Chapter 238: Chapter 6: Dragon’s Roar
Even though foot traffic had been light lately, the appearance of a sea serpent at Golden Beach still caught the attention of the authorities.
Sea serpents, as a rule, don’t venture near human settlements. Unless provoked, they won’t attack or hunt large creatures like humans. Besides, they typically inhabit areas around coral reefs, making encounters with average beachgoers exceedingly rare.
Few people on an ordinary beach would have the tools to capture a sea serpent—and killing it was out of the question, as some species were protected. Even with the Spiritual Energy Revival, as long as the law remained unchanged, they were still protected animals.
Fortunately, Golden Beach was fully equipped with all sorts of tools. Capturing a sea serpent was a trivial matter; they were prepared to hunt even sharks.
But when the personnel in charge arrived on the beach, prepared to deal with the "single" sea serpent mentioned by the tourists...
What he saw was a dense, dark mass of clustered sea serpents and fish of all kinds, blanketing the entire coastline!
In the sea, these creatures weren’t causing a disturbance or taking any action. They simply floated in the water, respectfully surrounding one person.
It was as if they were bowing their heads to him in allegiance.
The staff member froze on the spot, utterly stunned. He glanced at the tools in his hands, then back at the coastline, and immediately threw them to the ground before calling his supervisor.
By now, the number of people on the beach had actually increased. Most, of course, kept their distance, curiously filming the scene with their phones. After all, such a strange spectacle was a rare sight even after the Spiritual Energy Revival. Many were also murmuring amongst themselves.
"Doesn’t that guy look a little familiar?" a few young people asked, squinting. The figure seemed familiar to them. They all had some level of cultivation, so their enhanced eyesight allowed them to see him clearly.
"I recognize him... From the Holy Ascension Selection Test a while ago. He was the one on Central TV who could summon lightning..." a nearby middle-aged man, who seemed to be vacationing with his family, said, stroking his chin in confirmation. "Yes, that’s him! I remember now. His name is Su Zhou!"
"I heard he awakened Dragon Blood. Could he be the one who attracted all these serpents and fish?"
"That’s very possible. In TV shows, aren’t Dragon Kings always surrounded by Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals? I guess those stories aren’t entirely made up!"
"He’s kind of handsome..."
Some people didn’t comment, instead excitedly posting photos of the rare scene on major social media platforms. A man being honored by a swarm of fish was a truly marvelous sight—one that absolutely had to be shared with the rest of the internet!
Shao Qiming watched the coast, which had turned into a veritable seafood festival, and couldn’t help but sigh. "If we’re ever out of options in the future, we could just follow Su Zhou and go fishing. We’d make a guaranteed killing in a single day!"
Shao Shuangyue, with her girlish kindness, felt a pang of sympathy despite her hatred of snakes. She could see how special the creatures’ attitudes were toward Su Zhou. "That doesn’t seem right," she said, unable to bear the thought. "They only came here because they like Brother Zhou..."
"You’re right." Shao Qiming wasn’t particularly bothered; his pragmatic mind had just instinctively run the numbers. He looked toward the coast and nodded. "Ah, they’re dispersing. It seems Azhou does have some control over these creatures."
Just then, the human figure, who had been completely enveloped by a mass of "seafood," seemed to say something. He then made a gesture, and the dense swarm—numbering at least in the thousands—of sea serpents and fish instantly turned and returned to the depths of the ocean.
They seemed quite reluctant to leave, constantly looking back as they went. This scene, too, was caught on camera.
Gradually, the coast returned to normal. But surprisingly, despite the massive congregation of fish and sea serpents, the area wasn’t filled with the expected, overwhelming fishy stench. Instead, for some unknown reason, those present detected a faint, exotic fragrance in the air.
At that moment, Su Zhou stood in the sea, his own heart far from calm. ’I can’t believe it. On just this one stretch of beach, there are so many creatures imbued with Spiritual Energy. Some have even achieved Spirit Communication through their flesh and blood! In human terms, they’re demonic beasts that have already undergone Spirit Awakening! Only Demon Beasts that have undergone Spirit Awakening would release such a pure, spiritual fragrance.’
But on second thought, Su Zhou relaxed. ’That’s right. Unlike the continents, which are protected by the Order Array, any demonic beast that appears in the mountains or forests is immediately apprehended or killed by various nations’ special forces. The oceans are so vast and beyond human influence. If demonic beasts appear there, they’re incredibly hard to find... The ocean could truly become a hidden threat!’
"A threat? Give me a break," Yara, who had climbed back onto Su Zhou’s head, retorted mercilessly. "Didn’t you notice anything from that scene just now? With you here, every single one of these Spirit Beasts and Water Demons with a trace of Dragon Blood in them will follow your every command! In the future, even if you were hunted by every major Extraordinary Influence in the world, as long as you returned to the ocean, you’d be a dragon in its sea, a tiger back in its mountain..."
"Whoa, hold on!" Su Zhou cut Yara off with a click of his tongue. "Let’s not even get into why I would suddenly be wanted by the entire world. You expect me, a human, to keep company with a bunch of seafood? Isn’t that asking a bit much?"
"Listen to yourself. Am I not keeping company with a bunch of hairless apes right now? Do you hear me complaining that it’s too much?" Yara said, swishing its tail indignantly.
Of course, they were only joking. Nevertheless, the existence of marine Demon Beasts was indeed a massive threat to all the world’s major shipping lanes.
