Three days later, in an unknown stretch of surging sea.
That night, beneath a sky filled with countless stars, a towering warship over a hundred meters long slowly sailed forward. At sea, sailors usually used the sun for navigation during the day and stars at night. However, due to low visibility at night, the warship's speed was clearly reduced in these waters.
Starlight and moonlight intertwined, pouring through crystal windows into a spacious chamber on the top deck of the ship.
Lying on a wide bed, Xu Zihuang's long eyelashes quivered slightly before he slowly opened eyes as clear as amethyst.
Though born of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, in terms of appearance he resembled his mother more. He did not have the royal family's typical dark skin, but instead looked like a refined youth who perfectly fit common ideals of beauty.
Sitting up and pulling aside the fluffy soul beast fur blanket, Xu Zihuang gave a bitter smile and rubbed his brow with his right hand.
"I was a little too reckless before."
Bursts of stabbing pain would invade his mind from time to time.
Although he could absolutely suppress Haixiao in terms of attributes, Ultimate Lightning was not so easily controlled. Among all attributes, lightning was known to be the most violent. It was only because he possessed the spiritual-attribute Golden Eye martial soul, allowing him precise control over his soul power and martial soul, that he barely managed to condense that small lightning net.
At this thought, Xu Zihuang's expression grew complicated. In the end, he had clearly felt the pressure of Haixiao's eighth soul skill weaken at the last moment.
How could he not realize that Haixiao, until his dying breath, had been helping him?
Toward someone like Haixiao, he felt no real malice. At most, he considered him overly loyal, but that was simply because of differing positions. As a ruler, who would not want such subordinates?
"I wonder how long I've been unconscious." Feeling the faint sway beneath his feet, Xu Zihuang steadily pushed open the heavy door and stepped out. The strong body forged since childhood by all kinds of heavenly treasures now showed its value. His stamina and soul power had already recovered on their own—only his mental energy was somewhat overdrawn.
The icy sea wind, carrying the tang of salt, made him instinctively tighten the purple robe around him. Standing on the upper deck of the ship, he could better overlook the warship and the boundless black sea around them.
Having survived, a surge of hot-blooded spirit welled within him.
From now on, the sky would let birds fly, and the sea would let fish leap!
Before long, hurried footsteps sounded behind him.
It was Yu Lao, clad in black clothes, followed by several Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion soldiers who had shed their armor and changed into fitted attire.
"Young Master, you're awake?!" Yu Lao looked at Xu Zihuang with joy. Seeing his thin garments, he quickly retrieved a black fur cloak from his storage soul tool and draped it over him.
The cloak looked light and simple, but its warmth was excellent. At the collar, dense black feathers shimmered under the moonlight, clearly marking it as extraordinary.
"That's enough, Yu Lao. My body isn't that frail."
Xu Zihuang waved helplessly, stopping Yu Lao from rummaging further through his soul tool.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Young Master, you've been unconscious for three days." Yu Lao scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Perhaps you should return to your room to rest. I can notify the regiment commander to come see you?"
"No need. I'll go meet Elder Wang myself." A flash of golden light passed through Xu Zihuang's eyes as he strode toward the deck. He had just used his Golden Eye martial soul to observe the surrounding waters and currents.
He realized they had entered deep-sea territory, where powerful sea soul beasts could appear at any moment. It was better for Wang Xiao, as regiment commander, to stay at the center and keep watch. Xu Zihuang had no wish to put everyone at risk over such matters.
"Young Master…" Yu Lao quickly followed, while ordering his subordinates to remain behind and stay alert.
Xu Zihuang's guess was correct. In the past three days, they had already suffered several sea soul beast attacks, some over ten-thousand years old. Fortunately, their strength combined with the ship's powerful soul tools meant there had been no casualties.
On the broad deck, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion soldiers were all in plain clothes. If not for the ever-present aura of killing intent, it would be hard to tell they were an elite force.
When they noticed Xu Zihuang approaching, they all saluted respectfully, though none left their posts.
Wang Xiao, seated atop a wooden crate in the center of the deck, rose to greet him, along with Yao Yang, who stood beside him in luxurious silver robes.
"Young Master."
"Zihuang."
Xu Zihuang nodded warmly to the two of them.
He had many questions, but for now he could only ask them one by one. The greatest doubt weighing on him concerned his second martial soul, the Purple Sovereign Extinguishing Heavenly Dragon. He indeed possessed pure bloodline of that soul, yet he could not explain why his martial soul also bore the Ultimate Lightning attribute.
From his brief time with Yao Yang, he could sense the man's genuine concern for him. And from Yao Yang's closeness with Wang Xiao, he suspected that Yao Yang might share deep ties with his parents.
These matters, not only Yao Yang but also Yu Lao and the soldiers behind him—Xu Zihuang had no intention of hiding them.
These were people absolutely worthy of trust. He had no interest in pretending weakness before them. He wanted to show them—I am a genius!
"Elder Wang, Brother Yang, I want to know if my martial soul's mutation has anything to do with my mother?" Xu Zihuang asked thoughtfully, extending his hands from beneath the black cloak.
His slender, pale left hand gradually became enveloped in a dark violet flame, crystalline as jade. The flame danced in the wind like ordinary fire, but carried a terrifying aura of destruction, as if it could annihilate all life.
Meanwhile, black-violet lightning surged in his right palm, radiating a chilling aura.
So it was true.
Wang Xiao's eyes lit up, and a rare smile broke across his fierce face as he nodded. "Young Master, your martial soul's change is indeed related to Her Highness the Princess Consort."
At those words, Yao Yang also turned his gaze to Wang Xiao.
Could it really be…
He knew nothing of Xu Zihuang's mother, but powerful lightning-attribute martial souls were rare across the continent. To rival the Purple Sovereign Extinguishing Heavenly Dragon, there was likely only that ancient family of Douluo Continent.
Wang Xiao's face grew wistful, and his eyes toward Xu Zihuang turned somewhat bitter.
Since Her Highness the Princess Consort had already fallen, there was no need to keep these matters secret.
"Her Highness the Princess Consort came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—the very clan once hailed ten thousand years ago as the strongest beast martial soul sect in the world."
"What?!" Xu Zihuang looked at Wang Xiao in shock. It made sense, but it still caught him off guard.
Now he finally understood why his mother had never spoken of her origins. The union of his parents must have been unwelcome on both sides.