Chapter 289: Sudden Change, Ambushed (Thanks to Elvin2016)

Chapter 289: Sudden Turn, Under Attack (Thanks to Elvin2016 for the Patronage!)

The little darling was hooked.

And soon sent to be deep-fried.

That mercenary carefully tucked away a piece of toilet paper gifted by Qi Yuan.

Huan Kuang looked at Qi Yuan and asked cautiously, "Does Mr. Qi need a sea monster?"

Sea monsters were precious, but for a noble like Huan Kuang, obtaining them was still quite simple.

"I probably need one like that just now... ordinary ones... I could take a look at too."

Qi Yuan answered truthfully.

What he needed might be a mutated sea monster, and not just any mutated one would do.

For instance, during this short fishing session, he had been watching the sea and had spotted more than one sea monster.

But none of those sea monsters gave him the same deep feeling as that little darling.

"There are quite a few sea monsters on the Sea Star Cliff, I'll help you collect some right away," Huan Kuang quickly said.

"Mm."

Qi Yuan nodded.

He also wanted to study these sea monsters.

These sea monsters seemed to have some... connection to martial arts, in a certain way.

It was just that Qi Yuan's current martial arts cultivation was too weak, and he hadn't yet discovered what that connection was.

Before long, the deep-fried mutated sea monster was brought out.

It was clear the chef had tried his best, but the fried mutated sea monster still looked ugly, hard to swallow.

The female stars present covered their mouths and frowned, as if quite disgusted.

At that moment, Huan Kuang couldn't help but say, "This kind of mutated sea monster meat is hard to come by even at ordinary banquets.

Don't be fooled by the small amount; this plate is worth a million."

Hearing Huan Kuang's words, the frowning female stars relaxed their brows.

Wu Qi also widened her beautiful eyes: "It's that expensive?"

Having lost her appetite, she now felt her mouth water, wanting a taste.

After all, it was so expensive... if she didn't eat it, she'd be losing out.

Then, Qi Yuan took out a chopstick and lightly tapped the mutated sea monster's head.

Instantly, a drop of extraordinarily enchanting blood appeared.

The female stars present saw this and found it utterly magical.

Qi Yuan, however, stared at that drop of blood with an inscrutable expression.

He felt a tremor in his own body, a boiling in his blood.

"I suddenly suspect that I might share a common ancestor with this mutated sea monster," Qi Yuan said, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"How could that be?" The female stars laughed at once. "These sea monsters are just fish mutated by radiation; how could they share an ancestor with us humans?"

"Right!" The others were also puzzled, thinking Qi Yuan was joking.

After extracting that drop of blood, he said softly, "Let's all eat together, mm... it's highly nourishing."

To him, the most precious part of this mutated sea monster was its blood.

Instantly, the football-sized mutated sea monster was divided into over a dozen portions, and everyone present got one.

Wu Qi held her plate, a smug look in her eyes. The only pity was that she hadn't brought her phone; otherwise, she'd have taken a photo and sent it to her group of girlfriends.

After all, the meat on her plate alone was worth over a hundred thousand, more expensive than gold.

A star of her level could hardly afford such expensive things.

She took a cautious bite, and immediately felt a crisp crunch, with a rich meaty aroma spreading.

"Delicious! Tastes great!"

Wu Qi licked her lips, satisfied.

Such expensive food inherently felt good to eat.

The others felt the same.

To them, this mutated sea monster meat was like an unparalleled delicacy.

Qi Yuan didn't eat the meat; instead, he swallowed that drop of blood.

Instantly, he felt a subtle change in his body.

His blood grew hot at that moment.

Qi Yuan closed his eyes, looking inward.

After about a dozen breaths, Qi Yuan opened his eyes, a strange light in them.

"My martial arts talent... has increased."

Indeed, his martial arts talent had increased.

If he went to the Mingwu Martial Arts Hall for a test, he would find that the lines representing his martial arts talent had increased by several.

"So sea monsters are indeed related to martial arts?"

Or rather... related to bloodline.

Qi Yuan had already vaguely sensed it.

The martial arts of this world should be connected to bloodline.

The stronger the bloodline, the greater the martial arts talent, and the faster one could cultivate.

However... perhaps because the bloodline was too distant, the martial bloodline had grown thinner over time, making these martial artists weaker and weaker.

Even a leap of twenty meters could be called a peerless master.

Qi Yuan guessed this was due to the thinning of the bloodline.

"Mr. Qi... what's wrong?" Noticing Qi Yuan seemed lost in thought, Huan Kuang couldn't help asking.

"Nothing, just thinking of something interesting." Qi Yuan looked at Huan Kuang and asked, "In ancient times, were the records of martial arts masters very powerful?"

"Mm... very powerful. There are records of one man charging a thousand troops, but... that's mostly historical exaggeration.

Current scientific research shows that martial arts has its limits; defeating a hundred foes is already the limit," Huan Kuang answered truthfully.

The limit of martial arts was a hundred foes, and high-grade genetic serums could easily break that limit.

Then, Huan Kuang couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Is the limit of immortal arts... defeating ten thousand foes?"

There were also many records of immortal arts and myths on Archstar.

But perhaps the people of Archstar lacked imagination and couldn't exaggerate; the most impressive record of these mythical figures was merely flying across the sky or crossing the sea.

It cannot even compare to a single hair of some populous nation on Blue Star.

For a man to be the enemy of ten thousand in a carnival of hostility is already an extreme exaggeration.

If he were to cultivate to the limit of the immortal path and become a foe to ten thousand,

among the noble houses of the Seven Martial Stars, there would surely be a place for him.

“You underestimate the immortal path too much.” Qi Yuan smiled lazily. “Me now… well, I’m weak, but killing ten thousand people… is still a piece of cake.”

Hearing this, Carnival’s heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Qi Yuan with awe in his eyes.

Of course, he still harbored doubts about Qi Yuan’s words, for they were far too exaggerated.

The two spoke in low voices, some distance from the others, who did not hear them.

“As for the martial path, it may have declined now, but in ancient times… perhaps it was also strong,” Qi Yuan murmured.

The blood extracted from the sea monster’s body made Qi Yuan realize that the martial path was not so simple.

It was just that the blood related to the martial path in modern humans was too thin to unleash its power.

“Pity… according to my guess, the martial path does have a limit, and that limit is… the ancestor.”

The limit of the martial path is the one at the source of the bloodline.

Thus, for the martial path, descendants can never surpass the ancestor.

For all that later generations possess comes almost entirely from the ancestor.

But the martial path also has a benefit: if the ancestor breaks through again, it might cause all descendants’ bloodlines to leap and ascend, thereby enhancing their strength.

Yet looking at the history of Archstar over these millennia, there is hardly any record of such an event.

Evidently, those few ancestors at the source of the bloodline martial path either died or… never broke through again.

Thus, no bloodline leap has occurred.

But this raises another question. Once Qi Yuan’s strength surpasses the ancestor’s, if he enhances his power, will the ancestor’s bloodline also leap?

If so, the ancestor’s potential would also rise a notch.

And if the ancestor were dead, wouldn’t that mean even a bone would seethe with bloodline fervor?

Thinking of such things, Qi Yuan found it rather amusing.

If that were the case, couldn’t he just lie back, have a bunch of children, and wait for them to break the bloodline barrier, causing his own bloodline to leap and his strength to increase?

Of course, that was just a thought.

……

On the cruise ship.

Wang Xu looked at the burly man before him, his expression far from pleasant.

This time, they had come to the Sea Star Cape to take the sea monsters away and complete the mission.

The person in charge of the Sea Star Cape had been responsible, allocating some sea monsters to them.

But now, a call from a higher-up had ordered these sea monsters to be handed over to these powerful elites.

It meant he had made a wasted trip, a whole day of work for nothing, and naturally, resentment brewed in his heart.

Yet facing these suited men with guns, Wang Xu couldn’t help but bend his back: “All these sea monsters are here, not a single one missing.”

“Good, check them,” the suited man said.

The other suited men opened the boxes and inspected the sea monsters inside.

“No problems.”

“Good.” Seeing the sea monsters were fine, the suited man said to Wang Xu, “Sorry for the trouble, we’ll take these things away.”

With that, the suited men and their group left, carrying the boxed sea monsters.

Wang Xu watched their retreating figures and sighed, “We petty officials can’t even compare to the servants of those powerful elites.”

The man beside him nodded in agreement.

Those family private soldiers were nothing but household slaves in ancient times.

“We can only strive to become powerful elites ourselves someday.”

“Don’t even think about it. In this society, what right do we beasts of burden have to be elites?

The great families of the Seven Martial Stars have held their positions for centuries—where is there room for us?”

“Haha, only if the world undergoes a great upheaval might we have a chance.”

“Forget the great upheaval. I’d rather live in peace and stability,” Wang Xu said softly. “If the world does change, people like us will be the first to die.”

He was already content with his current life.

At least compared to Li Yan, compared to his old classmates like Qi Yuan, he was doing fairly well.

“These elites have far too much leisure. Sea monsters, such disgusting things… and they take them home to eat. Aren’t they afraid of getting sick?”

……

Time flew by, and night gradually fell.

Wu Qi looked at the distant crowd, disappointment in her eyes.

Today, she had exhausted all her wiles, yet failed to offer herself successfully.

This left her deeply disheartened.

She gazed at Qi Yuan and Carnival ahead, envy in her eyes.

Just then, her agent approached, looking at her with a mocking expression: “What? Failed?”

Wu Qi’s envious eyes held a trace of disappointment: “Mm.”

“Those big shots have seen all kinds of beauties. Gene-tuned women are beyond the likes of us.

We may seem glamorous, but in their eyes, we’re nothing but seasoning,” the agent said with a sigh, her words carrying a hint of weariness, as if she had experienced much.

Hearing this, Wu Qi’s eyes suddenly grew resolute: “No, I don’t want to live like this!”

At the same time, Qi Yuan looked at the suited man before him and said softly, “You’ve been drinking. If you drive me now, that’s drunk driving. If the traffic cops catch you, you’ll end up in jail.”

As the saying goes, if you don’t drive properly, your loved ones will weep.

Qi Yuan naturally wouldn’t engage in such illegal acts.

“No problem, we have permits. Drunk driving only applies to ordinary people,” the black-suited man said without hesitation.

At that, Carnival shot the man a glare, then walked over humbly and said to Qi Yuan, “I’ll drive!”

He was annoyed with this subordinate—so lacking in tact, picking a fight with Mr. Qi?

If Mr. Qi wanted someone who hadn’t been drinking, then so be it.

He hadn’t been drinking, so he would be the driver.

“Mm, fine,” Qi Yuan nodded.

Carnival personally took the wheel and drove the sedan to take Qi Yuan home.

Along the way, four other vehicles trailed behind.

Inside these four vehicles was a cargo of various medicinal herbs, alongside the sea monsters harvested from the Starfish Ridge.

Driving the car, Carnival seemed to recall something and spoke softly, "These herbs and sea monsters take up quite a bit of space, and... they aren't clean, bearing a certain stench.

It so happens that a friend of mine owns a piece of property in your residential complex, Mr. Qi. Why don't I present it to you? Otherwise, the stench of these sea monsters is truly foul, and I fear it might defile your own home."

At this moment, Carnival began his offer of the house.

Through the course of a single day's conversation, he had increasingly felt that Qi Yuan was shrouded in a profound and unfathomable mystery.

Qi Yuan glanced at Carnival and replied, "Very well."

Such benefits, he accepted with a perfectly clear conscience.

Hearing this, joy welled up in Carnival's heart.

Sometimes, the act of giving a gift was a matter capable of inducing a delightful mood.

A red light appeared ahead, and the vehicle came to a halt.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan spoke up, "Is this car of yours bulletproof?"

Carnival froze for a moment, answering without a second thought, "This is the downtown area, it is very safe. It isn't bulletproof."

"Is it very safe?" Qi Yuan smiled at this. "Then why is someone aiming a sniper rifle at me?"

"What?" Carnival's heart leaped in sudden shock.

And at that very instant, a sharp, piercing crack of gunfire suddenly rang out.

As an arms dealer, Carnival recognized in that split second that this was the report of a Tiger-1 sniper rifle.

This particular sniper rifle was renowned as the king of its class.

Such a rifle could penetrate a two-centimeter steel plate even from a kilometer away.

Even a soldier injected with the latest genetic serum would undoubtedly perish upon taking a hit from this.

That someone would actually use this rifle to snipe Qi Yuan—how could he not be alarmed?

In fact, he could already envision the scene of Qi Yuan's head being shattered by a single shot.

Yet, when he turned his head to look at Qi Yuan, he saw the man sitting in his place, completely unharmed.

Pinched between his fingers was a rather large sniper rifle bullet.

Beholding this sight, Carnival suffered a moment of dazed bewilderment, followed by absolute disbelief.

Was this... something a human being could achieve?

One had to know that the velocity of such a sniper rifle bullet could reach three times the speed of sound!

Suddenly, he recalled Qi Yuan's mention of being a match for ten thousand men; at this moment he understood that Qi Yuan had not been talking nonsense, but stating the absolute truth.

At this time, Qi Yuan held the bullet, a calm smile appearing in his eyes, "Fortunately, I made another slight breakthrough on the cruise ship today, otherwise this shot would have been rather troublesome.

Heheh, I didn't expect there to be so many villains in this game. I've already been quite low-key, playing it like a casual game, yet there are still villains trying to harm me!

Could it be that someone truly wishes to turn this into a war game?"

At this moment, many thoughts flashed through Carnival's mind as well.

The events of today were entirely outside his calculations.

Someone had actually used a sniper rifle against his guest right before his eyes.

Anger burned in his heart, accompanied by a shocking, chilling dread.

This proved that the opposing party did not hold him in any regard whatsoever.

In Tianyue City, those who dared to disregard a hereditary viscount like him were few and far between.

It was evident that the waters behind this ran exceedingly deep.

Then he heard Qi Yuan say, "Wait a moment, I shall return shortly."

Carnival calmed himself down at this point. Looking at Qi Yuan, he said in a deep voice, "Be careful, Mr. Qi. If things cannot be done, I will lead my brothers to escort you out, away from Tianyue City and toward Xinyang City—that is my base of operations!"

Qi Yuan merely offered a faint, indifferent smile, "In this world, the ones who ought to flee are my enemies."

Deep gratitude to Alliance Leader Elvin2016, the 5th Alliance Leader of this book! Thanks to Wu Wu Wu Wu Wu Wu Wu Wu for the ten-thousand coin reward, the 21st Helmsman of this book! Thanks to Black Fatty for the reward, the 22nd Helmsman, and thanks again to God No Tears for the thousand-coin reward, thanks to ladeng84 for the five-thousand coin reward, thanks to Book Friend 20210209161836285142258, Book Friend 20171116111638198,

for their thousand-coin rewards; thanks to Proud Night Blade, Deer Cake, Book Friend 20201121211243353, Book Friend 20200928025308099, Be Gentler A Bit Lighter, Autumn and Summer's Civet, Flower-Planting Family's Husky, Book Friend 160115193508717, Desireless Daoist Disciple, Hanyu Stays Silent, That Person Is Sprinting, Book Friend 2023091021416112, Jun Yan Shang, No Immortal Law, Never Let Down the Ambition of the Blue Clouds, T Blank, Ritual Is Not Fragrant, Reader 12138, One Q Transforms Three Pure Ones, Tokisaki Kurumi Tokisaki Kurumi, Great Mighty Sky Dog, Long Night Brings Many Dreams-Ee, Yu Qing Feng, Yu Mu Yi, Wind Thunder Emperor, He Said His Younger Sister Is Ji Zhao, Shadow B, and China Nirvana for their rewards! Thank you all!

(End of this chapter)