However, with the Ocean Guardian Shield in place, he had no need to worry about breathing underwater. The shield merely enveloped the surface of both his and
In this manner, one human and one shark glided silently toward their powerful enemy. Both Tang San and Xiao Bai were filled with tension at this moment, and mingled with that tension was a trace of excitement.
Xiao Bai dove deeper and deeper. With the keen senses of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, she discovered that the Ocean Guardian Shield released from Tang San's body not only rendered them invisible, but also contained their auras entirely within it, preventing any leakage. Even so, she remained extremely cautious.
The seawater in this region was very deep. Gradually, Tang San began to feel the pressure from the ocean bearing down on him. However, a full year of training under the
"We're here," Xiao Bai whispered. She tilted her head slightly upward, indicating that their target was in the waters above.
By now, Xiao Bai had carried Tang San to a depth of at least five hundred meters. The tremendous water pressure caused the Ocean Guardian Shield to ripple and fluctuate constantly.
Tang San closed his eyes, concentrating his mind. Gentle spiritual fluctuations spread outward silently. To Xiao Bai's astonishment, the moment the spiritual energy left Tang San's body, it merged seamlessly with the surrounding seawater. Even someone of her ability could no longer detect anything within the ocean. The spiritual fluctuations had truly become a part of the sea itself. This was completely beyond Xiao Bai's comprehension.
In her understanding, any spiritual energy attack could be traced — even spiritual detection should produce detectable spiritual fluctuations. But when Tang San released his spiritual power, she had focused all her attention on sensing those fluctuations, only to find nothing. The waters above remained perfectly calm, without the slightest change.
What Xiao Bai had forgotten was that her understanding was not wrong — any released spiritual energy could be traced. But to detect someone else's spiritual power, one's own spiritual strength could not differ too greatly from theirs. Of course, she couldn't be blamed for this. How could she have imagined that her spiritual power was no longer on the same level as that of this young human, Tang San?
Tang San lay prone on Xiao Bai's back, one hand gripping her dorsal fin, the other pressed flat against her. A gentle stream of spiritual fluctuation flowed into her. Xiao Bai froze for a moment, but sensing no malice in the spiritual wave, she tentatively reached out with her own spiritual power to make contact.
The instant the two streams of spiritual energy touched, Xiao Bai felt her mental world suddenly clear. Countless vivid images appeared in her mind.
This — this was? A shared spiritual detection? Xiao Bai was stunned. Only now did she realize just how far Tang San's spiritual power had advanced. With her own abilities, she could certainly use spiritual detection to perceive her surroundings, but right now she wouldn't dare. The moment her spiritual power surged outward, the Evil Demon Tiger Whales would detect it immediately, and they'd be swarmed. Yet the information Tang San was transmitting to her was not only clearer than anything she could have gathered on her own, but the Evil Demon Tiger Whales in the waters above showed absolutely no reaction.
Xiao Bai finally understood. Reaching this level of detection could only mean one thing — Tang San's spiritual power had surpassed that of all the Evil Demon Tiger Whales, including the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King.
Tang San had no idea what Xiao Bai was thinking. He was simply devoting himself entirely to probing with his spiritual power. Just as Xiao Bai had sensed, his spiritual energy had merged perfectly with the seawater. The ocean had become the finest possible concealment. Unless one possessed spiritual power as formidable as Sea God Douluo
Through his spiritual detection, Tang San got his first look at the Evil Demon Tiger Whales. They were roughly twice the size of the
There appeared to be roughly two to three hundred of these Evil Demon Tiger Whales, the majority of them adults. One particularly enormous specimen, over thirty meters in length, floated at the center of the entire pod. Its grayish-black skin shimmered with a faint metallic luster. Without question, this was the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King — the ultimate target of Tang San's fourth trial.
The Evil Demon Tiger Whales cruised through a range of roughly ten thousand square meters. Clearly, no sea creatures dared enter their territory. They had to venture much farther to hunt for food. The current state of these Evil Demon Tiger Whales suggested they had already eaten their fill. Some floated motionlessly, apparently resting.
"Let's move up. Keep your movements slow — don't create too much water disturbance," Tang San signaled to Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai's sensation at this moment was quite extraordinary. With Tang San's spiritual detection guiding them, she didn't even need to use her eyes. She could simply follow the directions of his spiritual power. Though the Ocean Guardian Shield helped them remain invisible — even achieving a near-ethereal quality — their physical volume still existed. Moving too quickly would disturb the water. That was why Tang San had given his earlier warning.
Xiao Bai was, after all, a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. She grasped Tang San's intent immediately. With a gentle swaying of her body, she began ascending slowly toward the surface.
Before long, they had reached a depth of roughly two hundred meters from the surface. Only then did Tang San signal Xiao Bai to stop.
From the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night, Tang San retrieved the Zhuge Divine Crossbow and removed the bolts one by one. He then pulled from the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch a bottle roughly the length of a forearm and as thick as a thigh. The bottle's material was extraordinary — it appeared to be jade, yet a faint white glow flowed across its surface.
Crafting this bottle had cost Tang San no small amount of effort. It was a double-layered jade vessel. The outer layer of jade held the Extremely Cold Yin Spring, which was why the white light shimmered across it. It was ice-cold to the touch. The inner layer contained the Blazing Yang Spring.
The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring was a place of rare natural fortune — a single wellspring housing two opposing extremes, Yin and Yang in perpetual conflict, containing the world's most extreme heat and cold. Born from the creations of heaven and earth, refined by the essence of sun and moon, its elemental dominance was unmatched by anything under heaven. It was within this very place that Tang San had forged his body, impervious to both cold and heat.
To carry the spring water out of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring, he had painstakingly tracked down a piece of Warm Jade, purchased it at great expense, and then had master craftsmen carve it into this double-layered bottle. Most critically, he had simultaneously infused both the extreme Yin and Yang spring waters into it, balancing cold and heat so precisely that the Warm Jade was not immediately corroded and destroyed. Only then could it be brought out of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring.
Warm Jade possessed a naturally balanced temperament, making it the ideal vessel for containing both springs simultaneously.
Very carefully, Tang San pulled the stopper free. With a flick of his hand, he drew a single drop of the Blazing Yang Spring into his palm, then quickly sealed the bottle shut. He set the crossbow's mechanism, loaded the rear half of a bolt into the crossbow, and snapped open the hollow arrowhead. Taking a deep breath, Tang San's movements became suddenly ethereal — in the span of half a blink, he completed a flurry of actions.
The Blazing Yang Spring was dripped into the bolt, the arrowhead was quickly reattached, the bolt was loaded into the crossbow, and it was fired without a moment's hesitation.
He had no choice but to move fast. The temperature of the Blazing Yang Spring was simply too terrifying. Even though the bolts were forged from refined iron, under the corroding power of the Blazing Yang Spring, they could endure for barely a single breath.
Launched by the tremendous force of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, the bolt shot through the water. Guided by Tang San's vast spiritual power, it could hardly miss. With a soft *thunk*, it struck the lower abdomen of one of the Evil Demon Tiger Whales.
Though the Zhuge Divine Crossbow packed fearsome power, the Evil Demon Tiger Whale's skin was even tougher. Under normal circumstances, forget a hundred meters — even at ten meters, all sixteen bolts fired simultaneously would never have pierced an Evil Demon Tiger Whale's body.
But exceptions existed for everything. That bolt sank silently into the Evil Demon Tiger Whale's abdomen.
With his enhanced spiritual power, Tang San's computational ability had increased geometrically. The bolt indeed could not have penetrated that creature's hardened skin on its own. But at the precise moment the bolt made contact with the whale's lower abdomen, the Blazing Yang Spring dissolved the arrowhead. The incomparably scorching spring water, driven forward by the bolt's momentum, melted effortlessly through the whale's underside and plunged directly into its body. No blood flowed out — under the extreme heat, the wound sealed shut the instant the bolt was absorbed.
Struck by the bolt, the enormous Evil Demon Tiger Whale's body froze for a moment. Then it erupted into thrashing. Its frenzy was so violent that even Xiao Bai was startled. Tang San's spiritual power surged, guiding her into a rapid descent. Through spiritual detection, he continuously transmitted the events unfolding above into her mind.
In Tang San's spiritual perception, the struck Evil Demon Tiger Whale was churning wildly through the water, the energy within its body detonating uncontrollably. Two other Evil Demon Tiger Whales that noticed its condition swam over to investigate, but were met with its frenzied attacks. One of them had half its skull bitten clean off, dying instantly. Great swaths of seawater were stained red with the Evil Demon Tiger Whale's blood. The entire pod was instantly alarmed. The atmosphere in the ocean grew tense.
The bolt-struck Evil Demon Tiger Whale didn't struggle for long. After killing its companion, its thrashing soon weakened. It rolled belly-up and drifted toward the surface, its life fading. Strangely, from the moment it was struck by the bolt to its final death, not a single drop of blood leaked from its own body. The blood that had dyed the water red came from the companion it had killed.
Evil Demon Tiger Whales were inherently bloodthirsty creatures, and the scent of blood seemed to ignite their savage nature. In an instant, the energy fluctuations in the water surged into turmoil. It was only when a deep, rumbling roar traveled through the ocean as a shockwave that the Evil Demon Tiger Whales finally quieted.
The Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's massive body stirred. With what seemed like a single casual sweep of its body, it arrived beside the dead Evil Demon Tiger Whale. By now, the slain creature had drifted to the surface.
What Xiao Bai witnessed at this point shook her to her very core. She had of course seen Tang San fire that bolt, but the fact that it had actually penetrated an Evil Demon Tiger Whale's body was already astonishing enough. The tiny bolt and the whale's colossal body were wildly disproportionate. Yet this single, diminutive bolt had not only taken the life of one Evil Demon Tiger Whale, but indirectly caused the death of another as well.
Poison — the word flashed through her mind. Feeling Tang San lying prone on her back, a chill ran through her entire body. What kind of terrible poison could possibly be this devastating? She couldn't help but feel a wave of private relief. Thank heavens that during her second trial, when she had served as proctor, the conditions had stipulated they could not harm a single sea Soul Beast. Otherwise, if this poison had been used against her...
The Blazing Yang Spring was the most extreme yang substance in all the world. Sea Soul Beasts were predominantly water-attribute, most of them yin in nature. Although only a single drop of the Blazing Yang Spring had entered the Evil Demon Tiger Whale's body, the horrifying temperature that erupted within was enough to incinerate the creature from the inside, turning its muscles, tendons, and blood vessels to char. That was why no blood had flowed from the wound.
Before Xiao Bai could finish reeling from the shock, Tang San signaled her to swim to the side. After witnessing what had just happened, Xiao Bai's understanding of Tang San's capabilities had been completely transformed. She promptly followed his instructions and moved to the flank. Because Tang San had used the Zhuge Divine Crossbow rather than any visible skill, neither his nor Xiao Bai's body had been revealed.
All of the Evil Demon Tiger Whales had gathered at the surface. The Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's deep crimson eyes blazed with terrifying fury. It opened its mouth and released a sharp roar. Immediately, several water blades wreathed in dark red energy screamed down onto the corpse of the slain Evil Demon Tiger Whale with piercing shrieks.
The massive body, over twenty meters long, was sliced into several segments, revealing a completely blackened interior.
At the sight, the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's pupils contracted. The surrounding seawater surged as it attempted to examine the corpse for clues. But the Blazing Yang Spring had melted not only the Evil Demon Tiger Whale's internal organs — it had also dissolved most of the bolt itself. The tiny remnant that survived was far too minuscule to matter relative to the whale's enormous body. Even with the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's formidable power, it was unlikely to uncover anything.
But just as the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King burned with rage, turmoil erupted once more among the gathered pod. The exact same scenario replayed itself. A massive Evil Demon Tiger Whale suddenly exploded from the water, its internal energy erupting in a frenzy that sent devastating shockwaves rippling outward. Because so many Evil Demon Tiger Whales were clustered together, the explosion immediately injured several of its kin.
The Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's reaction was lightning-fast, and it was utterly without mercy. With a flexibility that was completely disproportionate to its enormous body, it whipped around. Its colossal tail struck the ocean surface, sending a titanic dark red water blade slamming into that rampaging Evil Demon Tiger Whale. The creature was cleaved cleanly in two.