Above The Sky
Chapter 210 - 210 199 Bloodline Iron Stamp 33 thanks to the alliance leader Zhuo Yao for the reward!

210: Chapter 199: Bloodline Iron Stamp (3/3, thanks to the alliance leader Zhuo Yao for the reward!) 210: Chapter 199: Bloodline Iron Stamp (3/3, thanks to the alliance leader Zhuo Yao for the reward!) The exploration ship adjusted its course again, heading toward the Southwest Distant Seas.

From time to time, Ian activated the Foresight View, and with the aid of instruments, fine-tuned the captain’s direction of advance.

Gloomy, dense rain clouds churned by fierce winds began to press down in layers; sharp green lightning wove into a complex array amidst the clouds and gusts, manifesting at the far end of the Noctilucent Marine Area, illuminating half of the distant sea’s firmament.

The storm grew stronger.

As the exploration ship sped towards the Southern Far Sea, sea beasts continued to pursue the vessel, causing confusion and unease among the crew.

“It’s those bloodstains.”

Ian hadn’t acted when Yisen Gard discovered the reason; he noticed some bloodstains on the hull hadn’t been washed away by the storm, clearly a covert tactic of the natives: “We’ve been located by the locals.”

The bloodstains were cleaned off, but it was obviously too late.

“It’s not just the natives.”

In the captain’s quarters, Ian calmly said to Master Gossay, “There must be a traitor among us—carrying something akin to a signal on him.

Otherwise, given our detection speed, it would be impossible for the natives to notice so quickly and initiate an encirclement and pursuit.”

The captain felt uneasy; of course, he wasn’t the traitor, but aside from a few professionals, the rest of the crew were his mates.

It was because he knew his crew that he felt uneasy: those lazy, good-for-nothing bastards being bought off wouldn’t be the least bit surprising!

He did not want to be implicated!

“Did you find anything?”

Ian asked this because Master Gossay’s expression was unexpectedly solemn.

The old man was silent for a moment before he spoke gravely, “The lightning in this storm…

is off.

Ian, your observational capabilities certainly can’t reach the clouds above, but I can.”

“Normal lightning is a natural discharge phenomenon that occurs under certain conditions.”

Looking up, Master Gossay gazed at the incessant lightning in the sky and slowly continued, “But these bolts of lightning…

are all triggered by a special Spirit Energy Field of a creature.”

Ian’s eyes widened, as he almost instantly understood what that meant.

“Yes.”

The elder slowly nodded, the words that followed didn’t even need to be spoken.

And the expression with which Ian looked up at the sky also became serious.

—Without a doubt, that Peak First Power Level Deep Sea Crystal Dragon was probably advancing!

At the same time.

On the shores of the Luminous Sea.

The colossal swamp Crocodragon stood atop a reef, its six crimson eyes fixed on a distant ship that couldn’t possibly be seen.

The downpour and thunder raged above the Noctilucent Marine Area.

The Great Shaman Animu…

or rather, Crocodragon Animu, was in deep thought.

The humans’ secret technique passed down among the Redwood Natives allowed for a high-purity sacrifice to fuse a Second Energy Level shaman with a ‘Totem Master’ who had undergone the sacrificial ritual, becoming a ‘Beast Shaman’ with human wisdom and the power of Magical Beasts, to gain long life and great strength.

In theory, it indeed was so…

A shaman could indeed control a Magical Beast’s powerful body almost like possession through the secret ritual, but their spirit would also be influenced by the beast’s massive body, gradually becoming swallowed by the animal instinct, eventually turning into the fuel for the Totem Master’s advancement to the Third Energy Level, forming its own soul and wisdom.

This was an exchange, a more pure ritual—shamans temporarily controlling the body of a Magical Beast for a few years, while the Magical Beasts accepted their spirit, using these volunteering Sublimators as fuel to shape their own soul and spirit.

Animu was now both a Great Shaman and a Crocodragon…

in his mind existed the memories of the past shamans who had similarly merged with the Swamp Crocodile Dragon, as well as the strong instincts of the Crocodragon.

He was still able to restrain those foolish, savage, utterly brainless predatory instincts.

But in a few years, he would no longer be able to control his entire body, and in a few more years, he might even forget his own name.

But that was unimportant.

“Holy Ground…”

The Crocodragon let out a low growl as the mud and waves around it surged in response to the low hum of this massive beast.

The ‘Key’ within the Crocodragon’s body stirred as well.

The Four Keys of the Ancestral Holy Land: the Key of Water, the Key of Forest, the Key of Earth, the Key of Mist.

All keys except the Key of Water held by the Imperial People had now gathered.

The three keys within his body were vibrating, but that wasn’t just a physical vibration, it was a resonance from within the Bloodline—a memory from the ancient past was awakening in the soul of the shaman, and he felt a noble sense of mission, as if a light tearing through the dark ages was housed deep within his soul.

That was…

their mission.

“Find the Holy Ground, unlock the Holy Ground…”

He murmured softly, reciting the words resurfacing in his Bloodline, “The Holy Ground is the ultimate sanctity, the infinite wisdom, the belonging and end we long for all our lives…”

“Holy Ground…

is our salvation.”

But the Holy Ground was gradually turning into a Labyrinth.

This was part of the natural cycle.

He understood this notion very well.

But the formation of the Labyrinth also signified a change in the Holy Ground, which he couldn’t accept.

Not for any reason, his blood was raging, the will deep within his body was howling, and the circuit embedded in the deepest layer of their souls and carapaces by their ancient ancestors told him…

—No.

—Absolutely not.

—You must retrieve the ‘Core Design Map’ from the ‘Land of Inheritance’ before the ‘Heterogenous Ecosystem’ is established.

—We engraved such memories and Iron Stamps of thought into our Bloodline for the purpose of preserving the ‘Spark’!

——Failure is not an option…

absolutely not, if even this cannot be achieved…

then all the descendants of the Redwood Base, as well as all creatures in the ecosystem surrounding the Redwood Base, should not exist!

“Failure is not an option, absolutely not.”

Repeating the phrases from memory, the Great Shaman’s mind gradually returned to clarity, “The spirits of the ancestors…

I understand.

By any means necessary, I will snatch the key back from the hands of the Imperial People.”

“This time…

as long as we can capture the people on that ship…

capture that noble boy, even the unwilling Grant must return the key to me.”

The Redwood People had not reached any agreement with the outsider noble…

The other party simply provided some information and was willing to pay a price for their assistance.

But from the beginning, the Redwood People did not need any compensation.

This was something they had to do…

at any cost!

“And…

not just that.”

Closing his three pairs of eyes, the Great Shaman immersed himself in his past foresight.

——That boy…

that white-haired boy from years ago, now a youth of the White Folks…

The omens brought by the Twin Leaves of Foresight did not include that boy.

Never had he appeared, as if he did not exist in this world at all.

But he did exist—and could continuously disrupt his plans!

Whether it was the artillery strike six years ago or the recent raid…

it was the same.

In foresight, the troops he sent out would encounter no one, they returned to camp confused but safe.

But in reality, that reemerging youth of the White Folks, who killed all the warriors and sabotaged the cooperation plan with the Fiery Flame Land…

led to all the errors.

The Great Shaman originally could not understand this matter, he wasn’t clear as to why the Sacred Object, the Twin Leaves of Foresight, would give an incorrect omen…

But just before setting out to sea, he had a revelation.

Historically, similar incidents had occurred—two Great Shamans struggled against each other for power and profit.

They both consumed the Twin Leaves of Foresight, yet neither could predict the other’s actions.

“That child…

perhaps, he is a Prophet.”

“Only a true Prophet, truly graced with the protection of foresight, invisible to predictions and prophecies—would seem to not exist in the future at all!”

“And only a true Prophet could make all preparations to eliminate an entire firearm hunting party with the strength of the First Power Level!”

Opening his blood-red eyes, the old man and the Crocodragon let out a low roar simultaneously.

——A Prophet trying to hide his identity?

Ridiculous…

your enemy is not me, it’s all your kinsmen!

Wait, Prophet…

whether this attack succeeds or not, your identity will be made known to everyone in Harrison Port!

Yes, they may not believe it…

but how is a Prophet suspected and guessed at by others supposed to wield his power?

Moreover, he did want to see, how the Prophet would confront absolute violence—the First Power Level Wave Singer has no chance of overcoming the net of heaven and earth he laid out!

The Crocodragon no longer controlled the mud and rocks, it slowly sank into the water.

A profound shadow lurked in the sea, quickly swimming toward the distance where the scent of blood came from.

And that’s not all.

Around Odell Reef, two huge and slender eel shadows, like spirals, intertwined and swam swiftly toward the southwest.

After six years, the Natives had once again come out in full force.

Meanwhile.

On the western coastline of Harrison Port.

Scott arrived at the seaside, following Ian’s instructions, opened the wooden box and threw its built-in content into the sea.

In the box was placed a strand of white hair, containing a faint Source Quality Fluctuation…

He felt surprisingly smooth to the touch, like some kind of fine silk.

Not long after he dropped the hair, a loud splash rapidly approached.

A metallic, silver dorsal fin cut through the waves.

An Ironclad Shark appeared before Scott’s eyes.

The young city guard and the Ironclad Shark looked at each other, both seemingly having a familiar feeling…

it was the scent of choosing to follow someone.

——Remarkable, when did Ian tame an Ironclad Shark?

“Although I’m not sure if it can be trusted, take this, give him this sword,” Scott thought and said, tossing the longsword wrapped in oilcloth to the Ironclad Shark, and the massive shark leaped to catch the longsword in its jaws.

Plunk—Before it returned underwater, it even swung its tail as though saying farewell.

With Scott watching, the Ironclad Shark sailed through the waves, chasing the scent Ian had left behind—toward the distant seas in the southwest, the center of the Thundering Net.

Similarly, from beyond the great ocean, a Pirate Fleet from the east had already set sail…

With the message passed by an insider, their destination was just as precise.

And Ian lifted his head, his brows furrowed with a premonition of an unnamed crisis.

“Is it coming?

It seems that both the Natives and pirates must be setting off.”

Although he had long known this news, the young man could only sense the crisis itself without knowing the specific details, which made him somewhat worried.

But soon, he relaxed his brows.

——Regardless, he had made all the preparations.

Even if it was the worst-case scenario, a future even a Prophet could not avoid, he was confident he could overcome it with his strength.

The wind howled.

All sides were converging, the vast net of conspiracy and duty was already woven into shape.