Translator: CinderTL
Boom!!
The azure lake surface trembled incessantly, and the surrounding hills were shaken, causing rocks to tumble down.
Waves erupted, accompanied by roars and struggles.
The massive commotion echoed without end, and a brief vacuum appeared underwater, revealing a corner of the Giant Octopus's skull-like head that had been pierced.
"Roar!!!"
It howled in pain and fury, desperate to escape.
But the small, ash-gray stone statue, resembling a dwarf, had its tentacles firmly gripped with astonishing strength, refusing to let go.
Moreover.
The black baboon in front of it kept throwing punches. It looked weak, but why did it hurt so much?? Boom!!! A Dark Flash Burst, and its flesh exploded.
Faced with a life-and-death crisis, it could no longer care about its so-called dignity.
"Roar!!!"
With a loud roar, the lake water shook violently.
Chen Feng and the Holy Shield Colossus paused, both on high alert.
But the next second.
"Sha!!"
It instantly gave up struggling, lowering its body as if bowing in submission.
The roar echoed, but with a different tone.
However, Chen Feng could sense a plea for rcy in it.
"?"
A fifth-tier creature, and one with relatively advanced human-like intelligence.
The fiberglass red eyes flickered with cold light as Chen Feng frowned slightly, contemplating whether to kill it.
"Sha!!"
As if sensing Chen Feng's cold intent, the Giant Octopus hurriedly roared again, expressing its loyalty.
"Willing to beco my vassal?"
Raising an eyebrow, Chen Feng roughly understood its aning, feeling sowhat surprised.
But words alone were not enough; how could he easily trust the promise of such a monster?
"Sha!!"
Roaring once more, the Giant Octopus actually fulfilled its promise.
Hum!!
Its erald-green eyes flickered, and in the next mont, under Chen Feng's vigilant perception, a fist-sized azure fla appeared before him.
Even underwater, the fla manifested out of thin air, showing no signs of being extinguished.
In an instant, just as Chen Feng was puzzled.
A panel prompt appeared.
[You have discovered Soul Fla—a sign of loyalty from a Deep Sea Dweller]
[Deep Sea Dweller: One of the rulers of the Deep Sea, a special Star Realm Creature]
[Effect: Absorbing the Soul Fla will leave a life imprint, allowing control over its life and death]
As the information flooded his mind, Chen Feng was surprised that the Giant Octopus was actually sincere.
Handing over control of its life and death to him? As this thought flashed through his mind, he noticed its erald-green eyes looking at him, still sowhat fearful.
After a mont of contemplation, he finally absorbed the Soul Fla before him.
Hum!!
In an instant, a flood of mories rushed in.
Born alone in the depths of the ocean, without parents or kin.
Only the true na 'Gata' was etched in its heart, accompanying its growth.
The vast, boundless sea, growing in solitude day after day.
Hunting, feeding, hiding everywhere.
Fighting, fleeing, licking its wounds.
Powerful humans sailed across the surface, while even more terrifying creatures swam in the depths.
It hid in fear, longing for a place of its own, free from enemies and worries, where it could continue to live in solitude.
Second-tier, third-tier, fourth-tier... As it grew, a hidden current appeared near the ocean, and it accidentally discovered an underwater passage.
Finally, sunlight poured in.
An uninhabited island fulfilled its dream, and it quietly broke through to the fifth-tier.
"Gata."
Chen Feng murmured, his expression dazed, feeling a throbbing discomfort in his head.
The mories of a fifth-tier creature were vast and imasurable. It was only because he had now opened the Gate of Spirit that his will had grown strong enough to handle them.
Otherwise, he might not have been able to process this information at all.
"Sha!!"
As if responding to his murmur, the Giant Octopus nad Gata quickly poked its head over, answering with a sound.
Its enormous eyes rolled around, just about the sa size as Chen Feng's body.
As their gazes t, Chen Feng keenly noticed a pattern appearing on his left arm.
It was a greatly shrunken version of Gata, like a tattoo, but one that could communicate with his soul, no matter the distance.
With a re thought, he could destroy its soul, turning it into the undead.
"No wonder this is the Dead Crow Secret Realm," Chen Feng muttered softly.
Gata, eager to please, lifted a tentacle and gently rubbed it against Chen Feng's palm.
Sensing its nervousness, Chen Feng didn't threaten it further.
After giving it instructions, he and the Holy Shield Colossus were soon lifted out of the water.
The dark green shell slowly dissipated, and the red sunlight poured down.
Chen Feng looked at the empty lake surface and asked Gata about the talent orb.
"Sha?"
Its erald-green eyes, as large as a human's, were filled with confusion, as if asking, "What are you talking about?"
"Just as I thought," Chen Feng said, confirming his earlier suspicion.
He had initially thought that Gata was responsible for the orb's disappearance.
But now it seed that this so-called orb was sothing only he could see.
Shaking his head, he pondered where things had gone wrong.
Soon, Gata provided him with so information.
It had attacked him out of fear that he would take over the lake, believing this territory belonged to it.
Apart from that... "A storm?"
Frowning slightly, Chen Feng looked up at the sky.
Gata inford him that every so often, dark clouds would gather over the lake, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Hearing this, Chen Feng's eyes flickered, recalling the mont he had seen the talent orb.
When he had intercepted Adler nearby, Eaglefall Island had been calm and sunny.
It was only when he was about to leave that dark clouds suddenly appeared, with thunder and lightning.
And it was at that mont that he had seen the talent orb.
Just like earlier.
Under the dark clouds, the orb had floated.
When the clouds and thunder dispersed, the orb had also vanished into thin air.
"So that's how it is," Chen Feng said, glancing up at the clear sky before turning his gaze back to the calm lake.
All his doubts dissipated. He was certain that the appearance of this orb followed so pattern, likely coinciding with the arrival of the storm clouds.
"How often does it appear?" he asked.
"Sha!!"
Gata answered honestly, and through their soul connection, Chen Feng understood.
It usually appeared once every half a month or so.
Shaking his head, Chen Feng wasn't too disappointed.
Since it would appear, it wouldn't escape him. It would eventually be his.
Moreover, although he hadn't obtained the talent orb yet, he looked at Gata before him.
The wounds he had inflicted on it were slowly beginning to heal. Through the link of the Soul Fla, Gata had no secrets left in front of him.
It could manipulate water, extract so spiritual substance from the sea to accelerate its healing, and even spit ink to obscure vision.
Its strength was astonishing, and as a fifth-tier creature, it was a formidable ally.
In truth, gaining such a subordinate made this journey worthwhile.
"Then you stay here and inform promptly when the storm clouds appear," Chen Feng decided, not planning to waste ti by staying here indefinitely.
He had other matters to attend to, whether it was searching for the rmaid to replenish the Steel Bones' nutrients or returning to Earth to head to Suro.
"Sha!!" Gata nodded in acknowledgnt, its erald eyes blinking rapidly.
Chen Feng patted its massive, skull-shaped head and then turned to leave the island with the Holy Shield Colossus.
Finally, the suppressing force vanished.
With a whoosh, the stone wings flapped, and the duo soared back into the sky, heading straight for Banli Port.
As they flew, Chen Feng glanced back. In the center of the island's lake, the Giant Octopus was slowly sinking into the depths.
It was as if he had never been there, but...
The connection of the Soul Fla was so clear that he could even sense so of Gata's emotions.
Relief, loneliness, boredom... Shaking his head, he stopped focusing on it deliberately and had the Holy Shield Colossus circle in the air for a mont.
Eventually, he spotted a multi-masted sailing ship about to return to port. Activating his Blood Wings, he descended onto the ship.
His movents were so subtle that no one noticed.
He seamlessly blended into the crowd, quietly disembarked, and arrived at the port.
The gray Steam Warship was still docked there, with ships coming and going, loading and unloading cargo.
Sailors clad in thick sweaters and linen clothes crowded together, uncoiling ropes and carrying wooden crates ashore.
But unlike usual, today's Banli Port was bustling with activity and noise.
"I never expected Duke Charles to personally see him off."
"Of course, that's Great Master Adler, the Court Alchemy Master deeply trusted by the king."
"So fast. I thought Great Master Adler would stay a bit longer."
The murmurs reached Chen Feng's ears as he stood at the edge of the crowd in the port, wearing a top hat and a trench coat, gazing toward the center.
Naval soldiers ard with rifles stood guard on both sides, keeping the crowd at bay.
Within the protective circle, a line of carriages was parked, the flags of the Charles Family fluttering in the wind.
A slightly plump old man with a goatee, dressed in a scholar's robe and holding a Crystal Staff, stepped down from a carriage.
Beside him, apart from the girl in a gray cloak and the knight in silver armor, a few other figures accompanied him.
"Great Master Adler, you've co from afar, yet we couldn't properly host you."
"May your journey be smooth, and you're always welco to return."
A middle-aged man with brown hair, wearing a woolen sweater under a silk robe, spoke with a balanced build.
Next to him, a familiar-looking young man in a black gentleman's suit was Young Master Lund, whom Chen Feng had once passed by on the street.
"Charles, you're too kind."
Great Master Adler stroked his gray goatee and smiled. "I've had a wonderful ti in Banli Port these past few days. Thank you for the Charles Family's hospitality."
"No need to see off further. You're always welco to visit the capital."
"Very well."
Duke Charles nodded with a polite smile, exuding gentlemanly courtesy.
After a few more pleasantries, he watched as Great Master Adler and his entourage turned and walked toward a fleet of ships at the shore.
The purple crystal flags swayed gently. The king's royal guards were already lined up on the ship, standing tall and solemn.
The crowd couldn't help but sigh with admiration, so even discussing their aspirations to join the royal guard in the future.
Great Master Adler walked away with a kind expression, about to leave the port.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, he felt a stir in his heart.
He turned his head to look at the crowd on his left.
A young man in a black coat walked away calmly, while the silver-armored guardian knight behind him spoke in confusion.
"Great Master?"
"Perhaps it was just an illusion."
Adler's eyes flickered slightly, and he finally shook his head.
How could that unfamiliar fifth-tier powerhouse be such a young man?
With another step, he soon led the young girl in a gray cloak and the silver-armored knight onto the ship.
"Farewell, Great Master!"
"Goodbye, Great Master Adler!!"
The crowd on the shore waved their hands in farewell as the royal fleet set sail once again.
Watching the tuna flag flutter in the distance and seeing the noble father and son smiling as they bid farewell, the silver-armored guardian knight nad Aug couldn't help but whisper a question.
"Great Master, is it really alright to leave Miss Fran in Banli Port?"
"After all, the Charles Family has been entrenched here for many years, with many eyes and ears. What if—"
"Trust her."
Great Master Adler spoke calmly, his gaze drifting far away, as if he could see another direction in Banli Port.
A black chimney stood tall in the sky, emitting no smoke.
It seed as if soone was standing there, watching with reluctance but also with determination.
"Although Fran is a girl and her tier isn't high,"
"She is also a Scholar."
As his words fell, the fleet set sail and left Banli Port.
The crowd on the shore grew farther and farther away, and he gently patted the back of the neck of the woman in the gray cloak beside him.
As if triggering so chanism.
With a hum, her face and figure rapidly transford, soon turning into a humanoid puppet covered in black lines.
No one on the port shore was aware of this.
Chen Feng had long since withdrawn his gaze, his leather shoes tapping the ground as he walked toward the garden district where Lei Long's family resided.
"Master Feng Chen!"
Suddenly, an excited voice rang out.
A boy dressed in simple, thick clothes and patched trousers appeared.
His freckled face was visibly excited as he jogged over from the crowd, stopping beside Chen Feng.
"It's you."
Chen Feng smiled, recognizing the boy who had guided him last ti.
What was his na... T... "I'm Tulin, Master!"
The boy quickly said, as if sensing sothing.
"Ah."
Chen Feng nodded, and then the boy proactively asked,
"Master, are you going to see Lord Lei Long?"
"Yes."
"Then wait a mont."
With that, Tulin dashed off, and Chen Feng clearly saw him approach a well-dressed coachman standing by a roadside carriage, holding a whip. They exchanged a few words.
The coachman glanced at him and eventually handed over the whip.
"Master!"
Soon, Tulin returned with the carriage, his face flushed with excitent as he waved the whip, full of anticipation.
His handling of the horse seed sowhat practiced, suggesting he had learned it before.
"What are you doing?" Chen Feng asked.
"I'll take you!"
He smiled, stopping the carriage, then pulled out a small step stool from inside, jumped down, and placed it on the ground, gesturing for Chen Feng to step up and board the carriage.
"How much?" Chen Feng asked again.
"No charge!"
Tulin quickly waved his hands, and Chen Feng was sowhat surprised.
"You took to see Lord Lei Long last ti and even helped earn ten extra copper coins."
"I want to repay you. I feel soone like you shouldn't be walking on foot."
Tulin hurriedly explained, and Chen Feng pondered for a mont.
"The carriage belongs to Delin Company, and the coachman just now is my cousin. It's fine to borrow it for a while."
He was worried that Chen Feng might overthink it, so he added again.
"Alright."
Seeing his sincerity and earnestness, Chen Feng finally boarded the carriage.
Soon after, the two of them left the place, the sound of horse hooves mingling with the wind.
The boy's figure as he wielded the whip seed sowhat stubborn, the rows of red and gray buildings on either side receding continuously.
Chen Feng suddenly realized.
No matter which world he was in, there were always monts when he could feel a sense of peace.
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