Chengying sternly rejected Bingdi's suggestion.
"As soul beasts, how can we betray our conscience and harm our own kind? Even if I starve to death, even if I have to jump off this ship, I will never devour my fellow soul beasts for the sake of appetite! "
Bingdi pouted, feeling wronged, mumbling in her heart, It's not like they're hundred-thousand-year soul beasts… What do sea soul beasts have to do with us land ones anyway?
Seeing her sulk, her lips pursed and index fingers tapping together in front of her chest like a child who had been scolded, Chengying's expression stiffened slightly. After a pause, he coughed and tried to rephrase:
"Ahem… However, natural selection dictates that the fittest survive. The survival of the strong and elimination of the weak is nature's law. As soul beasts, we must follow this law. Our hunting sea soul beasts isn't for our own cravings, but to maintain ecological balance. It is our duty as predators in the biosphere! "
"So what you're saying is… we can eat sea soul beasts! I knew you were the best, Little Ying! "
The previously sulking Bingdi instantly perked up, jumping into Chengying's arms. She pointed out the window and called out excitedly, "Target locked—grilled squid! Let's go! "
On the ship's upper deck, Chengying had set up a blackboard and was giving a lecture to his four young disciples. Drawn on the board were multiple food chains as he explained:
"Plants absorb carbon dioxide and water through photosynthesis to produce organic matter. They are the producers. Herbivores and carnivores are consumers.
Producers and consumers form food chains, and when they die, decomposers like fungi and bacteria break them down into nutrients for the producers again. These chains interlink to form a food web, which connects to the entire biosphere. Everything is connected.
So, overhunting wolves on the grasslands won't benefit the sheep. Instead, the sheep will overpopulate and ruin the grasslands. From this, we understand every species plays a role in the biosphere. If any are wiped out, it can cause catastrophic consequences.
Therefore, when we selectively hunt sea soul beasts, we are not disrupting the ecological balance. We are simply fulfilling our responsibility within the biosphere."
Chengying lectured earnestly.
Among the four students, Zhao Tianxiang took notes diligently. By the way, she had formally become Chengying's disciple. Chengying, heartbroken, had to give up his [Phantom] gun—now his best remaining weapon was [Aurora].
Hmph! What's so great about Phantom anyway? Slow fire rate, and it costs nine energy! Your master doesn't like it at all! …Damn it, my heart hurts!
Tang Chen and Dugu Bo's mouths twitched in disbelief. All this just to justify eating a sea soul beast? This long speech is clearly just because you're hungry!
Only Meng Shu looked utterly confused.
"But we're just eating soul beasts. What's the big deal? Why is Master making such a fuss and finding excuses? "
Tang Chen stroked his chin. Yep, Meng Shu is definitely the densest of us. Still hasn't realized Master isn't even human.
But all he said was, "You'll understand one day."
Unlike Chengying, who still had the heart to teach, the freshly scrubbed Shao Shang followed behind with a face like his mother had just died. Chengying didn't kill him, just kept him on as a servant to pour tea and fetch water.
At first, Shao Shang was relieved. His life was spared, and following such a powerful person surely beat being a pirate captain.
But the moment he served tea to Chengying and overheard him and the first mate discussing heading to the Deep Sea Giant Octopus's territory, he dropped the cup with a crash.
After seeing off his disciples, Chengying was immediately met by the panicking Shao Shang.
"My lord! Please reconsider! That's the deep-sea giant octopus we're talking about! Just one tentacle is over thirty meters long! Even with a massive warship, fighting it in the ocean is madness! "
Shao Shang had seen the beast firsthand. If he hadn't sacrificed over a dozen of his own ships to distract it, he would never have escaped. That's why he had always stayed close to shore.
Now Chengying was sailing straight into the monster's lair. If he weren't afraid of being smacked to death, he would've pointed at Chengying's nose and shouted:
Are you crazy!? Taking a single ship into the Deep Sea Giant Octopus's territory is suicide!
But Chengying clearly wasn't worried. Even if they lost, there was Bingdi. Worst-case scenario, he'd use Divine Descent and freeze the whole sea. Even a hundred-thousand-year-old octopus would be stuck like a popsicle. Then 40 side-mounted cannons would teach it how to be a proper fish.
Well—calling it a "fish" wasn't quite accurate. Octopuses are mollusks, actually closer to sea snails… In fact, they originally had shells, but over time, their bodies evolved a fleshy mantle to cover the shell. Eventually, the shell vanished completely and became that bone-like thing we find when eating squid.
"It's just an octopus. Look how scared you are. Isn't your martial soul basically a close relative of it? "
Chengying entered the storage room, looking for a big enough iron plate—he'd surely need it later.
"I'm not joking, my lord! There's still time to turn back! Once we enter its territory, it'll drag all ships under the sea! Even if your ship is bigger than it, it can control the tides. Size won't matter at all! " Shao Shang was on the verge of tears.
Neither the first mate nor Chengying paid him any attention. By the time they saw the octopus, it would be far too late!
Chengying glanced at the ship's marine chronometer, then at the sun and the compass, before shaking his head.
"Even if you say that, it's already too late. We're in its territory now."
This chronometer could be off by five minutes a day, but by adjusting it daily, it could still roughly calculate longitude. That's why Chengying had been checking the sun just now.
On land, we can find north by aligning the clock's hour hand to the sun and bisecting the angle between it and 12 o'clock. But at sea, this doesn't work—time zones shift, and the method becomes unreliable. However, the deviation between the inaccurate north and the compass can still help estimate longitude.
That's why precise clocks are so critical for navigation. Chengying's towering two-meter-tall clock was anything but precise—good only for a rough idea of position.
Shao Shang, a pirate captain used to navigating by instinct and sacrifice, couldn't possibly grasp this level of navigation. To him, Chengying's explanation just sounded like empty excuses.
He was about to try again—when a thunderous roar rose from the waves. Moments later, a signal officer ran over.
"Captain! Giant octopus spotted five kilometers out! Do we have permission to open fire? "
Chengying's eyes lit up with joy, and he blurted out:
"Second Battalion Commander! Where the hell is your Italian cannon? Bring it up! "
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/Xentronix