Mu Ye had tailored Tang Wulin’s trial using his deep understanding of the world’s numerous soul beasts and heavenly treasures. The blood he had poured onto Tang Wulin came from the veins of an abyssal demon whale, another lord of the oceans and an age-old enemy of the great white demon sharks.
Abyssal demon whales moved in larger pods, but their overall population was far lower than that of great white demon sharks. Their blood had a particular quality that made it exceedingly difficult to wash off, and when interacting with powerful blood essence, its scent would grow even stronger.
As expected, the shiver of great white demon sharks recognized their natural enemy and would not relent until they were totally annihilated.
Tang Wulin skipped along the surface of the water, occasionally sparing a backwards glance. When he saw the sharks in hot pursuit, the distance between them shrinking, his face contorted in premonition of what they would do to him. He didn’t expect the scent of the blood to linger on him after he had carefully washed it off!
For the sake of survival, Tang Wulin was forced to make a difficult choice: flight or fight.
It was clear that running away would only delay the inevitable. Empty ocean surrounded him as far as the eye could see. Caught in the middle of the large expanse of water, there was no way he could outrun sharks. There was no escape.
His only chance at survival was to fight! As long as he killed all the sharks, he would be able to survive! Tang Wulin resolved himself to make his stand. His eyes flashed purple and he immediately had a count of how many sharks there were. Of how many he had to slaughter. Forty-seven in total, excluding one he ripped apart earlier. The shark at the head of the shiver was over ten meters long, body glistening with silver. It was likely a ten-thousand-year great white demon shark and his greatest threat.
If he were on land, Tang Wulin wouldn’t fear facing tens of thousand-year soul beasts alone. But it was a different story in the ocean, especially since this was a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
I have to go all in! Tang Wulin’s eyes shone. He sucked in a deep breath then threw out his right arm. A mass of yellow shot out from his storage ring to form his yellow-grade mecha.
Tang Wulin spared a glance at the impassive Mu Ye watching from high in the sky before he whipped his bluesilver grass into the water, propelling himself into his mecha. The lights on the mecha instantly lit up and the jets on its back spewed out flames, blasting it in flight.
The sharks lost Tang Wulin’s scent as he climbed the sky and their pursuit slowed. However, Mu Ye appeared in front of Tang Wulin’s mecha in a flicker while in his own. “Come out. Or do you want me to destroy your mecha and throw you back down?” He did not take kindly to Tang Wulin’s tendency to bend the rules and exploit loopholes.
Even while facing a red-grade mecha, Tang Wulin remained calm. He had long since predicted this. He hadn’t summoned his mecha to escape, but to give himself a moment to prepare. As Mu Ye had been speaking, Tang Wulin stuffed his mouth full of the emergency food he stocked in his mecha. Then he feigned panic and said, “I-I’ll jump! Don’t destroy my mecha!”
The food held in reserve in his mecha were actually leftovers of the heavenly treasures from Mu Ye he had hoarded. Full of nutrition, they instantly restored his energy.
After stuffing the last bit into his mouth and swallowing, Tang Wulin felt as prepared as he would ever be. He took in another deep breath and opened the cockpit. He jumped out. His body brimmed with energy, eager to wreck these sharks.
As Tang Wulin plummeted toward the ocean, his mecha disappeared back into his storage ring in a yellow flash. He narrowed his eyes at the fast approaching water as scales rippled into existence along his torso, his breathing growing deep and measured.
The moment Tang Wulin pierced the water, he shifted his body to not dive any deeper and remain near the surface. His combat strength was greater there.
The great white demon sharks instantly caught his scent. The leader of the shiver broke into a sprint toward him and the rest of the sharks immediately followed.
Clad in golden scales and eyes blazing purple, Tang Wulin was unable to let the dark ocean waters hide his tyrannical aura.
As the sharks neared, swift and streamlined, Tang Wulin summoned his gauntlet. It manifested on his right hand in a stream of light. He floated in place motionlessly, eyes sharp with a ferocious edge as he watched the sharks’ approach.
Soon, his whole body sensed the vicious strength that the ten-thousand-year great white demon shark emitted. It felt his draconic strength as well. It opened its jaws wide, blasting a white beam his way in greeting. At the ten-thousand-year level, soul beasts were as intelligent as humans, so this great white demon shark approached with caution, opening up with a ranged attack.
Tang Wulin curled into a ball and crossed his arms over his body, placing the right one in the front. He did not evade the beam and simply bore the brunt of the attack. The moment the beam struck him it exploded, sending him flying out of the water. But Golden Dragon Body mitigated the impact, his body shining golden and his blood screaming wild.
Observing from the skies, Mu Ye nearly jumped in fright. What the hell is he doing? Why did he take the attack of a ten-thousand-year soul beast directly? He subconsciously clenched his fists. He couldn’t let Tang Wulin die, but today was also the forty-ninth day! Tang Wulin’s last chance! Inhaling sharply, he pacified his anxious heart and chose to place his trust in Tang Wulin. He refused to believe a clever kid like Tang Wulin would do this for no reason.
The ten-thousand-year great white demon shark watched Tang Wulin fly through the air with intense bloodthirst. Several of the other sharks leaped out of the water in hopes of mauling him with their powerful jaws. But the ten-thousand-year shark let out a roar, tail whipping its subordinates back into the water in a blur of movement. No way would it let those lesser beings have such a tasty snack.
The ten-thousand-year shark propelled itself out of the water and was upon Tang Wulin in a flash. It opened its jaws wide enough to swallow the still-stunned Tang Wulin whole. And the jaws closed!
Shit! Mu Ye’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Even as a Titled Douluo, he wouldn’t be fast enough to intervene now. How did it come to this? It wasn’t supposed to be like this! He should be stronger! Even if it’s a ten-thousand-year soul beast, he should still be able to survive. Something’s wrong!
The great white demon shark was smart and didn’t immediately swallow Tang Wulin. Instead, it bit down to cut him in half with its razor-sharp teeth. If it tore him into two pieces, then he would pose no threat.
Mu Ye couldn’t bear to watch and shut his eyes as the shark crunched down on Tang Wulin. At the same time, he felt the burden of responsibility weighing on his heart. All he could do now was annihilate this shiver of sharks to avenge Tang Wulin.
But a miserable howl pierced the air and snapped Mu Ye out of his thoughts. Without him knowing it, he had lowered himself from the skies, hovering closer to the water’s surface. And he had realized it wasn’t Tang Wulin who cried out!
Mu Ye’s eyes widened. Even with the upper half of his body within the shark’s jaws, Tang Wulin shone like an iridescent mirror, each of his golden scales twinkling majestically.
The one who had howled was in fact the shark with Tang Wulin in its mouth. It immediately released its jaws, a spray of blood exiting.
Completely unscathed, Tang Wulin refused to let the shark go. He grabbed its tongue and crawled deeper into the wet cavern.