Chapter 32

Yet the next scene instantly left them stunned.

The few sailors who came aboard immediately tore apart the cabin's wooden planks, their movements fluid, swift, and decisive.

Then each grabbed a plank and jumped into the sea, repairing the vessel at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This level of skill could never be achieved by ordinary sailors.

At minimum, they'd need Water Mastery Level 4 or higher, along with advanced ship repair techniques and knowledge of hull structure.

Natasha's lips parted slightly, her face filled with disbelief.

As for the short one, he was completely paralyzed.

Originally, two ships were towing one, and the fleet behind had already formed a pouch, about to encircle them.

Suddenly, Chen Ping's ship launched a crossbow projectile, striking the mast of a warship to its side with perfect accuracy!

The distance between them was a full three hundred meters!

At that moment, Chen Ping's ship suddenly surged forward.

The sails unfurled, and the stern paddles churned up violent waves.

The ropes tightened with a thudding sound, pulling the other two ships into acceleration.

All the lords who witnessed this drew in sharp breaths.

Lu Fei was utterly stunned, watching helplessly as Chen Ping dragged the two ships through the gap before it could close.

Chen Ping stood on deck, glancing back at the stunned crowd behind him, his expression calm.

He had spent so much time leveling up in the lower layers.

All to prepare for potential crises.

In just this short time, the short one's ship began to rise, its waterline clearly lifted—half the hull had already been repaired.

The speed of all three ships increased again, fully escaping the encirclement.

"Before we understand how Lu Fei managed to gather everyone, we must not rashly engage him in battle."

Chen Ping shouted to Natasha.

Natasha nodded in agreement—she had thought the same.

Seeing Chen Ping remain so calm and composed, she finally felt at ease.

A smile spread across the elf woman's face, like clouds parting to reveal sunlight.

PS. The "Oceanic Romance" dungeon won't last much longer—this is the preparation for the protagonist's true ascent.

39: Each Uses Their Own Methods, Each Applies Their Own Strategy

"Everyone, accelerate!"

"We cannot let them escape!"

Lu Fei issued the order with a furious, ashen face.

Yet no matter how hard their ships pushed, they could never catch up to Chen Ping's trio.

Behind him, the Eyepatch Soul glanced at Chen Ping's ship speed, calculating in his mind.

"Relax, Your Highness. They can't sustain this pace for long."

"We only need to maintain pressure—they'll break under it themselves."

Lu Fei didn't respond, only nodded.

He too believed Chen Ping couldn't last long—human strength has limits; brief bursts only make him more vulnerable.

Yet ten minutes passed…

Twenty minutes passed…

Chen Ping's ship had shrunk to a tiny black dot in their vision…

The Eyepatch Soul was speechless, his face filled with confusion and disbelief.

Instead, their own fleet slowed further, falling farther behind…

"Have you all stopped eating? Chase them!"

Lu Fei spun around, grabbed the Eyepatch Soul by the collar, and erupted in fury.

He then stormed into the lower engine room, kicked open the hatch, and saw several sailors already cramping.

Of the twelve-man engine room, fewer than half remained pedaling.

But they were utterly exhausted, unable to exert any strength…

Seeing this, Lu Fei kicked one sailor so hard he passed out.

He simply couldn't understand—his elite troops were pushing to their absolute limit, yet Chen Ping's side was still moving so fast!

Not just Lu Fei—conditions on all other ships were similar.

Seeing they could no longer catch Chen Ping, everyone reluctantly gave up.

At this moment, mist rose again over the sea, obscuring visibility and making it impossible to locate Chen Ping's group.

All the lords turned to Lu Fei's golden ship, waiting for the prince to devise a solution.

Back on deck, Lu Fei stared at the spreading mist and ordered everyone to gather around him.

Then he pulled out a golden compass from his person.

This compass, brought from his family, could, at the cost of energy, slightly disrupt rule-based forces.

Of course, these rule-based forces could only be those of divine-level entities.

But the introduction to "Oceanic Romance" had stated this place was a divine arena.

So Lu Fei did not touch the highest-dimensional rules—he merely adjusted the divine-added forces to guide everyone toward him.

But each rotation of the compass consumed immense energy.

The royal family had expended vast resources and time to charge it only three times.

Before departure, the limit set for Lu Fei was to use it no more than twice.

Fully draining it would cause irreversible damage to the Golden Luo Pan—something the royal family forbade.

Even as a prince, Lu Fei was no exception—the royal family had more than one prince…

Lu Fei hesitated, weighed his options, then finally tucked the compass away.

He carried it to recruit followers and claim the ultimate reward, not to indulge in petty rivalries.

"Damn brat, I hope you don't cross my path after you leave."

Lu Fei waved his hand, and the fleet turned back.

The rules of the fourth layer were the same: all must pass through nine Life Vortices consecutively to complete this layer's trial.

But after completing all four layers, the ultimate final trial awaited.

That would be the moment Lu Fei would use his second Golden Luo Pan.

Within the mist.

After escaping pursuit, Chen Ping's fleet finally slowed down.

The short one's ship had been fully repaired; though the cabin was dismantled beyond recognition, it could now sail normally.

The sailors returned to their own ships, and the short one stared at them with an utterly bewildered expression.

The three ships drew closer; Natasha brought her soul with her and invited the short one to gather on Chen Ping's vessel.

At such moments, whose ship you stood on meant who held the initiative.

But neither Natasha nor the short one objected.

"Hello, Lord Chen Ping, I'm Natasha, from the Avalor Elf Domain in the South District."

"I'm Huang Qi, from the Three Mountains Domain, a Marquisate in the East District. You're impressive—I accept you."

Natasha and the short one, Huang Qi, introduced themselves.

Though Huang Qi seemed arrogant, after witnessing Chen Ping's abilities, he no longer acted haughtily.

Chen Ping also introduced himself.

He wasn't surprised Natasha knew him—he'd met her in the Knowledge Hall before; she must have left some trace.

Natasha immediately explained to Chen Ping what had transpired.

She also gave him a detailed overview of the current state of "Oceanic Romance."

As members of great families and major lord houses, they knew far more than Chen Ping.

With this added knowledge, Chen Ping finally gained a complete understanding of "Oceanic Romance."

"Major lords forbid any leakage of information about Oceanic Romance. Every common lord who has experienced it is hunted down after leaving."

"You'll receive massive resource subsidies—as long as you keep your mouth shut."