Chapter 309: Section 97: Me, Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts
Whir, whir, whir…
The tidal waves surged, creating huge vortices on the ocean surface.
Visibly, the water within the area of the Sky Pillar Sea Eye flowed faster and faster.
The closer to the center of the Sea Eye, the more turbulent the current became, and it dipped downwards like a funnel.
Usually, this funnel was not very noticeable, but now the center of the Sea Eye was at least five to six hundred meters lower than the normal sea level.
To avoid being swept into the surging waves, many marine creatures had started migrating outward a week earlier, forming a brief Beast Tide.
...
The Justice Pirate Group had encountered a frozen land whale three days ago, which was part of this Beast Tide.
Now, the ten pirate ships and one supply ship of the Justice Pirate Group were all stationed at the outermost periphery of the Sea Eye.
Today was the day the Sky Pillar would rise!
The Dragon-man youth, the Half-Beast Zong Ge, Cang Xu, clad in gray, Feng Yao, and others stood on the deck or hovered in the air, gazing into the distance.
The Sea Eye had receded to its limit, like a bowstring fully drawn or a tightly coiled spring suddenly released.
Boom, boom, boom!
With a tremendous roar, a surge of water shot up from the very center of the Sea Eye.
The water surged tremendously, a massive scale resembling a white hill emerging from the sea.
It rose higher and higher, and within a few breaths, it had reached dozens of meters in height.
After five or six minutes, the water column had risen to a height of three to four hundred meters, but owing to its large radius, it still gave a robust and solid impression.
On the pirate ships, many marveled in amazement.
“The Sky Pillar Sea Eye has finally erupted,” the youth withdrew his gaze.
In the days to come, the water column would continue to rise. Though its pace would slow down, it was still expected to exceed two thousand meters in height by tonight!
According to Feng Yao’s information, this was just the first stage of the Sky Pillar Sea Eye’s eruption; only in the second stage would they be able to enter the Half-plane.
The Dragon-man youth went to the combat room, securely closed the door, activated the Magic Device, and then sat cross-legged on the floor.
He did not train in Fighting energy but instead began to meditate.
Meditation was a pathway for Mages to cultivate.
The meditative technique the youth practiced at this moment was a common one obtained from Cang Xu. As a Mage, Cang Xu had not only gathered the Undead School’s methods of meditation but also collected many others from different schools.
This was his third time cultivating through this method.
A qualitative change was triggered by quantitative change — a subtle transformation occurred within the youth’s body — the Mana Pool had finally opened.
The youth’s eyes closed, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.
At this moment, a faint joy spread through his heart.
Thus, his Mage cultivation could be considered to have started; he now possessed his own Mana Pool.
Of course, this Mana Pool’s capacity was very small. Although he was of the Silver Level, his Mage cultivation had just begun.
The next step was to accumulate Mana.
His spirit spread out, filling the entire combat training room, capturing the Fire Element within the space.
With his spirit’s guidance, the Fire Element slowly entered his body, and bit by bit, like fireflies, gathered in the Mana Pool.
Little by little, a thin layer of Fire Element Mana formed in his Mana Pool.
This was related to both his King of Flame Dragon Bloodline and the fact that his meditation technique was of the Fire Element.
The Dragon-man youth’s aura gradually changed.
On the foundation of Fighting energy, a hint of Mana aura was added.
As time passed, this wisp of Mana aura became more evident until it reached its peak.
“The Mana Pool is filled,” the Dragon-man youth slowly opened his eyes, ending his meditation.
Even though the youth had primarily trained in Fighting energy before, his attempts told him that his speed of Mana accumulation was quite rapid.
“The meditation technique is very common, and the cultivation environment is poor. Mainly, it is because of the King of Flame Dragon Bloodline…”
The youth needed to gather Fire Element to convert into Mana, but the vast sea was filled with Water Element, making Fire Element relatively rare.
This place was a combat training room, not a meditation cultivation room. Although there was a Magic Device, it only shielded internal noise.
Generally, when Mages meditate, they actively adjust the external environment. The higher the concentration of corresponding elements in the external environment, the more beneficial the cultivation.
Therefore, many times Mages would use Element Crystals and set up Arrays to actively increase the concentration of elements in the surrounding environment.
A Mage’s efficiency in a Mage Tower is more than ten times that without a tower.
The King of Flame Dragon Bloodline, truly a Legendary Level Bloodline, holds tremendous potential for training both Fighting energy and magic.
“Actually, the Blood Core’s records of the Flame Dragon royal bloodline are incomplete; it’s only a fragmented state.”
In this world, talent is the primary factor for cultivation. Even Divine Officers are no exception. Those who can carry more Divine Power are those with superior aptitude.
In fact, the Dragon-man youth had some expectations for his prospects in magic cultivation, but it was only now that he began practicing both magic and martial arts.
Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts sounds impressive, but it actually entails significant challenges.
For instance, balancing Fighting energy and Mana, allowing them to coexist harmoniously. Also, managing energy and time, determining how to allocate resources to both training aspects.
If possible, the Dragon-man youth did not want to cultivate magic.
Because he knew his time, energy, and resources were limited, and the external environment was unfriendly; cultivating magic was not as effective as focusing solely on fighting energy.
But due to the circumstances, he had to start practicing magic.
The main reason was to protect the Blood Core.
Being mistaken for a Druid was a situation the youth wanted.
After all, Druid is part of the magic system and it was impossible to explain the absence of mana fluctuations.
Moreover, looking at the bigger picture, dual cultivation of magic and combat skills would best utilize the advantages of the Blood Core.
Another reason was the Fire Gun Dragon’s Kiss.
This Firearm had been verified by Cang Xu and Fat Tongue among others and confirmed to be authentic!
A Legendary Level short-barreled firearm.
This made Fat Tongue deeply admire the youth. Legendary weapons were extremely rare and he could not believe the youth had casually stumbled upon one.
Truth be told, during the youth’s exploration of the ocean floor, this Firearm was his greatest find.
But the Dragon’s Kiss Firearm was not without damage.
All equipment required maintenance, and Legendary weapons sometimes demanded even more stringent and costly care.
Currently, the Dragon’s Kiss Firearm could only exert a Golden Level attack. The Dragon-man youth had already specially tried this against the frozen continent whale.
Every legendary piece of equipment has its own legendary story.
The Dragon’s Kiss was no exception.
This famous firearm was created at the end of the Barbarian Dragon Era when Barbarians were the most dominant rulers in the world.
Barbarians rode the Dragon Clan, ruling supreme and suffocating other races.
Barbarian warships ravaged every continent’s coastline, bringing severe damage to all races, unstoppable by anyone.
The original Pirate Throne was forged by the Barbarians.
At the end of the Barbarian Dragon Era, the conflict between the Barbarians and the Dragon Clan was irreconcilable, and their alliance was shattered.
Blood Ash, a legendary Barbarian hero, was a hybrid of both races.
His father was a Barbarian, his mother a Dragon, both holding high positions.
But at his birthday party, the Dragon Clan schemed and assassinated many of the Barbarian dignitaries in attendance.
His father was powerful in combat, but his mother used him as a hostage, blackmailing his father.
To protect him, his father was severely injured and on the brink of death.
At the crisis point, the Barbarians fiercely guarded him and broke out from the encirclement.
Blood Ash escaped with his life, and the few surviving Barbarians returned to their tribe, while his father died of his severe injuries in his arms.
Blood Ash was devastated. He cremated his father, combined his ashes with blood, and covered himself with it.
Blood Ash vowed revenge from then on.
He was exceptionally talented and with great support from the Barbarians, he did not disappoint, growing into a powerful Transcendent, proficient in both magic and martial arts.
He slaughtered many strong members of the Dragon Clan, who then had to set traps and resort to cunning schemes.
His mother, pretending to be a fugitive from the Dragon Clan and pursued by her own kind, told Blood Ash that his father’s death was all a deception rooted in deep misunderstanding.
Feeling the bond of kinship and deceived by well-crafted evidence, Blood Ash chose to believe temporarily and sought to investigate, only to fall into a trap set by the Dragon Clan.
The Barbarians dispatched their strong warriors immediately for a rescue, and Blood Ash was saved.
Blood Ash’s mentor perished.
Overcome by sorrow and regret, Blood Ash personally executed his mother and took her Dragon Body to the Dwarf tribe.
The Dwarf king personally crafted the Fire Gun Dragon’s Kiss from the Dragon Corpse.
This firearm was reserved for use only by those with Barbarian or Dragon Blood. For Barbarians, it had no drawbacks but required the consumption of Fire Element Crystals and fighting energy. For the Dragon Clan, aside from consuming their own fighting energy or mana, it also reduced the concentration of their Dragon Blood.
Throughout his life, Blood Ash detested the Dragon Blood within him and sought to remove it. But to remove a bloodline is incredibly challenging, so the Dwarf king gathered all the skilled craftsmen of his tribe to conceive the design schematics of the Fire Gun Dragon’s Kiss.
After acquiring the Dragon’s Kiss, Blood Ash wreaked havoc everywhere. On the brutal battlefield, he gradually transformed himself into a pure Barbarian.
Eventually, he became a renowned hero in the history of the Barbarians.
And the Dragon’s Kiss became one of his signatures.
The Dragon-man youth examined the Fire Gun Dragon’s Kiss in his hands: “Overall, this Firearm has many usage limitations. But for me, consuming Dragon Blood is not an issue.”
He had already tested it.
When used in his Dragon-man state, this Firearm indeed caused a significant decrease in the concentration of his internal Dragon Blood.
However, once he activated the Blood Core again, he could quickly return to his previous peak!
“If this adventure succeeds, I really need to recruit an Alchemist next.”
“Without a seasoned Alchemist, my Dragon’s Kiss will not be repairable.”
He was thinking too far ahead and quickly reined in his rampant thoughts.
For now, the priority still lay with the Mei Lan Temple.