Chapter 781: Heaven and Earth Strangle

Under the cover of night.

Liszt pulled out two magic-powered flashlights—as the name suggests, hand magic tubes are flashlights powered by magic. Unscrewing the caps, the light gathered into a beam through the crystal-carved lampshade, shining as brightly as a car’s headlights. Undoubtedly, this was a new product developed by the Magic Guild.

He and Acheronides each held a magic-powered flashlight.

Following the Thunder Dragon Turtle ashore, it seemed the creature’s presence agitated the surrounding dragon turtles, large and small. Within the vision of Magic Eye, flickers of purple-white light surged one after another—signs of the dragon turtles preparing to unleash magic.

However, with a single "*Ang-chi*" cry from the Thunder Dragon Turtle, the other dragon turtles immediately quieted down and slowly approached it.

After a few more "*Ang-chi*" calls from the Thunder Dragon Turtle, all the dragon turtles returned to their original spots and resumed resting.

Liszt, holding his magic-powered flashlight, jumped down from the Thunder Dragon Turtle’s back and inspected the calm dragon turtles. He noticed they bore a striking resemblance to the Thunder Dragon Turtle, but their shells were different. The Thunder Dragon Turtle’s shell had three raised ridges, while the others’ shells were smooth.

He was tempted to kill a few to study their internal structure, but with the Thunder Dragon Turtle nearby, he hesitated—who knew if these were its descendants?

"Actually, they probably aren’t," he mused.

After observing for a while, Liszt concluded, "These dragon turtles are fundamentally different in bloodline from the Thunder Dragon Turtle. Flame Dragonbird hatchlings are born with high magic, their seven tail feathers possessing special properties. But these dragon turtles are only low-magic, and their shells show no unique traits."

This conclusion disappointed him. He had hoped for a large group of Thunder Dragon Turtles, only to find a swarm of mere magical beasts.

"Acheronides, take notes. Based on size, the largest of these dragon turtles measures nearly twenty meters in diameter, classifying them as high-level magical beasts... but not quite super-tier magical beasts, let alone Supreme Dragon Beasts."

"Understood, brother."

After observing the dragon turtles, Liszt decided to survey the island, which he had already named "Dragon Turtle Island." However, sweeping the magic-powered flashlight around, he quickly realized the island was barren—devoid of trees, covered only in rocks and sand.

No trees meant no spirit bugs, magical herbs, or other resources, rendering it worthless.

So after a brief inspection, he abandoned further exploration and returned to the Thunder Dragon Turtle. Acheronides sat atop its shell, sketching and writing. A crystal lamp illuminated the small table before her as her quill scratched Serpent Tongue and diagrams onto a notebook—she was charting a nautical map.

In truth, she was using the map to compile a book on astrology.

The fleet of the Sapphire Duchy had already begun using stars for navigation, and after Liszt taught Acheronides astronomy, she combined his knowledge with existing lore to create a new system of astrology—though for now, it only served to determine locations.

"Brother, based on my measurements and calculations of the constellations, Dragon Turtle Island is approximately one thousand eight hundred fifty kilometers in a straight line from Black Horse Island."

With a wave of her hand,

a telescope conjured from water appeared before her eyes. She scanned the sky with it before it dissipated.

Her quill then swiftly sketched a clear diagram: "Brother, look. This is the coordinate grid I’ve drawn for the Sapphire Sea based on the longitude and latitude you taught me."

Measuring exact longitude and latitude was still too difficult, so for now, she could only establish a coordinate system for preliminary use.

Within the grid lines of the coordinate system, dots marked the locations of discovered islands.

Black Horse Island lay at the northernmost point, three islands clustered near the center, while Dragon Turtle Island was positioned to the southeast, forming an obtuse triangle with the other two points.

"Excellent work. The details really come alive," Liszt praised.

Acheronides added, "Brother, I plan to dive down now to investigate whether Dragon Turtle Island’s submerged portion still lies within the continental shelf or approaches the continental slope... Based on your division of the Sapphire Sea as the near-shore and the Devil Sea as the deep ocean, Dragon Turtle Island might be where the two seas meet."

"Let’s go tomorrow. It’s nighttime now—rest well and don’t exhaust yourself."

"You go ahead and rest, brother. I’m not tired at all."

"If you’re not tired, find something else to do. Just don’t go diving at night," Liszt insisted. Though Acheronides was queen of the ocean day or night, with sea monsters posing no threat, Liszt remained convinced that the nighttime sea was dangerous and not to be trifled with at night.

Acheronides didn’t press further. After chatting with Liszt for a while, she continued gazing at the stars at a 45-degree angle, unraveling the universe’s secrets.

...

The next day.

Acheronides slipped into the sea early in the morning to resume the task she couldn’t complete the night before—investigating the geographical location of Dragon Turtle Island. Meanwhile, Liszt continued patrolling the island. With the broad daylight, he could take in the whole island in one sweep—it was indeed a barren wasteland, devoid of life.

Only a group of dragon turtles inhabited this place.

As the sun rose higher, the dragon turtles gradually entered the sea, leaving only the Thunder Dragon Turtle on the island. The Thunder Dragon Turtle remained curled in its shell, still deep in slumber. Since arriving on the island the previous night and letting out a few *"ang-chi"* cries, it hadn’t moved once.

Perhaps for a creature as massive as the Thunder Dragon Turtle, stillness was its default state.

Afternoon.

Liszt was having lunch.

Acheronides returned, bringing the results of her investigation: "To the west of Dragon Turtle Island is the continental shelf, while to the east lies the continental slope. This is indeed the boundary between the shallow sea and the deep sea. Beyond this point to the east is the Devil’s Sea."

The Devil’s Sea was said to be unpredictable, with storms raging at all times.

As if to echo Acheronides’ findings, shortly after she finished speaking, a storm swept in from the distance, dark clouds churning violently as it struck Dragon Turtle Island. Fierce winds, torrential rain, thunder, and lightning—the island shuddered under the tempest. The Thunder Dragon Turtle showed no fear. Instead, it awoke from its deep slumber.

Crackling arcs of lightning-attribute magic aura rose continuously from its shell, attracting the lightning from the sky. It harnessed the power of the thunderbolts to amplify its own aura.

"Acheronides, I suddenly think that so-called Supreme Dragon Beasts aren’t infected by dragons at all, but by the hyper-magic forged by nature itself… Can you sense it? With every bolt of lightning, massive surges of lightning-attribute hyper-magic are generated and captured by the Thunder Dragon Turtle."

"Acheronides could barely sense it."

"The lightning hyper-magic cannot be stored within its body, but during the decomposition process, a large amount of high-magic lightning becomes fuel for its evolution… This might be the reason it evolved from an ordinary dragon turtle into a Thunder Dragon Turtle. Its bloodline was shaped by external factors."

Liszt uncovered the essence of the Supreme Dragon Beast: "It mutated!"

Watching the Thunder Dragon Turtle bathed in lightning,

his eyes sparked with dawning insight, and in an instant, floods of inspiration hit him.

He called forth the Fire Drake Rio: "Rio, the spirit bugs drained from the volcanic eruption should have recovered by now. Let us face the storm together and refine the fourth move of the Dragon Aura Manual for the Fire Drake Knight… I’ve already figured it out—this move wields the fury of the skies and seas to annihilate all things. Let’s call it Boil the Sea!"