Chapter 698
We Share Nothing In Common
No matter how much they disliked the Longboat tribe before, Shao Xuan had to admit that there were some things about the Longboat tribe that won their respect.
“I can’t believe your ancestors had plans to move since such a long time ago. It’s too bad we never noticed!” a member of the Hui tribe exclaimed in shock.
Regardless of how shocked and stunned they were, all of their emotions changed when their ships entered the sea from the small stream.
While the others didn’t feel any different, the Longboat tribesmen were all excited. Something else seemed to have awakened from within them.
“So this is what the sea feels like!” Mu Fa looked toward the endless sea in front of him. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he felt the waves hitting on their ships. Slowly, he opened his eyes again and looked towards where the sky met the sea.
At this moment, every Longboat tribe member felt the same emotions Mu Fa felt. Pride and excitement filled their hearts.
The sea! They’re actually out at sea!
They had seen it once when they went to the desert, but they had never been out at sea on a ship.
Before, whenever they saw the sea, it was as if they could sense a voice calling out to them from the deep blue ocean. Although the water here was not pure blue, they knew that they would definitely reach that deep ocean blue if they kept advancing.
In their hearts, they yearned for a brighter future and held great expectations. These emotions gave them courage and boosted their fighting spirit.
Although the Longboat tribe was once a major tribe, most people had only associated them with “ships, rivers, flames, and streams.” They had never been acknowledged for any of their major achievements. It seemed to most people that they were just a tribe that travelled on their ships who sailed without any final destination in mind, and most people would just feel like they were either showing off their ship-crafting skills or going out for a trade. Some people would think that they were looking for a target to attack, but no one knew what their true intentions were. Besides trading and going back and forth in rivers on their ships, it seemed like they had nothing else to do.
One generation after another, for no one knew exactly for how long, the Longboat tribe’s ancestors had been working hard to open up this water route. They were limited by their primitive fire seed before and couldn’t travel too far, so they couldn’t travel too far away to other places in the world. Now, without the restrictions from the fire seed, it was finally their chance to shine!
They were no longer travelling down winding streams. Now, it was the vast sea! To them, the open sea held too many unknown factors. It was so marvellous and extraordinary that they couldn’t help but feel a sense of ambition and pride in their hearts!
The power of the fire seed charged up within them and rose long with their rising emotions. The merging process was still not yet complete, but the power of the fire seed was already flowing rapidly through their veins and spread throughout their body!
Whoosh!
Totemic flames suddenly burned on the bodies of the Longboat tribesmen as the totemic lines appeared on their skin.
Their blood was boiling. Every cell within their body celebrated with joy. This was what every generation of the Longboat tribe had been waiting for. Now this dream was finally fulfilled!
The passion and ambition that stemmed from the glory of their line of descent gave them strength. Now, even if they were facing an endless sea with giant strong waves, they wouldn’t retreat at all.
“Ah—” Mu Fa stood on the bow of the first ship and roared out loud, “We, the Longboat tribe, will charge on ahead! Nothing can stop us!”
“We, the Longboat tribe, will charge on ahead! Nothing can stop us!”
“Nothing can stop us!”
“Nothing can stop us!”
All the Longboat tribesmen roared from the fifteen ships. It was as if they wanted to let out all the emotion that had been suppressed deep within their hearts.
They were the first team to ever enter into the great sea. They were about to be the first group of Longboat tribesmen to step onto the other continent since the last ten thousand years!
They were paddling against the current and needed manpower to row the ships. That was why every ship in front had a few Flaming Horn members. Their strength was needed on every ship.
On one of these ships, Guang Yi was watching the Longboat tribesmen as they roared in excitement. He asked Duo Kang, “What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing, they’re a little cuckoo,” Duo Kang replied.
Guang Yi, “....Oh.”
A Longboat tribesmen who was standing not far away from them turned around and looked at Duo Kang and Guang Yi. They were still calm and unmoved. He asked them curiously, “Don’t you guys feel a strong excitement in your hearts?”
Duo Kang shook his head, “....not really.”
That person choked and asked again, unsatisfied with the previous answer, “You don’t feel excited at all? Doesn’t this feeling make you want to cry out loud?!”
Duo Kang looked at him with the same stern expression, “No, I don’t feel it.”
That person looked at Duo Kang as if he were mad. His expression said, ‘I don’t think we share anything in common with you simple folk!’
Duo Kang slightly pursed his lips. What’s so exciting about crossing the sea on ships? We literally walked across from the other continent back then when the Grand Elder split the sea into two! I didn’t say it because I don’t want you to be shocked!
The two of them glared at each other.
After they sailed on the sea for a while, the Longboat tribesmen gradually calmed down, but once in a while they would go crazy again.
Compared to the rivers, there were too many unpredictable factors at sea. When the waves were calm, the sea would be still and peaceful. The Flaming Horns and Longboat tribesmen could even go out to fish and watch the sunset while they chatted. However, whenever there was a change in weather, there was no shore for them to stop by and no shelter for them to hide. They could only stand strong and resist the forces of nature. The ships looked miserably small compared to the vast sea. Their fleet was lonely and helpless. Their ships swayed against the forces of the winds and waves.
Under the pressure from the weather and strong waves, the Longboat tribesmen were still enthusiastic and kept control of their ships. They didn’t let the waves turn and sink their ships. As they fought against the pressure, they still roared loudly, “Advance! Attack!”
Shao Xuan suddenly felt that the Longboat tribesmen were no longer the same calm people from before. Rather, he suspected that they were a little like... bandits?
Storm or calm, the fleet continued to advance to their destination.
As they travelled at sea, they often sensed giant sea beasts swimming beneath their ships. Once, a fish that was as long as five small ships emerged from the surface of the water. In the next moment, a giant mouth with sharp fangs opened and snapped shut on that fish, leaving only a tail dangling behind. The giant beast submerged back into the deep sea after it ate its prey.
When the giant beast came up to feed, the waves from its movement almost flipped their ships, and this didn’t happen just once. Occasionally, something would attack their ships and the tribesment had to retaliate and kill the beast.
The weather was getting cooler and snow had begun to fall, but it wasn’t too heavy yet.
Shao Xuan picked up his binoculars and looked through them, “I see land!”
When Mu Fa heard this, he snatched the binoculars from Shao Xuan’s hands and took a closer look. He smiled happily and said, “We’re here! We’re here! Finally!”
There was indeed land in front of them, and from the looks of it, it was probably a forested area.
They relied on the Universal Eyes for direction, so they could only roughly guess where they were. What they needed to do now was follow the land and find a giant river that flowed into the sea. They had promised to meet with the Taihe tribe there, at the estuary. However, the problem they faced was they weren’t sure where they were exactly and which direction they should go. After all, no one knew where that river was, and if they picked the wrong route it would only waste more time.
“What should we do?” Mu Fa looked at Shao Xuan.
“Wait,” Shao Xuan left for a quiet spot and used his rope to perform a knot divination reading. This might help them determine the direction.
The divination was successful, so after Shao Xuan studied the knots, he pointed in a direction and told Mu Fa to turn the fleet to that direction.
Mu Fa eyed Shao Xuan up and down and then looked at the other Flaming Horns. Seeing how they had no objections, he ordered the fleet to head in that direction. After all, they had arrived at their destination. They had already fulfilled their ancestors’ wishes by crossing the sea to this continent. As for the people they were supposed to meet? Well that’s the Flaming Horns’ problem, not theirs.
However, before they set off, they had to stop by the shore to replenish their stock of fresh food and water. It would be best if they could find some juicy fruits.
Although the types of plants in this forest were a little different compared to the other continent, there were still some plants that they were familiar with. Duo Kang and Guang Yi could recognize them. They did not see any of these plants on the other side, but as they saw all of these fruits that were local to the area, Duo Kang felt a little emotional.
“I never thought I would be back so soon!”
Mu Fa didn’t even wait for the ship to stop moving and was the first one to hop onto the shore. He wanted to be the first Longboat tribesman to step on this continent!
Shao Xuan ignored all the Longboat tribesmen who were laughing like crazy and ordered people to hurry and look for food and water first. This was just a short stop. They still had to depart.
After they rested by the shore for a night, the fleet departed once again, toward the direction Shao Xuan pointed them to. They stayed close to the shore and continued to search for that meeting place.
Two days later, they finally saw the wide estuary.