Chapter 237: Chapter 5: Sacred Pilgrimage
Shao Shuangyue seemed to have inherited her athletic talent from a younger Aunt Wen. Although it was her first time in the water, she was a natural learner. In just a short while, kicking her feet up and down, she was already able to swim forward using a kickboard.
Seeing Su Zhou suddenly frown, she couldn’t help but ask, "Am I doing it wrong?"
"No, you’re a fast learner. Way better than your brother," Su Zhou said, turning to praise her. But he quickly turned back to watch the yacht sailing into the distance, a hint of doubt creeping into his mind.
’Strange... There are actually two Awakeners on that yacht?’
The two Awakeners concealed their auras so well they seemed just like ordinary people. But Su Zhou, having already transformed his eyes and now possessing the Spiritual Eye, could tell their Cultivation was quite impressive for the Awakening Tier. They were likely people who had been cultivating even before the Spiritual Energy Revival.
’Are they official Cultivators?’
Su Zhou murmured to himself, ’If so, why be so secretive?’
But before he could figure it out, he suddenly heard a startled shout from the sea not far away.
"Holy shit, what is that?!"
Su Zhou glanced over, but his attention was immediately drawn to the commotion.
The shout came from a man who was swimming. He must have seen something in the water, because he immediately turned and swam for the shore, yelling, "A snake! There’s a snake in the water!"
Sure enough, a pure black sea serpent could be seen swimming in the clear water. It weaved through the waves, scaring away the few remaining swimmers. Su Zhou raised an eyebrow. ’A pure black sea serpent? I don’t think that species exists.’
Its entire body was covered in jet-black scales, giving it an inexplicably chilling beauty.
"Brother... Brother Zhou, shouldn’t we leave too?"
Shao Shuangyue was scared too. She grabbed Su Zhou’s hand, her voice trembling—she’d always been afraid of long, slithery creatures. Su Zhou, not particularly bothered by it, led her back to the beach.
"A sea serpent? A pure black one?"
Shao Qiming, who had been buried in the sand to "experience life as a plant," pushed away the sand covering him. After hearing Su Zhou and Shao Shuangyue’s story, he took off his sunglasses and glanced toward the sea. "As far as I know," he said, his tone a little odd, "there are no naturally pure black sea serpents. At least, none that I can recall."
’If even Shao Qiming can’t remember one, then they probably don’t exist.’ Seeing Shao Shuangyue was still a little scared, Su Zhou smiled and exchanged a look with Shao Qiming.
His friend nodded, getting the hint.
Clearing his throat, Su Zhou patted Shao Shuangyue’s shoulder. When she turned to him with a confused look, he said with a straight face, "Did you know? Most sea serpents are venomous!"
Shao Qiming immediately followed up, "Let’s say a viper’s venom is twice as strong as a shot of absinthe."
Su Zhou continued, "Then a cobra’s is 1.4 times as bad as a Monday morning."
Shao Qiming added, "And a tenth of the Tangg Family’s Grinning-Half-Step-to-Hell powder."
Su Zhou concluded, "But even so, a viper’s venom is probably only one percent as potent as some sea serpents’."
Shao Qiming finished, "Terrifying. You can’t even fit one in a stew pot."
"Hahaha, what kind of comedy routine is this? You’re just making it scarier, you know?"
At first, Shao Shuangyue was dumbfounded, but she quickly realized it was just their way of trying to comfort her. She burst out laughing, her fear subsiding. "Hey! Why is that... that thing coming over here?!"
Mid-laugh, Shao Shuangyue ducked behind them again. Su Zhou looked up. The sea serpent had come ashore and was now slowly slithering in their direction.
The beach was nearly empty. It was lunchtime, and the appearance of the sea serpent had driven basically everyone away. Some had even gone to find the beach patrol.
’This snake seems... spiritually aware?’
Su Zhou gestured for Shao Qiming to take Shao Shuangyue away while he walked over to check on the situation himself.
But as he got closer, the pure black sea serpent suddenly darted forward—only to stop at his sandals and affectionately nuzzle his foot.
’...Just as I thought.’
Su Zhou reached out with a sigh of exasperation and picked up the black sea serpent. He complained to Yara, "Ever since I reached the Extraordinary tier, anytime I go near a river, a whole school of carp starts jumping out of the water and splashing me. Looks like this snake is the same. They’re all attracted to your bloodline."
"It’s *your* bloodline now," Yara’s voice replied irresponsibly from the ring. "I gave it to you, so it has nothing to do with me anymore."
The black sea serpent in Su Zhou’s grasp showed no aggression. Instead, it docilely coiled around his arm, nuzzling him.
"Sigh."
Seeing this, Yara couldn’t help but shake its metaphorical head. As if it couldn’t bear to look, it criticized in a tone of deep disappointment, "What has the world come to? Such a decline in public morals, such a decline!"
Hearing Yara, Su Zhou blinked. He looked from the black sea serpent coiled on his arm to the ring, his expression turning odd. "Wait a minute, don’t tell me..."
"Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking!"
Yara nodded with feigned seriousness, suppressing its laughter. "You’re being propositioned!"
"Damn it!"
Su Zhou’s face darkened. ’I just graduated high school. No one confessed their feelings to me when we were all saying goodbye, but the first one to fall for me is a snake?’
He had no choice but to carry this bold and spiritually aware sea serpent back into the water. After removing it from his arm, he warned it sternly, "Don’t attack humans, and don’t go near crowded beaches... You understand what humans are, right? Creatures that look more or less like me. Stay away from them!"
As he spoke, Su Zhou drew upon a trace of the Suppression from his Undying Blood and used his Spiritual Power to send a warning directly into the serpent’s soul. ’Who would have thought,’ he mused, ’that the first time I’d use the power of Yara’s bloodline wouldn’t be to intimidate some Flood Dragon or Demon Dragon, but to teach a sea serpent about personal safety.’
The black sea serpent seemed to understand and nodded its head. Once Su Zhou let it go, it swam away, weaving through the water.
Su Zhou clicked his tongue and was about to turn and leave when his keen eyesight caught something. Colorful shadows were appearing in the water, seemingly from all directions.
SWOOSH. The waves lapped against the shore.
Hundreds, no, thousands of sea serpents, along with countless sea fish that had appeared from God-knows-where, were riding the tide, silently surging toward the shore.
It was like... a sacred pilgrimage.
"Oh my god..."
Realizing he was surrounded by hundreds of sea serpents and fish of all kinds, Su Zhou’s expression twisted. "What... What the hell is all this?!"
