"Rongrong, you'll be fine."
Dugu Yan clasped her hands to her chest, her face etched with worry.
A Limit Douluo, a true pinnacle existence in this world, with the Dark Devilgod Tiger asleep…
She was very worried, truly worried.
Though Rongrong had said she'd escaped Limit Douluo pursuits multiple times, this was the sea, not land.
With the Dark Devilgod Tiger dormant and part of Ning Rongrong's power unusable…
"Hey, hey, hey, is Sister Yan worried about me?"
A sudden, bell-like voice startled everyone, and they turned toward the deck.
Ning Rongrong stood before them in gothic lolita attire.
"Rongrong!"
With a "whoosh," Dugu Yan rushed over, wrapping her arms tightly around Ning Rongrong.
"Ha?"
Ning Rongrong's body stiffened.
Hey, hey, hey!
Didn't you say you were straight?
You're hugging too tight—I can't breathe!
"Rongrong, I thought I'd never see you again."
Dugu Yan's ragged breathing and soft sobs came from close by.
Ning Rongrong reached out, stroking Dugu Yan's hair, which had turned white after awakening her Misfortune Poison Body.
"I'm back, aren't I?"
"A mere pseudo-demigod Limit Douluo? If I want to run, she can't stop me."
"If only I could help you," Dugu Yan said, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Well, keep working hard!" Ning Rongrong said, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. "You've reached level 78?"
"Yes, just broke through," Dugu Yan nodded.
"Is that so!" Ning Rongrong's slender finger brushed away a tear from Dugu Yan's cheek. "I bet Senior Dugu will be thrilled!"
The atmosphere was peculiar. The others felt something odd between Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan but said nothing.
Maybe Dugu Yan was just overly emotional.
"Rongrong, your clothes." Ning Yun approached, eyeing Ning Rongrong's outfit, which looked straight out of a 2D world, puzzled. "You weren't wearing those before!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Ning Rongrong's face darkened. "You're focusing on something weird! These are Kurumi's clothes. Wait, you're not having weird thoughts about your own sister, are you?"
"No way!" Ning Yun was speechless. "Are you injured? Are you okay?"
"My mental energy is a bit drained," Ning Rongrong said, pushing Dugu Yan away. "Get back to Vast Sea City quickly!"
"Have our people in Vast Sea City prepare to evacuate. After this auction, something might happen."
Though it seemed like Ning Rongrong was changing the subject, Ning Yun frowned and asked, "Anything specific?"
"I'm not sure," Ning Rongrong shook her head. "That Demon Empress is the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's wife."
"She's remotely controlling fish and shrimp to monitor a large area of the sea, but we weren't her target."
"I suspect the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King is severely injured."
"How could that…"
"Let me finish," Ning Rongrong interrupted Ning Yun. "Injured or not, the situation in these waters is delicate. I controlled some soul beasts and extracted bits of information from their minds."
"The Sea Witch clan has gathered a massive number of sea soul beasts."
"Some are loyal to Sea God Island, while others, like the Evil Spirit Orca pods, aren't. The scale is enormous."
"I have reason to suspect they're planning a beast tide."
"Beast… beast tide?"
Ning Yun's brows furrowed, and the others were equally puzzled. Zi Zhenzhu stepped forward, confused. "That shouldn't be! The Evil Spirit Orca pods and the sea soul beasts loyal to Sea God Island are enemies."
Years ago, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect took down a 100,000-year Evil Spirit Orca pod.
But that was just one pod. The sea was vast, with many smaller Evil Spirit Orca groups.
It was well-known that the Evil Spirit Orca pods had a poor relationship with Sea God Island.
"I don't know, but the Sea Witch clan is what brought them together," Ning Rongrong said.
"The Sea Witch…" Zi Zhenzhu frowned. "I recall the Sea Witch among the Seven Sacred Pillars is the clan's leader. Rumor has it the Sea Witch clan left Sea God Island a year ago."
"I don't know their purpose yet," Ning Rongrong sighed, continuing. "That Sea Witch was killed by a Spirit Hall Title Douluo," she said. "Perhaps they hold a grudge against land Soul Masters. In any case, prepare."
"Could their target be the injured Deep Sea Demonic Whale King?" Dugu Yan speculated.
"It's possible," Ning Rongrong said. "But if their target is the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, it would have to be led by Bo Saixi."
"That doesn't feel right, though."
Even Tang Chen and Bo Saixi together couldn't defeat the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.
With Tang Chen absent, Bo Saixi seeking trouble alone would be unwise.
From her conversation with the Demon Empress, Ning Rongrong deduced the Demon Empress had likely met Bo Saixi and Tang Chen.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have mentioned their divine artifact weapons.
But Vast Sea City's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had some conflicts of interest with Sea God Island.
Honestly, Ning Rongrong couldn't be sure their target wasn't her side.
The Sea Witch clan left Sea God Island, reportedly through the Demon Soul Great White Shark's mediation, but the Demon Soul Great White Shark never appeared in that area with the gathered soul beasts.
If something happened, they could likely deflect blame.
"For Tang San?"
Ning Rongrong's mind flashed with "the path to death."
The Star Luo and Heaven Dou war was already suspicious.
Rumors said Star Luo Empire's Empress Zhu Zhuqing was a Soul Emperor—an abnormal situation.
Coupled with matters involving the Rakshasa God's trials, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but suspect many events were orchestrated to cause mass deaths, including this potential sea soul beast tide.
"Tang San, I'll make sure your plans fail."
Her current strength was insufficient.
She likely didn't face bottlenecks like godhood, but she was still wary of the Asura God personally intervening, ignoring God Realm rules.
One shouldn't bet on a god's character. A god choosing Tang San as both Asura and Sea God seemed likely to bend God Realm rules.
"It's time to make arrangements."
"We can't be caught off guard—that'd be big trouble!" Ning Rongrong mused.
She didn't know the state of Tang San's Martial Soul, but his mutated Blue Silver Grass was likely tied to absorbing blood from the dead, referencing the blood-drained corpses at Moon Pavilion.
Tang San had been discreet, and no one but Ning Rongrong noticed.
"In that case, let's see what Xue Ke plans to do."
Speaking of which, Qian Renxue really trusted her.
As they discussed, the Zi Zhenzhu switched to autopilot.
It returned to Vast Sea City quickly and safely, aided by Ning Rongrong's vast perception range.
She easily avoided areas with powerful sea soul beasts.