“As I thought, you should come with me,” Li Ziyang said as he straightened his suit.

“We’ve talked about this. I’ll wait for you here,” Bai Liang said in appeasement. “Han Wubin is only one person and Li Shen isn’t half as strong as me. They won’t dare make trouble.”

Li Ziyang couldn’t win against Bai Liang, “Why are you such a house cat?”

“Where can you find such a powerful house cat like me?” Bai Liang kissed Li Ziyang’s cheek. “Good luck.”

Li Ziyang’s eyes softened and he returned the kiss to Bai Liang’s lips, “I’ll be back soon.”

Bai Liang sent Li Ziyang out and watched the car drive away. Once it left the gate, he returned inside and closed the door behind him.

Xue Liang: [Master, why do you not want Grandmaster to know your plan this time? Xiao Xue does not see any problem with it.]

‘It’s not about the plan itself. As the only remaining member of Li Family, he must lay low. The police are stalking his tail and will bite at any chance. Moreover, what comes after…’

Xue Liang: [Master…will this really be alright?]

‘My priority never changes: Ensuring Master’s safe return. Even if I have to anger him.”

After changing his clothes, he left the villa through the secret underground exit where he already prepared his motorbike and drove straight towards the meeting place. The sulfur cores were scattered in different parts of the world. They would need to fly there which was why he told them to gather at the airport. But visiting all 3 cores wasn’t exactly his plan.

Arriving there, Bai Shu-Huang’s subordinate welcomed him and escorted him to the private airfield. There, everyone, including Bai Shu-Huang, was already waiting for him.

“Dad, you’re here too?” Bai Liang approached Bai Shu-Huang.

“How can I not? Knowing what you’re trying to do, I can only be worried,” Bai Shu-Huang sighed. “Still, I won’t get in your way. Come back safely.”

“I will,” Bai Liang smiled. He looked at Qin Xia-Yu and the rest, “I’ve made some careful calculations and concluded that purifying the entire ocean today with the current prototypes will be impossible even with my power. As such, we’re only going to clear a specific area until it’s enough to hold the mermaid population in our country.”

“Have you decided on the coordinate?” Han Wubin asked.

“Do you have any suggestions?” Bai Liang raised his eyebrows.

“The old mermaid kingdom,” Han Wubin suggested. “However you think about it, that’s the best location.”

“Huh,” Bai Liang crossed his arms. “You’re knowledgeable.”

Han Wubin’s eyes cooled down, “Not all humans are stupider than you.”

“I never said that,” Bai Liang said in amusement. “Either way, we’re on the same track. I’m also thinking of reviving the old mermaid kingdom. It’s far from any continent and the sulfur concentration is below 9. There’s an island near that area that we can land on. It’s managed by the Western mermaid council, but that won’t be a problem.”

Li Shen looked at Bai Liang dubiously. Bai Shu-Huang was there and he didn’t know how much he knew, so he couldn’t talk recklessly. If this psychopath was thinking of harming the people on that island, he would rather let them get caught rather than follow his instruction.

Bai Liang didn’t miss Li Shen’s look but feigned ignorance. After a short briefing with the whole crew coming with them, they finally mounted the helicopters and soon departed with 3 helicopters carrying one device each.

Xue Liang hacked the satellite to let them fly undetected while Bai Liang circulated his qi to get a better grasp on his divinity. A night had passed and the energy he spent yesterday was fully replenished.

He didn’t know if it was because of the divination or the fact that mermaids had supernatural powers in this world, but the restraint over him was very loose. In his current state, he could release 70% of his power. If he pushed himself, he could squeeze out another 10-20%.

“The base at the island has acid-resistant inspection ships. We’ll use that to transport to the specific area which will take around 2 and a half hours from there,” Han Wubin said.

“They have such a thing?” Li Shen was stunned.

“Human military in many countries already developed them a long time ago. It’s common sense to not share those intel with others.”

“I understand why you weren’t all that impressed by the cruise now…”

“We’re here,” the pilot nervously prompted. “Young Master Bai, the tower is demanding us to leave or they will open fire.”

Bai Liang opened his eyes, “Connect the line to me.”

The co-pilot did as instructed and the aggressive warning entered his headphone a second later. He parted his lips and when he spoke, it sounded as if they softly echoed from underwater.

“We are not your enemy. We bring no harm. Let us land and prepare 3 inspection ships. Broadcast my reply to the entire base. We’ll be expecting a warm welcome.”

While the other side was completely silent, he repeated his words 3 times. Eventually, a dazed mutter came from the other side, “Understood. Preparing the landing platform. Please follow our instructions for the landing procedure.”

Bai Liang leisurely overlapped his legs and let the pilots take over. He smiled at the 3 unnerved people, “Don’t be impressed yet. You’re making me blush.”

All 3, “…”

You’re asking to be punched.

When they arrived at the island, they smoothly landed following the operator’s instructions. Three people politely welcomed them and led them to the dock without any question. There, 3 medium-sized ships were readily prepared.

Bai Liang teamed with Qin Xia-Yu on one ship while Li Shen and Han Wubin took charge of the other two. The captains at the base all knew the location of the old kingdom and each ship was stirred by one. They departed after finishing loading the devices, one on each ship.

The place didn’t look any different than the rest of the ocean from the surface. The ships stopped in a triangular position encircling where the old kingdom was said to be underneath them.

Bai Liang took off his upper clothes and wore the plain white robe he brought with him before taking off his trousers. He climbed up the stairs and opened the hatch to step out. Only a gap had opened and the burning air immediately rushed in. He covered himself with his qi and stepped out.

Qin Xia-Yu, Li Shen, and Han Wubin confirmed Bai Liang’s signal and ensured that everything was ready. They activated the device in one synchronized time.

Bai Liang closed his eyes and concentrated. Cool, vibrant silver mist emitted from his body, overpowering the hot, acidic air. Without any hesitation, he jumped off the ship, flipping his body to a perfect arc, and dove into the sulfuric ocean.

Following him, the devices were promptly plunged.

Brilliant light shone as the pair of legs smoothly merged and transformed into a powerful pure white tail. It moved in such litheness, bringing Bai Liang meters upon meters down the ocean with each whip.

The further down he went, the stronger the acid became. He already locked his senses to the devices the moment they were dropped and started coating them.

“Young Master Bai, can you hear me?” Qin Xia-Yu’s voice entered his ear through the earpiece.

“Yes,” Bai Liang replied.

“You’re getting close to the site. A little over 100 meters left,” Qin Xia-Yu informed. “We detect a large lifeform coming your way. We can’t tell what it is. Please proceed with caution. The prototypes are very fragile.”

“Got it.”

Bai Liang sped up toward his destination. Spreading his senses, he mapped the ocean ground in his head and was certain he reached the right place. The ground had 10 to 15 levels with different heights which branched to countless floating surfaces. The area covered no less than 300,000 sq km.

Xue Liang: [Master, please leave the unknown creature to Xiao Xue. Master should focus on the barrier.]

‘Alright. I’m counting on you.’

Bai Liang went to the highest point which was conveniently at the center of the land. Despite the entire land was empty, there were some remains miraculously left on where he was. From the structure, he realized it must be where the underwater palace once stood in the past.

He shook his head and focused himself on the task at hand. While he maneuvered the devices to encircle his position in an equal triangular shape, Xue Liang manifested and made 4 other copies of itself before spreading out to different directions, ready to protect Bai Liang from all sides.

“Miss Qin, I’m in position.”

“All prototypes are fully charged. Ready when you are,” Qin Xia-Yu gulped.

Bai Liang closed his eyes and connected the three devices to each other with his spiritual force. A few seconds later, a luminescent white orb formed and encapsulated him, looking like a precious pearl from the outside.

“Do it,” he firmly said.

“Initiating purifying sequence.”