Chapter 636: Section 423: Converting Fighting Energy
Lan Zao fell backward onto the deck, thrown into complete disarray, especially when the back of his head struck the deck, causing excruciating pain.
In his field of view, the first thing he saw was a pirate flag.
The pirate flag with a black background billowed in the wind, and in the center was a white skull, its mouth open in a roar.
With the skull’s wide-open mouth as the center, white concentric circles were drawn, resembling the intense sound waves produced by the skull’s roar.
“Haughty Pirate Group!” Lan Zao’s mind quickly flashed with the answer.
It could be said that among all the survivors, he was the most familiar with the identities of the pirates.
Having served as the First Officer on the Pig Kiss for many years and living at sea, he was well acquainted with various pirate groups.
He knew of the Haughty Pirate Group because they were not just a Golden Level pirate force but also members of Firebeard’s pirate group.
Any pirate that could join Firebeard’s group was never simple.
Lan Zao’s gaze traveled downward, following the pirate flag down the mast, until he saw a massive figure.
Despite the pain, he quickly turned over and stood up, glaring at the person sitting under the Main Mast.
The Haughty Pirate Group’s squad leader—Golden Level fighter—Ba Qi!
Ba Qi sat with a grandiose posture, and even in such a stance, he towered over Lan Zao by two heads.
Just by estimating, Lan Zao knew that Ba Qi’s height definitely exceeded 2 meters.
He was bald, with a square jaw and a robust and healthy physique. He was bare-chested, his torso like a white fortress wall, and below, he wore a pair of simple grey prison trousers with hems uneven and higher than the ankles.
He wore no shoes, and the soles of his feet, laid bare, were at least three times the size of Lan Zao’s.
Keep in mind that after the awakening of Lan Zao’s bloodline, the area of his hands and feet were quite large, far exceeding that of an ordinary person.
What drew attention was that his large feet did not touch the deck. Instead, white mist emerged from the soles of his feet, lifting them slightly above the air.
Upon closer observation, Lan Zao could also see wisps of white mist constantly seeping out from Ba Qi’s brows.
These mists emitted a faint golden halo.
The Gold hand that had captured Lan Zao earlier now slowly flew over Ba Qi’s shoulder. The surface’s golden luster quickly faded, turning into a puff of white mist, merging into Ba Qi’s body from his shoulders.
“Bad Weather Bloodline!” Information about Ba Qi swiftly crossed Lan Zao’s mind.
The squad leader of the Haughty Pirate Group possessed the Bad Weather Bloodline. The origin of this bloodline was the Holy Domain Level Qi element, which, in theory, meant that Ba Qi’s limit was Holy Domain Level.
However, his bloodline concentration wasn’t high enough, and the Golden Level became his ceiling, with his fighter’s level stagnated for over a decade.
Qi Elementalization!
This was the innate Talent Spell of the Bad Weather Bloodline.
Thus, when the squad leader of the Haughty Pirate Group was at the Bronze Level, he could disperse his body and attack his enemies by transforming into Qi elements. This advantage was immense, considering that typically, fighters only had the capacity to form and project their Fighting energy away from their bodies when they reached Golden Level, gaining the ability to attack from a distance.
When the squad leader of the Haughty Pirate Group reached Golden Level, his ability to Qi Elementalize became even more powerful, allowing him to convert the flesh and blood within his body into Qi elements, and then infuse Golden Fighting Spirit to attack distant enemies.
The gold hand that had captured Lan Zao was created using this ability.
There were many benefits to this, with the most obvious being the significant reduction in consumption of Golden Fighting Spirit.
“Qi Elementalization… This Magic-like ability could transform vital parts such as the heart and throat into elements at critical moments. That means Ba Qi doesn’t have the normal human vulnerabilities,” thought Lan Zao.
Compared with the innate ability of Qi Elementalization, Lan Zao’s bloodline’s Fluid Perception and Floating Skill immediately paled in comparison.
The squad leader of the Haughty Pirate Group leaned back in his chair, his gaze upon Lan Zao was dismissive and aloof.
Lan Zao spoke up, “Ba, Ba Qi my lord, I have no intention of being your enemy. Could there be some misunderstanding between us?”
“Ha ha ha…”
The pirates on the deck burst into laughter, looking at Lan Zao with a savage and mocking gaze.
Surrounded by enemies, Lan Zao saw no possibility of escape, his forehead and back drenched in layers of cold sweat.
He was no longer as “ferocious” as before.
Previously, Lan Zao, under the mistaken belief that he had taken magic potions causing a conflict in his bloodline with only a few days left to live, fought with reckless abandon, always maintaining the mindset of “if I can take down one, I’m not at a loss, two would be a profit.”
But now it was different.
He discovered the awakening of his bloodline, and the effects of the magic potion were remarkably perfect; he had a brand new future ahead of him, a great future to unfold. But facing a powerful opponent like Ba Qi, he felt a hollow fear within him, under immense psychological pressure.
Amidst the pirates’ laughter, Ba Qi spoke indifferently, “What bloodline do you have? It’s related to the Fishman, right? However, I can feel that your Combat Skill is very compatible with mine.”
Lan Zao was taken aback, as key information flashed through his mind.
In an instant, it seemed he understood why Ba Qi had taken action against him.
Just as he was about to speak, Ba Qi laughed, “Regardless of your bloodline, encountering me today is your luck.”
“But whether it’s good luck or bad luck, ha ha, that depends on your fortune!”
With that, he spread out his fan-like large hand, and powerful suction erupted from his fingers.
Lan Zao was utterly helpless to resist and was swept up in the force.
His head was grasped directly by Ba Qi. He tried to struggle, but soon, waves of Qi flowed from Ba Qi’s body, shining with a golden luster, like thick ropes of gold, tightly binding Lan Zao, leaving him unable to move.
The squad leader of the Ba Qi Pirate Group sneered viciously and suddenly intensified the infusion of Fighting Energy.
From the palm of his hand, a powerful surge of Fighting Energy erupted and was forcibly poured into Lan Zao’s body.
Lan Zao let out a pained scream as his body swelled up like a human-shaped balloon being inflated.
The Golden Fighting Spirit of Ba Qi made contact with the seaweed Fighting Energy of Lan Zao.
Although Lan Zao had just been promoted to Black Iron Level, it would take some time for his entire body’s Fighting Energy to completely transform from Bronze Level to Black Iron Level.
In fact, even Black Iron Level Fighting Energy was no match for Golden Fighting Spirit.
Therefore, Lan Zao’s seaweed Fighting Energy collapsed upon contact, quickly losing ground and being forcefully pressed into submission by Ba Qi’s Golden Level Fighting Energy, with only a small corner to retreat to.
Ba Qi’s Golden Fighting Spirit was naturally a foreign energy source and created intense Conflict with the seaweed Fighting Energy, causing Lan Zao to bleed from all seven orifices as his cries grew shriller.
It was akin to Magic Power imbalance; two different sources of Fighting Energy could cause terrifying damage inside Lan Zao’s body. To save his life, Lan Zao immediately dissipated his own seaweed Fighting Energy.
As the seaweed Fighting Energy was essentially of Bronze Level, it could not condense outside the body and thus rapidly dispersed into nothingness.
Soon, the only thing left inside Lan Zao’s body was the enemy’s Golden Fighting Spirit.
Lan Zao’s head was grasped in one of Ba Qi’s hands, his body enveloped in rope-like streams of Golden Energy, suspended mid-air, quivering uncontrollably, his body shaking like a sieve.
Though he wisely consumed all of his seaweed Fighting Energy, his body had long adapted to the cultivation of that power. Even if exhausted, seaweed Fighting Energy would still spontaneously generate throughout his body.
Yet as soon as it formed, it was crushed into dust by the omnipresent Golden Level Fighting Energy.
The Golden Level Fighting Energy even aggressively penetrated Lan Zao’s internal organs, muscles, and bones.
Lan Zao suffered intense pain, feeling as though countless steel needles made into brushes were scraping all over his body, again and again.
His throat quickly became hoarse as he cried out, his voice growing exceedingly raspy.
He trembled uncontrollably; his internal organs were badly damaged, his body bled profusely, his bones cracked under the strain, and his skin oozed blood.
The surrounding pirates subconsciously repressed their smiles.
Despite having seen many similar scenes, each one instilled a chilling fear and added to their trepidation of their leader.
“Not bad, you’re still not dead,” Ba Qi stopped the infusion of Fighting Energy and praised Lan Zao.
Lan Zao’s vision darkened, nearly losing consciousness.
He roared within himself, reminding himself not to pass out, as doing so would likely result in his true death.
“Survive with my gift, and if you seek vengeance, I welcome it at any time,” Ba Qi swung his arm, tossing Lan Zao like a ball, hurling him hundreds of meters away into the sea.
He treated Lan Zao like trash being thrown away and quickly turned his gaze forward, “How much farther to Flower Skirt Island?”
The First Officer promptly answered, “We’re almost there, Lord Ba Qi, in less than two hours, we will arrive there.”
“Faster, we have things to do.”
“Yes!!!”
The speed of the Ba Qi Pirate Group’s ship increased dramatically, quickly leaving Lan Zao behind to faint in the bloody waters, his body slowly sinking into the sea.
The Ocean Nest.
The Fishman youth adjusted the effects of his Deception and Disguise Skill, and to the unsuspecting eye, the Deep Sea Monster Fish no longer appeared as a reef, but as a mound of pearls.
The Deep Sea Monster Fish had merged perfectly with its surroundings, no longer standing out as it had before.
The landing chamber, filled with seawater, had been the youth’s training room for several days.
The Fishman youth, now in the water, was not practicing Combat Skills but instead was continuously gulping the surrounding seawater.
With each gulp, a new surge of Fighting Energy was produced within his body.
No longer Blast Fighting Spirit.
After much deliberation, the youth decided to transform his Fighting Energy. Following the advice of the Tower Spirit and choosing carefully, he selected a Fishman Fighting Skill called the Raging Wave Technique.
The movements of this Fighting Skill involved continuous swallowing in the water, using the muscles of the chest and other areas to produce a continuous surge of wave-like Fighting Energy.
“The Raging Wave Technique is indeed suitable for my new form.”
Despite just beginning the transformation, the Fishman youth could already feel the superiority of the new Fighting Energy.
This superiority was mainly evident in how well the Fighting Energy suited his body.
With Blast Fighting Spirit operating in his Fishman form, the youth felt as if his throat was filled with chili powder, while the roving Fighting Energy flowed through his body with refreshing coolness. He even felt as though every cell in his body was cheering.
“But it will take some time to complete the transformation.”
“Ah, such a nuisance to change Fighting Skills.”
“If a master of this Fighting Skill were to infuse me with energy, the transformation time could be drastically reduced, even completed in just a few minutes.”
As the Fishman youth’s thoughts wandered, the voice of the Tower Spirit spoke out, “Captain, initial results from the sonar probe are in, please review immediately.”
“Oh? Has the situation outside the Ocean Nest been discovered?” The Fishman youth was somewhat impatient.
He immediately left the landing chamber and returned to the cockpit, where he observed the reconnaissance report.
“What’s this?!” The Fishman youth looked at the constructed Magic Image and couldn’t help but be profoundly shaken.