Free Web NovelChapter 884: Chapter 136: The First Sea Clan Member
Jiang Wang chose a detour because the distance to the Floating Island was so great that it afforded no safety. However, to Jiang Wang, Granny Bizhu posed a greater danger than the Sea Clan.
Although the Sea Clan was certainly much stronger, after all, they didn’t know who he, Jiang Wang, was, and wouldn’t specifically target him unless they stumbled upon him.
He needed to familiarize himself with this place and, ideally, have traps set in advance to gain the advantage of terrain. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Just like the time he chose to wait for Hai Zongming at Camel Hump Mountain to greatly weaken the power of his Water Taoism Technique.
He was certain that Granny Bizhu was waiting for him in the inner area, while he was lying in wait for Granny Bizhu in the outer area.
It was a gamble.
If Granny Bizhu had enough patience, she would just stay near the Floating Island indefinitely, forcing Jiang Wang, who focused more on lying in wait rather than hunting Sea Clan, to eventually complete his cleansing ritual and resupply at the Floating Island.
In that case, the advantage of terrain would be with Granny Bizhu.
Jiang Wang decided to take such a gamble.
To entrust victory to luck was foolish, but his wager was not on luck, rather on his judgment of Granny Bizhu.
He could choose not to gamble, could go directly to hunt the Sea Clan, striving to complete the cleansing ritual earlier. But he didn’t know when Granny Bizhu would catch up to him. In a sudden encounter, what was most tested was the actual fighting strength of both parties. Undoubtedly, Jiang Wang was at a disadvantage.
To win, to win as soon as possible, he needed to wait instead.
It was after "passing" the fifth massive stone that Jiang Wang realized that these floating rocks in the Lost World were not stationary. To confirm this discovery, he retraced his steps. Indeed, the distance between two of the stones had decreased, and their positions had shifted.
The movement of the rocks was extremely slow, and due to the lack of reference points, it was hard to detect.
The significance of this discovery lay in the fact that the idea of using the massive rocks as markers to establish a cognitive map was now futile. Something that couldn’t remain fixed could hardly be used as a marker.
More regrettable was that Jiang Wang originally planned to make special arrangements on some of the rocks to lure Granny Bizhu there when the time came, which now obviously wouldn’t work. By the time he painstakingly lured Granny Bizhu there, the rocks might have moved along with his preparations.
Luckily, he had the guiding map.
Otherwise, not to mention ambushing Granny Bizhu, even avoiding getting lost would be difficult.
This was the eighth black spot Jiang Wang had encountered. Although the rocks moved, he still subconsciously recorded some information—not necessarily useful, but being prepared had its benefits.
Only when this black spot started to become defined in his vision did Jiang Wang realize that it was not a massive stone, but a fish.
A large fish about thirty feet long and twenty feet high, covered in black scale armor, with interlocking sharp teeth. It moved through the air and had clearly already spotted Jiang Wang, rapidly accelerating towards him!
This was the first Sea Beast Jiang Wang had encountered in the Lost World, and it surprised him greatly.
Not because the Sea Beast was too strong, but because it was... too weak.
It was much weaker than the eight-limbed Sea Beast he had slain near Youxia Island previously.
The black giant fish charged swiftly, opening its mouth full of interlocking sharp teeth, and a strong fishy stench rushed toward him.
Jiang Wang drew his sword!
An exceedingly graceful vertical sword stroke appeared in the air.
Before the black giant fish could get close to Jiang Wang, its body was sliced in two down the middle, and under the force of inertia, it flew past him on both sides.
Organs, blood, body parts.
Each scattered in a different direction.
It was really too weak, with a combat power at most equivalent to a Complete Cycle Realm Cultivator.
Was this a juvenile amongst Sea Beasts, or perhaps the weakest kind of Sea Beast?
Before this, Jiang Wang’s concept of the Sea Beasts’ strength was based on that eight-limbed Sea Beast, assuming that they should at least possess the combat prowess of an Inner Mansion Realm Cultivator.
But the Sea Beast he encountered in the Lost World was completely different from what he had imagined.
Despite being uncontrollable and frenzied, the eight-limbed Sea Beast he encountered near Youxia Island still had an influence on Yuan Force and the instinct to manipulate Yuan Force to cast spells.
The Sea Beast he had now encountered possessed only the sheer power of its flesh body, devoid of any intelligence.
To him, it felt more like a Fierce Beast, yet without the bloodthirsty frenzy of one. Or put another way, in terms of physical strength, it was similar to a Fierce Beast. In terms of spiritual intelligence, it was akin to an ordinary wild beast.
As the inertia from the giant fish’s last moments faded, its body, organs, and blood scattered in an instant. Some floated upward, some fell downward, others drifted left or right...
It looked like he had been torn apart by wild horses, the scent of blood dispersing quickly.
Jiang Wang immediately fled into the distance.
After he had flown a great distance and looked back, he noticed thirteen black dots had appeared!
They were unlikely to be giant stones drifting in.
Afterward, Jiang Wang encountered two more sea beasts and experimented with them, confirming that these sea beasts were indeed weaker; the black giant fish was not an exception. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
This was reasonable, as any group had its strengths and weaknesses. When cultivators from the human race tamed sea beasts, they would certainly choose the stronger ones to capture.
But Jiang Wang had an inkling that it might not be just that.
This area was far from any floating island, a complete wildland; the combat power of the sea beasts should be average, not this weak... unless, this was the common level of combat power amongst the sea beasts, and the truly powerful ones were extremely rare.
The surprise occurred with the fourth sea beast he encountered, by which time he had already passed ten huge stones.
It was a frog-shaped sea beast with a bloated belly, puffed face, green skin, and red eyes, and a pair of water buffalo-like curved horns on its head. With a kick of its hind legs, it leapt high into the air, bearing down like a small mountain.
This sea beast was stronger than the three he had encountered before, with the combat power of a Heavenly-Reaching Cultivator. It surely was stronger than an ordinary Heavenly-Reaching Cultivator but not a match for an Ascending Dragon Realm cultivator.
But most importantly, between the two curved horns of the frog-shaped sea beast, hung a vine chair.
On the vine chair sat a towering figure.
Two large axes stood at his feet, one hand propping each.
Sea Clan!
It was then that Jiang Wang realized he had encountered the first member of the Sea Clan since entering the Lost World.
He had truly come into contact with the Sea Clan.
As soon as he saw the figure, it had already soared into the air, flying higher and faster than the frog-shaped sea beast, taking the lead to swing its giant axe down!
He had a pair of blue eyes and a shaved, bald head. Wearing plate armor, the muscles on his axe-wielding arms were knotted and powerful.
His figure had not yet landed, and the roaring sound of cutting wind was already pressing close in front of him.
There was no communication.
There was no need for communication between the human race and the Sea Clan when they encountered each other in the wilderness.
And the reason Jiang Wang could observe him so clearly in a split second and have the leisure to weigh his axe skills was, of course... because he was stronger!
Clang!
With a single horizontal sword stroke, he sparked a few stars.
That burly Sea Clan member, drawing strength from the frog-shaped sea beast and his own advantage of striking from a height, was still effortlessly repelled by a single sword stroke!
There were already noticeable notches on the blades of both large axes.
This Sea Clan member was clearly not foolish, for he realized after one strike that he was no match, and with a lift of his axes, they transformed into giant pincers as they descended!
Before Jiang Wang, a giant crab-shaped sea beast appeared, its whole body armored in black iron-like shells, with giant pincers raised like huge axes, its presence more than doubled in intimidation!
The Heavenly-Reaching frog-shaped sea beast, which had intended to bite Jiang Wang, now halted in place, clearly intimidated by the former’s might.
A thought flashed through Jiang Wang’s mind!
This was the kind of sea beast he had encountered on Youxia Island!
The Sea Clan and the Water Race, these two branches of the same lineage, had already diverged fundamentally!
Could it be... that the tamed Huzong sea beasts of the Near Sea Archipelago were actually the true forms of the Sea Clan?
...
...
(By the way, there’s an annual author event. Search for the works to find the author. The top fifty can get a fan title. I just found out about this, and we’re at number 105? Not too shabby. If you got a free literary talisman from the lottery, you can vote for Ashan, and it’s the participation that counts. Don’t spend money, don’t spend money, don’t spend money.
Once again, it’s the participation that matters, have a happy fish life!)
