Ning Ju recognized the Eastern Mansion banner above the approaching Spirit Ship, and the blood gradually drained from her face. The larger vessel was advancing from the western sky, its course bringing it steadily closer to the Alamaria Spirit Ship heading north. Although considerable distance still separated them, Ning Ju understood that the approaching ship carried someone far more dangerous than its visible armaments suggested. Cold sweat gathered at her temples as she remembered Guo Jiang's overwhelming Banxiang cultivation and their final conversation inside Eastern Mansion. He had allowed her to leave because of their shared past, but that mercy had never amounted to permission for further attacks against eastern Logun. Ning Ju gripped the railing and thought, "If he has followed us from Jinhung, then he has already decided this matter cannot be ignored." 

The Alamaria Spirit Ship maintained its northern course while the sailors gradually returned to conversations interrupted by their earlier escape.Ning Ju remained near the observation deck, keeping the Eastern Mansion vessel within sight despite its greater distance behind them.The sky had been reasonably clear throughout the journey, allowing scattered stars to remain visible around the pale spring moon.That familiar appearance began changing when dark clouds gathered across the western heavens and spread toward the route ahead.At first the sailors paid little attention, assuming the clouds belonged to an ordinary change in weather above eastern Logun.Then the stars gradually disappeared behind the thickening darkness, leaving the surrounding sky unusually dim for a night illuminated by moonlight.One sailor looked upward and asked, "Is a storm approaching, or have we entered a region where the weather changes suddenly?"His companion examined the sails and answered, "The wind h

The green dragon carried Sakimoto through the night sky, leaving the damaged Alamaria Spirit Ship behind as it advanced toward Eastern Mansion's larger vessel. Its wings spread broadly beneath the moonlight, producing strong currents that disturbed the surrounding clouds while Sakimoto maintained his footing upon its back. He held his luminous green sword in his right hand, keeping its edge angled forward as the distance between the vessels steadily diminished. The Eastern Mansion Spirit Ship remained on its original course, approaching from the west without making any obvious attempt to avoid the incoming rider. Sakimoto studied its broad structure and the banner moving above the upper deck, measuring the distance required for his sword energy to reach the hull. "Guo Jiang, you may rule eastern Logun now, but I refuse to believe your authority makes everyone else powerless befor