Bing Di hovered to the side, its emerald green eyes fixed on the battlefield.
At first, she was just watching the show, and even had a bit of a competitive mindset—wanting to see how much strength this sea princess could force Jiang Zhen to reveal.
However, as the battle progressed, the ease in her compound eyes was gradually replaced by solemnity, and finally turned into undisguised shock.
She knew Jiang Zhen was very strong; she had recently experienced it firsthand and knew he was extremely difficult to deal with.
But it was a friendly sparring session, with both sides holding back; it was more like a practice of controlling one's strength.
At this moment, facing a 600,000-year-old soul beast that was enraged and had the advantage of playing on its home turf, Jiang Zhen displayed something completely different—an efficient, ruthless, and almost overwhelming dominance!
He has already subdued the Sea Princess!
The precise application of power, the endless combinations of powerful soul skills, and the incredible immunity to mental attacks.
And that last bit of broken skin contained a terrifying power that even she felt a chill run down her spine…
"This monster..."
Bing Di subconsciously muttered to themselves,
"When he fought me... he wasn't even using his full strength?!"
She originally thought she had pretty much figured out Jiang Zhen's background, but now it seems that the sparring match was probably just a warm-up for him to familiarize himself with the power.
The Jiang Zhen before her, in his true combat state, possessed unfathomable strength, especially the threat of that final blow, which sent chills down her spine.
Seeing the Sea Princess severely injured and defeated, Bing Di 's shock reached its peak.
She abandoned all her casual demeanor, and her gaze towards Jiang Zhen became incredibly complex, containing disbelief, a hint of apprehension, and...
A flutter of emotion that she herself was unaware of.
The sea princess leaned against the broken coral, her icy blue eyes filled with disbelief, shock, humiliation, and a deep sense of powerlessness.
She lost, and lost so utterly!
Jiang Zhen slowly sheathed the Raging Tiger Whale Halberd, and the terrifying aura around him gradually subsided.
He looked at the deeply traumatized sea princess and spoke again calmly, but this time, his words carried undeniable weight:
"Now, Your Highness, can we calmly discuss the deal?"
...
Inside the Ice Crystal Neptune Palace, it is not resplendent with gold and jade, but rather possesses a cold and magnificent beauty belonging to the deep sea.
The enormous, luminous corals, like natural lamps, illuminated the palace with a mesmerizing play of light and shadow. The beams, pillars, and walls, sculpted from millennia-old ice, are adorned with naturally formed, mysterious patterns.
The sea princess, whose injuries had eased slightly, sat regally on the main throne, a huge, ice-blue seashell throne that radiated a soft glow.
Her face was still somewhat pale; the trauma and shock from that previous attack with the One Yuan Heavy Water was far from being able to heal in a short time.
Those icy blue eyes gazed with an incredibly complex expression at Jiang Zhen, who stood tall and imposing below, and the equally fierce Bing Di , the Northern Heavenly King, beside him.
The atmosphere inside the hall was heavy and oppressive. Some powerful sea spirit beasts hid in the surrounding shadows and water curtains, casting hateful and fearful glances at Jiang Zhen and Bing Di , but none of them dared to make a move.
After a long silence, the Sea Princess's cool voice finally broke the stillness, carrying a hint of weariness and caution that she could not hide:
"Speak, human. What you call...a deal?"
She emphasized the word "deal," her tone still carrying a hint of sarcasm, but more than that, it conveyed a sense of submission born of being beaten into submission and a subtle expectation that she herself was unwilling to acknowledge.
Jiang Zhen met her gaze, his expression calm and sincere.
"My trades are very simple."
He spoke slowly, his voice echoing clearly throughout the palace.
"I need Your Highness to become my eighth spirit ring."
boom!
These words were like a thunderclap!
Even though she had a premonition that the other party was after the spirit ring, the sea princess still turned pale instantly when she heard such a straightforward, even arrogant, request!
Her slender hand, resting on the armrest of the throne, clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into the hard ice crystals!
The soul power that had just calmed down surged uncontrollably again, causing the temperature in the entire palace to drop sharply!
"You—!" She gritted her teeth, her chest heaving violently, her icy blue eyes blazing with fury.
"I am the lord of the 600,000-year-old Ice Sea! How dare you..."
If the shadow of her previous crushing defeat had not lingered, and if she had not known that she was no match for her opponent, she would have already attacked again without regard for anything else!
Damn it, this is too much! If I could beat them... This thought roared uncontrollably in her mind.
However, Jiang Zhen didn't give her time to explode, and immediately said, "In exchange, I promise that the day I become a god, I will reshape your body and help you directly ascend to the level of a divine beast!"
The sea princess's angry rebuke came to an abrupt halt, her beautiful eyes widening suddenly.
Becoming a god? A mythical beast?
What...what an absurd yet...tempting promise!
Before she could process these earth-shattering words, Jiang Zhen continued, "And before fulfilling this final promise, to ensure the safety of your soul, I will use a soul skill to perfectly preserve your soul within the 'Pure Water Illusion Spirit'."
"You can remain in a manifested state, retain a clear consciousness, perceive the world, and even continue to... monitor and manage your people to a certain extent."
As he spoke, Jiang Zhen had a sudden thought.
A stream of incredibly pure water gathered around him, quickly taking shape and solidifying, eventually transforming into a pure water phantom spirit almost identical to the Sea Princess's original form, its entire body composed of flowing seawater!
This scene once again left the Sea Princess and the hidden sea spirit beasts dumbfounded. Such control over the power of water was simply unheard of!
But what truly shocked the Sea Princess was what Jiang Zhen subsequently revealed.
Buzz—!
A series of dazzling spirit rings slowly rose from Jiang Zhen's feet, like a rainbow shooting upwards, illuminating the entire Ice Sea King Palace with unparalleled splendor!
Purple! Purple! Black! Ice blue! Red! Crimson! Gold!
Especially the last one, a million-year golden spirit ring that exuded warmth, vastness, and seemed to contain infinite possibilities, and the deep red spirit ring in front of it that exuded a heart-palpitating aura of six hundred thousand years of cultivation, almost burned the Sea Princess's eyes!
A thought flashed through her mind like lightning, instantly overwhelming all her anger and resentment: "Perhaps... he... really can become a god..."
This configuration of spirit rings is completely beyond her comprehension!
This is power that no mortal could possibly possess! The million-year spirit ring is undeniable, and the deep-sea demonic whale aura contained within the approximately six hundred thousand-year spirit ring is also undeniable!
Wait a minute? The aura of a deep-sea demon whale?!
This level of cultivation... could it be that person's?
She had also heard of the Deep Sea Whale King.
Could this family also be...?
Add to that Jiang Zhen's unbelievable mastery of water and ice elements, his terrifying mental defense, and his devastating attacks...
The human in front of me is simply a monster born to break the rules!
His talk of "becoming a god" seems... not to be empty boasting?
...