At this moment, Ignaz was terrified that Dugu Yan wouldn't be able to withstand the attack, so he deliberately reduced the spirit power input to his third spirit skill, cutting down the number of war spears in the assault.
"Grandpa, I can handle this!"
Several war spears struck her defensive scale armor, immediately dissolving into scattered lightning arcs, but gradually her face grew pale and her spirit power was rapidly depleting.
Suddenly—
CRASH!
The Rock Defense Armor shattered. Just as the war spears were about to pierce her, Ignaz quickly withdrew his spirit power and the spirit skill dissipated instantly.
Though no obvious wounds appeared, Dugu Bo and Ignaz rushed to Dugu Yan's side, asking worriedly, "Yan Yan! Little sister, how are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine, really. If it weren't for Brother Ignaz's precise control over his spirit skill, I'd probably be bedridden for months."
Seeing how concerned they both were about her injuries, Dugu Yan felt guilty. She shouldn't have been so stubborn and made them worry about her safety.
Still, she was quite excited to introduce her new ability to them:
"Grandpa, Brother Ignaz, my fourth spirit skill comes from the White Armored Earth Dragon's White Armor Defense. I can boost my own defense by reducing others' defense—up to 70% reduction!"
"The only catch is that when I reduce someone's defense by 70%, I have to use an equal amount of spirit power to maintain it."
Dugu Bo was extremely satisfied with Dugu Yan's fourth spirit skill.
"Yan Yan, this is practically a god-tier ability! Alright, it's time to send young Ignaz back to Sea God Island."
"What? Brother Ignaz is going back to Sea God Island? Grandpa, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan's previously good mood vanished, and she looked at Ignaz with eyes full of reluctance.
Did the two of them, who had spent two years together, really have to part ways so soon?
"Grandpa, what about Brother Ignaz's studies? Can I go to Sea God Island with him? I've never properly seen the ocean!"
Dugu Bo chuckled softly at this. "This kid doesn't need me worrying about his studies. As for whether you can go to Sea God Island with him—that's not my call. Everything depends on what this young man decides."
Honestly, Dugu Bo couldn't bear to refuse his granddaughter's request outright, but he also didn't want her going so far away. If this kid accidentally stirred up trouble or attracted hordes of sea spirit beasts, his granddaughter would be in danger. So he passed the decision to Ignaz while continuously giving him hints.
"Little sister, the waters around Sea God Island are full of ten-thousand-year spirit beasts, and Sea God Island only allows sea spirit masters who've passed their trials onto the island. All other spirit masters are expelled."
Ignaz gently patted her shoulders and continued comforting her, "It's not like I'm never coming back. At least one year, at most three years, and I'll return. I still have to participate in the Spirit Master Tournament! You better not fall too far behind me!"
Ignaz's tone was quite lighthearted, showing no hint of sadness.
"Fine, I'll wait for you to come back. But if you return without breaking through to Spirit King, or if you've met some vixen, I'll definitely break your dog legs."
Dugu Yan still wasn't entirely at ease about the current Ignaz—both his safety and that handsome face of his.
"Got it! I'm going to Sea God Island, not some pleasure house."
...
Soon, with the three of them traveling at a leisurely pace, they arrived at Vast Sea City about three months later. Ignaz didn't bring Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan to his homeland—Blue Fish Village—fearing that the simple-hearted villagers might mention his "new girlfriend," which would spell trouble for him.
"Captain Ignaz! Haven't seen you in ages! Come sit at my place when you're free, and maybe take on a private job!"
"Captain Ignaz, don't fall for Old Wang's tricks! He's become such a penny-pincher that he can't even pay his first mate and crew their wages."
"What do you know? It's the slow season—hard to move cargo."
...
At the harbor docks of Vast Sea City, many boat owners and fishermen enthusiastically greeted Ignaz, casually joking about recent trivial matters, but not a single one showed him anything less than respect.
At this moment, both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan looked at Ignaz with even greater curiosity. Sure, he was a child of the sea, and spirit masters deserved respect, but his reputation shouldn't be this enormous, right?
Along the one or two-kilometer coastline, thousands of fishermen—even including some Spirit Grandmasters and Spirit Elders—all knew and respected Ignaz.
"Young man, what exactly did this kid do here to earn such respect from all of you?"
Dugu Bo directly approached a Spirit Grandmaster who was eating and asked.
The Spirit Grandmaster responded with great excitement: "Old sir, you probably don't know—Captain Ignaz once encountered a sea spirit beast rampage during a merchant run. A ten-thousand-year sea spirit beast attacked, and he, with only Spirit Grandmaster strength at the time, actually escaped from the jaws of a ten-thousand-year spirit beast!"
"You're wrong! It wasn't a ten-thousand-year spirit beast—it was clearly a thirty-thousand-year one!"
...
The more Dugu Bo listened, the more confused he became. A Spirit Grandmaster escaping pursuit from a ten-thousand-year spirit beast, especially a sea spirit beast? His potential grandson-in-law didn't seem to have that kind of ability. His master must have intervened.
"Grandpa, come over here!"
Standing in front of a merchant ship, Dugu Yan quickly called Dugu Bo over to see Ignaz off.
Just as Ignaz was about to board the ship, Dugu Yan immediately hugged him tightly, her eyes full of reluctance.
"Stay safe. Don't you dare die on me."
Then Dugu Yan kissed his cheek, her face flushed red as she lowered her head and waved her hands frantically, as if shooing him away.
Dugu Bo watched Ignaz run onto the ship with an extremely resentful look. "Kid, you better not let Yan Yan down, or else—"
As the merchant ship slowly departed from the harbor, Ignaz kept waving goodbye until Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan's figures disappeared beyond the horizon.
"Captain, just drop me off at the nearest island. I'm not going to Sea God Island after all."
Ignaz looked back until he couldn't see Dugu Bo following, then spoke to the captain.
"Alright then, Captain Ignaz. There's an island not far ahead. I'll drop you there—just some ten-year spirit beasts around, so be careful."
Soon after, Ignaz successfully landed on a medium-sized island covering about fifty to sixty thousand square meters. He found a cave and began closed-door cultivation seeking a breakthrough.
...
A month later, spirit power fluctuations emanated from Ignaz's body in the cave, radiating outward from his center.
"Finally! After four months total, I've finally broken through to level 50."
Ignaz walked out of the cave, releasing Spirit Grandmaster-level spirit power fluctuations as he sprinted across the ocean surface, keeping his eyes on the underwater movement. A deep purple fin suddenly appeared behind him, water churning forward as it rapidly charged toward Ignaz.
"This'll work—a three-thousand-year Violent Bite Shark. You're the one."
Ignaz suddenly stopped his sprint, then touched his toes to the water, using spirit power and the ocean's buoyancy to flip backward, landing precisely on the Violent Bite Shark's back.
His left hand gripped its dorsal fin tightly while his right hand bit open a wound, summoning the Blood Thunder War Spear and gently piercing the shark's back. The blood spear's devouring power immediately activated.
"Listen to me, and I'll spare you."
The already agitated thousand-year Violent Bite Shark couldn't understand human speech—it became even more frenzied, constantly diving underwater and swimming at high speeds, trying to shake off Ignaz.
But Ignaz, whose physical abilities had undergone a qualitative leap, no longer felt much from the water pressure of a mere thousand-year spirit beast's movement. He repeatedly drained the Violent Bite Shark's blood until it stopped thrashing.
"That's better. Just take me where I want to go, and I won't mistreat you."
The spear tip was now positioned at the Violent Bite Shark's left eye. The entire fish trembled mysteriously as it swam—it was scared. This human could completely kill it.