Chapter 248 Entering the Sea Area (3.5k)
Su Jiu’s voice echoed faintly throughout the hall. The venue immediately fell silent, and all eyes turned towards them, some with confusion, some with a hint of doubt. After scanning the three of them, their gazes settled on Su Jiu.
“I’ve never seen the girl standing with Chief Huang… Wait, could she be a student from another school that we picked up?”
“It’s her. I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful after changing clothes. Ugh, the ancient-looking girl behind her is also beautiful…”
“But I hope nothing unexpected really happens in the Great Cuttlefish Sea Area, right? This girl’s expression seems a bit solemn.”
“How could you possibly have seen…”
Hearing the voice, Mentor Lu Shu on the platform was slightly startled. Just as he was about to reprimand what he thought was a disruptive student, he turned and saw Su Jiu. His brow furrowed, then, as if thinking of something, he whispered in a testing tone, “Classmate from another school, have you seen this Four-Patterned Giant Cuttlefish? You shouldn’t have passed through that sea area, right?”
He believed Su Jiu’s drifting at sea was caused by an attack from some monster. Upon hearing the other party mention seeing the Four-Patterned Giant Cuttlefish, he felt a chill. What he had were just monster popular science articles easily found online. If the other party was attacked by this giant cuttlefish and fell into the sea, it would be troublesome…
“We didn’t pass through that sea area…”
Su Jiu raised her head slightly and replied softly. Under the confused gazes of the students, she continued unhurriedly, her subsequent words as bizarre as a story:
“I saw it in the inner sea. When I was on a mission in the inner sea, I was driving to cross a bridge, and that giant cuttlefish occupied the entire massive bridge. It destroyed all the passing vehicles!”
“Unlike ordinary giant cuttlefish, it not only has a Lord trait but is also Battle King level!”
“At that time, we were constantly attacked and chased… If it weren’t for my friend having the level of a Peerless Battle General, we wouldn’t have even been able to leave the bridge… In the end, we only managed to escape smoothly thanks to a War God who arrived to save the day.”
Hearing Su Jiu’s bizarre experience, which sounded like a made-up story, the students were stunned. Their eyes widened in amazement at Su Jiu, and their recently relaxed tension was reignited.
However, the four instructors on stage were not as easily fooled. A middle-aged female teacher with short reddish-brown hair, wearing red-rimmed glasses, and a somewhat aged face adjusted her glasses and began to scrutinize Su Jiu. She narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up, saying with a hint of mockery,
“Setting aside the fact that the giant cuttlefish wouldn’t randomly attack humans, do you even know what ‘Peerless Battle General’ rank is? It’s something that only a prodigy among millions can achieve. If your friend can reach that rank, you must be similar, right? After all, prodigies only befriend other prodigies.”
“Sigh…”
Seemingly sensing the female teacher’s subtle dissatisfaction, Su Jiu gave a wry smile and shook her head, as if being accused of bragging. She then cupped her hands towards the stage and said softly,
“Teacher, I just wanted everyone to be careful. I didn’t mean anything else… After all, in this vast ocean, if the ship sinks due to carelessness, it will be difficult for anyone without Battle King level strength to survive.”
Su Jiu naturally wouldn’t argue stubbornly like a child. Not to mention that she was rescued by them, and it was just a chance encounter.
However, Bai Zhi, standing next to Su Jiu, was unhappy. She glanced at Huang Wen beside her, then made her fingers emit a silvery-white light. She held Su Jiu’s palm and transmitted, “Lecher… Master, with your strength, you should be Battle King level. Why didn’t you refute her? These humans are really annoying!”
Feeling the warmth from her palm, Su Jiu was slightly stunned and then turned to look. Seeing Bai Zhi’s pouting expression, she couldn’t help but find it amusing. She poked the other’s cheek and said softly, “My goal was just to make them careful. Haven’t we achieved that now?”
“If you don’t believe me, look around.”
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, Bai Zhi looked around again and found that the students and teachers were not arguing back. Instead, a serious expression had reappeared on their faces. It was clear that Su Jiu’s words had re-enlightened the teachers and students.
After looking around, Bai Zhi slowly withdrew her gaze and looked at Su Jiu’s tranquil profile again. She pouted, and her luminous fingers gently scratched the back of Su Jiu’s hand…
“Tsk, I’m not a child, of course, I know…”
“Quiet down, everyone…”
Seeing Su Jiu’s response, the female teacher was first stunned. She gestured to suppress the surrounding discussions and then waved her hand gently, saying with a slight smile,
“There’s no need to be so formal. Although the story is fabricated, classmate Su Jiu is quite right. In this ocean, if we make a mistake, we’ll all end up as fish food. Let’s start with eating. Tonight, we need to be cautious of sudden attacks from monsters…”
Hearing that there was food, the tense atmosphere eased slightly. Gradually, students in chef uniforms began to bring food into the living room. Under the light, hot meals steamed, and even the teachers went to the side tables to prepare for their meal.
Mentor Lu Shu, standing behind the female teacher, glanced at Su Jiu with a flicker in his eyes, feeling that this student seemed by no means simple…
After scanning the surrounding dishes, Su Jiu asked Huang Wen if she could use her phone. She learned that apart from alchemy equipment, there was no signal. She then symbolically used a cup to fill some hot water and pulled Bai Zhi’s hand, heading back the way they came. Soon, the two arrived on the deck outside.
“Aren’t we going to eat? Although those are just ordinary foods… they can still replenish some energy.”
Bai Zhi followed Su Jiu, blinking her eyes in confusion, but obediently let Su Jiu hold her hand, as the three-chapter agreement was in place.
Under the night sky, the sea glistened under the clear moonlight. Occasionally, small predatory fish leaped out of the surface, creating a rather peaceful and beautiful scene.
“Didn’t I say I’d take you to eat something delicious? This stuff is even liked by some Blood Clan Dukes.”
Choosing a spot on the deck, Su Jiu smiled and took out another bucket of instant noodles from her storage bag. Under Bai Zhi’s eyes, which were sparkling like flowers, she gently tore open the package, poured in the hot water she had brought, added the seasoning, and then closed it with a fork.
“Blood Clan Dukes like to eat this?”
Holding down her skirt, Bai Zhi squatted on the deck, staring intently at the green instant noodles and swallowing her saliva. Actually, she had never felt full, which was why she was so obedient.
“Don’t rush, wait another ten minutes… I’ll cultivate here first. I haven’t fully digested the energy I absorbed yet.” Su Jiu stood up, stroked the slightly dazed-looking head, and then sat cross-legged not far away. Before closing her eyes, she smiled gently at Bai Zhi,
“Don’t steal any before I’m done, or the noodles will still be hard and not tasty… Help me protect my Dharma.”
Finally, she had a safe environment to refine that energy…
Su Jiu chose to cultivate outside for a reason. Within the ship, she was the strongest, and if any accident were to happen, she could react. Moreover, thanks to the skill given by Director Yan, even if the ship were to collapse, she would still have a way to cross the ocean…
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, Bai Zhi impatiently waved her hand, interrupting Su Jiu’s thoughts. She gently hugged the bucket of instant noodles and said, “I know, I know… You don’t need to worry about me, just go cultivate.”
Su Jiu withdrew her hand with a smile and gently closed her eyes. She could clearly feel a surge of scorching energy constantly moving in her chest, flowing along the eight main meridians and gradually integrating into the two-colored Golden Core within her body.
It seemed to be slowly rectifying the unfavorable situation of strong ice and weak fire, and Su Jiu’s aura also became stronger and stronger. Even without activating Elegy, she was already approaching the level of a Peerless Battle General.
“As long as I go to Chuan Yu province and get the feather, the situation within my body should be thoroughly improved. By then, I’ll be able to challenge High-Rank Battle General again.”
Feeling the changes within her body, Su Jiu’s face lit up with joy. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Bai Zhi struggling to eat the still-hard noodles with a plastic fork. She took a sip of the soup, and her beautiful eyes curved into crescents…
“This little glutton…”
With a wry smile, Su Jiu shook her head and continued to sit cross-legged, entering a state of cultivation. She carefully converted the evolutionary energy within her.
She could feel that once this energy was completely refined, there would be no need for an Awakening Stone. With the feather, she would basically be able to awaken steadily—she even felt that she might directly obtain Extraordinary Attributes…
After all, even something like Ice Dragon Transformation, which was semi-healing, could yield Extraordinary Attributes. As for the Ghost Car Transformation, which was characterized by explosion and power, it would definitely bring great benefits—she just didn’t know if these benefits would allow her to directly face an Intermediate Battle King.
Su Jiu knew very well that the reason she could exchange a few blows with Count Sam by activating the second stage of the Dragon Transformation was largely because he was already quite old. If it were a young Intermediate Battle King, she would likely be defeated in two moves.
As the levels get higher, the gaps become larger. If they were to be strictly divided by levels, an Initial Stage Battle King could even be divided into early, middle, and late stages. Su Jiu, using the second stage of Ice Dragon Transformation with Elegy and holding E Huo, had only reached the middle stage of Initial Stage Battle King.
The moonlight quietly cast shadows on their figures. Apart from Huang Wen bringing some energy drinks, only patrolling personnel would discover Su Jiu. They intended to persuade her to go inside, but were met with a cold little face…
After an unknown amount of time, mist began to gradually shroud the surroundings, and the ship activated a blue shield, its surface flowing like seawater.
“A night has passed. Last night, why did I kill her…”
Leaning against the railing, Bai Zhi held a bottle of drink and looked up at the red sun slowly rising in the east through the mist. Her skirt was gently blown by the sea breeze. She slowly withdrew her gaze, turned her head, and looked at the motionless Su Jiu, her eyes narrowing slightly…
“She’s clearly in deep cultivation. Let me cut off her hands and feet now…”
Petals floated on her hand, and a sword formed from small white flowers appeared in her palm. She then hid the sword in her sleeve, lowered her head, and slowly walked towards Su Jiu. The sound of her embroidered shoes was very low…
“Drip… drip…”
When she was completely close to Su Jiu, looking at that slightly mischievous little face, Bai Zhi hesitated for a moment. Finally, she put down the flower sword in her hand and hid it back in her sleeve, constantly biting her lip…
It’s not like I’m killing her, just turning her into a ‘human pig’. Why am I hesitating?
“Mmm~ You haven’t slept all night…”
Seemingly sensing something blocking her front, Su Jiu slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Bai Zhi standing very close to her, as if bowing. She then smiled and tossed another bucket of red instant noodles from her storage bag.
“En… Thank… Thank you, Master.”
Bai Zhi was startled when she saw Su Jiu open her eyes. In her nervousness, the flower sword hidden in her sleeve accidentally cut her palm. After taking the instant noodles handed by Su Jiu, she froze, lowered her head, and mumbled a thank you…
The flower sword in her sleeve gently fell onto the deck with a “ding!” and then turned into scattered petals. Both of their gazes fell on the petals. One became nervous, while the other’s finger emitted green light.
“It’s not what you think…”
Bai Zhi’s grip on the instant noodles tightened slightly, revealing a touch of white on her fingertip. She looked down at the deformed instant noodles, like a child who had made a mistake, and said softly.
“How did you get cut?”
Taking the other’s small hand, Su Jiu rolled her eyes and lightly passed the Healing Arts over the surface of her wrist, saying with a hint of amusement, “You’re such a piggy… cutting yourself while eating instant noodles.”
“You’re the pig…”
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, Bai Zhi seemed to have exerted herself greatly and immediately relaxed, pouting in dissatisfaction. Her eyes revealed a sense of relief, but she didn’t notice that Su Jiu’s fingernails on her other hand had already grown long…
If Bai Zhi had really made a move just now, Su Jiu would have likely sent her back into the wooden hairpin and locked her up.
