Dominator Emperor

Time flowed on. Four hours passed, yet Li Qiye remained motionless, his eyes still fixed on the surface of the sea. After a full four hours with absolutely no movement from him, just staring at the water, Peng Zhuang and the others were starting to get restless.

Peng Zhuang was about to ask Li Qiye what was going on, but Qiu Rong Wanxue gave the Sixth Minors a subtle shake of her hand, signaling them not to disturb him. Only then did the six calm down, hold their breath, and continue to watch the sea.

"Nets down!" Just as the Sixth Minors focused back on the sea, Li Qiye suddenly roared. He moved like a flash of lightning, instantly casting his net.

Qiu Rong Wanxue and the Sixth Minors didn't dare to hesitate, casting their own nets into the sea with all possible speed.

"Pull them in! Quickly!" The nets had barely hit the water when Li Qiye shouted again. At the same time, he was already hauling his own net back in.

SPLASH! Qiu Rong Wanxue and the young disciples instantly hauled in their nets. As the nets broke the surface, they were all left dumbstruck. A brilliant light illuminated the sea as if it were day, as if a sun were rising from within their nets.

The nets in their hands were incredibly heavy. Inside, countless finger-sized Night Sun Fish thrashed and leaped, a frenzied mass threatening to burst from the mesh.

They had never seen so many Night Sun Fish in one go. A single cast yielding such a haul was enough to give someone a heart attack. It wasn't just them; any outsider who witnessed this would have been scared to death.

"Get the fish secured!" Even Qiu Rong Wanxue was too stunned to move. Only when Li Qiye's voice rang in her ear did she finally snap out of it and immediately begin securing the catch.

The Sixth Minors came to their senses and scrambled to secure their own fish, their hands trembling with such excitement that their movements were clumsy. As the Clan Leader, Qiu Rong Wanxue was normally a composed person, but even she couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement, her face flushing red. For her, this was simply too incredible to believe.

"Oh my god, I... I... I got eighty-six of them!" After everyone had secured their Night Sun Fish, one of the disciples counted his haul and cried out in excitement.

"I-I got a hundred and seven!" The only female disciple in the group leaped for joy. Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around Li Qiye and planted an excited kiss on his cheek, exclaiming, "Brother Li, you're incredible!"

"Why, I do believe you're taking liberties with me," Li Qiye said with a grin, shaking his head.

This caused the female disciple to let go of him in a fit of blushing embarrassment, though she was still bursting with excitement on the inside.

"What's a little kiss between friends?" Peng Zhuang added with a mischievous grin. "If Brother Li wants me to give you a peck, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

The other disciples all snickered, looking like they were about to swarm forward and kiss Li Qiye too. Li Qiye shook his head and said, "I'll pass on the men, but any ladies are welcome to come give me a kiss. How about it, Qiurong Clan Leader? Would you like to come up and give me one? I wouldn't mind."

Peng Zhuang and the others were nowhere near as bold as Li Qiye. They didn't dare say a word, pretending not to have heard anything as they suddenly found the scenery in the other direction fascinating.

Qiu Rong Wanxue's face flushed red. She shook her head and said, "I'll pass—" 'She couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Li Qiye had been so well-behaved recently, and now he dared to tease her. This little brat was getting way too bold.'

"Well, if you're going to pass up the opportunity, then so be it," Li Qiye said with a beaming smile.

Li Qiye's words only made Qiu Rong Wanxue more irritated. 'This Little Ghost actually dares to tease me! How infuriating! As the Clan Leader, she held a position of great authority within the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan. How could she not be angry about being teased by a mere kid?'

As for Peng Zhuang and the Sixth Minors, they were still immersed in their excitement. After a while, Peng Zhuang couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. "Brother Li, how in the world did you know where to find the Night Sun Fish? This is unbelievable!"

"Instinct. Just instinct, that's all," Li Qiye said with a gentle smile. "I'm not sure how, but after spending a dozen or so days on the Night Sea, I suddenly developed a gut feeling for it. It's like I can sense where the Night Sun Fish are."

"For real?" Hearing this, the Sixth Minors were skeptical. Why hadn't they developed a similar instinct?

Li Qiye chuckled. "Why would I lie to you? I've had a particularly sensitive intuition since I was a child. If I stay in one place long enough, I can start to sense things."

"So you were born with it!" The Sixth Minors found this explanation plausible. How else could one explain his ability to sense the Night Sun Fish?

Compared to the younger disciples, however, Qiu Rong Wanxue, as their Clan Leader, wasn't so quick to believe Li Qiye's words. Her position came with a different level of experience and insight.

'She didn't really believe this story about instinct. She felt that Li Qiye was hiding some secret. At the same time, she was deeply puzzled. How did Li Qiye know the exact time and place the Night Sun Fish would appear?'

Qiu Rong Wanxue studied Li Qiye, hoping to see through him, to glean something more. But no matter how she looked, she could not find a single clue.

"Let's go," Li Qiye said to the group, his gaze on the calm, waveless Night Sea. At his direction, the Ferryman slowly rowed the Ferry Boat away, and they gradually disappeared into the vast sea.

In the days that followed, Li Qiye led them to new fishing grounds time and time again. Each time they moved, they brought in another massive haul. It seemed that in this mysterious sea, nothing could escape his eyes.

Peng Zhuang and the Sixth Minors were completely swept up in the excitement. To them, Li Qiye's instinct was simply magical. They lamented that such an ability was a unique, inborn talent; otherwise, they would all be desperate to learn it.

Unlike the exuberant youths, the daily bumper harvests only increased Qiu Rong Wanxue's doubts. She was less and less convinced that this was mere "instinct." She was certain there was a reason behind it, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it was.

By this point, though Qiu Rong Wanxue was still amazed by the sheer volume of their catch, her excitement and disbelief were now tinged with a growing sense of wariness.

'She began to wonder. Who was Li Qiye, really? And why was he traveling with them? With his ability to catch so many Night Sun Fish on his own, he had absolutely no reason to stick with their group.'

'A person with his skills, capable of accurately predicting where the Night Sun Fish would appear, would be treated as a guest of honor if he offered his services to an Emperor Immortal Gate.'

'And yet, here he was, with them. This led Qiu Rong Wanxue to speculate. She desperately wanted to know what his real motive was for accompanying them.'

'Logically, they had nothing he could possibly covet. Their Snow Shadow Ghost Clan was just a minor clan. They possessed no World-shocking Treasures, nor did they have any Unparalleled Skills.'

'Qiu Rong Wanxue thought it over carefully. It seemed there was truly nothing the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan had that would be worth his attention. If he were to invest the same energy in a Great Teaching Territory or an Emperor Immortal Gate, his rewards would surely be far greater.'

This was the great mystery in Qiu Rong Wanxue's mind, a question just as pressing as how Li Qiye could so magically predict the location of the Night Sun Fish.

"If the Night Sun Fish are this easy to catch, why don't the residents of Fengdu City come and get them?" Peng Zhuang wondered aloud after another massive haul.

Qiu Rong Wanxue said with a serious expression, "Since when are Night Sun Fish easy to catch? This is all thanks to Young Master Li, understand?" Despite her many doubts about him, Li Qiye had brought them such immense benefits, and she was a person who remembered a debt of gratitude.

"Heh heh, I was just talking." Peng Zhuang, being frank and impulsive, quickly turned to Li Qiye with a smile. "Brother Li, why don't you join our Snow Shadow Race? I mean, we don't have any other members of the Human Race, but I'm sure the Clan Leader and the Elders would welcome you with open arms."

"Peng Zhuang, don't speak nonsense," Qiu Rong Wanxue said in a stern voice. Although she was only in her thirties, as Clan Leader, she commanded great authority within the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan.

At her words, Peng Zhuang immediately dropped the topic. He stuck out his tongue and shut his mouth.

However, the only female disciple among the six couldn't help her curiosity and revisited the earlier question. "Since the Night Sea is right here in Fengdu City, why don't the ghosts from the city come and catch the Night Sun Fish themselves?"

Li Qiye just smiled at the question without answering, turning his gaze to Qiu Rong Wanxue instead.

Qiu Rong Wanxue shook her head. "I'm not clear on the specifics myself. However, legend says that the lingering attachments from Huidu City cannot come here. They aren't true ghosts, nor are they living beings; they are existences without physical bodies. It's rumored that if the lingering attachments of Fengdu City were to come to the Night Sea, their attachments would instantly vanish."

"No wonder the Ferryman has a physical body," Peng Zhuang remarked, glancing at the Ferryman at the stern. Only after all these days did they finally understand that the Ferryman was different from the ghosts of Fengdu City. The city's ghosts were bodiless, but the Ferryman was flesh and blood.

Qiu Rong Wanxue and her group followed Li Qiye, fishing on the Night Sea for a full month. Their harvest was astonishing. One day, Li Qiye looked up at the sky and announced, "One last haul tomorrow. Then we leave the Night Sea."

"Alright!" Peng Zhuang and the Sixth Minors leaped up in excitement. They already had so many Night Sun Fish. They could hardly wait to go ashore and trade with the residents of Fengdu City. Who knew, maybe they could even trade for a World-shocking Treasure.

Unlike the excited young disciples, Qiu Rong Wanxue was able to keep her composure. She watched Li Qiye, who sat at the bow as still and silent as the deep, then walked over and sat down beside him.

Seeing their Clan Leader sit down with Li Qiye, Peng Zhuang and the others exchanged a knowing glance. They immediately turned away, stared off into the distance, and pretended to be deaf and mute.

We didn't hit the monthly ticket goal for a five-chapter update last night, but Xiao Sheng updated anyway. Please vote with more monthly tickets today to make up for yesterday's!