Chapter 325

"Lin Hui, if I were Xu Jingming, I would never choose to give up."

"What's there to fear? It's just a trip abroad. No matter what schemes you throw at me, I'll answer with pure strength."

As the Thunder Martial Arts Gym group debated, the young man from Bear Fury Gym who had spoken earlier chimed in.

Lu Heng, a member of Bear Fury Gym's elite training camp.

Ranked at high fifth-tier mid-level, he was the strongest among all trainees excluding the team leaders.

"Fine, fine, fine, you're the best, alright?" Lin Hui had no desire to argue with him.

He couldn't help muttering silently to himself.

Everyone says Bear Fury Gym folks are brute muscleheads obsessed with body cultivation, only speaking through strength—and now that he saw it, it was true.

"You!"

Lu Heng clearly sensed the condescension in the other's tone; his eyes flared, ready to lash out.

But at that moment, Bear Fury Gym's instructor frowned:

"Fight when you get back to the training camp!"

Conflicts among trainees were normal; they wouldn't stop them.

But this expedition to the ancient civilization ruins was no joke—the risk to life was substantial.

They wouldn't allow any internal fighting to occur.

"Yes!"

Lu Heng gave a slight nod, then sneered at Lin Hui:

"Lin Hui, I'll be waiting for you on the training ground when we get back!"

"Heh, you think I'm afraid of you?" Lin Hui didn't care.

He turned away and started chatting with the others from Thunder Martial Arts Gym.

"The two martial arts gyms seem to be brimming with tension."

Lying on his chair, Xu Jingming couldn't help but murmur in amazement at what he'd witnessed.

Then again,

the two gyms were natural rivals; conflict was only expected.

For martial arts gyms, as long as no one dies, it's healthy competition...

"Mmm~~"

"Mmm~~"

"......"

Time quickly reached nine o'clock; with a low horn blast, the Whale Warship set off on schedule.

Xu Jingming left his chair and stood by the deck railing, watching the churning seawater below.

The ocean teems with marine ferocious beasts; the entire East Sea is essentially a vast marine wilderness!

Yet near human bases, marine ferocious beasts dare not approach—the water looked no different from his past life.

Only after leaving the harbor a distance could one truly witness the ocean's terror.

"Good morning, fellow energy users."

At that moment, a deep voice rang out.

A tall, slender middle-aged man appeared on deck with a group of over ten others.

The lead man continued: "I'm Liang Kuan, captain of the Whale Warship's guard unit.

For this voyage, I ask you all to serve as temporary guard members.

On behalf of all Whale Warship personnel, I sincerely thank you."

"Ship guard unit..." Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes.

Simply from his aura, Liang Kuan was only slightly weaker than his teacher Yang Zhentian.

Clearly, he too was a seventh-tier Grandmaster-level energy user, even bordering on peak.

Those around him were all at least sixth-tier energy users.

This group, anywhere they went, was a formidable force.

Yet now they willingly served as guards on a ship—this alone proved the profits were enormous.

As Xu Jingming knew, the Whale Warship carried a thousand passengers per voyage.

At 300, 00 per ticket, that totaled 300 million!

Not to mention the numerous export goods bound for Sakura Nation—another massive freight revenue.

One voyage earned at least five to six hundred million—absolutely incredible.

Sure, there was some risk to life, but so was entering the wilderness; the difference was negligible.

"Grandmaster Liang, you're too kind—it's merely a small favor."

"Yes, protecting the Whale Warship is protecting our own safety."

For Xu Jingming, who had long interacted with Teacher Yang and Deputy Principal Ling Shuang,

Grandmasters—even Great Grandmasters—were nothing special.

But for ordinary energy users, it was different.

Seventh-tier Grandmasters were usually only seen on news broadcasts.

Now, seeing a seventh-tier Grandmaster lower himself so humbly,

many energy users felt genuinely honored.

"Then thank you all—I'll go inspect the ship."

Liang Kuan nodded with a smile and led his group away.

The Whale Warship soon left the Eastern Pier and entered the East Sea.

"Goo—goo—"

"Wa—wa—"

"......"

At the Eastern Pier, it hadn't felt strange—but as soon as the Whale Warship entered the East Sea,

strange sounds erupted across the ocean, all emitted by marine ferocious beasts.

Unlike the brutal roars of land ferocious beasts, these sounds were eerie.

Some resembled frog croaks; others sounded like infant wails.

More terrifying still, around the Whale Warship,

countless pairs of crimson eyes, like red lanterns, lurked beneath the waves, following the ship's movement.

Crimson eyes weren't unfamiliar to energy users—they'd seen them on land ferocious beasts before.

But to see them stretching across the entire East Sea, dense and unbroken, was genuinely terrifying!

"Whoa, I feel seasick—I think I'll go rest."

"Small world—I feel the same."

"Count me in."

"......"

Many energy users on deck were entering the ocean zone for the first time.

Joining the temporary guard unit was just meant to casually deal with some ferocious beasts.

But facing this scene, they suddenly felt a heavy threat of death.

A few million in pay wasn't worth risking their lives.

Why not let the official guards handle it?

Thus, seeing this, nearly half the energy users on deck left.

"This is what marine ferocious beasts are like!"

Unlike ordinary energy users, Xu Jingming, watching the eyes hidden beneath the waves,

felt no fear—instead, he felt excited.

He didn't even need to use the S-rank supreme technique Thunder God Finger;

just condensing Doushen Thunder into liquid thunderballs and dropping them down—

he imagined how satisfying that would be.

But thoughts were thoughts—he had no intention of acting.

Like land ferocious beasts, marine ones were equally brutal.

They merely held back due to the aura of the Whale Warship's seventh-tier upper Grandmaster.

If he dropped a thunderball and triggered a marine ferocious beast uprising, that would be trouble.

"To be fair, Lu Heng may be dumb, but sometimes he's right:

just the ferocious beasts lurking beneath the waves scared off so many people..."

Seeing half the deck empty, Lin Hui from Thunder Martial Arts Gym shook his head.

But when his gaze fell on Xu Jingming, he paused in surprise:

【97】 "Huh? Why does this guy seem... excited?"