Chapter 531 - 342: Clue to the Legendary Soul Beast

Chapter 531: Chapter 342: Clue to the Legendary Soul Beast

"The source of the pollution in the Celestial Sea, a powerful Soul Beast that transformed after devouring True Dragon Blood. It’s shaped like a giant ape, but its tail is like a shark’s and its claws are like a dragon’s... But..."

Lin Ke opened her mouth, a hesitant look on her face.

"But what?"

"But! An A-Grade Soul Beast is always reserved by the leaders of the Ten Races and designated for a young Beast Master from a specific clan. No one else can get one," Lin Ke replied.

"Hmm... What if someone else actually managed to steal the reserved Soul Beast?" Han Ning asked.

"That would have been impossible before. The entire Secret Realm is controlled by the old guard; they give the Soul Beast to whomever they please... But... if Brother Ning could control the Sea God Palace the way you control the Dragon Palace, there might be a slim chance." Lin Ke’s eyes gleamed.

Han Ning figured that taking all the treasures from the Dragon Palace had likely already attracted the attention of some of the Deep Sea Race’s leaders.

With Bobo Man keeping watch up there, he knew things wouldn’t be so simple.

If he really made off with their heirloom—the A-Grade Soul Beast—he’d likely be hunted down by every Deep Sea Family aside from the Azure Dragon and Sea Goddess clans.

’The risk wasn’t worth the reward.’

"We’ll see about the A-Grade Soul Beast. For now, I’ll be perfectly happy if I can get a Soul Beast with an initial B+ Talent."

Despite his words, Han Ning was incredibly curious. ’What’s so miraculous about that A-Grade Soul Beast, anyway?’

After all, from all the information he had gathered, a Soul Beast with an initial A Talent had the potential to evolve to higher Levels, whereas one with a B+ Talent had a much lower chance.

Most Soul Beasts only evolve two or three times; some can’t even evolve at all. This made their initial Talent exceptionally important.

"By the way, do you know which Beast Master is designated to receive the A-Grade Soul Beast?" he asked.

Lin Ke shook her head. "I don’t. That kind of information is top secret. Generally, the designated Beast Master becomes the future nominal leader of the various Deep Sea Race families. For example, several thousand years ago, Bobo Man’s father was one such designated individual. Another was the Crimson King from the Red Manta Clan, who was chosen over two hundred years ago and is now the reserve Clan Leader for the Deep Sea Race."

The Deep Sea Race was a loose alliance of marine clans. When it came to foreign relations, they still had to put forward a nominal leader.

The decision was typically made in a meeting held by the Ten Races. It went without saying that the process was rife with undercurrents, as the various families vied for power both openly and in secret, undoubtedly engaging in complex political trade-offs.

"The designated Beast Master isn’t always one of the renowned young experts from the various families. They are often completely unknown, biding their time until a specific moment to suddenly burst onto the scene, rising to the top in one fell swoop with enough overwhelming power to crush everyone else."

"Okay, I get it. So, for now, should we focus on maxing out our points to secure a spot in the final trial and figure out the rest later?" Han Ning asked, turning to their nominal captain—Irena.

"Don’t ask me. Your power is already on par with mine. You should take over as captain."

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three and a half months had passed.

Atop an undersea sand dune in the Sea God Palace Secret Realm, a violent fluctuation of Spiritual Energy pulsed from the distance.

Fei Lin wielded a longsword formed from a biological weapon, her shadowy figure zipping across the pitch-black seabed.

Sharp Gold Spiritual Energy sliced through the seawater, instantly slaying several massive and powerful Soul Beasts.

Points +5,000.

In just over ten seconds, several Monarch Level I-II Soul Beasts had fallen to Fei Lin’s blade.

At the same time, the death cries of Soul Beasts echoed from all directions.

Points +10,000

Points +3,000

...

Current Total Points: 3,001,000

"Phew... We finally have enough points!"

After grinding for three whole months, the four Soul Beasts spent all their time—aside from eating and resting—on the move, hunting other Soul Beasts and collecting points.

During the years Han Ning had spent in cultivation, Irena and Lin Ke had occasionally roamed the Dragon Palace grounds to hunt some Soul Beasts, while he had earned no points whatsoever.

That was why Han Ning was the last of the three to reach three million points.

He took a dazed-looking, chubby red silkworm from his robes and infused it with his Spiritual Power. "I’ve reached three million points. I can head to the Sea God Palace."

Instantly, two different streams of Spiritual Power replied, "Got it."

...

「One day later.」

Led by Lin Ke, Han Ning finally arrived before the renowned Sea God Palace.

The Sea God Palace was located slightly south of the Secret Realm’s center, a magnificent complex of palaces shrouded by the deep ocean.

Furthermore, it had only one entrance: a tall, arching Water Flow Gate on the northern side of the palace complex.

The entrance was currently deserted; only a dozen or so weak Water Type Soul Beasts swam about. The deep blue Water Flow Gate shimmered with a hypnotic glow.

"The Sea God Palace is a trial Secret Realm jointly constructed by the Ten Races, based on the legacy of the Purple Crystal Race. It’s also known as a ’Secret Realm within a Secret Realm.’ The main Spiritual Array was designed thousands of years ago by Bobo Yu—the Deep Sea King of the Wangchao Family, who was the Clan Leader of the Deep Sea Race at the time. The array incorporates profound and mysterious principles, making it almost as powerful as any artificial Secret Realm created by the high-level races on the surface."

Spiritual Arrays could be roughly compared to the combination of electronics and information technology on Blue Star. Races with advanced legacies were even equipped with high-level "artificial intelligence." In terms of sophistication and intelligence, they were even more advanced than some of the large-scale smart factories from his previous life.