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Standing on the poop deck of the Goddess of Dawn, Yinsen looked into the distance behind the ship. The massive island that had blocked the sea route and everyone’s path forward was gradually collapsing, changing from one whole landmass into sections, then into even more fragmented islands.

Yinsen estimated that it would take a long time for such a huge landmass to sink completely beneath the sea. During that time, these waters would not be peaceful. Even though the energy affecting this sea region had vanished, the waves caused by the island’s sinking would still be considerable.

"It’s not truly over yet."

Yinsen turned his gaze southward. Although they had resolved the trouble on the Northern Sea Route this time, Bruno had already told him that Beckford had gone to the Southern Sea Route to do something similar.

Moreover, unlike this time, Beckford himself was there. Yinsen had no idea what kind of power Beckford had truly mastered.

"Judging by his skill and proficiency in using energy, perhaps he has already broken free of his dependence on magic stones and equipment and truly mastered Death Attribute energy through his own abilities."

Most adventurers in this world used equipment to activate the specific attributes within magic stones, indirectly drawing upon the energy contained within them.

Wilson had been like that when Yinsen met him, and Brent nearby was the same. He did not know much about Christina’s situation. After all, the first time they fought, he had only encountered one of her avatars, and the second time, she had not even had a chance to speak before dying beneath Yinsen’s blizzard.

If Yinsen’s guess was correct, then he had to regard Beckford as an opponent roughly on his own level. To be safe, he should treat him as an even stronger enemy.

"In that case, rushing over there like this sounds suspiciously like suicide."

As they moved farther away from those waters, the raging waves gradually weakened, and the sea slowly returned to normal. However, the ships returning to Central Island did not slow down. Everyone seemed eager to get back as quickly as possible.

Brent wanted to return early and report the terrible news to the guild, hoping it would gather more powerful adventurers to deal with Beckford.

Beckford had now become a threat to everyone. This was no longer something he could resolve merely by relying on his personal reputation and calling in a few helpers.

A great battle was about to erupt, and Yinsen would likely become one of the most important forces in it. His name would soon spread throughout the entire sea region.

Yinsen could guess as much. He did not care about becoming famous. What he cared about was whether his current strength was sufficient.

"Should I ask Diana to back me up?"

Yinsen thought that was a good idea, but there was no need to call Diana over in advance. He could judge according to the situation. If anything seemed wrong, he could immediately head to Themyscira for reinforcements. Then he could unleash Diana on Beckford and have her teach him a lesson in minutes… Oh, right. Beckford could no longer be considered human.

With the problem settled, Yinsen relaxed again. He moved a lounge chair onto the deck and lay there reading in the sun, enjoying the gentle sea breeze as if he were simply out on a pleasure cruise.

Naturally, the people on the other ships noticed his behavior. This "expedition" had actually suffered heavy losses. The adventuring parties that had come with Brent had all lost many crew members, and several captains had even died in these waters. After going through all that, and learning that the mastermind was still causing trouble on another sea route, everyone felt uncertain about what the future held.

People occasionally stood on deck in a daze, and so they saw Yinsen lounging at ease.

Some felt that Yinsen’s behavior was inappropriate. Of course, others felt that this powerful captain was simply full of confidence. After all, every danger they had encountered before had seemed like no trouble at all to Captain Yinsen, who had resolved them with a casual wave of his hand.

Yinsen did not care what they thought. He was considering something else now.

Having wasted so much time on this island, he began thinking about making another crossing.

His previous plan had been to fulfill the promise he had made after resolving this trouble and search for a way to resurrect Tony’s parents.

He had thought of quite a few possibilities, including the Anime World of Dragon Ball. However, he did not intend to go there directly, because that world was too dangerous. With his current strength, he could not even protect himself.

After considering it for a long time, the first world he thought of was Mummy World, which possessed the two spellbooks, the Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra. Although the resurrection spell there was connected to the local gods, as long as Yinsen mastered the Soul Summoning portion and integrated it into the Magic Knowledge he possessed, resurrecting Tony’s parents would not be impossible.

It did not matter if magic could not reconstruct their bodies. With Tony’s technology and wealth, he could use scientific methods and his parents’ genes to create new bodies. That would also provide greater compatibility with their souls. All Yinsen needed to do was send the souls into those bodies and ensure that soul and body fused perfectly.

Recall the souls, provide bodies, and perfectly combine the two—that would be perfect resurrection. The specific methods could be adjusted as needed. Although Yinsen was a mage, he would not cling stubbornly to magic and reject every non-magical method.

Of course, it would be even better if he could find a method like the Dragon Balls that could resurrect someone in one step.

That had been Yinsen’s original plan, but now it seemed that some adjustments were needed.

With a demigod like Diana backing him up, Yinsen did not need to worry about the threat Beckford posed. Still, he hoped to solve the problem through his own abilities.

It was not because of some embarrassing male pride. He was worried that if he developed the habit of relying on others to solve every problem, would he still have the motivation to keep working hard and improving himself?

He had only just begun. Although the continent formed from condensed Mental Power had taken shape, the magic power refined upon it had only formed a few thin streams. No rivers or lakes had yet appeared, much less a vast, boundless Magic Power Ocean. If he lost his motivation to move forward now, it would be a waste of the many opportunities he had gained before.

Not to mention that people like The Ancient One and Merlin, who had helped him in the past, would be disappointed. Even he himself would never forgive himself.

"So I still need to find a way to increase my strength quickly."

He had never relaxed his training in magic power. Ever since obtaining the Book of Inheritance, he trained almost every day unless he was tied up in battle. He had already completed the parts of the Book of Inheritance devoted purely to Mental Power cultivation. What came next were composite Meditation Methods involving both Mental Power and magic power, condensing magic power while cultivating Mental Power.

He also kept up his physical training. After breaking through his potential limit, his physical abilities had already surpassed those of an ordinary person. Moreover, as he continued to train diligently, his strength, speed, and agility would keep improving.

It seemed that as long as he trained step by step, Yinsen would become stronger—and that was indeed the case. What he needed was time. Even if he went to a world without the resources he needed, time could still be converted into magic power.

"A major battle in Mummy World is unavoidable. Even if I don’t run into the local gods, I’ll still inevitably come into conflict with Imhotep."

That was a powerful mage. Yinsen wanted to cultivate now, not fight someone to the death. It would be better to go to another world first.

Once he made up his mind, Yinsen closed his book and rose from the lounge chair.

He stood on the deck and looked around. There was no one else on deck, only Logan beside the helm, steering the ship.

Although Selene was no longer afraid of sunlight, several centuries of living habits were not so easily changed. Most of the time, she still avoided the sunny deck and stayed in the cabin whenever possible.

Laura was nowhere to be seen. She was either studying with Selene or playing video games.

"Where’s Loki?"

Yinsen made a round of the ship and finally discovered that Loki had actually gone to the storeroom to look for food. When Yinsen ran into him, Loki was holding a pile of fruit and preparing to go sun himself on deck.

Loki knew very well how to enjoy life. Even if he had only spent a small portion of his thousand-plus years indulging himself, he would still have accumulated more than enough experience in eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Loki had worked so hard recently because Yinsen had given him some guidance and because he had sufficient motivation in his heart. Now that his cultivation had reached a certain point, further improvement required years of accumulated effort. There was no need to rush, so Loki had returned to his usual pace of life.

"You were looking for me?"

As they came to understand each other better, Loki and Yinsen had gradually begun getting along more like friends.

"I’m preparing to make a dimensional crossing. Interested?"

He had asked Logan earlier. Logan had considered it and decided that he had no particular needs at the moment, and he also had to look after the ship, so he would not be going this time.

If Logan was not going, Laura generally would not go either. Though Logan never gave Laura a friendly look, he actually cared about his daughter more than anyone. If he was not participating, he generally would not let Laura participate either.

Since the father and daughter were not going, Yinsen thought Loki, who likewise needed time to accumulate strength, might be interested. However, Loki did not want to go either.

"I’m planning to relax properly for a while. I don’t want to follow you to another world and spend another year struggling."

Yinsen shrugged. If Loki did not want to go, so be it. That left only Selene.

Fortunately, Selene did not refuse and was willing to make this crossing with Yinsen.

Before departing, Logan and Laura each handed Yinsen a shopping list and told him to buy the items on them if possible.

"Do you think I’m going to a supermarket?"

Logan and Laura both nodded. That was exactly what they thought.