The crowd dispersed.
Yes.
The Rank Eight and Rank Nine ability users who had gathered in Life Island's grand plaza left in waves, one group after another.
Each more "hurried" than the last.
As if being a moment late would cost them thousands—no, tens of thousands—of billions.
Every one of them left in a rush.
And on every face—
Excitement.
Ecstasy.
Life City was only a Rank Seven ruin.
But in terms of value, among all the ruins humanity had discovered in the Endless Sea, it ranked at the very top.
A new entrance to Life City—
The value of that was beyond temptation.
That was why everyone left Life Island so quickly.
Wealth moves the heart.
They desperately wanted to find Zhao Xuan.
But more importantly—
They wanted to be the only ones to find Zhao Xuan.
In other words, they wanted to locate him before anyone else.
Because only then could they become the second force, besides Life Island, to control access to Life City.
And only then could they reap the greatest benefits.
The moment they left Life Island, experts from every nation, every organization, every faction activated portable space gates without hesitation, rushing back to their headquarters to mobilize their full forces to search the entire New World for Zhao Xuan.
Meanwhile—
On Life Island.
The seven Ninth-Rank Emperors gathered together.
Every face was grim.
Clouded with killing intent.
"We must kill that brat. We have to kill him before anyone else finds him. Otherwise…"
One Emperor's expression darkened further as he spoke.
"The problem is—we don't know where he is," another said coldly.
"I've already had people investigate," one replied. "Based on current intelligence, there's a high probability Zhao Xuan is still in the first half of the Endless Sea—the Paradise Sea."
The others frowned.
"How can you be so certain?"
"The information shows that Zhao Xuan disappeared while eliminating a cult in Jiuzhou. He likely used a space gate to reach the Endless Sea."
"But between the first half and the New World lies the chaotic storm belt. Spatial energy there is too unstable. Even a Ninth-Rank space user cannot send someone directly from the continent into the New World."
"With his Rank Six strength, he couldn't possibly cross the storm belt alone. He would have needed a ship protected by a Ninth-Rank Emperor."
"And if he had entered the New World that way, news of a Rank Six ability user arriving would have spread immediately."
"Therefore, there's a more than ninety percent chance he's still in the Paradise Sea."
The others' eyes flickered.
They nodded.
"Reasonable."
"In that case, we must depart immediately for the Paradise Sea. If we can deduce this, so can others. Time is short."
A female Emperor named Shivier stood up abruptly.
"Not yet," the previous speaker said calmly. "The Paradise Sea is vast. With what we know, searching blindly would be like finding a needle in the ocean. Worse, we'd alert others who haven't yet realized Zhao Xuan is in the Paradise Sea rather than the New World."
Shivier frowned. "Then what do we do?"
"Simple."
"I've already transferred three hundred billion Life Energy to Toroi. He was already half a step into Ninth Rank. With this, he should break through very soon."
"Once he advances, we can use his Paramecia Divination Fruit to precisely locate Zhao Xuan."
Their expressions immediately improved.
"How long?" Shivier asked.
"Fastest, five hours. Slowest, two days."
"Too slow!" she snapped. "There are many divination fruit users across the sea, including Ninth-Ranks. Once word spreads, we'll lose the advantage. We don't have time."
Her gaze swept across the room.
"I propose sending another three hundred billion. With six hundred billion, Toroi's breakthrough time should be cut in half."
Silence fell.
Three seconds later—
"I agree."
"Seconded."
"Time waits for no one."
And so—
Toroi, who was in the midst of breaking through, received another three hundred billion Life Energy.
Time passed.
Ten minutes.
Thirty minutes.
An hour.
An hour and a half later—
BOOM!
A terrifying aura erupted skyward.
"He's done it!"
"Excellent!"
Outside the cultivation chamber, the seven Ninth-Rank Emperors all exhaled in relief.
Excitement surfaced on their faces.
And beneath it—
Cold, dense killing intent.
Very soon—
A specially constructed warship departed Life Island, carrying three Ninth-Rank Emperors, including the newly advanced Toroi, heading straight for the Paradise Sea.
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