Chapter 322: Biomimicry Reference of the Ocean Bluefish Boat: Ocean Bluefish

Join my patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel along with weekly chapters mass release:

patreon.com/ZeroMoney

I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated. 

*****

Testing various types of soul-guiding vessels, Tang San was surprised to find over twenty super-sized soul-guiding ships resembling aircraft carriers from Gu Yuena's Golden Thread Hundred Treasure Pouch, named the "Grand Sea Sky Ark".

Each one could be considered a fortress at sea, capable of housing the population of a small town.

"Just how powerful was the Golden Civilization before its destruction?" Yu Tianheng's eyes widened at the sight of these immense Grand Sea Sky Arks.

Gu Yuena was similarly awestruck; after all, the size of the Grand Sea Sky Ark was comparable to her true form.

The Golden Civilization... in that distant era before its destruction, it had indeed defeated the Dragon God, who had not yet attained the status of Creation and Destruction. Gu Yuena had no doubts about this.

After storing away the Grand Sea Sky Ark, Tang San said to Gu Yuena, "Bring out the Ocean Bluefish Boat. The Grand Sea Sky Ark is too large for the underground river."

Gu Yuena obediently nodded and brought out the Ocean Bluefish Boat, infusing it with soul power, transforming it into a small fishing boat about twenty meters long.

Zzzt!

The side cover opened, and the four entered one by one. The cover closed automatically, and the boat slowly submerged.

Tang San sat in the front cockpit seat, gripping an instrument similar to a steering wheel, maneuvering the boat upstream. Surprisingly, the speed was not slow; the soul guide runes on the Ocean Bluefish Boat repelled the water flowing towards them, even utilizing the thrust of the water to accelerate their progress.

"Indeed, it leverages the structure of the Ocean Bluefish," Tang San commented, sensing the water flow around the Ocean Bluefish Boat with his spiritual power. He couldn't help but admire, "The research and production of soul guides are fundamentally based on biomimicry."

"Biomimicry?" Gu Yuena looked puzzled.

"It's inventing and creating based on specific features of animals and plants, not limited to soul guides but including various human-made objects," Tang San explained to Gu Yuena. "Didn't you write down the introduction to this Ocean Bluefish Boat? It was invented and created based on the shape and some structure of the Ocean Bluefish."

"The Ocean Bluefish is a relatively weak soul beast, hardly reaching a thousand years in age. For most marine soul beasts and some terrestrial ones, this species is merely food."

"But it possesses advantages that other soul beasts do not. During its annual breeding season, a single adult female Ocean Bluefish can lay nearly ten thousand eggs."

"It's similar to a soul beast in the Infinite Desert called the Ironjaw Fish. It has given up on strength and chosen survival, but more completely."

Gu Yuena scoffed, "So, what's the use of such a soul beast? Isn't it still eaten?"

"Yes, it's eaten, but with its numerical advantage, perhaps even after ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even ten million years, there will still be the Ocean Bluefish as a species. In contrast, other powerful soul beasts, especially dragons, phoenixes, and qilins, may have disappeared or even become extinct," Tang San said calmly. "From the perspective of species survival and reproduction, the evolution of the Ocean Bluefish has been remarkably successful. At least, they existed during the prosperous era of the Golden Civilization and continue to this day."

Gu Yuena was shaken, suddenly realizing that if the goal was merely for soul beasts to survive and reproduce, it wasn't that difficult—just abandon power.

But how could soul beasts give up evolution?

Yet, what is evolution for?

Survival.

But once they acquire intelligence, how can it be just for survival? They will inevitably pursue higher, faster, and stronger goals!

"I suddenly realize that this world is full of contradictions," Gu Yuena began to ponder philosophically.

"Come back," Tang San pulled her back. "I want you to think more, but don't overthink it. It's not good for someone like you whose worldview isn't fully developed."

Psychological age doesn't necessarily correlate with actual years lived.

Tang San simply hoped she wouldn't be too fixated on the distinction between soul beasts and humans. After all, soul beasts couldn't be considered a large race, and different types of soul beasts couldn't always unite.

Moreover, he felt that those savage beasts that could transform into human form were deceiving themselves.

Even if it wasn't true transformation, after transforming into human form, their bodies were no different from humans, except that they could return to their beast forms. How could their internal organs, in their massive beast form, be the same size as those in a two to three-meter-tall humanoid form? It was unthinkable, right?

However, from this perspective, the savage beasts that had undergone a heavenly tribulation should have mastered the conversion between matter and energy... but Tang San felt that they themselves didn't understand what was happening; they just instinctively used it...

"Hmph!"

Gu Yuena snorted coldly, then asked, "Weren't we discussing biomimicry? How did we end up talking about Ocean Bluefish?"

"Reproduction is just one characteristic of the Ocean Bluefish, and the reason I mention it is because their breeding grounds are in freshwater river areas," Tang San explained the reproduction process of Ocean Bluefish, which shared similar habits with the Mahi Mahi. "Ocean Bluefish typically reside in the ocean, but during their breeding season, they gather in large groups and swim against the current of rivers and major waterways that flow into the sea, returning to calm freshwater river areas to mate and reproduce."

"The flow speed of rivers and major waterways into the sea is much faster than that of this underground river. Even sea soul beasts that have lived for over ten thousand years find it difficult to swim against the current for long distances."

"However, these Ocean Bluefish, which live at most a hundred years, can swim against the current in groups, achieving feats that even ten-thousand-year-old sea soul beasts cannot."

"Moreover, this journey spans nearly ten thousand miles—"

"In the Pope's book 'Tales of Mountain and River Soul Beasts,' it records: at the beginning of the month, along the East Sea coast, schools of Ocean Bluefish swim upstream, majestic like a silver dragon. After a two-month journey spanning ten thousand miles, they spawn in the Lingyuan River. The fish eggs are delicious... ahem, that's another story."

"The ability of Ocean Bluefish to achieve what even ten-thousand-year-old sea soul beasts cannot—swimming upstream—is due to their flat triangular cone-shaped bodies. They utilize the flowing water that hits their bodies as propulsion rather than resistance."

"Additionally, they have three pairs of fins that can manipulate water currents, further accelerating their upstream swim."

"The Ocean Bluefish Boat utilizes these two characteristics of the Ocean Bluefish—its shape mimicked in design and engraved with predominantly water-attributed soul guide runes."

Gu Yuena was deeply moved. She had never imagined that a soul beast like the Ocean Bluefish, which could be considered food without notice, possessed such great abilities.

In order to survive and reproduce, they abandoned the path of evolution towards strength and instead evolved superlative reproductive capabilities. They also evolved body shapes capable of swimming upstream and fins primarily used to manipulate water currents.

If an Ocean Bluefish could reach the level of a hundred thousand years, perhaps their ability to manipulate water currents alone would be more sophisticated than her own as the Silver Dragon King.

(End of Chapter)