After enjoying a bit of sunshine, everybody’s focus went back to diving.
They wanted to get accustomed to the feeling of being in the water. Since they had trained to swim in the first stage of physical training, everybody was able to swim very well. However, swimming and battling underwater were two distinctive feelings.
The trainings were getting vigorous and their performance on day one was important. The least they could do was avoid being embarrassed.
Everybody was serious. They all dove into Lake Ithanlis after a short break and commenced underwater battle training with their teammates.
Of course, the training was just for acclimatisation and were not rigorous.
Zhang Shan and Wang Zheng got into the water together and idled where the water was 20 meters deep. Neither too deep nor too shallow. They had some basic underwater battle knowledge like the others.
For an acclimatisation battle, being in the water was difficult for them to exert energy and move about. There was resistance from the water, as well as water pressure exerted all around them. It was not a pleasing sight. It felt kind of like a slow-motion film.
This was the case for most people, but…
Whoosh!
Two rays of light flashed and disappeared in the water, just like people running at high-speed on land.
The two figures were not just fast, they sparred with each other. The water did not resist, but instead, assisted. Every move of theirs was aided by the water, making them faster and more powerful.
One of the figures was exceptionally good-looking, perfectly curved, and dreamy underwater, like a mermaid swimming out from fantasyland.
It was Lie Xin!
The other figure was Lie Guang.
The two heirs of the Lie Family were like dragons swimming in the sea, exhibiting near Ability X level water battling skills.
Even though it was a time for recreational acclimatisation, the fight had to go on. Lie Xin had already gone ahead to make that point.
Achilles smirked. It has to be said that Achilles had an almost perfect body. With well-defined muscles that were not overboard and fair skin that glowed with a tint of yellow under the Sun, he looked very healthy. Coupled with that ever-confident look on his face, if he were to go into acting, he would definitely become a star.
He glanced at Lie Xin and launched into action, diving into deeper water. 30 meters, 40 meters, 50 meters….
From now on, he would not let any opportunity involving challenges slip by. He shall prevail in everything!
Over at another end, Luo Fei and Stocker were sparring. Stocker’s ability had to do with water. He could breathe freely in the water and the water pressure’s impact on him was a third it had on others.
But Luo Fei was more terrifying. With his fatty build, he was able to suppress and beat up Stocker, who had a great advantage in water.
It was an odd suppression and a weird-looking fight. Fatty’s moves were not quick, but he was able to catch hold of Stocker’s pace and steps. And even though his movement was slow, his attacks at crucial moments were shockingly fast.
Stocker was very surprised. He had an Ability X in this area, but this fatso could battle against him at the same level! Just what was he made of? Was his fat concealing secrets?
Just then, Luo Fei caught sight of Achilles diving deeper into the water. Competing in depth? Could anyone even beat Stocker? He gave Stocker a look. Challenging Achilles had become everybody’s favorite pastime.
Stocker chuckled and dove after Achilles.
With Stocker on his heels, Achilles’ plan would go to waste. No matter how deep he went, Stocker would surpass him. Sometimes fame could be a heavy burden.
The two of them dove deeper and deeper. Stocker was forcing Achilles’ hand, turning a simple display of acclimatisation into a competition. Eventually, the two figures disappeared from the crowd’s line of sight. But their swimsuits both contained a mini tracker.
Everybody floated up to the surface. Lie Xin smiled and, using the Skylink, activated the tracker.
Depth: 100 meters…
They were still going deeper.
It was getting overboard. Under normal circumstances, diving to such a depth would require careful preparations, especially for Achilles. He had spent some time at 20 meters deep and didn’t even take a breath before diving straight down.
But for Stocker, he was not concerned about breathing. The only thing that was getting in his way was the water pressure.
150 meters… 170 meters…
200 meters!
The blinking light that represented Stocker came to an abrupt stop and rose up very quickly.
Lie Guang smiled. “The density of water in Lake Ithanlis is different from other places. The water beyond 200 meters is denser and contains very little oxygen.”
Stocker’s greatest edge was his ability to breathe underwater. But his weakness was being too reliant on that. The moment he entered regions with little oxygen, his abilities in the water were no longer a match to others.
And Achilles continued to dive further and further down…
210 meters, 220 meters…
Lie Xin’s expression turned serious. Her personal best was diving to 265 meters in Lake Ithanlis.
The deeper it was, the greater the water pressure and also the denser the water. This was a unique trait of Lake Ithanlis. Beyond the 200 meter mark, every 10 meters down would prove to be a few times more difficult.
250 meters, 260 meters…
270 meters!
He had broken Lie Xin’s record! But Achilles continued diving.
By then, it had been five minutes since Achilles took the first dive.
Achilles was still going. The Moon people were getting anxious, Milo in particular. Having heard Lie Guang talk about the density of the lake water, she looked up for information on Lake Ithanlis using the Skylink. The relevant information talked about how the density of the water turned extremely complex after 200 meters and how every additional 10 meters possessed a new complication. Stocker did not surface solely due to the lack of oxygen. He could sense the abnormality in water quality and had backed off knowingly.
300 meters!
Achilles’ blinking light finally stopped. There was no movement. It didn’t go further down, but neither did it begin to rise. It had stopped at that depth.
10 seconds, 30 seconds….
Just as the Moon people could not bear it any longer, the dot began moving upwards on the screen.
Achilles was coming back up!
“This speed is way too well paced. Could it be a floating corpse?”
A voice said coldly. It was fatty Luo. Beside him was the neglected Stocker. Stocker had personally experienced the water beyond the 200 meters mark. It was not a place human beings should dive into.
The Moon people glared angrily, but the worried looks in their eyes could not be masked.
Everybody else was anxious too. Lie Guang frowned. Indeed, the speed he was coming up at didn’t look like the speed of rising from a dive. It did look like a floating body.
“Should we prepare for an emergency rescue?”
Given Achilles’ strength, definitely nothing serious had happened. But it was likely that he was unconscious.
Lie Guang had just finished his sentence when the screen showed the dot accelerating at an immense speed. It reached the surface line in a flash. Splash!
There was a loud sound.
Achilles leapt from the water!
It was not him!
Underneath him, he was riding a monster fish! The monster fish leapt into the air with Achilles on it, like a dragon coming out of the ocean, creating a huge splash.
The fish’s mouth was huge and ferocious-looking, crammed with enormous sharp teeth. Its body was long but flat and oval.
The Fanged Carp. It was a deep water monster fish that originated from some ocean planet outside of the Solar System. It was cruel and violent in nature and had a strong sense of territory. Any living creatures that entered its territory would be viciously attacked. It didn’t kill only for food.
It was a regular guest on the Milky Way’s Animal World Channel’s promotional videos, so everybody recognized it immediately.
As could be seen, Achilles had trespassed its territory.
But it was clear that this violent Fanged Carp had been tamed by Achilles, acting as his mount underwater.
How did he do that?
Achilles was Achilles. There was no need to explain. The name itself was the reason. Never forget, he was the strongest person from the Solar System at Academy X!
The Moon people cheered wildly.
Achilles’ performance had stunned many. His abilities were undoubtedly strong. It was just that in terms luck, he was trodden as if he had offended Lady Luck.
Forget diving to 300 meters, forget unique swimming capabilities. Many people could do the same if they were more professional and had prepared themselves better. Maybe not as easily as Achilles did, but they could do it nonetheless. But taming a Fanged Carp at 300 meters deep!
The Sun God lived up to his name.
Many people crowded over to the Moon’s side to look at the fish. The Mars people were curious too. Even though they knew that there were Fanged Carp in Lake Ithanlis, they had not seen anyone capture a live one in the past few decades.
Luo Fei rubbed his nose. Looking at the Fanged Carp, he drooled. He really wanted to go over and ask Achilles what he intended to do with the fish. He would suggest barbecuing it… it’s been said that the Fanged Carp was a top-notch delicacy in the Milky Way.
But the Moon people didn’t look friendly. Wang Zheng was more fun.
Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan came to take a look too. The Fanged Carp was vicious, but to Achilles, it was extremely docile. Others had put their hands out to touch it and it immediately turned and tried to bite at them.
Luo Fei came up to Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan. “Wang Zheng, given your abilities, why don’t you go and get one for us to play with, eh? I heard this fish is an absolute delicacy in the mortal realm.”
Wang Zheng chuckled and said, “I am very interested in food, that’s right. But my swimming is only average. Why don’t you talk to Achilles and see if you can buy it from him? I can barbecue it.”
Achilles had gone all out for himself. He wanted to make it clear to everybody that he was the strongest, that all the schemes and plans against him would not hold up against absolute strength. Those who were present were all clever people. Liking someone was one thing, victory was another. They were soldiers. They were not going to Aslan to embarrass themselves.
“Wang Zheng, you’re good at everything, but you’re just too humble to admit it. I see you definitely have great abilities underwater,” said Stocker. “Don’t try to hide anymore. There’s definitely more than one Fanged Carp down there! Show us!”
“Yea, that’s right, Wang Zheng! I almost forgot. You came in first place in the first training phase! You were shockingly fast in the lake. This is not a competition, don’t let Achilles get all the glory and limelight!” Lie Xin chuckled.
Achilles joined in. “Why don’t you try it, Wang Zheng?”
Lear, on the other hand, was neglected. Even Achilles wanted to compete with Wang Zheng. Could it be that he saw Wang Zheng as a rival?