The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 958: Collecting Intel



The black serpent leader had already been a First-stage Divine Warrior prior to the bloodline awakening. Thus, his improvement wouldn't be as huge as a Demigod or Transcendent achieving it.

Nevertheless, for a First-stage Divine Warrior to advance to Sixth-stage Divine Warrior in one go was nothing short of a miracle for the black serpents.

After all, their Black Serpent Bloodline had never been strong, to begin with. If it were, the black serpents wouldn't have needed to rely on the Golden Dragon Bloodline.

In fact, if they had not encountered the pure Golden Dragon Bloodline by chance and raised a few Demigod-rank life forms, their Black Serpent Clan would have never dominated the Western Sea.

Even the black serpent leader reaching First-stage Divine Warrior was considered a miracle. The pure golden dragon blood could only improve the black serpent's physique and power to a certain extent. Without higher compatibility or bloodline awakening, too much golden dragon blood would become poison.

"Is this really my strength?" the black serpent leader was dazed.

Despite sensing the incredible vitality coursing through his body, he still couldn't believe his divine body would leap five stages with a single bloodline awakening. His blood also flowed more smoothly, and it was so much easier to draw strength from his divine body.

The weakness of the Black Serpent Bloodline had been mostly replaced by the advantages of the superior Golden Dragon Bloodline.

The black serpent leader could no longer be considered a Gold-horned Mutant Serpent after receiving his bloodline awakening; he was now a Gold-scaled Dragon-Serpent.

While he wasn't completely freed from the serpent bloodline, he could be considered a dragon.

"Congratulations on your successful bloodline awakening, Clan Leader!" the elder serpents and clan members praised with excitement.

The envy could also be seen in their eyes.

"Thank you for this invaluable blessing, my Lord! The Black Serpent Clan is forever in your debt!" the black serpent leader said with heartfelt gratitude.

With his first bloodline awakening, his future descendants would also enjoy the benefits of the Gold-scaled Dragon-Serpent Bloodline. If he could also partner up with another Gold- scaled Dragon-Serpent, their clan's future would be secured and not decline.

Nevertheless, that would also mean the Black Serpent Bloodline would eventually disappear.

Although the Black Serpent Bloodline could also evolve, the difficulty was much higher than adopting a superior bloodline. As such, the Black Serpent Clan couldn't be blamed for choosing the easy way forward.

Not everyone was blessed with the wisdom and resources to challenge the more difficult road.

"It's too early to thank me," Vaan calmly smiled.

Although he was slightly disappointed in the ancestral potential of the Golden Dragon Bloodline, he couldn't argue with the results. At the very least, the experiment had been successful.

The Everlasting Blood Refining Art was indeed capable of stimulating bloodline awakenings.

After Vaan helped the ten elder serpents achieve bloodline awakening as well, the Black Serpent Clan welcomed the addition of ten Divine-rank life forms. The strongest of the dragon-serpent elders became Fourth-stage Divine Warriors and the weakest were at least Third-stage Divine Warriors.

The Black Serpent Clan's strength had soared to an unprecedented peak.

However, it was still inferior to the behemoth known as the Celestial Kingdom. Even so, the Black Serpent Clan had become absolutely loyal to Vaan after his benevolent act.

At the same time, those who did not receive the blessing of bloodline awakening became extremely motivated to serve Vaan. They figured that if they could serve Vaan diligently, they would also have a chance of receiving the blessing of bloodline awakening.

Meanwhile, Vaan became confident in the bloodline awakening procedure after sufficient practice.

Once we returned, he could also help the others improve their strengths via bloodline awakening.

Nevertheless, Vaan wasn't too sure about helping Astoria raise her bloodline purity and achieve a second awakening. If he had to ride a giant lizard in the future, his feelings would certainly be complicated.

Sometime after the excitement in the Black Serpent Clan died down, everyone returned to serious business.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"The Black Serpent Clan has ruled over the Western Sea for several hundred thousand years, but our control over such a large body of water isn't actually that strong. However, now that our clan's strength has improved immensely, we should be able to strengthen it and expand our surveillance," the dragon-serpent leader said.

"How much do you know about the Celestial Kingdom? Do you know the location of its cities?" Vaan asked.

"We actually don't know too much about the Celestial Kingdom, my Lord. Usually, it's the Nauticans who reach out to us; we can't look for them," the dragon-serpent leader replied apologetically before adding, "However, we have heard a lot of rumors from other marine life under our rule over the years."

"As such, while we don't know the precise location, we believe one of the Celestial Kingdom's settlements might be situated somewhere on the border that divides the inner and outer

seas,"

"That said, we also can't be too certain. Generally, marine life tends to avoid the border," the dragon-serpent leader added.

"Why is that?" Vaan asked. The topic piqued his interest.

"I can't say for the other marine life, but for our clan, it's an instinctive behavior towards danger. The Outer Sea isn't a forgiving place for weak life forms, my Lord. Even I do not dare to venture into that black sea," the dragon-serpent leader stated.

"I see," Vaan uttered thoughtfully.

If even a Divine-rank life form didn't dare to venture into the Outer Sea, then it must be a

truly dangerous place.

However, Vaan couldn't help but wonder.

Was the toxicity of that unpurified sea truly that lethal? Or were the sea monsters that were able to thrive in that place simply powerful?

Being powerful and non-sentient was a dangerous combination, but being powerful and sentient was an even more dangerous combination.

Ultimately, the Outer Sea was just not a place for the weak to survive. Such was the law of the

jungle. It was the survival of the fittest.

That said, Vaan couldn't help but think about Gehenna's Darksea Abyss Territory when he thought about the Boundless Sea's outer region.

Did they have a connection? Or was the black sea just a coincidence?

"Let us put aside the Celestial Kingdom's matter for now," Vaan changed the subject as he asked, "How many other marine clans rule the Inner Sea?"