Once Sea Horse Douluo settled everyone in, he left at once—no doubt to relay the Grand Offering Bo Saixi's orders.
Xiao Wu plopped her perky hips onto the plush sofa in the third-floor hall and let out a long breath. "Not bad at all. I didn't expect things to go this smoothly here. Brother, we really rode your luck this time!"
Li Chang'an only smiled without explaining. He looked around at the group. "All ten of us have at least a black-level five-trial. Judging from Sea Horse Douluo's face earlier, these won't be easy. We still need a plan. First up is the first trial. What did everyone get?"
Hu Liena said in a low voice, "Mine's strange—'Cross the Sea God's Light.' What about you?"
Zhu Zhuqing blinked. "Same here. So we all share the first trial?"
The others hadn't checked yet; they immediately calmed their minds and linked their spiritual power to the mark on their foreheads. One after another, the first task surfaced in their consciousness.
"Same for me—'Cross the Sea God's Light.'"
To their surprise, everyone's first trial was identical. Even Zhu Zhuqing, with her top-tier seven trials, had 'Cross the Sea God's Light' as the opener.
"Chang'an, what's yours?" someone asked.
Li Chang'an's eyes flashed oddly. "Mine reads 'Cross the Double Sea God's Light.'"
Everyone exchanged looks, then stared at Li Chang'an in speechless silence.
Zhu Zhuqing read her prompt: "First Trial: Cross the Sea God's Light. Hint: Proceed to the island's central forbidden ground. Ascend the first 136 steps of the approach to the forbidden peak to pass. You may withdraw midway. Time limit: one year."
Li Chang'an scratched his head. "First Trial: Cross the Double Sea God's Light. Hint: Proceed to the island's central forbidden ground. Ascend the first 333 steps of the approach to the forbidden peak to pass. You may withdraw midway. Time limit: one year."
Meng Yiran gaped. "Isn't that supposed to be double? How did your step count end up nearly triple ours?"
Li Chang'an shook his head; he was just as puzzled. He knew a bit about the Sea God's Light, so it wasn't a big problem for him—but for the others, it could be rough. Still, he had plenty of ways to "work the system." Besides, crossing the Sea God's Light came with huge benefits.
While they were discussing, a purple-robed sea spirit master arrived on the third floor to inform them lunch was ready and invite them downstairs.
The dining hall was on the first floor. Sea Horse Douluo had already departed, leaving word that if they needed anything, they could ask the purple-robed attendants.
Lunch was lavish—better seafood than any on the mainland. Lobsters over two feet long, king crabs with shells a foot across, a spread of shellfish and fish, plus vegetables and staples.
The women hadn't eaten so well in days, and they dug in with gusto—only Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Ye Lingling kept half an eye on decorum.
'Daytime seafood… and if someone sneaks up to "sample fish" at night, that's seafood, too. Eating seafood all day isn't bad at all,' Li Chang'an thought, perfectly serious—about actual seafood, of course.
When he finished last and saw how satisfied everyone looked, he smiled. "Seems our treatment is excellent. Do we scout the Sea God's Light tomorrow, or go this afternoon?"
"This afternoon," Mu Xi said softly. "Didn't you say our time is tight?"
The others nodded. Ah Rou added gently, "We've just eaten—let's rest for an hour to be in top form, then head out."
One hour later.
They reconvened on the spacious third floor and invited a purple-robed sea spirit master as guide.
"You wish to enter the forbidden ground?" The fifty-ish purple-robed master looked genuinely startled.
Li Chang'an nodded. "We've accepted the Sea God's trials. Our first task is to cross the Sea God's Light, so we need to go to the island's forbidden core. We'll be in your care."
"Understood." He bowed quickly. "I'll lead you there at once. Do you have any other requests?"
They shook their heads.
With the guide at point, they exited Sea Horse City and headed straight out of town.
Outside the walls, the purple-robed master said, "It's a fair distance from here to the forbidden ground. Shall we pick up the pace?"
"How far is it?" Li Chang'an asked.
"The forbidden ground sits atop the circular inner sea at the island's center—about two hundred kilometres from here."
Only then did they grasp the island's true scale: a four-hundred-kilometers diameter—vast by any measure.
"Then let's speed up. Please lead the way."
Two hundred kilometres wasn't far for spirit masters, but it would be a day on horseback—or two on foot. Only a full sprint would get them there quickly.
Receiving Li Chang'an's nod, the purple-robed master released his martial soul. White, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black—seven rings rose—a Spirit Saint!
Fine, gray-bright scales rippled across his body. The group wasn't familiar with sea martial souls, so they couldn't name it.
He gestured once, then shot forward. His gait was peculiar: feet barely lifted from the ground, yet his stride was blisteringly fast—an arrow loosed from the string.
The others didn't dare fall behind. Martial souls bloomed; speed surged. Li Chang'an didn't release his, yet kept up easily, strolling as if through a garden.
He had, after all, grasped the Yin-Yang Dual-Core method. Even at the entry level, its benefits were remarkable: each step looked unhurried, yet covered surprising distance.
After a short sprint, the guide glanced back, worried the youngsters might be lagging. But the sight made him suck in a breath—so he stopped holding back and accelerated to full speed. The image that branded itself on his mind was that golden trident sigil on Li Chang'an's brow—and the youth's effortless, soul-less stride.
Here, the differences between sea spirit masters and land spirit masters stood out. Reaching Spirit Saint marked a qualitative leap for anyone, sea or land. Yet on land, a sea spirit master's edge dulled. Even at full tilt, he couldn't shake them—Zhu Zhuqing kept up easily, and even the others had no trouble.
What would be grueling travel for ordinary people—two hundred kilometers—was, for high-rank spirit masters at full speed, a jog of a bit over two hours. With an hour's rest after lunch and winter's early dusk, the sky was already painting soft evening colors when they arrived.
They crossed a dense stand of trees. When the purple-robed master finally halted, even Li Chang'an found himself stunned by the sight before them.