As Chen Xinjie stared at half of Chen Zeyu's head, he realized that what had happened could not be changed. Other than roaring in anger, there was nothing he could do.
He could only personally oversee the Sea Emperor and escort both the Sea Emperor and the Heavenly Sea back to Douluo Continent.
By the time the Heavenly Sea and the Sea Emperor had docked, news of Shrek Academy's treason had already spread throughout Douluo Continent.
"How despicable! Not only did they lure the Demon Soul Great White Shark King to attack the Far Ocean Vessel, but they also leaked the ship's propulsion system to the Star Luo Empire! Do they even consider themselves part of the Sun-Moon Federation?" someone raged.
"Heh, Shrek City never truly belonged to the Sun-Moon Federation in the first place. When did they ever see themselves as part of the Federation?" another person sneered in anger.
Now, no matter where one went on the continent, voices condemning Shrek Academy could be heard everywhere.
For the past few days, Yali had been negotiating with the Sun-Moon Federation, but to no avail.
The Federation demanded compensation from Shrek Academy for the losses incurred due to the leakage of the Far Ocean's propulsion system. These included the research and development costs of the propulsion system, the losses and military expenses from the Sea God Legion's last failed expedition, the sinking of the Far Ocean, and even the costs of the five-legion expedition.
All these added up to a staggering total of over 800 trillion Federation coins.
At first glance, the Sun-Moon Federation's demands seemed reasonable. However, the key issue was that Shrek Academy simply could not afford such an astronomical sum.
No matter how powerful Shrek Academy was, it was still just an academy.
Its sources of income were nowhere near as abundant as those of the Spirit Pagoda or the Tang Sect.
There was simply no way they could gather such an immense amount of Federation currency.
Even for the Spirit Pagoda and the Tang Sect, paying such a sum would mean near bankruptcy.
Yali had hoped to compensate with other assets, such as Devil's Island.
Unfortunately, the other members of the Sea God's Pavilion strongly opposed the idea.
What they wanted was for the Sun-Moon Federation to downplay the situation and let it pass.
However, this incident was already known to the entire populace. Even if the Sun-Moon Federation's government wanted to cover it up, the citizens would never accept it.
Now, Yali spent her days negotiating with the Federation and her nights trying to persuade the powerhouses of the Sea God's Pavilion.
Yet, the experts of the Sea God's Pavilion refused to take a stance.
They all seemed to be waiting.
"Fine, wait all you want. The army is setting out." After learning about the situation upon disembarking in Skysea City, Chen Xinjie wasted no time. He led the Poseidon Legion out once more toward the Star Luo Empire.
Accompanying them were the other four legions.
"Sigh, senior brother, just let it be. The army is departing—our target is the Star Luo Continent." Central Legion Commander, God-Pen Douluo Yu Guanzhi, glanced at Chen Xinjie before shaking his head helplessly.
In terms of seniority, Yu Guanzhi was a generation younger than Chen Xinjie. However, in terms of status and position, they were equals. In private, he would even call Chen Xinjie "senior brother" because Chen Xinjie's teacher was none other than his own father.
Yu Guanzhi understood Chen Xinjie better than anyone.
He knew why Chen Xinjie had personally escorted the Heavenly Sea and the Sea Emperor. He knew why, the moment they docked, Chen Xinjie immediately set out on another expedition.
He didn't even take time to properly bury Chen Zeyu.
Others might not understand, but Yu Guanzhi did.
The powerhouses of Shrek Academy's Sea God's Pavilion were intentionally delaying negotiations with the Federation regarding the propulsion system leak. They were waiting for Chen Xinjie to return so that Long Yeyue could seek his help.
They wanted to leverage Chen Xinjie's influence in the Federation to minimize Shrek Academy's losses.
Chen Xinjie understood this clearly.
He knew he wouldn't be able to refuse Long Yeyue.
But Chen Zeyu had just died on the Far Ocean. At such a time, how could he bring himself to help Shrek Academy?
Thus, he had simply remained at sea, avoiding the situation entirely.
After all, Long Yeyue couldn't leave the Blood God Legion. If she couldn't come to him personally, then as long as he stayed out of contact, there was nothing she could do.
"You don't need to say anything. The issue of Shrek Academy leaking the propulsion system is a matter for politicians and Shrek Academy to resolve. Our only responsibility is to fight this war." Standing on the deck, Chen Xinjie looked at the vast fleet and thought to himself, If Long Yeyue ever blames me, I'll just pretend I knew nothing about it.
"What's the situation with the Tianhu Domain?" Chen Xinjie turned to Yu Guanzhi.
"Their conditions are a bit harsh, but still within acceptable limits. The Federation has agreed to their terms. However, the Federation also intends to create some trouble for the Tianhu Domain to ensure they don't become a future threat," Yu Guanzhi replied, gazing at the sea.
"Just as I expected. With our military strength, aside from the unpredictable 'Heaven' factor in the Tianhu Domain, it would be easy to wipe out both the Tianhu Domain and the Star Luo Empire. But managing the conquered territories would require a large military presence. If the Tianhu Domain gets involved, we can save a lot of manpower," Chen Xinjie scoffed. "Let's see how the Star Luo Empire plans to handle this."
This time, the entire fleet had upgraded propulsion systems. With all five legions advancing together in a coordinated amphibious assault, Chen Xinjie refused to believe the Star Luo Empire could counter them.
"The army moves slower as a whole compared to a single warship, but at most, we'll land in three months," Yu Guanzhi said, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
If they won this battle, they would be the heroes who unified the Douluo Plane, their names immortalized in history.
Bang!
Inside the Blood God Legion, Long Yeyue furiously smashed her soul communicator on the ground.
"You're deliberately avoiding me, aren't you? Fine! I'd like to see how long you can keep hiding!" Long Yeyue was seething with rage. She couldn't believe Chen Xinjie actually dared to avoid her.
Was this still the same Chen Xinjie who once obeyed her without question, no matter right or wrong, regardless of his beliefs?
"No, I can't let this happen. Shrek Academy needs me right now. Perhaps I should offer him some incentive." Long Yeyue muttered to herself, slowly calming down.
"This is all Xia Yi's fault! Because of him, I'm trapped in the Blood God Legion!" She then thought of Xia Yi, making her even angrier. "I waited faithfully for Chen Xinjie for over a century and still failed to obtain the Lovesick Heartbroken Red. And now this shameless Xia Yi thinks he can take it? Ridiculous! Hmph, men are all unreliable!"
Back on Douluo Continent, Xia Yi didn't involve himself in the negotiations between Shrek Academy and the Star Luo Empire. Instead, he immediately contacted the Tang Sect.
He hadn't forgotten the Lovesick Heartbroken Red that the Tang Sect had promised him. More importantly, he was eager for the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
"You're really going to pick the Lovesick Heartbroken Red?" Upon hearing this, Yali left Shrek Academy's mess behind to try and dissuade him.
She had a good impression of Xia Yi, but she never believed he could succeed in plucking the Lovesick Heartbroken Red.
"Why not give it a shot?" Xia Yi chuckled, curious to see if the legendary flower was truly as miraculous as Yali claimed.
"In that case, I'll go with you." Yali took a deep breath.
She knew the Tang Sect had ulterior motives, and Xia Yi was definitely prepared for them.
If she didn't intervene, the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well might become the battlefield between Xia Yi and the Tang Sect.
She was certain that the only person who could make the Tang Sect restrain themselves was her.
No matter what, she had to go along.
"How did you find out that I was going to pick the Lovesick Heartbroken Red?" Xia Yi asked curiously. He didn't believe that the Tang Sect would tell Ya Li about this matter.
"It was Sister Yaozhu who asked me to look after you," Ya Li replied.
"Zhu'er, huh?" Xia Yi chuckled.
Leng Yaozhu had evidently also anticipated that the Tang Sect might try to make a move against Xia Yi at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Others assumed that Xia Yi had a spatial teleportation ability, allowing him to summon Leng Yaozhu to his side at any time. But Leng Yaozhu had already realized that what Xia Yi was summoning was merely a dream projection.
This made her extremely worried about his situation. Having no other choice, she turned to Ya Li for help.
"Suit yourself. As long as the Tang Sect agrees, you can come along if you want," Xia Yi said indifferently. His primary goal in picking the Lovesick Heartbroken Red this time was to determine the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He had no intention of causing trouble.
Whether Ya Li accompanied him or not didn't make much of a difference.