Above the Winding Sea Region, two figures met and smiled at each other. A cough rose from below as the waves churned. Duan Li struggled up from the seabed and made his way toward them. His face was pale, and strands of black energy spread across his skin like worms. He was weakened to the point that it was hard to believe he was an Adept.

"Cough... T-thank you for the warning earlier. Otherwise, I would have died to that sneak attack," Duan Li said in gratitude.

Luo Chen waved it off with a smile. "It's nothing. We were fighting together. It's only natural to warn each other. Just a pity about Fellow Daoist Hao Ye."

As he spoke, he looked at the Angler. The Angler's brows arched, and he sent a thin thread shot into the depths of the sea. Soon, it pulled up a battered corpse. It was Hao Ye's body. His eyes were wide open, filled with unwillingness. Even in death, he could not rest. The three fell silent at the sight. After a while, the Angler stored the corpse along with his belongings in a storage pouch.

"After all, we came here together. Even a rogue cultivator deserves a proper burial. When we get back, I'll make sure he's laid to rest."

Luo Chen glanced at what he was doing. Hao Ye's storage pouch, spirit beast pouch, and flying sword were all taken without hesitation. To walk away with such gains without lifting a hand?

Yet the Angler's greed went beyond what he expected. The man sent out several more threads before their eyes. In no time, the white-robed cultivator's black wooden sword, his storage pouch, and even his corpse were all bound. "Hmm... Azure Yang?"

Luo Chen furrowed his brow and loosened the chains that bound the white-robed cultivator, allowing the Angler to take everything. He did not resist, but Duan Li's expression turned displeased. "Senior, we worked hard to kill this man. Azure Yang contributed the most. How can you just..."

The Angler laughed loudly and waved him off. "I know, I know. But these are the Society's rules. The first assessment tasks are always like this. When you take on official missions as demon hunters, whatever you get is yours to keep."

He patted the bulging storage pouches at his waist. "I'm not keeping any of this for myself, by the way. It'll all be handed over to the Demon Hunter Division and put up for exchange. Since you were involved, you'll get first pick. I'll let you know when the time comes." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

It all sounded reasonable and hard to argue with. Luo Chen said nothing, and Duan Li had no grounds to press further. After a brief pause, he asked cautiously, "Then... I failed this assessment, didn't I? Why am I still included?"

The Angler stroked his gray beard. "Who says you failed?"

"But..." Duan Li glanced at Luo Chen, who remained indifferent.

The Angler explained, "This assessment was taken on by the three of you together. As long as it succeeds, the credit goes to all three. As for the final evaluation... that's for me to decide.

"Azure Yang will be promoted directly as a four-star demon hunter. As for you, Fellow Daoist Duan, you didn't make it all the way until the end, but you still contributed greatly. Once I bring back the Mirage Pearl, the elders will review it and assign you a proper ranking. I can't say how many stars, but you'll definitely get a title."

He produced a round pearl in his hand. The Mirage Pearl was a special enchanted treasure of the Northern Sea that could store images. Its functions were based on Water Mirror, and it was basically a higher-level version of the image-recording artifacts seen elsewhere.

Luo Chen frowned slightly at the sight of the Mirage Pearl. As if reading his thoughts, the Angler said, "Relax. The Demon Hunter Division won't leak any of this. Your abilities will be kept as confidential as possible."

Luo Chen's expression eased a little, though he remained skeptical. The Angler didn't bother saying more. Once they took on such tasks, there were unspoken rules that had to be accepted. Duan Li, on the other hand, coughed a few times and couldn't hold back. "Are we done here? Let's head back. I need to deal with these injuries."

The Angler glanced around. "We can leave anytime... but we'll have to wait for Azure Yang to finish."

At this point, he dropped his smile and looked at Luo Chen. "That should be enough, right?"

Duan Li was confused for a moment, then looked toward the sea, where ghosts were still fighting each other. The white-robed cultivator's banner had become ownerless. Earlier, he had used every ghost within it to form the dark domain. Now that the domain had collapsed, the strange Ghost King had reverted to its original state and tried to flee. Yet it was being fiercely attacked by other Ghost Kings, and pieces of it were being actively torn away. Clearly, those attacking ones belonged to Azure Yang.

Luo Chen nodded and recalled his Myriad Soul Banner. After the battle, not only had it not been damaged, but its ghostly energy had grown stronger—especially the strange Ghost King that had been forcibly captured by Luo Chen's Crab Ghost Kings. "Thank you, Senior."

The Angler smiled and retrieved the damaged banner of the white-robed cultivator. "It's fine. Rules are dead, people are alive. As long as the banner itself is still intact, I can report back. As for how many souls are left... In a fight where two Adepts died, some losses are only natural. Let's go."

With a casual wave, a flying boat appeared beneath them. He gestured toward Duan Li. The man was stunned at first, then showed gratitude and jumped aboard. Clearly, the Angler was deliberately accommodating him due to his injuries; otherwise, a flying boat would not have been necessary.

Luo Chen stepped on as well. Before leaving, he glanced back at the sea that still churned from the battle. A prodigy from a Holy Land and a rogue cultivator who had struggled through countless hardships to form a core had both fallen here. No monument marked the place of their death, and no one would sing a ballad about their exploits in life.

The Angler set the spirit stones in place and poured in his mana. The flying boat shot forward as a streak of light, carrying the three toward the Society's outpost in the Winding Sea Region.

***

Winding Island was the name of the outpost. Four had set out, but only three returned. Xiao Buhuan came out in person to welcome them. Although he was somewhat surprised at Hao Ye's death, he was not shocked. He immediately ordered preparations to activate the teleportation formation. However, the Angler stopped him. "Fellow Daoist Duan Li is badly injured. He is not fit for teleportation right now. Let him rest here for half a month and make sure his condition is stable, and then we can leave."

Duan Li glanced at the Angler with gratitude, then said to Xiao Buhuan, "Sorry for the trouble."

Xiao Buhuan waved his hand. "It is nothing."

However, this made him even more curious about Luo Chen. Three Adepts had taken on the task. One died and one was severely injured, yet this Azure Yang had not one hair out of place. It was clear how capable he was. The urge to befriend him rose at once. "Fellow Daoist Azure Yang, it's not often you come out to sea. You might end up taking on garrison duties here in the future. How about I show you around in the meantime and help you get familiar with the place?"

Luo Chen curled his lips slightly. "Sure. In that case, I will trouble you."

***

And so, Luo Chen and the others settled on Winding Island for the time being. Duan Li focused on his recovery and kept to his quarters. The Angler went out to sea; it seemed that, apart from his inspection duties, he also had other matters to attend to. Whatever it was, he only said he would return in about two weeks and then made himself scarce.

Luo Chen, meanwhile, enjoyed a rare stretch of leisure thanks to Xiao Buhuan's hospitality.

"The three defensive lines each have their own unique features. Take the Flowing Sea Region for instance. The undercurrents there are constantly shifting, and even powerful demonic beasts struggle to cross it. It's easy to lose direction there, so it naturally forms a barrier. As for our Winding Sea Region, its advantage is the countless hidden reefs scattered all across the area. The Society even brought in formation masters from Divine Origin City to set up a grand formation, it's called the Heavenly Vortex Reef Formation. Once it's activated, those reefs shift with it. Everything twists, and the sea churns. It's a top-tier killing formation! Then there's the Encircling Sea Region, the third line of defense. That one's purely defensive. As for how it works..."

That day, Xiao Buhuan brought Luo Chen down onto the surface of the sea. As he explained the unique aspects of the Winding Defensive Line, he used a formation disc to draw up black reefs engraved with strange runes from beneath the sea. The Heavenly Vortex Reef Formation drew on the surrounding terrain and sea veins. It linked several third-tier spirit veins across the region and formed a true fourth-tier offensive formation. Only with such a setup could they block the powerful demonic beasts that broke through the first defensive line.

In peacetime, the area looked calm. But once war began, the intensity here surpassed even the first defensive line. As he spoke, Xiao Buhuan showed a bitter smile. "This garrison duty may look relaxed, but in reality, we live in constant fear."

"Why?" Luo Chen asked curiously.

Xiao Buhuan pointed toward the far north. "Who knows when the demonic beast army trapped in the Heaven of Northern Yama will break free? When that happens, even if no Demon Emperor shows up, the swarm of low-tier demons will sweep into human territory like a tsunami. I don't think the Three Oceans Defensive Line can hold for long."

Luo Chen knew well that the demonic beast army capable of storming the devil sect's stronghold was no trivial force; it was simply comparable to the crab demons and turtles of the Profound Rock Sea Region. Even if their numbers had decreased after the war, they were still strong. Once they broke free, neither the Three Oceans Defensive Line nor the Myriad Immortal Society alone could stop them. Only the entire Northern Sea cultivation world could resist such a force. But in that case, his plan to seek peace and avoid the war between the righteous and the devilish would be ruined. Now it seemed he had simply stepped out of the frypan and into the fire.