Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 646

646: The City Beneath the Whale Bones 646: The City Beneath the Whale Bones As Emery continued his narration, Ethan felt a growing surge of interest.

He hadn’t expected the Merfolk to be real-actual, living beings rather than legends whispered by sailors.

The giant sea turtle beneath them had now slowed its pace.

It didn’t attempt to breach the dome above the submerged city but instead drifted downward, touching the seabed with surprising gentleness.

It came to a stop before a massive gateway framed by towering whale skeletons.

Here, countless Merfolk swam gracefully through the currents.

None slipped through the gaps between the skeletal walls; they all used the grand gate to enter or leave the colossal city.

Ethan couldn’t help but wonder-how many of them lived here?

Some of the Merfolk were enormous, their serpentine forms stretching over a hundred meters long.

“Those giant ones hold the lowest status here,” Emery explained quietly, as if afraid the creatures might overhear him.

The sea turtle advanced only halfway through the gate.

When the waterproof shield on its back touched the city’s protective dome, the two barriers merged, creating a transparent corridor that opened a safe passage for Ethan and the others.

Ethan’s curiosity sharpened.

He was about to step forward when a sharp, grating sound tore through the stillness.

Screeech!

A chorus of high-pitched cries erupted all around them.

Ethan looked up.

Inside the dome, the Merfolk who had been gliding through the waterless air suddenly froze, every head turning toward him.

Their eyes locked on the four Merfolk that Ethan’s group had subdued earlier.

Hiss!

Hiss!

In an instant, countless Merfolk bared their needle-like teeth, their hostility thick enough to taste.

Ethan touched his nose and sighed lightly.

He had expected as much.

This kind of reaction was inevitable.

The city came alive with noise.

Shrill cries echoed through the enormous structure, spreading farther and farther like ripples on the surface of a vast ocean.

Ethan suspected this was their version of an alarm.

“Ethan…” Emery’s voice trembled, his face pale.

“Relax,” Ethan said calmly.

“As long as they hand over Lyla and the others, I won’t-” Before he could finish, movement rippled through the crowd.

The Merfolk in the distance parted like a living tide.

From the gap emerged a battalion of Merfolk roughly human-sized, each carrying a gleaming trident.

There were tens of thousands of them, every pair of eyes burning with hatred.

“Tch.” Ethan’s lip curled in disdain.

Did they think sheer numbers would intimidate him?

What good were these fodder fish?

He could sense that their strength was similar to the four he had just defeated.

On land, their strength level would be considered formidable-early Transcendent-rank, comparable to Matriarch Whitmore.

But the Matriarch herself stood at the peak of that realm, and these were far from it.

“Wait-there are stronger ones!” Regis suddenly warned, his tone tight.

Ethan sensed it too.

As the armed Merfolk assembled, the ones who had first spotted them quickly scattered.

The soldiers didn’t attack; instead, they formed a wide perimeter, surrounding Ethan’s group in disciplined silence.

Then, as Regis spoke, the line of soldiers split open, creating a narrow passage.

Through the corridor, twelve figures appeared, moving slowly but with palpable weight in each step.

The moment they came into view, the giant sea turtle beneath Ethan lowered its massive head-a gesture of submission that needed no translation.

“Ethan,” Starfall murmured beside him, his voice tense.

“I think we’re in trouble.

These twelve… they feel as strong as Dragon Child.” “Oh?” Ethan turned slightly toward Dragon Child, curious.

“And what’s your current strength level?” He could sense it-the similarity between Dragon Child’s aura and Regis’s.

The two were almost equal in power, yet there was something different, a subtle distinction he couldn’t quite name.

“Beyond the late stage of the Voidbreaker-rank… half a step into something else.

I’m not sure what that realm is called,” Dragon Child said quietly, her eyes locked on the twelve Merfolk approaching from afar.

“The Apex State,” Emery answered.

“The Apex State?” Regis and Starfall exchanged puzzled looks.

“Yes,” Emery said with a nod.

“It means ‘Heaven and Man as One.’ That’s what your current level is called.” “Ah, so that’s it.” Regis let out a slow breath, and the tension around him shifted.

Now that they understood, both his and Starfall’s auras subtly sharpened, their energy stabilizing as if they’d finally anchored themselves.

Realization brought confidence, and confidence brought power.

“I learned about this realm here,” Emery continued, anticipating Ethan’s next question.

“This city holds a vast archive of ancient texts-records passed down from ages long forgotten.” “Oh.” Ethan’s reply was brief, but his eyes gleamed with intrigue.

So much of Earth’s history had vanished, its knowledge scattered and buried with time.

If the City of the Whale Fall truly preserved those records, it was an invaluable trove.

He couldn’t help but wonder-did they have everything?

Or were even their archives incomplete?

The thought sparked a flicker of calculation behind his calm gaze.

By now, the twelve small Merfolk had stopped before them.

They were tiny-no taller than a meter-but the pressure radiating from them was unmistakable.

Their presence weighed on the air, dense and suffocating.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

If the hundred-meter giants were considered the lowest in status, then these miniature beings must be the strongest of their kind.

Emery glanced back at him.

“I’ll go talk to them.

Promise me… don’t act rashly.” Without waiting for a response, he pushed off gently, gliding through the air as though still swimming underwater.

The sight looked strange-there was no water here, yet he moved as if it were all around him.

When Emery reached the twelve small Merfolk, their faces twisted in visible distaste.

Ethan’s heart sank slightly.

So that was how they saw him.

He remembered Emery’s earlier confession-that he carried only a trace of Merfolk blood.

It was clear now: he was a half-blood, or perhaps the diluted descendant of one.

Among these purebloods, that made him little more than an outsider.

Watching Emery bow his head slightly, Ethan felt an unexpected pang of sympathy.

There was something humiliating about it, seeing the man shrink before his own kin.

Emery began to speak with them.

His voice was calm, but the Merfolk’s expressions grew increasingly hostile.

A few times, he turned and gestured toward Ethan’s group, as if explaining their presence.

When the twelve small Merfolk finally looked directly at Ethan, their faces hardened with arrogance and disgust.

Ethan frowned.

What was with that look?

Hadn’t they summoned him here?

Emery soon drifted back toward them, his expression dark and heavy.

“What did they say?” Ethan asked.

He already had a sinking feeling about the answer.

His suspicion deepened when four guards emerged from behind the small Merfolk.

Each carried what looked like iron shackles connected by long, black chains.

There were four sets-one for each of them.

Ethan’s brow twitched.

His expression stayed calm, but the air around him cooled noticeably.

The guards stopped a short distance away, waiting.

Emery hesitated, unable to meet Ethan’s eyes.

Finally, he let out a weary sigh.

“You… do as you wish.” Ethan’s voice was low.

“What do you mean, ‘as I wish’?

And what are those things they’re holding?”