Chapter 401 – Methods
Zhao Hai stared, he didn’t think that he actually practiced for a full day and night. Upon hearing Green’s question, he smiled and said, “Grandpa Green, my Battle Qi has reached 8th rank.”
When Zhao Hai said his answer, everybody present were shocked. Each and every one of them stared blankly at Zhao Hai. After quite some time, Green’s two eyes lit up as he said, “Young Master, did your Battle Qi really reach 8th rank? Operate it for me, let me take a look.”
Zhao Hai nodded, as an 8th rank Warrior, he was able to achieve Battle Qi manifestation. With a thought, Zhao Hai made his golden Battle Qi go out of from within his body, lighting the room up with a golden light. Zhao Hai looked like a small sun, but without the extreme heat.
Since he didn’t have much experience, Zhao Hai took quite some time before withdrawing his Battle Qi. Nevertheless, Green was still grinning from ear to ear. With Zhao Hai achieving 8th rank, he could already be considered as an expert in the continent.
An 8th rank Warrior that can also use 8th rank Magic of multiple elements. Everytime Green thought about Zhao Hai’s enemies, he couldn’t help but feel pity.
After Zhao Hai retrieved his battle Qi, Green laughed and said, “It’s really 8th rank, 8th rank! Fantastic! Young Master, I propose that 2 hours every evening, me and Kun will come to the s.p.a.ce and teach you about fighting with Battle Qi.”
When Zhao Hai heard what Green just proposed, he couldn’t help but complain inside. But he also knew that Green was doing this for his own good. The s.p.a.ce can turn him from nothing to 8th rank in an instant but it couldn’t help him with fighting skills. If Zhao Hai only had Battle Qi but didn’t have any fighting skills, then he will never become a true expert. In a battle between Warriors, Zhao Hai would get easily defeated by a 5th rank.
Zhao Hai nodded, “Alright, Granpa Green can feel relieved, I’ll go call you and Grandpa Kun every evening. Right, Laura, did you give an explanation to Charlie?”
Laura who was sitting nearby smiled, “Be relieved, that matter is already solved. But Brother Hai, do you notice something different in the living room?”
Zhao Hai stared, then he looked around the living room. However, he didn’t seem to notice something strange. He looked at Laura with a confused expression.
Laura smiled and said, “Didn’t you notice that there aren’t any metallic things here?”
Zhao Hai observed carefully, and indeed, there weren’t any items made of metal in the living room. Still with a puzzled look, he turned to Laura, “What happened? Why aren’t there any metallic objects in the room? Did they affect my cultivation?”
Laura responded, “We were afraid that you’ll get battered to death by those metallic objects. You didn’t notice but when you practiced your Battle Qi, all the metallic things in the room came flying towards you as though are a huge human shaped magnet. Brother Hai, I think you should also train this new ability along with your Battle Qi. I suspect that you had acquired a Divergent Ability, one that can manipulate metals.”
Upon hearing Laura’s description, Zhao Hai’s mind couldn’t help but think of a certain white haired old man wearing a cloak on his whole body along with a strange helmet, a man that was named Magneto.
Back on Earth, Zhao Hai was enamoured with the X-men series. The main villain Magneto had left a deep impression on Zhao Hai. It was no wonder why Magneto was the first thing to pop into his mind when Laura told him that he may have developed a metal manipulation Divergent Ability,
Magneto’s ability had always been envied by Zhao Hai, so when he found that he had the Marvel villain’s power, he was very excited.
At this time, Green said, “Young Master, I think you should head outside the s.p.a.ce and see the situation. Laura said that you were cultivating yesterday, if you don’t go out today, Charlie may find it suspicious.”
Zhao Hai immediately turned on the monitor and looked at outside. Seeing that it was already time for breakfast, Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll return to the s.p.a.ce this evening for Fighting Practice and training for Metal Manipulation.”
Green smiled, “Don’t worry too much, you’re now 8th rank, an expert in the continent. As long as you train diligently in your fighting techniques, you won’t need to be anxious. I’m also hoping that the young master will practice his metal manipulation well, and don’t use it in front of people too much. Make that ability a secret weapon.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “I already have a lot of methods right now, keeping one hidden won’t be a problem. Grandpa Green, you should also go back to Iron Mountain Fort. That place won’t function well without you people there.”
Green nodded, then Zhao Hai delivered the group back to Iron Mountain Fort. After doing so, he lead Laura and the others back to their room in the Haven, before heading towards the living room.
At this time, Charlie was also there. When he saw Zhao Hai, he immediately expressed his greetings, “How was mister’s practice? Did you gain some improvements?”
Zhao Hai showed a faint smile, “A little bit. I have unknowingly neglected your highness yesterday, I hope you’ll accept my forgiveness.”
Charlie smiled and said, “It’s normal for a Mage to train closed-door for a day or two, mister doesn’t need to apologize. In a few days we will arrive at Jade Water City, mister coming out this time made me quite glad.”
Zhao Hai smiled, “I just felt something, so I went for a short one day retreat. Your highness also knows that we’re currently at sea, so it wouldn’t be practical to close-up for a long time. Right, your highness, we should have breakfast together. How about we do some fis.h.i.+ng after our meal?”
Charlie laughed, “Good, there should be quite a few fish at this part of the sea. I haven’t fished for a while, I wonder what mister’s fis.h.i.+ng level is?”
Zhao Hai showed a faint smile, “I can’t really fish. I just do it to kill some time. Hehe.” Afterwards, him and Charlie went to the dining room.
After having their breakfast, Zhao Hai and Charlie sat down by the s.h.i.+p’s stern to fish. Laura and the others were chatting at the side, while Shue and Shun were quietly serving them.
Now that the s.h.i.+p was continuously moving, it was naturally impossible for the group to catch anything. However, they were able to kill some time while doing so.
Looking at the blue sky, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but let out a long breath as he leaned on the chair and said, “Sometimes, I really feel tired when going around like this, not knowing where the future will take me. Your highness, do you think that this is how people should live?”
Charlie looked at Zhao Hai and faintly smiled, “You can live how you want to live. But if you want to live a better life than others, then you need to work very hard for it. This is a truth of life.”
Zhao Hai smiled and didn’t add anything. Then suddenly, Zhao Hai saw something on the distance. It seems like there were several s.h.i.+ps approaching, originally Zhao Hai didn’t worry for even a bit. They were currently sailing near the coastlines, seeing these number of s.h.i.+ps were quite normal. However, Zhao Hai felt that something wasn’t right about these s.h.i.+ps, they were heading directly towards the Haven without even slowing down.
Zhao Hai stared at the s.h.i.+ps, constantly feeling that those s.h.i.+ps weren’t up to something good. At this time, a sound came, warning the group that they have become the target of those s.h.i.+ps.
Zhao Hai turned his head towards Charlie and said helplessly, “Your highness, it seems like our travel itinerary has become quite eventful. Let’s head to the cabin’s living room, let’s see who we’re dealing with here.”
Charlie didn’t object, he just faintly smiled and followed ZHao Hai towards the cabin. A moment later, a shot from a magic cannon was heard, then a ballista shot. Good thing that Zhao Hai’s s.h.i.+p was ironclad, quite strong against attacks, it should be quite fine for a few moments.
Before long, Jinan walked in from the outside and reported to Zhao Hai, “Young Master, the boats had hit us. What do we do?”
Zhao Hai’s complexion sank, “Hit us? And it also seems like we lost some undead. Your Highness, you sit here for a moment, I’ll go take a look.”
Charlie smiled, “I’ll go as well. This area is quite close to my Jade Water City’s domain, I want to take a look at the people who dared be so rampant.”
Zhao Hai didn’t object, both him and Charlie went to the deck outside. What met them was a scene where s.h.i.+ps were surrounding and approaching Zhao Hai’s vessel. One of them were even heading towards their s.h.i.+p at a faster rate, intending to ram the Haven. On the opponent s.h.i.+p’s bow was a sharp conical point. One could see a glint of light upon the object, it was clearly made from metal.
On the s.h.i.+p was a Wind Mage, giving the s.h.i.+p added velocity. This made the s.h.i.+p move quickly.
Zhao Hai looked at the situation and wielded his staff. Immediately, their s.h.i.+p was surrounded by strong winds as it s.h.i.+fted it position. This made Charlie stare, he didn’t think that Zhao Hai was also able to use Wind element Magic, and it seemed like it wasn’t a weak spell either.
The exhibition didn’t end, after using Wind element Magic, Zhao Hai changed to using Water element Magic as he froze a big area of the sea’s surface. This gave the opponent’s s.h.i.+p difficulty in moving forward.
The other s.h.i.+p wasn’t that far from Zhao Hai’s Haven. Since they were at this distance, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to stop it. Zhao Hai’s magic only delayed its approach.
At this time, the opposing s.h.i.+p attacked with two water dragons. The dragons collided with the frozen sea, scattering frozen sludge all over the place.
Zhao Hai’s brows couldn’t help but wrinkle. It seems like the opponent came prepared, there was actually a Water Mage along with the Wind Mage.
When it seems like the other party saw Zhao Hai’s group, they immediately directed the magic cannons and ballistas to his direction. Zhao Hai immediately waved his wand as it produced a blue-colored water s.h.i.+eld. The other party’s cannons and ballistas were useless in the face of this protective s.h.i.+eld.
The s.h.i.+eld was made through the s.p.a.ce’s 8th rank magic. s.h.i.+elds made on this level weren’t that easily broken through.
After releasing the blue s.h.i.+eld, Zhao Hai followed through by releasing his composite magic. Composite spells made by two elements were quite handy. For example, combining Wind element and Water element magic would create a tornado with icy blades inside it, this made the spell’s lethality increase.
Composite magics were very formidable. If two 4th rank spells were combined, then it wouldn’t be worse than a 6th rank spell. However, the difficulty of achieving such feat was very high. The user needs to be compatible with at least two elements of magic. Moreover, he also needed to have a high rank in both departments.
Obviously, these requirements were useless for Zhao Hai. It was the s.p.a.ce who provided the magic, so doing a composite spell was quite easy.
But one must know that Zhao Hai had been quite diligent in his study of magic. He tried out a lot of magics and even had them written down. All of Zhao Hai’s notes were compiled to the point that the contents could fit into a book.
Zhao Hai knew that magic was his main method of battle. Therefore, he was very meticulous in studying magic, he carefully recorded the effects and names of each spell. Then he came up with various composite magics using his findings.
This time, Zhao Hai released a Wind-Water composite magic. The tornado, along with its sharp icy blades, soared up into the skies and directly headed towards the opponent s.h.i.+ps.
Zhao Hai didn’t use this spell in order to kill the people onboard the s.h.i.+ps, but to deal with the s.h.i.+ps’ sails. Once their sails were dealt with, then it would be impossible for the other party to outmaneuver them, much less. .h.i.t them.
Naturally, the opponent hadn’t noticed Zhao Hai’s composite magic, they expected it to be just any ordinary tornado spell; used for stopping the advancement of their s.h.i.+ps. But when the spell reached them, they realized how strong the spell actually was.
Crewmen who weren’t prepared to defend themselves were either injured or worse, killed, by the icy blades. The most annoying thing for these people was the fact that their sails were shredded by the composite spell.
Charlie had been watching Zhao Hai’s battle. Even without his undead, Zhao Hai was still a formidable figure. Without using his undead, he was still able to decommission the opponent s.h.i.+ps.
But Zhao Hai didn’t plan on letting those people off. He wanted to know which power the other party belonged to and why they attacked him. After all, they damaged the Haven, it would cost a fortune to repair it.
After the sails of the s.h.i.+ps were rendered useless, Zhao Hai immediately used his Water element magic in order to freeze the surface of the sea. Charlie didn’t understand what Zhao Hai wanted to do. At this time, Zhao Hai waved his staff as large quant.i.ties of undead appeared on the icy surface before they proceeded to overrun the opponents. Even though the s.h.i.+ps were already close enough to place the undead there directly, Zhao Hai still deliberately did so since he didn’t want to show Charlie the full extent of his capabilities.
Seeing the present scene, Charlie couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat coming down his back. Zhao Hai’s method made him very startled. The method that Zhao Hai used was very effective in sea battles.
At the same time, Charlie thought that if Zhao Hai was this formidable at sea, then what would he be on land? It would be a nightmare to face Zhao Hai as an enemy. Now, Charlie was praising his intuition. He had already become a friend to Zhao Hai, a.s.sistance from such a person would certainly be very valuable.