Gao Wu: I became the minor villain that the protagonist was about to destroy.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past three days, Ye Ming made detailed handover arrangements for the affairs of Black Dragon Company. With Luo Wenqing in the company, everything ran smoothly.

On the special task force side, Ye Ming had also informed Long Zhenting in advance. Although Long Zhenting was somewhat worried about his trip to the Mountain and Sea Realm, he knew he couldn't stop him, and in the end, he only told him to "come back alive" and didn't say anything more.

The daily training and domestic spiritual vein exploration work of the special task force are coordinated by Long Zhenting, and the nine team leaders each perform their duties, so Ye Ming does not need to worry about them for the time being.

When Su Mingyue learned that Ye Ming was going to the Mountain and Sea Realm, she was afraid that he would be in danger and wanted to leave with him. However, Ye Ming politely declined, saying that it wasn't a vacation and that Ye Ming couldn't even guarantee her safety if he himself was not safe.

Early morning on the day of departure.

Entrance and exit of Longjia Mountain and Sea Boundary

Ye Ming stood in front of the teleportation array. Sui perched on his left shoulder, and Chi squatted on his right shoulder. The two little creatures, unusually, did not quarrel and quietly waited for departure.

Baki, Guo Haihuang, Yujiro, Retsu, and Hanayama Kaoru had all arrived, each carrying a simple bag, and stood beside the teleportation array.

The auras of the six people had undergone subtle changes compared to three days ago—clearly, they had not been idle during these three days, but had been making final preparations for this trip to the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Ye Ming's gaze swept across the five people's faces, confirming that everyone was ready, and then he slowly spoke, saying only one sentence: "Let's go."

He was the first to step into the teleportation array.

As the light shone, six figures simultaneously disappeared into the light of the teleportation array.

After a brief feeling of weightlessness, Ye Ming's feet landed firmly on the ground again.

In the distance, the majestic Longyuan City stood silently between heaven and earth, like a black dragon lying prostrate on the earth. The dragon guards on the city wall noticed the light of the teleportation array. Several guards glanced in this direction, recognized Ye Ming, nodded to him from afar, and then paid no further attention.

Ye Ming withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the six people behind him—Baki was looking around, his eyes full of novelty and excitement; Guo Haihuang took a deep breath, feeling the rich spiritual energy in the air, nodded slightly, and showed a satisfied expression; Yujiro looked around at the environment expressionlessly, his eyes carrying a beast-like vigilance; Retsu and Hanayama Kaoru stood side by side, talking in hushed tones.

"This is the Realm of Mountains and Seas..." Baki stretched his limbs, making a series of crackling sounds, and grinned. "Just standing here, I can feel my spiritual energy automatically circulating. One year of training here is equivalent to three years in the mortal realm!"

Ye Ming nodded, but didn't let them linger: "Let's go, let's settle in Longyuan City first, rest for a day, and then we'll go our separate ways."

The group headed towards Longyuan City.

As Ye Ming and his group entered the city, they obviously attracted the attention of many people. Although there were occasionally other humans who came here, they were not many, so they all cast scrutinizing glances at them.

However, upon seeing Ye Ming, the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd vanished, as Ye Ming's prestige in Longyuan City was now extremely high.

An old dragon guard at the city gate even greeted Ye Ming, saying, "Young friend, you're here again? Bringing friends this time?"

Ye Ming smiled and nodded: "I brought them here to see the Mountain and Sea Realm."

The old guard chuckled, his gaze sweeping over Baki and the others, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "Not bad, not bad, each one a promising talent. However, the Mountain and Sea Realm is not a peaceful place; tell your friends to be careful."

"Thank you for the reminder, senior." Ye Ming cupped his hands in thanks and led the group onward.

Ye Ming arranged for the five of them to stay at an inn in Longyuan City. Although it was called an inn, it was actually a guesthouse specially used by the Dragon Clan to entertain visitors. It was quiet, well-equipped, and most importantly, safe.

After settling them in, Ye Ming gathered the five people in his room and spread out a map of the Mountain and Sea Realm that he had borrowed from the Dragon Emperor on the table.

The map was large, almost filling the entire desktop. It marked the main terrain features of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the distribution areas of major forces, and some known dangerous areas. The edges of the map were somewhat yellowed, clearly indicating that it was quite old, but the markings were still clearly legible.

Ye Ming's finger traced across the map, finally stopping at a region marked in crimson—a region located in the far south of the Mountain and Sea Realm, surrounded by a continuous cluster of volcanoes. The map was marked with two words in ancient script: "Flame Valley".

"This is the Phoenix Clan's territory—Flame Valley." Ye Ming pointed to the crimson area, then looked up at the five people. "This is my next target."

"Of course I won't go directly there. I'll treat this rare trip to the Mountain and Sea Realm as a training opportunity."

Baki leaned closer to the map, examined it carefully, and then looked up to ask, "Do you need us to come along?"

Ye Ming shook his head: "Your strength is not enough right now. Besides, your purpose in coming to the Mountain and Sea Realm is to improve your strength—following me to the Phoenix Clan's territory may not yield the best training results."

He paused, his finger moving across the map, finally stopping at a vast mountain range northeast of Longyuan City: "I suggest you go here—the Cangmang Mountains. This mountain range is one of the areas with the highest concentration of spiritual energy in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and it is also home to a large number of powerful demonic beasts, ranging from elite to lord-level, making it very suitable for training."

"With five of you as a team, the chances of encountering fatal danger are not high as long as you don't venture deep into the core area of ​​the mountain range. Moreover, the Cangmang Mountain Range is not far from Longyuan City, so if you encounter a situation that you cannot handle, you can ask the Dragon Clan for help."

Baki glanced at the area marked "Cangmang Mountains" on the map, a glint of light in his eyes, and grinned: "Sounds good."

Guo Haihuang nodded and stroked his beard: "With abundant spiritual energy and enough opponents to hone one's skills, it is indeed a good place to train."

Yujiro didn't speak, but glanced at the mountain range on the map and nodded slightly, indicating his approval of the arrangement.

Retsu and Kaoru Hanayama also expressed no objection.

Seeing that the five had reached an agreement, Ye Ming put away the map, looked at them, and said seriously, "Then it's settled. You will train in the Cangmang Mountains, and the Cangmang Mountains are large enough that you can enter from different locations."

"If we encounter danger we can't handle—" Ye Ming's gaze swept across the five faces, "survival is the priority. Lost things can be found again, but if you lose your life, you lose everything."

Baki grinned: "Don't worry, we're not so weak that we're easy to kill."

Ye Ming nodded and said nothing more.

The following morning, Ye Ming stood at the city gate of Longyuan City and bid farewell to the five people.

Baki waved to Ye Ming: "I'm leaving. Be careful on your own in the Phoenix Clan—don't let yourself die in the Flame Valley before we've had enough training."

Ye Ming smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm tough."

Guo Haihuang cupped his hands in greeting to Ye Ming, saying nothing more, but the concern in his eyes was self-evident. Yujiro merely glanced at Ye Ming, nodded, and then turned to walk ahead towards the Cangmang Mountains.

Retsu and Kaoru Hanayama also said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Ye Ming stood at the city gate, watching the five figures gradually disappear into the morning mist until they were no longer visible, before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

He looked down at the flint on his left shoulder, then at the blazing flame on his right shoulder, and said softly, "Let's go—we should head to the next town."