“Good.” Qiao Mu nodded. “When that day comes, I’ll definitely be the vanguard of your army.”

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at Qiao Mu, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.

“Vanguard, you’ve worked hard!”

Qiao Mu gave Feng Jiu’er a light shove, feeling somewhat more cheerful herself.

“By the way, who exactly was that masked woman at the end? To think there’s someone secretly guarding you in the Feng Clan—Jiu’er, you really are something.”

“I’m a Feng daughter. Of course I’m something.” Thinking of Long Feiyan, the smile on Feng Jiu’er’s face grew somewhat strained.

Qiao Mu seemed to sense what was on her mind and gently patted her shoulder.

“Her martial skill is so formidable—she’ll be absolutely fine, don’t worry.”

“Right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, looking at the land now fading into blur. “She won’t let anything happen to herself.”

After hiding her identity for so many years, with everything she wanted still unattained, how could she possibly be willing to let herself perish in the Feng Clan’s lands?

And it wasn’t just her mother—Feng Jiu’er believed Master Jingxin was the same.

Both of them seemed to be people of formidable skill with stories of their own, the kind who wouldn’t easily admit defeat.

But it was often people like that who were the most heartbreaking to think about.

“Let’s go take a look at your wound.” After a moment of silence, Feng Jiu’er turned to Qiao Mu.

“It’s nothing, just a small scratch.” Qiao Mu replied softly.

“Come on.” Feng Jiu’er stood up. “If it’s not treated properly, it’ll scar for sure. A girl learning to scar like some man—how ugly!”

The moment the words of disdain left her mouth, Feng Jiu’er had already turned and walked back inside.

Qiao Mu glanced back once, then stood up and followed.

…

Time passed in the blink of an eye, two days gone, and all around lay nothing but a vast expanse of ocean—nothing but water and sky.

After two days of rest, the brothers seemed to be recovering well, and had even learned to find small amusements in the dull, monotonous life aboard ship.

On the morning of the third day, nearly everyone sat on deck eating breakfast.

Standing at the bow, gazing into the distance, Zhao Yusheng turned back to look at Feng Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er, ahead lies the Heavenly Dragon Flying Phoenix Formation. Everyone can relax and focus on settling their inner energy.”

“This formation…” The moment he turned to glance at it again, Zhao Yusheng’s brow furrowed unconsciously.

“What’s wrong?” Qiao Mu stepped over.

To her, any formation was just a blur of mist. And from this distance, who could even make out a dragon or phoenix within it?

“Something’s not right!” Zhao Yusheng stared unblinkingly at the formation ahead, his breathing suddenly turning heavy.

Feng Jiu’er set down the bowl in her hands, glanced once at Zhan Qingcheng, then stood and walked over.

“What’s going on? What’s not right?”

She knew Zhao Yusheng wasn’t one to joke around—had he seen it wrong on the way in, and now seen it wrong again on the way out?

Besides, the whole journey had been suspiciously calm, and she’d always sensed that old fox Feng Qiongcang still had a trick up his sleeve.

“Jiu’er, take a look.” Zhao Yusheng turned and pulled Feng Jiu’er over.

Feng Jiu’er, feeling a slight prickle at the back of her neck, pushed his hand away and came to stand at the ship’s railing.

Zhao Yusheng, seeming used to this kind of reaction, quickly refocused his attention on the formation diagram ahead.

“Jiu’er, look.” He extended a long finger, pointing at the formation pattern. “The image has changed.”

“In the original Heavenly Dragon Flying Phoenix Formation, the dragon and phoenix were playing together, the mood joyful and light. But look now—does it feel joyful to you at all?”

“This is the Black Dragon Weeping Phoenix Formation. Yes, this is definitely the Black Dragon Weeping Phoenix Formation—it matches exactly what I saw before.”

Once Zhao Yusheng said this, everyone began paying attention to the formation pattern ahead, and many even stood up to come look.

“I just thought it was strange how it suddenly looked different.” Zhao Yusheng’s voice continued. “This has absolutely been altered by human hand.”

“I believe whoever controls the formation in the Black Pool deliberately let us through before, so they could lure us into the Feng Clan’s territory.”

“Now that the Feng Clan’s ruler wants to wipe us all out in one stroke, they’ve restored the formation pattern so we can’t leave so easily.”

Qiao Mu, never one to tolerate others undermining their own morale, shot Zhao Yusheng a sideways glance and asked flatly, “Young Master, are you certain you’re seeing this correctly?”

Yanu belonged to Feng Qiongcang, and he was the one who had wanted to take Jiu’er back—naturally under Feng Qiongcang’s orders.

So Qiao Mu knew well that Zhao Yusheng’s theory wasn’t entirely without merit.

It was just that, having come this far with such difficulty, Qiao Mu refused to believe a mere formation diagram could bury them all in the Black Pool.

“It is different.” Feng Jiu’er nodded lightly.

Seeing her respond this way, Qiao Mu no longer doubted it further, nor did any of the other brothers.

After studying it carefully for a while, Feng Jiu’er withdrew her gaze and looked at Zhao Yusheng.

“Tell me everything you know about the Black Dragon Weeping Phoenix Formation, in detail.”

“In about an hour, we’ll have to face this formation. There isn’t much time left.”

Zhao Yusheng, though without much of a clear plan, nodded all the same. “Alright.”

Before long, Zhao Yusheng, Zhan Qingcheng, Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, Mu Mu, and the others had all gathered back in the cabin.

Zhao Yusheng laid out a sheet of white paper on the long table, and after a moment of light sketching, a diagram appeared before everyone, with several annotations above it.

“Jiu’er.” Zhao Yusheng raised his eyes to glance at Feng Jiu’er, tapping the diagram with the bamboo pointer in his hand.

“This is the Black Dragon Weeping Phoenix Formation diagram as I saw it in the books. The main images are this dragon and this phoenix.”

“The books didn’t include a method for breaking the formation. Take a careful look—see if anyone can spot a flaw?”

The moment Zhao Yusheng finished speaking, everyone studied the formation diagram intently.

The cabin fell silent for a good while, until Zhan Qingcheng raised his eyes to look at the still-standing Zhao Yusheng.

“This is the original diagram you saw in the book? Think again—is there anything you might have missed?”

Zhao Yusheng turned the diagram around and studied it carefully for a long moment.

Had anyone else asked, he wouldn’t have been this nervous.

But the one questioning him now was the War God Prince he admired most—he genuinely worried he might have overlooked something, even if it were just a single small dot.

Pulling up a chair to sit down, Zhao Yusheng scrutinized the diagram with extreme focus, and finally, in the bottom right corner, he added a line of text.

“Dragon and phoenix… what?” Qiao Mu leaned in, staring unblinkingly at the words Zhao Yusheng had written.

“Dragon and Phoenix United, Invincible Under Heaven?”

“Yes.” Zhao Yusheng nodded. “There was also this line.”

“But I figured it was just meant to emphasize how formidable the Black Dragon Weeping Phoenix Formation was, so I left it out before.”

Glancing up at Zhan Qingcheng, Zhao Yusheng picked up the diagram from the table and laid it flat in front of him.

“Ninth Prince, that’s everything. There’s nothing else.”

Zhan Qingcheng nodded, his gaze settling on that final line.

No one else dared to say anything, as if all were waiting for Zhan Qingcheng’s instructions.

After a while, Zhan Qingcheng took hold of Feng Jiu’er’s hand and stood up.

Without leaving another word, the two of them, hand in hand, turned and left the cabin.