The Merfolk King, who had been shifting his feet and with flickering eyes, was stunned by what he witnessed and made no move to attack.

Feng Miaojun slightly lifted her chin, looking at him with a cold smile: “Fu Gongzi, have you forgotten that a gentleman uses words, not force?” Her first strike had relied solely on her innate strength, with surprisingly effective results. It seemed her recent diligent cultivation had not been in vain.

But her reaction was extremely quick, seizing the opportunity to follow with a second punch. This time she activated the Divine Turtle mark in her dantian to frantically absorb Yun’s spiritual power, and the vastness of this borrowed power nearly stretched her meridians to their limit.

The ferocity of her second strike astonished even herself; she hadn’t expected to be able to “borrow” so much spiritual power. Although most of it came from Yun, her meridians had to be strong enough to avoid backlash.

At this moment, her heart was filled with boundless elation.

In the future, when facing powerful enemies of this caliber, she would have a way to defend herself!

Feng Miaojun had considered that killing Fu Lingchuan now would bring more harm than benefit. She was alone and could not possibly handle all the subsequent troubles by herself. As such, she needed to effectively intimidate Fu Lingchuan, making him abandon any thoughts of detaining her.

Both Fu Lingchuan and the Merfolk King were first-class masters. If both decided to keep her here, she would be in serious trouble.

Fu Lingchuan’s mind raced, and he pointed at the Merfolk King: “Without my protection, you won’t get off Spiral Float Island, and you won’t even escape the upcoming heavenly lightning trials. You’ll be reduced to ashes along with these unfortunate souls.”

How strange—he clearly remembered that Princess Changle did not have a spirit-compatible constitution and thus lacked cultivation talent; she should have been an ordinary person. How was it that the genuine Princess Changle not only possessed cultivation but had reached such profound levels?

If this was the case, he would have to adjust many of his subsequent plans.

Feng Miaojun remained silent, while the Merfolk King’s face turned ashen: “You!”

Having reigned over Spiral Float Island for hundreds of years, even continental leaders and regional powers would treat him with respect. When had he ever suffered such a loss?

But having just escaped death with his clan, his fighting spirit had greatly diminished. Besides, he now understood that since things had progressed to this point, the Imperial Artifact’s heavenly lightning trials were inevitable, regardless of whether he killed these people or not.

The matter was no longer subject to his will.

His cultivation was profound, and there was perhaps one in ten thousand chance he could withstand sixteen strikes of heavenly lightning. But what about the rest of his clansmen who had not yet left?

The Merfolk King deeply hated Fu Lingchuan, but now had no choice but to swallow his pride. He looked toward the Crab Spirit: “You and the merfolk race have depended on each other for over a thousand years, yet you offer no help at this moment?”

A demi-god’s shell could easily withstand the heavenly lightning trials. The question was whether the Crab Spirit was willing to expend more power to protect the other lives on the island.

Ultimately, this incomparably sturdy magical tool belonged to the Crab Spirit. The relationship between the merfolk and the Crab Spirit was essentially that of tenants and landlords. If the landlord wanted to evict the tenants, they would mostly have to leave. If the Crab Spirit was unwilling to provide shelter for the merfolk race, they would have to leave before the lightning tribulation.

The bond of over a thousand years of companionship remained. The Crab Spirit looked at him with compassion and said softly: “Let’s do this—I can protect the merfolk race from the heavenly lightning strikes, on the condition that all grievances between you and the New Xia Kingdom are settled. Before they leave the Forbidden Sea, neither you nor the merfolk race shall cause them any trouble!”

The accounts between him and Fu Lingchuan?

Was this saying that this fellow had schemed against the merfolk race’s territory, brought down heavenly punishment that killed dozens of merfolk elites, and ultimately forced the entire merfolk race to lose Spiral Float Island, their treasure trove, and become homeless? The Merfolk King clenched his fists until they creaked.

Settle all grievances? Heh, he wished he could eat their flesh and sleep on their skin!

But no matter how unwilling he was, what could he do? He couldn’t even take down Fu Lingchuan alone, and now there was an additional strange woman whose depth and stance he couldn’t gauge. From the time the evacuation order was given until now, less than an hour had passed, and there were still dozens of merfolk who hadn’t evacuated from Spiral Float Island.

Moreover, the possessions that the merfolk race had accumulated over a thousand years were too vast and numerous to be taken away in such haste.

That was a fortune that couldn’t be described even as mountains of gold and seas of silver!

If they were driven out of Spiral Float Island now by Fu Lingchuan and the Crab Spirit, they wouldn’t even have the capital to make a comeback in the future.

The Merfolk King exhaled deeply, forcibly suppressing all his malicious thoughts, and then said fiercely: “Fine, consider all grievances settled!”

Despite his words, his gaze toward Fu Lingchuan remained full of venom.

Fu Lingchuan glanced at the Crab Spirit, not objecting to his proposal: “In that case, let your people take shelter in the Lower City. The New Xia Queen can pray to heaven, requesting that the heavenly lightning trials be delayed by up to two hours.”

The Upper City of Spiral Float was on the surface of the shell, and living beings there would be affected by lightning strikes. The Lower City, conversely, was inside the shell. The Crab Spirit was confident it could withstand the lightning strikes, and creatures sheltered within would be spared from the power of the heavenly lightning.

After reporting to heaven, the monarch could decide when the divine artifact would undergo the heavenly lightning trials, not exceeding two hours at most.

Two hours would be sufficient for the merfolk. The Merfolk King looked at Fu Lingchuan, then at Feng Miaojun, without a word, and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Feng Miaojun spoke up. “Saving one race is saving, saving an entire island is also saving. Why not save all living beings on the island? Consider it accumulating some virtue for yourself and for the New Xia Kingdom!”

By now, Fu Lingchuan had regained his usual composure. Hearing this, he looked at her with a half-smile: “On what grounds?”

“Because I just saved your lives,” Feng Miaojun’s lips curved into a smile devoid of warmth.

“Don’t you believe in repaying kindness with gratitude?”

She blinked: “Otherwise, I’ll trigger the heavenly lightning right now, and we can all perish together.”

The Merfolk King’s face hardened: “I’ll go now.” Using his divine ability, he disappeared in just a few breaths.

Time was precious, and he had no time to listen to Fu Lingchuan and Feng Miaojun argue. Besides, he also understood that Fu Lingchuan would certainly agree.

This request was, after all, harmless.

After the Merfolk King left, the Crab Spirit also removed the poisonous mist from Awl Tail Mountain, preventing it from drifting downhill and poisoning people and animals.

This was its specialty—mist that would not disperse with the wind.

Feng Miaojun had also recited the prayer, beseeching the heavenly way to bring down the trials after two hours. If it had been Fu Lingchuan and the fake Princess Changle, after completing the heaven-offering ceremony, they would have immediately requested the activation of the Imperial Artifact’s heavenly lightning trials. This would have conveniently helped them clear the island of enemies, allowing them to leave safely. Otherwise, thousands of sea demons on the island and in the sea would not have let them go.

Fu Lingchuan must have considered this step in advance to dare risk stealing the shell.

She stood on the mountainside, gazing far out at the sea. With a two-hour buffer, the merchant ship carrying the Feng household should have sailed quite far with the current, beyond the reach of the heavenly lightning when it descended.

Feng Miaojun brought her gaze back from the horizon, turned, and saw Fu Lingchuan staring at her intently, without blinking.

She was very familiar with that kind of gaze; it often appeared in Yun’s eyes as well.

It represented deep thought, it represented calculation.

Feng Miaojun wasn’t surprised.

From the moment she decided to take the treasure seal and stamp the Heavenly Book with her blood, she had prepared herself to face everything that would follow.