"Disciples…"
He Yiming's voice cut through the murmurs.
"The Sea Race will not give up."
"Though we have repelled their first assault, they will return,stronger, fiercer, and more relentless than before. They will come in endless waves, like the tide… until either we destroy them completely or perish."
His words fell like thunder. The weight of history lingered. The human race had once been forced into exile by creatures like these. Another battle was all but certain.
But the players?
They weren't scared.
"Hold the grass! They're coming back?!"
"Yo, that's hype! Can we redo the quest?!"
"Bro, I'm grinding levels tonight. I wanna clap the next wave myself!"
"When's the next one? Can they show up every day?"
"I want daily raids, devs! This game's too fire!"
Excitement exploded across the square. Cheers, chants, memes in motion. The Sea Race event had already become legendary unlike anything other MMOs had offered. No fetch quests. No cutscenes. Real strategy. Real teamwork. Real struggle.
Even newbs at the Body Forging Realm had mattered,baiting scouts, laying traps, rushing in groups to stall elite units. It was messy. It was hard. And it was theirs.
He Yiming raised a hand.
"Silence."
The players mostly quieted, but energy still buzzed in the air.
"Our strength is not enough. The next assault could break us."
"So, I have decided…"
"We will leave the Yan Huang Sect!"
A wave of gasps mixed with hype,swept through the crowd.
"To the north lies the Hundred Thousand Mountains! A vast wilderness full of beasts, spirit herbs, and ancient secrets. There, we will temper ourselves. We will grow stronger!"
"Before the next invasion, I want each of you to step beyond the Body Forging Realm… and reach the Spirit Vein Realm!"
As his voice dropped, a brilliant light slashed the sky.
Whoosh!
Mingyue, his flying sword, whirled overhead in dazzling arcs before floating silently beside him, like a guardian spirit.
Behind He Yiming, the phantom of the Evergreen Emperor's Body rose a colossal blue tree wreathed in golden lightning. His aura surged, divine and terrible.
"Disciples of the Yan Huang Sect! Follow me north! Into the heart of danger! Into the realm of monsters! Let us grow stronger together!"
The players exploded.
"BROTHER MING GOES HARD!"
"Sword drop animation?? Insane!"
"Hundred Thousand Mountains is a new map?! We just cleared the last arc!"
"This game is cracked. Do they think we sleep?"
"Call off work, boys. We're gaming for our lives!"
He Yiming gave a final nod.
"Prepare yourselves. We leave tomorrow."
He turned to leave but paused.
He looked toward the massive Sea Race corpse lying nearby Ronal, their defeated general.
"And this…" He pointed at the body. "This is a gift."
"Even without his core, his flesh is treasure. It can strengthen your bodies when eaten. His bones are tougher than refined iron,make armor if you can. The rest…"
He smirked faintly.
"Figure it out yourselves."
Then he turned and strode back into the Sect Hall.
As soon as he left—
"ME FIRST!"
The player named Tongue-in-Chief charged forward, dual kitchen knives gleaming like twin sabers.
"The Deep Sea King goes in the pot. Fins for grilling. Ribs for roasting. Skin for crispy rolls. Bones for soup. Nothing wasted!"
Tongue-in-Chief wasn't a top combatant. But in the kitchen? He was a god.
Other players dragged out cauldrons and cookware some fresh, some… suspiciously not.
"Hey, isn't that the pot from the dung quest?"
"Shut up. Fire kills everything."
Meat dropped in. Broth bubbled. Flames roared.
"Hold the grass! I just felt a stat increase!"
"I'm stronger after one bite!"
"Tongue-in-Chief is the true hidden boss!"
The air was filled with laughter, heat, and steam. Players ate, leveled, and celebrated.
Meanwhile, two players quietly slipped away.
Wang Lufei and First Ice Man logged off, uploaded the full Sea Race battle video to the official forums and hit share across every platform.
They thought they'd get a few likes.
They were wrong.
It exploded.
Within hours, it went viral.
Every forum. Every feed. Every game site.
Back inside the Sect Hall, He Yiming was reviewing formations,when a sudden system alert flashed across his interface.
System Warning: Forum traffic nearing capacity.
"…What?" He Yiming frowned.
He opened the forums.
And then he saw it.
The entire world was watching.