14: Xiao Jiu unleashes her power!

Chapter 14: Little Nine's Display of Power

“Let’s go, it’s time to hunt!”

In front of the Nanhu Underwater Grassland, Jiang Chen used his spiritual power to cover his mouth, forming a spiritual membrane to prevent seawater from entering, and slowly spoke.

“En.” Nangong Yan replied, also using spiritual power to cover his mouth.

This is a skill that a Beast Tamer must learn when moving in water.

They can use spiritual power to cover organs like eyes, nose, and ears to prevent seawater from entering.

The stronger the spiritual power, the tougher the spiritual membrane covering the Beast Tamer's body will be, allowing them to resist the water pressure of the deep sea.

Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan are currently only Apprentice Beast Tamers, and the spiritual membrane covering their facial features can only resist the water pressure of up to a hundred meters deep.

The deeper the seawater, the stronger the water pressure, requiring a tougher and more substantial spiritual membrane.

Therefore, with Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan's current cultivation, they couldn't possibly go into deeper waters.

One hundred meters deep is also precisely the deepest point of the Nanhu Underwater Grassland.

The two stood on the seabed, slowly walking towards the underwater grassland ahead, while Little Nine and Tentacle Shrimp guarded all sides.

The seabed beneath their feet was initially a stretch of fine sand.

The sandy ground was smooth, without any wrinkles, and no traces left by the tides like on a beach.

Their footprints pressed into it, but not long after they moved, they quickly disappeared under the water's pressure, and the fine sand returned to its smooth state.

This fine sand carpet, like a true mirror, stubbornly refracted the sunlight, illuminating the seawater brightly and clearly.

However, after Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan had walked about a kilometer underwater, the fine sand in front of them turned into a sticky mud.

Jiang Chen looked up at his surroundings; above was the calm surface of the vast sea, like a mirror, and the sun was like a dazzling, pixelated light orb, hazy and indistinct.

Jiang Chen looked behind him, at the school ship floating on the sea surface, like a reef entrenched on the water, gradually disappearing.

Jiang Chen then looked at Nangong Yan beside him, only to see this outwardly reserved man cautiously surveying his surroundings, yet seemingly unmoved by the fantastical scenery.

Nangong Yan's father is a Professional Beastmaster, so he must not be seeing the Barren Sea for the first time.

Emotions are contagious; seeing Nangong Yan's calm expression, Jiang Chen's rapidly beating heart also gradually settled down.

The two continued forward, and the sticky mud in front of them gradually gave way to clusters of sea grass and seaweed, which then grew more and more luxuriant, forming a giant carpet spread before them.

They had officially stepped into the boundary of the Nanhu Underwater Grassland.

Upon arriving here, Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan's steps became lighter, and their expressions grew more cautious and vigilant!

Little Nine's blue eyes also scanned around, and the spiritual power within its body rapidly circulated.

Because these green plants in front of them, nourished by spiritual power, each stalk of sea grass and seaweed was at least nearly a meter tall!

The dense, lush green plants not only formed a continuous carpet beneath their feet but also swayed above their heads!

What lay before their eyes was a green corridor formed by marine plants!

For Jiang Chen, who was witnessing an underwater grassland for the first time, the sight was stunning, yet it exuded deadly danger everywhere!

These marine plants were too lush; any sea beast hiding within them would be difficult to detect!

This is the Barren Sea!

From a cultivation perspective, the spiritual power contained in the Barren Sea's water is two to three times that of Ningshui Town.

Beast Tamers and their pet beasts cultivating here achieve results with half the effort.

If they are lucky enough to encounter some rare treasures, their cultivation might even skyrocket!

However, danger and opportunity have always coexisted!

Just like the Nanhu Underwater Grassland before them, it is definitely not a place an ordinary Beast Tamer can venture into!

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the 'hissing' sound of their steps on the densely fibrous grass.

Although the movements of the two people and two beasts were already very careful, the 'hissing' sound was still somewhat loud and jarring.

Jiang Chen understood that if they were on land at this moment, there would be no such worries.

But they were currently in the sea, and even slight sounds would travel faster than on land, making it difficult for ears to adjust.

Water is a better conductor than air; sound travels four times faster in water than in air.

This makes it exponentially harder for a Beast Tamer to conceal his presence underwater.

“Let’s go, Dad’s Tentacle Shrimp has already advanced to the Mid-Awakening Stage, Dad will protect you.” At this moment, Nangong Yan saw the tension on Jiang Chen’s face and chuckled.

“As long as the school has truly filtered out all other sea beasts from the Nanhu Underwater Grassland, leaving only those of the awakening level, we should be fine!”

Sea beast levels are the same as pet beast levels; the first four realms are awakening level, Elite Level, Transcendent Level, and Commander Rank.

Each level is further subdivided into early, mid, and late stages.

Vice Principal Zhao Zhong had said earlier that currently, only awakening level sea beasts existed in the Nanhu Underwater Grassland.

Nangong Yan’s Tentacle Shrimp is at the Mid-Awakening Stage, placing its strength in the middle tier of the Nanhu Underwater Grassland.

So, as long as the two are careful and don’t encounter late-awakening level sea beasts or gregarious sea beasts, they should be able to manage in this dense underwater grassland.

Nangong Yan's eyes darted around, and he slowly continued, “The rewards for the top ten in this practical training are quite generous. If we work diligently these few days, we might even contend for tenth place.”

“Tenth place rewards one sea spirit pearl and a drop of awakening level sea beast essence blood, which is very not…”

Nangong Yan hadn't even finished his sentence when a faint ripple sound suddenly echoed from their side, behind them!

The usually carefree Nangong Yan instantly turned around, his eyes fixed intently on that spot!

The Tentacle Shrimp, which had been closely following Nangong Yan, almost at the exact moment its master turned, shot out its two tentacle claws like springs, drawing two arc-shaped white wakes in the seawater as they whipped towards the patch of sea grass!

Beast Tamers and pet beasts are connected by heart, so with just a thought from the master, the pet beast can instantly launch an attack!

“Whoosh!”

“Clang clang!”

The two Tentacle Shrimp claws were like two rope-attached crescent blades; with a gentle swing, the rustling sea grass patch was silently cut into pieces, revealing the scene behind it!

And at this moment, behind that patch of grass, a Giant Water Rat, about a meter long, with long, dense, grayish-black fur all over its body and two tusks growing from the corners of its mouth, was eerily suspended in mid-air, squeaking and struggling incessantly!

Blood, like a fountain, spurted from the Giant Water Rat's neck, quickly dyeing the surrounding seawater a crimson red!

As the seawater turned red, a huge beast silhouette slowly materialized behind the Giant Water Rat.

Nangong Yan and Tentacle Shrimp stared, only to see that this giant beast silhouette was actually a large white cat!

It was Little Nine!

Both the human and the beast were shocked!

At this moment, Little Nine was seen biting fiercely onto the neck of the Giant Water Rat, which was continuously thrashing and struggling, but to no avail!

As more and more blood flowed from the water rat's neck, its struggles rapidly weakened.

Finally, it kicked its legs and became completely still.

This awakening level early stage Giant Water Rat sea beast, was dead!

Nangong Yan froze!

Tentacle Shrimp also froze!

Both the human and the shrimp were a bit dazed; they turned to look at Jiang Chen beside them, and indeed, Little Nine's figure was not there.

This... when did Little Nine disappear?

And when did Little Nine sneak into that patch of sea grass and kill a Giant Water Rat that was preparing to ambush them?

Its movements were too fast!

Successfully slaying the first sea beast in his life, Jiang Chen let out a slight sigh of relief.

Then he raised his head, walked to Nangong Yan's side, and patted him on the shoulder: “Grandson, don’t worry, even though my pet beast, One-Tailed Fishing Cat, is only at the awakening level early stage, I will still protect you!”

“Anyone who wants to bully my Grandson must die!”

Nangong Yan: “...”

Nangong Yan's face darkened!

Wasn’t that his line just now?

It was directly taken by Jiang Chen and even glorified!

From the grass, Little Nine swam over, carrying the corpse of the Giant Water Rat in its mouth, and dropped the water rat at Jiang Chen's feet.

Jiang Chen carefully examined the Giant Water Rat; its appearance was very similar to an ordinary rat.

However, its fur was much denser and longer, making it look as if it was wearing a heavy straw cloak at first glance.

The water rat's nostrils can close to adapt to its semi-aquatic life. During the day, it rests in burrows, hollow logs, or other cover, and in the evening, it comes out to forage for mussels, snakes, fish, crabs, frogs, and crayfish.

Its external ears have degenerated, and its tail, covered with stiff hairs, is a distinctive feature, allowing it to control its direction of movement in the water.

The Giant Water Rat is a common sea beast in the Nanhu Underwater Grassland; judging by the two tusks in its mouth, which are about 10 centimeters long, and its sharp claws, one knows that this sea beast is not to be trifled with.

However, cats prey on rats; in this case, it's a water rat, and Little Nine is a Fishing Cat, so the two natural enemies met again.

Jiang Chen first took out a dagger from his懷 and stabbed the water rat's head to deliver a finishing blow, then stabbed its chest and cut open its heart.

When the ventricle was opened, several drops of golden-glowing blood immediately flowed out.

Jiang Chen's heart stirred with joy, and he quickly took out a glass bottle to collect these drops of Giant Water Rat essence blood.

There are specialized sea beast dissection classes at the school, so Jiang Chen's dissection was quite professional.

After extracting the essence blood from the Giant Water Rat, Jiang Chen paid no mind to the other ordinary blood, letting it be diluted and dispersed by the seawater.

Giant Water Rats are numerous and very common in the Nanhu Underwater Grassland.

Furthermore, this Giant Water Rat was only at the lowest awakening level early stage, so its essence blood was valuable, but its ordinary blood was not.

After collecting the essence blood, Jiang Chen stood up and saw Nangong Yan still staring directly at him, his gaze shocked and suspicious, his eyes wide with incomprehension, as if he didn't recognize him anymore.

Nangong Yan's mouth moved, and he asked faintly, “Jiang Chen, are you secretly seeing someone else behind my back?”

“Get lost, you’re the one who’s seeing someone else!”

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes speechlessly: “Even if I were seeing someone else, what business is it of yours?”

“Ahem, no,” Nangong Yan scratched the back of his head, “I mean, Little Nine has only been contracted for a month. How did it suddenly become so strong?”

“Did you secretly take on some master behind my back? Is that why you became so powerful?”

“If so, you can just say it, I... I want to become a disciple too!”

“No!” Jiang Chen was speechless. What was this guy thinking about every day?

“Without Little Nine, how did it suddenly become so strong?” Nangong Yan scratched his head, looking puzzled.

That’s right, he was more than just puzzled!

What just happened?

He had only just discovered the Giant Water Rat hiding in the grass, but Jiang Chen and Little Nine had already found it, and with one swift strike, instantly killed the Giant Water Rat!

This was simply unscientific!

Tentacle Shrimp's cultivation was one level higher than Little Nine's, at the Mid-Awakening Stage, while Little Nine was only at the awakening level early stage!

Moreover, his Tentacle Shrimp was not entering the Barren Sea for the first time; because his father was a Professional Beastmaster, he had already trained in the Barren Sea multiple times.

And Jiang Chen, he knew him very well, this was his first time entering the Barren Sea!

Jiang Chen had only contracted Little Nine for a month!

However, today, his Tentacle Shrimp was completely crushed by Little Nine, which was incredibly unbelievable.

“The reason is simple,” Jiang Chen said with a smile, seeing Nangong Yan’s bewildered expression, “Little Nine has raised its Steel Rend Claw and Water Concealment skills to the proficient level.”

Yes, the reason Little Nine was able to silently capture and kill the Giant Water Rat was all thanks to the Water Concealment skill!

Water Concealment: Allows Little Nine to move silently in the water and become semi-hidden in the water!

Skills are divided into: Beginner, Proficient, Mastered, and Perfect, from low to high based on proficiency.

When the Water Concealment skill is raised to [Mastered], Little Nine's movement speed in the water will be faster, and its figure will become a blurry afterimage in the water.

And when the Water Concealment skill is raised to [Perfect], its movement speed in the water will increase again, becoming almost completely silent, leaving no trace, only a faint mark in the water!

“Huh???”

Nangong Yan looked at Little Nine in front of him with a mix of shock and sudden realization. No wonder Little Nine could appear silently before the Giant Water Rat; it was due to the proficient level Water Concealment.

However, after his sudden realization, Nangong Yan's face once again showed immense shock!

“Little Nine has only been your pet beast for a month, right? In this short month, it has cultivated both Steel Rend Claw and Water Concealment skills to the proficient level?”

“What, is that not allowed?” Jiang Chen blinked and retorted.

“Meow~” Little Nine also blinked its big blue eyes, its fluffy white cat head raised, looking proud and smug.

Its expression seemed to say: That’s right, this kitty is just that amazing!

Little Nine: (ω)

Nangong Yan didn't want to speak anymore!

His Tentacle Shrimp had been contracted for three months, and only its Tentacle Lash skill had reached the proficient state, while its other skill, [Forehead Blade], was still at the beginner level!

Three months versus one month... being human is truly too difficult!

“Gurgle…”

The Tentacle Shrimp let out a long string of bubbles from its mouth, making gurgling sounds with a look of grievance.

Its stalked compound eyes stared at Little Nine with a mix of surprise and numbness, as if also saying: Being a shrimp is equally too difficult!

(This chapter is 4000 words, so it won't be split. Please vote!)