Back in the snowy mountains of the Grand Misty Serpent's Coil, Vaan shortly inspected his spoils The four blue-skinned corpses and nine serpent carcasses.
Vaan was immediately fascinated by the rich and potent Golden Dragon Bloodline in their bodies. It was unlike Astoria's Golden Dragon Bloodline, which had been diluted over countless generations.
It was very surprising to discover that Pangea's pure bloodline still existed in the present age.
After all, it was nothing like the Fire Dragon God's bloodline, which had only been around for three hundred years. Golden Dragon Pangea's bloodline was far more ancient - It was a million-year-old bloodline.
Vaan was curious how the Golden Dragon Bloodline could still exist in its purest form.
He wondered if the Pangea's inheritance was only recently opened or if special methods were used to preserve its purity.
Nevertheless, Vaan wasn't free to study the clues in the blue-skinned corpses and serpent carcasses. As such, he summoned some dragon members to bring them back to the Red Dragon Clan for research.
After receiving some information about the Black Serpent Clan from Emperor Carpus, Vaan immediately departed and left the latter behind.
Since Emperor Carpus swore his allegiance and joined the UN, Vaan had an obligation to look after it. As such, he intended to clean up the Black Serpent Clan before it could make a mess in the Divine Serpent Empire.
At that moment, the Black Serpent Clan did not know a disaster was heading its way. Emperor Carpus softly sighed. He began to question whether he made the right choice again. After all, the Evermore family had served the Black Serpent Clan for thousands of years. While it wasn't exactly honorable to serve a sea monster race, it was definitely dishonorable to betray it.
This was especially so when the Divine Serpent Empire had benefited a lot from the Black Serpent Clan's knowledge.
Nevertheless, Emperor Carpus quickly remembered how Vaan slaughtered the blue-skinned celestials, and the doubt in his heart instantly disappeared. There was no need to question right or wrong when choosing the path of survival.
Loyalty was worthless in front of life and death.
After making up his mind, Emperor Carpus realized he was not attached to the Black Serpent Clan as much as he thought. In fact, he could even feel the distance clearer. The black serpents weren't humans, after all.
How could he care for it more than his own kind?
Emperor Carpus eventually made peace with himself over his decision to join the UN and serve the prophecized overlord.
At the same time, he couldn't help but realize how scarily accurate the prophecy was becoming. He, the proud emperor of the Divine Serpent Empire, had actually talked into joining the UN without putting up much resistance.
Was it futile to fight the inevitable? - Emperor Carpus wondered.
Meanwhile, Vaan flew through the fog-covered regions of the Divine Serpent Empire, passing through multiple cities, towns, and villages.
Although they were only flashes of scenery, he accurately remembered every detail.
Vaan couldn't help but marvel at the Divine Serpent Empire's unique culture; it was quite different from the Black Rose Empire, the Holy Knight Empire, and the Great Ratholos Empire.
There was much to learn about the Divine Serpent Empire's culture.
If the Black Rose Empire could integrate the various cultures, the diversified cultures would enrich the people's lifestyles and open up new possibilities. It would also be easier for people to learn about other countries in the UN.
Furthermore, it was only through understanding each other that different people could truly connect and become unified. Otherwise, even if all the countries were brought together, it would just become a mixed mob and not a true unification.
Various problems would arise and grow into bigger issues.
As such, bringing countries together was not enough to unify humanity. A solid plan was required to lay a solid foundation for the future.
Nevertheless, Vaan surprisingly did not encounter another serpent from the Black Serpent Clan despite passing through so many regions.
It was as if the black serpents Vaan had already killed were the only ones that had been in the Divine Serpent Clan. The rest were likely residing in the Western Sea, where the Black Serpent Clan was located.
Realizing that, Vaan headed straight for the Western Sea.
Due to Abaddon's matter, Vaan did not get the chance to explore the Eastern Sea back in the Great Ratholos Empire. However, today, there was nothing to stop him from visiting the Western Sea.
After reaching the western coast, Vaan immediately dived into the blue sea with a big splash, surprising nearby fishermen.
Nevertheless, the moment Vaan entered the Western Sea, he felt like some of his dormant abilities awakened. His vision changed to suit the darkness of the ocean depths, and his senses greatly expanded.
He could feel the breath of every marine life within his range, even control the thoughts of weaker wills.
Despite having no prior swimming experience, Vaan felt like a fish returning to its sea.
The resistance of water against his body was smoothed out as the flow of water began to
move around his body instead of clashing with it.
At the same time, water became easier for him to manipulate.
Pushing the water with the force of one unit would generate the force of two units. He was not pushing the water to swim but rather the water pushing him to swim faster.
As Vaan sank deeper and deeper into the depths of the Western Sea, the increasing water pressure also had little effect on his divine body. He understood he couldn't use water pressure to consolidate his body like the Body Refiners of the Great Ratholos Empire.
That said, his divine body was far too powerful for the tempering of water pressure to have any effect on him either way.
Vaan was almost infatuated with the blessing of water. This kind of wonderful sensation wasn't something he could find in fire and earth elements.
He did not need to improve his water affinity proactively at all. It was like the water element itself was rushing to butter up to him. His water affinity was rising simply by submerging himself in the ocean depths.
However, Vaan's biggest gain was the strengthening of his Boundless Sea and Sky Aura that came along with his increasing water affinity.
Schools of fish would subconsciously stop to offer their worship as he passed them by.