The Blackwater Ape couldn't stand Yun Jin's insanity any longer. His face flushed crimson as he roared, pouring all his strength into the formation flag for one final strike!
This last attack was indeed stronger than the previous four combined.
Yun Jin finally stopped scolding them, her gaze narrowing slightly.
In that instant, a monstrous wave surged before her.
Each blast from the formation grew more powerful, yet her counterattacks stacked higher and higher in turn. An explosion louder than all the previous clashes erupted beneath the sea.
The Blackwater Ape stared at the roaring waves with desperate hope. This was his final blow. He'd poured every last drop of energy into it.
Did it work?
Did he finally destroy that damned woman?
As the mist slowly cleared, a familiar figure walked out, sighing heavily.
Yun Jin's face was dark with annoyance, but she looked completely unscathed—not even a strand of her hair was out of place. Her gaze swept across the hundred thousand sea beasts in front of her.
In those eyes...
There was disappointment.
There was dissatisfaction.
The beasts felt her stare like a physical weight, and an odd sense of shame crept over them.
"You're honestly the worst bunch of sea beasts I've ever seen," she said through gritted teeth. "Scolding you is a waste of my breath. Well? How long till you recover your spiritual power?"
Five strikes.
Only five!
And this entire army had already drained its energy dry.
By her calculations, they'd need at least ten attacks layered together before she could feel any real pressure!
A mere hundred thousand beasts... nowhere near enough.
"You... don't get too full of yourself!" the Blackwater Ape shouted, his tone full of rage and humiliation. "Just wait! In three days, we'll recover our strength. Then, you'll pay for this!"
He turned, preparing to lead his troops away. He figured that since she hadn't attacked them while they were setting up the formation earlier, she wouldn't stop them from leaving either.
"Leaving?" Yun Jin's lips curled into a strange smile. "Who said you could come and go as you please?"
She flicked her fingers, and the water mist around them shimmered. In the blink of an eye, the barrier expanded, sealing all the sea beasts inside.
The Blackwater Ape froze, his expression twisting with alarm as he looked at the layers of thick mist surrounding them.
"You! What did you do?!" he shouted.
"Ninth-grade trapping array, the Wave Confinement Formation," Yun Jin's voice echoed from above. "You'll be staying here for the next three days."
The army instantly panicked.
They tried everything to break through, but the formation was so intricate that their attacks couldn't even hit the core. Not only did they fail to damage the barrier, they accidentally hurt their own allies instead!
Within less than a stick of incense's time, the beasts who hadn't even been scratched by Yun Jin earlier were now battered and bloodied from friendly fire.
"Stop attacking! Everyone, stop!" the Blackwater Ape bellowed. "That woman's comprehension of formations is far beyond ordinary. She's at least a formation master! Without finding the formation's core, we'll never break it by brute force!
All beasts, sit and restore your strength! Once the Ink Sea Dragon Palace realizes we've lost contact, they'll send reinforcements. That'll be her death sentence!"
His words calmed the panicked army, and one by one, the beasts obediently sat down to meditate and recover their power.
Watching them settle down so nicely, Yun Jin smiled in satisfaction.
That's better.
A formation of a hundred thousand beasts wasn't enough.
Then she'd just wait for two hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand. Four hundred thousand.
As long as there were enough beasts, she could get more rounds of attacks.
When would the next wave from the Ink Sea Dragon Palace arrive? She could hardly wait!
In the Ink Sea Dragon Palace, the connection with the Blackwater Ape and his hundred-thousand-strong army had been completely severed. In front of a massive water mirror, several high-ranking dragons stared grimly at the image.
Ever since Yun Jin had killed Mo Yu and the others, they'd already assumed the worst and overestimated her strength. A hundred thousand sea beasts led by one of the Four Great Generals—the Blackwater Ape—should've been an unbeatable formation.
Yet what they saw through the mirror was even more terrifying than they'd imagined.
"The Blackwater Ape has failed," one Ink Sea Dragon said coldly. "His strength isn't low, but sending any of the other three generals alone would end the same way."
"Then send all three together," another dragon growled. "That woman's powerful, but she's got one fatal flaw—she's too arrogant! She actually let the army form up before attacking. Sure, she won in the end, but her overconfidence is clear as day. This time, we'll send the remaining three generals, each leading a hundred thousand troops. I don't believe she'll survive that!"
The others nodded in agreement.
The Ink Sea Dragons were noble and proud, far too dignified to dirty their claws with direct combat. Matters like these were usually left to their subordinates.
"Should we report this to Lóngzūn?" one dragon asked cautiously.
"Report to Lóngzūn? Are you insane?" another snapped. "He's in seclusion at a critical stage. We can't bother him over something this minor! With three generals going together, there's no way that woman survives."
"And if... she still isn't killed?"
A brief silence followed before a red-haired dragon snorted coldly. "Then I'll personally lead my elite guards to finish it."
His authority carried enough weight that the others immediately relaxed.
The Ink Sea Dragon Palace began mobilizing its forces once more. Since the rise of the Four Great Clans, this was the first time the deep-sea world had witnessed such a large-scale operation.
Beasts from all directions gathered under the palace's command. The other three great powers became far more cautious, afraid of sparking unnecessary conflict. The unaffiliated beasts fled into hiding, not daring to show themselves.
Those who'd left the Sea of Domestication earlier watched from afar, their feelings complicated.
The Sea of Domestication had actually survived the first assault. That alone was shocking enough.
But now, with the Ink Sea Dragon Palace organizing a second wave—three generals and three hundred thousand beasts—how could the Sea of Domestication possibly win?
They comforted themselves with the thought that leaving had been the right choice. Hopefully, their former companions wouldn't hate them. They just wanted to live.
At the same time, countless gazes turned toward the Sea of Domestication. Everyone wanted to see how far this slave-born faction could go against the mightiest of the Four Great Clans. No one believed they could truly win. They just wanted to see...
How long could they possibly hold on?
Three days passed in a blink. By the time the Blackwater Ape and his army had mostly recovered, the new legions had already arrived.
Yun Jin's eyes sparkled with excitement.
She'd waited so long!
Finally...
It was time for another round!