Chapter 495: Half Step Demonic King
Translator: Swammped Editor: Hitesh_
Breaking away from the nagging of the apes, Sun Xiaojin and Ye Chen's group arrived in a hall made of stone. The hall was nearly a thousand meters long and dozens of meters high. It was filled with stone chairs and tables, which had myriads of fruits and other delicacies on them.
"These are Water Ape Cave's specialties, and some of these can restore stamina and vitality. Try them." Sun Xiaojin picked up a skull-sized green fruit and fiercely took a bite.
Ye Chen thought for a bit and said, "Elder Brother Sun, you've brought us here so casually. Won't it be somewhat troublesome for you?"
"Not a problem! You can safely recover here. Nobody will trouble you. If you go outside, I can guarantee you that you won't make it past the third day."
"Many thanks, then!
Ye Chen cupped his fists. The most important reason he had followed Sun Xiaojin was because his battle strength had been greatly reduced. Not to mention protecting Wang Snake and Wang Mei, he wouldn't be able to even save himself. In this ocean, finding an area to cultivate in peace was as difficult as ascending the heavens. One would become the food of a marine beast even before one knew it. Thus, going to Water Ape Cave was the best option for him.
Wang Snake's character was pure and simple. Seeing that Sun Xiaojin seemed to value brotherhood and friendship in high regard, he couldn't help but ask, "Elder Brother Sun, that Ao family is a demi beast king clan. Aren't you afraid of their retaliation?"
Sun Xiaojin curled his lips, "That's nothing to worry about. They claim themselves as Kings in the True Spirit Continent. However, here in Boundless Ocean, even dragons coil down obediently and tigers have to bow. Although my Water Ape Clan doesn't have much power itself, we are a member of the Southern Shallow Ocean Alliance. Shallow Ocean Alliance has altogether six Union Lords, all of whom are Demonic Kings. You think his half demonic King will dare to come here?"
"Southern Shallow Sea Alliance!"
This was Ye Chen's first time hearing about it.
Sun Xiaojin explained, "All the ocean within thirty thousand miles near True Spirit Continent is Shallow Ocean, divided into Eastern Shallow Ocean, Western Shallow Ocean, Southern Shallow Ocean, and Northern Shallow Ocean. Eastern Shallow Ocean has five great powers, most powerful of which is the Celestial Dragon God Palace. Southern Shallow Ocean, however, has an alliance. Western and Northern Shallow Oceans are too chaotic, and have really complex power structures. I'm not clear on that either."
"Isn't Celestial Dragon God Palace a power of the continent? When did it come to Eastern Shallow Ocean?" Ye Chen creased his brows and asked.
"Celestial Dragon God Palace has a really complex member structure. They have members of all races…humans, half beasts, demonic beasts, demi giants, and more. The Celestial Dragon God Palace on the continent is merely a branch, which consists of only humans. Of course, this is all that my grandfather told me."
"So it was like this." Ye Chen understood things better right now.
"Speaking of which, Celestial Dragon God Palace is on the verge of death. When Old Dragon King was vigorous and powerful, he could keep everything under control. But now, the old King's days are limited. Once he dies, everything would crumble, and the entire Celestial Dragon God Palace would be out of luck. All the other four major powers would swarm over for the benefits."
"How much life does the Dragon King have?"
"Can't say for sure. Some people say a few years, while some say he can still live for decades. Do you know how long Dragon King has lived for? He has lived for an entire thousand and ten years. You really have to wonder how he broke past the limit of humanity's Life and Death Realm. It's quite mysterious."
"Perhaps he ate some lifespan increasing strange medicine, no?"
Sun Xiaojin shook his head, "No… A thousand years is the limit of a human king. It's not like you Sea of Soul realm experts who can extend their lifespans through some tricks."
Ye Chen silently pondered. Apparently, Celestial Dragon God Palace was not in a good situation. Fortunately, the South Rudra Sect was not dragged into its trouble this time. Otherwise, it would have made one more enemy.
"What's the point of talking about these things? They are too far away from us. Wait until I become a Demonic King, then I'll have the qualifications to stir up things. For the time being, we'll have to obediently sit here in the Southern Shallow Ocean!" Sun Xiaojin suppressed the battle intent in his eyes.
Eating dozens of fruits in one go, Sun Xiaojin stood up and said, "Come, I'll look for a room for you to recover. Once you recover, you can go anywhere here. If you run into some inconvenience, just say my name and you'll be fine."
"Please."
Ye Chen ate two fruits and felt his spirit improving a lot. He couldn't help but sigh; even the fruits here were spirit medicines.
…
The room Sun Xiaojin spoke of was actually a stone chamber, one that was unusually big and didn't resemble human constructions one bit. Inside the chamber, Ye Chen glanced at his surroundings, his thoughts drifting away.
"I thought that there was relative calm amongst the Kings, with merely some small scaled scuffles happening now and then. It turns it that the situation is far more complex. What seem like stagnant waters actually have surging undercurrents which can engulf you in at any moment. Regardless of how powerful the Dragon King is, he can't avoid death. Before the heavenly law, everybody is the same. True Spirit Continent is big, but Boundless Ocean is countless folds bigger. According to Sun Xiaojin, only when one has the power of a king would they have the qualifications to enter this ocean and have the power to defend oneself.
"Become a King!"
Ye Chen exhaled hard. He never had such an intense desire to power up. Previously, all he wanted to do was to get stronger step by step. However, at this moment, he firmly desired to attain a much higher level and join the impending grand battle.
Currently, he was a chess piece. However, there would be a day when he would be the one playing the chess.
Soon, a week passed by.
After a week of bitter cultivation, Ye Chen had thoroughly eliminated the impurities from his Zhen Yuan and restored it to its peak condition. In addition to that, his undying body had another breakthrough: he had successfully branded his soul imprint on his right leg. As of now, apart from his two arms and head, the undying body's first layer had more or less been completed. His progress had been lightning fast indeed.
"Ye Chen, you there?" Sun Xiaojin's voice came from outside.
Ye Chen straightened out his clothes and walked out, "Brother Sun, what's the matter?"
"My grandfather wants to see you."
"Your grandfather, Water Ape Clan's Leader?"
"Yes, follow me."
"Alright!"
After passing through the stone chambers' veranda and the huge hall, they arrived by a vast lake. On the lake was a several thousand meters long arched bridge. If one looked carefully, they could see some frightening fish type demonic beasts inside the lake water. These fish type demonic beasts had deep red eyes, seeming as if they had just drunk blood, and were overflowing with a fiendish aura.
While walking on the bridge, Sun Xiaojin said, "My grandfather is a half step Demon King, but you don't need to be too reserved. Our Water Ape Clan doesn't have many rules."
Ye Chen faintly nodded. Until now, he'd seen a total of four Kings: Dragon King, Black Thunder King, Beast Tamer King, and Flickering Spirit King. As for Xuan Hou, it was only a will projection, and not the actual body.
At the end of the bridge was a stone palace, the two stopping before it.
"Grandfather, I've brought him." Sun Xiaojin spoke loudly.
"Come in, both of you!" A deep voice that seemed to carry the vicissitudes of life came out. Hearing that, Ye Chen and Sun Xiaojin both entered the palace.
The palace hall was vast; on the head seat sat a tall human figure. At first glance, the sitting figure seemed three meters tall, and if it stood up, it would be at least five meters tall.
Raising his head, Ye Chen looked at the Water Ape Clan's leader.
The clan leader resembled humans more than he had expected. Except for the huge frame, slightly long fangs, and dense hair on arms and lower legs, he was no different from a human.
"So, you're Ye Chen." The clan leader faintly smiled.
Ye Chen faintly lowered his body and cupped his hands, "Ye Chen greets clan leader."
"No need to be this courteous. My name is Sun Tai. Just call me Senior Sun."
The clan leader seemed to regard Ye Chen quite importantly. If it had been someone else, he wouldn't have told them his name. After all, when did seniors start to inform juniors of their name on their own accord? In fact, Sun Xiaojin was also quite astonished, wondering what his grandfather's intentions were.
Hearing clan leader's words, Ye Chen greeted, "Senior Sun."
"Good, have a seat. Let's have a nice chat." Sun Tai laughed heartily.
Complying, Ye Chen sat beside Sun Xiaojin.
"I heard that you were chased into Boundless Ocean by the Ao family? Tell me the specifics."
"Ao family annihilated the family of my two friends. I couldn't see them perish as well, and thus escaped to the Boundless Ocean with them." Ye Chen briefly narrated the reason and course of events.
Sun Tai faintly nodded, "Seems like your relationship with these two friends isn't too deep, but you still escaped to Boundless Ocean with them without abandoning them. This is a proof of your character. Our Water Ape clan places the most importance on brotherhood and loyalty. Henceforth, Water Ape Clan is your home. You can come and go here as you please."
Hearing his words, Ye Chen was stunned. What did he do in order to be weighed so heavily by Water Ape Clan Leader? It was simply beyond his imagination.
"My Water Ape Clan has existed since the middle of the ancient times. The weakest members of my clan had mid grade talents, and the best had high grade talents, like me and Xiaojin. You may not know a lot about the aptitudes of demon beasts. Simply speaking, the absolute majority of demon beasts on your continent have low grade talents and little potential. To have mid grade talent, one usually must have a trace of bloodline of demon beasts from pre-ancient times. They have some hope of becoming ninth level demon beasts, and even tenth level ones. The upper grade talents are a branch-offs of powerful demonic beasts from pre-ancient times. When they mature, they will automatically be ninth level demonic beasts, and have a high chance of becoming a Demonic King. Your two friends have the bloodline of the Nine-headed serpent, which makes them the same as us, an upper grade talent. Of course, the Nine-headed serpent is the peak of upper grade talent, much more potent compared to us. Otherwise, the Nine-headed serpent wouldn't have been a peerless Demonic King."
Pausing for a bit, Sun Tai spoke again, "You might be wondering why I'm so friendly with you, right?"
Ye Chen wished to know the reason as well.
"We water apes don't tell lies. From the moment you entered the cave, I could feel your existence. Your body carries the true dragon aura, and has an immense potential. And then there is your sky-piercing sword intent. For such a sword intent to appear at your realm is simply a miracle. There are already signs of a huge war under the heavens, and my Water Ape Clan wouldn't be able to stay out of it. To get associated with a true dragon grade genius is essential for my clan. I believe you've already come across such matters." Sun Tai was very honest, not hiding anything.
Ye Chen immediately understood; he had indeed encountered such situations before. Xuan Hou and Dragon King were both quite expectant of him. Nothing happened without a reason; they wouldn't be considerate of him for no reason. He was not some celestial prince after all. If they were to continue to do so, his skill would have to be a notch above others. Otherwise, he didn't believe that Dragon King would continue to be so considerate toward him. After all, they had no relationship whatsoever.
"My words haven't made you uncomfortable, have they?" Sun Tai glanced at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen shook his head and smiled, "Seems like Water Ape Clan and I are bound by destiny. I'm fonder of straightforwardness rather than glibness and trickery."
"Good!" Sun Tai admired Ye Chen even more compared to the beginning after this small interaction.