Shen Feng and Wang Ao Ye’s strategy of "driving the tiger to swallow the wolf" indeed yielded excellent results. Numerous ability users united and launched an offensive within the Divine Realm. The Divine Realm was populated by many formidable creatures. There were sea gulls in the sky, and in the sea, there were pike and strange fish with a single horn. If these three types of creatures could be eliminated, then landing on the annular coral island would become a simple matter.
Xiao Sheng pondered and found a solution for the pike. He relied on Jin Zi Jue, who was known as the man of Zeus. Who was Zeus? Of course, he was the king of the gods in Greek mythology, possessing the most powerful force in heaven and earth – the power of lightning. With such a mighty title bestowed upon Jin Zi Jue, how could he not demonstrate his abilities?
However, when it came to the actual task required of Jin Zi Jue, it was quite simple: to electrocute fish.
Xiao Sheng’s plan was formulated as follows: First, Fang Qing Hao would lure the pike and the one-horned strange fish in the water. According to the plan, he would lead the school of fish into the trap. Jin Zi Jue, holding an electric wire, would unleash his ability at the opportune moment. In an instant, all the fish in the water would be electrocuted.
Using a fishing net to catch pike would be too slow, and smaller fish might be missed. However, electrocution simplified the problem considerably. Both large and small fish could be directly killed, making it a permanent solution. Even if there were a large number of fish in the coral forest, under Jin Zi Jue’s methods, there would inevitably be very few left.
However, Fang Qing Hao, acting as the bait, repeatedly warned, "We have an agreement. You absolutely cannot discharge electricity until I am ashore and out of the water, understand? Fish are afraid of electric shock, and so am I."
Jin Zi Jue shrugged and said, "I don't know what you're worried about. How could someone as good as me possibly harm a teammate? I can't believe you don't trust me. Tsk, tsk, tsk, truly judging a gentleman with the heart of a villain."
Fang Qing Hao shook his head, unsure of what to say. He hadn't expected Jin Zi Jue to make such a sarcastic remark at this moment, especially when he was the one taking the risk. If he were to be electrocuted to death, it would be a terrible shame. Afterward, Fang Qing Hao shook his head and dove into the water, beginning to attract the pike's attack.
The plan was very successful. As soon as Fang Qing Hao entered the water, his speed became incredibly fast. Even ordinary fish were not as fast as Fang Qing Hao. Perhaps only tuna could rival Fang Qing Hao in underwater speed among all fish.
Tuna are very fast swimmers because they swim day and night without rest, so their swimming speed is naturally not slow. Moreover, tuna meat is very delicious and high in protein, making it a rare delicacy.
Fang Qing Hao quickly attracted many pike from the surroundings. He then began to retreat. The pike rushed over in schools, looking very fierce and relentless. However, the fiercer they appeared, the more satisfied Fang Qing Hao became.
"You can chase me slowly now. Soon, you'll all turn into dead fish. By then, you won't be able to be so arrogant anymore," Fang Qing Hao thought to himself. As he approached the predetermined ambush point, he actually became nervous.
Fang Qing Hao was not worried about the large school of pike behind him catching up. What he was worried about was Jin Zi Jue suddenly discharging electricity, which would likely spell disaster for him.
Seawater is an excellent conductor, as it is full of salt, making it very conductive. Electric current propagates very quickly in saltwater. A single mistake could lead to electrocution.
Upon reaching the designated area, Fang Qing Hao instantly leaped out of the water, grabbed a thick coral branch nearby, and took a deep breath of fresh air. He then shouted to Jin Zi Jue in the distance, "Captain Xiao Sheng, Jin Zi Jue, my mission is complete!"
Jin Zi Jue grumbled, "It's complete, so it's complete. Why all the shouting? You still have your job to do later."
Seeing a large school of pike heading their way, Jin Zi Jue showed no mercy and began his work. After the battle of abilities, powerful electric currents surged into the electric wire in his hand. Instantly, the azure water surface turned white, reflecting the sunlight off the scales of countless fish.
Electrocution was a matter of an instant. As soon as the current entered the water, the fish that could not withstand the shock would flip their bellies. In the sea, this spectacle was incredibly grand. The school of pike that had been full of life moments before all floated to the surface after being electrocuted.
At this moment, a loud roar echoed from the direction of the annular island. It was the sound of a blue whale breathing, its roars masking the sound of water being expelled.
Meanwhile, many ability users from Europe had also devised a method to deal with the sea gulls. They also employed the tactic of luring the enemy deeper, but with a different approach. One ability user’s power was to control glass. They found an island and created a maze. Then, they lured the sea gulls into the maze, which was sufficient.
The European ability users had clearly identified the sea gulls' weakness. Most birds have low intelligence and have difficulty distinguishing reflections. Glass reflects sunlight, and from the front, it is difficult to see clearly. In many cities, birds have been known to fly directly into the windows of buildings. Therefore, dealing with the sea gulls was a task that required simple calculation.
The task of attracting the sea gulls was ultimately assigned to a woman. Her ability was to control the wind. She had custom-made a flying suit for herself. When she spread her arms and legs, it transformed into a shape similar to a flying squirrel, allowing her to glide through the air. These flying squirrels are also known as gliding marsupials. The term "Snowy Mountain Flying Fox" also originates from this animal.
Finally, the task of killing the one-horned strange fish was a collective effort. These fish were not easily fooled and had significantly higher intelligence than pike and sea gulls. However, fortunately, their numbers were not large, otherwise, dealing with them would have been quite difficult.
At this time, Gong Chang Fa displayed his immense strength. No matter how large the one-horned strange fish were, when they encountered Gong Chang Fa, he would kill one with a single punch. When the bodies of the one-horned strange fish were retrieved, others discovered that their insides were a complete mess, almost mashed into pulp by Gong Chang Fa. His destructive power was truly terrifying.
"This guy is no ordinary person. I hadn't heard much about him before. It seems the global ranking of ability users isn't entirely reliable. It's outrageous that someone like him isn't in the top twenty," everyone exclaimed in surprise at this moment, feeling they had severely underestimated Gong Chang Fa.
A week later, the strange fish in the water and the sea gulls in the sky had been mostly cleared. The crowd continued to approach the annular island at the center of the coral island. The closer they got, the more anticipation grew. However, amidst the anticipation, they also grew wary of each other. Although the meteorite had been divided earlier, the situation would be different once the meteorite was actually found.
When faced with a substantial prize, most people would want to claim it all for themselves. Those willing to share are those who don't particularly desire the prize. Similarly, in the face of immense benefits, everyone wants to secure those benefits for themselves. Division is merely talk; when it comes to actual gain, victory will inevitably be determined by strength.
As they approached the annular island, everyone was eager to know the situation underwater and began to explore the seabed, hoping to find the blue whale's exact location.
In terms of exploring the underwater terrain, the person with the greatest capability was none other than Fang Qing Hao. With just an oxygen tank, Fang Qing Hao could descend to depths of two thousand or even three thousand meters.
Fang Qing Hao submerged for two hours. When he surfaced, he exclaimed with great surprise to everyone, "Guess what I saw? I saw an underwater volcano! It's a volcano here!"
"What's so strange about that? The seabed here is a ridge formed by volcanic eruptions. It's not strange to see a volcano," Jin Zi Jue said indifferently. He wasn't as excited as Fang Qing Hao. Seeing a volcano in a volcanic terrain was a normal occurrence, wasn't it?
However, Fang Qing Hao said earnestly, "This is no ordinary volcano. This is a cage. Why isn't the blue whale moving even though it's dying? Now I understand. The blue whale can't move at all. There's a massive crater underwater, I estimate its diameter to be over a kilometer. It's a dormant volcano, and coral is growing on top of the crater. This coral is incredibly thick, at least twenty meters in diameter, encircling the crater. I don't know how the blue whale got in, but once inside, it was trapped by the coral and couldn't leave. It can only circle the crater."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped, "So this is the marvelous work of nature! We were wondering why the blue whale was inside the annular island. It turns out the coral grew at the location of the crater. The continuously growing coral formed the annular island and trapped the blue whale."
Everyone now understood why the blue whale couldn't move – it was trapped by natural coral. It had to be said that coral polyps, which appear to have no destructive power, form coral after death that can trap the planet's most powerful creatures.
It was estimated that the mutated blue whale was actually a ninth-tier ability user, the only ninth-tier creature in the world. Even the mutated mushroom forest seen at the edge of Yunnan Province was only at the eighth tier. The mutated blue whale, which should have been dominating the seas, was trapped in a volcanic crater, surrounded by countless corals. It was truly tragic.
Author's Note: I heard there was a recent outbreak of avian influenza in Europe. Coincidentally, this book mentioned it earlier, which could be considered a prophecy in a way! Just kidding. If you follow international affairs, you'll know about the virus. I only wrote down information I heard last year. If a global avian influenza outbreak occurs in the future, please don't think of the author as a prophet. The author merely analyzed the situation based on rumors and happened to predict it correctly.