We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 207 Overall Qualities 4.5! New Talent [Devouring Evolution!]

The instant the light screen appeared.

The familiar and surging waves of secret power descended once more, relentlessly washing over Xia En's body and soul.

In an instant, Xia En's perception of the surrounding secret power became much clearer, and every cell, every muscle, and every bit of secret power in his body cheered with joy.

It seems that with each breath, it can absorb and exhale the surrounding secret energy.

This also caused all the vitality within him to erupt, propelling his physical body to transform into something even more powerful.

But unlike the previous promotions,

This time, Shane realized that the wave was not only surging towards him, but also sweeping away in other directions within the radiance.

It's not hard to guess that they were other esoteric practitioners who survived the ritual.

but……

Xia En clearly felt that the waves surging towards him were exceptionally solid and powerful.

This gift is almost more abundant than all the other secret guides combined.

A realization dawned on Xia En.

This must be the benefit of receiving extremely high praise.

Those who traverse the secret paths with higher ratings should naturally receive more [Secret Sea] rewards than those with lower ratings.

Perhaps this is why Xia En's trial missions were much more difficult than those of ordinary secret travelers.

Soon, a new anomaly occurred.

Gradually, Xia En began to vaguely sense an incomparably vast, majestic, and ancient will within this wave.

Just touching a corner of Him evokes images of the vast universe and the unfathomable abyss.

"This is... the [Will of the Secret Sea]?"

Xia En seemed to be deep in thought.

This will has no actual form; it simply appears differently in the eyes of different people.

In Xia En's perception...

At first glance, it looks like an endless sea of ​​waves, layer upon layer, never ceasing.

Then, it transformed into a giant serpent, like a dragon, covered in deep blue scales.

Its body was covered with colorful and magnificent wings, which were strangely similar to the "Yinglong" in Xia En's memory.

Soon, the giant snake disappeared, replaced by a cold, round stone pillar.

Black thorns climbed the stone pillar, forming patterns that resembled totems.

Then, the totem pillar transformed into an old man riding a giant star-studded horse and wielding a spear that shimmered like stars.

His cloak was azure blue, and his whole body shimmered with starlight, or rather, he was the starry river itself!

And on His face, there was only one eye.

At this moment, the one-eyed old man cast his gaze at Xia En.

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, He laughed heartily, then hurled the spear in his hand—

It pierced through Shane's body in an instant.

At the same time, deep within Xia En's mind, an eye composed of dark blue patterns suddenly opened.

Then, everything before my eyes shattered like a dream.

You have received a gift from the "Secret Sea"!

Your personal attributes have been increased!

[Overall Qualifications: 3.4 → 4.5!]

[Unlock the exclusive talent for "Deep Sea Devourer": Body of the Deep Sea!]

[Quality: Rare]

[Description: Your physical body can adapt to the deep-sea environment, drawing oxygen directly from seawater, greatly reducing the impact of water pressure and temperature.]

The more deep-sea creatures you devour, the more your body adapts to the deep sea, and you can even continuously draw secret power from it.

Furthermore, your body will gradually develop an aura of power over deep-sea creatures, making it easier to hunt them.

You can freely control and extend this oppressive aura.

Embrace the deep sea, embrace the future!

……

……

[Unlock the "Deep Sea Devourer's" exclusive talent: Devouring Evolution!]

[Quality: Epic]

[Description: Effect 1: Binge Eating - Your digestive system has undergone a transformation, resulting in an astonishingly large appetite and an extremely rapid digestion rate.]

However, at the same time, you can also fully absorb the nutrients from the food to strengthen yourself and heal your injuries.

[Effect Two: Devour, Then Evolve—When devouring different prey, gain permanent buffs based on the prey's abilities.]

Change is a good thing!

Each hunt and consumption slightly increases class compatibility.

【Career Compatibility: 0/100】

[Note: You can choose the direction of your own evolution.]

[The above effects can be synchronized with "Projected Body" and have a 10x bonus against deep-sea creatures.]

……

……

After reading these words, a hint of joy appeared in Xia En's eyes.

This is truly a ritual for advancing to the fourth rank!

The improvement in overall quality by a full 1.1 surpasses any previous promotion, making it a truly tremendous leap.

The two exclusive talents of the [Deep Sea Devourer] made Xia En feel somewhat strange.

The aforementioned "Deep Sea Body" simply means that Shane's physical body also gains the ability to move in the deep sea.

The deep sea has always been a forbidden zone for humankind.

Throughout history, only a very few secret seekers have been able to dive down and explore.

In this era, unlocking such a talent would undoubtedly be a tremendous help to ordinary esoteric practitioners.

But for Shaun, the [Body of the Deep Sea] wasn't that significant.

He was already able to explore the deep sea using [Deep Sea Diving], and he didn't need to worry about the life or death of [Projected Body].

—We can just restart it!
Under normal circumstances, Shane has no need to send his true form into the sea for an adventure.

But if you say it's useless, then the [Deep Sea Body] seems to have some use.

It can help the [Projected Body] reduce the impact of the deep-sea environment and also draw secret power from seawater.

This is equivalent to a minor version enhancement to [Projected Body].

Moreover, when necessary, Shane's true form can also go into the sea and fight alongside his [Projected Body] to achieve a righteous two-on-one battle.

It's useful, but not that useful.

It seems somewhat useless.

But suddenly, a bold idea popped into Xia En's mind.

"【Ship Soul Synchronization】can synchronize my talent with the ship."

"What would happen if the Black Swan or the Diamond Star were given the Deep Sea Body talent?"

Thinking of this, Xia En immediately perked up.

The talent [Deep Sea Body] now looks much better.

However, what Xia En truly valued was his second exclusive talent, [Devouring Evolution]!
The name of this talent is simple and straightforward.

The effect is obvious at a glance.

Devour, then evolve!
This is clearly the core talent of the [Deep Sea Devourer] class.

One effect is binge eating, which has certain side effects, causing his appetite to increase dramatically and making it difficult for him to be satisfied.

However, its positive effects completely outweigh these side effects.

Think about those sea monsters in the deep sea, such as giant octopuses, giant crabs, and giant whales. Aren't they all enormous creatures?

Only a large enough appetite could swallow all these sea monsters.

"Gulu..."

Just thinking about those sea monsters made Shane swallow hard, a strong feeling of hunger rising in his stomach. Clearly, this talent had already begun to affect him.

"So, in the future, after hunting sea monsters, not only can we extract [Secret Sea Crystal] to gain talents, but we can also extract it again using [Devour Evolution]?"

"They really didn't leave even a single crumb..."

"Isn't this even more capitalist than a capitalist?"

Xia En muttered to himself.

This talent also has the advantage of working simultaneously on [Projected Body].

This means that -

If he encounters prey that he can't carry with him in the future, Shane can use his [Projection Body] to devour them directly from beneath the sea.

Being thrifty and frugal, and avoiding waste, has always been a fine virtue!
"But... judging from the nature of this profession, it seems to be encouraging me to actively devour the big guys in the deep sea?"

"Does the [Secret Sea Will] have any other intentions in doing this?"

While Xia En was pondering silently.

Several more lines of prompts appeared.

[Because you received an "unprecedented" rating in this trial, you are entitled to take three additional loot items from the following list.]

【1. Twilight Black Pearl】

【2. Pirate King's Crown (Damaged)】

3.1000 Ancient Gold Coins (worth approximately 2000 Gold Dragon Coins)

4. The Great Axe of the Western King (Weakened Version)

【5. Wind Queen's Spellbook (Tier 4)】

6. Benjamin's Space Ring (Abridged Version)

【7. The Sea Beast Heart in the Pirate's Treasure Vault (Tier 5)】

8. Tiffany Underwear (Full Set)

9. The remains of Wan Chuan Island (3 cubic meters)

"……what?"

Xia En was stunned for a moment.

Although he had previously learned from Gray Cloud that some of the items in the ritual could be taken out.

But little did they know that the unprecedented praise would actually allow them to take away three items!

[Twilight Black Pearl] Without a doubt, Xia En will definitely take it away.

Even if he is no longer usable, he can still greatly improve the crew on board.

Whether it's boosting combat power at crucial moments or helping them experience the feeling of being promoted, it's all excellent.

The remaining seven spoils of war, however, made Xia En's expression quite strange.

Each one is either broken, weakened, or reduced.

What does this mean?
Just as this question popped into his mind, a few lines of text appeared.

[This promotion ceremony is not based on actual historical events.]

The loot produced is limited by the current rank of the Mystic, and differs somewhat from the original version.

Please understand that everything is subject to the actual product.

Xia En was taken aback. He had just thought about it casually, how did he actually get a reply from the [Secret Sea]?

And judging from the tone...

It's also quite polite!

Xia En remembered that Augustine described the [Will of the Secret Sea] as an absolutely ruthless being, like an artificial intelligence.

But now it seems that's not the case?

The one-eyed old man's hearty laughter just now seems to prove this point from another angle.

At this moment, Xia En had a new guess about the several images that had just appeared—

They are very likely the images that the [Will of the Secret Sea] was perceived by people at different times.

It can be said that people's perceptions shaped the image of the [Will of the Secret Sea].

"Is His special treatment of me due to the existence of the [Eye of the Secret Sea]?"

After gathering his thoughts, Xia En refocused his attention on the explanation and nodded silently in his heart.

This is, after all, just an advancement ritual to break through to the fourth rank.

If you could easily pull out a loot that's at the seventh or eighth tier, many adventurers would probably choose to repeatedly run this dungeon to maximize their profits.

Having such an extraordinary treasure as the [Twilight Black Pearl] is already quite remarkable.

Other spoils of war were generally reduced to some extent, which is to be expected.

When Shane saw options 8 and 9, he couldn't hold back any longer.

Option 9, it can only be said to have some commemorative significance.

Option 8 reminded Shane of his experience of obtaining some strange loot during the [Deep Sea Dive].

So it seems that the [Will of the Secret Sea] doesn't really like the [Truth Society]?
After a moment's thought, Shane decided to choose the Pirate King's Crown as his second prize.

Judging from how he looked after putting on the crown, it's not hard to guess—

This crown is not just an ornament, but also an extraordinary artifact, perhaps possessing some unique function.

As for the last piece of loot, it left Shane somewhat conflicted.

The options in the middle all seem pretty good, and apart from the ancient gold coins, they can all be quickly converted into immediate combat power.

What Shane was particularly interested in was actually Benjamin's spatial ring.

This thing feels like a blind box.

It's possible to get something good, or it's possible to get nothing at all.

After a brief hesitation, Shane remembered something else and asked in his mind.

"Theoretically, the [Sky Serpent] can also be considered an item. Can I take it with me?"

Upon hearing this question, the will in the darkness paused for a moment.

【Can't.】

The "Heavenly Serpent" is not a real ship; it is merely a projection of history.

Its ship's spirit is merely a simulated personality.

Bringing it into reality will lead to unpredictable distortions.

Xia En sighed, not really surprised.

Since the ship spirit of the [Heavenly Serpent] has already sprouted, it means that, to some extent, it is already a living thing.

Taking it away was no more difficult than taking away a living NPC.

Xia En hadn't held out much hope; he just wanted to take advantage of the fact that the [Will of the Secret Sea] was easy to talk to and ask for advice.

However, just as he was about to choose his spoils.

While you cannot take the "Sky Serpent," you can take one of its components.

This component will contain its memories of this trial ritual.

Perhaps, this memory will one day take root and sprout.

However, taking the component will consume one loot share. Are you sure you want to do that?

Upon hearing this, Xia En's eyes lit up, and he didn't hesitate at all.

"I am sure!"

Even though Xia En and the [Sky Serpent] had only been thinking about it for a short time, he had already come to regard the ship as his partner!

As long as there is even the slightest possibility, Shane doesn't want to give up.

Furthermore, Shane has already made a fortune from this promotion ceremony.

He felt it was worth it to exchange these censored props for a chance to see the [Sky Serpent] again in the future!

Upon hearing Xia En's reply, an invisible force swept across the previous panel, and new options appeared out of thin air.

10. The rudder of the "Heavenly Serpent"

next moment.

Xia En opened his eyes.

The island of sand, with its endless yellow dust, came into his view once again.

(End of this chapter)