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Xiao Bai's speed as she streaked through the ocean was more than twice that of Su Wen's Pioneer. Furthermore, her movements were essentially linear; unlike Su Wen and his crew, who had to constantly navigate around obstacles and follow specific maritime currents even while on a set course, Xiao Bai cut directly through the brine.
By Su Wen's estimation, if Xiao Bai were to carry them back to the main continent, they would likely arrive in less than a month.
"Xiao Bai, you should be aware of the existence of the other continent, right?" Su Wen asked, perched upon the shark's broad back.
Xiao Bai replied naturally, "Of course. Although we Demon Spirit Great White Sharks live in the deep sea and don't venture near the coasts, the fact that there are two major continents is common knowledge to us."
To her, "deep sea" was a concept defined by its distance from land; the vast oceanic regions were naturally categorized by the continents they bordered.
"Then, do you know the safe route to the Sun Moon Continent?" Su Wen inquired.
Even though he was only on the first trial of the Seagod's Nine Tests, Su Wen had already realized the general trajectory of his future assessments. The first trial mentioned the "First Step of Pioneering," which implied there would be a second and third step. Consequently, a journey to the Sun Moon Continent was inevitable.
While he possessed navigation charts obtained from Spirit Hall, even their records contained many "uncertain" sea regions where the risks were poorly documented. This lack of reliable intelligence was a primary reason why Spirit Hall rarely visited the Sun Moon Continent and had never made its existence public. By asking Xiao Bai, Su Wen hoped to obtain a more complete route and a detailed distribution of the dangers lurking in the abyss.
"When you're ready to go, just call me! I can take you there myself," Xiao Bai offered enthusiastically. She had no qualms about volunteering for the task of transporting him across the world.
Su Wen wasn't particularly surprised by her fervor. Even for a powerful beast like Xiao Bai, carrying humans across the ocean was a tedious chore—the journey from Seagod Island to the Sun Moon Continent could easily take one or two months. This current mission was only expected to take three or four days, and she had only agreed because of the Seagod's involvement.
However, the fact that she was volunteering for such a grueling future task was a sign of "forward investment." Having followed the Seagod, she had likely seen trials similar to Su Wen's God-level Nine Tests before. She had deduced his potential and was securing a friendly relationship early.
"By the way, Xiao Bai," Su Wen suddenly remembered something else, "besides the Sun Moon Continent, are there any other large landmasses or significant islands in this ocean?"
Xiao Bai paused, reflecting deeply for a long moment before speaking slowly. "There are. But when you say 'large islands,' what scale are we talking about?"
"Roughly double the size of Seagod Island, for example," Su Wen suggested.
"Such islands—or perhaps 'mini-continents'—do exist. There are three of them, in fact. However, Lord Seagod has strictly forbidden us from approaching them."
Su Wen was stunned. He hadn't expected such a specific answer. Why three? And why did the Seagod forbid the Great White Sharks from going near them?
He turned to look at Sea Dragon Douluo and noticed that the older man seemed to be aware of this as well.
"Lord Seagod issued instructions through the High Priestess," Sea Dragon Douluo explained. "We are not to approach those three mini-continents. While there is a standard level of awareness regarding the Sun Moon and Douluo Continents, the distance and the ocean make communication inconvenient..."
It wasn't that Seagod Island intentionally cut itself off from the world out of spite; it was a matter of necessity. While they were willing to communicate with the high-level powers of the main continent, the logistical difficulties made frequent contact impossible. Furthermore, Seagod Island preferred a peaceful existence and didn't wish to fully integrate with the outside world.
"Xiao Bai, what are those three landmasses like?" Su Wen pressed for more information.
"Two are relatively large; you could call them continents. The smaller one doesn't quite earn that title—it's more of an island," Xiao Bai corrected him.
Su Wen's mind began to race with theories. The two larger ones were likely the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Continents of the later Federation era.
"I don't know the specific distribution of races or Spirit Beasts on those two mini-continents because we dare not get close," Xiao Bai continued. "However, I can sense that they don't seem particularly dangerous. They feel similar to ordinary islands or the two main continents."
She paused, her tone turning solemn. "But that third one—the 'Forbidden Island'—is utterly bizarre. Even our perception of its existence is blurred. We only know an island is there, but we cannot sense any details. Since Lord Seagod forbade us from approaching, we know nothing of its true nature."
Su Wen listened to her explanation, his thoughts flickering like sparks.
"Xiao Bai, if we pass any islands with Spirit Master populations along the way, please stop for a moment."
"Understood."
Su Wen remembered his goal of spreading "Faith" across the entire Douluo Star. He intended to use this trip to establish branch divisions of his Academy on various islands. What was originally meant to be a journey of a few days suddenly became much longer due to his additional requests.
Neither Zhan Tian Douluo nor Sea Dragon Douluo objected. As they traveled through the vast ocean, they were also gaining their own insights. With the aid of Su Wen's Visualization Method and their own formidable strength, they could face the various natural disasters of the sea head-on, allowing their mental images of the ocean's essence to mature.
Sea Dragon Douluo, in particular, showed the most significant progress. Previously, his strongest moves were his self-created Spirit Skills—desperation moves that required sacrificing himself. Other than those, he only possessed his innate domain: the Magic-Breaking Domain.
The Magic-Breaking Domain merely neutralized an opponent's domain, dragging the enemy down to his level rather than elevating his own strength. He hadn't mastered any other offensive domains. Now, with Su Wen's help, he was sensing the "Concept of the Ocean." His Magic-Breaking Domain was evolving. To be precise, he wasn't just refining his old domain; he was using it as a foundation to construct a second one: the Sea Dragon Domain.
Two months later.
Across the boundless blue, three figures streaked forward, flanking a massive dorsal fin. Beneath the surface, the white silhouette of the ocean's overlord—the Demon Spirit Great White Shark—cut through the water.
"Get ready," Xiao Bai warned. "The Bloodthirsty Great Shark is active in the waters just ahead."
Two more Demon Spirit Great White Sharks appeared ahead of them. While smaller than Xiao Bai, they were still gargantuan. Su Wen estimated their cultivation levels to be around seventy thousand and ninety thousand years, respectively.
The three men separated to ride the three sharks. Su Wen remained on Xiao Bai's back, Sea Dragon Douluo moved to the ninety-thousand-year shark, and Zhan Tian Douluo took the seventy-thousand-year one.
(End of Chapter)