Chapter 220 - 218: Living Blade and Foundation Establishment Master

The Sea Cape set sail once more, heading for the endless deep sea.

This time, it would be a long journey of more than ten days.

Back in the same conference room, the fourteen-person team was fully assembled.

Chen Beiwang looked as weak as if he’d just been discharged from the ICU. ’It’s hard to imagine how hard an Innate Martial Artist has to party to get into this state... Considering the chaotic society of the East Japan archipelago... He must’ve had the time of his life!’

Yang Shen could just imagine how wild Chen Beiwang must have been. ’He probably partied so hard the skin was worn clean off his toes...’

Dusk over the sea was exceptionally golden, bathing the entire conference room in a warm glow. The students, who still hadn’t had their fill of the ocean view, all took out their phones to take pictures.

Shen Juanzhou waited for everyone to finish their pictures, then tapped the whiteboard to introduce the new members.

He began by respectfully gesturing toward a towering, powerfully-built man with a thick mat of chest hair.

"This is Senior Deng Ming... He’s at the Late-stage Jade Viscera Realm, and he’ll be our team’s combat Ballast Stone."

At these words, even the listless Luo Sheng couldn’t help but look up.

’Late-stage Jade Viscera... He can definitely be called a Ballast Stone.’

’He can definitely hold things down!’

’On paper, as long as he wasn’t a complete pushover, Deng Ming could slaughter the rest of the team combined... even with people like me and Luo Sheng, who have trump cards hidden up our sleeves.’

’No, that’s wrong... Most pushovers stop at the Innate Stage. They can’t even come close to the True Gang Realm, let alone reach Late-stage Jade Viscera!’

Yang Shen was happy to see this. Just a moment ago, Deng Ming had said he was one of their own, although they hadn’t talked in detail... But if Luo Sheng were to turn on them, this man could probably slap him to death with a single blow!

Liu Xi, the long-legged woman from the "Biological Domain," suddenly spoke up. "Deng Ke of the Earth-Shattering Divine Fist, second on the Qilin List... I wonder if you’re related to him, Senior."

Deng Ming laughed heartily. "That’s my nephew."

"So you truly are a senior from the Deng Family. It’s an honor to meet you."

’So the Deng Family has at least two members at the Late-stage Jade Viscera Realm... They must be a very powerful Martial Arts Family.’

Shen Juanzhou added, "Senior Deng Ming was also on the Qilin List back in his day. In fact, his highest ranking was 9th place!"

Deng Ming waved a dismissive hand. "Bah! I only got that high by sticking around. I only managed to hit 9th place right before I aged off the list at thirty."

On Cyan Blue, strength was the ultimate source of respect. Just by sitting there, Deng Ming commanded the respect and even admiration of everyone present.

’This Ballast Stone is the real deal!’

Shen Juanzhou pointed to the man hugging a trash can. "This is Chen Beiwang, a top-tier expert in Martial Arts life sciences, at the Early Innate Stage. He’s our team’s head of research."

"BLEAARGH—!!"

The smell, a mix of vomit and alcohol, made everyone’s fists clench. Someone silently opened a window, but when they found it was no use, they could only stick their own head out.

If Deng Ming hadn’t been shielding him, he probably would have gotten a beating by now...

The long-legged Liu Xi suddenly looked at Luo Sheng. "Hurry and light one of yours. To cover up the smell..."

Luo Sheng’s face darkened. "No... I have to conserve them..."

He treasured every last one in his stash as if it were his own flesh and blood...

That left only the last new member.

However, Yang Shen then noticed that the fourteen-person team now had fifteen people. The last two looked identical, like twins.

But when Shen Juanzhou made the introduction, he said it was "one person and his blade"...

"This is Guan Shan. He’s also at the Early Innate Stage. Next to him is his Living Blade. I’m guessing this is the first time many of you have seen one. Guan Shan, why don’t you introduce yourself?"

Yang Shen’s eyes lit up when he heard "Living Blade." He’d read about them in his textbooks; they were special life forms from the "Sword Realm"!

’I can’t believe there are still any left.’

The man named Guan Shan was a young man of about twenty-five, dressed in loose, traditional training clothes. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his short hair gave him a sharp, vigorous look.

Reaching the Early Innate Stage at his age wasn’t weak, but it wasn’t the mark of a genius, either.

Guan Shan said solemnly, "Hello, everyone. I am Guan Shan, a 100% pure-blooded Yanhu."

The people in the conference room surreptitiously exchanged glances...

’As if everyone else on this ship wasn’t...’

Guan Shan gestured to his twin. "This is my Living Blade, named Chun. I must stress that Living Blades don’t have bloodline inheritances. So, even though its previous master’s lineage was a bit... problematic, now that it’s with me, it’s also a pure-blooded Yanhu blade."

The twin, "Chun," remained expressionless. To Yang Shen, it felt... a bit like Long Jiu in her early stages...

"Chun, say hello to everyone."

Chun, who looked identical to his master, nodded, then opened his mouth and said, "Yoshi~"

Guan Shan instantly flew into a rage, slamming an iron fist into his "Living Blade." "Shut up! You’re a pure-blooded Yanhu blade!"

The punch landed solidly, but Chun’s body rang with the sound of striking metal.

Those who had never seen a Living Blade before marveled at the sight.

But no matter how weak, they were still at the Early Innate Stage. If a real fight broke out, things on the ship would get broken.

At that, Deng Ming, who had been patting Chen Beiwang’s back while he vomited, raised a single finger.

His Gang Qi instantly bound the "man and blade," rendering them immobile.

"Young man, no roughhousing on the ship."

Guan Shan’s face flushed. "Sorry, Boss Deng. I haven’t taught Chun properly... But I really am a pure-blooded Yanhu!"

Deng Ming scratched his cheek with a thick finger. "I didn’t ask about that..."

If a man went around all day saying, "I’m a real man..."

...chances were, there was a problem.

This was Yang Shen’s first time seeing a "Living Blade"... It was truly a breathtaking sight.

’It’s a bit like the legendary Puppetry Technique from the Cultivation Side...’

’Ever since the entrance to the "Sword Realm" was destroyed, Living Blades on Cyan Blue have become extremely rare, and all of them are under Yanhua’s control. He wondered what kind of background this Guan Shan had to be able to possess one.’

’Judging by his obsession with being "pure-blooded," he had probably lived on the East Japan islands for a long time.’

’However, the fact that this Guan Shan called Deng Ming "Boss Deng"... was also rather interesting.’

Seeing that everyone had settled down, Shen Juanzhou continued, "Starting from around the third day, we’ll be entering deep sea territory... and there’s a risk of encountering Sea Beasts."

"Deep Sea Sea Beasts are bizarre in appearance. Due to the accumulation of Source energy, while they may lack intelligence, they are enormous and powerful. Most of you have probably never encountered one, so let me give you a word of warning: do not, under any circumstances, get the idea to jump into the sea to fight one alone."

Yang Shen paused. ’Are there really people that stupid?’ he thought.

Unexpectedly, the "Ballast Stone" Deng Ming sighed in resignation. "We can’t? I’m actually pretty experienced at dealing with Sea Beasts, and I promised my brother Beiwang I’d get him something to help him recuperate!"

Shen Juanzhou made an "X" with his arms. "That’s absolutely forbidden. The ship is full of precision equipment, and we need to avoid any turbulence as much as possible. Besides, there’s no point in defeating a Sea Beast. We’re a research vessel, not a fishing boat. The most you could do is bring a piece of its meat back for dinner."

Deng Ming said, "That makes sense... I guess it is pretty pointless."

Shen Juanzhou breathed a sigh of relief.

"Humanity has only explored 5% of the deep sea to date. Every year, scores of new, powerful Sea Beast species are discovered. This is especially true after the massive, abnormal migration of Deep Sea Sea Beasts a few months ago, which changed the ecosystems in many previously safe shipping lanes. It would be wise for us to be careful."

An expert of Deng Ming’s caliber would have no problem protecting himself. If you were to compare the Sea Beasts to land creatures, he could probably dominate most of them completely.

But Sea Beasts were mindless. If you provoked one and killed it, well, it was dead, and that was that. But if the ship got damaged in the process, they would be in real trouble.

On a ten-thousand-kilometer voyage, if the ship sank halfway, their calls for help would go completely unanswered.

Aside from Deng Ming, who might have a chance of surviving, everyone else would be going down with the ship.

Yang Shen’s gaze swept over his so-called "teammates." After a brief hesitation, he chose to use his daily Life Chart Inspection on Deng Ming.

"Deng Ming: Mid-stage Foundation Establishment (Approximate)"

"Life Chart: Kuigang Qi Gathering"

"Kuigang Qi Gathering: Fierce and decisive, scorns hypocrisy, a man who acts on his true feelings."

’It was a decent Life Chart, but it seemed to only reflect his personality, not his talent or strength...’

’Based on what he knew, Huo Jun at Late-stage True Gang was approximately equivalent to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. The next realm, Jade Viscera, corresponded to Foundation Establishment... That seemed logical enough.’

’However, Deng Ming’s Late-stage Jade Viscera only corresponded to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. An entire major realm only equated to a single minor advancement on the Cultivation Side. As expected, the realms on the Cultivation Side were more valuable.’

’After Jade Viscera came "Tongshu," and after Tongshu came "Guiyuan"... Following that logic, the Guiyuan Realm should be analogous to the Golden Core Stage on the Cultivation Side.’

’Of course, it wouldn’t be a perfect one-to-one correspondence. It was possible one could enter the Golden Core level at Late-stage Tongshu, and the entire major realm of Guiyuan would still be within the Golden Core stage...’

’And Guiyuan was already within the Eight Martial Arts Realms, leaving only the final two: "Martial Saint" and "Celestial Essence"...’

’So, unless there were more secrets unknown to the world...’

’The pinnacle of power on Cyan Blue should be analogous to a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator—at most, not surpassing the late stage, and most likely only reaching the early or mid-stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.’

A thrill shot through Yang Shen...

’Does that mean as long as I cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm, I’ll be invincible on Cyan Blue...?’

Oh, right. He didn’t like eating fish.