Chapter 104: Crimson Emperor Azure Star

East Sea.

A pirate crew was sailing against the wind and waves.

The pirate captain, with one eye, a severed arm, and a golden hook, stood on the deck, holding a telescope in one hand and a sea chart in the other; after familiarizing himself with them, he confirmed whether the fleet had deviated from its target.

Moments later.

The one-eyed pirate nodded, a sinister smile appearing on his face:

"That's right, Raven Port lies in this direction."

"You must know, that place is one of the most prosperous ports in the East Sea; every day, no fewer than several hundred merchant ships pass through there."

"As long as we seize it, we will have endless money from then on."

"I even heard that the lord of that place is extremely beautiful; it just so happens I am short one wife."

"Hehehe~"

He could not help but begin to envision his happy life thereafter.

Only the first mate beside him showed an expression of wanting to speak but holding back, yet he ultimately could not restrain himself:

"Captain, the intelligence we received is already from long ago; perhaps things have changed over there. Besides, that place is after all the territory of Knight Gao Wen."

"We..."

The one-eyed pirate was completely unflustered and said calmly:

"Those we are attacking are monsters from the Grand Line."

"When I was young, I sailed there for a period of time; it was simply... simply..."

As he spoke.

The one-eyed pirate's face showed a look of terror as tangible as a physical object, yet it was not because of the fabricated, completely non-existent memories he had invented.

Rather, on the sea surface in the distance, a colossal creature entirely crimson was flapping its wings and rushing low over the waves.

"Dragon!"

Someone cried out in shock, and only then did everyone realize; they frantically sought cover, but unfortunately their movements were ultimately a step too late.

Gao Wen, transformed into a crimson dragon, swept over the pirate ship.

Merely the airflow generated by his high-speed flight buried the one-eyed pirate and the pirate ship beneath his feet into the sea.

Accompanied by several sea beasts leaping out of the water, everything returned to calm.

Half an hour later.

On a deserted uninhabited island in the East Sea, a crimson giant dragon circled in the high sky, its pale golden eyes scanning everywhere.

After confirming there were no signs of living humans, Gao Wen slowly landed on the open ground in the center of the deserted island.

Countless birds and beasts were frightened away; some timid ones even did not hesitate to dive into the seawater, simply because the giant dragon standing in the center of this island carried an aura that made them infinitely fearful.

"Here, I can finally truly test the Crimson Dragon's abilities, which is the source of the title 'Crimson Dragon Undying Fierce God'!"

The words fell to the ground.

Gao Wen's body crouched slightly lower, his dragon claws gripping the earth tightly, so much so that they directly embedded themselves into the rock layers of the surface.

Centered on Gao Wen, the surrounding Lin Mu began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye, having all their life force drained away.

Streams of blue, glowing aura flowed along Gao Wen's four limbs, gradually converging into the constantly beating giant dragon heart within his body, and then, accompanied by the blood, circulated through all of Gao Wen's limbs and bones.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

With every heartbeat, Gao Wen felt his power increase by another degree.

Only when his heart and blood vessels within his body began to transmit a sensation of distending pain did Gao Wen finally stop his actions.

Until this very moment.

Did he gain a somewhat real feeling for the records he had seen previously in the encyclopedia:

"The Crimson Dragon can extract energy from the earth veins to replenish its own stamina, accelerate self-healing of wounds, and simultaneously accumulate immense power within its body to release a breath attack."

"It can be said that unless it can be instantly killed in a single strike, as long as the surrounding earth vein energy is sufficient, the Crimson Dragon is a war machine that will not die and will not tire!"

"But over-extracting earth vein energy will ultimately result in the scene before my eyes..."

He raised his eyes and looked around.

He saw that the deserted island at this moment, centered on his position, had all trees and flowers within a range of several kilometers completely withered and dead; even the earth was gradually transforming into signs of desertification.

"This is the so-called... Undying Fierce God!"

"Let's try that one..."

"Crimson Emperor Azure Star!"

Having said that.

Gao Wen flapped the wings behind him and, in the blink of an eye, ascended to the high sky, gazing down at the island below.

In the next instant, the earth vein energy just extracted rushed madly toward Gao Wen's mouth, so much so that even with his mouth merely closed, pale blue earth vein energy overflowed from the gaps between his teeth.

This should have been a dragon breath capable of shaking heaven and earth.

But when Gao Wen opened his dragon mouth, he only spat out a blue crystal the size of a water droplet.

The crystal plummeted rapidly from the high sky, and finally, in the instant it touched the ground, it exploded with a tremendous roar...

Boom!

A sound sufficient to shock heaven and earth, accompanied by a mushroom cloud shooting straight to the sky, rose up, stirring up dust and smoke everywhere.

Even the sea was shocked at this very moment.

After a few breaths.

When the dust and smoke cleared, a crater a hundred meters in diameter lay in the center of the desolate island below, its surrounding peaks all sheared flat.

Having done all this, Gao Wen was also exhausted, slowly falling to the surface.

Admiring his own...

Work.

"This is what I managed without fully mastering the ability. Once I have completely mastered it, I will be able to do even more."

"The potential of this fruit is absolutely not inferior to, and may even surpass, Kaido's Blue Dragon!"

"And..."

"If the earth vein energy can be drawn, then the great sea..."

A few minutes later.

Gao Wen rose from the seawater, having already returned to human form.

He temporarily abandoned this plan.

The sea's favor had already been used to cancel the curse of the Devil Fruit.

Although he could still swim and was unafraid of seawater, and Seastone should also be no threat to him.

But clearly, Mother Sea's generosity did not extend that far; using abilities in seawater was something to forget for now.

Unless...

Gao Wen summoned the system panel, his gaze falling upon the three badges. After a careful look, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly:

"The names have no connection to the abilities at all; these are clearly badges from the same series, yet their abilities are completely unrelated. Heh..."

"But has the potential, as I expected, reached the Legendary tier?"

"As for immediate combat power, it is still a bit short, but once I am familiar with the fruit's abilities, it should be about equal to Gold."

"This time..."

"I've made a killing."

"I might still hold back in the New World, but as for the Four Seas and Paradise, I can pretty much walk around with my head held high."

"Unless some old timer from the New World comes to stir up trouble."

"But surely such a thing won't happen to me every time, right?"

Having said that.

Gao Wen activated his ability again. After trying several times, he finally succeeded in transforming into the Red Dragon and flew away with a flap of his wings.

At the same time.

In Raven Port.

Jasha was leading guards and workers to clean up the mess everywhere.

Immediately, she noticed that the oldest Devil Fruit encyclopedia she had bought at great expense was lying in Xiang Keluo's hands.

Jasmine, standing beside her, spoke her mind directly and asked:

"Mr. Xiang Keluo, don't you dislike Devil Fruits?"

Xiang Keluo's old face flushed red:

"This is knowing oneself and knowing the enemy, ensuring victory in a hundred battles."

"To understand the opponent's abilities in advance."

Saying this.

He made as if to return the encyclopedia in his hand to Jasha.

With his left hand, while the two were unprepared, he tore off the page he had just been looking at and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

(End of this chapter)