Chapter 635: Section 421: The Future of Lan Zao
Pure white sky, azure sea.
Lan Zao swam freely in the sea, startling schools of fish that scattered and fled.
After his Bloodline Awakening, his appearance had undergone significant changes.
Each stroke of his hands and feet, the webbing between his fingers and toes provided considerable propulsion. At the same time, his arms and legs were filled with developed muscles, allowing him to thrust forward great distances with a mere flick of his limbs.
Before his Bloodline Awakening, Lan Zao had been a sailor for many years, and his Water Nature far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Now, his Water Nature had surged dramatically, and although not quite on par with those Fishmen who lived in the sea year-round, it was nearly so.
“This is the power of the Bloodline…” thought Lan Zao, filled with emotion.
During these days, he truly felt the weight of the word “Bloodline.”
And he thoroughly understood why the whole world valued Bloodlines so deeply, a perspective that had remained unchanged through ancient and modern times.
Because the Bloodline was indeed too important!
The mere change in his Bloodline had brought Lan Zao extraordinary enhancements. His Water Nature had broken through his previous limits, and his input?
Just eating and drinking every day, along with some training.
“Of course, the dishes Shuang Tu prepared for me were top-notch Magic Delicacies, tailored to my specific conditions.”
“The training programs he designed for me were also custom-made; I could genuinely feel their high efficiency!”
“Lucky for me, I’m a member of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps; otherwise, I wouldn’t receive such preferential treatment.”
“It’s proven that following the squad leader was my most correct and wisest decision!”
Lan Zao developed a fundamental trust in allies like Shuang Tu, felt lucky about his circumstances, and his doubts about Zi Di were greatly reduced.
All of these factors increased his admiration and compliance towards the Dragon-man youth.
Misunderstandings surrounding him and Zi Di, due to the ‘Bloodline Changing Potion,’ and some unlikely encounters, had changed Lan Zao’s innermost beliefs.
The nightmare he had experienced at that time was already a blur in his memory.
The shift in his deepest beliefs was also quietly unnoticed.
Even Lan Zao himself was unaware of it.
Suddenly, Lan Zao pulled in his limbs and lay flat without any movement, yet he still swiftly navigated through the sea, only slightly slower than before.
He was leveraging the sea current.
Just like how there are stable air currents in the sky that birds skilled at flying often rely on to extend their soaring time and distance,
There are water currents in the ocean.
Some ocean currents are very large and stable, but many more are minuscule and transitory.
At that moment, Lan Zao was like those skillful birds, using a brief current to glide underwater effortlessly and comfortably.
“This is truly a marvelous feeling!”
Although it was not the first time, Lan Zao still felt joy and marvel.
He could sense each sea current.
Every single one.
As long as it was within his range of perception.
This was his Transcendent Perception, a talent deriving from his Magic-like ability—Fluid Perception.
The Fishman youth had obtained four Magic-like abilities from the Bolang Fishman Bloodline: Healing Skill, Familiarity Aura, Spiritual Whip, and Spiritual Vision.
Lan Zao also obtained two Magic-like abilities from the Fish Bladder Bloodline. One of them was Fluid Perception.
Just as the name suggests, it is the ability to perceive certain fluid objects.
Much like people sensing wind direction, actually feeling the direction of airflow. But for ordinary people unless it’s a strong wind, it’s not easy to detect the direction. Firegun Snipers and archers who undergo training have the skill to detect wind direction. They often apply their spit on their fingertips, making them wet to enhance their sensitivity to the airflow.
Fluid Perception is that kind of ability, but much more advanced, at an Extraordinary Level.
Ordinarily, Lan Zao could sense some trends in the fluids.
When he focused his mind and injected his Fighting energy into it, his range of perception expanded multiple times, and his awareness became more precise.
Lan Zao glided forward with the sea current.
Almost motionless, as if he were lying on an invisible flying carpet in the sea, comfortable and effortless.
When the current he was riding changed slightly, he would adjust his body posture slightly to keep blending into the current.
These micro currents were changeable.
But with the Transcendent Talent of Fluid Perception, Lan Zao effortlessly merged almost into one with the sea current.
He enjoyed this sensation.
Every swim in the sea filled him deeply with a subtle, boundless joy.
Every training session in the sea was not hard for him but filled with pleasure.
He looked forward to the underwater training that was coming up.
Lan Zao closed his eyes, and the six black lines on each of his cheeks parted and closed.
These were his newly developed human organs — Fish Gills, after his Bloodline Awakening.
The closing speed of the gills was at least six times faster than initially, allowing Lan Zao to rapidly extract sufficient air from the sea.
This air filled his newly developed organ, the Fish Bladder, also a primary feature of the Fish Bladder Bloodline.
The Fish Bladder expanded rapidly, providing Lan Zao with buoyancy.
As the bladder continued to grow, he broke free from the constraints of the current, quickly rising towards the surface.
In Lan Zao’s mind, echoed the words Shuang Tu had once told him, “Once the concentration of Fish Bladder Bloodline reaches 30%, a Transcendent can consciously control the concentration of gases within his body.”
“So, you can compress the air in the fish bladder. This is also the source of the shells for the Air Cannon Combat Skill you started training with.”
“What you need to do now is to compress all the air in your body, absorb as much air as possible to the limit, and dissolve it into your blood. By doing this, you will promote blood circulation and greatly enhance your physical ability.”
“Your Fighting energy technique needs to be replaced, the grass-like Fighting energy technique you have mastered is no longer suitable for you.”
At this moment, Lan Zao was undergoing this training.
He rapidly breathed to replenish a large amount of air in his body and consciously promoted blood circulation to enhance his physical ability.
Shuang Tu provided him with a large amount of training materials for Transcendents with Fish Bladder Bloodline. In these materials, this state was clearly described— atmospheric state.
By comparison, the initial state where the fish bladder did not store air, which was imperceptible to Lan Zao, was called— meager state.
Lan Zao had already entered the atmospheric state.
As he neared the surface of the sea, he suddenly opened his eyes.
Generally, Fishmen do not have eyelids, but Lan Zao was not a Fishman; he still retained this physical structure. However, when he opened his eyes, his eyelids were drawn to the extreme, almost nonexistent.
Lan Zao stirred his arms without using his legs, and his entire body leaped out of the sea like a jump.
In the clear weather, there was a vast silence.
The sunlight shone on his light blue smooth skin and also made countless water droplets glitter like diamonds.
Amid the rising water splashes, Lan Zao did not fall directly back down. He spread his arms like a flying fish spreading its fins, enabling him to glide through the air.
When Fish Bladder Bloodline reached 30%, the possessor could control the concentration of their body gases, allowing Lan Zao to quickly adjust internal and external pressures to prevent injury due to rapid ascent from the sea causing pressure imbalance.
At 60%, the possessor could freely float up and down in the water, possessing Magic-like water flow perception.
Above 95%, they could float into mid-air. Though the altitude was limited, they possessed Magic-like air flow perception.
At 100%, the floating altitude increased, and the correlated perception talent rose to Fluid Perception.
Lan Zao glided more than 5 meters above the sea surface and then plunged into the water with a puff.
As he plunged into the water, he stretched his arms forward and closed his legs together, striving to make his body as straight as a line.
His smooth skin greatly quieted the noise of entering the water. Once underwater, his forearms came together in front of his head, and his legs whipped like those of a Fishman, greatly increasing his swimming speed.
After swimming for a bit, he jumped out of the sea again, gliding in mid-air.
The numerous splashes stirred up under the sunlight looked brilliantly crystalline, as if dancing and laughing with Lan Zao.
He was practicing another Magic-like skill— Floating Skill.
Thanks to the Bloodline enhancement, the distance Lan Zao could glide in the air was visibly increasing.
“How exhilarating!” Lan Zao laughed in his heart.
As he glided through the air, situated between the sky and the sea, he felt as agile as an Elf, sensing the vastness of nature. When he plunged into the water, the gentle sea water enveloped and caressed his entire body, like a tender mother caressing her beloved child.
As Lan Zao leaped into the air for the fifth time, his Life Breath underwent a transformation.
At that moment, he transitioned from Bronze Level to Black Iron Level!
“I’ve been promoted!”
Lan Zao’s heart trembled, and tears streamed down his face.
He had long been at the limit of the Bronze Level, restricted by his talent, stuck there. However, Bloodline Awakening had pushed his limit significantly higher, and the peak of the Bronze was no longer his ceiling.
He was promoted.
His Life Level and fighter level both rose to the Black Iron level.
Although Shuang Tu had also warned him before, although his Bronze Fighting energy had already shown a Black Iron luster a few days ago, when the moment truly arrived, Lan Zao was still deeply shaken and tremendously excited!
The tears in the air, following his gliding trajectory, sparkled amidst the myriad waves.
As he plunged into the sea, the vast ocean opened its arms like a mother, wiping away his tears, gently comforting him like embracing a wanderer returning home.
How many years had it been?
The youthfulness and immaturity once seen in the young boy had long vanished from his face.
The reverence and naivety of young adulthood had been eroded away by the hardships of life, leaving no trace.
Destiny’s merciless torment and tortures had once beaten him shapeless.
The shackles of sin weighed heavily on his heart, he had once contemplated suicide, yet lacked the courage.
As he plunged into the sea with the Black Iron level of Fighting energy, the moment his eyes opened under the impact of the water flow, he saw flashes of his past.
Once, he curled up, soaked in the sea, attempting to escape the tedium, the dullness.
Once, he worked on deck, dripping with sweat, the scorching sun like lashings, and the sweat on his body making his flesh painfully sore.
Once, he lay on a lone boat, raising his hand with fingers spread, peering through his fingers at the starry night sky, silently crying, “Bronze is my limit! Damn, damn it…”
Once, he lay on the desert floor, desperately drinking fresh blood from the body of his loved one!
Flashbacks flickered before his eyes, ultimately freezing into the figure of the Dragon-man youth.
“My life, my… future!” Suddenly, the visions in front of Lan Zao vanished, his eyes crystal clear.
Boom.
Without warning, a Golden Fighting Spirit giant hand tore through the air, fiercely reaching down.
Fluid Perception instantly alerted Lan Zao of the danger. Agile, he plunged deeper into the sea.
But the next moment, the giant hand split into two, one on each side, smashing into the sea, relentlessly pursuing him.
Lan Zao was not as fast as the giant hand, soon finding himself cornered with nowhere to run.
The giant hand grabbed Lan Zao and directly flew him back to the ship.
Lan Zao was thrown onto the deck.
He looked up and first saw a pirate flag.
The Grand Pirate Group!