Chapter 1668

The mermen call the song superb but note that Xie Han Mo’s Gu worm manipulation had many errors, since the pair never practised. Reaching such cooperation on a first attempt shows her personal attainment is truly profound. With the sea calm and the moonlight back, they judge it a draw, or rather a slight lead for Xie Han Mo. The grand elder lets out a breath as her worry lifts. In the Gu house, Frost Tide tribe’s leader screams. ^{ch. 1668}

Bu Su Lian tells the leader that his scheme succeeded but an accident occurred, and judges that Fang Yuan has very high attainment in sound path and likely composed the song himself. When the leader doubts her, she tells him he does not understand. She guesses wrongly: the song is originally from Earth. Xie Han Mo comes down and praises Fang Yuan for a unique song, and he answers that he lacks such attainment. ^{ch. 1668}

Dong Lei goes up and sings, drawing many fish, as Fang Yuan expected. Xie Han Mo’s two guards complain that Dong Lei stole their song again. Fang Yuan says he has another song prepared, and he plays while Xie Han Mo sings and dances. She thinks of her time as saintess, all alone despite her authority. Sea creatures and birds gather to listen, and the lyrics console her. She is truly moved, thinking that he is someone who knows her. ^{ch. 1668}

They win by a margin again, and Dong Lei turns pale, knowing the pair’s mistakes alone had let her reach a third song. Frost Tide tribe’s leader calls Fang Yuan a huge threat and says he needs to get rid of him. He can do close to nothing under everyone’s eyes. After long thought, he transmits to Fang Yuan, calling him naive, and Fang Yuan replies that this is his ideal. ^{ch. 1668}

The leader tells Fang Yuan the two are pawns: the grand elder could have suppressed his faction yet let them be the vanguard, and her help in the corruption case was not much of an effort. Even if they win, he insists, he will not die, since Frost Tide tribe is the largest faction in the Sacred Court and his death would throw it into turmoil or break it apart. The grand elder only wants him kept in check, he says, so whatever they uncover he stays leader, at worst sacrificing a few scapegoats. The ceremony, he claims, is a game by which the higher-ups divide resources, and the force with a saintess takes the bigger share. Darkness is the true ruler of the sea, he says, and those who take its surface light for truth are naive. Fang Yuan falls silent. ^{ch. 1668}