Chapter 151: Nether Fish

However, Lin Qiu still had no intention of returning to land, especially since he had already learned that the Iron Great Wall project would soon undergo testing.

Nevertheless, there were still about ten days left until the test date, so Lin Qiu decided to deal with the matters of the mystic realm first before heading to land to handle the Iron Great Wall project.

Consequently, Lin Qiu communicated with Xu Bancheng to convey his thoughts, and soon after, the Othershore King City arrived at the location of the mystic realm.

By this time, numerous races had already gathered at the site of the mystic realm. These races had stationed themselves in an orderly fashion around the perimeter of the mystic realm according to their status and strength, knowing full well that the race closest to the entrance of the mystic realm would undoubtedly gain the initial advantage.

Upon seeing this, a slight smirk appeared at the corner of Lin Qiu's mouth. He directly maneuvered the Othershore King City to the spot closest to the mystic realm, arrogantly driving away the Nether Fish clan that originally occupied the area.

The Othershore King City landed heavily right at the entrance of the mystic realm. This domineering display instantly drew the sideways glances of all the marine races present.

One must know that the Nether Fish clan was a renowned and ancient race in the East China Sea. Legend had it that they could even communicate with the powers of life, death, and reincarnation—which was precisely the reason they were able to claim the best location.

Before the emergence of the royal marine clans, the status of the Nether Fish clan in the East China Sea was undoubtedly the highest. Therefore, after being treated this way by Lin Qiu, a young man from the Nether Fish clan could not suppress his anger and flew up into the air.

With a tone full of rage, he demanded, "What is the meaning of this? We clearly occupied this spot first! Are you trying to start a war with our Nether Fish clan?"

Hearing Dou Ming's words, Lin Qiu cast a glance at him, his eyes filled with utter disdain, and then spat out calmly, "Get out of my sight right now, and I might spare your life."

As a prodigy of the Nether Fish clan, Dou Ming had never been treated in such a manner. Hearing Lin Qiu's words, a surge of intense anger instantly ignited in his heart.

He extended both hands, and a series of arcane runic formations materialized before him. Shortly after, a different-dimensional passageway opened up, from which emerged several specters.

Clad in heavy armor and mounted on warhorses, these specters charged straight toward Lin Qiu the moment they emerged.

Seeing this situation, Prime Minister Turtle immediately took action. After all, his cultivation had improved significantly thanks to the enhancement of the Ancient City Stele, and against a mere Dou Ming, there was completely no need for Lin Qiu to make a move.

A verdant, jade-green tortoise shell descended from the skies, directly suppressing those specters.

In the next instant, the tortoise shell shattered into countless sharp spikes that rained down upon Dou Ming.

Prime Minister Turtle's stern voice followed closely behind:

"Those who dare to provoke the Lord of the Othershore King City shall be executed without mercy!"

The marine creatures surrounding the mystic realm were stunned in unison. Clearly, none of them expected that as soon as Lin Qiu appeared, he would provoke the Nether Fish clan yet again, and judging by the situation, he actually intended to execute a prodigy of the Nether Fish clan to consecrate his banner.

Although Dou Ming was a prodigy, his time spent cultivating was ultimately short, leaving him with zero capability to fend off Prime Minister Turtle's attack.

Had a middle-aged man not stepped forward and utilized his own power to neutralize Prime Minister Turtle's attack on Dou Ming's behalf, Dou Ming would likely be nothing more than a corpse lying on the ocean floor at this very moment.

After blocking Prime Minister Turtle's attack, the middle-aged man of the Nether Fish clan spoke up: "My son has a hot-tempered nature and was impetuous. I hope the Lord of the Othershore King City will not hold it against him. We cede this location to you."

With that, the middle-aged man took the Nether Fish clan and retreated to the second-best option, occupying the second-closest position to the mystic realm.

Meanwhile, Dou Ming walked to his father's side with a look of reluctance and asked, "Why are we backing down? We clearly arrived first!"

Hearing Dou Ming's inquiry, his father merely smiled faintly.

"The law of the jungle where the strong prey upon the weak is the central theme of the ocean. If you possess sufficient strength, you can act just like him. I simply do not wish to breed extraneous troubles before the mystic realm opens."

Dou Ming's father did not take the earlier conflict to heart. To him, the most important thing was this upcoming mystic realm.

The bloodline inheritance of the Nether Fish clan originated from the ancient Yin-Yang fish, which were specifically responsible for communicating between the underworld and the mortal realm. If they could obtain the treasures of bloodline reversion through this mystic realm, the enhancement to their Nether Fish clan would be monumental. This was precisely why Dou Ming's father regarded the mystic realm with such supreme importance.

Hearing his father's explanation, Dou Ming said no more and stood quietly to the side.

Back inside the Othershore King City, Lin Qiu curiously asked Prime Minister Turtle, "What is the name of that race? I don't think I've ever seen them before."

Although he had inherited ancient legacies, most of the records regarding living beings within those legacies pertained to the land. Consequently, Lin Qiu's understanding of marine life was still somewhat superficial and required Prime Minister Turtle to fill him in.

Prime Minister Turtle recounted the origins of the Nether Fish clan in a slow, methodical manner, while also introducing Lin Qiu to nearly all of the secluded, hidden races of the ocean.

Before the power of evolution became widespread, these hidden races of the ocean had always resided in the deepest trenches of the sea—places utterly unreachable by humans. This explained why, prior to the popularization of evolutionary energy, humanity had never discovered the secrets hidden in the depths of the ocean.

After listening to Prime Minister Turtle's account, Lin Qiu felt a stirring of emotion; the ocean indeed harbored a multitude of mysteries.

Time ticked away second by second, and the turbulent energy of the mystic realm grew increasingly frequent, signaling that it was on the verge of opening.

Major marine races arrived one after another, including the coalition of the twenty-eight valley cities.

However, none of them dared to occupy the central-most position like Lin Qiu did.

The most central positions were predominantly occupied by the hidden races of the ocean. The forces they dispatched were not to be underestimated; every single hidden race's contingent included at least one seventh-tier powerhouse.

Curiously, however, most of the members in their teams were very young, which sparked a hypothesis in Lin Qiu's mind.

Could it be that this mystic realm placed restrictions on the age of those entering?

After all, these hidden marine races possessed profound knowledge regarding all sorts of deep-sea secrets.

Yet, since no one was around to verify this with Lin Qiu, he had no choice but to patiently wait for the mystic realm to open.

Judging by the current intensity of the energy turbulence, the mystic realm would open completely in three hours at most, causing a mild stir among the surrounding marine races.

As for Lin Qiu, he sat cross-legged quietly atop the city walls of the King City, continuously absorbing the ambient energy of the ocean.

From time to time, the hidden marine races cast glances toward Lin Qiu, harboring a deep sense of curiosity regarding this human who intended to conquer and rule the East China Sea.