After the Sea Emperor evolved into human form, whether in terms of physical and soul strength, cultivation talent, innate aptitude, or other aspects, he ranked among the very best of the human race.
To some extent, he was not inferior to Gu Ding.
The reason he had not broken through to Saint King Level was that, unlike the other members of the Gu Ding Pirate Crew, he devoted most of his time and energy to things outside cultivation. Although he could have chosen to operate on multiple threads, he had still chosen to let nature take its course.
For the Gu Ding Pirate Crew, their overall Combat Strength was already more than formidable enough. Since ancient times, no one had ever heard of a Pirate Crew with three Saint Kings and eight Saint Lords. The Sea Emperor felt that one less person on the combat side made little difference. Instead, he could have more time to gather information, conduct research, discuss the creation of new weapons with Robert, plan the Pirate Crew's future with Miko, and so on.
He felt that his life was already fulfilling. There was no need to become a cultivation fanatic like Gu Ding.
But not becoming a Saint King did not mean the Sea Emperor was weak.
With the types and number of divine abilities he had mastered, as a Saint Lord Level powerhouse, he could practically be considered invincible beneath the Saint King Level.
At the same Combat Strength, the Sea Emperor possessed close-combat abilities as terrifying as Gu Ding's, saber techniques no weaker than Bigge's, swordsmanship no weaker than Scarlet's, illusion abilities no weaker than Liliath's, and calculation and coordination abilities no weaker than Miko's... Aside from forbidden moves that required special bloodline energy to activate, he was proficient in every field mastered