"You're so rude!"
The Empress gritted her silver teeth tightly, gnashing in anger.
Last time, this stupid dragon escaped from her hands—before leaving, he even kissed her. It was utterly infuriating.
Compared to her, the rest of the crew was very welcoming to Vladimir.
"Lord Guardian! What would you like to eat?" Amanda, the fanatic, hurriedly asked, very enthusiastic.
"Bring everything out again."
Vladimir was pleased and immediately walked into the ship's cabin.
At the same time, he inwardly asked, "Fantasia, how many Devil Fruits does it take to upgrade a 3-star Archangel to 5.54 stars?"
"Sixteen."
The Fantasia gene straightforwardly spat out a number.
"Pfft!"
Vladimir couldn't help coughing. "Sixteen? Are you joking? With other transformations, I could already reach five stars!"
"The limits are different," the Fantasia gene said emotionlessly. "Although each five-star form is very powerful, their limits vary. Of course, you can also choose to upgrade other transformations. When each transformation reaches five stars, it will undergo a qualitative change."
Hearing this, Vladimir nodded, pondering the other transformations in his mind.
The Archangel had reached three stars, and his combat power was already taking shape. It was barely enough for now. Before accumulating a large number of Devil Fruits, upgrading to five stars was quite difficult.
If he upgraded other transformations, after some thought, Shadow Demon could serve as a backup, and Lich King could be an alternative.
"Right now, I have four Devil Fruits. The Mirror Fruit must be kept for later, so only three are left. Which one should I upgrade?"
Which transformation should I upgrade?
In the Nine Serpent Pirates' dining hall, Vladimir kept pondering this question.
It was as if the sumptuous feast on the table couldn't stimulate his appetite—he just slowly enjoyed each bite.
Currently, he had four Devil Fruits. The Mirror Fruit, as a star-up material, was a waste to upgrade, so he could only use three.
The 3-star Lich King needed five fruits to upgrade to 4 stars, which was not enough.
On the other hand, the Shadow Demon, from 2 stars to 3 stars, only required two fruits.
"Guess I should try the Shadow Demon first. I wonder what ability a 3-star Shadow Demon has?"
Just two fruits, but in the past, Vladimir would have hesitated. Now, he was rich and bold, and he immediately decided.
However, this was on the Empress's ship, full of people and eyes—so he had to eat and drink enough before leaving, find a deserted place to upgrade.
Thinking of this, Vladimir suddenly snapped back to reality and looked elsewhere.
The Empress sat at the head, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, but he wasn't sure what she was watching.
Meanwhile, the crew busily decorated the dining hall.
"What are they doing?" Vladimir asked.
"Lord Guardian, it's almost New Year," Amanda explained. "The new year, the ship itself, will be a year older. We need to decorate it to bless everyone on board with safety and peace."
"Is that so?" Vladimir said in surprise.
"Yes. Rumor has it that only ships that are loved and cared for will have spirit spirits born. Legend says that ships with spirits will possess some incredible abilities," Amanda nodded seriously. "You can think of it as a ritual."
Vladimir knew about ship spirits—he hadn't seen one himself, but he believed they existed.
But during the New Year, giving your ship a thorough cleaning and decorating it was similar to celebrating the New Year on Earth—just on Earth, it was cleaning the house.
He shook his head, feeling that he had no hope for this ship spirit's birth.
Seeing this, the Empress snorted softly. "'Lord Guardian,' you are also a spiritual being born of heaven and earth. Have you seen a ship spirit?"
She deliberately emphasized "Lord Guardian," clearly implying sarcasm.
This stupid dragon was pretending, yet most of the crew still believed him—truly annoying!
Vladimir rolled his eyes. "What haven't I seen? A mere ship spirit… it's born out of gratitude. Usually, when it appears, it's accompanied by thick fog, taking a humanoid form—holding a wooden hammer, wearing a raincoat. As for having incredible abilities, that's probably just rumors. It only appears when the ship is in danger, to give warnings."
His words described the form and appearance very vividly, making them highly believable.
However, the Empress's lips curled slightly, as if victorious. "Stupid dragon, you probably have seen one, but what you've seen is just the most ordinary ship spirit. The real ship spirit truly possesses incredible abilities! No—actually, the ship that gave birth to it must have had divine power!"
Hearing this, Vladimir was slightly stunned. "How do you know that? Are you sure?"
"Of course. I saw it in the ancient records of the Queen's Kingdom," she said.
"Fifty steps for a hundred," Vladimir said speechlessly. "When you really see one someday, tell me again."
The Empress was annoyed and glared at him. "What are you trying to do now?"
"Of course, I want to eat it!"
Vladimir chuckled softly, stood up, and looked at Amanda. "Your way of doing things isn't right. Sincerity is key. Only with genuine sincerity will the ship spirit be born. It's like this 'Guardian' of mine—if you believe in it, it will protect you. If you don't believe, then go your own way."
The ship spirit could be considered a mysterious force. If they encountered one, Vladimir didn't mind absorbing it and trying to upgrade. Maybe it could be used to increase his star level.
As for protecting something, Vladimir had no time to be a babysitter—he was just casually bluffing.
Anyway, as long as the Nine Serpent Pirates didn't do stupid things, no one could really do anything to them.
"Anyway, thank you for the hospitality. I have other matters to attend to. Goodbye."
Vladimir waved his hand, ate and drank enough, then turned to leave.
"Lock of the Captive!"
At this moment, a pink whip shot out and grabbed Vladimir's wrist.
The Empress held the other end of the pink whip and snorted. "This time, I won't let you escape! Come back with me to Amazon Lily and repent in prison!"
Hearing this, Vladimir looked at her with a teasing expression. "You think that's enough to catch me a second time?"
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