Chapter 79: A New Person at Sea
By noon, the sun shone brightly.
As Xu Qing walked the streets, he decided that he would definitely help out Zhang San sometime in the future. He had to pay back this favor with the dharmaboat. Although he wasn’t sure what the dharmaboat would look like after Zhang San was finished, he had the feeling that there was going to be a lot more than 200 spirit stones’ worth of work in it.
He also needed to properly thank Zhou Qingpeng for the gift of the ghostlonging horseshoe crabs.
As he thought about such things, he kept his eyes on his surroundings, and the people on the street. Nothing looked any different than it usually did. It seemed that... the death of the young merman hadn’t caused any big waves in the capital city. It was the same in the Violent Crimes Division. In fact, few people seemed aware of what had happened.
Xu Qing pondered that as he headed in the direction of the Hall of Sea Annals.
All disciples had to visit the Hall of Sea Annals before going out to sea for the first time. All sorts of precious information was kept therein. It contained years upon years of accounts detailing the strange and wonderful things Seven Blood Eyes disciples had encountered on the open sea. That included countless descriptions of sea beasts. It was a spectacularly comprehensive collection of information. It was prohibited to copy the information and take it out of the Hall of Sea Annals. But by paying a small fee, you could go inside and study the annals to your heart’s content.
Furthermore, whenever disciples encountered strange matters or new sea beasts, they were asked to report the matter. After the information was verified, a considerable reward would be given. And the rewards were even greater for more precious information. Of course, if a disciple couldn’t provide clear and strong evidence to prove their report was accurate, the verification process could take a very long time. Sometimes, hundreds of years could pass. That alone generally prevented people from randomly reporting false information in the hopes of getting a reward. And the unverified information didn’t make it into the Hall of Sea Annals. As a result, any information found in the halls could be considered true and accurate. Because of that, Xu Qing knew that everything he learned was important, and could possibly save his life.
He already knew which general direction he wanted to explore. Thanks to the detailed sea chart from the young merman’s bag of holding, he had his eyes set on one island in particular. It was located beyond the Westcoral Archipelago, in an area filled with dangerous submerged reefs. Because sealizards often shed their skin in that area, the place was called Sealizard Island. Sealizards were both vicious and rare. They usually lived in groups at the bottom of the ocean, and only came to the surface when they shed their skins. Anyone who wanted the skins had to collect them very quickly after they were shed, otherwise they would crumble into nothing. Because of that, they were very valuable. Acquiring such skins was difficult.
Furthermore, their defensive properties were amazing, which made them a high-quality material. In fact, mid-quality and low-quality materials couldn’t even compare to them. Xu Qing had seen them for sale in some of the Sixth Peak shops, and knew that the skin of a lizard that was only in the third level of Qi Condensation would fetch a price of at least thirty spirit stones.
As a sealizard’s cultivation base grew, its skin would become more and more expensive. The skin of a fifth-level lizard would go for 150 spirit stones, while the skin of an eighth level lizard would cost 500-600. It was a shocking level of wealth that ensured Sealizard Island was constantly visited by vicious bands of non-human cultivators from throughout the Forbidden Sea. In short, it was a dangerous place. Without a certain level of strength, going there was risking certain death.
That was exactly where Xu Qing intended to go.
As he thumbed through the sea annals, time passed by slowly but surely. Before he knew it, evening had come. After committing as much to memory from the sea annals as possible, he left.
I’m totally ready. I just need my dharmaboat.
As he looked out at the sea, the sound of the crashing waves reached his ears, and his eyes shone with anticipation.
The moon was up by the time he got back to the Transportation Division. The workers, tired after the hustle and bustle of the day, were leaving en masse. Walking past them, Xu Qing noticed Zhang San sitting atop a pile of cargo, smoking his pipe. Zhang San’s face was somewhat obscured by the shadowy evening light, but the flickering flame of his pipe made it possible to see how exhausted he was. Xu Qing felt a bit apologetic as he prepared to walk over. However, that was when he noticed a familiar face in the crowd of workers who were hustling to get out of his way.
It was a petite young woman who was none other than Li Zimei. She had joined the sect at the same time as Xu Qing. When she spotted him, she seemed as reserved as ever, but she still smiled.
In the light of the moon, her smile seemed warm and sincere.
Xu Qing gave her a smile of encouragement in return, then watched her as she left. Finally, he joined Zhang San.
“You know her?” Zhang San asked curiously.
“Yeah,” Xu Qing said softly. “Her name is Li Zimei. We joined the sect at the same time. She has a very tough character.”
Zhang San nodded. “She’s a good girl. Since the two of you are acquainted, I’ll make sure to look after her.”
“Thank you,” Xu Qing said solemnly.
“It’s nothing. Come on, let me show you your dharmaboat.” Eyes sparkling, he hopped off the pile of cargo and led Xu Qing toward a warehouse in the back, different from the one they’d been in earlier.
Upon stepping inside, Xu Qing saw a huge boat that was so impressive he stopped in place. He’d known all along that his boat would look different. But even still, the sight of it left him completely stunned.
The prow, which had previously resembled a crocodile head, was no longer long and narrow. Now, it was a much more snub-nosed beast, with a black horn that lay mostly hidden in its forehead, but seemed ready to stab out at any moment. The boat had previously seemed flashy and flamboyant, but now, it seemed reserved, with its brutality kept hidden.
There were more changes. The boat was no longer 60 meters long and shaped like a willow leaf. Instead, it was actually shorter, but at the same time, wider. It was roughly diamond-shaped, and even resembled a turtle shell to some extent. Each plank on the deck was covered with scales, as well as complex formation markings.
Both sides of the ship featured two circular legs, four in total for the whole boat. They could expand and retract, which would allow the boat to move on land. Hidden within the wheels at the end of the legs were numerous sharp spikes.
There were big changes to the cabin as well. It now consisted of a small, two-story superstructure which would save space while also adding more room for the spell formation. Most eye-catching of all were the large sails that now stuck up from the deck, shaped like heavenly sabers. There were eight total, with four near the prow and four near the stern. All of them were tilted symmetrically at an angle. They resembled wings, but at the same time, looked like sharp blades. In the hold of the boat was a large empty area that could hold sea beasts.
Overall, the dharmaboat now looked like some gigantic, awe-inspiring creature.
“This...” Xu Qing said, reeling a bit at the dramatic changes to his boat.
Seeing Xu Qing’s reaction, Zhang San’s exhaustion turned into pride.
“The craftsmanship on your old dharmaboat was sadly lacking,” Zhang San said coolly. “Therefore, I made some changes. The biggest alterations were to the boat’s keel, hull, internal structure, cabin, prow, stern, and superstructure.
“I completely replaced the keel, which will make the boat a lot more stable. With some adjustments to the internal structure, you can reach optimal levels of strength and speed. However, you still have some room to make upgrades in those regards.”
With that, Zhang San leaped up onto the dharmaboat.
“I injected some devourer marrow into the black horn at the prow. If you stab a sea beast with that horn, it will absorb its spirit power and then store it in the spell formation.
“See the four legs? Each leg has 3,600 razor-sharp spikes in it. If you get into a dangerous situation, you can shoot those spikes out and detonate them.
“I didn’t change the spirit convergence formation, but I did create this magazine here which will let you load up 50 spirit stones at the same time. Also, there’s a small flying boat hidden inside the hull that can move at double your normal top speed. You have to sacrifice the dharmaboat to use it, but it could save your life if you run into a really bad situation and need to escape.”
Zhang San reached up to touch one of the sails. Looking very proud, he continued, “And then we have the sails. I invented this type of sail. Watch.”
He took out a spirit stone, put it into the spell formation, and then stamped his foot. The formation activated, and the eight blade-like sails folded up, creating a defensive shell. In that configuration, the boat looked like a huge snapping turtle, ready to either attack or defend itself.
“When you add in the dharmaboat’s default defense system, this means you have two lines of defense. It makes the boat even more durable. What’s more, you can also use the sails like blades to unleash extraordinarily deadly attacks.
“The groove on the bottom of the boat allows you to establish a firm connection to your dragonwhale. In the right conditions, that will allow you to use your dragonwhale to fly for short periods of time.”
Zhang San jumped off the dharmaboat, stood in front of Xu Qing with his hands clasped behind his back and chin up, and said, “And this, Xu Qing, is a true class-seven dharmaboat. What do you think? Satisfied?”
Xu Qing felt battered by waves of inward shock. Taking a deep breath, he took a few steps back, clasped hands, and bowed very deeply.
“Many thanks, Elder Brother Zhang. This dharmaboat makes me... very, very satisfied!”
“When it comes time to upgrade your dharmaboat to a dharmaskiff,” Zhang San replied, “then I’ll help you plan everything out according to your power source. A dharmaskiff is a real weapon!”
Overall, Zhang San was very pleased with Xu Qing’s attitude. However, his exhaustion was getting the best of him, and he couldn’t hold back from yawning.
Seeing this, Xu Qing said his goodbyes. After placing some more spirit stones off to the side, he packed up his dharmaboat and left the Transportation Division.
After he was gone, Zhang San let loose a dejected sigh. I lost so much money on this deal, I can hardly take it. I can’t believe I did such a good job.... I’m gonna go broke. This brat had better do really well in the future....
Swallowing his grief, he took the spirit stones and left the warehouse. Along the way, he recalled the disciple that had joined the sect along with Xu Qing. Taking out his identity medallion, he sent out some voice messages to make sure she was taken care of.
If I’m going to make an investment, I might as well go all in. There’s no other option.
As Zhang San continued to sigh, Xu Qing returned to Harbor 79. Back at his berth, he produced his dharmaboat, which crashed down onto the water. Taking a look at the huge boat, he stepped aboard and started inspecting everything up close.
That night, Xu Qing looked at all of the work Zhang San had done, and he felt more admiration than ever. Finally, as the night came to an end, he stood on the deck and watched the sunrise.
Then, he performed a right-handed incantation gesture.
Time to go out to sea!
The water seethed as his class-seven dharmaboat exited its berth. Then, as numerous other disciples watched him from their dharmaboats, he turned the prow toward the sluice gate of the harbor.
His boat was like a caged beast that was finally being freed. As he stood on the deck, his long hair streamed behind him in the ocean breeze, glittering in the morning sun, his gray daoist robe fluttering.