Soto City lay in the southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, at least a month's journey away from the nearest coastal metropolis, Vast Sea City. Of course, for this trip, wasting most of their time on the road was out of the question.
So, after leaving Soto City, the group directly used their soul power to travel. In just one week, they arrived at Vast Sea City.
On the way, when Ma Hongjun and Oscar couldn't keep up with the speed of these teachers—each at least Soul Emperor level—their respective teachers simply carried them along. Flender carried Ma Hongjun, while Gai Yue carried Oscar.
Although the journey was long and tiring, once they reached Vast Sea City, everyone booked a luxurious hotel and rested for two days. After preparing all necessary supplies for their voyage, they finally set out to sea.
This time, their target was to hunt powerful whale-type sea soul beasts capable of producing whale glue. To do this, they spent ten thousand gold soul coins on a small steamer, which came fully equipped with offensive and defensive weaponry as well as modern facilities.
They also purchased several soul tools, large and small. In total, nearly half of the fortune Shao Xin and Oscar had earned over the past three years by auctioning sugar beans and sausages was spent.
Still, this was necessary—after all, the voyage was expected to last at least two months. To ensure nothing went wrong midway, such an investment was worthwhile.
Beforehand, Flender and the others had carefully studied the distribution and strength of sea soul beasts, making detailed plans. All they had to do now was reach the designated hunting grounds.
Once they found suitable whale-type soul beasts, they would launch their hunt.
Of course, there were certain forbidden areas they dared not enter—such as the domain of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, the overlord of the deep, or the territory of the Evil Orca King clan, both of which harbored terrifying, hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts.
Before setting out, Flender even hired a captain and three sailors. Since the steamer was semi-automatic, it didn't require too many crew members. And given his desire to avoid drawing attention, the fewer people involved, the better.
Two days later, after their rest, the group departed by ship.
Whale-type sea soul beasts usually inhabited the deeper seas. It took them a full week to reach the first designated location.
During that week, they encountered many sea soul beasts, but none met their requirements, leaving them empty-handed so far.
Now, however, having reached their first planned hunting ground, they were confident they would finally gain something.
According to records, a clan of deep-sea blue whales lived in this region. The group was said to consist of more than fifty individuals, led by a head whale of at least ten thousand years' cultivation.
Upon arriving, Flender took on the role of scout. With his owl martial spirit granting flight and keen eyesight, he searched for signs of the whales. If conditions looked favorable, the rest of Shrek's party would follow and strike with overwhelming force.
Now at nearly seventy-sixth rank, Flender quickly found their trail within three days.
He even provoked the whales into counterattacking to test their strength before retreating to the ship with his findings.
According to Flender's report, the pod numbered forty-one whales. Their leader had cultivated for over twenty-three thousand years.
In addition to this leader, there were three other ten-thousand-year individuals. Fifteen more were at least five-thousand-year-level, and the remaining twenty-two were under five thousand.
Flender compared this strength with their own. He was confident he could handle the leader alone. Although sea soul beasts were stronger in water than land beasts, his owl spirit's suppression of marine creatures gave him the edge.
The three other ten-thousand-year whales could be matched against Zhao Wuji, Lu Qibin, and Li Yusong. Zhao Wuji, at nearly seventy-fifth rank, would have no trouble with a ten-thousand-year opponent. Lu Qibin and Li Yusong might not win in a fair duel, but with Shao Xin's sugar beans providing buffs, they would at least hold their ground.
As for the dozens of lesser whales, Gai Yue alone was more than enough. Not only was he a rank eighty-two Contra, his Frostmoon Sword possessed a potent ice attribute.
With that attribute, he could turn the battlefield conditions of the sea to his advantage.
Their plan was simple—divide and conquer. Thanks to Gai Yue's ability to split the battlefield, the whales could be separated and defeated one by one.
Otherwise, if the pod attacked together, the fight would be far riskier on the whales' home turf.
With the plan set, they moved immediately.
For nearly two months prior, Shao Xin had been crafting soul skill sugar beans, and Oscar had produced plenty of sausages. Their logistics were fully prepared.
Given the strength of this enemy, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Shao Xin were not needed in combat—if they joined, Flender and the others would be forced to protect them.
Still, Oscar wanted to witness such a battle among the strong. He decided to bring the ship close to the battlefield and observe secretly.
If things went wrong, they could immediately turn and flee. The ship's maneuverability at sea was reliable enough.
As for the hired captain and sailors, they would hide in the control room and, at the first sign of trouble, take the ship to safety.
Oscar admitted he was tempted to fight, but he also understood reality. Over the past two months, his soul power had advanced another level, reaching rank twenty-four.
But with his current strength, the most he could handle was a hundred-year sea soul beast. Against a pod of this scale, all he could do was focus on growing stronger quietly.
With the target confirmed, the ship sailed within a thousand meters of the whales' territory before stopping at a small island. Flender, Gai Yue, and the others rose into the air and sped toward the pod.
Although none of them were Title Douluo, all were at least Soul Emperor level or higher. With such deep soul power, running short distances over the sea was no problem.
But they didn't need to.
For beneath their feet was a massive sword—Gai Yue's Frostmoon Sword.
While he could not yet be called a Sword Immortal, the sight was no less awe-inspiring. With a thought, he summoned his Frostmoon Sword martial spirit, and under his control, it expanded to a full ten meters long.
The group stood atop it as he flew them forward.
This was not his Martial Spirit Avatar, merely a giant sword formed by channeling his ice-attribute soul power through Frostmoon Sword. The soul power cost was negligible.