I Don't Agree to the Terms

"Oh!"

Little White depressed the throttle with one hoof, and the small island began to move, charging forward like a headless fly.

"Take it easy, don't run into anybody..." Gu Shanhai watched the speed rise steadily, feeling a touch of trepidation. Little White piloted the ship paying no heed to sea conditions, only concerned with the firmness of the path. If it was solid enough, charge ahead was the way.

The pace didn't seem fast to Gu Shanhai, but it was a different story for the other ships at sea.

The island wasn't large, just over ten thousand square meters, insignificant compared to the larger islands. During that time, Gu Shanhai had made several improvements.

Yet, strangely, he discovered that these islands floated on the ocean, unlike regular islands surrounded by water on all sides that rise above the water level during high tide due to natural land formation.

The islands in this world were more like duckweed. The reason they weren't affected by the ocean was that they belonged to something Transcendent, shielding not just the signals of the divine but also the ocean itself. In other words, Gu Shanhai's Five Elements Sect ship didn't need to worry about tsunamis or storms no matter where it sailed.

Therefore, Gu Shanhai speculated that the existence of divinity might naturally counteract the sea while nullifying marine disasters in the process.

The Royal Family actually possessed the ability to strip the Sea People of their Transcendent powers, but it seemed as if that ability had been castrated. Gu Shanhai noticed this while researching island privileges.

How it disappeared wasn't clear to Gu Shanhai, and restoring it was probably out of the question. Once cut, it couldn't grow back; it could only be patched.

This was also why, although the Royal Family and Land People enjoyed better treatment on the islands, they lost their Transcendent abilities to counter the Sea People.

And because they gained the favor of the islands, they were abhorred by the sea.

So, Gu Shanhai was considering whether to continue delving into the islands or to tackle the sea.

These were two paths. Tackling both wouldn't be a problem, but one had to prioritize.

'Pity, there are no related records.'

Gu Shanhai knew that neither the islands nor the ocean had scholars or historians to speak of, at most there were only diaries or travelogues.

In the Azure Sea World, there was no unifying dynasty. Sea People at sea faced a high risk of death and were mostly illiterate. They didn't need to learn to acquire Transcendent powers; they could get them directly through Tribute. As for the Royal Family and Land People, they originally were Sea People who gave up the sea to go on land, which was tantamount to relinquishing their powers.

Thus the Royal Family and Land People formed only a small group. Few people would give up securing their own powers, even if it meant potentially dying at sea.

"The power of the ocean and the land... wait, is there also the power of the sky?"

Gu Shanhai looked up at the sky and squinted his eyes. It was indeed possible but unknown.

From the current situation, the power of the ocean prevailed, the land had become shattered, and the sky seemed forgotten.

Among the multitude of Divine beings, 99% were related to the ocean, with snippets related to the land and sky. Clearly, they didn't just appear from nothing but were traces left behind.

"If that's the case, my next experiment should focus on these two types of divine beings."

As for how to perform the Tribute, he could simply disembark when the time came.

As he pondered this, he was startled by a loud noise, and Little White too panicked and hit the brakes with a hoof.

"What did you run into?!" Gu Shanhai's first thought was that Little White, speeding along, had hit someone, since his attention had been mostly on the island privileges and relevant divine beings, not so much on the surroundings.

"Oh?" Little White also expressed confusion, seeing the monitor showed no one ahead, and the sonar suggested something blind from below had collided with them.

"Check the monitor, will you..." Gu Shanhai complained. You know something blind from beneath hit us, so why not look?

Heeding the words, Little White quickly conducted a flurry of hoof movements, soon broadcasting the scene below the surface.

"Oh." Little White glanced at it, seeing a giant octopus not much smaller than the Five Elements Sect ship. Its brain didn't seem to be working very well, which prompted Little White to suggest, perhaps they should enjoy a full fish feast tonight?

Gu Shanhai almost choked, "Whose head would be alright after being bashed in such a huge dent? Besides, what full fish feast are you talking about..."

A deer suggesting a full fish feast, and the fish was an octopus, he couldn't decide which aspect was more bizarre.

"Oh." Little White thought it was feasible since it had already evolved into an omnivore.

Saying this, it shook and applied a waterproof measure to itself before planning to dive in and drag the octopus up.

"I'd advise you to calm down, that octopus is too big. We can't even fit it if we pull it aboard." Gu Shanhai was certain this must be a Sea Beast, comparable to a Demon Beast or similar creatures but unique to the Azure Sea World, a wild creature with Transcendent powers.

How Transcendent it actually was, Gu Shanhai didn't know, but it certainly wasn't as Transcendent as Little White.

"Oh." Little White suggested they call Azure Dragon to come over, grill it and eat it right away, no problem.

"Just bring up a tentacle, forget the rest." Gu Shanhai felt a bit weary, and there they were, considering grilling and eating it on the spot.