The battle of the Spirit Venerates continued to ravage the Lantis Sea, bringing the Lantis Navy’s fleet to a halt. They didn’t dare to move a single inch forward. Unlike the mighty Spirit Venerates, the warships of the Navy couldn’t fly and were bound to the sea. Any stray tidal wave was sufficient to sink the entire fleet. However, the Black Masks didn’t seem to have that worry.

The Fleet Admiral dropped his jaw as the longboats beat the currents and sailed at full speed. The Beast Horde of the Black Masks created an impassable wall while the hundred-odd ships rushed towards the enormous gap. “No, this isn’t a time to be stunned! All men on deck! Spirit Emperors, take to the skies! Protect our fleet from the damage by the Spirit Venerates! We’re rushing the longboats!!!”

As the commander-in-chief, the Fleet Admiral couldn’t leave his post in the central command. However, he could send the Lantis Navy’s most powerful individuals to protect the team. Rear Admirals rushed to the skies while officers continued to operate the boats. Long-range Spirit Users summoned out their Bow-Spirits and created a line of fire right at the longboats. Harpoon Spirit Users also made the Water-Elements dance.

Among those officers, young talents like Qilong Hu, Meijing Bingying, Kanari and the twins all had their battle positions ready. The turbulent weather created by the Spirit Venerates made it near-impossible for the cannons of the Lantis Navy to be accurate. Even the best archers among them would have troubleshooting down the longboats in this type of weather. Therefore, the fleet had to close in the distance for their attacks to be effective.

Shin watched as the battle for naval superiority began. The Black Masks only thought of escaping while the Lantis Navy only wanted one thing… The destruction of as many boats as they could manage. On the surface, the Lantis Navy held the upper hand. Their objective was much more straightforward, after all.

Therefore, the Black Masks prioritised the safety of their most valuable cargo. They placed the worthless longboats at the ends and rushed the more important boats to the front. Their victory condition had changed. Instead of leaving the Lantis Sea with every single resource that they had, the Black Masks sought to protect only the most precious few.

“We can’t let them escape...” Shin thought out loud, triggering responses from Zishen and his Spirit Venerate protector.

“My Prince, you promised not to leave the compounds of my barrier,” said Heigui Xuegang with a sombre voice. “If you join the battle, you would only distract the Fleet Admiral.”

Zishen nodded and added a follow-up. “Mmmm… He speaks the truth. My Prince, I can’t allow you to join such a precarious battle.”

The two voices of reason stopped Shin’s mind from wandering too far in the other direction. Shin had always been in fights where he was the strongest being. He would trump any of his opponents with pure domination and overall superior intelligence. However, in a battle of this scale, Shin’s single contributions were far more minute. The best thing he could do was to continue pestering the Black Masks with his oceanic beast horde.

“Don’t worry, I’m not that dumb,” the young man scoffed. “I’m just thinking if there are any new methods to slow the longboats down.”

Sending the Azure Dragons to create endless storms, was a no-go. Hurricanes and rogue waves the size of mountains would definitely hinder the escape of the Black Masks. However, the collateral damage would be too significant. The Lantis Navy was just a few kilometres away from the Black Mask’s fleet, and any change in the oceans would unquestionably affect them directly. Not to mention, no one knows how many Spirit Venerate Brahmins were hiding within the Black Masks’ fleet. A relentless storm might, in turn, serve as an excellent barrier for the criminal syndicate to make their escape.

Continually sending Spirit Beasts to hinder their progress… A good plan, but it wasn’t enough. Somehow, the Black Masks still had command of a potent Beast Horde, which has been pushing back Shin’s summoned Spirit Beasts steadily. Furthermore, Shin’s mana wasn’t infinite. The Domain of Dreams was a powerful ability, but it does drain Shin’s Spectre Soul as if it had an open tap. At most, he could hold it up for one or two hours.

So, there was a need for the Lantis Navy to come up with an impromptu plan to at least stall the Black Masks before their most valuable resources escape. Shin’s mind instantly went into overdrive as he looked everywhere for clues. The snow that fell from the grey heavens, the bottomless ocean that lets all imagination wander, and the continuous deadlock between the four Spirit Venerates. Shin needed to come up with a solution that was within his means…

“Yip, yip?” Sensing his displeasure, the snowy white gerbil that rested on Shin’s shoulders licked his salty face. Bingbing wanted to cheer him up with what little ability she had, but that only served to annoy the young man.

“Bingbing now’s not the time… Wait! That’s it!” Shin’s eyes flashed in an understanding light as he grabbed the Kamaitachi by the stomach. Bingbing’s head adorably tilted to the left, wondering what switch had gone off in Shin’s brain this time.

“Bingbing, you said that you’re on the verge of breaking through into Tier 9 right?” Shin tried to confirm with his Spirit Beast partner.

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“Yip, yip, yip!” Not knowing what she was getting into, Bingbing furiously chirped.

“Hahaha! Excellent!” The Prince of Water slammed the Spear of Aiglos’ rear into the ice, sticking it in place for the time being. “Bingbing, do you think that you can freeze the entire surface of the ocean?”

“Yip! Yip, yip, yip, yip, yip, yip!” The Kamaitachi’s eyes bulged so big that it could have easily been scooped out. Bingbing was a Tier 8 Ice-Elemental Spirit Beast. In context, she was comparable to a Meijing Clan’s Rank 70 Spirit Emperor. While she could freeze water with ease, her speciality mainly came in creating endless snowstorms and using ice as weapons. Turning an entire ocean into an arctic slab? That was still a long distance away for her capabilities.

“Ah, sorry I misspoke.” In his excitement, Shin didn’t consider his words all that wisely. Rephrasing, Shin spoke again. This time, his finger was pointing at the empty space where the Nineteenth Artificial Island once stood. “Could you freeze the waters over there?”

“Yip, yip, yip?” The gerbil tilted her head with a look of uncertainty. Her big pearly eyes twinkled with anxiety. Not only was it hard to freeze a large chunk of the ocean, once Bingbing begins her ability, but the Black Masks would also all instantly target her.

“I know it’s going to be hard… However, I need your help Bingbing… There’s no one else here that’s capable of doing the job,” Shin gently stroked the snowy, white gerbil on her head. “Come here...” Ashen particles flowed out from the centre of his palm and Bingbing’s soul was instantly uplifted.

Shin continued to chant his cultivation technique while the time-elements calmly settled in on the Kamaitachi’s soul. A bead of sweat fell down from the top of Shin’s forehead as he continuously supplied mana into the gerbil. In the end, after a full minute, Shin dropped his hand and exhaled deeply. “I’ve created a Restoration Point in your time. Now, you don’t have to worry about mana expenditure or getting any injuries.”

“Yip, yip, yip?!”

“Yes, yes. You can go all out without worries now,” Shin replied the over-enthusiastic Bingbing. “However, do be careful… If you receive a life-ending blow, even Restoration wouldn’t be able to save you.”

“Yip, yip!” Bingbing cheered as she finally left the young man’s embrace. Gathering a large amount of elemental energy from Shin’s Celestial Dragon Aura, the Kamaitachi expanded to twenty times her original size. A little bigger than a hippopotamus, Bingbing leapt out of Heigui Xuegang’s barrier and waved her tail happily in the air. The two sides were currently engrossed in a battle where one wrong step could spell disaster for their entire fleet. Thus, no one noticed the snowy white gerbil skipping over the surface of the sea.

BLLLLLLISSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

Bingbing danced with the grace of a swan and moved with the speed of a swift. White particles fell down from each one of her paws. The snowflake particles merged well with the snow that rained down from the heavens. Elegant and beautiful, Bingbing’s movements made her look like a ballerina on ice. And in essence, she was one. The Kamaitachi’s mere presence was enough to turn water into ice, and in no time at all, there was already an ice road a hundred metres long.

“Sir Brahmin! Something’s rushing straight ahead!” The first one to notice the oddity was a Kshatriya lookout. He immediately turned to his direct superior to point out Bingbing’s position.

“Son of a bitch… They’re trying to block our escape path!” The Brahmin yelled as the veins turned red within his eyes. His shout didn’t go unnoticed. Many Black Masks within the longboats all turned their attention to that white blob of snow, which was starting to create a frozen surface before their very eyes. “We can’t let them get their way! All shooters, aim all of your weapons at the Spirit Beast!”

There was little delay from the Brahmin’s orders to the execution. Cannons were redirected from the Lantis Navy’s position and aimed directly at Bingbing. Vaishyas and Kshatriyas attempted to throw as many attacks as they could at the Spirit Beast, but it was to no avail. Bingbing was far too speedy and tanky for the weaker Black Masks. Furthermore, Shin redirected half of the Beast Horde he summoned to assist Bingbing in tanking hits.

In just one minute, the Kamaitachi had created a kilometre-long road of ice. And she wasn’t planning to stop there. The snowflakes that she left behind on the ice path was now spreading like wildfire. Bingbing wasn’t just trying to create a road, she was attempting to build a wall that was a dozen metres thick.

Peeeeeeewwwwwwwwww… Peeeeeeewwwwwwwwww… Peeeeeeewwwwwwwwww...

The submersible boats ascended from their depths, as if in complete fury. All of the red-tipped harpoons on their sides were instantly fired. Hundreds of explosions drizzled the new ice path with flame and ash, but for the most part, the ice wall still stood up high. Bingbing’s endless supply of mana was proving to be useful at this point. Not only could she continually run on water, evading all sorts of deadly attacks that the Black Masks threw at her, but she could also fix the patches that the submarines created.

“Yes, that’s my girl!” Shin cheered with a beaming smile. He looked like a proud father watching his daughter complete a marathon for the first time. Of course, Bingbing’s age was at least three or four times his own, but the man didn’t care.

Shin’s Restoration wasn’t only capable of recuperating an injured body back to the pink of health. It could also restore mana to its original state. In essence, Bingbing could continue on freezing the ocean as long as Shin possessed enough mana to cast Restoration.

“Everyone distract the longboats!” The commotion didn’t just attract the Black Masks’ attention. The Fleet Admiral, alongside some of his trusted aides, sent down orders to assist the Kamaitachi. If they could force the Black Masks into a direct confrontation, the Lantis Navy would have won. And the faster the delay occurred, the more time the Navy had to destroy or capture every single longboat that the Black Masks had. So, the Navy covered for Bingbing, tanking many of the attacks that she would otherwise receive. It truly had degraded into a pandemonium.

Bingbing didn’t care about the commotion she caused, she just wanted to faithfully carry out Shin’s orders. Dodging the arrows, cannonballs, spiritual abilities that were thrown at her, the Kamaitachi found herself already three-quarters done with the blockade. However, just before she was able to finish it off, alarm bells went tingling all over her senses.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

Bingbing somersaulted back, dodging what was almost certain death. A chilling wave of sharpness sliced through the ocean, nearly splitting it in two. At the end of the attack, was an armoured Brahmin, donned in the same exact gear as the Ghost Corsair. However, instead of a cutlass as a weapon, he carried a two-metre-long claymore with blue flames beautifying the blade.

“Damn it! Another Spirit Venerate!” Shin gritted his teeth and cursed. They were this close to completely freezing the Black Masks’ escape path, but it just had to be foiled. “Bingbing!!!” The man screamed, as his mana tugged the Kamaitachi all the way back to the safety of his barrier. With Bingbing out of the picture, all of the longboats that the Black Masks had were rushing straight at the remnant space that was left. They didn’t have time to crush Bingbing’s ice barricade and thus, they opted for the second-best option.

“Yip, yip, yip...” The gerbil had dropped ears and a low head. She had failed Shin’s mission. There was no way that Bingbing would be upbeat.

“Don’t worry, your safety is more important,” the man replied smilingly. Shin watched as the tides of battle shifted once more. Though they hadn’t sealed up the entire ocean, at the very least, Shin and Bingbing had forced the Black Masks into a rather uncomfortable position. Now, it was all up to the Lantis Navy to capitalise on the situation...