Devil Whale Sea.
This nameless stretch of the western outer seas of the Douluo Continent had gained its title because of the arrival of a single force: the Devil Whale Horde.
Upon its vast waters, nearly twenty Devil Whales had gathered. Among them were three Demonic Orca Whales, four Demonfang Whales, three Deep Blue Gray Devil Whales, three Four-Eyed Black Whales, three Big-Headed Devil Whales, and a single Deep Sea Devil Whale.
Seventeen whales in total—yet within them, six were spirit beasts of the hundred-thousand-year level. The leader was unmistakable: the Deep Sea Devil Whale, its body stretching more than one hundred fifty meters in length, its cultivation clearly surpassing five hundred thousand years.
At this moment, the sixteen other whales surrounded it in a circle, as if attending some kind of council.
Four or five kilometers away, Zhu Ziyang and his three companions had arrived, led by the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King.
Standing upon the Moon God Shuttle, they caught sight of the gathering at once—and all four were shaken.
"Good heavens—six hundred-thousand-year beasts!" Zhu Ziyang said, his expression filled with surprise. "A hundred-thousand-year Demonic Orca, a hundred-thousand-year Demonfang, a hundred-thousand-year Deep Blue Gray, a hundred-thousand-year Four-Eyed Black, a hundred-thousand-year Big-Headed Devil Whale—and even a hundred-thousand-year Deep Sea Devil Whale. No wonder this horde is united against its nature."
The Deep Sea Devil Whale bore the title of Whale King among its kind. With more than five hundred thousand years of cultivation, it possessed both the strength and the right to command so many different species.
"To think there are this many hundred-thousand-year Devil Whales!" Jiang Nannan, Zhang Lexuan, and Qian Lingyi were equally stunned. Nannan turned to the Fish King. "Shuiyue, did you know so many hundred-thousand-year beasts lurked in this horde?"
"I had no idea!" Shuiyue was dumbfounded. Her heart faltered, giving rise to retreat. "We should abandon this. If necessary, my Silver Moon Clan can give up these waters. Their strength is far too great. There's no need for us to clash with them!"
Truly, she had never expected such numbers. Even when the whales had invaded her people before, she had never glimpsed so many of this level.
"Retreat? Why should we retreat?" Zhu Ziyang's eyes sharpened. Though he knew Shuiyue spoke truth, at the word "withdraw" he immediately retorted, "It's only six hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts. That is not enough to make me back down."
With that, he rose into the air from the Moon God Shuttle, the Scythe of Judgment appearing in his hand as his martial soul was released. His four spirit souls manifested one by one—Snow Empress, Ice Empress, Frost Dragon King, and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. He did not even bother to summon his light-born warriors. With these four alone, the Devil Whale Horde would be enough.
"Lexuan-jie, come with me," he ordered calmly. "Nannan, Lingyi—wait aboard the shuttle. Shuiyue, protect them."
"Alright!" Zhang Lexuan answered, releasing her own martial soul and summoning her spirit soul, Yuyu the Amethyst Hundred-Petal Lily. Though her spirit soul's strength leaned toward support rather than offense, it complemented Ziyang's perfectly.
"Brother, Lexuan-jie, be careful!" Nannan and Lingyi called out, worried yet understanding their own limits.
"I will," Ziyang promised, confidence radiating from every word.
Then, without hesitation, he and Lexuan soared toward the whales.
They made no effort to conceal themselves, and the horde spotted them instantly. Hatred of humans burned deep in the Devil Whales' blood. Without waiting for the Deep Sea Whale's command, they attacked as one.
Water pillars, surging waves, energy spheres, and thunderous soundwaves erupted across the sea, crashing down upon Ziyang and Lexuan like a storm.
But neither panicked. They dodged with ease, retaliating in turn. Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and the Frost Dragon King charged forward like predators unleashed.
Snow Empress alone struck at the Deep Sea Devil Whale, her overwhelming power pressing it down with icy might. As former rulers of their own beast territories, both she and the Demon Empress disdained to fight anything less. Against the great whale of five hundred thousand years, she found at last a worthy foe.
The Demon Empress, meanwhile, turned her wrath upon two of the horde's hundred-thousand-year whales—the Demonic Orca and the Big-Headed Devil Whale, each with more than two hundred thousand years of cultivation.
The Frost Dragon King and Ice Empress divided the remaining three.
That left the lesser whales—tens of thousands of years strong, but far below the battlefield's true level. These fell to Zhu Ziyang and Zhang Lexuan, who cut through them like a farmer reaping grain.
The Devil Whales faltered. Their eyes widened as they realized the truth: every opponent they faced was a beast king, each with cultivation no less than two hundred thousand years. Yet here they were, fighting under the command of a human.
Why? Why would spirit beasts submit to a man?
"Why do you serve a human?" the Deep Sea Devil Whale roared at the Snow Empress, its massive body battered by blow after blow. Driven into desperation, it sank lower, preparing to flee into the depths.
But Snow Empress did not answer. She merely pressed harder, her ice-forged sword stabbing into its flesh. Blood dyed the sea red. The great whale howled and vanished into the deep, abandoning its kin.
Elsewhere, the Demon Empress dispatched her two foes with ease. Three moves each, and the two hundred-thousand-year whales lay lifeless upon the waves. The Frost Dragon King and Ice Empress cut down the rest, while Ziyang and Lexuan slaughtered the stragglers.
The horde that had terrorized the Silver Moon Clan for centuries was annihilated in moments.
From afar, Shuiyue trembled, her voice dazed with disbelief. "I–is it… over?"
"It should be," Nannan said with a proud smile. "With my brother, problems always resolve themselves. Shuiyue, it looks like your clan won't need to abandon these seas after all."
But Zhu Ziyang's eyes remained fixed on the waves, cold and unyielding.
Not yet.
Not until the Deep Sea Devil Whale was slain.
The great beast thought it could escape into the abyss. But no—he would chase it down and reap its life, as was only natural.
The weak are prey to the strong. Such is the law of nature.
While Zhang Lexuan and the spirit souls harvested the whale corpses for bones and essence, Zhu Ziyang began drawing their abundant life force into his rings, intending to raise his remaining ten-thousand-year rings to the hundred-thousand-year level.
Yet just as he began, the sea convulsed. A towering wave, a thousand meters high, rose like the wrath of heaven.
A furious voice thundered from the depths, filled with hatred and rage.
"Cursed humans! You will all die!"
The surface split apart, and a colossal shadow began to rise.
The Deep Sea Devil Whale had returned.
"Everyone, be careful!" Zhu Ziyang shouted, his voice sharp with warning as he tightened his grip on the Scythe of Judgment.
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