Word Count: 3,122 Words
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In the distance, pure white fins pierced the sea surface like sharp arrows, racing toward the Black Pearl at blistering speed.
Slender sharks close to five hundred in number cut through the water in a blur, their white bodies perfectly streamlined. Dorsal fins sliced the waves as they converged from all sides, encircling the Black Pearl so tightly that not even a drop of seawater could slip through the ring.
"D-Demon Soul Great White Sharks..."
Qin Yu's heart hammered against her ribs. Her legs went weak. The Demon Soul Great White Shark was one of the overlords of the ocean. They were cruel, bloodthirsty, and viciously aggressive. Once they locked onto prey in the sea, escape was all but impossible.
Ling Qiuxi and Ling Bai were land Spirit Masters, far from adept at naval combat. Worse still, the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan was ruled by a 100,000-year king. Among sea Spirit Masters, it was said that the Demon Soul Great White Shark King had served under two generations of Sea Gods!
"We can't break through!"
In the Black Pearl's wheelhouse, Qin Hai shouted at the top of his lungs. The old fisherman had spent a lifetime at sea, surviving storms and tempests too many to count, but faced with five hundred Demon Soul Great White Sharks, even decades of experience proved useless. He could only raise his white underpants in surrender.
An exceptionally massive Demon Soul Great White Shark slowly surfaced. Its body exceeded thirty-five meters in length, its silvery-white back rising from the water like a small island. A gigantic dorsal fin stood erect, and its blue-gray beast eyes radiated a blade-like chill. The creature opened its jaws and spoke in a human tongue:
"The Sea God has spoken. Execute the Demon of the Sea!"
A 100,000‑year spirit beast. The Demon Soul Great White Shark King!
"Demon of the Sea... do you mean me?"
Ling Bai leaned lazily against the deck railing and pointed at himself with a smile.
The Demon Soul Great White Shark King turned toward the sound, its gaze fixing on that handsome face. The aura of a 100,000-year spirit beast erupted violently, whipping the sea into towering waves.
"Human, you have violated the Sea God's will. We shall execute the Demon of the Sea for the Supreme Sea God!"
Ling Bai held his tongue for two and a half seconds. For a moment, he honestly didn't know whether to praise a certain someone for giving the order so quickly or the Demon Soul Great White Sharks for swimming so fast. In the end, he asked quite seriously:
"Then did he tell you what my strength actually is?"
The Demon Soul Great White Shark King sneered. "There is no need. Where the Sea God Trident points, the fangs of the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan follow!"
Its tone oozed pride, the kind born of believing death in service was the highest possible honor. A trace of barely perceptible mockery flitted through Ling Bai's eyes.
The root of this mess wasn't hard to guess. Tang San had discovered Ling Bai's presence in the ocean. With his Divine Soul gravely wounded, he couldn't personally intervene, so he had immediately issued orders to the sea spirit beasts who worshipped the Sea God, commanding them to surround and kill Ling Bai.
Tang San wasn't stupid. Sea spirit beasts were, as a whole, stronger than their land counterparts, and 100,000-year spirit beasts were several times more numerous in the ocean than on land. But the true sovereign of sea spirit beasts, the Demon Empress, didn't listen to him. Neither did existences like the Evil Spirit Orca King.
So he had never honestly expected this group of middling sea spirit beasts to kill Ling Bai. He only wanted them to delay his return to the Douluo Continent as long as possible, buying time for his own recovery.
And Tang San didn't care in the slightest about sea spirit beast casualties. The one who had become a God through faith was the first-generation Sea God. Tang San had merely inherited the Sea God Position afterward and had never needed faith power from start to finish. A single flap of his lips, and the sea spirit beasts charged out like a flock of foolish boys. Why wouldn't he use them?
The Demon Soul Great White Sharks were the number-one lackeys beneath the Sea God's throne. They were nearest to the scene and swam the fastest, so they naturally rushed in first. Unfortunately, all their hot-blooded zeal was destined to be poured straight into the sea.
"The wind's turning chilly. Seems like a good day for the Demon Soul Great White Sharks to go extinct."
Ling Bai lifted his head to gaze at the sky. His voice was so light it scattered on the sea breeze.
"Stop posturing. When you strike, be careful. I want that Demon Soul Great White Shark King alive," Ling Qiuxi said calmly.
When the Golden Dragon Spear killed, it devoured a portion of the target's spirit power and converted it for her use. The Black Pearl pirates had already helped her break straight through the Rank 70 bottleneck in one go.
The Demon Soul Great White Shark possessed a top-tier bloodline among sea spirit beasts. Their abilities were highly comprehensive. Strength, speed, attributes, and even spiritual power were all outstanding. It was perfectly suited to serve as the Golden Dragon's seventh spirit ring.
The Shark King's cultivation lay somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 years. Absorbing it would put considerable pressure on Ling Qiuxi, but with the Emperor Destiny Beast's innate bloodline suppression, she was confident she could fuse with it successfully.
Ling Bai flashed an 'OK' gesture. With his current strength, the Demon Soul Great White Shark King was at best a piece of shark fin that could still breathe. There was no need to call upon the Angel of Finality or the Death Abyss Bone Dragon. He alone was more than enough.
"Those who make enemies of the Sea God shall surely be swallowed by the ocean!"
Before Ling Bai could act, a powerful, wrathful aura erupted. Seawater surged from all directions, pressing down on the Black Pearl with crushing force.
Devil Shark Domain! Within its range, all surrounding seawater obeyed the Demon Soul Great White Shark King's will!
The sea turned upside-down in an instant. Water roared and heaved as massive Demon Soul Great White Sharks slammed toward the Black Pearl in a frenzy. Qin Yu shrieked in fright.
Boom Boom Boom—
A magnificent seven-pointed star array unfolded, instantly enveloping the entire Black Pearl. The Radiant Spirit Array's defense was impregnable. The 10,000-year Demon Soul Great White Sharks' fangs could only stir up ripples of light across its surface, never breaching the barrier.
While the sharks gnawed desperately at the Radiant Spirit Array, a tiny point of light quietly rose above the Black Pearl. The mote expanded rapidly in midair, and when it descended, it transformed into thousands of shining golden swords of light.
Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory!
Turbulent seawater and tough sharkskin were cleaved cleanly in two beneath the radiant barrage. Demon Soul Great White Sharks split open along their length. Purple and black spirit rings floated up one after another as fresh blood stained vast swathes of the sea crimson.
"No! My clansmen!!!"
The Demon Soul Great White Shark King's eyes nearly split with rage. After ten thousand years of recuperation, this Demon Soul Great White Shark group had only just grown to its current size, yet Ling Bai had slaughtered a full tenth of the clan with a single Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory!
Driven into a frenzy, the Demon Soul Great White Shark King whipped its tail. Its island-like body burst from the sea, maw gaping nearly one hundred eighty degrees to reveal a forest of sword-like white fangs as it lunged straight at Ling Bai on the deck.
Gray-blue spirit power condensed around its streamlined body. Dozens of tooth-shaped gray-blue rays, solid as steel, snapped open their bloody maws toward the Radiant Spirit Array.
"Human, bear the wrath of the ocean!"
Devil Shark's Teeth. The Demon Soul Great White Shark's strongest offensive spirit skill!
Ling Bai thrust out his right arm. Golden light laced with countless writhing bolts of lightning condensed into a giant dragon amidst the raging waves. Devil Shark's Teeth was incomparably sharp, but before this roaring Light Holy Dragon, it simply disintegrated into nothing.
Holy Dragon Judgment tore apart Devil Shark's Teeth and plunged into the sea with undiminished force. Under the Demon Soul Great White Shark King's disbelieving gaze, a clanging symphony of shattering rang out as golden cracks spread in all directions. The Devil Shark Domain collapsed with a resounding boom!
A beam of golden light shot into the sky. The Seraphim looked down upon the ocean, its cold, clear voice carrying vast spiritual fluctuations that echoed across heaven and sea:
"Dominate the sky, and the ocean shall crawl beneath my feet."
All surrounding light converged on the Seraphim at once. The golden radiance grew denser, more solid, making Ling Bai look like a blazing sun hanging in midair.
The terrifying pressure set the seawater boiling. The Demon Soul Great White Sharks' expressions filled with terror. Ever since the first Angel God and the first Sea God, sky and ocean had stood in opposition for tens of thousands of years.
The ocean was the home ground of sea spirit beasts. But the sky stood above the ocean, and that was the Seraphim's domain!
After Glorious Light Convergence, the power of light surged through Ling Bai's body. Thunder brewed beyond the heavens, and a brilliant rift split the sky.
Thunderous Fury, Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World!
A single bolt of lightning ripped across the firmament. The thunderclap that followed shook the ocean, heralding the opening act of an apocalyptic storm.
Ten thousand bolts of lightning interwove. Lightning dragons danced wildly, each one carrying the berserk might of thunder. Before them, the Demon Soul Great White Sharks seemed pathetically small and powerless.
"Roar—"
A myriad dragons roared in unison as Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World erupted. Lightning and thunder tangled across the sky, painting a world-destroying scroll of rampaging thunder dragons. Bolts crashed down like countless colossal golden serpents. Each time they struck the sea surface, violent explosions lit the ocean bright as noon.
Thunderclaps and dragon roars rose and fell like pounding war drums, threaded through with the Demon Soul Great White Sharks' dying screams. Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World hammered down like a divine baptism. The sharks scattered in every direction, their bodies blasted into chunks of minced meat!
The Qin grandfather and granddaughter were completely dumbstruck. Everywhere they looked, the sea was stained a ghastly crimson. The Demon Soul Great White Sharks fled in abject terror, but the lightning storm continued to spread through the seawater. The sharks that had once rampaged unchallenged now shook like leaves, their bodies riddled with charred, gaping holes.
"Land Spirit Masters are so terrifying..."
Qin Yu sniffled, gazing up at Ling Bai. Framed by the blazing radiance of Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World, he looked almost divine. Whoever said land Spirit Masters were suppressed by the ocean needed to come out here and take a beating!
High in the sky, Ling Bai unleashed the Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon's spirit skills to his heart's content. He felt utterly refreshed in both body and mind.
Electric fishing was, in principle, strictly forbidden.
But principles were made by whoever held the biggest fist, and right now, the biggest fist belonged to him!
Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World. Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World. Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World!!!
The Demon Soul Great White Shark King struggled desperately to resist the lightning dragons descending from the sky, unspeakable bitterness gnawing at its heart. That scammer of a Sea God never mentioned the opponent was some kind of thunder god!
And if its eyes weren't deceiving it, that was a Seraphim up there!
Back when Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi had battled Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu, the Demon Soul Great White Shark King had witnessed it firsthand!
"Xiuxiu, run!"
Because of the Sea God's command, its entire race now faced annihilation. As a fanatical believer in the Sea God, the Demon Soul Great White Shark King did not regret dying for its god. It poured the last of its strength into shoving its daughter away, hoping at least to preserve a single strand of bloodline.
Thousands of streaks of lightning fused into a Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. The blazing dragon of light crashed down on the Demon Soul Great White Shark King's smooth back like a thunder god descending to earth.
The world turned into a blinding, uniform white. The Demon Soul Great White Shark King felt its body growing lighter and lighter. There seemed to be no pain, yet everything in its vision peeled away, layer by layer.
At the end of its life, it saw a golden spear thrust into its brain. Ling Qiuxi had struck, ending the life of a generation's sea spirit beast king. Above the colossal corpse, a dazzling blood-red spirit ring emerged.
A golden streak flashed before Ling Qiuxi. Ling Bai gave his angelic wings a light beat, his spirit power dragging along a Demon Soul Great White Shark that twisted and struggled without cease.
The Demon Soul Great White Shark Princess, who had fled for her life this entire time, had finally fallen into the hands of the Seraphim Great Demon King.
Its mother had been purely daydreaming. How could an 80,000-year sea spirit beast possibly escape the palm of a Seraphim? Could a shark swim faster than an angel could fly?
"Are we eating shark fin tonight?"
Ling Bai asked Ling Qiuxi. She thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes. And add a shark soup."
Bai Xiuxiu, Dong Qianqiu; whatever name it might have in the future didn't matter. If it hadn't taken human form yet, right now it was just shark fin!
"Mother served two generations of Sea Gods! Dying for faith is the pride of the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan!"
The Demon Soul Great White Shark Princess proved surprisingly tough, its neck still stiff as it shouted right up to the moment of death.
"Faith of the ocean..."
Ling Bai gave it a thoughtful look, then drove his sword through its head.
Ling Qiuxi sat cross-legged on the Black Pearl's deck, absorbing the Demon Soul Great White Shark King's spirit ring. Ling Bai set about collecting the spoils of war.
A spirit beast's entire body was treasure. Of the five hundred Demon Soul Great White Sharks, roughly seventy percent had been mature adults. Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World had blown some to pieces, but more than a hundred relatively intact corpses remained!
The fish oil in a Demon Soul Great White Shark's head was a powerful tonic!
The shark fins couldn't be wasted either!
There was far too much shark meat. Ling Bai set aside a portion for the Qin grandfather and granddaughter. The two thanked him over and over, joyfully gathering up the meat.
Fish was one of Silver Whale Island's main food sources. The abundant spirit power contained in Demon Soul Great White Shark flesh had powerful effects in nourishing muscles and meridians.
While harvesting fish oil and shark fins, the Demon Soul Great White Sharks dropped seven spirit bones.
Top-tier spirit beasts already had high drop rates. With five hundred Demon Soul Great White Sharks, even a one percent chance should yield at least five spirit bones.
Finally came the dissection of the Demon Soul Great White Shark King. The head of this 100,000-year spirit beast had nurtured a shark pearl, and it also dropped a 100,000-year skull spirit bone.
Ling Bai froze the Demon Soul Great White Shark King's corpse and stored the whole thing into the Spectral Demiplane while muttering with disdain:
"What kind of spirit beast dares to share the same name (Xiao Bai) as me…"
Six hours later, Ling Qiuxi finished absorbing the Demon Soul Great White Shark King's spirit ring without mishap, successfully advancing to a seven-ringed Spirit Saint. Immediately afterward, she fused with the 100,000-year Demon Soul Great White Shark skull spirit bone, and her spirit power surged to Rank 75.
Once a Spirit Master broke through to become a seven-ringed Spirit Saint, they gained the ability to fly. The ocean's restraints on Ling Qiuxi would no longer be as severe as when she had fought the Black Pearl pirates. The Demon Soul Great White Shark spirit bone also granted her underwater combat capabilities.
After a voyage of two days and two nights, the Black Pearl sailed out of the Green Fish Sea Region and into the Silver Whale Sea Region.
Qin Hai piloted the ship from the wheelhouse. Ling Bai, Ling Qiuxi, and Qin Yu enjoyed lunch on the deck, feasting on a 10,000-year Purple Crystal Lobster that weighed more than the three of them combined.
"The two sea regions are this far apart..." Ling Qiuxi ate a mouthful of crystal-clear lobster meat. "Why did you go all the way to the Green Fish Sea Region? Can't you fish in the Silver Whale Sea Region?"
"Is it because the Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale forbids humans from hunting sea spirit beasts?" Ling Bai added.
"No. The Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale has guarded the Silver Whale Sea Region since ancient times. In the notes passed down through our family for generations, the Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale has a gentle and noble temperament. As long as we don't slaughter sea spirit beasts indiscriminately, it won't interfere.
Silver Whale Island is different from other sea Spirit Masters. We don't worship the Sea God, but the Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale. During the annual Silver Whale Festival on the island, the Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale occasionally takes human form and celebrates with us," Qin Yu explained.
"But about three hundred years ago, the fish shoals in the Silver Whale Sea Region mysteriously began to diminish. Eventually there were so few that we couldn't catch anything at all. The Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale vanished without a trace around the same time."
She propped her chin on her hands, her face filled with regret.
"Our ancestors erected a statue of the Azure Sea Silver Dragon Whale in human form on the island. It's really beautiful. If only I could meet the real one just once..."
"Is that so..."
Ling Bai nodded slightly, his expression giving nothing away.
Yet deep within him, the Seraphim's instincts were stirring. Beneath the Silver Whale Sea Region, an abnormally dense evil aura churned...