"Mm-hmm!"
Chu Chengzhou nodded in response.
The next second, Ning Fengzhi changed the subject and asked, "Do you have more?"
Something that increases soul power and helps break bottlenecks? Good stuff.
Since this whale brain came from a hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast, its grade was very high and its ceiling would not be low.
Even if it did nothing for Chen Xin and Gu Rong, it would most likely push peak level-89 experts through to level 90.
Cultivating a new Titled Douluo was not easy, but taking a peak level-89 Soul Douluo across the line was much less difficult.
Chu Chengzhou: "…"
"Forget it, keep the rest for yourself."
From Chu Chengzhou's look, Ning Fengzhi knew there was more, but as an elder he would not be greedy.
Still, the whale brain Chu Chengzhou gave him opened a new line of thought.
The gap between a ninety-thousand-year ninth ring and a hundred-thousand-year ninth ring needed no explanation. Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were hard to find on land, but there had to be plenty of hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts in the ocean.
The sea covered far more area than any soul beast forest on land, and few soul masters went out to sea to hunt rings.
Even if the ring did not perfectly fit the martial soul, as long as there was no attribute conflict, a hundred-thousand-year ninth ring would be much stronger than a ninety-thousand-year ninth ring. Not to mention the extra hundred-thousand-year soul bone and a treasure like whale brain that aided breakthroughs.
With the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's current strength, hunting a hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast was not impossible.
Chen Xin at level 97, Gu Rong at level 96, plus two elders who had condensed soul cores and broken through the level-89 bottleneck to nine rings. With his support, four Titled Douluo working together should be able to take a hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast, right?
Mm, and Chu Chengzhou was no slouch. If they needed him in the future, they would call this rascal.
When the father-in-law asks for help, what son-in-law would refuse?
Thinking so, a smile appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect would rise in his hands.
"Ning-uncle, Grandpa Bone, in a few days I'm taking Rongrong and the others out for training. She probably won't be back for two years."
Chu Chengzhou brought up sending Ning Rongrong and the others to Sea God Island for training.
"Training? Where do you train for that long?"
Ning Fengzhi frowned.
"Sea God Island. It is a legacy land set by a deity named the Sea God. The fundamental purpose of the legacy, aside from spreading faith, is to select an excellent successor.
Training on Sea God Island will greatly accelerate Rongrong and the others' growth."
"Sea God Island? And what does that have to do with the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?"
Ning Fengzhi was sharp and immediately linked the two.
Chu Chengzhou nodded. "The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is the Sea God's token. As for why it ended up in the Heaven Dou Empire's hands, I don't know."
"A deity's token. A divine tool? Looks like the Heaven Dou Empire took a big loss."
Thinking back on the conditions he had agreed to for Emperor Xue Ye, which had felt painful at the time, Ning Fengzhi now smiled.
"Will there be danger?"
After that small moment of schadenfreude, Ning Fengzhi asked, and Gu Rong also looked over.
As father and grandfather, the two cared less about how fast Ning Rongrong would grow than about the safety of their little cotton-padded jacket and precious granddaughter.
"That part is not dangerous."
Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
"Why would Sea God Island let you freeload?"
Ning Fengzhi voiced his doubt.
If it were him, he would not casually allow strangers to earn the right to train.
Since it was training, Sea God Island had to put in resources. Otherwise, why would trainees grow faster?
"There is a requirement. To take part, you must join Sea God Island. But once your fists are big and your wings are hard, where can you not go?"
Chu Chengzhou waved nonchalantly.
Ning Fengzhi: "…"
Gu Rong: "…"
Confirmed. This guy was born rebellious. A true rebel through and through.
After sending the two away, Chu Chengzhou summoned Xiao Wu and the other two.
"Xiao Wu, Rongrong, Zhuqing, let me show you a treasure."
He smiled.
"Pah, lecher. It's broad daylight."
Face flushed, Ning Rongrong teased.
Little train, lewd lewd lewd.
"Ahem. Rongrong, if you want to see my big treasure we can do that tonight, but the treasure I mean now is a real treasure."
Clearing his throat, Chu Chengzhou raised the delicate wooden box in his hand.
"Pfft—"
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing could not help laughing and gave Ning Rongrong a playful look.
Ning Rongrong: "…"
Blushing, Ning Rongrong glared at Chu Chengzhou.
"Brother, hurry and open it. Let Rongrong see your treasure."
Xiao Wu giggled.
Chu Chengzhou smiled, opened the box, and lifted the brocade cloth.
At once, dazzling radiance bloomed from within.
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud looked extraordinary. It was entirely azure, crystal clear, a three-dimensional triangular form, as if carved from sapphire, and only palm-sized.
Within the crystalline blue light, brilliance swirled, and waves of strange energy pulsed from it.
Ripples like water undulated across the blue tetrahedron. These lines were not carved, but seemed alive. Rings of blue flashed, bathing everything nearby in a faint glow.
"What a beautiful treasure."
Gazing at the radiant blue artifact, Xiao Wu could not help but praise it.
"Does it have a name?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously.
"It's called the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud…"
Chu Chengzhou was about to introduce it when Ning Rongrong cut him off.
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud? Isn't that the Heaven Dou Empire's national treasure?"
Eyes wide, Ning Rongrong asked in surprise.
Shaking his head, Chu Chengzhou said, "It was. Now it's ours. I had our dad get it from the old man Xue Ye."
"Tsk, poor dad—no, poor Emperor Xue Ye."
Ning Rongrong sighed and shook her head.
She had wanted to say her father was the pitiful one, but on second thought it was Emperor Xue Ye who was truly pitiful.
If her father was pitiful, it was because he had paid a heavy price to obtain a national treasure from Emperor Xue Ye.
If Emperor Xue Ye was pitiful, it was because he had made a losing deal, the kind that would make him spit blood when he learned the truth.
"How so?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked.
"Didn't the scumbag say so earlier? We're going to the Sea God's legacy land, Sea God Island, in a few days to train.
I've long heard the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's name, but I always thought the Empire's national treasure was just a high-grade soul tool. Now it looks like it's a divine tool.
Zhuqing, I bet even if Emperor Xue Ye named an outrageous price to my father, he still sold a divine tool on the cheap."
Ning Rongrong said with certainty.
The young lady was not stupid, and her Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda had already been warning her. The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud before her was the most valuable treasure she had ever encountered. Even soul-forged armor could not compare.
Add the name's obvious link to the Sea God, and the Shroud had to be a divine tool, and one left on the continent by the Sea God behind Sea God Island.
"Good, good. My Rongrong is clever."
Chu Chengzhou praised.
"Of course."
Ning Rongrong puffed out her chest in pride.
A pity. The little demoness had a fine figure, but there was still quite a gap compared to the big kitty.
"Rongrong is right. The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is a divine tool. More precisely, a key part of a powerful divine tool.
If you gain its approval and bind it, you obtain a tremendous opportunity. Which of you three wants it?"
The tremendous opportunity he spoke of was the Sea God's position.
In the Douluo universe there were only five God-Kings at the top, and Poseidon was a first-rank main god. If a soul master inherited the Sea God's position, it would be a meteoric rise.
To be fair, as a first-rank main god, Poseidon could forge an ultra divine tool, the Sea God's Trident, and it had been only twenty thousand years since he became a god. He lived up to his title as the strongest below the five God-Kings.
Hearing this, Xiao Wu thought for a moment and asked, "Is it an opportunity to become a god?"
"Mm."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
"You don't want it yourself?"
Xiao Wu frowned.
"I have my own opportunity."
He shook his head.
He had a cheat and was not suited to be a successor.
And if he did inherit a position, it would not be the Sea God.
With the Killing God Domain in hand, wasn't the Asura God's position better?
He did not yet know whom to approach to start the Asura God's trials, but the Slaughter City would certainly hold the clue, and the Killing God Domain he had gained must be the ticket.
"Rongrong, Zhuqing, you two take it. Xiao Wu is the eldest and her talent is better than yours."
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Wu said to them.
A deity had endless lifespan. As a sixteen-year-old seven-ring Soul Sage, she was confident she could become a god in the future. Better to leave this chance to her second and third sisters whose talent was not quite as high.
As soon as Xiao Wu spoke, Ning Rongrong turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, I'm the second sister and an auxiliary-type soul master. You should take it. Big scumbag, you'll find another divine legacy for me, right?"
As she spoke, she looked pitifully at Chu Chengzhou.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "No. The Sea God sounds water-attribute. My Nether Civet won't match well. It should be between you two."
"Enough. Stop pushing it around. If you keep this up, the Sea God might not even fancy any of you."
Seeing the three sisters all yielding, Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes.
"Xiao Wu, you're the eldest. You go first."
He looked at Xiao Wu.
By pure talent, Xiao Wu was the best of the three and most likely to gain Poseidon's approval.
But Chu Chengzhou could not be sure if Poseidon would mind her identity as a transformed soul beast.
Ordinary soul masters could not see through Xiao Wu past her growth stage, but a first-rank main god would certainly see her for what she was.
After a brief hesitation, Xiao Wu nodded.
"Brother, how do I do it? Do I inject soul power?"
She picked up the Shroud, studied it, and asked.
"Spiritual power. Don't use much. A thread is enough."
Injecting soul power would at most allow temporary use. To gain the approval of Poseidon's divine sense within, one had to inject spiritual power.
Of course, if Poseidon's divine sense would not acknowledge you, then injecting spiritual power was useless. A bigshot would not bother with a random passerby.
For a deity with endless life, time was the least scarce resource. They had all the time and patience in the world to wait for an excellent successor.
Xiao Wu nodded slightly and cautiously released spiritual power toward the Shroud in her hand.
In the next moment, she felt an indescribable might snap her spiritual power back. Her mind went blank and she toppled straight down as if her system had crashed.
Xiao Wu's spiritual power was not weak: seven rings, a head external spirit bone, the near-ninety-thousand-year Wind-Ear, that boosted spiritual power, plus her daily cultivation of the spiritual technique One Thought Eternal. In pure spiritual power, she was not inferior to an ordinary newly advanced nine-ring Titled Douluo.
But compared with the vast spiritual energy fluctuation she touched inside the Shroud, there was no comparison. They were not on the same scale.
"Xiao Wu!"
Seeing her faint, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were startled.
Fortunately, Chu Chengzhou moved fast and caught her so she would not hit the ground.
Just as the three were about to check Xiao Wu's condition, the Shroud in her hand floated up and poked straight at her forehead.
"Thunk—"
There was a light tap. The triangular Shroud failed to pierce her brow and, under the recoil, dropped to the floor.
Poseidon's divine sense: "…"
For a young girl, her forehead was awfully sturdy.
The next moment, the Shroud glowed with an odd blue and poked her forehead again. This time the sharp tip pricked a small hole.
As crimson blood flowed, the Shroud spun and lay flat over the wound on her brow, as if it were sentient.
Xiao Wu's blood kept flowing into it, and the Shroud's blue halo gradually shifted to red.
"Scumbag, will Xiao Wu be alright?"
Ning Rongrong asked, worried, and Zhu Zhuqing also looked over.
When the Shroud first poked Xiao Wu's forehead, the two had not reacted. The second time, they moved at once.
But just as they were about to grab it, Chu Chengzhou stopped them.
"She will, and it's a good thing."
Since the Shroud reacted, Poseidon's divine sense inside had noticed Xiao Wu. That was good.
No reaction would be bad.
That would mean that even with talent like Xiao Wu's, she still could not win Poseidon's favor, or that the Sea God minded her identity as a transformed soul beast.
After a long while, perhaps having absorbed enough blood, the Shroud's glow faded. It lifted from Xiao Wu's brow wound, spun, thumped her shoulder, rolled down her arm, and settled in her palm, as if it had a will.
Unlike before, it now kept its brilliance restrained. Though still azure, it looked like an ordinary sapphire, with only a faint red flicker at its core.
At the same time, inside the Shroud where the four outside could not see, a blue point of light bloomed and became a towering yet indistinct figure.
The lofty phantom's gaze pierced the Shroud and fell on the unconscious Xiao Wu.
"How many years has it been? At last someone can bear the power of the vast sea.
A sixteen-year-old seven-ring Soul Sage. What heavenly talent. She should be this god's successor."
The lofty figure thought with satisfaction.
Even with Poseidon's horizons, Xiao Wu's talent shocked him.
To be fair, as the Sea God, he could, if he spent enough, cultivate a sixteen-year-old seven-ring Soul Sage. But he could clearly sense that there was no divine power on this little girl.
Which meant she was not the work of any god in the God Realm. What she had achieved came from her own effort and perhaps opportunities unrelated to the gods.
He could also sense that Xiao Wu was no ordinary seven-ring Soul Sage. The quality of her soul power, her physique, and her spiritual power all far exceeded her peers. Setting aside soul power level and ring count, calling her a newly advanced nine-ring Titled Douluo would not be wrong.
With such talent, was she not the successor he had sought?
As for her being a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast?
In Poseidon's eyes, soul beast or human, all were part of the living world. He did not discriminate against soul beasts or look at transformed soul beasts with tinted lenses.
Because of this belief, coupled with some strength, he had been honored by all sea clans in ages past, received the faith of billions of sea soul beasts, and forged the Sea God's position.
What was more, many deities in the God Realm were not originally human.
The Goddess of Life, one of the five God-Kings, was the Ancient Tree of Life. Calling her soul beast-born was not wrong.
The God of Destruction, also one of the five God-Kings, was formed from condensed destruction. Likewise not human.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Poseidon's divine sense noticed Chu Chengzhou, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing outside.
That youth was also a seven-ring Soul Sage? And those two girls had six rings and were not far from seven.
Clearly, with Chu Chengzhou's Absolute Control still at red grade, he could not hide from a god's divine sense.
To meet four talents at once, each stronger than this god was at their age?
Could it be that after twenty thousand years, geniuses on the Douluo Continent had become commonplace?
Poseidon's divine sense: Geniuses appear every year. This year there are especially many. Did I choose my successor too early?
Night fell.
Half-awake, Xiao Wu felt someone feeding her something.
It smelled rich and was slick. As it went down, warmth spread through her, comfortable beyond words.
After a while the treat was gone. When no more came, she grew unhappy, about to scold, when a familiar voice sounded in her ear: "If you don't wake up, I'm eating the rest."
Xiao Wu's eyes snapped open.
Smiling Chu Chengzhou came into view. He held a bowl in his left hand and a spoon in his right. Clearly he had been feeding her.
By his side, her two dear sisters watched with concern.
"I want more."
Looking at the whale brain in Chu Chengzhou's bowl, Xiao Wu did not know what it was, but the rich aroma drew her in.
"Open up."
He smiled.
Before long, the whole bowl of whale brain was in Xiao Wu's belly.
When she bound the Sea God's Heart earlier, she had lost a lot of blood. Whale brain was a major tonic. One bowl was enough to restore her quickly.
"Xiao Wu, feel anything odd?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked with concern.
"My spiritual power seems stronger, but my body's a little weak. My belly is warm though, so it should be fine."
Rubbing her stomach, Xiao Wu smiled.
"Good. The scumbag says it's whale brain, a major tonic. You'll recover soon."
Ning Rongrong pointed to the empty bowl in Chu Chengzhou's hand.
"Xiao Wu, try injecting soul power into the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."
Chu Chengzhou handed her the Shroud, its brilliance now hidden.
"It won't suck my blood again, will it?"
Taking it, Xiao Wu hesitated.
"Relax. It's bound to you. It won't."
He shook his head to reassure her.
Though Poseidon's divine sense had not appeared, Chu Chengzhou was sure the second-generation Sea God's position had most likely been set.
Of course, she had the ticket. Whether she could become a god would still depend on completing the Sea God's Nine Trials.
"Oh."
She nodded and injected a thread of soul power into the Shroud.
As that thread went in, dazzling blue light burst forth. The Shroud seemed to awaken, its glow flowing as it returned to its earlier splendor.
Blue ripples like water spread through the room. Strange lines surfaced on it. Xiao Wu could clearly feel its hunger for her soul power and instinctively increased the flow.
As her soul power poured in, the blue grew brighter. Gleaming, the azure tetrahedron slowly floated from her palm, rose to hang before her, and began to rotate on its own.
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle