Amidst the vast ocean, where waves endlessly surged and fell, a lone figure was walking upon the water.
An ordinary person witnessing such a sight would be left utterly speechless, rubbing their eyes to ensure they weren't seeing things.
As the figure drew closer, his appearance became clearer. He was a young man with a well-built physique and long azure hair billowing in the wind.
His deep blue eyes carried the boundless vastness of the ocean itself, and anyone who met his gaze would feel as if the endless sea was staring right back at them.
He wore an outfit resembling a fusion between a Daoist robe and the traditional garments of the Eastern seas, with blue as its dominant color.
Staring into the endless expanse of the ocean, he pondered for a moment before doing something utterly peculiar.
From standing atop the water, he effortlessly shifted into a supine position, lying flat on the surface of the sea. Muttering to himself, he said:
"I'll take a nap first. Once I wake up, I'll find something interesting to do."
And with that, he drifted off into slumber, letting the waves carry him wherever they pleased.
.....
Countless years later, in a distant sea, a spirited young man stood atop a small raft.
With both fists raised to the sky and a beaming grin, he declared with excitement:
"Ha ha ha! I've finally set sail! I will become the greatest pirate ever!"
He had short, dark blue hair, slightly tousled, with bangs partially covering his forehead. He wore a white unbuttoned shirt, paired with fitted black pants, and a long navy-blue coat embroidered with silver thread in the shape of ocean waves along its edges.
Among all his possessions, the most precious was likely the crystal teardrop pendant hanging around his neck.
Clutching the pendant in his hand, his expression turned resolute. Gazing at the distant sea, he smiled and murmured:
"Soon… I'll see you again at the very top."
Suddenly, something caught his attention, an unknown object drifting into his line of sight.
Raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, he squinted toward the horizon.
"What's that? Something's floating toward me? That's intriguing… Should I row over and take a closer look?"
He didn't hesitate any longer, surrendering to his curiosity as he paddled the raft toward the floating figure.
With his exceptional stamina, the raft glided swiftly across the water, bringing him closer to the mysterious object. As it became clearer, his eyes widened in astonishment.
"Wow, incredible! Someone can actually sleep on the ocean!"
Despite his amazement, the truth was that he had encountered people capable of this before—even he himself could do it, though occasionally, carelessness would lead to choking on seawater.
Without delay, he approached and called out:
"Hey, hello!"
No response.
"Wow, sleeping that deeply?"
Taking a deep breath, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"HELLO!"
The sleeping young man jolted awake, turning his head left and right in confusion before his gaze finally settled on the boy standing on the raft before him.
"Are you the one who woke me up?"
"That's right! Be my crewmate!"
Lan Hao Tian made no effort to hide his intentions. He found the person before him fascinating—someone truly worth having as a companion.
The ocean sovereign blinked in mild surprise. After processing the situation, he smiled and pondered for a moment, deciding on a name for himself.
"We've never met before, so why are you inviting me to join your crew?
Lan Hao Tian flashed a friendly grin.
"Because you can sleep on the ocean! It's been ages since I've seen anyone do that! Let me ask again—will you be my crewmate?"
Seeing the pure, unwavering determination in his smile, the ocean sovereign mused:
"He seems like an interesting one. Simple-minded yet incredibly resolute. Hm? This feeling… I see. I never expected him to possess that. Joining his crew might actually be amusing."
After making up his mind, he said:
"My name is Wu Xian. I accept your invitation to be your crewmate. But I should know your name as well, shouldn't I?"
Hearing that, Lan Hao Tian jumped up excitedly, laughing heartily as he declared:
"Ha ha ha! This is great! My name is Lan Hao Tian, and I will become the greatest pirate of all time!"
Hearing such bold words, Wu Xian chuckled, raising an eyebrow before asking:
"Do you even know what it takes to become the greatest pirate?"
Lan Hao Tian scratched his head, then grinned.
"I don't care. Whatever it takes, I'll do it! No one can stop me from becoming the greatest pirate!"
His words might have sounded careless, but the boundless determination in his eyes told a different story.
Wu Xian found himself admiring the boy's spirit. Smiling, he said:
"Ha ha, I believe the captain I've chosen will succeed. In this world, there are nine great pirates known as the Nine Kings. They are the rulers of the seas, outlaws above all others. If you defeat all nine of them, you will become the one and only Pirate Emperor, the greatest pirate of all time."
Upon hearing this, Lan Hao Tian's eyes sparkled like stars. He eagerly asked:
"Do you know where the Nine Kings are? Let's go defeat them right now!"
Just like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, Wu Xian found his new captain endlessly amusing. He chuckled.
"Ha ha, what's the rush? We're not even a proper pirate crew yet. At the very least, we need to gather enough crewmates first."
Lan Hao Tian clapped his hands together as if suddenly enlightened. Nodding, he said:
"You're right! We need to find more crewmates. And we need a real ship! Oh, and we have to sail around the entire world. A great pirate who hasn't traveled the whole world would be embarrassing!"
Wu Xian reassessed his captain, thinking to himself:
"He's not exactly stupid, he just doesn't care about things that don't matter to him."
Only now did he fully take in the situation. This boy had such a grand dream, yet for some reason, he had set sail on nothing more than a crude, makeshift raft.
For Wu Xian, walking on water wasn't an issue, but he could easily tell that while Lan Hao Tian had great stamina, his skills hadn't reached that level yet.
"Are you really planning to become the greatest pirate with just this raft?" Wu Xian asked.