Chapter 106: Milking the Sea God
"Next, the future Sea God, Neptune, must head to Sea God Island to accept the inheritance…" Ye Cheng looked at his clone, Neptune, and casually took out a set of clothes from his storage ring, tossing them over.
Neptune caught them effortlessly and began dressing.
Since the main body and the clone were essentially the same person, Ye Cheng's consciousness was split between two perspectives. It felt as if he were doing two things at once. Thanks to the unique nature of his External Incarnation skill, he had no trouble controlling both bodies simultaneously. Otherwise, this soul bone ability would have been useless.
Once fully dressed, Neptune was now indistinguishable from his appearance in the video. Additionally, the "persona" that had merged into his body had already reinforced his previously ordinary physique to match its designated attributes he was no longer all show with no substance.
"Excellent! Looking sharp!"
Ye Cheng nodded in satisfaction at the imposing, neatly dressed figure before him. Now, it was time for the clone to set off toward the ocean and accept the inheritance at Sea God Island.
With Neptune's persona being a perfect match for the Sea God, there was no doubt he would receive the Nine Trials of the Sea God.
Although he hadn't obtained the recognition of the divine consciousness within the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, he wasn't worried. After all, Sea God Island was the lower realm legacy site of the Sea God, and the Sea God in the Divine Realm would undoubtedly have a way to monitor its trials. Otherwise, how could he assess a candidate's qualifications or even determine what trials to give?
The divine consciousness within the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was merely a fraction of the Sea God's spirit.
If a qualified inheritor appeared, the Sea God could summon the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud back from the mainland to Sea God Island at any time just as shown in the video. There was no need to doubt whether this was possible. Even if the gods of Douluo seemed somewhat lackluster at times, they still had their means.
Though the future video was fabricated, its plot was based on realistic possibilities, not pure nonsense. If it were completely unbelievable, people would have noticed the flaws immediately.
Because Neptune's persona had insufficient belief power to fully manifest, much of its strength had been nerfed. As a result, many aspects of his configuration couldn't compare to Ye Cheng's main body.
For instance, his soul ring setup was the most standard: two yellow, two purple, four black, one red.
As for his soul bones, he possessed six only the torso bone was 100,000 years old, while the skull and limb bones were around 70,000 to 80,000 years old.
To ordinary soul masters, this setup was top tier, but compared to Ye Cheng's main body, it was rather unimpressive.
Fortunately, there was an easy fix.
He could enhance his soul rings and soul bones' ages through the rewards granted by the Sea God Trials.
And when Neptune reached the final inheritance stage, his soul bones would fuse into the Sea God's divine armor, while his soul rings would receive a massive upgrade. There was nothing to worry about.
For now, Neptune's primary goal was clear travel to Sea God Island, undergo the trials, and milk the Sea God's resources dry.
Why pass up a free opportunity?
Hanhai City the largest coastal city and port in the western frontier of the Heaven Dou Empire, also the biggest seaside city on the Douluo Continent.
This massive city was built by the sea, or rather, into the mountains by the shore, impervious to the rise and fall of the tides. Its thick city walls were fortress grade, and before even entering the gates, Neptune could already smell the faint salty scent of the ocean in the air.
By now, he had arrived at the city gates.
The moment he approached, the soldiers guarding the entrance caught sight of his face and immediately froze, their jaws dropping as if they had just seen the emperor himself traveling in disguise.
In fact, their reaction wasn't far off.
Neptune hadn't altered his appearance. Since the future video had aired not long ago, many people still had a deep impression of its protagonist. His image was burned into their minds.
So, the moment they saw him, they recognized him instantly.
"Sea… S Sea God…!"
One of the gate guards stuttered, his entire body trembling with excitement, as if he were having a seizure. Judging by his expression, it wouldn't have been surprising if he fainted on the spot.
"Keep quiet!"
Seeing that the soldier was about to shout, Neptune frowned slightly and said calmly, "I am not the Sea God yet."
With that, he ignored the guard and walked into the city.
Ye Cheng himself had never been to the ocean, so he hadn't planted any spatial markers in that region. That meant he couldn't directly teleport Neptune there, forcing him to take the conventional route instead.
Neptune's persona was meant to be righteous and forthright, not someone who resorted to sneaky tricks. He didn't even bother disguising himself, openly displaying his identity.
As Neptune walked through the city gates into Hanhai City, the salty ocean scent grew even stronger.
Observing the people here, he noticed a clear difference compared to those from inland areas. The locals were generally shorter and darker skinned, likely due to their proximity to the sea.
His highly recognizable appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone present.
Of course, that was to be expected after all, he was the protagonist of the video that had just aired, the savior of the ocean, the future ruler of the seas.
The Sea God Neptune!
Who didn't know about him?
Who hadn't heard of him?
The moment people saw him, their expressions filled with reverence and admiration, as if they were witnessing the manifestation of a deity.
Which, in their eyes, was basically the case.
After all, to them, Neptune becoming a god was an inevitability. Viewing him as divine even now wasn't unreasonable at all.
"Why is he here?"
"This is a port city… Could it be that he had been inland all this time and is now returning to the sea?"
"Wait… could he be heading to Sea God Island to inherit the Sea God's position?"
"That's a future deity! Do you think I can ask for his autograph? I'll frame it and pass it down as a family heirloom!"
Whispers filled the air.
Though the crowd spoke softly, Neptune's enhanced hearing made it sound as if they were shouting through loudspeakers.
For the first time, he felt slightly uncomfortable.
Had he been too careless in not hiding his appearance?
But it was too late now. Covering up at this point would seem petty.
Fine.
Let them stare all they want.
It wasn't as if he'd lose anything from it.
Neptune forced himself to ignore their gazes, acting as if nothing was happening.
Instead, he focused on finding an inn where he could stay for a couple of days while hiring a ship and gathering supplies for his journey.
The ocean was vast.
Even as a Titled Douluo, with his ability to soar across the waves, navigating without a proper route was still a recipe for getting lost.
And honestly, camping out at sea sounded awful.
If he could travel in comfort, why suffer unnecessarily?
(End of Chapter)
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