The tiger-scaled fish's meridians were completely sealed, leaving him unable to fight back no matter how much he wanted to.
As that nightmare of a cleaver descended toward him, despair filled his eyes. He'd been raised here for decades. Every so often, he had to watch his companions' heads sliced off by that same blade, their bones boiled into soup, their skulls turned into another dish.
He'd felt rage before.
And fear.
But none of it had ever changed anything. Today, it was finally his turn to meet that same fate. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. At least after this, he wouldn't have to live trembling in fear anymore. The tiger-scaled fish tried to convince himself of that.
But the blade still didn't fall. He froze, dread sinking even deeper.
Was this bastard toying with him? Did he want to enjoy watching him break down?
Then, in the next instant, something felt wrong.
The butcher suddenly turned his head, his face even more terrified than the fish's.
"Y-you… who are you?" His voice trembled.
Before the words even faded, the cleaver in his hand—one that had carved countless fillets—shattered into several pieces and disintegrated into dust midair.
The tiger-scaled fish stared blankly as silvery powder drifted down like snow. He followed the butcher's gaze—and froze.
A white-haired woman stood before them.
The seabed had no sunlight, only the glow of countless luminous pearls. Yet this woman seemed to carry her own light. She stood there quietly, radiating brilliance like the moon in a dark sea.
Yun Jin looked at the terrified crowd with calm eyes. Through her Insight Eye, the black miasma swirling above their heads was so thick it almost made her sick.
"You all deserve to die," she said evenly.
The butchers flinched, then scrambled to grab their weapons and charge at her.
Yun Jin didn't move.
She simply stood there, unbothered. A breath later, every single one of them froze mid-attack, their bodies crystallizing into ice sculptures.
"Enemy attack! Intruder in the compound!"
Shouts came from all directions as more guards rushed in.
Everywhere Yun Jin looked, there was black miasma, layer upon layer of it, so dense it was nauseating. Even among humans, not even the most depraved could possibly carry this much resentment. But these sea beasts had slaughtered their own kind day after day for decades. The hatred and fear of their victims had long since twisted their souls. No wonder the air itself reeked of death.
When she'd killed Mo Yu and his men earlier, Yun Jin had faintly felt her own Luck rise a little. That alone showed how much evil these people had done.
"Icebound Thousand Miles," she whispered.
Her words became reality. Frigid energy erupted from beneath her feet, sweeping through the entire area. Everyone who charged her was frozen solid before they could even blink.
The butcher who'd held the cleaver stared at her in horror. "Y-you can't do this! This place is under Lord Mo Yu's watch! If you kill us, he'll never let you go!"
Yun Jin met his gaze calmly. "Don't worry. Mo Yu's already waiting for you underground."
The man's pupils shrank to pinpricks. What did she mean by that? She… she'd actually killed Lord Mo Yu?!
"You killed Lord Mo Yu? You're finished! No one can defy the Ink Sea Dragon Palace!" he shouted.
"Oh?" Yun Jin's tone was indifferent. "Maybe I am. But you probably won't live long enough to find out."
She raised her hand slowly.
Panic flashed across his eyes, and he started begging for his life. "Senior! Please! We were only following orders! You don't have to kill us!"
The Charm Mermaid sisters couldn't hold back anymore.
The elder sister snapped, "After all the sea beasts you've tortured and killed, don't you dare talk about mercy!"
If they'd merely killed to eat, she might not have been this furious. But the truth was far worse. Each race imprisoned here had been abused and toyed with before being slaughtered. There's a difference between killing and torturing to kill.
The butcher hesitated, then said in disbelief, "Wait… Senior, you're doing this for those lowly sea beasts?"
Seeing the sisters' furious expressions, he rushed to defend himself. "Senior, it's the law of nature! The weak exist for the strong to rule! Isn't that how the world works?"
Yun Jin listened quietly, then smiled. For a moment, he thought she'd been convinced and relaxed a little.
"You're right," she said mildly. "The law of the jungle has always existed. The strong rule the weak. That's very reasonable."
Hope flickered in his eyes.
Then Yun Jin snapped her fingers. All the frozen statues around her instantly shattered into fine powder. Only one remained.
The butcher's breath caught. "S-senior, didn't you say I was right?"
Yun Jin walked up to him slowly. "You are. When you're strong, you think you can control the weak. But now that I'm stronger, it's my turn to decide your fate. Fair, isn't it?"
He froze, eyes wide in disbelief.
"I'm not like you. I'll make it quick," Yun Jin said softly, snapping her fingers again.
The final ice statue dissolved into dust, vanishing completely into the ocean.
She looked down at the tiger-scaled fish still trembling on the ground. She patted his shoulder gently.
The fish blinked, realizing he could move again.
Without another word, Yun Jin kept walking, freeing the other imprisoned races as she went.
Most of them were mid-tier species, raised solely for meat. Once released, they swarmed behind her like a tide, forming a growing army of freed sea beasts.
The Charm Mermaid sisters couldn't hide their excitement. This senior was terrifyingly strong. Maybe… she really could save them.
The thought barely formed before they pushed it away. Not because they didn't want to believe, but because their enemy was too powerful.
The Ink Sea Dragon Palace was no ordinary force. Since Yun Jin had killed Mo Yu, it was only a matter of time before the Palace struck back. Following her meant they'd be dragged into that disaster sooner or later. Yet when the sisters looked at each other, their gazes hardened with resolve. If they were fated to die anyway…
Then they'd rather die fighting beside her than live forever in chains.
That was better than being slaves.
Hei Chi saw the determination in their eyes and chuckled softly. "You two thinking about your last words too? I've already come up with a few. When the time comes and we're really done for, I'll make sure to say them properly. Help me refine mine, will you?"
The three of them huddled together, seriously discussing how to improve their final words.