As soon as Lin Qian said those words, the people in front of him were visibly shocked. Especially Zhang Zide, who almost jumped up in disbelief. "Brother Lin, you must be joking. You've been here the whole time, either making a breakthrough or being with us. How could you have had time to encounter the Black Blade Fish Clan?"
"If you had run into that one-armed Black Blade Fish Clan member before, you would have told us earlier," Zhang Zide continued, still skeptical. "Besides, when that one-armed Black Blade Fish Clan member was killed, both Li Madman and I were there. We saw it with our own eyes. How could he possibly come back to life?"
He turned to Li Yunfeng for confirmation, who nodded in agreement. "Exactly. The one who struck the final blow was Chief Zhang, and both he and our grandmaster were present. With their level of experience, there's no way they could have mistaken whether he was dead or alive."
Lin Qian sighed and replied, "I have my ways of knowing, just like how I can use this token to track your locations and send you messages. Besides, isn't this the second time that one-armed Black Blade Fish Clan member has come back to life?"
Zhang Zide and Li Yunfeng suddenly recalled that during their journey to the Southern Gathering, they had indeed seen that one-armed Black Blade Fish Clan member's corpse. Yet, despite their certainty that the body was real, the same clan member had already arrived at the gathering and was fighting the Eight-Armed Sea Clan and the Free Cloud Sect.
Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, Lin Qian felt just as surprised as they were. With his spirit energy focused in his eyes, he opened the images and videos that Zhuge Ming had sent him. He saw, without a doubt, that the one-armed Black Blade Fish Clan member was among the group.
"The situation is even stranger than that," Lin Qian continued, his tone grave. "The Black Blade Fish Clan was only allotted four slots to enter the small world, but through my secret techniques, I observed a total of four hundred seventy-six of them!"
His revelation left the group speechless.
"How is that possible..." Zhang Wenshuan murmured, shaking her head in disbelief. Even the most powerful sea and human factions only had double-digit slots.
How did the Black Blade Fish Clan manage to bring four hundred seventy-six members into the small world?
The group was baffled, and Lin Qian couldn't explain it either.
Despite their confusion, there was nothing they could do at the moment. According to Lin Qian's observations, the Black Blade Fish Clan members were keeping their heads down, heading north as quickly as possible. They avoided confrontations with soul beasts, seemingly in a hurry to reach a destination.
"Wait a moment—the Black Blade Fish Clan just encountered the Eight Mystical Hall," Lin Qian suddenly said, raising his hand to stop the discussion. His emperor-attribute soul energy surged into his pupils, enhancing his vision.
Seeing the change in Lin Qian's eyes, Ye Xin immediately quieted down, and the others followed suit, curious about what he was witnessing.
Lin Qian, completely focused on the scene before him, saw an image relayed to him by Zhuge Ming via the Ministry of Works. It showed a confrontation taking place by a riverbank in the small world.
There, two groups of people had crossed paths: the Black Blade Fish Clan and the Eight Mystical Hall. However, the difference in numbers was staggering. The four disciples of the Eight Mystical Hall had managed to regroup, as they weren't too far apart from each other. But standing before them were four hundred seventy-six Black Blade Fish Clan members.
The Eight Mystical Hall disciples could barely contain their shock. They couldn't comprehend how their sea clan allies had managed to bring so many people into the small world.
"Since you had such a method, why didn't you share it with us? Is this how you treat your allies?" The strongest of the Eight Mystical Hall disciples, clearly displeased, shouted at the Black Blade Fish Clan.
"Wait, senior brother, look!" One of his juniors suddenly cried out in alarm, grabbing his senior brother's shoulder and pointing toward the Black Blade Fish Clan.
Following his junior brother's gaze, the lead disciple's face turned pale with fear.
In the Black Blade Fish Clan's ranks, a one-armed member was walking out, grinning wickedly as he looked at them. After examining the four Eight Mystical Hall disciples, he turned and bowed respectfully toward someone within his own group. "Master, may I make my move?"
As he bowed, the Black Blade Fish Clan members parted, revealing a shadowy figure.
After receiving a nod of approval from this figure, the one-armed clan member straightened up, a cruel smile spreading across his face as he vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, his entire body was shrouded in sinister black soul energy, which quickly entangled the lead Eight Mystical Hall disciple. In his hand, a cold dagger appeared and swiftly sliced off the disciple's arm.
Before the severed arm hit the ground, the one-armed Black Blade Fish Clan member caught it in his mouth, biting down with satisfaction.
"Run!" The lead disciple, though severely injured, gritted his teeth and gave the order to retreat.
The other disciples followed him in a hurried escape, but when the lead disciple glanced back, he saw the one-armed clan member standing still, watching him with a twisted smile while gnawing on his severed arm. The Black Blade Fish Clan member seemed to savor the taste, as if it were a delicacy.
All of this was witnessed by a black bird perched on a nearby tree, and through its eyes, Lin Qian saw everything with perfect clarity.