Resolve

If I couldn't dodge it, then I wouldn't.

Facing the creature's gaping maw, Xia Qiu's eyes turned cold. Instead of retreating, he increased his strength, swam slightly upward, and rammed straight into it.

Bang.

Xia Qiu's massive frontal bone slammed into the coelacanth's upper jaw.

Crack.

A fissure appeared in Xia Qiu's ramming bone, while the coelacanth's upper jaw shattered outright.

It was larger and stronger, but it had turned abruptly to attack and had not built up enough momentum. Moreover, it had opened its mouth, directing its strength into its bite.

Xia Qiu, on the other hand, had accelerated directly into the collision, striking with tremendous force.

What Xia Qiu used was the ramming bone on his forehead. After several evolutions, it had become a massive horn.

The other creature's upper jaw, however, was comparatively fragile.

That blow shattered its upper jaw and halted its attack.

The two fish froze in place. After that brief stillness, Xia Qiu endured the pain and burst into motion. With a flip, his body suddenly dropped like an aircraft performing a barrel roll.

Then he shot forward, reached the coelacanth's underside, and bit down on its pectoral fin.

Rip.

Xia Qiu tore off the left pectoral fin in a single bite and swallowed it.

If I destroy your fins, how will you escape?

But then Xia Qiu discovered that the section where the coelacanth's pectoral fin connected to its body contained hard bones.

Crack.

Xia Qiu crushed the pectoral fin in his jaws. The coelacanth turned, trying to attack, but its body tilted slightly, unable to stabilize itself.

Xia Qiu flipped again, reaching the coelacanth's other side, and bit off its remaining pectoral fin.

With both pectoral fins gone, a fish's body would lose its balance.

Pectoral fins were extremely useful. They could provide propulsion, work with other fins to balance and turn, and support the head.

The coelacanth tried to turn its body, but it swayed from side to side, unable to maintain its posture, much less attack Xia Qiu.

Crack.

Xia Qiu bit directly into the coelacanth's abdomen and tore at it bite after bite.

The coelacanth's body trembled as it tried to evade Xia Qiu's tearing jaws, but it could do nothing.

More and more blood spilled out.

In the blink of an eye, a huge bloody hole had appeared in the coelacanth's belly.

Thud.

Unable to stabilize itself again, the coelacanth rolled onto its side and fell toward the seabed.

Bang.

The coelacanth's huge body crashed into the ocean floor, sending mud and sand billowing up.

Xia Qiu moved beside it and began gnawing at its body, continuing to feed.

One meal for him now was at least a ton, and he could eat as much as two tons at once.

A Marine Colonel weighed far too little to fill his stomach.

Xia Qiu swallowed huge chunks of fish flesh. After hollowing out the upward-facing side of the coelacanth, a feeling of fullness rose from his belly.

That was enough.

Xia Qiu stopped eating and glanced at the coelacanth, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

You wanted to hunt me? You could only become my prey.

Xia Qiu sneered inwardly and swam into the distance.

Once Xia Qiu's form vanished, the surrounding fish slowly approached and gathered around the coelacanth's corpse to feed.

It hurt so much.

Xia Qiu lay on the seabed, feeling the heat within his body transform him. The pain made his body twitch.

If it had only been Reinforcement Energy, Xia Qiu could have endured it.

But the Evolution Energy the coelacanth had brought him was equally powerful.

When both energies appeared at once, the pain doubled, making Xia Qiu feel as if his body were being torn apart.

The injured areas, especially his head, were filled with intense pain.

Xia Qiu knew that this change would only make him stronger, so he gritted his teeth and endured bitterly.

Only after two hours did the heat completely fade.

Whew.

Xia Qiu slowly swam upward, only to discover that the movements of his pectoral and pelvic fins were no longer as responsive.

What was going on?

Before, whenever he controlled his pectoral fins, they would move.

Now, it felt as if something had extended between his pectoral fins and his body.

Xia Qiu bent himself with all his strength, curling into a semicircle. His side-facing eye happened to catch sight of his pelvic fin.

A section of flesh had grown between the pelvic fin and his body. Like a limb, it was thick and sturdy, yet very short, covered in layers of scales.

What was this?

Xia Qiu examined the change in his pectoral fins and found that they resembled the coelacanth's pelvic fins, except that the coelacanth's were much longer than his.

He had eaten the coelacanth's pectoral fins and flesh, so had he grown them too?

Xia Qiu did not reject this new part of his body.

Sarcopterygii had relied on these body parts to climb onto land and evolve into amphibians.

If he kept growing, could he go ashore too?

That was unlikely.

His body was far too large and heavy. His fins could not possibly support his weight. Not to mention where he would find more coelacanths, even if these limbs grew ten times larger, they still would not be able to support such a body.

Besides, he was constantly becoming larger and heavier. His body was growing too quickly, and it would only become more difficult in the future.

Wanting to go ashore with these tiny new limbs was unrealistic.

However, the growth of muscles at the bases of his fins had also changed how Xia Qiu controlled them.

With muscles containing hard bones, he could control them freely, swing them, and move them forward and backward.

Originally, he directly controlled his fins, flapping them up and down. If he wanted to strike someone, he needed to turn and spin, borrowing the force of his body.

But now he could directly control this part of his body to move his fins up and down. He could also use them to slap, though the force was relatively weak.

These limbs were still too short.

Xia Qiu was dissatisfied with their length.

He remembered that he had torn off the coelacanth's pectoral fins. It also had pelvic fins, an anal fin, and upper and lower tail lobes.

Xia Qiu hurried toward the coelacanth's location, wondering whether those fish had left them for him.

Whoosh.

Xia Qiu arrived beside the coelacanth. As he drew near, he saw many fish tangled together, fighting and attacking one another around its corpse.

Many fish had been drawn here to feed. Some fed on the coelacanth, while others were lured by the other fish and launched attacks.

Once the coelacanth had been devoured clean, the remaining fish began attacking each other.

Xia Qiu's arrival immediately startled them. Seeing his enormous body, they scattered in every direction.

The largest fish was nearly ten meters long. Without Xia Qiu, it would have had few enemies in these waters.

Watching the fish scatter, Xia Qiu felt his own strength for the first time. He charged straight at the largest fish, bit through its rear half, and swallowed it whole.

The upper half of the fish was still twitching, but Xia Qiu had no intention of attacking it further. He slowly dived down and searched for the fins.

The muscles at the bases of some fins had been eaten, but the fins remained. Two fins had even stayed completely intact.

Xia Qiu immediately moved over, crushed every fin in his jaws, and swallowed them. He ate the tail fin as well.

They taste awful.

Xia Qiu complained inwardly. He ate the fish he had just bitten in half, and once he felt full, he left the area.

He was not merely leaving the vicinity. Xia Qiu intended to leave the island of Naruto Village entirely.

He had killed two Marines, including a Captain.

After the first Marine died, they had come here to hunt him.

Now that the Captain had died, how could they possibly ignore it? At the very least, they would come to these waters to track him down.

What rank would the next person sent to capture him hold?

A Commodore? A Rear Admiral?

Even if it were only a Captain from headquarters, he would merely be slaughtered.

He had to leave.

Xia Qiu made up his mind and began considering his route out.