The woman in the water mirror spoke. Her voice was gentle, but laced with a lingering venom: “Sister, what did I tell you? All men deserve to die! When they like you, they’re full of sweet talk, practically wagging their tails and begging to lick your shoes. When they don’t like you, they discard you like worn-out shoes, eager to trample you into the mud!”

Zhu Biqiong lowered her eyelids slightly: “But he… doesn’t like me.”

“Then all the more reason for him to die!” the woman in the water mirror said fiercely: “You are so good, why shouldn’t he like you? He must pay the price for this!”

“No.” Zhu Biqiong’s movements were light, but she shook her head resolutely: “I won’t hurt him.”

“Look at him, he’s like seeing off a plague god, eager to get rid of you immediately. Even so, you still think he’s good?”

“No, he is worried about me. Afraid that I will have trouble if I stay.”

“Oh please! He has so many friends, such a strong network. What trouble could you possibly have staying in Qi? You want to help him, you still want to help him now. But he despises you! Despises you for not having enough talent, not enough cultivation, lacking wisdom, unable to help him! Men are always like this, they have no women in their eyes at all, only value. They only see how many Dao Yuan Stones you are worth! What is emotion? Men don’t know!”

“No, that’s not true.” Zhu Biqiong spoke weakly, unable to even raise her voice in front of Zhu Sulao, but she stubbornly opposed it: “In this world, there are bad people and good people. Jiang Wang… he thinks for me, he has never hurt me.”

“Thinks for you? Hahahaha…” The woman in the mirror laughed wildly for a while, then suddenly stopped, and said viciously: “If he really thought for you, you risked your life to send him a message and save him, why didn’t he send someone to pick you up from the Fishing Sea Tower immediately? Letting you suffer like that in the Sea Prison!”

Zhu Biqiong pursed her lips and said: “He is still very young, he can’t think everything through perfectly. He is bound to have times when he doesn’t think of everything. I can only blame myself, I myself was in the Fishing Sea Tower, and didn’t think clearly about the consequences of this matter, and didn’t escape first…”

“Ha! Didn’t think everything through? He went to sea once, and while it was said to be full of hardship and danger, he actually made a killing, never suffering any loss at all? Look at that fawning city lord of Tianfu! He killed Ji Shaoqing and was able to retreat unscathed. Does such a person seem like someone who doesn’t think everything through?”

Zhu Sulao’s willow eyebrows were raised: “When you were suffering on the Horizon Stage, were his friends really unable to save you? Did they really try every possible method, make every effort? Or is it that they didn’t think you were worth paying so much for? Your position in Jiang Wang’s heart determines how far his friends will go!”

In the water mirror, she stared into Zhu Biqiong’s eyes, as if seeing through her heart: “My sister, you know it yourself, don’t you?”

Zhu Biqiong bit her lower lip and said: “He said long ago that he treated me as a friend. He never deceived me. As for his friends… I don’t know them, and they have no responsibility to do anything for me. I am already very grateful for what they have done for me.”

“This world is very dangerous, you can’t always be so naive, always thinking the best of others. When something happened to you, did any of those senior brothers and sisters, junior brothers and sisters care about you? Even grandma… grandma only looks at value, doesn’t she? I can gain resources for her, and she will dote on you in every way. When I’m gone, she will squeeze out all your value and then abandon you.”

“Not everyone is like this.” Zhu Biqiong didn’t know how to argue, and could only repeatedly say: “Not everyone is like this. At least Jiang Wang isn’t…”

Zhu Sulao in the water mirror softened her voice: “My foolish sister, you are always like this, always thinking of others. But in this world, besides me, who else will truly think of you?”

“Sister…” Zhu Biqiong looked at her, her eyes filled with tears.

In the water mirror, Zhu Sulao reached out and wiped, as if to wipe away her tears: “Rest well, my sister. With your sister here, no one can bully you again.”

The waves gently sent the boat rocking slowly.

Seabirds flew freely at low altitudes.

From afar came a song, sung by someone unknown—

“They all say cultivation is good, ascending step by step with hardship, life and death circling at your fingertips.

Fighting raging seas, battling fierce foes, exhausting wisdom and courage, deciding the champion.

They all say cultivation is good, a lifetime without peace, calm seas… unseen.”

The magnificent April passed.

It’s worth mentioning that until the very end, the top spot on the April Sea Merit List sub-list belonged to Jiang Wang. The second-ranked person on the sub-list was only a hundred Sea Merit points away from pushing Jiang Wang down, but ultimately, they were a hundred points short.

Progress on the Sea Merit List not only depends on one’s own strength but also on whether opponents provide opportunities. Clearly, this person lacked some luck, or perhaps it was good luck. Because while the Sea Merit List stimulated the enthusiasm of cultivators to participate in the war, many cultivators also died because of it.

To be able to leave one’s name on the first Sea Merit List, occupying the top position on the sub-list, is undoubtedly a great honor. The benefits provided by the Fishing Sea Tower were also considerable.

A bounty of a hundred Yuan Stones… of course, all collected by Chong Xuan Sheng, who put them into his private purse.

In addition, another benefit was announced in the last few days.

The Zhenhai Alliance internally established a “Sea Guardian” system specifically for Sea Merit.

Every human cultivator who participated in the Misty Realm War and obtained corresponding Sea Merit can automatically become a member of the Sea Guardians.

With the change in Sea Merit, they would receive different levels of treatment and benefits. Even each level of Sea Guardian would receive a stipend.

There are a total of nine ranks of Sea Guardians, who will serve as a special class recognized by the Zhenhai Alliance but not entirely subordinate to the Zhenhai Alliance. One thousand Sea Merit points serve as the threshold for a first-rank Sea Guardian.

Any cultivator, regardless of which force they belong to, can appear on the Sea Merit List and become a Sea Guardian. As long as they kill sea creatures!

This is a considerable expenditure.

For the Zhenhai Alliance, this is investing resources to buy influence, and at the same time, bringing the Zhenhai Alliance closer to all cultivators participating in the Misty Realm War.

For Jiang Wang, this is tangible benefit, tangible influence, and honor.

Because with his eleven thousand three hundred Sea Merit points, he just crossed the threshold of a second-rank Sea Guardian, becoming one of the only two second-rank Sea Guardians among the cultivators at the Outer Tower level in the entire near-sea islands.

The other is the second-ranked person on the Sea Merit List sub-list.

From then on, in addition to being the Marquis of Qingyang Town of Great Qi and a Fourth Rank Azure Badge Constable, Jiang Wang could also add the title of Second Rank Sea Guardian. In a sense, this last honor is beyond the scope of Qi, an honor facing the human race.

If not for the conflict with the Fishing Sea Tower, just with this last title, he could have already traveled unimpeded within the influence of the Zhenhai Alliance.

Of course, in terms of significance, the Zhenhai Alliance raised a grand banner. But in terms of actual influence, the titles of Great Qi are still more intimidating.

At this time, Jiang Wang was already in Linzi.

In the Xiashan 別府, he received the intelligence sent by Lin Youxie.