Somewhere in the East Blue.
The calm sea surface suddenly churned, the water stained crimson. A Sea King, snake-like in body but with a cat's head, shot out of the water. It was covered in wounds, let out an angry roar to the sky, and then collapsed, blood flowing from its mouth, nose, and wounds, coloring an even larger area of the sea.
A young man, appearing only seventeen or eighteen, with light blue, slightly curly hair and holding a trident, emerged from the sea. He quickly swam to the Sea King, grabbed its massive fin with one hand, and rapidly made his way to shore.
On the shore, about a dozen young people were busy building a ship. It wasn't large, less than ten meters from bow to stern, perhaps seven or eight meters, a relatively traditional sailing vessel. Seeing the young man approaching, dragging the Sea King, they all stopped their work and looked towards the shore.
"Luo Yan! You're back!"
One person couldn't help but shout. The young man's feet were already on land, and he smiled at the person.
"Uncle Poole, I caught a big one today. You all can divide it first; I only need a small piece."
"You actually killed a Sea King?"
Initially, everyone's attention was on Luo Yan, but now they noticed the Sea King that had been dragged ashore with him. Although this Sea King wasn't considered large among its kind, even rather small, less than ten meters long, typical fishing boats would usually flee if they encountered one. Yet, now it had been killed by Luo Yan, a young man, and in a close-quarters fight in the sea at that.
Luo Yan smiled and nodded, lifting the arm holding the trident. There was a wound nearly two fingers wide on it. While not a severe injury, it was definitely not one that could be ignored.
"I got a little hurt. I've already prepared this Sea King a bit, so you can just take it. Oh, and how much longer until my ship is finished?"
Saying this, Luo Yan looked at the sailing ship, which seemed almost complete.
A bronzed, middle-aged man, appearing over fifty, with his beard braided, patted his chest and answered with a slight, proud lift of his head:
"It'll be finished in three days at most, little Luo Yan. Are you really going to sea?"
"Yes, the world is so big, I want to see it. Everyone, thank you for your hard work these past few days. I'm a bit tired, so I'm heading back first."
Luo Yan waved to the crowd and then turned to leave. The shipbuilders were not polite; they immediately put down their work and ran over to butcher the huge Sea King.
Even with over ten people to share, the amount of meat each person received was enough to feed their family for half a month. However, they would only keep a day or two's worth, selling the rest.
Luo Yan's home was a small wooden cabin. There wasn't much furniture inside; the living room only had a table and two chairs, making it appear very empty, but it was meticulously clean.
Upon entering the house, Luo Yan pulled a large water jug from the shadows in the corner. After taking two gulps, the wound on his arm healed at a visible rate. After that, he took out a large iron box and placed it on the table.
The iron box opened to reveal a collection of seemingly disparate items: various colored flowers and plants, bird feathers, animal eyeballs and internal organs, and some jelly-like clumps. Each item was separated by compartments within the iron box to prevent contact, and all were wrapped in a thin film.
Looking at these collections, Luo Yan couldn't help but nod. He then took a fist-sized, dark blue crystal from his pants pocket and placed it into an empty compartment in the iron box. After doing this, he spread his palm, and instantly, light appeared as Tarot cards floated out from his palm.
These Tarot cards were ethereal and transparent, flipping rapidly. Soon, one detached from the group and flew to Luo Yan's front, becoming solid.
The front of this Tarot card depicted a man standing in a gloomy sky, striding over waves, clad in lightning, and looking down at the countless trembling people prostrating below him.
The man's face was chiseled, his muscles clearly defined. Just a glance at him gave one a feeling of wanting to submit and kneel. Beside him was a small inscription: "Sequence 0 Tyrant."
Luo Yan swiped his finger across the card face, and the card flipped like a book, quickly stopping at the position he needed. It was labeled "Sequence 6 Wind Favored One."
"Only one hundred milliliters of merman or mermaid blood left. Only by becoming a Wind Favored One can I be considered to have a basic ability to protect myself."
Luo Yan murmured in a low voice, then a bitter smile spread across his face.
He was originally an ordinary university student on Earth. After reading the book "Lord of the Mysteries," he felt a surge of excitement and developed a strong interest in Tarot cards. So, he ordered a deck online. The moment he received it, his vision went black, and he fainted. When he woke up again, he was already in this room.
After repeatedly confirming with newspapers and other items, he discovered he had transmigrated to the world of Pirate King. At the time, he was bewildered and despairing. As a fan of the series, he knew just how dangerous this world was. With his slender arms and legs, he would surely die if he ever encountered a pirate raid.
Fortunately, the Tarot cards had also transmigrated with him. Or rather, it wasn't a full deck, as there were only twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and their appearance had changed, becoming something similar to the Cards of Blasphemy from "Lord of the Mysteries." Each card recorded a complete Pathway of a God, though it wasn't the image of Roselle.
Moreover, the Cards of Blasphemy seemed to have undergone localization. Many of the potion ingredients and rituals differed from the original work, and there were many substitutes. Even the descriptions of many ingredients were ambiguous.
For example, one of the main ingredients for the Wind Favored One was the brain crystal of a small Sea King. It's well known that there are many types of Sea Kings, but the formula didn't specify which kind.
Luo Yan chose the Tyrant Pathway with almost no hesitation. As one of the five omniscient and omnipotent Pathways representing mastery over sea, land, and air, the Tyrant Pathway was undoubtedly the most advantageous in this Age of Discovery world. Furthermore, if a method to return existed, an omniscient and omnipotent being would unquestionably be the most hopeful to obtain and implement that method.
And in the early stages, most of the Tyrant Pathway's potion ingredients were related to the ocean, making them easiest to collect in such a world.
For instance, Luo Yan had collected all the ingredients for the Sequence 9 Sailor potion simply from the market, without even needing to spend money, as they were all worthless items.
The main ingredients were a deep-sea fish's swim bladder, a red octopus's brain crystal. Auxiliary ingredients were 100 grams of large fish scales, 80 milliliters of black octopus blood, 100 milliliters of pure water, and one yellow sunflower.