While the Fighting Dolphin Clan Leader was familiarizing himself with his new ancestral talent, Vaan performed the bloodline awakening procedure on another nine Fighting Dolphins at the Demigod rank.
Among the nine Demigod-rank Fighting Dolphins, three awakened the same [Poison Eater] ancestral talent, four awakened [Iron Stomach], one awakened [Far Sight], and the last one awakened [Hard Skin].
Evidently, not everyone could awaken the same ancestral talent, and not all ancestral talents were great. Some were higher ranked than others.
[Far Sight] only enhanced vision slightly, while [Hard Skin] toughened fleshly defense slightly.
[Iron Stomach], on the other hand, was somewhat better; it could process everything eaten into energy. It was more versatile than [Poison Eater] in energy conversation but significantly weaker in effects.
As such, [Poison Eater] remained the top ancestral talent within the Fighting Dolphin Clan's current pool of ancestral talents.
...
Sometime later, Jamal returned to business after calming down from his excitement.
"Regarding the Celestial Kingdom and the Southern Sea, my clan does know a little bit, my Lord," Jamal mentioned.
"Rumor has it that the Southern Outer Sea had been especially chaotic in recent years, so the Ocean Master had been staying in the Southern Inner Sea to restore order at the sea border."
"However, the Ocean Master doesn't seem to have complete control of the sea monsters in the Southern Outer Sea," Jamal stated.
"Oh?" Vaan was surprised, but he also couldn't help but frown.
The Boundless Sea and Sky Aura had a much stronger influence on non-sentient life forms than sentient life forms. Yet, the Ocean Master was having trouble controlling the sea monsters in the Outer Sea.
Did that mean the sea monsters in the Outer Sea were far more intelligent than he imagined?
Or were there other factors allowing the sea monsters to resist the Boundless Sea and Sky Aura on the Ocean Master?
After reviewing the Southwestern Sea's geography, he figured the openings to the Dragon Vein had a higher chance of being found along the walls of the continental slope or the trench walls beyond the abyssal plain.
Walls of aquatic plants may have blocked the Southwestern Sea's entrance to the Dragon Vein.
However, the Southwestern Sea was also relatively flat and had little to no seamounts. It was mostly covered in corals and aquatic plants.
After reviewing the Southwestern Sea's geography, he figured the openings to the Dragon Vein had a higher chance of being found along the walls of the continental slope or the trench walls beyond the abyssal plain.
"How much do you know about the trench beyond the abyssal plain? Has your clan ever explored it?" Vaan asked curiously.
He was quite interested in that mana-rich sea region.
"Are you talking about the Forbidden Abyss that lies beyond the Abyssal Stone Plain, my Lord?" Jamal Squatz asked. After receiving Vaan's confirmation, he continued, "I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you, my Lord."
"Some of our clan members have tried to explore it in the past. However, none of them has ever returned from the Forbidden Abyss. As such, we aren't able to learn much about it."
"That said, we do know that it's an especially dangerous place. There must be a reason why it has such a strong current to keep our weaker members out," Jamal speculated.
Only Demigods were able to swim against the strong discharging current and enter the Forbidden Abyss.
However, once they do, the Fighting Dolphin Clan has never seen them return, even when they were given strict orders to retreat as soon as they sensed danger.
As such, there was something eerie about the Forbidden Abyss—something that prevented the Demigod-rank Fighting Dolphins from ever returning once they entered that dark and gloomy place.
The murky black water reminded the Fighting Dolphin Clan of the toxic Outer Sea, while the strong water density made Vaan think about the deeper layers of the Dragon Vein.
The Forbidden Abyss seemed to have a connection to the Dragon Vein, Outer Sea, and Chaos simultaneously.
"I'm going to explore it," Vaan suddenly said, shocking the Fighting Dolphins.
However, shortly after they recovered from their surprise, determination filled their eyes as they fearlessly volunteered to accompany him.
"My Lord, please allow me to brave the secrets of the Forbidden Abyss with you!"
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