Lu Zhi quickly took out his telescope and witnessed the fireball explode into burning embers above the ship, raining down onto its deck. A group of people frantically extinguished the flames, while some of the burning individuals jumped around, pointing and cursing in this direction.
Two enthusiastic rounds of applause erupted.
Lan Yushan shouted, "Senior sister is mighty!"
Wang Cao Tian was so excited he wanted to go himself, "Well done! We should let them see how strong we are!"
Lu Zhi couldn't help but chuckle and reminded them, "That giant octopus, it's almost here."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ship shook violently. Two massive tentacles broke through the water and one of them slammed down fiercely towards the deck where everyone stood.
Everyone: !!!
"Wow!" Jiang Yue shouted excitedly, "My grilled octopus has arrived!"
Lu Zhi: ???
"Wait, we finally have some ingredients. We can't let the food we're about to eat escape," Wang Cao Tian said, looking eager. "Old Xia, send me up quickly."
Xia Zhi, who had put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses at some point, replied, "Let's finish this quickly. I don't want my clothes to get wet."
Wang Cao Tian, full of vigor, waved his hand and pointed at Lu Zhi and Lan Yushan, "You two rookies stand aside. Be careful not to get caught in the crossfire."
Lan Yushan, the novice, scurried into the ship's cabin. "Brother Wang, go for it~"
Lu Zhi felt he had megalophobia. Although he knew there would be no problem with Shen Qi around, he instinctively pulled Shen Qi's hand and walked into the cabin. Seeing the four people outside looking not fearful but excited, he realized they were all battle-hungry individuals.
This allowed the observing Lu Zhi to clearly understand the abilities of the four.
He knew that Luo Shi Yu had ice as his natural attribute, and Jiang Yue had fire. But Xia Zhi's ability left Lu Zhi puzzled. He couldn't help but ask, "Shen Qi, Xia Zhi's ability, it's a bit like spatial conversion, but not quite?"
He saw a mirror appear at Wang Cao Tian's feet with a wave of Xia Zhi's hand. Wang Cao Tian would then teleport to the location of another mirror and unleash a flurry of powerful blows on the giant octopus's tentacles, his fists bursting with immense force.
So he guessed Wang Cao Tian's ability was likely body enhancement.
Shen Qi replied, "Short-range, fixed-point teleportation."
Lu Zhi understood. This type of ability was likely classified as support, limited to a specific range of teleportation.
Xia Zhi was calm and collected, a perfect match for the boisterous and straightforward, strength-oriented Wang Cao Tian.
"Wang Cao Tian, hold on tight!" Jiang Yue let out a yelp, gripping the ice blade condensed by Luo Shi Yu tightly and slashing fiercely at the giant octopus's tentacles.
The sea immediately churned with violent waves. The faint roar of the octopus could be heard. Other tentacles clinging to the ship, startled, quickly retracted into the sea, and the giant octopus, even more frightened, dived into the deep sea to escape.
"Hahahaha, my octopus tentacles~" Jiang Yue placed her hands on her hips and waved, "Come on, let's grill these octopus tentacles. Freshly caught giant octopus tentacles, this is my first time eating them!"
"Senior sister is mighty!~" Lan Yushan had already darted out from the ship's cabin.
The giant tentacle, which occupied half the deck, was still slowly wriggling. The dense suction cups made Lu Zhi's scalp tingle.
Jiang Yue had already started cutting the octopus tentacles, preparing to share them.
Lu Zhi thought, even though this was seafood, didn't they have any psychological issues with it?
Three minutes later, the captain, carrying a bucket of water, looked at a woman and three men squatting beside the giant tentacle and barbecuing with a look of indescribable complexity.
Jiang Yue, chewing on a piece of grilled octopus, asked blissfully, "Aren't you three going to eat?"
Lu Zhi (with subordinate Shen Qi), Luo Shi Yu, and Xia Zhi quickly shook their heads.
The two simpletons, Wang Cao Tian and Lan Yushan, evaluated as they ate. Lan Yushan said, "Wow, if only we had cumin powder and chili powder."
Wang Cao Tian asked Jiang Yue to grill his a bit more charred, saying, "It would be even better if we had beer to go with it."
Jiang Yue said with regret, "It would be nice if we had a few more kinds of seafood."
Lu Zhi: ...
If people didn't know better, they would think they were out on a sea excursion.
The poor giant octopus would likely steer clear and flee if it ever saw Jiang Yue and the others again.
Even with its massive size, it was still just an octopus, perhaps with some intelligence, otherwise, it wouldn't have run away.
Suddenly, the ship's rapid sailing slowed down. The captain's voice came from the cockpit, "We're almost there. After this patch of coral sea, we'll reach Saint Island."
Lu Zhi turned his head to look. The first thing he saw was the highest peak on the island, Horse Head Peak. As its name suggested, the mountain peak's shape resembled a horse's head, like a steed galloping from the earth.
"Hiss... Actually, I have thalassophobia." Wang Cao Tian, who had been leaning on the railing looking out, quickly retreated into the cabin.
As the ship slowly entered the coral zone, the seabed revealed a dense forest of red coral. Covered by the seawater, it looked like a mass of tentacles, all baring their fangs and claws, ready to surge from the seabed at any moment.
"It's a bit strange," Lu Zhi said, looking down at the coral. The corals were enormous. Without the water, the smallest one would be over ten meters tall, like a coral forest slumbering on the seabed.
"Don't you think these corals are peculiar?" Xia Zhi, holding a book, turned a page and explained, "These corals appeared along with Saint Island. In the past, technology wasn't advanced enough to test them. Later, as technology progressed, samples were taken for various tests, and it was found that they were just ordinary corals, only their shapes were a bit odd."
This blood-red coral forest, when observed up close, gave extraordinary beings a very uncomfortable feeling. Some extraordinary individuals even dived into the sea and stayed in the coral forest for too long, experiencing hallucinations, mental confusion, inexplicable fear, and other negative emotions.
However, ordinary people wouldn't feel anything unusual.
Lu Zhi nodded thoughtfully and then noticed Shen Qi staring in the direction of Saint Island, his eyes deep. "What's wrong? Is there a problem with Saint Island?"
Shen Qi replied, "The smell of human blood is very strong, and there's another disgusting scent."
It was the first time Lu Zhi had heard such a clear expression of disgust from him.
Suddenly, the ship's bow hit a transparent wall with a bang. The hull shook violently, and the ship stopped moving.
"What's going on?" Jiang Yue jumped onto the railing at the bow and reached out to touch the suddenly appearing barrier, frowning. "Didn't they say the seal on Saint Island had been lifted?"
Xia Zhi reached out and touched it, his expression solemn. "I suspect this isn't a seal, but a barrier set up by humans."
Shen Qi suddenly placed his hand on the barrier, and a crackling bolt of lightning shot from his palm. The entire barrier shook violently, and the seawater churned. Cracking sounds began to emanate from the top of the barrier as it disintegrated. The seemingly impregnable barrier was no match for Shen Qi.
However, in the next moment, a beam of intense white light shot out from Saint Island, directly towards the barrier. The cracking and damaged barrier visibly and rapidly began to repair itself.
Shen Qi suddenly smiled, but his silver-gray eyes held a cold and sinister glint that made Jiang Yue and the others retreat in fear.
Lu Zhi asked, "The barrier has been repaired, why are you smiling?"
Shen Qi pulled Lu Zhi into his embrace, his voice gentle yet infused with a chilling coldness, and answered indirectly, "Darling, I have some urgent matters to attend to later. You and the others go into the divine tower first."
Lu Zhi froze for a moment and grabbed his wrist. "Where are you going?"
Shen Qi raised his hand and caressed the corner of his eye. "To clean up some disgusting scum. Be good, I'll be back soon."
With that, he snapped his fingers, and everyone on the ship, except for the captain, was instantly teleported to the shore of Saint Island.