Fresh blood spurted from the deck.

In an instant, the deck was swallowed by the seawater, crushed into iron slag.

And in the next instant, the seawater was also crushed, evaporated into rolling mist—

The storm roared.

For the man standing on the idol, only at this moment did the world become completely silent.

There was no more annoying sound of the tsunami.

Nor was there… the clamor of cries for help.

Countless water droplets fell quietly, returning to the embrace of the sea. Dark clouds still lingered over this sea area, but the lightning dared only hide in the clouds, not striking again… because compared to them, the man on the idol was the true master of this sea.

The Storm God gazed at the return of the seawater, and the demise of his followers.

There wasn't a shred of pity in his expression.

When he looked upon the shattered deck, and the shattered lives… his gaze was no different from how he looked at the seawater.

Of course, he heard the shouts, the pleas for help, and the final ecstasy from the people on the deck.

But he heard it all too often.

It just felt… noisy.

People always need faith to save themselves, but they ignore the essence of the problem, which is their own excessive weakness.

They cried out.

So, he appeared.

In a sense… his actions just now were also salvation.

Because in this sea, human lives and seawater are the same.

After being crushed, they will return to this world in another form.

…

…

The idol stood tall above the sea, the trident held by the giant wreathed in bursts of storms.

As the world calmed, the storm at the tip of the trident gradually dissipated.

The Storm God walked on his "giant statue," and slowly came to the location of the trident, then frowned.

Something incomprehensible to him had occurred here.

Because in charge of the entire Southern Continent, he held the highest authority over the Southern Continent's oceans, and the continent enclosed by those oceans.

He had bestowed gifts upon those "pious followers" who believed in him.

Silver foil tokens were gifts from the gods.

And the trident containing spiritual power was a gift that only sufficiently devout churches could receive.

Each trident had a wisp of indelible spiritual power.

In a sense, this was a kind of "protection"... but also a kind of monitoring. The destruction of churches in the Southern Continent was not a big deal. Every year churches were overturned, and when the trident was shattered, his spirit flew back, it only took a few minutes to witness the "life" of that church.

But then.

A wisp of spirit… disappeared.

The Storm God narrowed his eyes, staring at the giant statue.

There were many such statues on the Southern Continent's seas… all carved in his likeness. These were tributes offered by the churches, and through these statues, he could listen to the whispers praising the storm in the temples.

On this sea, with just a thought, he could arrive at the location of the "chanter."

In fact.

There were too many sounds of chanting on this ocean every day.

At the beginning of building the statues, he was still willing to enjoy these "praises," but when the praises became too numerous… they turned into a kind of noise.

A call of that scale just now would not attract him to descend at all.

He came here… just to investigate what exactly happened to that lost spirit.

The Storm God narrowed his eyes.

If he remembered correctly… the statue beneath him was a tribute from the "Evening Bell Church."

As a return gift, the spirit in that trident should have a mysterious connection with this statue… but at this moment it was completely disconnected. There was no doubt that his spiritual power was lost.

Memories of the "Evening Bell Church" surfaced in his mind… it was truly an insignificant small church, with almost nothing worth noting. The only thing that was somewhat noteworthy was… half a year ago, the Evening Bell Church had presented his temple with an ancient stone slab, said to be an antiquity brought back from the tundra of the Eastern Continent, but no one could decipher the content on the slab.

There were too many similar objects.

Unable to be understood, unable to be deciphered… whenever such a characteristic appeared, such "antiquities" were highly likely to be fakes, or completely useless defective products. When this ancient stone slab was sent, it was of course positioned as such by the temple. After the Evening Bell Church carried the stone slab back to the Southern Continent, they were turned away, their offering failed, and they could only start building behind closed doors, silently carrying out the work of deciphering.

Until now… there seemed to be no progress.

Originally, it was an existence that would be forgotten in an instant.

Now, because of the loss of spiritual power, the Storm God had noticed this small church.

The loss of that wisp of spiritual power was actually a very small matter.

If his spiritual power was compared to this vast ocean.

Then the lost wisp of spiritual power… was probably like the storm he had just crushed at will. To this ocean, whether it existed or not, it had no effect.

However, this matter was unreasonable.

He was the supreme "God"!

His spiritual power was a complete ocean, unless he was willing… otherwise every drop of water should not be missing!

The Storm God fell into contemplation. He tried to use his divine thoughts to calculate the future result of this matter, but the conclusion he reached was a chaos.

So, he began to hesitate.

Regarding the matter of the loss of spiritual power, should he quietly wait for its return, or should he directly investigate it?

"Eastern Continent…"

The Storm God slowly raised his eyes, looking towards the other side of the sea.

There was someone he least wanted to contact.

Also, the place he could least see through.

…

…

Huaiyin was a small city in Jiangbei. This small city was very quiet, and not quite the same as other cities in Jiangbei. Although it was also located in the north, it was often bathed in sunlight.

Compared with Jiangnan, Jiangbei's economic development was a few years behind.

Some remote small towns still retained transportation methods like "green-skinned trains." Even in the era of full Deep Sea connection… not all cities were desperately running forward.

The green-skinned train stopped at Huaiyin Station.

Several men in suits and leather shoes had been waiting upright outside the station for a long time. Compared with the surrounding crowd, their clothes were really out of place, too conspicuous… such small cities like Huaiyin rarely saw such "business people."

These suited men looked nervous, looking around. They held welcome signs in their arms.

This clearly looked like a reception for a noble young master.

And the word "Master" was indeed written on the welcome sign.

"Young Master Bai Xiu…"

Many people got off the green-skinned train.

Among them, a fair-skinned young man saw the sign held high in the crowd from a distance. He sighed silently, muttered this shameful welcome phrase, quickly lowered the brim of his hat, and strode forward.

He was traveling alone this time because he didn't want to see the Bai family.

Bai Xiu wanted to find Yu Shu's family.

His authority was high enough.

After learning the name "Qu Long," the subsequent investigation was not difficult. Deep Sea found Yu Shu's file for him.

Born in Huaiyin City, parents alive, has a younger sister.

Before erasing his name, he seemed to have a pretty good family…

After reading the file, Bai Xiu didn't quite understand why Yu Shu chose to become a "Life-Devoter."

He spent an hour finding the address of Yu Shu's parents currently residing in, recorded in the Deep Sea database… there were not many high-rise buildings in this small city, but there were many adjacent courtyards.

Yu Shu's parents lived in an old courtyard. Although they had lived there for ten years, it didn't look dilapidated. There were also several potted green plants on the top of the wall. Perhaps because they were taken care of all year round, standing outside the courtyard gate, one could also feel the vigorous vitality in the courtyard.

Bai Xiu hesitated before knocking on the door.

He tidied his clothes, adjusted his emotions, and then knocked on the door.

There were light footsteps in the courtyard.

Yu Shu's sister ran to open the door.

“…It's brother! Brother is back!”

A girl with pigtails ran over with a patter, and before opening the door, she spoke in a childish voice, full of surprise.

After opening the door, the girl saw an unfamiliar face.

She was a little at a loss.

“I am… a friend of Yu Shu’s.” Bai Xiu lowered his eyebrows slightly. He hesitated for a moment, squatted down, and said softly: "Where are your parents?"

The little girl blinked her eyes, half of her body hiding behind the door, but she was not afraid of strangers.

Perhaps it was because Bai Xiu looked very good.

She looked back at the house…

After thinking for a long time, the little girl twisted her hands together and very seriously said word by word: “Mommy… Daddy… are in the house… Mommy is taking care of Daddy.”

Bai Xiu smiled gently and asked: “Can I come in?”

A woman walked out of the house, looking a little haggard. Her hands, stained with oil smoke, were wiping on her apron. Seeing Bai Xiu's appearance, she was a little uneasy, pinching a corner of the apron, and said softly: "If you don't mind… come into the house and have a cup of tea.”

Bai Xiu entered the courtyard.

This was indeed a very vibrant courtyard.

A green shade canopy was built in the courtyard for shade, and there were large graffiti painted on the walls. He glanced at the corner of the graffiti wall, there was a chalk calendar full of crosses, wiped many times, and written many times… After the little girl let go of the doorknob, she trot over to the corner of the wall, picked up the smoothed chalk, and lightly drew a cross on the latest date on the corner calendar.

After entering the house, a sharp contrast was formed.

The facilities in the house were very simple, an ordinary bed, a set of complicated instruments, and a man who looked like a skeleton.

Bai Xiu silently looked around.

Besides that, the family was destitute.

He couldn't understand… why would a man who dedicated everything to the Bai family end up in such a state?

During these years when Yu Shu was a Life-Devoter, his family should have received the highest level of treatment.

Bai Xiu's spiritual power spread silently. He looked at the man lying on the bed. Yu Shu's father was as thin as a piece of paper. His open chest could hardly produce a strong heartbeat. Even the electrocardiogram next to him only showed slight fluctuations…

Bai Xiu wanted to see what exactly this disease was, whether it was really incurable.

But after the spiritual power made contact.

He realized that things were not as simple as he thought.

The man lying on the bed had no consciousness, and his spirit was completely shattered… It was already a miracle that he was maintaining basic vital signs.

For normal "fainting" or "loss of consciousness"... he still had a way.

But this situation.

Not to mention himself, even if the Divine Throne came, they would be helpless. No one could save an empty shell that had lost its soul.

“Thank you for coming all the way… Is Yu Shu doing well in the Northern Continent?”

Yu Shu's mother held hot tea. She looked at Bai Xiu nervously. This young man looked like a noble young master from a wealthy family. Did Yu Shu really have the chance to meet such a friend?

Northern Continent…

Deep Sea's file recorded Yu Shu's deeds before becoming a Life-Devoter, but it could not record Yu Shu's instructions to his parents before leaving Huaiyin. After all, he was an unimportant person, a mote of dust in the era. No one would care what he said, just as no one would care… where he went.

Bai Xiu took a sip of tea.

A mellow and powerful voice sounded outside the door.

“Mrs. She! Do you remember me?”

“A-Shu often talks about you, saying he wants to come back and see you… It's just a pity that he's still stationed at the fortress. Xiao Xiu and I took a vacation, and just happened to pass by Huaiyin, so we came to see you on his behalf.” A middle-aged man in simple clothes pushed the door open. His smile was very kind, his laughter was full of joy, and he hugged the little girl who was squatting in the corner drawing.

Bai Xiu was stunned.

The Family Head?!

The middle-aged man conjured a toy from his inner pocket like a magic trick. It was a sunflower that was about to wither. In such a cold area like Jiangbei, it was almost impossible to see this kind of plant.

The little girl's eyes lit up, quite curious.

“Do you remember me?” The Bai Family Head said with a smile, handing the flower over.

"Remember…"

The little one took the sunflower, carefully smoothed the wilting petals, and whispered: "You are the bad guy who took Brother away... Stupid... Stupid Uncle..."

Bai Xiu's expression was a little complicated.

The Bai Family Head's real name was Bai Xiao Chi.

Over the years… this was the first time someone had called the Family Head that.

The woman was obviously a little angry when she heard this answer. She came to the child and seriously corrected her word by word: "You can't say that! That's very impolite…”

"It's okay, it's okay… the child is still young."

Bai Xiao Chi was not angry at all, but smiled and put the child down.

He came to Bai Xiu, put down the package he was carrying, and said softly with a smile: "A-Shu asked Xiao Xiu and me to bring some specialties from the Northern Continent, and some money... It's all in this package."

The little child holding the sunflower quietly looked at the two men, tugging at her mother's clothes.

She murmured: "Brother... hasn't been back... for a long time..."

Yu Shu's mother looked at the package on the table, her expression complex. She seemed to be thinking about something.

“Please… wait a moment, both of you.”

After taking a deep breath, she took the child to the next room.

…

…

“Why did you come?”

Bai Xiu did not break the silence in the house, but instead used spiritual power to transmit his voice.

“Why can’t I come?”

Bai Xiao Chi also responded with spiritual power.

His face still had a faint smile.

No one would have thought… that this Bai family's decisive and ruthless Family Head would have such a "kind" side.

“Some things are not in Deep Sea’s files. You can’t know just because you have high authority.”

Bai Xiao Chi said casually: “Bai Ze Sheng doesn’t know ‘Qu Long’s’ information because I personally took this Life-Devoter away… Yu Shu’s wish is that his parents’ files can receive effective protection.”

"Effective protection... refers to being lonely and father and daughter dependent on each other?"

“…If you have to understand it that way, yes, this is the most effective protection.”

Bai Xiao Chi looked at the man on the bed and said calmly: “This man is already dead. Even if Gu Chang Zhi came back to life, he wouldn’t survive.”

Bai Xiu was silent.

Because he knew… the Family Head was telling the truth.

“We can’t make a dead person come back to life, but we can… let the living continue to live.”

Bai Xiao Chi said softly, “When Yu Shu awakened his extraordinary ability, there was an accident. His physical condition was very poor, and he needed to constantly take medicine to stabilize his body. He took the initiative to find the Bai family, hoping to continue taking the medicine and live as long as possible. He voluntarily became a ‘Life-Devoter.’ The only requirement was that his mother and sister could be taken care of. I can guarantee that this small courtyard is the safest place in Huaiyin City. No matter what happens, the lives of this mother and daughter will not be disturbed in any way.”

Bai Xiu was stunned.

“Going to the Northern Continent to join the army… this clumsy reason was actually thought up by himself.”

Bai Xiao Chi said with sorrow, “People always need a hope to live… The world we see is different from ordinary people. What they see is that this electrocardiogram still shows the ups and downs of life, but what we see is the complete shattering of the brain domain spirit. The man on the bed is beyond saving.”

The same reasoning.

What Yu Shu saw of himself was a destined end, a short-lived life.

And what he wanted the mother and daughter in the small courtyard to see was that their son was stationed on the frontier, still having the hope of returning home.

“If you believe… that Life-Devoters should die heroically, then you can tell them the truth.”

Bai Xiao Chi said softly, “They will know that Yu Shu is dead. As for whether he died in the tundra, or where, it shouldn’t be that important to them. It’s just that if you do that… you kill the hope that Yu Shu left them. This wisp of hope is the most precious gift he left them.”

Bai Xiu silently clenched his fists.

He had never thought.

That pushing open this courtyard, he would see such a scene.

Different from what he had expected…

Everything in this courtyard was full of hope.

Yu Shu’s mother soon came out again, this time she was alone.

She did not avoid the “husband” lying on the bed.

She mustered her courage and asked with a trembling voice, “You two… did something happen to Yu Shu?”

Going to the Northern Continent to be stationed at the fortress, day after day, year after year… Although he had written letters and sent messages.

But after Yu Shu left, he never came back.

In fact, she had long begun to worry, long begun to suspect.

But the person she truly longed for… how could she dare to think so much.

At this time, she only hoped for an answer.

Even if this answer… only had a little bit of possibility, she was willing to believe it.

Bai Xiao Chi turned his gaze to Bai Xiu.

"Nothing happened."

Bai Xiu smiled easily and said softly, "A-Shu asked me to tell you that he is doing very well in the Northern Continent... Please don't worry."