The two rows of ships continued cutting through the waves, advancing in an immense, sweeping formation—a sight that could not be ignored.

Yet compared to this boundless, vast Black Pool, it was all pitifully small.

Past noon, a heavy storm broke out over the Black Pool, with towering, terrifying waves slowing the ships’ advance.

It wasn’t until evening that the rain finally began to weaken.

After night fell, the rain finally stopped, but visibility remained poor, and the ships didn’t dare pick up speed.

With the rain stopped, quite a few people left their cabins and stood out on the deck.

The rainstorm had kept Xing Zichou busy and worn out for half the day.

When Xiao Yingtao saw him return, she went up to meet him, holding a handkerchief that had been dampened and then wrung out.

“How is it? Is everything all right?”

This was the heaviest rain they had encountered since setting sail, so it was only natural for Xiao Yingtao to worry.

“It’s fine.” Xing Zichou took the handkerchief from Xiao Yingtao, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly with a hint of a smile.

“As long as it’s fine.” Xiao Yingtao nodded. “Do you want to go change your clothes first, or have some meat broth first? I’ve prepared both.”

Xing Zichou wiped his face and reached out his hand, wanting to touch Xiao Yingtao.

But Xiao Yingtao dodged his touch, taking the handkerchief from his other hand instead, and pouted. “Do you still want to drink it or not?”

“I’ll drink it.” Xing Zichou nodded in response. “Whatever you’ve prepared, no matter how much, I’ll finish every drop.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Xing Zichou turned his head to look at the people on deck.

“Xiao Yingtao, bring it up here. I’m going to go check on things.”

Xiao Yingtao nodded and turned back toward the cabin.

When Xing Zichou went over, Zhao Yusheng and Qiao Mu were standing at the bow, with quite a number of brothers gathered around them.

“Zhao Yusheng, what’s the situation?” Xing Zichou asked as he approached.

“Something’s wrong.” Zhao Yusheng shook his head.

Hearing Zhao Yusheng’s words, the brothers couldn’t help but tense up.

On board the ships, aside from Zhao Yusheng, no one else understood anything about the Feng Clan’s legendary formations.

When Zhao Yusheng said something was wrong, everyone understood—whatever was bound to come might already be on its way.

“We’re still some distance from the landmark Jiu’er designated. Could it be that the Feng Clan has shifted the formation forward?” Xing Zichou said, frowning.

Zhao Yusheng composed himself and said, “Changing a formation isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible either.”

“Jiu’er said that on this trip to the Feng Clan’s territory, escaping unscathed wouldn’t be easy—up ahead, an inescapable trap may already have been laid in advance.”

“With the Night Prince missing, no matter what, we have to help Jiu’er find him.” Qiao Mu’s voice rang out, firm and resolute.

“We’re going to support Miss Jiu’er! We’re going to support Miss Jiu’er!” The moment Qiao Mu’s words fell, all the brothers present shouted out together.

Xing Zichou looked at everyone and waved his hand.

“Everyone, don’t worry too much. We have so many of us here, don’t we? As long as we stand united, there’s no formation we can’t get through.”

“That’s right, General Xing is right.” one of the brothers shouted.

“We brothers haven’t been together for just a day or two.” Xing Zichou looked at the brothers, his voice carrying a commanding force.

“Jiu’er is in trouble, and everyone here shares the same goal. No difficulty, however great, can stop our advance.”

Xing Zichou turned back to look at Zhao Yusheng. “What’s the situation exactly? Tell me the details—I’ll go down and notify the brothers to be ready for battle at any moment tonight.”

“All right.” Zhao Yusheng nodded, the compass in his hand, as he gazed toward the distant horizon.

Everyone fell silent, waiting for Zhao Yusheng’s orders.

After quite a while, Zhao Yusheng turned and looked at everyone.

“We’ll likely enter the formation in roughly three hours. Looking at the state of the sky, things seem rather chaotic—it may well be a chained, interlocking formation.”

“Xing Zichou, take some people and go notify the brothers on the other ships. Leave a portion to keep watch, and have the rest rest as much as possible.”

“In two hours, every brother must be wide awake and ready to engage at any moment.”

Zhao Yusheng glanced back at the horizon once more and took a deep breath.

“With Jiu’er and the Prince not here, we’ll have to rely on ourselves. I need to go make preparations too—if anything comes up, send someone in to let me know.”

“All right, go ahead.” Qiao Mu said flatly.

She had been standing the entire time, her silver Dragon-Tongue spear still in hand, every bit the picture of someone ready to fight at any moment.

Zhao Yusheng glanced at Qiao Mu, nodded, and turned to head back.

Xing Zichou gave the brothers a few instructions, drank down the meat broth Xiao Yingtao had brought him, and set off once more.

Although Xiao Yingtao hadn’t heard what Zhao Yusheng had said, she too understood that the time for battle was at hand.

She exchanged a few words with Qiao Mu, then headed toward the cabin.

Under the moonlight, a tall, slender silhouette stood at the highest point of the ship.

He gazed into the distance without moving, his expression somewhat heavy—not so much fear as longing.

Ever since Feng Jiu’er and Di Wu Ya had departed, not a trace of a smile had appeared on Jian Yi’s face.

Many times, he would even vanish for several days in a row, and no one could find him.

It wasn’t until they received a letter from Feng Jiu’er that Jian Yi suddenly reappeared.

But even now, he still didn’t say a single word, no different from a statue.

Still, a statue this handsome was a rare sight indeed.

The night grew darker and darker, and aside from the sound of waves crashing against the hull, there was nothing else to be heard.

Beside Qiao Mu, Xiao Yingtao had wrapped herself in a blanket and fallen asleep.

With everyone busy outside, she couldn’t sleep alone in the cabin anyway—besides, she still had an important task ahead of her.

Some time passed, and the sky darkened once more as the wind picked up.

Xiao Yingtao sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stood up, blanket still wrapped around her.

“Qiao Mu, what’s happening?”

“The sky has changed.” Qiao Mu stared straight ahead without blinking, not turning around. “Go notify Zhao Yusheng.”

“All right.” Xiao Yingtao nodded, turned, and ran off toward the cabin.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the waves struck the hull with great force, gradually slowing the ships’ forward progress.

In less than half an hour, the ships were almost brought to a complete standstill.

Spray flew up, soaking the decks of many of the ships.

All the brothers stood on deck, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Every ship had its own captain.

Each captain stood at the bow, directing the brothers in their tasks.

On the decks of more than twenty ships, the brothers stood in orderly formation, planting their feet firmly to keep their balance and steady the ships as much as possible.

“Hold steady! Keep your center of gravity low!” the captain of one ship shouted loudly, for who knew how many times already.

“The young master said that as long as we can keep the ships steady, he will definitely find a way.”

“Hold steady!” The captain of another ship was also shouting at the top of his voice.

“What kind of storm and rain haven’t we seen before? Once today is over, we’ll get to see Miss Jiu’er. Keep holding steady—this storm is bound to pass.”

The roar of the waves was deafening; the brothers could barely make out their captains’ words.

Even as the gale continued to intensify, not a trace of fear showed on the brothers’ faces.

Following Feng Jiu’er’s instructions, Qiao Mu had made the dangers of this mission clear to the brothers before they set out, but the number of brothers who signed up had far exceeded expectations.

As long as Feng Jiu’er needed them, the brothers would never hesitate to answer the call.