SSS-Rank 10x Reward System: Accepting Disciples to Live Forever-Chapter 209: Working Together

After observing the chaos on the beach for some time, Wang Chen gradually pieced together the situation.

To pass the test, they needed to cross the ocean.

And the only way to cross it was by ship.

Not some divine vessel carved from heavenly jade.

Not a flying treasure powered by spiritual arrays.

A ship.

Constructed from the forest beside the shore.

The trees.

The stones.

Raw materials.

At first glance, the arrangement seemed almost laughably mundane.

Some might ask: now that they were "eternal existences," why not simply swim across?

Wang Chen almost snorted at the thought.

Although their cultivation had been sealed, their intelligence remained intact. None of them were fools. The ocean stretched endlessly to the horizon, its waves rising dozens of feet high before crashing violently back down. Even without spiritual beasts lurking beneath, attempting to cross by swimming would be absurd.

Time-consuming.

Exhausting.

And needlessly dangerous.

A ship, on the other hand, offered structure. Stability. Efficiency.

This was not guesswork.

This was information.

Many of these immortals had explored Dragon Race Inheritance Grounds before—replicas, perhaps—but the accumulated knowledge was real. Patterns had been studied. Methods passed down. There were records suggesting that crossing by vessel was the intended route.

Wang Chen’s gaze drifted back to the gathering of cultivators near the shoreline.

Then it stopped.

A particular group stood out immediately.

Two things made them eye-catching.

First—

Wings.

Not ornamental projections. Not illusions.

True wings grew from their backs, feathers shimmering faintly beneath the sunlight.

Second—

There was no noise.

No arguments.

No defiance.

Under the calm supervision of a beautiful winged cultivator—her expression serene, her posture straight—the winged experts stepped forward one by one.

Silently.

Some chopped wood.

Others carried heavy stones.

There were no raised voices.

No visible resentment.

Only coordinated movement.

At that moment, Mo Huyan’s form materialized quietly beside him, her presence as natural as a shadow.

Wang Chen stiffened slightly and instinctively glanced around.

To his relief, no one reacted.

No one seemed to notice her.

"Don’t underestimate the unity of the ancient Winged Races," Mo Huyan said softly. "The only reason they survived the catastrophe that wiped out the dragons was their unity."

Her gaze lingered on them.

"Their teachings are engraved into their bones."

So these are the ancient Winged Races...

Wang Chen had heard of them in passing, but seeing them in person stirred a strange familiarity.

The wings.

The bearing.

For a fleeting moment, they reminded him of Original Demons.

And Original Angels.

Especially the wings.

As that thought passed through his mind, he noticed movement around him.

One by one, figures began gravitating toward him.

The All-Seeing Immortal.

Murong Shichen—the core disciple of Sword Saint Heaven.

And Zi Han.

They did not speak immediately, but their actions spoke clearly enough. They gathered within a few steps of Wang Chen, forming an unspoken circle.

Wang Chen almost laughed inwardly.

How could he not understand? 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Individually, they might not trust one another.

But each of them had some form of prior connection with him.

He was the common thread.

"All of us are mature and wise people," Wang Chen said calmly, his voice steady over the sound of crashing waves. "There is no need for conflict."

He let his gaze sweep over them.

"We can work together to achieve a common goal."

This time, he decided to play his role seriously.

From the structure of this trial, it was obvious what the Dragon of Eternal Dream wanted.

A world without tyranny.

Without blind domination.

A test that forced cooperation rather than competition.

The faster they set aside pride and rallied, the smoother the crossing would be.

And Wang Chen, standing at the center of their unspoken alliance, understood one thing clearly—

If unity was the key...

Then someone had to take the first step.

Wang Chen and the figures standing around him were not ordinary cultivators.

Each of them had stood at the peak of their respective factions.

Each had endured countless schemes, betrayals, and bloodshed to rise where they stood.

They were elites among geniuses.

Which meant one thing—

They understood priorities.

Grudges could be settled later.

Survival came first.

With that silent understanding forming an invisible thread between them, Wang Chen let his gaze sweep across their faces before speaking.

"So," he said calmly, the ocean wind tugging lightly at his robes, "who among you knows how to build a ship?"

The question was simple.

But necessary.

If it were about assembling a small fishing boat or a flimsy raft, Wang Chen might have attempted it himself. He had seen enough worlds and lived through enough lifetimes to piece something together.

However—

He glanced toward the ocean.

Waves dozens of feet high rose violently, curling upward before crashing down with a deafening roar. Spray shot into the air, drifting back down as fine mist. The sea did not look forgiving.

Any small, improvised boat would shatter the moment it met those waves.

To survive here, they would need a proper vessel.

Large.

Balanced.

Reinforced.

His words caused a ripple of silence to spread.

The arguing from earlier faded in their vicinity. The cultivators gathered around him remained quiet, no one interrupting.

That alone revealed something.

An unspoken consensus had formed.

"Fellow Daoists," a voice spoke up steadily, "leave the ship construction to me."

Wang Chen turned.

The All-Seeing Immortal stepped forward.

"I have been preparing for this trial for a very, very long time," he continued. His eyes, normally distant and unreadable, now carried a faint intensity. "After countless attempts, I have finally designed a ship capable of withstanding the waves."

For many present, this Dragon Inheritance Ground was an opportunity.

A gamble.

A chance to rise further.

But for the All-Seeing Immortal, it was not optional.

It was survival.

His Dao body was crumbling.

If he failed here, there might not be another chance.

Wang Chen studied him for a moment, then nodded.

"Excellent."

He allowed a faint smile to appear before shifting his gaze toward Demon Queen Zi Han and Murong Shichen.

"Fellow Daoists," he asked evenly, "do you have anything to add?"

Neither of them had entered blindly.

They were not reckless adventurers.

At his question, both exchanged brief glances before nodding.

Without hesitation, each drew a folded piece of paper from within their sleeves.

The parchment rustled softly in the sea breeze.

"We have prepared blueprints as well," Zi Han said calmly.

Murong Shichen gave a short nod in agreement.

Three separate designs.

Three separate preparations.

For a moment, Wang Chen felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

The chaotic beach behind them still buzzed with conflict.

But here—

Structure was beginning to take form.

And the ocean continued to roar, as if waiting to see whether their cooperation would hold.

Seeing the blueprints in Zi Han and Murong Shichen’s hands, a faint frown appeared on the All-Seeing Immortal’s face.

It was subtle.

But it was there.

For someone who had claimed years of preparation, the presence of competing designs was clearly not ideal.

After a brief pause, as if weighing something in his mind, he turned toward Wang Chen.

"Fellow Daoist," he said evenly, "I will leave the choice to you. Compare all three and decide which is the best."

Wang Chen nodded calmly.

On the surface, his expression did not change in the slightest.

Inside, however—

He was frowning.

He knew absolutely nothing about shipbuilding.

Hull balance? Structural stress? Wave resistance?

He barely understood the difference between a fishing boat and a warship.

How was he supposed to judge which blueprint was superior?

Still maintaining his composed posture, he shifted his attention inward.

"Nether Empress," he transmitted quietly, "help me. Tell me which one is the best."

Mo Huyan had been scanning the surroundings with intense focus, her gaze drifting across the shoreline, the ocean, the forest behind them—as if searching for something deeper beneath the obvious.

Wang Chen’s question forced her to pause.

"You’re asking me which blueprint is the best?" she replied, her tone carrying faint disbelief.

She extended her perception briefly.

Her eyes swept across the three parchments.

Just a glance.

Then she turned her gaze back to Wang Chen.

"Choose any one," she said casually. "For crossing this ocean, the ship itself is not that important. Anything will do."

Wang Chen almost choked.

This is not the answer I wanted...!

His mind raced.

If the ship didn’t matter, why were they even debating?

More importantly—

He had just been given responsibility to choose.

If he selected the worst one and praised it as the best, what would that make him look like?

An incompetent hidden expert.

That was unacceptable.

He took a steady breath and forced himself to think.

Who among the three had the most preparation?

The deepest background?

The strongest motive?

The All-Seeing Immortal had explicitly said he had been preparing for this trial for a very, very long time.

This was do-or-die for him.

He would not risk everything on a flawed design.

Common sense suggested that his blueprint was the most refined.

After a brief pause, Wang Chen lifted his head.

"We will use Fellow Daoist’s design," he said calmly, nodding toward the All-Seeing Immortal’s parchment.

There was no hesitation in his voice.

As if he had just completed a careful evaluation.

The All-Seeing Immortal’s eyes flickered faintly, then a wide smile spread across his face.

"Good!"

His tone carried genuine satisfaction.

"Now that the design is finalized, all of you begin gathering wood. I will make the necessary adjustments."

Without wasting time, he stepped forward and knelt near the sand, already beginning to clear a flat section of ground to lay the foundation for construction.

The ocean roared behind them.

The wind swept across the beach.

And for the first time since arriving, the scattered immortals on the shore began moving with a unified purpose.