Chapter 641: Flying Fish
“Why Tranquil Hill?”
“How could it possibly be Tranquil Hill?”
When the fishman youngster saw the truth behind the massive shadow, his heart filled with shock and doubt.
He had contacted Lan Zao and learned of Tranquil Hill.
Tranquil Hill wasn't confined to the legends of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, it was a real place, existing within the Dueling Divine Domain.
Tranquil Hill possessed extraordinary properties. Those buried within it might be resurrected by its power. This fact was explicitly recorded in the relevant legends.
Even if resurrection failed, consider the handling of Teng Dong Lang's corpse. As the coffin bearer, Spring Boxer reaped the greatest benefit. He fully absorbed Teng Dong Lang's memories from before death, causing his own cultivation to skyrocket!
The Spring Boxer of old was raw and brimming with youthful vigor. Yet through this period of absorption, he underwent profound transformation, maturing rapidly and developing the makings of the next leader of the Bayonet Gang.
Lan Zao witnessed all this firsthand, the Dueling Divine Domain, the Tranquil Hill, Teng Dong Lang, and Spring Boxer's metamorphosis.
The fishman youngster, who could access Lan Zao's memories, was well-versed in these matters.
Precisely because he understood, the fishman youngster now felt even greater astonishment and doubt.
He couldn't fathom how Tranquil Hill, residing far away in the Dueling Divine Domain on Ice Sculpture Island, could be connected to Charming Blue Goddess.
“In my slumber, I constantly prayed passively. The image I saw must have been the Charming Blue Goddess.”
“But now I see Tranquil Hill.”
“Could it be... that Charming Blue Goddess is Tranquil Hill?”
“No. Perhaps her true form is concealed within Tranquil Hill?”
A deity residing not in her own realm, but within the Dueling God's domain? This was truly beyond comprehension.
The fishman youngster continued his bold conjecture.
“Could it be... that Charming Blue Goddess is the Dueling God?”
“Or more accurately, is the Dueling God merely one of Charming Blue Goddess' identities?”
"After all, Charming Blue Goddess possesses many personas. Take the Net Goddess, born from her role as fishing authority; the Fishman God Mist, extending from her fishman authority; or the Calm Lake God, the Wave God, and the Splash God, all derived from her water authority..."
The fishman youngster sank deeper, drawing closer to Tranquil Hill.
In his downward gaze, Tranquil Hill grew larger and larger, its details becoming increasingly distinct.
The pressure in the fishman youngster's heart mounted with each passing moment!
“I wonder what will happen when I land on Tranquil Hill?”
An intuition deep within him whispered that something significant would occur then!
The fishman youngster tried to rouse himself but still failed.
He could only passively observe Tranquil Hill, watching it draw nearer. He discerned its central peak, it wasn’t steep, and its summit blanketed in snow. To the south lay a valley with rivers and green grass. To the west stretched a cliff, sheer as if hewn by blades, shrouded in thick mist...
Lan Zao scaled the western cliff face of Tranquil Hill.
During the surprise assault on Tranquil Hill, Lan Zao had distinguished himself, particularly through his successful prayers that saved countless lives.
Thus, he earned the trust of everyone, including Mei Lin, who granted him freedom of movement.
Lan Zao stood at the cliff's edge, looking down.
The precipice soared high, shrouded in thick mist, its depths invisible.
“A fall from this height would be certain death!” Lan Zao knew it at a glance.
Yet this time, he intended to leap.
He slowly closed his eyes, carefully recalling.
Soon, he immersed himself in another perspective.
In the dueling arena, a fishman darted through the air. Though only silver level, she executed maneuvers of short-range flight.
Her fishman bloodline wasn't Lan Zao's Fish Bladder bloodline, but the Flying Fish bloodline.
Yet the battle skill she wielded was one Lan Zao himself mastered—Air Cannon!
This fishman was locked in a brutal duel with her opponent. In her hands, the Air Cannon battle skill was nothing short of masterful.
When Lan Zao first accessed this memory, he was utterly astonished.
He discovered with amazement that Air Cannon could be imbued with various attack effects without using alchemy projectiles—simply by combining it with other battle skills.
Beyond that, this female fishman fighter could split an Air Cannon into three separate projectiles or fuse multiple Air Cannons mid-air into a single blast.
Most remarkably, she could harness the explosions of Air Cannon to generate propulsive force for flight.
This scene felt profoundly familiar to Lan Zao.
His thoughts immediately turned to the dragonman youngster.
By combining Bursting Explosion battle qi with the Surge battle skill, the dragonman youngster similarly generated force from successive micro-explosions to propel himself through forced displacement.
Lan Zao was now practicing this very technique.
He drew in a deep breath, causing his chest to swell high, his entire upper body expanding by at least a full size.
Maximum Air State!
The Fish Bladder bloodline had endowed Lan Zao with a new organ—a fish bladder. When he inhaled fully, the fish bladder inflated, granting him considerable buoyancy.
Simultaneously, the abundance of oxygen within his body significantly enhanced his physical prowess.
He leapt lightly from the cliff's edge.
Racial magic - Levitation.
He immediately activated the bloodline's innate racial magic, his entire body becoming remarkably light. Spreading his arms like a flying fish unfurling its fins, he began gliding through the air.
He had practiced this racial magic numerous times while on Flower Skirt Island.
Once, during practice, he had even been captured by Ba Qi.
With Levitation as his safety net, Lan Zao wouldn't die from a cliff jump.
He didn't take risks without certainty and wouldn't venture into danger lightly. After all, having escaped from Mystifying Monster Island, he cherished his life deeply. Of course, when cornered with no other choice, he possessed the courage to fight to the death, blazing with life's final brilliant radiance.
Battle skill - Air Cannon.
He began employing this battle skill, attempting to alter his trajectory mid-air.
After merely fifteen minutes of practice, his progress was strikingly evident.
“This is incredible!”
"Before, my use of Levitation was far too slow, rendering it practically useless in combat. I never dared employ it during sparring sessions with others. Because using it would leave me wide open."
“But now, with the Air Cannon complementing it, I can execute rapid mid-air turns. It's a complete transformation, a qualitative leap!”
"Still, compared to that female fishman, I'm not of Flying Fish bloodline, just Fish Bladder bloodline. My innate flight speed is far weaker. Even if I master every technique, I'll never match her flight capabilities."
Lan Zao knew his limits well.
As he practiced relentlessly, the memories he accessed grew increasingly vivid.
Countless insights emerged, fueling constant progress in his training.
Had he relied solely on solitary training, such terrifying progress would have been nearly impossible.
“I'm not learning, I'm reviewing.”
“Ever since the commander saved me and allowed me to disguise myself, the gifts I receive from the Dueling Divine Domain are no longer mere fragments of memory, but entire stretches of recollection.”
"The Dueling Divine Domain truly is an exceptional sanctuary for honing combat prowess! Too bad the commander isn't here."
“Speaking of which, the Lord Commander actually managed to contact me and remotely grant me the Deceptive Disguise spell and Anti-investigation and Prophecy spell, allowing me to deceive even the Dueling God within the divine domain.”
"Such methods are truly overwhelming! Beyond the limits of my wildest imagination!"
“How exactly did the Lord Commander accomplish this?”
"Could it be that he's mastered the divine artifact [Mermaid Fairy Tale] even further? Has he constructed some new magic formation, or unearthed fresh power from War Merchant's legacy?"
The fishman youngster knew Lan Zao's situation well, but Lan Zao remained unaware of the fishman youngster's circumstances. He didn't even know the fishman youngster had suffered an accident while searching for him and hadn't returned to Ice Sculpture Island yet.
“I wonder how everyone is doing now?”
"The Lord Commander must be participating in the duels. This time of year is precisely when the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's Grand Duel takes place."
Lan Zao himself knew about the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's Grand Duel. While training in Tranquil Hill, he learned more about it from Bing Xiao and the human ringleader.
The youngster himself did not participate in the duel.
Zong Ge fought in his place.
Emerging victorious once more, Zong Ge personally pushed open the arena gates, striding out with head held high.
As a private duel, spectators were barred from the arena, so his numerous supporters gathered at the entrance.
When they saw Zong Ge emerge alone, the other combatant nowhere in sight, they erupted in a unified cheer, their joy surpassing even Zong Ge's own.
“Lord Long Fu has won again!”
“I told you so! His opponent looked fierce, but he was no match for Long Fu.”
"Long Fu! Long Fu!"
“Keep winning! I bet on you every single time.”
"Among the silver level fighters, Lord Long Fu is undoubtedly in the top tier. No, to be precise, he stands alone in his class."
With Zong Ge's continuous victories, the dragonman youngster's fame within the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's capital continued to soar.
Zong Ge returned to his lodgings.
Zi Di finished her calculations and handed him a report.
The report detailed the latest results of the Ice Sculpture National Ceremony Grand Duel.
It revealed that the tournament was being held nationwide, with dueling arenas in towns and cities across the realm nearly at full capacity.
The Ice Sculpture citizens' enthusiasm had been fully ignited.
Topics concerning duels and duelists were the most talked-about subjects among the populace.
Compared to the native duelists of Ice Sculpture, he paid more attention to outsiders.
It was clear that increasing numbers of foreigners had landed on Ice Sculpture Island, with the number of foreign duelists surging dramatically. Some had won and gained fame, while others had fallen in battle, paying with their lives.
"Huh? The Little Flying Fish died in battle?”
Zong Ge's gaze sharpened slightly as he scanned a segment of the intelligence report.
He monitored every opponent capable of posing a threat to him.
Among them was the Little Flying Fish.
Little Flying Fish was merely a title. She was a female fishman with the Flying Fish bloodline. Though only silver level, she possessed the ability to fly during combat.
Zong Ge had seen footage of her, noting her exceptional flight prowess, agile turns and prolonged hovering. She would have been a troublesome foe to handle.
Little Flying Fish had withdrawn from the tournament gravely wounded; he hadn't expected her injuries to prove fatal.
She had died days ago, though the news had only now been officially confirmed.
Zong Ge swiftly shifted his focus to subsequent intelligence.
With Little Flying Fish dead, she no longer warranted his attention.
The National Ceremony Grand Duel had drawn a surge of foreign duelists, and their numbers continued to skyrocket!
Among the silver level duelists, numerous elite fighters had emerged.
Fortunately, Zong Ge had yet to detect any combatants matching the strength of the dragonman youngster.