Bang—
A red figure was heavily slammed onto the beach. Before this figure could even get up, the seawater seemed to come alive, fiercely raising a massive wave, about to crash down on her.
Boom— Boom—
Rumble-like, continuous sounds rang out. Beneath the surging waves, a bone shield abruptly erected itself on the beach, blocking the fallen figure's front and holding back the towering wave.
"Xiao Feng, are you alright?"
Gu Tianchen walked to Wu Feng's side, pulling her up with one hand while patting her back, helping her spit out the seawater she had swallowed.
"Ugh—, I—, ugh—, I'm fine..."
Dizzy and disoriented from being thrown around, Wu Feng vomited the seawater in her stomach in large mouthfuls. Even though she was prideful and tried to pretend she was fine, her actual appearance was as wretched as could be.
After recovering her senses and gazing at the restored calm sea surface:
"Dog shit!"
The moment she opened her mouth, Wu Feng "courteously" cursed.
"How the hell can this seawater act like a soul beast!?"
"Alright, stop cursing."
Gu Tianchen sighed slightly, speaking to comfort her.
Actually, he also knew that Wu Feng couldn't be blamed for venting her temper like this; it was just that this third trial was a bit too tormenting.
First of all, they had to dive below 800 meters and cross 553 nautical miles of sea. This part wasn't difficult; after all, with their current cultivation, they could achieve it even without external aid.
Secondly, during this process, they could not kill any sea soul beast—not a single one! But the main problem was that sea soul beasts with over ten thousand years of cultivation would frantically attack them. As for those below ten thousand years... they could only be said to be unqualified to live in these waters, that's all.
Thirdly, other than sea soul beasts, the ocean itself in this area was also their enemy. Because this sea seemed to have come alive, constantly picking fights with them.
Lastly, they were not allowed to use their seventh soul skill or anything above it, along with domains, soul bone skills, and the like. Even Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er's martial soul fusion skills, as well as Gu Tianchen's spatial abilities—such cheating methods—were all banned. As for self-created soul skills... those were allowed.
It could be said that the third trial bestowed by the Sea God, under all these various restrictions, had resulted in the current situation.
A full month.
A whole month!
Eleven people, unable to advance a single step in these waters.
Before they could even travel twenty nautical miles, they would be swept back by the seawater. What made people even more suspicious was that, apart from being able to attack them, this stretch of sea had definitely been augmented with power that didn't belong to it.
Just look at Wu Feng and it was clear.
Her Ultimate Fire should absolutely be able to burn in seawater. But once she entered the sea, her flames were as if suppressed, wantonly kneaded by the seawater; it was incredibly frustrating.
And someone else who felt just as frustrated was Ma Xiaotao.
Crash—
Suddenly, the seawater surged into another large wave.
And this wave, compared to the one that was about to slam Wu Feng just now, also had a conspicuous red dot within it.
Seeing this, everyone who was adjusting on the beach instantly widened their eyes. The ones with the most intense reactions were none other than He Caitou, Bei Bei, Wang Dong'er... these Shrek Academy students.
"Sister Xiaotao!" ×3
Amidst the shouts, there was not the slightest response.
Clearly, she had completely passed out from being in the sea.
Facing the incoming wave, Bei Bei and the others immediately stepped on the void and charged forward, braving the crashing waves, and under mutual cooperation, they successfully rescued Ma Xiaotao.
As for the already boiling and erupting wave before them, Ji Juechen took a step forward, arriving in front of the wave.
His movements were minimal; he merely held his sword, raised it, and then...
Slash—
A fierce sword aura soared into the sky, heading straight for the wave. And in the next second, it cleaved the surging wave in two.
As if losing its supporting force, the wave fell back to the sea surface.
However, as the one who did all this, he didn't turn around. He still stared fixedly at the sea surface, yet no one paid him any mind at this moment.
Because on the other side, where Ma Xiaotao was.
"How is her condition?"
"She just passed out."
Poison and medicine were of the same lineage, so regarding Ma Xiaotao's current state, Dugu Xin only spent a few seconds to make a judgment.
At this time, Wu Feng also squatted beside Ma Xiaotao, poking her belly with a finger. It was round and bulging, as if she were six months pregnant, and she couldn't help but feel a wave of palpitations.
"My goodness, how much water did she drink? This is really too much suffering!"
"Alright, no need for superfluous nonsense. Her condition isn't just from the suffering of this sea's water. I'm afraid she encountered a powerful sea soul beast at the bottom of the sea."
Dugu Xin grabbed Wu Feng's other wrist, and together with the hand she had just used to poke Ma Xiaotao's belly, gently pressed it onto Ma Xiaotao's stomach, saying, "You press the water out of her belly first, so she'll feel better when she wakes up later."
"After all, except for Dong'er and you, everyone else gathered around is a guy; it's not appropriate. Besides, your attributes match hers. After you press the water out, you can also help regulate her body."
Naturally, Wu Feng wouldn't refuse, agreeing immediately.
"Alright!"
Right at this moment, Ye Guyi and Huo Yuhao, who had just finished recuperating, also stood up, preparing to gather beside Ma Xiaotao.
But then, their attention was drawn to Ji Juechen.
"Old Ji, what are you looking at?"
Just as Ye Guyi asked this question, she caught a glimpse of Huo Yuhao's eyes; although there was no fear, his gaze instantly turned grave.
Before she could ask "what happened," suddenly, the seawater surged once more. And within this rising seawater, a massive white figure rapidly headed in their direction. Moreover, with its speed, it only took a few blinks to reach a spot close to the shore.
In an instant, a premonition of danger suddenly struck their hearts.
Huo Yuhao immediately said, "Be careful."
Buzz—
Almost the next instant after he spoke, three large cauldrons descended from the sky, situating themselves at the edge of the coastline. A black halo, like profound water, surged forward to suppress the incoming wave.
The one who made the move was none other than Xiao Xiao. With her arms propped in front, a powerful force erupted from her petite body.
However, just as the wave seemed about to be calmed, the white figure violently leaped up. A massive shark, a full thirty meters long, broke through the halo.
With a sweep of its shark tail, it easily shook off the three large cauldrons.
Clang—
Amidst a muffled sound, the white shark's figure magnified in everyone's eyes. Ye Guyi took a stride forward, just about to summon her martial soul to deal with this presumptuous great white shark, but she was preemptively stopped by Huo Yuhao. At the same time, Ji Juechen also cleared up the confusion.
"This sea soul beast has no killing intent."
Hearing this, Ye Guyi stayed her hand as well.
She turned to Xiao Xiao's side, inquiring about her condition.
Who would have thought that as she turned her head, that enormous great white shark, under their dumbfounded gazes, leaped right out of the seawater, soaring into mid-air. A blinding gray-blue light bloomed from its perfectly streamlined body, and its body actually shrank rapidly within this radiance.
Even seeing it with their own eyes, one could describe it as:
Truly bizarre!
Because very soon, a tall, generous-looking, and seemingly straightforward young woman appeared before the group.
It was just that this bizarreness... wasn't anything special to Huo Yuhao.
Even though she was transformed from a Devil Spirit Great White Shark, he had also seen what the Sea Princess Clan looked like after briefly leaving the sea.
It could only be said that the situation was similar.
At this moment, the woman transformed from the Devil Spirit Great White Shark stood at nearly 1.9 meters tall just by looking at her.
For an ordinary girl, this height would easily feel somewhat uncoordinated, but this Devil Spirit Great White Shark was an exception. An outfit resembling a white leather suit outlined a perfect figure, with beautiful curves that made her look full of allure. Her gray-blue long hair draped behind her back, reaching straight to the ground. Besides that, her fair skin radiated a faint gray-blue luster, complementing her eyes of the same color. She had a high bridge and a face with knife-carved contours, giving off a captivating exotic charm and a kind of wild beauty.
However, this woman transformed from the Devil Spirit Great White Shark hadn't come for the third trial that everyone was experiencing, but for one person—a woman—a woman she had knocked unconscious.
After transforming into a human and landing on the ground, her eyes stared fixedly at Ma Xiaotao, who was lying on the beach, having her belly pressed by Wu Feng, her mouth shooting out a small stream of water like a water gun.
"This martial soul is quite similar to his."
The Devil Spirit Great White Shark's gaze shifted from the unconscious Ma Xiaotao to the others, a trace of curiosity and anticipation revealing in her gray-blue eyes. "Hey! What's her name?"
"Her name is Ma Xiaotao."
For some reason, Wang Dong'er took the initiative to step forward and answer.
But when the Devil Spirit Great White Shark woman saw the familiar trident mark on Wang Dong'er's glabella, her expression suddenly went blank, as if she had instantly forgotten the question she had just asked.
The next second, "Plop—"
She acted decisively and simply, directly kneeling on the ground.
The curiosity in her eyes had been completely replaced by reverence.
After performing a simple bow, she couldn't help but murmur, "What a familiar scene..."
After the Devil Spirit Great White Shark woman came back to her senses, her gaze couldn't help but sweep over the crowd. "Not a single one has the taste of the sea in their bones; they're all land soul masters..."
Then, she looked at Wang Dong'er again.
"Respected Sea God Inheritor, I am the leader of the Devil Spirit Great White Shark clan that guards the Sea God Family's domain, a sea soul beast with 200,000 years of cultivation. Oh right, my name is Xiao Bai."
Devil Spirit Great White Shark, Xiao Bai...
Hmm! He had an impression!
Although the name was the same as the Ice Bear King's, whether in Shrek Academy or the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, any records about Sea God Island couldn't escape the figure of the Devil Spirit Great White Shark King, "Xiao Bai." Even in the manuscripts of ancestors Oscar and Ning Rongrong kept in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the seven disciples recalled another name for this Devil Spirit Great White Shark King, which seemed to be...
Little Bai Bai!
Instantly, some people who thought of this widened their eyes.
They wanted to laugh, but were also a bit embarrassed to.
"What are you all doing?"
Seeing everyone's expressions, Xiao Bai was rather puzzled.
But soon, she cast this puzzle aside, and instead quite skillfully started acting familiar with them. Then, she asked a question she had been wanting to ask for a while. "Are you all from the continent, from a school called... called... Slime or something? And that girl with the Phoenix martial soul, does she have any relationship with that guy called Ma Hongjun from ten thousand years ago?"
"Our academy is called Shrek, not Slime."
Coincidentally, at this time, the unconscious Ma Xiaotao slowly woke up. Before she could fully grasp the situation, she sat up straight and refuted Xiao Bai's mispronunciation of the academy's name.
Xiao Bai, however, didn't care, saying dismissively, "It's not that big of a deal. Besides, ten thousand years have passed; you can't expect an 'old' shark that has lived for a full 200,000 years to remember the details from ten thousand years ago, can you?"
Saying this, she expectantly looked at Ma Xiaotao. "What about you? You haven't answered yet."
"Me?"
Ma Xiaotao gathered her wits, finally sorting out her thoughts. "Ma Hongjun is my ancestor."
"Sure enough!"
Xiao Bai violently clapped her hands, a burst of excitement on her face. "I knew it, I didn't guess wrong! After all, the Fire Phoenix martial soul is so rare. In these ten thousand years, other than him, I've only encountered you, so I knew you had a relationship with that kid Ma Hongjun!"
The logic behind this deduction doesn't seem to work that way.
The martial soul being rare was purely because you hadn't seen anyone else.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao and the others felt a wave of speechlessness in their hearts.
Although Ma Xiaotao felt the same, she still asked a question in return. "Since you guessed I'm Ma Hongjun's descendant, couldn't you have gone a bit easier just now and not slapped me unconscious?"
"No can do."
Xiao Bai flatly refused. "Friendship is friendship, trials are trials. Besides, who knows how distant your relationship with Ma Hongjun is. Furthermore, back then, during a similar trial, he wasn't polite to me either. I'm just paying him back in kind."
As she spoke, she even revealed a sly smile.
The descendants of an acquaintance must be dealt with ruthlessly.
This is her good fortune!
Clearly, even after living for so long under the Sea God's protection, she had become a person... uh—, a shark spirit.
In such an atmosphere, the group of eleven, led by Wang Dong'er, soon had many of them become familiar with Xiao Bai.
Until...
"By the way, Xiao Bai, what's beyond those 553 nautical miles?"
In this manner, Huo Yuhao asked about the contents of the second trial. Besides, on this point, he was genuinely curious!
553 nautical miles!
Exact down to the unit; it didn't look made up.
This meant that there was absolutely something in that direction!
Absolutely something big.
"Beyond 553 nautical miles, that's..."
Just as she started speaking, she saw the golden trident brand on Wang Dong'er's forehead flash with light, frightening her into hastily shutting her mouth.
As she patted her own ample chest, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, murmuring, "I can tell them about this," and then proceeded to introduce what lay beyond 553 nautical miles.
In that case...
"A new small island has emerged there."
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