Marine Captain (1)

After playing cards for more than an hour, Ren Fang came over to call everyone to eat.

Everyone immediately put down their cards and rushed towards the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, a three-meter-long, two-meter-wide dining table was already laden with delicious dishes—a total of thirty-four dishes, each served in a large bowl.

There's no way around it, there are just too many people, and among them are a few gluttons. If we don't cook enough food, some of them won't have enough to eat, and then they'll start complaining again.

After everyone sat down, they didn't stand on ceremony, picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and started eating.

Fanxin took a large bowl, filled it with rice and vegetables, and then found a seat not far from the dining table to eat. He was currently in a spirit state, and sitting at the table made him feel particularly awkward.

Although everyone tried to persuade him to sit at the dining table, he refused.

After lunch, Fanxin told Ren Fang to look after the boat, and then went back to his bedroom to cultivate. Although he couldn't cultivate Taijutsu at this stage because he didn't have a physical body, he could cultivate his soul. His soul hadn't reached its peak yet, and there was still a lot of room for improvement.

Fanxin focused his mind and concentrated all his attention on the Soul Tower in his mind. The Soul Tower was dark, magnificent and huge, constantly emanating Soul Power, which slowly entered his body, replenishing his entire body from top to bottom.

He was a member of the Soul Clan, capable of existing in a soul state for extended periods. However, he could not defy a fundamental law: without a vessel, the soul would be consumed at an increasingly rapid rate under the influence of various external factors.

The Soul Clan is able to survive in the world as souls because they can absorb Soul Power from the air to replenish themselves, reducing the consumption of their own Soul Power. In this way, the Soul Clan members can live in the world.

Others, however, do not possess the characteristics of the Soul Clan, which absorbs Soul Power. Therefore, as their souls are consumed in large quantities, they become less and less, eventually dissipating completely from the world.

With Soul Tower in his Fanxin, he need not worry about the Soul Power his body needs on a daily basis.

However, he will have to put in a lot of effort to elevate his spiritual realm.

The cultivation of the Soul Clan's soul is divided into four levels: Mortal Realm, Earth Realm, Heaven Realm, and Demon Emperor Realm. Each level is further divided into three stages: early stage, middle stage, and Great Perfection.

Fanxin's current soul state is at the mid-stage of the Mortal Realm. Compared to the soul of a Demon Emperor Realm, there is still a long way to go.

Soul cultivation involves devouring Soul Power and imprinting it with one's own mark. This makes it much easier to launch attacks using Soul Power in the future.

If the Soul Power belongs to someone else, you must erase that person's soul imprint before you can use it; otherwise, the person will rebel against you.

The Soul Clan has four Soul Pool in their brains: the Mortal Realm Soul Pool, the Earth Realm Soul Pool, the Heaven Realm Soul Pool, and the Demon Emperor Realm Soul Pool.

The Mortal Realm Soul Pool is connected to the Earth Realm Soul Pool, which in turn is connected to the Heaven Earth Realm Soul Pool Heaven Realm Soul Pool. Finally Heaven Realm Soul Pool connects to the Demon Emperor Realm Soul Pool.

However, although there is a connection between the Soul Pool, the passage is usually blocked. You must reach the Great Perfection stage to open it up for the two Soul Pool to connect; otherwise, they will remain blocked forever.

You've opened a passage, and your soul has entered a completely new realm. Not only has the quantity of your Soul Power changed, but your soul itself has undergone a qualitative transformation. You can't see this qualitative change; it manifests in your attack skills.

Fanxin is currently cultivating the Mortal Realm soul. He devours a large number of souls in the Soul Tower, then compresses them, turning the Soul Power into a liquid state, and then injects it into the Mortal Realm Soul Pool.

At this moment, a small portion of liquid Soul Power had already appeared in the Mortal Realm Soul Pool. This was absorbed from the Soul Tower when the Fanxin merged with the Soul Tower.

For Fanxin to elevate his soul to the Earth Realm, he needs to work harder to replenish the Soul Power in the Mortal Realm Soul Pool. Only then will he be qualified to break through that passage.

He cultivated for six hours, devouring a large number of souls. However, when Fanxin Xin compressed it into a liquid state, there was only a tiny amount left. Looking at it, Fanxin could only smile bitterly.

The difference between gaseous Soul Power and liquid Soul Power is significant.

Although he wanted to improve his soul realm as soon as possible, Fanxin knew that haste makes waste and that he had to take it one step at a time. If he continued to cultivate and ruined himself, it would be a loss.

He then ended his cultivation practice.

"Fanxin, you have something to do now." Just as Fanxin was about to leave the bedroom to go for a walk outside, he was suddenly called out to him.

Fanxin was taken aback for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Giant Dragon, what's wrong?"

"Fanxin, you must now destroy your several Soul Clones and transform them into Soul Power," the Giant Dragon said immediately.

"Hmm, why? They're my Soul Clone, under my command, so there shouldn't be any problems, right?" Fanxin asked, puzzled. Although the Soul Clone were somewhat different from him after being separated, they only obeyed his commands. Whatever he told Soul Clone to do, they had to do, without ever disobeying.

"Generally speaking, there shouldn't be a problem. However, what if the Diamond King suddenly interferes during your battle with him?" the Giant Dragon said. "Once he interferes, your true form will be affected. At that time, your true form won't be able to occupy the Diamond King's brain in time. To obtain a physical body, you must keep it alive. What use is a corpse?"

"Then it would be better to forge a body out of solid steel. But that's useless; steel has no brain, your soul has no place to reside. The Diamond King is the same; if it dies, its brain will dissipate, and then it will be just like a pile of steel, equally useless to you."

"Therefore, you cannot be careless this time when you merge with the physical body. You may destroy all your Soul Clone, but you absolutely cannot let them interfere with you. This concerns your life, so the decision is yours!"

After saying that, the Giant Dragon fell silent. It had only spoken up for the sake of Fanxin; otherwise, it wouldn't have bothered.

"Oh, that's troublesome." Fanxin felt very annoyed upon hearing this.

Without a physical body, he can no longer use Taijutsu. His current combat relies entirely on his several Soul Clones. Otherwise, he would have no chance against the Blood King.

If he were to destroy all his Soul Clone now, he would lose all his special abilities.

"Sigh, fine, for the sake of my life, I'll destroy it!" Fanxin for a moment, but still couldn't come up with a solution. He knew he had to do it, otherwise, he might run into serious trouble.

"Wait a minute, what about the Blood King's abilities? I've already given it consciousness." Xiao Fan suddenly remembered something and asked.

"Why don't you just erase your consciousness?" the Giant Dragon said. "That way, it won't affect you anymore, and you can use its power. Of course, you can only use it once; after that, it will disappear completely."

"Damn it, to obtain this physical body, I've lost all my abilities. Isn't this like being reduced to nothing?" Fanxin said dejectedly. He originally possessed the abilities of the Blood King and the Little Fox. But now, he had to destroy all of these abilities with his own hands. He was truly unwilling to accept it.

"What's the use of having so many abilities? You can use them, but you can't cultivate them to their full potential. So, you're better off without them. Once you have a physical body, you can develop your own potential! The power you gain that way will truly belong to you."

The Giant Dragon said, "And there's no risk involved. But if you gain power by manipulating other people's souls, you're fine most of the time. However, if you're severely injured and fall unconscious by a powerful enemy, you'll be in danger. Your Soul Clone might take over your body and become a new entity. Are you willing to see that happen?"

"Could such a thing really happen?" Fanxin Xin asked rhetorically. He was somewhat incredulous, because he was the true self, while the others were merely avatars. The true self had absolute control over the avatars.

"The probability is very small, but if it happens, you're finished," the Giant Dragon said. "I've followed the Soul Clan for many years and have seen several examples like this."

"Are you sure you're not lying to me?" Fanxin Xin asked, somewhat worried.

"Why would I lie to you? What good would it do me?" the Giant Dragon said.

Fanxin the Giant Dragon's confident words, Fanxin felt that the Giant Dragon wouldn't deceive him. After all, the Giant Dragon wouldn't gain anything by deceiving him.

After pondering for a moment, Fanxin said, "Alright, I understand. Tonight, I will destroy those Soul Clones and erase the consciousness from the Blood King's soul."

"Okay, that's good. Alright, you can go do your thing now!" The Giant Dragon nodded and said no more.

Fanxin shook her head helplessly and left her bedroom.

He strolled around on the deck, looking at the scenery ahead.

After wandering around the deck for half an hour, Ren Fang came out to call everyone to eat. He went to the dining room first, filled a bowl with rice, picked up some dishes with chopsticks, and then carried it back to his bedroom.

After finishing his meal as quickly as possible, he put down his chopsticks and began to destroy the several Soul Clones. Then, he erased his own consciousness from the Blood King's soul.

Although unwilling, Fanxin had no choice but to reluctantly give it up in order to ensure that nothing unexpected happened to her.

He refined the destroyed Soul Clone, compressed it into a liquid state, and placed it into the Mortal Realm Soul Pool.

After finishing these tasks, Fanxin returned the dishes and chopsticks to the kitchen. Then, he instructed Ren Fang to arrange the night watch, and went back to his room to sleep.

For the next few days, they continued their journey.

As the saying goes, perseverance pays off. Ten days later, they finally arrived at the restaurant Baratie. Everyone was very happy because they could finally go inside and enjoy a delicious meal.

Of course, the happiest person Straw Hat Luffy, because he was planning to find a chef to be his crewmate at this floating restaurant. If they were lucky, they would have another crewmate.

Fanxin was happy for him; this way, even if he wanted to leave, he wouldn't have any worries.

"Alright, let's speed things up a bit! Judging from everyone's excited expressions, they must be impatient," Fanxin said with a smile.

"Of course! Delicious food! Delicious food! I love delicious food the most!" Straw Hat Luffy nodded excitedly. Before they even entered the restaurant, Luffy was already drooling, leaving everyone speechless.

"Full speed ahead!!" Usopp shouted. Under his control, the ship's speed rapidly increased, heading straight for Baratie.

However, just as everyone was cheering wildly, something very frustrating happened. A Marine warship suddenly appeared on their left and sailed alongside them.

On the Marine warship, there were many soldiers standing around the deck, their backs ramrod straight, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.

There were two people standing on the railing at the bow of the ship, a man and a woman.

The man was wearing a plaid suit, had a muscular build, and a faint scar on his face, barely noticeable unless you looked closely. He wore many rings on his hands, which sparkled in the sunlight and looked quite impressive, though it was unclear whether they were real.

His eyes were fixed on the woman beside him, an expression of adoration on his face. The woman was tall and graceful, wearing a backless red dress that revealed her fair and delicate skin without any concealment.

She has an oval face, big eyes, long eyelashes, and rosy lips, making her look very sexy. Every move she makes is elegant, making it impossible not to fall in love with her.

The man stared at the tall woman with infatuation, his eyes unable to see anything else.

The tall woman looked at the man, a hint of shyness on her face. Seeing her suddenly become like a young girl, the man's heart fluttered. He leaned closer, reached out his right hand, and wrapped his arm around her slender waist. The woman didn't resist, letting him hold her.

The surrounding marines, seeing this, immediately turned their heads away and ignored it.

Because this man was their superior, Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Fullbody, a very high-ranking officer, they dared not utter a word. Although they knew it was wrong for their superior to be flirting with women on board, they knew they would be reprimanded if they spoke out.

Fullbody was enjoying himself with a girl when he suddenly noticed a pirate ship appear next to his warship. He frowned, feeling annoyed that the pirate ship had disturbed his enjoyment and even challenged his authority. He prepared to teach the villains on the pirate ship a lesson, partly to show off his skills to the beautiful woman in his arms.

However, whatever the reason, one thing is certain: he is going to make a move against Straw Hat Luffy and his crew.