Analyzing the Recipe

The sea breeze swept across the harbor, and the rising sails snapped and billowed, stirring the heart of Arthur.

In the high-end tavern of the Stuart family, Arthur arrived once again, his heart filled with excitement.

"Lord Arthur, the young lady is waiting for you upstairs."

"Understood."

Knocking on the door of the luxury room on the second floor, Arina was already waiting inside.

Arina wore a goose-yellow, low-cut ruqun paired with a cloud-white shawl; as the rising morning light shone through the window to illuminate the room, she appeared all the more radiant.

"Miss Arina, you are as beautiful as ever today."

Arina gave a light hum and pointed to the Scholar Potion on the sofa, her tone tinged with pride:

"It is a Sequence 9 potion of the Scholar Path. I spent my entire month's allowance just to win it at auction for you."

"My thanks for your generosity, Miss Arina!"

She paced lightly around the sofa. "Consuming a Beyonder potion requires a stable environment; otherwise, the user risks degenerating into a deformed creature."

"After consuming the Scholar Potion, how do you intend to abandon your identity as a pirate? You are heading to England University to study, are you not?"

Arthur did not reveal his plan, instead speaking vaguely: "A simple battle, the Great White Shark sinks, and Lord Arthur is lost at sea."

Arina knew there were specific details, but she did not press for more, instead asking Arthur a question of her own.

"If I intend to head to the Mist Sea to search for an unknown island, do you have any good suggestions?"

She wanted to head to the "Island of Moonlight" on the map to step into the ranks of the Sequence 7 Moonlight Swordsman, as she could clearly perceive the barrier of the Beyonder sequence.

Every step forward was incredibly difficult; upon reaching this sequence, her family could no longer provide help so easily.

Either one had to make an outstanding contribution to the family, or one had to find the main materials themselves, after which the family would charge a processing fee to help concoct the potion.

Arthur was silent for a moment. Arina wanted to go to the Island of Moonlight right after finishing this transaction.

It was dangerous; she had no experience with long-distance sea voyages, nor did she know the perils of the Mist Sea.

"If time permits, you could wait a while and find a ship in the Old Continent bound for the New Continent."

"Take that ship to the Grand Route, and then enter the Mist Sea to search for the island you need."

"Of course, my advice is to wait. Wait until Arthur joins England University, where I might meet a scholar from the university."

"Many among their scholars have a need to travel to the New Continent; it would be much safer to travel with them."

Arina nodded inwardly; there was no need for her to take risks, and it was best to prioritize safety.

It would be best if she could purchase the materials, but unfortunately, such items appeared on the market only to be bought—or snatched—away by other Beyonders very quickly.

She had to return to Fog City to collect special tarot cards and other Beyonder materials.

"I will carefully consider your suggestion."

Arina suddenly spoke up: "Blue Bay Island is not very safe lately; there may be some battles between Beyonders, so you had better leave as soon as possible."

Arthur stroked his temple, not letting his inner worries show.

The best outcome was that the Black Devil Order was merely causing trouble on Blue Bay Island or Rhine Island and had not set their sights on a minor lord like him.

The worst outcome was that the Black Devil Order had come specifically to retaliate against him, choosing Blue Bay Island or Rhine Island as the location.

If it were the latter, heading out to sea would actually be the wrong choice.

Taking the Scholar Potion from Arina, Arthur rose to leave; he still had many things to do.

He needed to hunt for suspects of the Black Devil Order, find a substitute for his old shell, and contact other pirates to stir up conflict and incite a naval battle.

While he was still some distance from the door, Arina suddenly called out to Arthur, walking behind him with a glass of wine in her hand.

"Arthur, don't you forget that you owe this lady twenty thousand gold coins!"

Arthur turned to look at Arina, revealing a warm smile: "Of course I wouldn't forget, Miss. I will repay the gold coins during my time studying at the university."

Arina brought the wine glass to Arthur's hand. "There is no need to be so urgent. I just want you to know that by following me, Arina Stuart, your future will be bright."

Arthur took the glass, drained the wine in one gulp, and returned the glass to Arina's hand.

"Of course, Miss. I think so as well."

"That is for the best! Now go and consume your potion!"

After Arthur left, Arina returned to the sofa, tossed the glass aside, and murmured: "This lady finally has a Beyonder follower!"

After a pause, Arina added: "And a Beyonder I cultivated myself, at that!"

Filled with a sense of accomplishment, Arina ate her breakfast and then contacted the nearby "Ghosts Under the Moonlit Night" squad to ambush the Black Devil Order members who might appear.

In the captain's cabin of the Great White Shark.

Arthur looked at the jelly-like potion. He did not consume it immediately, but instead attempted to analyze it.

If he could decipher the formula of the potion, it would be equivalent to holding a source of endless gold!

He placed the glass bottle into the [Research] slot, and the prompt informed Arthur of a "48-hour countdown," meaning the results would be produced in two days.

"Very good!"

Arthur finished what he was doing and looked at Parrot Gro on the table. "Have there been any anomalies lately?"

Parrot Gro's sycophantic voice rang out once more: "Respected Captain, your dedicated navigator Parrot Gro has discovered evil dreams again during this period!"

"And not just one; that pure evil, corruption, and desire—it is undoubtedly the Black Devil Order."

"Exactly how many were there?"

"Three."

"But there were far fewer afterward; only one has appeared, lingering somewhere on the island."

Arthur tapped the table. Blue Bay Island and Rhine Island were dangerous; it seemed he needed to test whether the other party's target was truly him.

He walked out of the captain's cabin to the deck and called Kaia over.

"Kaia, have you found out what I asked you to investigate?"

Kaia frowned and said, "There were only two ships that day. One was Governor Drew's ship, and the other had no information available."

"Someone came off Governor Drew's ship and went to the Blue Bay Private Tavern the next day. You should have seen him, Captain."

"That other ship's security was excellent; not a shred of information leaked out."

Kaia looked around and said in a low voice, "The very next day, I even received a threat telling us not to meddle in other people's business."

Strange!

Arthur had originally assumed the "ship with no information" was the vessel used by the Black Devil Order.

Now, hearing Kaia's account, why would that ship send someone to issue a threat?

If it wasn't a ship of the Black Devil Order, it was a ship helping to smuggle the Black Devil Order, which made it highly suspicious.

At the same time, Arthur was also suspicious of Hisoka.

Parrot Gro had mentioned more than one member of the Black Devil Order; Hisoka could be one, though his suspicion was relatively lower.

Arthur suddenly spoke up: "Everyone, get ready. Hoist the sails and set off. We're going to cruise the sea and see if any fat sheep are passing by."

"You got it!"

"Listen up, you little brats! You've had your fun for long enough; it's time to go out and show them the terror of our Great White Shark!"

The Great White Shark hoisted its sails and set off.

Arthur returned to the captain's cabin and had Parrot Gro keep an eye on the surrounding waters to see if any ships would approach them.

If the Black Devil's target was him, they would soon send a ship to pursue them.

At the Scimitar Bar on Blue Bay Island, an enthusiastic blonde woman swayed her body in the center of the stage, her grass skirt, in the exotic style of the New Continent, revealing large swaths of snow-white skin.

Sailors and old drunks below the stage raised their mugs of wheat juice, howling with passion.

In a secluded corner in the shadows, two people sat whispering to each other:

"The target is leaving Blue Bay Island. Should we change our next step to the open sea?"

"If we do that, it will be too difficult to act, and setting up the ritual will also be hard."

"You stay on Blue Bay Island and prepare the sacrificial ritual. I will take men to pursue the target and force him to return to Blue Bay Island."

"Bring him back as soon as possible. If it takes too long, the dull-witted priests will catch on."

"I have no problem on my end. You get the other offerings ready as quickly as you can."

The whispers in the Scimitar Bar were drowned out by the screams of the sailors and the dancing of the showgirl, yet a hint of a bloody scent lay hidden beneath it all.