Chapter 102 - Oceanic Assault (1/2)

It had been about two weeks since they left Rainbow Island. After the initial enthusiasm, Hei and the others had discovered that there was very little to do on the ship since they were there only as passengers. Thus, not wanting to disturb the work of the sailors, Hei stayed most of the time with Lian and his little sisters in his cabin to cultivate.

During the events at Crossroad Lake, the two young martial artists had reached the seventh stage of spirit apprentice rank. The struggle against the big sects' coalition and the pain of losing Bao Bei had stimulated their potential, helping them to overcome, without fail, the bottleneck that separated them from the seventh stage.

But now they had to consolidate their foundations. Then they should prepare themselves to gradually increase their spirit power for the bigger bottleneck - that towards the rank of spirit soldier. It had to be remembered that the difficulty between ascending from the seventh stage of the spirit apprentice rank to the first stage of the spirit soldier rank was even greater than the difficulty in reaching the seventh stage spirit apprentice starting from the first stage.

Many people had been stuck on that bottleneck for years. Making a breakthrough depended not only on talent and perseverance but was often due to luck. Obviously, it didn't mean that consistently cultivating every day didn't help raise the chances of success. And if you had pills or other medicines, the process could be facilitated.

Since Hei and the others were also wary of strangers and were still a bit down for the death of Bao Bei, they didn't exchange many conversations with the sailors. Just some greetings in the morning or to thank them for their meals.

The sailors, in turn, didn't pay much attention to them. The captain had expressly ordered them not to bother the two passengers in any way. And since he was a seventh stage spirit apprentice, while they were only in third-fourth stage spirit apprentices, they would certainly not contradict his order.

Consequently, after a rapid analysis, it could be said that the journey in these first two weeks had been quiet and without excitement. It helped to find calm, but at the same time, it was dangerous because it led to a rethinking of the past.

”It's been two weeks now. According to the captain's estimates, it takes about three months to reach Dream Island. But the time will likely dwell more because they have to dock at various cities. They also have to be careful of the weather and the sea tides. Not to mention any attacks by aquatic spirit beasts.”

'Only two weeks have passed? I seem to have spent much more time. Who much I would like to have some meat, we've only been eating fish for two entire weeks.' Ye complained as she rolled over on the bed provided to Hei.

At her side, Ye was weaving a silk blanket because the one provided by the captain was dirty, and even if they washed it, it would still emit a strong salty smell.

'We can't do anything about it. Being locked up here, the sense of time is lost. Besides, I think there is nothing but fish around. Rather than slacking, come and help me and hold this side of the blanket.'

Ye looked up at Xing but was too lazy to move. However, when Xing began to tap with her legs on her black scales, Ye eventually gave in and finally got up and helped Xing with her weaving work.

Two weeks weren't enough to heal the wound caused by the loss of Bao Bei. But they were sufficient to get them back to life. It was surprising that no matter how much the world might appear to be about to end, little or nothing would change for other people the day after you woke up. It was just your conception of how you perceived what was happening around you that changed.

With their mother now dead, the little two divine beasts, Xing and Ye, had to be strong and tried to go on following their way of being, according to the teachings of their mother. Hei had also changed since that day. He was more determined and confident, and even though he didn't know what the future held for his family, he was sure he could overcome everything with the help of Lian and his little sisters.

On another bed next to Hei's one, Lian was reading a book about the study of formations. On her neck was the first silk ribbon that Bao Bei had given her.

Initially, she had tried to give it to Hei because it was a memory of his mother, but he had refused.

”Mother gave it to you, so it is yours to keep. If it's you, then it's fine. So take care of it for me, Lian, please.”

Hei had said so as he took the silk ribbon and wrapped it around Lian's neck like a scarf. From that day on, Lian had always kept the ribbon wrapped around her neck to remember Bao Bei and keep her promise to Hei.

But while the sweet family was enjoying this little moment of tranquility, suddenly the ship made a loud noise while braking abruptly, making fall all those present on board.

'What!?' cried the two little divine beasts as they fell from the bed before being caught by Hei a few millimeters from touching the ship's floor.

Lian, fortunately, was sitting on the bed, and because she had a 'bigger' body than Ye and Xing, she hadn't been easily startled.

”We stopped,” said the young blue-haired girl after the shock had subsided.

”Strange, yet we are in the middle of the ocean. There should be no islands nearby for several more days,” Hei commented as he placed his little sisters on the bed.

'What if it was due to an attack?' (Xing)

'Let's get out! Let's go see!' (Ye)

The two little divine beasts were quite excited about it. After two weeks of calm, they needed to let off steam with a good fistfight.

”Agree. Then we go. Don't forget, however, no reckless actions. Until I tell you, no attacks, we have an understanding?”

'Yes, yes! We understood! But let's go now.' Ye and Xing said together as they sneaked in their big brother's robe.

Hearing their response, Hei laughed and took Lian, who had placed her book in her space ring by hand. By now, if something unexpected happened, for Hei, it had become a habit to hide his little sisters on his body and take Lian's hand. Somehow, it reassured him to have the three of them within reach during sudden situations. Only when he had ascertained what was happening would he let them go, free to act freely.

When they came out of their cabin, they could see several sailors running on the hold as they took swords and bows. From their voices and agitated faces, Hei immediately realized that the situation was dangerous.

”Spirit beasts! They are attacking us! And they aren't weak! ”One of the sailors shouted when Hei tried to stop him so he could understand what was going on.

Hearing the words spirit beasts, Hei quickly snapped onto the deck of the ship, followed by Lian. When he finally reached the sunlight, he was welcomed by the sight of a giant octopus of about 8-9 meters long that was wrapping itself up to the ship.

Looking at the impressive spirit beast, Hei couldn't help but be nervous. His mother had explained to him that the power of a spirit beast was, in part, linked to its size, but at the same time, it wasn't. In fact, after the initial astonishment, Hei realized that the giant octopus was still at the first level, comparable to a sixth stage spirit apprentice.