High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

After reading it, Song Chen looked up at Lao Zhou and asked, "Could a Yunkun-class ship hold it all?"

He nodded: "That's enough. Although the design capacity is 350 people, it's fine to be slightly overloaded."

"What about the flight path?"

"The high-altitude air force route takes off from the estuary, flies along the southern foothills of the Himalayas, enters the skies of Daxia over the plateau, and then flies directly to Beijing."

"This route is entirely within the air force's warning zone, and the sea creatures' flying beasts dare not approach it."

Song Chen returned the paper roll to Lao Zhou.

"When will you arrive?"

"Within three days, the exact time is still being confirmed."

Song Chen nodded.

Old Zhou took the roll of paper, but didn't put it away.

"Let's go back together, there's enough room on the spaceship."

Song Chen took a bite of the grilled meat, chewed it, swallowed it, and then shook his head.

"No."

Old Zhou tapped his finger on the armrest of his wheelchair.

Why?

Song Chen looked at the campfire, the firelight dancing deep in his pupils, intertwining with the golden luster.

"I plan to walk back."

There was a moment of silence around the campfire, and everyone who was listening was taken aback.

"Walk back? Do you know how far that is?"

"Of course I know. After crossing the Himalayas and entering the territory of Bactria, I will head east, cross the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and then go home."

Old Zhou was silent for a moment before speaking: "It's very dangerous. The entire route is overrun by strange beasts. From the mouth of the Ganges River to the southern foothills of the Himalayas, it's one of the areas with the highest concentration of strange beasts in the South Asian subcontinent."

"A branch of the Sirius Clan has territory here. The Himalayas themselves are also a den of exotic beasts. The exotic beasts at high altitudes and those at low altitudes are not the same species."

Song Chen smiled and looked at him: "I know."

"Did you know you still had to leave?"

Song Chen finished the rest of the grilled meat in his hand and threw the bones into the fire.

The flames licked at the remaining flesh on the bones, making a crackling sound.

"I stayed at sea for a month. During that month, I only killed a monster on Guangchang Island for one night. The rest of the time I was in hiding."

"Hide in the patrol routes of the messenger beasts, hide in the mental scans of the Beast King, hide in the cracks on the edge of the royal territory. Even though there are strange beasts all around, you can't kill them. If you kill them, you will be exposed, and if you are exposed, everyone on the ship will die."

"But it's different on land; the beasts on land don't have communication networks."

"Killing one won't bring a fifth-tier beast king from hundreds of miles away; killing ten won't bring a sixth-tier royal family member up from the deep sea."

Old Zhou didn't quite understand his meaning. Why was he so persistent in killing the alien beasts?

But he didn't interrupt and listened quietly.

Song Chen continued talking.

"Moreover, I discovered something during my month at sea."

"Land monsters and sea monsters are not even in the same league."

"There are fifth-tier beast kings and sixth-tier royal families in the sea, a complete system of royal families and royal families, and a communication network covering the entire ocean."

"And on land? I killed more than a dozen Tier 4 beasts in the wetlands today, and not one of them could last three moves against me."

"The Swamp Rhinoceros is the overlord of this watershed, a peak fourth-tier creature. Its psionic shield is tough enough to withstand the Thunderous Annihilation Blade, but its mud armor has gaps, its shield has fluctuation cycles, and its heartbeat reveals the location of its central nervous system."

"These weaknesses have long been eliminated by the fourth-tier creatures in the sea. The land-based beasts, lacking competition, are still far inferior in combat ability."

Song Chen cut off another piece of meat and roasted it over the campfire.

"You know, when I was at the second level, I dared to walk all the way from my hometown to Tianhai City by myself."

"I walked through thousands of kilometers of wilderness for a month. Back then, my health was less than 100, and I had to detour when I encountered third-tier beasts. But things are different now. I can walk this road now."

Old Zhou remained silent for a long time, the flames of the campfire reflecting two small points of light in his eyes, motionless.

Then he nodded: "You've decided."

"Um."

Old Zhou removed his hands from the wheelchair armrests and placed them on his knees: "Then I won't advise you. Have you scouted the area?"

"I've scouted it out. Within a 50-mile radius of the town, there are no Tier 5 beings. All Tier 4 beings were killed, and most of the Tier 3 beings were cleared out. The remaining Tier 2 and Tier 1 beings are no threat. You can wait for the spaceship here; it's very safe."

Old Zhou grunted in agreement.

The area around the campfire quieted down again.

Lin Zhao started poking at the fire with the branch in his hand again.

Her gaze fell on the flames, her dark brown pupils reflecting the flickering firelight, but her expression was obscured by the firelight and could not be seen clearly; it seemed as if she was secretly watching Song Chen.

Song Chen stood up and said to the group, "I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

"So fast?"

"Yes, that fast."

……

The next morning.

The morning light at the estuary shines down from above the mangroves, turning the entire town golden red.

Song Chen walked out of the two-story building, with the Tianjun Blade hanging at his waist. He had changed his clothes; it was an old-fashioned windbreaker he had dug out from the ruins of the town. It was faded from washing but still intact.

People were already out and about in the town square.

Some people are packing their bags, some are cutting up the leftover swamp rhinoceros meat from last night and drying it, and some are squatting next to the radio station, waiting for the signal from their hometown.

Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw Song Chen walking over.

Song Chen didn't stop. He crossed the square and headed towards the western exit of the town.

"Song Chen".

Lin Zhao's voice came from behind.

She emerged from behind a stone pillar at the edge of the square and walked up to Song Chen.

The two stood an arm's length apart, the morning light shining from the side, casting their shadows on the cracked cement ground behind them.

"Song Chen, you saved my life. I haven't repaid this debt yet."

Song Chen looked at her, smiled, and shook his head: "No need to report."

Lin Zhao said very seriously, "We must use it, we absolutely must use it."

"In my eleven years on Guangchang Island, I have seen too many people die: killed by sea creatures, unable to endure their own suffering, or caught and executed after trying to escape."

"I survived not because I was strong, but because I was lucky. Old Zhou protected me, and the sea creatures thought I was still useful."

"I owe you a life, and how you repay it is up to you."

"I have nothing now. If you leave like this, I won't be able to find you anymore. How am I supposed to repay your kindness in the future?"

"Or...or..."

Song Chen remained silent. He realized that Lin Zhao was not being perfunctory, and then he spoke.

"I'm very famous. Once you return to Great Xia, you can easily find me by asking around."

"Alright, let's go."

Lin Zhao looked at him for a long time, then smiled and nodded.

"Okay, I'll look for you."

Song Chen nodded, then turned around and walked north.

His steps were neither fast nor slow, making a rustling sound as he stepped on the cracked cement ground.

The morning light stretched his shadow long behind him.

The shadow swept past Lin Zhao's feet, then grew shorter and shorter as he went away, finally disappearing before her toes.

Lin Zhao stood at the square exit, watching him walk out of the town, into the dirt road at the edge of the mangrove forest, and into the increasingly dense morning mist.

The fog swallowed his figure into a blurry outline, and then the outline disappeared.

Only the sound of footsteps remained, growing fainter and fainter in the morning mist, eventually merging into the sound of the wind on the Ganges.

Behind her, Old Zhou sat in a wheelchair, being pushed by the white-haired old lady to the edge of the square.

Lin Zhao turned around and took the wheelchair into her hands.

"Uncle Zhou."

"you say."

"I could tell he didn't want to take me with him."

Old Zhou did not answer.

Lin Zhao pushed Old Zhou toward the town.

The morning mist slowly closed in behind her, completely obscuring the dirt road to the north of the town.