Chapter 123 - City Tour (1/2)
”Ah, for information as we are revealing our secrets. What stage of cultivation has your sister Ho Ri-Na reached?” Hei asked the question that interested him most of all.
Hei's question came utterly spontaneous. Since the cultivation stages of the spirit soldiers under Ho Ri-Na's command had been revealed, it was reasonable to be curious about the cultivation stage reached by the General Pirate herself. Ho Yeon-Hong appeared somewhat reluctant to disclose that information, but, as she said, it wasn't a secret to be jealously guarded.
”The big sister is a fifth stage spirit soldier, but this figure dates back to a long time ago. Right now, I don't know how much her cultivation actually is or how powerful she is.
After hearing that, Hei's face twitched slightly. A fifth stage spirit soldier. It was a level that was currently impossible for him to touch under normal circumstances. It was also reasonable to think that the other General Pirates were also roughly at the same power level. The differences had to be at what point of the fifth stage they were. That was without mentioning the possibility that such data were inaccurate or outdated.
”Ho Yeon-Hong, don't you have a bloodline? Against the whale, I don't seem to have heard you activate one.” Hei asked the young gray-haired woman.
”No, unfortunately not. Not even the big sister. But it doesn't matter. Bloodlines aren't the only ones that can make you stronger. Aside from you two, I've never heard of other owners of pure bloodlines, at least among the pirates. Therefore, those with bloodlines are all owners of pseudo bloodlines and therefore have only the active effect. An Elemental Essence of your element allows you to bridge the gap with bloodline owners. And that's what my sister did.”
'I see, In fact, she is right. If it is only the active effect, an elemental essence does the same work in practice. And since Ho Ri-Na is called the Steam Goddess, it must be an elemental essence of the Steam-type Gas Law.' Hei thought to himself as he moved the discussion to the other General Pirates.
”And what about the other Pirates General? Do you know something? Are they as strong as your sister?”
”You are asking about lots of things today, huh? On the ship, you were reluctant to speak, not even speaking to me for days. But now you're a talker, tell the truth. You suffered from seasickness, didn't you? And now that you are on the ground, your tongue has loosened.” Ho Yeon-Hong said, laughing. She didn't really think that Hei suffered from seasickness, but she found that change of attitude amusing.
'Maybe he's just shy. Now that he knows me more, he feels more comfortable.' Ho Yeon-Hong thought to herself.
It wasn't like she wasn't right. Indeed, Hei was the type who would give confidence more and more he knew a person and was now less reluctant to talk to Ho Yeon-Hong. But if it weren't for the fact that it was useful information that he needed to know, he would never have asked so many questions.
”Well, they should theoretically also be in the fifth stage of spirit soldier. As I repeat, it isn't precise information. The Son of Wind and the Storm Lightning are like my sister; they have an elemental essence, respectively, of the element Wind and Lightning. As for the last of the four Pirate Generals, the Red Devil, he has a pseudo bloodline - the red shark bloodline. But don't misunderstand the name. Red isn't about the fire element but the blood element. I heard that wherever he passes, he always leaves a red stripe formed by the blood of his enemies.” Ho Yeon-Hong briefly explained the information she had about the other General Pirates. As Ho Ri-Na's sister, it was normal for her to know the skills of her sister's rivals.
'Red Shark Bloodline, Blood Law... I don't know much about that law. I know it allows you to manipulate your own blood, but I don't know how or if you can manipulate other people's blood. I'm curious about the bloodlines of the two spirit soldiers under Ho Ri-Na, but asking this isn't appropriate.' After a quick reflection, Hei thanked Ho Yeon-Hong for the information received.
”Thank you very much, Ho Yeon-Hong. Sorry if I asked you a lot of questions, but since we will soon have to fight against one of the Four Pirate Generals, I was curious to know about the effective strength of our allies and our enemies.”
”No need to thank me. It isn't such confidential information. I'm glad to have helped you, so what do you say? Have you eaten enough, or do you want to order more?” Ho Yeon-Hong radiantly smiled as she pointed to the table that had been cleared of the dishes that previously filled it. In the center, a small spider and a small snake were lying down. There was a small bulge on their body, a sign that they had eaten more than enough.
”Yes, we can go.” Not giving in to the grievances of Ye and Xing, who wanted to enjoy that free meal for a while longer, Hei took them and put them on his body. Then, together with Lian and Ho Yeon-Hong, they left the tavern.
Ho Yeon-Hong decided to take first a quick panoramic tour of the city, illustrating the story of how Ho Ri-Na had started from a couple of tents placed on the beach to create that magnificent city. From her words, one could see how much she was close to her older sister.
After the introductory tour, Ho Yeon-Hong asked Hei if he had something that interested him, ”If you plan to buy something, you can tell me. The big sister said that as a reward, you have unlimited credit. Obviously, only for things regarding the spirit apprentice rank. Though, none of the shops here deal with items for spirit soldiers.”
”Unlimited credit? What do you mean?”
”Well, the spirit core of a second-level spirit beast is very precious, not only for its value but also for its rarity. So it would be difficult to achieve such a value only with objects that interest spirit apprentices. Therefore, the sister offers you an unlimited credit, hoping it will satisfy you. She also said that you two look like pretty pragmatic people, and she is confident that you will take only what you really need.”
”Pragmatic people, you say?” He smiled at those words. That was nothing more than a test to evaluate his behavior. She was offering him unlimited credit, but it wasn't like he could actually buy anything in town. ”All right, then take me to the best forge you have here first.”
”Okay, follow me.” Ho Yeon-Hong motioned for them to follow her as she led them to a series of hidden streets. As expected from a large city, it was easy to get lost if you weren't familiar with the place.