Right after Fang Yi tossed the Inheritance of Strength (Minor)—which looked like a chocolate bean—into his mouth, his body suddenly began to heat up violently, as if some force inside him was trying to tear him apart.
He wanted to scream to release the pain, but found that his voice was stuck in his throat—he couldn't make a sound. His body grew stiff, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to move, feeling as if even his breathing had stopped.
Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down from his forehead, and he felt like his whole body was about to explode.
He didn't know how much time had passed—maybe an hour, or perhaps just a minute—before that terrifying, tearing sensation finally began to subside. When it did, Fang Yi felt like he had just come back from the dead.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
"What the hell was that thing?!"
Finally regaining control of his body, Fang Yi panted heavily, feeling a lingering fear inside.
But as he stood up, he immediately noticed something odd about his body.
"My strength… it did increase!"
Clenching his fists, Fang Yi realized that his physical strength had indeed grown.
To test it out, he grabbed his bow and prepared to fire an arrow into the distance.
Crack! Crash!
Before he could even draw it with full force, his bow suddenly snapped in half.
"Uh…"
Staring at his now useless bow, Fang Yi was stunned.
This was a custom bow, crafted for him by Yammon according to his physical strength. Yammon had said it should last him at least a year—until his strength had grown enough to fully draw it—before needing to replace it.
But now, without even using his full power, he had snapped the bow just like that.
No doubt, this was the effect of the Inheritance of Strength (Minor)—though Fang Yi hadn't expected it to be this powerful.
When Fang Yi went to find Yammon with his broken bow in hand, she too was shocked. After rubbing her eyes a few times, she muttered in disbelief, "Don't tell me I'm still drunk?"
"Teacher, weren't you just hungover from last night? Did you start drinking again this morning? That's not good for your health! Besides, my strength has been growing rapidly lately. I just finished my chores and wanted to practice, but I accidentally broke the bow!" Fang Yi replied, pretending to be helpless.
Scratching her head, Yammon handed her bow to Fang Yi and said, "Try using mine."
Fang Yi had tried Yammon's bow before, but back then, he could barely manage three full draws before his arms gave out. According to Yammon, her bowstring was specially made—most people couldn't even pull it, let alone fire an arrow.
Taking her bow, Fang Yi followed her to the deck and, in one smooth motion, fully drew it back.
Whoosh!
As soon as he let go, the arrow shot out at incredible speed, vanishing into the distance.
Both Yammon and Fang Yi were stunned.
That shot had been at least twice as fast as Fang Yi's usual arrows.
"Can you still draw it?" Yammon asked eagerly, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Fang Yi nodded. "I think I can."
"Wait here!"
With that, Yammon set her spear upright at the bow of the ship, then placed a wooden bucket on top of it. She turned to Fang Yi and said, "Draw your bow and aim for the bucket."
Fang Yi nodded, nocked an arrow, aimed carefully, and fired.
Whoosh! Bang!
The arrow pierced straight through the bucket, sending it flying into the distance before it finally fell into the sea.
However, both Fang Yi and Yammon frowned.
"Your strength has increased a lot, but your accuracy has dropped," Yammon remarked, glancing at the bucket. "You still haven't fully mastered this new strength."
Fang Yi nodded. He had been aiming at a specific spot on the bucket, but the arrow had landed slightly off-target. Normally, at such close range, even without triggering his skill, he would have hit the mark perfectly.
"Look here—see the difference between these two holes?" Yammon called him over and pointed at the bucket.
"Well… the hole on this side is larger?" Fang Yi observed, hesitating slightly.
"Exactly! That's a sign that you're not fully in control of your power," Yammon explained. "As an archer, you must know your bow and arrows inside and out. The arrows you fire should perfectly reflect your willpower."
She nodded firmly and continued:
"For the next few days, stop practicing archery. Focus solely on adjusting and mastering your strength! You said your power has been increasing rapidly, right? I have a feeling it might keep growing for a while longer."
"Wha? Keep growing? That… shouldn't happen, right?" Fang Yi was dumbfounded. He had gained this strength from the Inheritance of Strength—it shouldn't keep growing after that.
Yammon grinned mischievously and said, "Hehehe… Trust me on this one. From now on, you'll be doing nothing but basic training—keep going until you physically can't continue anymore!"
"Well… alright, Teacher Yammon…"
Though confused, Fang Yi could only follow her orders.
Draw, aim, release, recover—Fang Yi stood on the deck, repeating the fundamental archery motions over and over again. Before long, sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Using Yammon's heavy bow, Fang Yi soon felt his arms trembling after just a dozen full draws.
Just as he was about to stop for a rest, Yammon suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slapped him on the back, and ordered him to keep going.
With no choice, Fang Yi gritted his teeth and pressed on, while Yammon casually sat nearby with a jug of wine, watching him train.
A few days later, thanks to Yammon's extreme training, Fang Yi not only gradually mastered his new strength but also solidified his basic archery skills even further.
That day, after finishing his training, Fang Yi sat idly at the ship's rail, deciding to try fishing.
He had remembered that he had drawn several "Mysterious Bait" items in his previous lotteries but had never tested them, so today, he planned to give it a shot.
Taking out a Mysterious Bait from his backpack, Fang Yi began fishing.
"Hey! Little Yi, done with your tasks already? Fishing so leisurely?"
"I bet he won't catch anything today!"
"No, no… I think he's gonna hook a big one this time!"
The bored crewmates nearby immediately began teasing him, even placing bets on whether he would catch anything.
Fang Yi ignored them. Even though he was using the Mysterious Bait, he had no idea what it might attract.
"Huh? What's that? Little Yi, quick—reel it in!"
Before long, a faint golden glow began to shimmer around Fang Yi's fishing line, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
Fang Yi himself was stunned. Hearing the crew's shout, he reflexively pulled the rod.
"W-What the heck is this?!" Fang Yi stared in disbelief at the object he had reeled up—a glowing, faintly golden egg, about half a meter tall.
"Why… why did I fish up an egg?!" Fang Yi muttered, half amused, half baffled.
And it wasn't just any egg—it was so large he had to hold it with both hands.
"Tsk tsk… It's even glowing. Could it be… a golden egg?" A crewmate named Peter suddenly popped out of nowhere, his eyes shining as he stared at the egg in Fang Yi's hands.
Soon, word spread across the entire ship about Fang Yi fishing up a glowing "golden egg." Even Captain Roger, Rayleigh, and the others came rushing over to see it.
"You sure this thing came from fishing?" Roger eyed the half-meter-tall egg, then glanced at Fang Yi, as if wondering how the heck someone could fish up something like this.
To be honest, even Fang Yi himself was at a loss. Luckily, plenty of crewmates had been present—before Fang Yi could answer, they were already excitedly retelling the story in vivid detail.
"How about… we eat it?" Roger suggested, swallowing a mouthful of drool. "It does look pretty tasty…"
Seeing Roger drooling over it, Fang Yi's face darkened. Eating something without even knowing what it was—was that okay?
"Captain, this might not even be a creature's egg! It could be some sort of artifact or treasure… How else would it be glowing?" Fang Yi reminded him in a low voice.
"Huh? So it's not edible?" In an instant, Roger's interest dropped significantly.
But just then—almost as if to slap Fang Yi's face—the egg in his arms suddenly let out a cracking sound.
Crack… crack…
Cracks began to spread across the upper half of the shell.
"What's going on? Why is it breaking?"
"Maybe… it heard the captain threatening to eat it and got so scared it hatched itself?" Everyone gathered around, throwing out wild guesses.
"Awoo~ woof!"
Crunch, crunch…
A tiny head popped out of the egg, letting out a soft, puppy-like bark when it saw Fang Yi. Then, right in front of everyone's eyes, it boldly gobbled up the entire eggshell.
"This… this is a… a dog?!" Fang Yi's worldview was nearly shattered on the spot. Why the heck did a dog hatch from an egg? And he had even fished it up from the sea!
"Whoa! It's too cute!"
"So adorable~"
Everyone's eyes sparkled as they watched the little pup, its belly round and bloated from eating the entire shell. Its pure, fluffy fur and playful, silly antics instantly melted the hearts of everyone on board.