Crash—

The tide surged, momentarily tipping the sky.

Sunlight and moonlight could not be seen.

This vast chessboard world seemed like a scroll of unrestricted and unguarded canvas, left for anyone to paint at will—naturally, unless one was a true master, they had no right to wield the brush.

For example, the rattle-drum, like the heaven covering the sea.

For instance, at this moment, the weathered Li Mao, like a true fisherman, stood proudly atop a towering wave, cautiously observing this "ocean."

With a fling of his left hand, a fishing net immediately spread wide, expanding endlessly as if it could reach the ends of the sky, covering the entire body of water. A shake of his right hand and a fish spear with its bent tip snapped straight, its cold glint blinding, before it plunged fiercely into the water!

This fish spear, like water itself, had no fixed form, adapting to every river and lake. Once it entered the water, the infinite power of water elements clung to it, never acting as resistance, only offering all the assistance it could give.

Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li—a ranking where Li Mao was fourth.

The twelve strongest Dao Protectors of the Equality Country, corresponding to the Twelve Earthly Branches.

Among them were four True Men, and eight God Arrives.

He was one of the True Men.

His Dao was very simple, just a single word: "Net."

Yet, this net, the heaven and earth cannot escape!

Every drop of water now lay within the fishing net.

On the other side, Qian Chou, already untied from the fishing line, stood on a lone boat.

The small boat glided over the sea, rising and falling freely amidst stormy waves.

With a congenial smile on his face, he endlessly shook a rattle-drum with his right hand, as if hawking the goods he carried. This child’s toy drum, swelling with the wind, grew louder and larger as the drum’s size increased, the sea grew heavier, and the waves more violent.

A disciple from Diao Hai Building named Bao Song managed to acquire the divine skill known as Heavenly One True Water, where a single drop could transform into rivers, lakes, and seas.

Yet at this moment, Qian Chou presented his offering, casually pulling a rattle-drum to summon lakes and seas. Not a divine skill, yet it far surpassed divine skills. This water was no ordinary water, each drop weighed a hundred pounds. Waves crashing down were heavier than mountains. Even if Bao Song had reached God Arrives, he couldn’t invoke Heavenly One True Water to this extent.

The two True Men joined forces, instantly forming a killing stance.

Shi Mingcheng was within the water, an inexhaustible pressure grinding from all directions.

As the True Man of the Age with the rattle-drum, truly possessing the power of mountains and seas!

He could, of course, sense the world like a net, encaging around him. Clearly, as a "great fish," he was already locked on by the fisherman. Naturally, he understood that the sharp fish spear was unavoidable.

But he simply stood there.

Standing high above, standing in the surge of towering waves, like standing flat on the ground.

At this moment, he did not appear to be facing his enemy, but rather, as a general facing his soldiers.

He was the Nine Soldier Commander of the Military Affairs Hall of the Great Qi Empire!

Even amid forests of swords and spears, flags and banners densely packed, and the courage of thousands, only he could come for inspection!

Faced with the surge, the fish spear, the giant net, he merely flipped his fingers, raising his palm.

An invisible and incorporeal force instantly transformed his surroundings into a vacuum within a one-zhang radius. No water could be seen, nor a wisp of air.

He was in the oppressive sea like hiding inside an integral globe.

At that moment, his defense capability was pushed to the extreme.

No matter how the undertow frantically collided, he remained unmoved.

The sharp fish spear parted the water but was stopped before his body.

The Dao of the Winter Silence Army Commander of the Great Qi Empire, Shi Mingcheng, was the path of "extremes"!

Extreme in strength, extreme in speed, extreme in defense.

With each thought transformation, each must reach the end of this path.

Currently, the entire chessboard world’s sky was swept by the waves.

As turbid waves surged, a fist emerged like an enraged dragon from the water.

It blasted open this sea!

Boom!

Filled with extreme power, the fist struck the rattle-drum, producing an earth-shaking sound. The iron fist, as solid as a mountain, burst through the drum’s surface, and continued forward, taking the broken drum with it.

Amidst the surging waves, Shi Mingcheng stood like a towering giant.

Though burdened with the Dao principles manifested as a fishing net, he forcibly rushed out with it, as if wearing the net as a cloak!

This fish might be netted, but not captured. To whom the net belongs, remains twofold!

Shi Mingcheng’s power clashed crazily with Li Mao’s power on the body surface, the collision of the two Daos never pausing for a moment. Yet his fist had already broken through everything, carrying the rattle-drum, straight to Qian Chou’s face.

He was like a mighty steed, still sprinting while dragging ten thousand pounds of cargo.

His fist moved forward against ten thousand pounds!

At that moment, a hair rope lightly fell—its origin unknown—and tied up Shi Mingcheng’s tousled hair, tidying his appearance, pulling his hair straight upward!

A grooming mirror flipped open in Qian Chou’s hand, erected and shone, reflecting an intense blaze that instantly enveloped Shi Mingcheng.

With just a point underfoot, the small boat darted like a released string, riding the wave away in an instant.

These actions were performed with no trace of smoke or fire, showcasing the demeanor of a Grandmaster, handling heavy tasks with ease.

As someone second only to Zhao Zi among the Dao Protectors of the Equality Country, Qian Chou’s Dao was also his divine skill, known as Hundred Treasures.

The world’s cultivation classic, "Facing Cangwu," described this ability as: "Ten thousand transformations all from me, a hundred machinations labor not!"

Through "Hundred Treasures," Qian Chou could unleash nearly endless variations of abilities, though each treasure’s ability has limits, the combinations provided boundless possibilities.

He could truly be called the most capable True Man in the present world in dealing with complex situations, always able to find the corresponding "solution" to any dilemma.