Mo Yu waved his hand lazily. "You're the newcomer, so you go first. Show me what you've got. Remember, the stronger you look, the more attention you'll get once you join the Dragon Palace."
Yun Jin nodded seriously. "So I shouldn't hold back? You're saying I should go all out?"
Mo Yu chuckled. "Even if you tried to hide it, you couldn't."
The three sea beasts standing nearby laughed along with him.
Sure, this woman had broken their barrier, but they figured the thing had been up for ages and had probably weakened on its own.
Or maybe—
She'd used some artifact meant to break barriers.
Or maybe she'd just gotten lucky and struck the weakest spot.
Because if that barrier had been in perfect condition, there was no way they'd believe she could've shattered it with a single sword strike.
To pull off something like that, her strength would have to rival a Lóngzūn.
And this stranger? Strong as a Lóngzūn?
Yeah, right. Who'd believe that?
While the three of them were still laughing, Yun Jin raised the Tai'a Sword, feigning uncertainty. "So, I'm really doing this?"
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up already," one of them said impatiently.
Yun Jin activated her Insight Eye and scanned them.
Good.
Every single one of these sea beasts, except for the two mermaids clinging to Mo Yu, was wrapped in a thick shroud of resentment.
The kind of resentment that didn't come from ordinary killing. If it were just from battle deaths, it wouldn't be this deep. That much resentment meant they'd tortured living beings before killing them. And judging by where they were, it wasn't hard to guess what kind of victims they'd chosen.
Yun Jin's gaze turned icy. She still called out playfully, "I'm swinging my sword, you know! I really am!"
Her stance looked sloppy, completely unlike a trained swordswoman.
The three sea beasts sneered. Another show-off trying to get attention.
Yun Jin swung her sword lazily. The sword light looked weak, almost harmless. The three didn't even bother dodging. When the light reached them, they casually raised their arms to block.
And then—
Their eyes went blank.
Huh?
Why did the world suddenly look higher up?
They looked down... and froze.
Their lower halves were still standing where they'd been. For a heartbeat, they didn't even process it. Why were their bodies in two pieces?
That plain-looking sword light hadn't just cut them clean in half—it kept going. Wherever it passed, limbs and blood filled the water.
Screams erupted belatedly as the sea beasts around them realized what had happened.
The sword light tore through the crowd, split the waves apart, and finally faded into the distance.
"Oops, my bad. Did I use too much force?" Yun Jin said with a troubled expression. "I really tried to hold back, I swear."
Mo Yu narrowed his eyes, his drunken haze vanishing. He pushed the two Charm Mermaids aside and straightened, suddenly serious.
This woman...
She was no simple intruder. But then, his lips curved into a smile again.
"Your strength's beyond what I expected. Congratulations, the Ink Sea Dragon Palace welcomes you," Mo Yu said cheerfully.
As for the sea beasts cut in half?
He didn't even glance at them. They'd recover eventually.
The two Charm Mermaids exchanged a hopeless look. Another powerhouse was about to join the Ink Sea Dragon Palace. That meant their kind would have even less chance of surviving in the future.
"Oh? You're not mad I hurt them?" Yun Jin asked curiously.
Mo Yu laughed. "What's there to be mad about? You can't spar without getting hurt. A few pills and they'll be fine."
"True," Yun Jin said with a nod. "For someone in the Mahayana Realm, losing a limb's no big deal. Even if they're cut to pieces, they can still pull themselves together."
"Enough talk, come on, I'll take you to—" Mo Yu began enthusiastically.
Yun Jin smiled faintly.
Then the air turned cold. Spears of ice appeared out of thin air, each aimed directly at the sea beasts' seas of consciousness. She snapped her fingers.
Before Mo Yu could react, the ice spears shot forward.
They pierced through the sea beasts' heads without warning. Their eyes went glassy as they crumpled one after another.
In a blink, only corpses surrounded Yun Jin.
She turned to Mo Yu with a pleasant smile. "You didn't mind when I hurt them. What about when I kill them?"
Mo Yu's lips trembled as he stared at the bodies.
This woman—
How dare she?!
She'd killed them right in front of him!
Those sea beasts might not have been core members of the Ink Sea Dragon Palace, but they were still his trusted subordinates, the ones he'd worked hard to recruit.
And now they were all dead.
Just like that. He'd be left with no one under him. For a moment, his first thought wasn't anger—it was panic. His standing in the Dragon Palace would drop.
Wait, no.
If he could recruit someone like her, his position might actually rise.
The thought made him grin brightly. "They were useless anyway. Dead or alive, what's it matter? As long as you're willing to serve me, all the resources I gave them will be yours."
Yun Jin stared at him, dumbfounded.
Was this guy brain-dead?
She'd literally slaughtered his people in front of him, and he was still trying to recruit her?
She didn't even know what to say.
"How about it?" Mo Yu urged. "If that's not enough, I can double your benefits!"
"…"
Mo Yu frowned. "Still not satisfied?"
Yun Jin had had enough.
Black and white chains burst from her fingertips and wrapped tightly around him.
He froze, staring at her in confusion. "What're you doing?"
Yun Jin was honestly baffled. She turned to Hei Chi. "What's wrong with this guy? Wasn't I obvious enough? Doesn't he realize I'm trying to kill him?"
Hei Chi looked just as lost.
"You… you're gonna kill me?" Mo Yu finally stammered, eyes wide as if the idea had just sunk in.
"???" Yun Jin blinked.
One of the Charm Mermaids spoke softly, "Mo Yu's a core disciple of the Ink Sea Dragon Palace. Killing him means going against the entire clan. Once that happens, the palace will issue a bounty, and every member will hunt you down until one side's dead."
The other mermaid added, "In the past thousand years, the Dragon Palace has only issued one bounty like that."
"The last sea beast who killed a core member of the Ink Sea Dragon Clan survived for only an hour after that."
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龙尊 (Lóngzūn) is Dragon Lord