies.

In the end, he chose to accept only a portion of them.

It was like embarking on a journey from which one might never return; the entire village and clan had come to bid farewell, and the Demon Hero Hall was no different. Yang Zicang felt he would never forget that sight.

And even so, he had to trouble Molulu one last time, because he had occupied Molulu’s resting place—the Ground-Haze Bedchamber had been stuffed full by him.

Everyone carefully selected Ability Spheres, clothing, Chrono Weapons, and even a small amount of food to stave off hunger in the coffin for emergencies. As for the many other items, they were kept by those who had already broken through ten thousand years of time sequence and would leave with him.

Now, looking out at this vast, endless sea, it seemed like running into them would be a rather difficult task.

Guided by the ringing bell, the boat cut through the deep, silent, fog-shrouded sea. Soon, the slowly turning dial’s needle glowed a vivid red, indicating the target was nearby.

Yang Zicang stepped out to watch Aqiang’s salvage operation.

Crack.

A sound like frozen mist shattering on the water’s surface rang out, and a figure rapidly broke the surface from below.

A hoarse voice came across the dark water:

“Am I… hah, is this the Track of Fate above?“

Aqiang’s eyes suddenly turned solemn. He looked back at Yang Zicang, “Watch out. This guy might attack us.“

“How do you know…?“

The person in the water suddenly grabbed the rope and with a forceful yank, the taut cord jerked Aqiang forward a step. Only by Yang Zicang firmly grasping his shoulder did he avoid tumbling into the water.

“What do you think you’re doing! “

“I’d advise you to mind your own business. ” The man in the sea looked at Aqiang and sneered, “This is the Mist Sea, isn’t it? You’re a ‘Ferryman,’ right? Ha, you must be! Get down here and take me to where the ‘Obscurus Wintestorm Rime’ is hidden! “

With that, the man gave the rope another powerful yank.

“No need to help. ” Aqiang’s muscles tensed as he blocked Yang Zicang from grabbing the rope, saying, “Only someone like me, who drifts between two fates, can bring you into this world! “

Yang Zicang felt a stir in his heart.

｛I feel like I’m about to learn something?｝

The man in the water thrashed about as he held onto the rope.

“Come up quickly, or I’ll just leave you behind! “

“Then go ahead. Without you, there’ll be another ferryman begging me to come aboard. “

Yang Zicang looked at the man in the water. “Are you insane? Get up here now. “

“Which district’s bastard are you? How dare you meddle in my affairs. ” The man’s mouth ran like a rabid dog with no restraint. Such an arrogant and defiant person, yet Yang Zicang had never heard of him.

Aqiang pulled the rope taut, his face solemn. “I’m afraid the person who gave you this information never mentioned what time it is for you now. Your arrival is useless to this continent, which has already been occupied by the Imperial army. Don’t hold out hope for the next ferryman. Even the distributors are collectively leaving this land of the Epoch. What can a ferryman possibly do anymore?! “

Hearing these words, the person in the water was stunned into silence, then his expression changed drastically.

“So it’s already failed?! Then I have to obtain the ‘Mist Sea Rime Ice’ even more, or else I’ll lose everything! “

The person in the water gave a violent tug, pulling the boatman Aqiang into the sea.

Suddenly, a rotating black vortex appeared above the head of the person in the sea. A silver spear emanating a crimson radiance slowly emerged from the vortex, its tip aimed directly at the figure below.

“An out-of-body weapon? ” The man in the sea looked up at the tall, lean, handsome, and cold-eyed Yang Zicang standing on the boat. “Who are you? Haven’t you heard of the infamous ‘Strongest Mad Beast Zhaoli,’ even if you haven’t met me before?! “

The man in the water curled his lips in disdain, his body suddenly glowing with an orange brilliance.

“Come on, punk! Your capital is right here in front of me. You’re not even comparable to the Amplified Chrono, you idiot. “

The crimson phantom aura carried by the silver spear suddenly intensified, emitting sparks of orange lightning. The red phantom flames also turned into an orange blaze.

The man’s expression shifted in shock as he stared at the long spear hurtling towards him from above with savage speed.

“Wait… mine has a ten-thousandfold amplification… “

Boom! A collision of a hundred thousand years against another hundred thousand years!

The man’s body was instantly pinned slantwise by the spear, slamming it against the ship’s gunwale.

“Ahhh! ” The time sequence he carried on him was nearly emptied by that single thrust. Fury flared in his glaring eyes as he fixed them on the silent madman aboard the boat. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?! “

The man, now robbed of over thirty-four thousand years of time-sequence principal, roared anguishedly.

Yang Zicang crouched down, gazing at the man splashing in the water below. “A mere thirty-thousand-year principal, and you dare bellow like that? What a disgrace. “

“You! Who the hell are you?! “

“For a fool who’s all ‘stupid this, idiot that,’ you don’t even recognize me? Since that’s the case… Well, has the name ‘Deputy Mayor Zhuyin of Hub Town’ ever crossed your ears? “

“Hub Town? What do you mean? Are you talking about Junction City? “

Behind Yang Zicang, the man who had come out wrapped in a blanket upon hearing the commotion paled in shock.

The floating spear stewed once more with a crimson shadow.

“Did you, too, ascend bearing forty-thousand years of sequence? Are you a Quadrangle? “

The man in the water responded in agonizing waves, “Big brother, I’m sorry. I got an alias ‘Ao Fei’. Just who the hell are you? Why haven’t I heard of you? And what is this Hub Town you mention? Hold on, please—hold on. I’ll bring this ferry servant up right now. “

Suddenly, a voice from behind Yang Zicang called out, “Yang Zicang, watch your back. “

Yang Zicang turned his head to see a flat, kelp-like creature, faintly gleaming with weaker red light, poking its head over the ship’s opposite gunwale, lunging at him in an instant.

Yang Zicang threw a punch. The Explosive Wind Fist carried a crimson gust as it blasted towards the creature.

Ao Fei, submerged in the water, let out a sharp screech. The sound wave dragged Aqiang down beneath the surface.

A strange, black bird spiraling across the sky broke the sound barrier as it dive-bombed the water’s surface. The creature resembled a manta ray from a bat colony. The moment it touched the water, an arm armored in a leather sheath thrust out from the depths.

The strange bird then coiled around Ao Fei’s arm like tape, spreading and merging into him. It grew like a wriggling leather garment, rapidly enveloping his entire body.

Wham! Voom!The water exploded.

The figure, now cloaked in the living energy-hide, blasted out of the water and rocketed toward the ship. Carried by a blood-chilling rage and a manic cackle, he shot forth like a cannonball, roaring, “Was all the Time Order you worked so damn hard to bring forward just for a trivial ferryman?! “

An intricate, red, quadrilateral pattern unfolded on his chest.

“Time to die, you fool! “

His fist, wreathed in ghostly red flames, came crashing down towards Yang Zicang’s back.

But at that very moment, Ao Fei was stunned to see Yang Zicang pull out a shining coin that looked just like an ancient copper. He gave it a twist between his thumb and forefinger, and in a flash, the single coin turned into four.

In the next instant, red spectral flames burst from Yang Zicang’s body once more. Yet, the crimson fire of the floating silver spear had not faded away!

“How can this be?! “

In a flash of scarlet fury, a bolt of orange lightning erupted!

BOOM!

The figure speeding over slammed violently into the youth’s body, causing the wooden boat to rock.

｛I offset 23900N.｝

At the moment of impact, the man felt his body aging.

He had just mustered his last ounce of strength to dodge using the Flying Bird energy on his body, but lost control and staggered on the spot. When he came to his senses, O Fei found his throat clamped by arms like a pair of steel pincers.

On the boat, Liu Haichuan had already taken off his blanket and jumped into the water, swimming towards the spot where the ferryman Aqiang had disappeared. In the nick of time just now, the evil Kappa lurking in the water had dragged the ferryman into the sea.

“Where did this bird come from? ” Yang Zicang, with his hand gripping O Fei’s throat, cast his gaze back at his aged form.

He loosened his grip slightly, and the aged O Fei, soaked with sticky seawater, coughed twice, then spoke with difficulty:

“I… the creature left by those who entered this zone first… our raised beast, the timeclipped Bird-Fish imbued with ten thousand years of chronology… their intelligence said to seek frigid ice when arriving here… they leave beings penned up here… for our emergency use… “

O Fei’s face suddenly twisted into a painful, sardonic smile as he stared toward the sea. “Ha, you can’t… kill me. If I die… you won’t make it to the shore, haha. The ferry servant… is in my hands now. “

Even at death’s door, the man remained so arrogant.

Yang Zicang followed his gaze and saw that more than fifty meters away on the other side of the boat’s railing behind him, several flat, elongated fiend serpents had already firmly seized Aqiang, who was fully soaked in seawater. He had spoken faintly just now, half due to his weakness and half to buy time.

“My bonded fiend serpents can split; each segment is a new flat ribbon. Ha, kill me… and they will kill the ferryman too. Without the ferryman, none of you can ever leave this sea. This place can’t be reached by ordinary ships… “

The flat-ribbon fiend serpents swam further away like tightening ropes, forcing agonized screams from Aqiang.

“Yang Zicang, I can’t get close! ” the man who had jumped into the water shouted, as several twisting fiend serpents wrapped around him.

Yang Zicang coldly watched the hatred-crazed expression on the man in his grip.

“Don’t even think about dragging me along. You move, and I move, too. “

“Send the ferryman back, and I’ll let you live. “

“Who would believe your crap? ” Ao Fei sneered. “I admit you’re strong. But how far can your temporal attack reach? Without special weapons, even the strongest guy in our zone can only manage twenty meters. Can you be stronger than him? Hahaha, hit the nail on the head… huh? What is that? What the hell is that thing! “

A black, slender-barreled pistol pressed against his cheek.

｛I felt the excited thrill of the “Black Rose. ” It wanted to go off. It indicated that, using a duration of 1000N, it can attack targets 100M away.｝

As the Strange Handgun pressed against his forehead, Ao Fei felt a suffocating wave of malicious intent surging over him, crushing his nerves.

“You… who the hell are you? Why have I never heard of you before!“

“Of course you’ve never heard of me, because you don’t belong to our cluster of cities.“

“Wha—!“

Trying to make out the face before him in the dim light pouring from the cabin, Ao Fei suddenly felt a violent shudder. An almost tangible aura of murder was emanating from the stranger.

Bang! A bullet shattered his skull.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the instant of his obliteration, Yang Zicang’s pistol continued to fire. The bullets carved arcs over ninety degrees through the air, trailing crimson phantom flames hurtling toward the dark blue sea sixty meters behind!