C540 The Ocean Palace

Back on the dragon boat, a new journey began. This time, it felt longer than usual. It took about half an hour before anyone noticed a shadow on the horizon where the sea met the sky.

Except for Woo Zhengyang, no one paid much attention to the shadow. They were used to minding their own business.

"Wait, why isn't it the usual thatched hut this time?" someone suddenly exclaimed after a few minutes.

In the past, once the outline of the thatched hut appeared, the dragon boat would quickly reach it. But this time, the shadow remained distant, only slightly larger than before. This meant the shadow was much bigger than the usual hut, or it wouldn't be visible so early.

After about fifteen minutes, the shadow finally took shape, though it was still unclear. One thing was certain: it wasn't the thatched hut. Woo Zhengyang's domineering ways seemed to have come to an end.

However, a new concern arose. Would Woo Zhengyang try to monopolize this opportunity too? If he continued to be so overbearing, would Yu Wenqing just stand by?

Yann Xinjue glanced at Fong Zhiyuan, and they began to communicate silently...

The newly appeared shadow was unimaginably large. Even at the dragon boat's speed, it took half an hour for everyone to finally see what it was: a magnificent palace!

The palace was entirely a water-blue color, matching the sea below, towering majestically. It seemed like a palace built from the sea itself. The closer they got, the more they realized how massive it was, far larger than any mountain.

After another half-hour of travel, they approached the palace and discovered their earlier assumptions were wrong. It wasn't just a palace that looked like it was made of seawater; it truly was constructed from it. From a distance, you could even see the water flowing upwards, forming the base, the walls, and the towers.

Despite being made of water, the palace had a defined shape. The eaves and corners were distinct, and you could even make out intricate carvings and the lines between the bricks. Yet, Woo Zhengyang felt something was off.

"Why doesn't this palace have a main gate? How do we get inside?" someone exclaimed, voicing what Woo Zhengyang was pondering.

The palace walls alone were hundreds of feet high, stretching beyond sight on either side, yet there wasn't a single entrance. Without a door, how could they enter?

"We're not just going to charge in, are we? This water..." someone said nervously.

They had witnessed Liang Siyu being knocked into the sea by Woo Zhengyang, instantly swallowed by the water. It was like a monstrous beast made of seawater had devoured him. Now, seeing the palace made of the same water, they couldn't help but wonder if all the water was a man-eating beast.

It turned out he was overthinking it.

As the group approached the palace, just a few dozen feet away, the swiftly moving dragon boat came to an abrupt halt. Caught off guard, Woo Zhengyang and the others were thrown off the boat...

Instead of the dragon boat crashing into the palace, it stopped, and the people were sent flying in!

This was typical of the world’s creator, always devising elaborate trials for the challengers...

Thrown into the air, everyone was shocked, but with nothing to grab onto, they had no way to stop their forward momentum.

Woo Zhengyang could have used his sword to fly, but he decided against it for now. If people discovered he could fly with his sword, it would only make things more complicated for him, already a target of attention.

According to the habits of this world’s creator, the more they tried to trick you, the less dangerous it usually was, so Woo Zhengyang quickly calmed down.

“Smack...”

A sharp sound echoed as the first person made contact with the water palace, followed by a cry of pain.

Hearing the sound, Woo Zhengyang felt reassured. If the water was problematic like before, there wouldn’t have been any sound; it would have just swallowed the person.

As for the sharp sound and the cries...

“Smack...”

Two more people collided...

Like the first, these two also let out a muffled groan!

Woo Zhengyang quickly formed a protective shield around himself, noticing that the person in front had clearly been caught off guard. Just as the shield took shape, Woo Zhengyang crashed into the seawater palace, and the newly formed shield shattered instantly.

He felt grateful for his quick reflexes. The palace looked like flowing seawater, yet it was incredibly solid. The dragon boat had sped up deliberately, throwing them with great force. Without that shield, he might have been seriously hurt.

Woo Zhengyang noticed that, besides himself, only Yu Wenqing reacted quickly enough to create a shield. The others didn’t have time to respond and ended up plastered against the seawater walls, groaning in pain.

With a slight smile, Woo Zhengyang stood up, and Yu Wenqing did the same almost simultaneously. They exchanged glances, then looked behind them, filled with disbelief.

They had actually managed to stand up! They were on the wall of the seawater palace, after all. Yet, here they were, standing on the slowly flowing seawater, just like they had seen before.

Behind them lay the ocean, with the colorful dragon boat gradually disappearing from view.

In Woo Zhengyang's eyes, the ocean now seemed more like a wall, with the dragon boats appearing as decorations hanging on it.

"What’s going on...?"

"Are we standing sideways? But why does it feel just like normal...?"

The other five had also risen, filled with wonder. With their skills, they could walk parallel up trees or walls, but gravity was always unavoidable. Yet here, everything defied their understanding. The sky was in front, the ocean behind, but gravity still held them to the ground as if they were on flat land.

After a brief moment of astonishment, one of the young men was the first to react, sprinting toward the direction of the sky. There, not only was the sky visible, but there might also be the entrance to this sea palace. Such a magical place surely held extraordinary opportunities, and that was likely where they were.

With someone leading the way, the others naturally didn’t want to be left behind and quickly followed. In no time, only Yu Wenqing remained in front of Woo Zhengyang.

"Shall we go check it out together?" Yu Wenqing suggested with a light smile.

Woo Zhengyang found Yu Wenqing hard to read. Earlier, Woo Zhengyang had claimed nine straw huts for himself. Even though the items inside were of no use, Yu Wenqing shouldn’t have known that, yet he never seemed inclined to stop him.

Such a person is either uninterested in competing with others or is incredibly deep and calculating. The time they spent together was brief, so Woo Zhengyang couldn't determine which category Yu Wenqing fell into. However, since Yu Wenqing had spoken up, Woo Zhengyang was willing to agree. With that, the two of them headed in the direction of the sky...

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