Chapter 566: Section 353: Don’t Want to Regret
The sea was windless.
The ocean surface lay calm.
A forest of tall fins, like banners, suddenly broke the surface.
A large group of sailfish, with their powerful tails, weaved through the shallows in agile form.
Straight ahead of them, a Silver Level whale was frantically trying to escape.
The whale was massive and swam slowly; it was quickly caught up by the group of sailfish.
The sailfish, like spears, pierced the whale’s defenses with their long, pointed snouts.
The whale, bleeding out, cried out in agony.
Before long, the colossal whale lost its life, and its hefty corpse slowly sank to the ocean floor.
The sailfish stayed where they were, gathering into a group, silently awaiting their leader’s arrival.
The aura of a Golden Level Magic Beast rapidly rose from the depths to the water’s surface.
The leader of the fish group had appeared.
It was a Golden Level sailfish with only a fish head remaining.
The sailfish head emitted calls and pulses of Magic Power, continuing to direct the sailfish group.
The sailfish dived down, using their blade-like sharp mouths to slice through the whale’s corpse.
Soon, the blood spread rapidly, staining ever more of the sea red.
Before long, a ghastly, sinister fog enveloped the battlefield, and the Ghost Ship sailed into the area.
Standing on the ship’s side were Cang Xu, Little Prince, and Ku Feng.
Their leader, the ship ghost, merged with the Ghost Ship in its ghost form, thus enlarging the scouting range of the Ghost Ship. Whenever they navigated unknown waters, the ship ghost would do this as a precaution.
As for Qing Xin, the only living person on board and also a Wind Mage, she used Wind Boost frequently during the Ghost Ship’s voyage to increase its speed, thus contributing her value.
The sailfish group became restless and agitated at the arrival of the Ghost Ship.
Almost all creatures instinctively feel fear and revulsion towards Undead Life, among other negative emotions.
Positive energy and negative energy are inherently opposed.
“Another Silver Level whale,” Ku Feng exclaimed in admiration, “We’re in luck today; this is already the third one this morning.”
Cang Xu smiled: “After all, this is the Whale Song Sea; it’s normal to have more whales.”
Little Prince enviously looked at Cang Xu, “You can actually command the original tribe through the Death Skull. Not only for hunting, but they also prepare the carcasses for us, which is really convenient!”
Cang Xu’s smile remained. He hadn’t anticipated that after practicing the Flying Head Skill, it would yield such benefits.
The Undead Mage and his party had set out from the ship ghost’s safehouse and headed straight for the White Sea Trench.
During this time, Cang Xu had practiced and initially grasped the Undead Magic of the Flying Head Skill.
As they were about to enter the Whale Song Sea, they were attacked by a sailfish group.
After the ship ghost personally defeated the fish group, Cang Xu volunteered and successfully obtained the sailfish leader’s head.
He fortuitously succeeded in using the Flying Head Skill and gained control over a Golden Level Death Skull.
Afterward, with this sailfish head, he unexpectedly discovered that he could also indirectly control the sailfish group.
Throughout their voyage, he gathered sailfish and gradually amassed the large group they had now.
The Flying Head Skill, in Cang Xu’s hands, began to show its advantages.
Though appearing as a Silver Level Undead Mage, Cang Xu was fundamentally at the Black Iron Level.
Yet, he could control a Golden Level Death Skull, a level leap that was staggering.
Among the three Undead Veins—Bone Vein, Corpse Vein, and Soul Vein—which could control skeletons, zombies, and ghosts respectively and form armies,
They too could control more powerful undead servants than themselves.
But Cang Xu could easily tell that when it came to leaping levels, they were nowhere near as substantial as the Flying Head Skill.
“The Flying Head Skill must have integrated the essence of both the Corpse Vein and the Soul Vein, making it more advantageous to control across levels.”
“Through the Death Skull, I can indirectly control beast groups. But at least two conditions must be met: first, the beast groups must have very limited intelligence. Second, the crafted Death Skull must conceal all traces of Undead aura.”
The whale was quickly dismembered by the sailfish group beyond recognition.
“Per our previous agreement, you can take all this flesh and bones. The soul shall belong to the esteemed ship ghost, and I’ll just take the head,” Cang Xu divided the spoils.
After tasting the benefits of the Flying Head Skill, Cang Xu began to look at any head differently.
The Little Prince, seeing another whale head fall into Cang Xu’s hands, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Isn’t this the fifth one?”
“It’s a pity that whale pods are family-based.”
“However, summoning five dead whale heads all at once would still be an astonishing scene.”
Imagining this, the Little Prince became excited.
Cang Xu replied with a wry smile, “You think the Flying Head Skill is too easy.”
“In fact, the higher the Level of the head material, the less likely it is to be successfully crafted.”
“It was sheer luck that I could train the sailfish head; such success is almost impossible to replicate.”
Cang Xu slowly savored the Flying Head Skill’s mysteries.
Although the Flying Head Skill was part of Undead Magic, in reality, Undead Magic was only the foundation. The real application lay in a plethora of alchemy techniques.
It can even be said that alchemy techniques are the more critical component, largely determining the success rate of crafting Death Skulls.
The more appropriate and high-grade the alchemy techniques used, the higher the quality of the Death Skulls produced, with their unique powers.
This posed a challenge for Cang Xu.
His proficiency in alchemy was quite ordinary and completely devoid of talent.
Having him copy an Alchemy Array was likely to lead to failure.
In these past days, riding on the legacy of the Flying Head Skill, Cang Xu had shown much flair.
He knew all too well that his alchemy ability would greatly limit the effectiveness of the Flying Head Skill in the future.
“The most direct way to circumvent this weakness would be to borrow external forces.”
“But where can I find a suitable alchemist who I can trust to cooperate with?”
The group of people around Cang Xu was not up to the task.
Among them, the Little Prince had an outstanding talent for alchemy.
But Cang Xu never considered asking for his help.
Because the Little Prince was an Undead Mage himself.
If he were involved in the creation of the Death Skull, he would easily learn the many secrets of the Flying Head Skill during the process.
This would be too easy for him.
Cang Xu also considered using the inheritance content of the Flying Head Skill as a bargaining chip to trade with these Undead Mages.
Especially the ship ghost.
If possible, Cang Xu was very keen to obtain a higher-grade Undead Inheritance from the ship ghost. Whether it was Soul Crystals or Memory Crystals, they would provide immense help to Cang Xu and the survivors.
“But if it’s not an Undead Mage, which normal alchemist would cooperate with an Undead Mage?”
“This is something that cannot be hidden or avoided.”
“The very basis of the Death Skull production is Undead Mana, after all.”
Just when Cang Xu was worried about the future, he was unaware that at the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, two alchemy mages had already joined.
And one of them was considered a prodigious rising star throughout the Ice Sculpture Kingdom!
When the Fishman Mage Zhongyong heard that Bu Quan had agreed to the recruitment, he was so shocked that he fell right off his chair.
“Zhongyong Mage, are you alright?” the Dragon-man youth expressed his concern.
Zhongyong hurriedly said, “I just didn’t sit properly, I’m, I’m fine.”
But his stuttering tone and shocked expression revealed the extreme turmoil in his heart at the moment.
Bu Quan maintained her posture of agreement from before, her gaze fixed on the Dragon-man youth, fervent and her face flushed.
Zi Di did not hide her surprised emotions, but upon seeing Bu Quan’s gaze, she was taken aback.
She instinctively looked towards the Dragon-man youth.
He looked back at Bu Quan, grinning foolishly.
The Ghost Girl suddenly had a shadow pass over her gaze, a complex mix of doubt, foreboding, and irritation surfacing in her heart.
She struggled to suppress her emotions and pulled out a blank Magic Scroll, “Let’s discuss the specifics then.”
“The most important item—salary.”
“I wonder, Miss Bu Quan, how much are you expecting for your ideal salary?”
Bu Quan was caught off guard, a little at a loss, “I’m sorry Mage Yao Ma, I haven’t thought about that yet.”
“Just give me whatever you think is fair.”
Zi Di was stunned, wondering: Is she being honest, or is this a negotiation strategy of hers?
Zhongyong was flabbergasted!
“What do you mean by ‘give me whatever you think is fair’?!”
“Hey, you’re Bu Quan!”
“How can you be so casual about something as important as salary?”
“And please, show some proper demeanor!”
“You’re an alchemy master, a kingdom-level talent!!”
Zhongyong roared inwardly, frustrated by her lack of assertiveness.
Bu Quan’s “whatever you think is fair” did not stump Zi Di.
The Ghost Girl had done extensive preparation and immediately began to explain fluently, “As far as I know, there are mainly three methods of hiring alchemy mages currently…”
She detailed the differences between the three methods while observing Bu Quan closely throughout.
Bu Quan wasn’t staring at the Dragon-man youth anymore.
Just looking at him had drained all of her courage.
Her gaze shifted around as she considered for a moment and then replied, “I don’t ask for a high yearly salary; I actually prefer a share of profits. I’d like a percentage of the profits for every Alchemy Item sold. The specific percentage will depend on the specific item. What do you think?”
“No problem.”
Bu Quan added, “After joining, I hope for a good working environment, at least one better than what I had at Snowbird Port.”
“This is also no problem,” the Dragon-man youth replied, “All the thanks gifts for you, Miss Bu Quan, are to be used by you. You will definitely be provided with better alchemy tools in the future.”
The two parties reached an agreement quickly.
Bu Quan was easy to talk to, and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps indeed showed genuine interest.
But just when the contract was about to be signed, the Fishman Zhongyong couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “Miss Bu Quan, what exactly made you decide to join a mercenary group?”
Bu Quan looked slightly stupefied, as images of her am and mentor appeared before her eyes.
She smiled faintly, “Indeed, I have a clearer path in life, and I’m sure it’s full of promising prospects.”
“But last night, I was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. I asked myself, would I regret it?”
“In the future, when I have achieved more success and am deeply aged, looking back on today, would I regret choosing a safe life path?”
“I’m still young.”
“I don’t want to have regrets.”
Her tone was calm, yet it revealed determination.
After speaking, she signed the Magic Contract.
Zhongyong sighed deeply.
Zi Di’s expression changed; she turned to look at the Dragon-man youth, her gaze deep and introspective.
This time, it was the Dragon-man youth who felt a sense of unease.