Chapter 346 - 318: Weather Altar
"You know what this altar is?" Qin Ziwen noticed Lorne’s expression.
"Leader, this is our Fishman Race’s Weather Altar. It can predict oceanic conditions," Lorne said.
Qin Ziwen asked, "Does the bottom of the sea have ’weather’ too?"
As far as he knew, weather was something that happened above the surface of the sea.
Even a torrential downpour would have a minuscule effect on the deep sea; after all, the ocean wouldn’t rise much just because of a single storm.
"We do, Leader," Lorne explained earnestly. "Changes in ocean currents can bring new schools of fish, or they might attract predators from unfamiliar waters. Water temperature fluctuations cause fish to migrate, so our hunting grounds have to shift as well. Sometimes, the flow from hydrothermal vents brings extreme heat and deadly toxins, but it can also be accompanied by minerals."
Lorne spoke with great enthusiasm. Ever since he was young, he had loved reading the clan’s ancestral records on stone tablets, especially the accounts concerning the rituals of the Sacrificial Race.
Back then, the Fishman Race was still in its golden age, and the thought of it always filled him with yearning.
"I see." Qin Ziwen felt he had learned something new.
"So, can this altar only predict changes under the sea? What about the weather on the surface?"
"It should," Lorne said hesitantly. He had never really used it and was worried he might displease his leader if he messed up.
The altar was just as strange and new to him.
When Qin Ziwen told him to give it a try, Lorne agreed without hesitation and eagerly climbed onto the altar.
Standing on the altar, he turned in a circle, at a loss for where to begin.
Suddenly, the blue Crystal Pillar in the center of the altar began to glow faintly.
Then, inside it, patterns of suspended, transparent Water Beads began to coalesce.
Simultaneously, on the Jade Pendant at the rear, blackish-gray, cloud-like wisps spread and flowed, accompanied by translucent Water Beads that followed their movement across the surface.
Lorne stared in a daze for a long moment, then did an excited somersault and leaped down from the Weather Altar.
"Leader! I figured it out! It’s going to rain tomorrow—over there, and there!" he exclaimed, pointing and gesturing at two spots on the Jade Pendant. But he struggled to describe the exact locations, growing more flustered the more he tried to explain.
"Easy now, take your time," Qin Ziwen said, then asked, "And how long will the rain last tomorrow?"
This question stumped Lorne.
His face scrunched up in distress, and he glanced back miserably at the Weather Altar.
"It’s normal to be clumsy when you’re just starting out, so don’t worry about it. You’ll get the hang of it with more practice. By the way, when you have free time, you can go read some books in the Hundred Schools Book Tower. You could also record the Fishman knowledge you’ve learned in there," Qin Ziwen said, comforting Lorne with a gentle pat on his head.
It was perfectly round, like a little braised egg.
Hearing that his leader didn’t blame him, Lorne quietly sighed in relief. He also hardened his resolve. ’I have to master this altar!’
’That way, I’ll be the Weather High Priest of Tuiyuan!’
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
He’d heard that in the old Fishman clans, the Weather High Priest held a very high status.
Just then, Mogu approached from the rear. After standing silently for a moment, he said to Qin Ziwen in a low voice, "Master, tomorrow, about a hundred li to the east, there will be a shower lasting twenty minutes and covering four li. To the southwest, eighty li away, another shower will fall at the same time, covering thirty li and lasting one hundred and forty minutes."
"???"
Lorne, who had just steeled his resolve, slowly turned his head and stared at Mogu in despair.
’My Weather High Priest title...’
’Gone, before I even had a chance...?’
"You’ve seen one of these before?" Qin Ziwen asked, turning to look at Mogu.
There was hardly any other explanation.
Mogu nodded.
"How do you read it?" Qin Ziwen’s interest was piqued.
Mogu took the initiative to explain. "The central pillar shows the main weather nearby for the next day. The Jade Pendant behind it displays the range and duration of the different weather events. The Jade Pendant has small, light-yellow squares inside it; each one represents ten li. Our location is assumed to be the very center, and the weather shown on it moves..."
Lorne’s ears perked up as he eavesdropped from the side.
After hearing Mogu’s explanation, it dawned on Qin Ziwen that the device wasn’t that difficult to use. The trick was having the key features pointed out.
It was like a modern TV remote. After using it once or twice, most people can grasp its basic functions. But if you were to give it to someone from ancient times who had never seen an electronic device, they would have to experiment carefully over and over, fumbling with it for a long time before figuring out how to use it.
Now that he understood the altar’s purpose, Qin Ziwen didn’t need an explanation for its remaining special effects; he could guess their uses from their names alone.
One was that the Weather Altar could slightly suppress extreme weather near the Home.
The other was specifically to amplify Lorne’s ability to pray for rain.
A massive downpour would allow Fishmen to march on land. By asking Mogu, Qin Ziwen learned that even Mogu’s abilities were inevitably weakened to some extent on land, away from a saltwater environment.
However, in a downpour summoned by a Sacrificial Race Fishman, he could maintain the same level of combat strength he possessed in the sea.
After getting the Fishman settled, Qin Ziwen departed.
Mogu followed behind him.
Qin Ziwen said, "I actually had a question for you last time, but we got sidetracked. After becoming Extraordinary, how do you develop your abilities to keep improving?"
Mogu replied, "Master, as far as I know, there are two paths.
The first path is to use Cards to raise your Extraordinary Level cap, then continuously practice to improve.
The second is to consume or wear certain special treasures, which can also raise your Extraordinary Level cap. Then, you practice to improve your abilities."
"So you’re saying both paths require constant practice? How do you practice?"
Mogu answered without hesitation, "Use your abilities! Repetitive use will cause them to steadily improve!"
"Does that actually work?" Qin Ziwen felt that most people weren’t afraid of hard work, but of putting their effort in the wrong direction. If your direction was wrong, you would only get further and further off track.
"It works," Mogu said. "And having a suitable special building can shorten the process."
"What counts as a suitable building?"
Mogu gave an example: "Take Lorne. He has an ability to pray for rain, so the Weather Altar is helpful to him."
Qin Ziwen understood now.
He couldn’t help but consider himself and the other Extraordinaries in the Home, wondering which of the current buildings could be helpful.
He first thought of Cao Biansheng’s [Weapon Mastery].
The Martial Arts Arena and the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery were, without a doubt, the perfect places to improve blade proficiency, complementing that ability perfectly.
Next, he thought of his own two abilities: Feeding Spirit and Absorbing Radiance, and Meteoric Inheritance—one for contracting, one for plundering.
They sounded rather abstruse—especially the ’plundering’ ability. Once an ability gained from it was solidified, it couldn’t be changed, leaving almost no opportunity for practice.
Qin Ziwen turned to Mogu for guidance.
Mogu mulled it over for a moment before saying, "Master, your ability is rare, but not without precedent. As I see it, you could try to master the ’sub-abilities’ acquired through plundering. Improving them might, in turn, drive the growth of your original ’plundering’ ability."
...
...