The SSS class adventurer is a divine cleric

Somewhere in the far Eastern continent of Eldraus in an Imperial Palace of Shenshui Empire

The skies above the Jade Dragon Hall were clear.

Not a whisper of wind stirred the imperial banners. Not a single cloud dared to cross the heavens that day, as if even the sky knew something was being sealed.

Wei Lianfeng knelt on one knee, his hand over his chest, head bowed, expression unreadable. His long, black hair was tied in a war braid, and the jade scabbard at his back gleamed under the sun.

Six generals stood behind him. Thirty elite warriors behind them. And further still, at the edges of the courtyard, the watching eyes of the court, hungry, silent, and calculating.

From atop the high golden dais, the Crown Prince stepped forward in his imperial robes, arms wide.

"Brother. Third Prince. Hero of the Violet Step Tournament. Today, your path reaches beyond the mortal world."

Wei Lianfeng said nothing.

The Crown Prince smiled, too wide. "The heavens have spoken through the Clear Mirror Oracle. The Skyheart Pearl lies beyond the western horizon, lost in a world where even our Empire's maps end. You shall retrieve it."

The court gasped. The name of the Skyheart Pearl was a legendary treasure of qi cultivation, said to awaken ancient meridians and extend life by centuries. A myth.

Wei Lianfeng lifted his head.

"Am I to sail past the Broken Horizon, through storm and sea, for a myth?"

The Crown Prince laughed gently. "A myth? Perhaps. But myths are the bones of empires. Who better than you, the Heaven-Blessed, Wind-Forged, to chase the edge of the world?"

Lianfeng met his brother's eyes. They sparkled with warmth, but behind them were calculation, fear and jealousy.

This wasn't a test. Going towards the Broken horizon was digging one's own grave. There was a rumor that there lived a legendary monster. Kunpeng and whoever sailed towards the Broken horizon never returned.

But he bowed anyway. "Then I accept."

A few days later.

The harbor of Jinlong Port was thundering with fanfare.

War drums rolled from the cliffs, echoing down into the bustling docks where thousands had gathered to witness the departure of the Eastern Star, a vessel of legend, carved from moon-kissed jadewood and reinforced with dragonsteel beneath its dark green hull.

It was not merely a ship.

It was a symbol of power, of purpose, and of quiet exile.

At the pier's edge, the Third Prince of Yunxu, now dressed in ceremonial armor with gold thread binding his sleeves, stood with his fists clasped and gaze unmoving.

The Crown Prince, his older brother, smiled faintly as he stepped beside him, hands folded behind his back, regal in his long indigo robes. The breeze tousled the tassels of his jade crown as he nodded toward the ship.

"The Eastern Star. She was meant to lead a fleet. I gift her to you now… as your personal command vessel. Take it to the far west and retrieve what the Empire requires."

The implication hung unspoken: Don't return without it.

The Third Prince bowed, sharp and respectful. "I thank the Empire for its faith."

"It is not faith," the Crown Prince replied smoothly. "It is an opportunity."

From the ranks behind them, a voice cut through the noise.

"I will go with him."

Heads turned.

Bai Yueyin, clad in her wolf-etched battle robes, stepped forward. Her spear was strapped to her back, and her eyes blazed with unwavering loyalty. Her voice carried like a command.

"My prince may not know how to act within the court's filth, but he was born for the battlefield. I would shame myself to remain behind while he sails into danger alone."

The Crown Prince tilted his head. " Are you defying Imperial assignment?"

"I claim it as reassignment," she said, kneeling on one knee before the Third Prince. "Let me follow you as your generals, Your Highness."

There was a flicker of tension, then applause from some of the soldiers gathered on the docks.

Bai yueyin was still a fledgling general but a promising one and the crown prince didn't want to lose her but seeing that she had pledged loyalty to his brother he accepted the proposal.

Two more figures stepped forward from the crowd, Zhao Shun and Meng Nian, dressed in travel armor, cloaks fluttering.

"We've followed you through sieges and winter marches," Meng Nian said, expression calmly. "What lies beyond the sea will be no different."

"Besides," Zhao Shun added with a smirk, "we are already packed."

Their presence drew nods and murmurs from a dozen more, elite cultivators and swordbearers, loyal to the Third Prince, hardened by war and conviction.

The Crown Prince gave a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"It seems your following is stronger than I thought. Perhaps your spirit is better suited for legends than politics."

The Third Prince turned without responding, walking slowly up the boarding plank to the ship, flanked by his companions.

"Hurry up, we are leaving."

And the trio rushed up like children late for school.

The Eastern Star's sails began to rise, woven from spider-lotus silk, shimmering silver and green. Bells chimed from the topmasts. The hull groaned with life.

As they cast off, the shore began to fade, the flags of Yunxu blurring against the morning fog.

Bai Yueyin stood at the bow like a statue, scanning the western horizon.

Meng Nian prepared the charts.

Zhao Shun leaned against the rail, polishing his curved blade.

And below deck, the Third Prince sat in quiet meditation,breathing slowly, hand resting over the sealed scroll given to him by the Crown Prince.

A scroll that did not contain a map… but a name.

"The Isle of the Dead."

A cursed place.

A place none had returned from.

Aboard the Eastern Star, 27 Days Out at Sea.

The sunrise that day at sea brought no warmth.

The sky was pale, almost bruised. The sun, a ghost behind thin clouds, cast no shadows. The sailors didn't speak of it. But Wei Lianfeng noticed.

The sea had changed.

It wasn't the waves, or the wind. It was the silence.

No gulls. No distant cries or fish surfacing at night.

Just stillness.

Even the sails of the Eastern Star, the Shenshui Empire's finest warship, reinforced with dragonsteel ribs and bound with spirit-threaded rope, hung heavy despite the breeze.