Chapter 338 - 310: Hero and King
Gazing at the tall figure before him, which stood like a bedrock in the deep sea, Qin Ziwen was filled with astonishment.
He had summoned quite a few Recruiters—whether it was Beaked Eagle, Red Hare, or Li Tieshan, the highest among them were only Three Stars.
He had once thought that was the limit for Recruitment Cards.
Now, it seemed that wasn’t the case. His luck had just been a bit poor before.
Mogu bore four solid, condensed stars. In terms of rank, he was already unmatched in the Home.
Coupled with his extremely majestic physique, he could take the top spot on the Home’s combat power rankings the moment he appeared.
"Your Realm seems different from the other Extraordinaries I’ve seen." Qin Ziwen voiced his doubts upon entering the temple.
Mogu followed close behind, his deep voice rumbling from behind Qin Ziwen like two reefs grinding against each other. "Master, on the path of the Extraordinary, the difficulty of the ’Shackles’ one faces during a breakthrough varies, leading to differences in one’s fundamental foundation."
He paused slightly, his tone nonchalant. "The most common are the ’Ordinary Extraordinaries’ who break through at the first gear of difficulty. Such beings are like weeds on a mountain or fish in the sea—not worth any concern."
Qin Ziwen’s gaze sharpened, and he looked Mogu up and down.
Honestly, from his perspective, a being with such a magnificent bearing like Mogu couldn’t be simple. The word "hero" noted on the Recruitment Card, in particular, had given him a jolt.
This Mogu possessed four full abilities, each one on par with his current Star Level. Even he himself, the Master, fell short in comparison.
—After all, he only had three abilities.
"Then what gear of Extraordinary are you?"
Hearing his Master’s question, Mogu raised his head, a hint of pride in his expression. "Precisely Second Gear."
"..."
Qin Ziwen suspected he had misheard.
He asked again, "You’re an Extraordinary who broke through at Second Gear?"
Mogu said humbly, "It was a stroke of luck, a stroke of luck."
He knew that although he had just joined his Master’s command, was immensely powerful,
and possessed outstanding talent,
it was best to keep a low profile.
After all, the excellent always attract attention.
Qin Ziwen’s brow furrowed. He suspected he and Mogu were not on the same wavelength.
In his Home, Du Yu, Qin Ziwu, and Cao Biansheng had all broken through at Second Gear.
As for Third Gear breakthroughs, besides himself, Beaked Eagle and Red Hare had also achieved it.
But from Mogu’s description, it seemed that even Second Gear was something incredible.
Yet, based on their daily performance, Du Yu and the others didn’t have Mogu’s oppressive presence, and their abilities were far inferior in both quantity and quality.
A thought struck Qin Ziwen. Judging from his previous Recruiters, they all inherited parts of their memories from their former lives, especially regarding skills and knowledge.
"When you say Second Gear, you mean the second-tier mission out of the three tiers of missions from using a Breakthrough Card?" Qin Ziwen confirmed once more.
"That is correct." A restrained pride, characteristic of the strong, flashed in Mogu’s gilded, vertical pupils. "The difficulty of the breakthrough mission depends on one’s innate talent. The strong are always strong. Therefore, those who can break through at Second Gear are one in a hundred. At this level, they are honored with the title of ’hero.’"
"And what if someone breaks through at Third Gear?"
Mogu sighed, his words laced with regret. "Those who can break through the desperate straits of Third Gear are no simple heroes once they succeed. This level is known as ’King’.
The three gears of missions are like three flights of stairs. Master, do you know why such a division exists?
It is because breakthroughs at different levels result in vastly different potential ceilings.
Take me, a hero, for example. For every star I condense, the total Level cap for all my Extraordinary Abilities increases by four. I have now condensed four solid stars, so my cap is sixteen Levels.
An Ordinary Extraordinary, however, only increases their cap by two Levels per star.
As for the King Level, it is said they can increase their cap by six Levels per star. The further one progresses, the wider the gap becomes."
Qin Ziwen understood. No wonder Mogu’s four abilities were all Level 4, adding up to exactly sixteen.
’I’m at Two Stars right now,’ Qin Ziwen thought. ’According to Mogu, my total ability Level cap should be at twelve. That means I still have potential to uncover.’
Mogu had managed to temper all his abilities to their peak, which meant he knew how to uncover that potential.
Qin Ziwen wanted to ask for guidance, but he knew this wasn’t the time. The Fishman Leader and his group had been gone for a while now. If they delayed any longer, the fight might be over.
He immediately explained the situation.
Upon hearing that a hunt was required, Mogu laughed heartily. "What’s so difficult about that? Master, just watch. I’ll handle it with ease. A mere Sea Beast is not even worth mentioning."
With that, Mogu turned and strode out of the temple, his powerful body stirring up a great surge of water, like a charging whale.
Cao Biansheng, who had heard the entire conversation, rubbed his face. Once Mogu was some distance away, he muttered, "Holy shit, can that guy be any more of a show-off?"
At first, he thought the guy’s pretentious act was off the charts.
But the more he listened, the more surreal it felt.
Until the very end, when he suddenly learned that Mogu was the same gear as him...
For a moment, a mix of complicated feelings washed over Cao Biansheng as he followed behind Qin Ziwen.
A single thought kept flashing in his mind: how could he uncover his own potential?
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried over the past few days, but ordinary training methods seemed completely unable to improve his Extraordinary Abilities.
Just as Cao Biansheng’s thoughts were racing, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
His body froze. Stopping in place, he looked up and instinctively glanced ahead.
In the deep darkness of the seabed before them, two massive black shadows were locked in a fierce struggle.
Even from a great distance, he could hear the muffled thuds of the Giant Beasts’ bodies colliding beneath the waves.
The sound made his blood boil with excitement.
’But... where’s Mr. Big Shot?’
Cao Biansheng scanned the area but couldn’t find any trace of Mogu.
"Over there." Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes. Through the movement of the surrounding water, he sensed it—just below them, several dozen meters down, was a spot where the current was clearly abnormal.
When the undercurrent swept past that area, it was like a gentle breeze blowing over a hill; the turbulent water seemed to be smoothed by a giant hand, dispersing gently in all directions.
Judging by the outline and the size of the area, it had to be Mogu.
It was just that the seabed was too dark, concealing his tracks.
Although there were some faintly glowing corals and other underwater plants near the strait, the light they emitted was too faint, leaving many areas shrouded in darkness.
At that moment, inside the canyon, the Thousand-Eyed Snake and the "former" Thousand-Eyed Snake were fighting with extreme ferocity.
Through his senses, Qin Ziwen perceived the smaller Thousand-Eyed Snake roll and wrap itself around the larger one before opening its massive maw and biting down on the great snake’s neck.
Suddenly, the smaller Thousand-Eyed Snake’s body shuddered as if electrocuted, and it jerked backward.
Qin Ziwen sensed it through the water currents. A dense ring of sharp spikes had shot out from the larger snake’s neck, like a collar.
Having suffered a setback, the Thousand-Eyed Snake grew more cautious. It glanced toward Qin Ziwen and the others in the distance.
Its gaze lingered for less than 0.1 seconds before moving on.
The group of humans was too small to arouse its interest.
But just as it turned its head away, its head snapped back the next second. Its ferocious eyes locked onto Lorne, who was hiding behind Qin Ziwen.
It smelled a disgusting, fishy scent.
Just like the scent of the large snake in front of it.
...
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