Lin Muxue and Li Cang had no choice but to swallow their frustration, but they wouldn't give up on capturing the members of this team.
"I need to work harder to improve. Having such an enemy lurking in the shadows is a threat to me," Lin Muxue thought.
Li Cang speculated, "Could it be Ye Yu's friend? Maybe he asked them to do this. He has a close female friend, right? The prodigy from Hangzhou who possesses the Ice Fruit."
Lin Muxue shook her head, finding it unlikely.
"Even with two level-nine talents, the Ice Fruit and the Flare-Flare Fruit, it's impossible to pass the tenth level."
"That's strange. I can't figure it out. Forget it, it's not worth thinking about. Right now, improving my strength is the most important thing."
...
After this Mystic Realm, everyone began to quickly recover and rest, as the real anomaly was only a day away.
Ye Yu had medicine applied to his wounds, which healed rapidly. He didn't even need bandages, as the combined vitality and recovery power of so many strong individuals naturally accelerated his healing.
The others, however, had to wrap their wounds, as none of them were uninjured.
After a night's sleep, Ye Yu woke up at seven in the morning feeling refreshed, with all his fatigue gone.
He could feel his strength had significantly improved, now that he was at level fifteen, inheriting more of the Contractor's combat power.
At that moment, his phone rang. It was Xia Ling.
"Little brother Yu, I'll probably come to pick you up this afternoon, and our entire Pirate Crew will be with me."
Ye Yu replied, "Isn't that a bit much? The whole Pirate Crew coming just to pick me up? Maybe Zhang Tian and I can go on our own?"
Xia Ling was firm. "No, even though the real anomaly hasn't happened yet, it's still too dangerous. There are many mutated creatures in the sea. Just wait for us. Besides, we can also recruit people in Donghai City, see if anyone wants to join. After all, there are still many rogue cultivators."
"Alright, then I'll wait for you by the sea this afternoon."
"Good, but keep your distance from the shore. It's dangerous there too."
"Got it."
Xia Ling confidently said, "I'm going to spar with Yan'er now. If I win, I'll be the Captain, and I'll take care of you. Naturally, as the Captain, I can better arrange your position."
Ye Yu said, "Won't that make your crew unhappy? You can't favor me too much. It's like when a company hires someone through connections—it makes the hardworking employees secretly resentful."
"Why would they be unhappy? You're the most important person to me. They'd understand if it were them. Alright, I'm hanging up now."
After hanging up, Xia Ling headed to a gymnasium to spar with Zhao Yan'er.
During the call, she hadn't asked Ye Yu or Zhang Tian how many levels they had cleared, afraid it might discourage Ye Yu.
After all, if Ye Yu had chosen a powerful Devil Fruit, he could definitely clear the ninth level and kill some on the tenth. But now, at most, he could reach the sixth or seventh level.
Although Zhang Tian was skilled, she wasn't a top-tier prodigy. At best, she could take Ye Yu to the seventh level.
Xia Ling also didn't share her own clearance count, avoiding the topic to spare Ye Yu's feelings.
Xia Ling and Zhao Yan'er stood ten meters apart, facing each other, their fighting spirits rising.
Xia Ling declared confidently, "This time, I'll defeat you and go pick up Ye Yu as the Captain."
"I know what you're thinking, but you'll still be the Vice-Captain."
"Not necessarily. Fire and ice can also counteract each other. Besides, I think in the world of pirates, the Ice Fruit Ability User is stronger than your Flare-Flare Fruit Ability User. As the level increases, I feel the Ice Fruit becomes even more powerful."
Zhao Yan'er was excited: "Then let's go."
Her fist immediately ignited with flames, and she threw a punch towards Xia Ling from a distance, shouting in a low voice.
"Fire Fist!"
A burst of flames erupted. Because she was only level 15, the scale, destructive power, and temperature were far from matching Ace's Fire Fist. But in this world, it was still an extremely powerful force.
Xia Ling raised her right arm, pointing forward, as cold energy surged. A small ice bird began to form, lifelike and vivid.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
The lifelike ice bird flew out, colliding with the flames, causing an explosion. Fire and ice, high temperature and low temperature, clashed, resulting in the space within the gymnasium being half cold and half scorching.
The wall of fire and the wall of ice collided, locked in a stalemate. Gradually, the ice wall pushed the flames back, surprising Zhao Yan'er. The power of Xia Ling's Ice Fruit had indeed increased more than she had imagined.
But Zhao Yan'er had her own confidence.
"Even if the Ice Fruit Ability User is stronger than the Flare-Flare Fruit Ability User in the world of pirates, I will continue to develop my abilities. So at the same level, your fruit power might not necessarily be stronger than mine."
Xia Ling smiled confidently: "Yan'er, do you think I won't develop my abilities too?"
With a loud explosion, the flames and ice burst apart. Zhao Yan'er took three steps back, while Xia Ling took two.
Then, Xia Ling pulled out a handful of prepared grass from her pocket. As she threw it, cold energy spread out, enveloping the grass. In an instant, an ice blade formed.
Zhao Yan'er's eyes lit up: "Not a bad idea."
Zhao Yan'er's fists surged with flames, and she also activated a bit of Armament Haki that she had recently mastered.
Both naturally used Armament Haki, as they were both Logia users.
Subsequently, the intense sparring continued.
...
Meanwhile, Ye Yu was feeling his own progress. With a total weight of 1,500 pounds on his body, he was jumping in place, throwing punches, and doing push-ups without any difficulty.
Zhang Tian watched in amazement. A thousand pounds would have instantly crushed her to the ground, rendering her immobile. But Ye Yu seemed as if he had no weight on him at all. His strength was terrifying.
Soon, it was afternoon.
The phone rang. It was Xia Ling calling.
"Yu, I won. I'm the Captain now, but the Pirate Crew's name hasn't been decided yet. We'll determine it when the real transformation happens. After all, the strong should be the Captain. The position wasn't certain before, but now it is. Even if Yan'er wants to surpass me, it won't be easy."
Ye Yu smiled: "Congratulations, that's really impressive."
"Hehe, of course. After all, I'll be looking out for you from now on. I'm setting off now, leading our Pirate Crew, sailing to Donghai City. Our ship was also built by top-notch shipwrights. Even after the transformation, when all high-tech disappears and can no longer be produced, our ship won't be inferior to a warship. We expect to arrive in Donghai City in three hours."
"Alright, I'll be there ahead of time in three hours."
...
At this moment, many people were anxious, while others were filled with anticipation.
Because once midnight passed, the real transformation would begin. Too many Pirate Crews would set sail for adventure. The seas would inevitably be chaotic, with constant conflicts, struggles, and friction. The Great Age of Pirates had arrived.
The prodigies looked at the two towering stone tablets that stood between heaven and earth, filled with confidence.
"The Bounty Rankings and the Pirate Crew Rankings—I must secure the top spot. Even if some mysterious powerhouse clears the tenth level, it won't stop me, Bai Shaohan, from becoming number one."
This was the thought shared by all the other prodigies.
There were still two months until the Bounty Rankings would be updated, and five months until the Pirate Crew Rankings.
At that moment, a notification echoed.
"The first Mystic Realm has concluded. After the true anomaly, various types of Mystic Realms will appear irregularly and at random locations. However, there will also be fixed-time, fixed-location Mystic Realms. The second fixed Mystic Realm will open in two months. The type of this Mystic Realm can now be revealed: it will be a one-on-one arena. A single 1v1 duel, with only one chance. This means half of the pirates will receive rewards. The stronger the opponent you defeat, the greater the reward. If the opponent is weak, the reward will also be modest."
"Opponents will now be randomly assigned. Once the assignment is complete, a notification will inform you."
In the next moment, the random assignment began.
Lin Muxue thought to herself, "Assign me a strong opponent."
Li Cang sneered, "Give me Ye Yu."
Soon, the assignments were finalized.
A notification echoed in Lin Muxue's mind.
"Lin Muxue, one-on-one arena Mystic Realm. Your opponent: Ye Yu, who has c
ontracted seven Non-Ability Users."
Meanwhile, a notification echoed in Ye Yu's mind.
"Ye Yu, one-on-one arena Mystic Realm. Your opponent: Lin Muxue, an Ability User of the Rumble Rumble Fruit."
(End of Chapter)