Chapter 246: Section 34: The Great Divide between People
The night was deep.
In the valleys of the small island, Cang Xu climbed up from the ground.
“Alas, my arms and legs aren’t what they used to be,” the old scholar pounded his own waist with his fists.
Seeing this, Bai Ya couldn’t help but recall the scene at the New Moon Port shipyard where Cang Xu smoothed over his facial wounds and they healed immediately.
“Could it be that Master Cang Xu, an Undead Mage whose body has been transformed by Undead Magic, also gets tired?” Bai Ya questioned in his heart.
Zong Ge stood by with his arms crossed, watching coldly.
After Cang Xu’s long hour of inscribing and arranging, the ground of the valley and the surrounding mountain walls were now covered in dense patterns.
The lines were thick and thin, some straight as swords, some winding like vines.
Cang Xu’s eyebrows knitted slightly, he focused on checking it one last time. After making sure everything was correct, he began to infuse his own Magic Power into the temporary Alchemy Array.
As more and more Magic Power was sent into it, the lines gradually lit up. Soon, the entire Alchemy Array was illuminated.
The glow slowly converged, forming a huge white light sphere at the center of the Array.
“It’s a success!” Seeing the light sphere stabilize, a smile crept across Cang Xu’s face.
The order had already been decided.
Sanda held a Soul Crystal and walked into the center of the white light sphere under everyone’s gaze.
The glow had no effect on Sanda, but the Soul Crystal in the goblin’s hands quickly dissipated in the white light, turning into pitch-black smoke, which in turn transformed the white light sphere into a black one.
Whorls formed within the black sphere, and as the flow continued, it made a whistling sound.
After a dozen breaths or so, the black sphere turned back into a white light sphere.
The goblin, Sanda, walked out of the light sphere looking spirited.
Someone asked aloud, “How do you feel?”
“Fantastic!” Sanda smiled.
Following him was Lan Zao.
After walking out, he too felt rejuvenated, his fatigue swept away, he sincerely praised, “There’s a reason the Soul Crystal is so renowned.”
But Cang Xu reminded them, “This is only an illusion. Your spirit has indeed surged tremendously, but your physical exhaustion remains, do not be careless.”
Zong Ge was the seventh in line.
The knight youth was the tenth.
After consuming a Soul Crystal, he felt clearheaded and experienced an immense sense of relaxation.
Cang Xu said, “Sir, you have signed many contracts recently. There are Magic Covenants, secret contracts, all of which impose constraints and burdens on both your body and soul.”
Clearly, the enhancement in spiritual power was easing this burden.
Contracts of lower Levels have a hard time binding those whose life ranks are higher.
As for why it was a covenant, instead of something like a Slave Contract.
It was because Golden Chin and Sea Snake Lady, although captured by the group with the knight youth, had first surrendered to the Empire. The youths, too, relying on the Empire, could not rightfully execute them.
Furthermore, they were members of Firebeard’s pirate group. Whether killing them or enslaving them, it would make Firebeard’s pirate group an enemy. It was not worth the loss.
Lastly, the youth had to consider the factor of the Holy Tablet.
Bai Ya was among the last few in line.
Lan Zao comforted him by saying there was still hope for a Bloodline transformation.
But such hope was very slim.
Bai Ya harbored a frustration deep within his heart that he could hardly articulate, and he did not give up his right to use the Soul Crystal.
“Perhaps the improvement in spiritual power could help my Cultivation,” harboring this lucky thought, Bai Ya sneaked to a corner to start his Fighting energy training.
There were no ropes here to swing for him, but he had mastered the knack of muscle movement, swinging his arms could as well achieve high Cultivation efficiency.
The improvement in spiritual power was indeed significant.
He sensed the generation of Fighting energy more clearly than ever before.
Fighting energy emerged in thin threads, on the threshold between existence and nonexistence, slowly produced and then rapidly dissipating in the act of spreading.
Bai Ya: “…”
Indeed, the Soul Crystal brought no aid to the training of Fighting energy.
Instead, the increase in spiritual power allowed Bai Ya to see even more clearly the harsh truth of his talent.
After a while of Cultivation, the frustration and discouragement in Bai Ya’s chest made it difficult for him to maintain self-control. He clenched his fists and looked up at the profound night sky. He felt a strong urge to shout and roar at the Cang Qiong, at the gods.
But in the end, he bit his teeth tightly together and forcefully endured.
The young man knew that Lan Zao was watching all of his every move.
Lan Zao sighed and did not come forward to comfort him.
For he knew that comfort was futile.
Bai Ya needed to accept this harsh reality. Lan Zao even felt that his earlier consolation about Bloodline transformation had made Bai Ya’s pain worse.
Because it gave Bai Ya hope.
And hope, while it leads to longing, also leads to pain.
“He needs to face reality alone.” Ultimately, Lan Zao silently departed.
He also began training.
Unlike Bai Ya, he had a Bronze Level talent.
Within him, Fighting energy was produced constantly. Both the speed and scale at which it was generated were much greater than Bai Ya’s. Fighting energy enveloped him like mist.
However, Lan Zao sighed inwardly.
Just as Bai Ya hoped to become a Bronze fighter, Lan Zao longed to reach the Black Iron Level for many years.
An unreachable dream!
No matter how hard he tried, exhausting all methods, there was no sign of success. Not even a trace.
Bloodline created chasms between one person and another.
But Lan Zao was long accustomed to it.
The emotional journey that Bai Ya was going through was one that he had once trode, and it was the same for countless Transcendents throughout history.
In the darkness, he sat cross-legged on the ground.
Surrounding him was the dense rainforest of the sea island.
A portion of the pirates led by Lan Zao was sleeping around the campfire, while others were scattered around, taking on the role of sentries.
Lan Zao was Cultivating Fighting energy.
Although his lower body remained still, his hands were continuously moving.
Sometimes he would put his fingers together like a sword, at other times his hands shaped like claws, and sometimes he would jab one finger into the center of the other hand’s fist and repeatedly thrust in and out.
This was the method of Cultivating the Fighting energy of the Grey Mist.
He had Silver Level Bloodline, hence the generation of Fighting energy was quite the spectacle.
Streams of Fighting energy originated from the tips of his fingers, then converged into his palms, flowing through his arms like rivulets of water. The continuous, unending current seeped deep into his body.
The night waned, and dawn approached.
Lan Zao slowly opened his eyes.
He felt fatigue.
The Cultivation of Fighting energy was a painstaking process that excavated strength from one’s body, which made it very easy to tire.
If he kept Cultivating without rest, Lan Zao’s limit was one day and one night. He was far from reaching his limit now.
Because they were in the wild, it was not a good environment for Cultivation. Lan Zao needed to maintain his condition and could not push himself to the limit. Just like Zong Ge, who trained the pirates on Little Bird without exerting his full effort, he needed to keep a certain state to be ready for unexpected battles.
But this was not the main reason Lan Zao stopped Cultivating.
“Grey Rat…” He had been keeping the sunken flagship in his thoughts.
That ship had special significance to him.
He needed to salvage the Grey Rat and repair it.
But this was a dangerous undertaking.
There would surely be people from Rou Cang watching the place where Grey Rat sank.
Lan Zao needed a good opportunity and the help of others.
The knight youth was the one he sought help from, and the latter also made a request—requiring his performance.
“Merit!” Lan Zao understood it as such.
“Get up, no more sleeping. We need to explore the entire island as soon as possible.” Lan Zao woke all the pirates he led.
The pirates, who hadn’t had a good night’s sleep, grumbled.
“No way, it’s just barely dawn.”
“Didn’t Captain Long Fu say we’re not setting sail until the afternoon?”
“We’ve gathered a lot of food and water; it’s enough for a check-in, Lord Lan Zao.”
Lan Zao shook his head; he wanted to explore the entire island and map it.
Although this merit was small, many a little makes a mickle.
He was aware that although he had signed an alliance with Long Fu, the relationship between them was not equal; there was a hierarchy.
Lan Zao, with his Silver Level Cultivation and long standing as a pirate with a small reputation.
The pirates were reluctant, but they dared not defy his orders. Soon, they set off again.
The sky grew brighter, which facilitated their exploration even further.
Just as the sun rose from the sea, Lan Zao and his men crossed the entire islet and reached the other side.
The waves churned ceaselessly, and suddenly, a group of pirates emerged from the rocky shore.
Both parties were startled upon seeing each other.
Lan Zao quickly sized up the situation and his gaze landed on the small leader of the opposing pirates, a Bronze Level fighter with a scimitar at his waist.
The opposing side was also assessing Lan Zao.
“Beastman?” The characteristics of a Rat-man like Lan Zao were very distinct.
“Noble?” Lan Zao’s attire was refined, his accessories exquisite, and his posture erect—especially notable was his tightly fastened collar, giving an impression of meticulousness.
“Silver Level?!” Lan Zao’s aura made the opposing pirates’ hearts leap.
“Wait, you are…” The Bronze Level little leader hesitated for a moment, as he realized Lan Zao’s identity.
But the next moment, Lan Zao brazenly attacked!
He charged forward, wielding his thin sword, swiftly piercing through the opposing group.
The thin sword flashed a few times in the crowd, like silver lightning sprung from thin air.
By the time the pirates of Justice came to their senses, Lan Zao had already stopped at the rear of their ranks.
The Bronze Level little leader’s eyes bulged, clutching at his neck, but the blood still gushed unrestrained, spurting from between his fingers.
The pirates behind him fell to the ground one by one, never to rise again.
The little leader too collapsed on the cold, damp rocks, his face before death filled with fear and shock.
Lan Zao’s incisive swordsmanship also sent tremors through the pirates of Justice.
They were about to cheer when Lan Zao silenced them, “Shut your mouths, you fools! Do you want the enemies to discover us?”
“Yes, they’re all pirates!” An old pirate, looking at the bodies on the ground, asserted.
“Who do they belong to?”
“It’s not like they’re merchant ships, why provoke our own kind for no reason?”