Chapter Summaries

Lin Taichu fought Arui after Arui consumed a piece of the Mo Stone and transformed into a demon. Lin Taichu struck the weakened markings on Arui’s chest to dispel the demonic energy, but Arui’s final words suggested that Lin Taichu had fallen for a trick.

• Arui bit off and swallowed a piece of the Mo Stone, causing him to completely demonize and attack Lin Taichu.
• Lin Taichu lured Arui into pursuing him, wounded his leg, and used a wooden box’s golden light to suppress the demonic energy.
• Arui overpowered Lin Taichu, who used a dagger to defend himself and noticed a faint patch of markings on Arui’s chest.
• Lin Taichu stabbed the faint markings, causing Arui to return to normal and collapse.
• As Lin Taichu caught his breath, Arui weakly told him, “You... you still... fell for it...”

After Arui framed Lin Taichu for his death, Lin Taichu escaped Atlantis and fled into the dangerous northern deep sea. Hiding in a reef cave, he treated his wounds and decided that resolving the seal was the only way to make Atlantis believe him.

• Arui told Lin Taichu that he had called the guards to ensure Lin Taichu would be blamed for his death, and the guards arrived to find Lin Taichu holding a dagger beside him.
• Aron and the guards accused Lin Taichu of killing Arui and Ahei, so Lin Taichu fled into the sea before they could arrest him.
• Aron ordered Atlantis to hunt Lin Taichu down, dead or alive, while Lin Taichu swam north toward the deep sea to escape pursuit.
• Lin Taichu hid behind a reef as a Three-headed Sea Python passed, then found a concealed cave and treated his infected wounds with the herbs Arui had given him.
• Lin Taichu concluded that no one in Atlantis would believe his account unless he resolved the seal before the Spirit Crystal failed.

Lin Taichu strengthened himself by absorbing demonic energy, while using spiritual energy from the wooden box to keep its influence on his mind in check. After growing strong enough to face more powerful beasts, he witnessed the Black Thorn Giant Claw and Iron Claw Mo Chapter fighting in the deep sea.

• Lin Taichu drew demonic energy into his meridians, endured the pain, and refined it to increase his internal energy.
• Lin Taichu searched the reefs for food and spent several days refining demonic energy, becoming stronger as his body adapted to it.
• Lin Taichu noticed that demonic energy made him increasingly violent, so he used the wooden box’s spiritual energy to calm his mind.
• After another dozen or so days, Lin Taichu’s internal energy had more than tripled, and he believed he could contend with a Three-headed Sea Python.
• Lin Taichu hid behind a reef when he heard giant beasts roaring and saw the Black Thorn Giant Claw and Iron Claw Mo Chapter battling fiercely.

Lin Taichu killed Iron Claw Mo Chapter after it defeated Black Thorn Giant Claw, then refined the giant beast’s shell and grew stronger. He discovered a powerful Red Crystal among undersea volcanoes, but a Flame Lizard attacked him before he could reach it.

• Iron Claw Mo Chapter killed Black Thorn Giant Claw, and Lin Taichu finished off the badly wounded Iron Claw Mo Chapter with his short knife.
• Lin Taichu dismantled Black Thorn Giant Claw’s shell and spent several days refining its energy, greatly strengthening his body and inner force.
• Lin Taichu left his cave and swam deeper underwater until he found a cluster of volcanoes and a Red Crystal whose energy might help reinforce the seal.
• A Flame Lizard confronted Lin Taichu beside the Red Crystal and attacked with a fireball and a flaming tail.

Lin Taichu killed the Flame Lizard but could not reach the Red Crystal before a volcanic eruption forced him into a cavern. After resting as the eruption subsided, he returned to the crack, preparing to search for the crystal again.

• Lin Taichu blinded and killed the Flame Lizard after a fierce fight, then rested from his injuries and exhaustion.
• Lin Taichu approached the Red Crystal, but volcanic eruptions began before he could retrieve it.
• Lin Taichu fled the advancing magma, fell into a crack, and escaped falling rocks by jumping into a passage below.
• Lin Taichu found a cavern with a pool of clean water, drank, and decided to search for the Red Crystal after the eruption subsided.
• Lin Taichu recovered while the tremors and magma flow weakened, then left the cavern and returned to the crack.

Lin Taichu recovered the Red Crystal and returned to Atlantis to prove his innocence and warn that the seal could break in half a year. After Aron believed his account and took him to the palace, David had Lin Taichu imprisoned until the King could hear him the next day.

• Lin Taichu found the Red Crystal buried beneath cooled lava, dug it out intact, and carried it back toward Atlantis.
• Lin Taichu entered Atlantis at night and asked Aron for help clearing his name and reinforcing the seal.
• Lin Taichu told Aron that Arui had framed him and gave him the Red Crystal as evidence; Aron believed him and agreed to take him to the King.
• Aron and Lin Taichu reached the palace, but the guards said the King was asleep.
• David arrived, recognized Lin Taichu as a wanted criminal, and ordered the guards to imprison him until the next day.

Lin Taichu waited in Atlantis's Dungeon to explain his innocence to the King, but an unknown attacker tried to kill him before he could do so. Lin Taichu fought back and briefly subdued the intruder, who released a cloud of black smoke that left the fight unresolved.

• Lin Taichu noticed the guards had vanished and suspected someone intended to keep him from seeing the King.
• Lin Taichu held his breath when poison gas entered through the vent and pretended to be unconscious.
• A black-clothed man entered the cell and tried to stab Lin Taichu, but Lin Taichu dodged and wounded him with the Short Blade.
• Lin Taichu fought the attacker, knocked him down, and held a blade to his throat, but the man refused to reveal who sent him.
• The black-clothed man threw an explosive black ball that filled the Dungeon with smoke, forcing Lin Taichu to retreat and wait for it to clear.

Lin Taichu survived an assassin’s attack in the Dungeon, but David arrived and accused him of killing the missing guards to prevent him from seeing the King. As David charged at him, Lin Taichu urged Karen to let him escape so the Captain would not have to choose between obeying orders and framing an innocent man.

• Lin Taichu found the wounded assassin had escaped through a vent and waited for guards rather than risk chasing him into the dark passages.
• Karen investigated the scene and learned the guards had been called away without Lin Taichu seeing a written order, then ordered a search for the assassin while keeping Lin Taichu in custody.
• David arrived with Royal Palace Guards and accused Lin Taichu of escaping and killing the guards, dismissing Karen’s explanation that Lin Taichu had acted in self-defense.
• Lin Taichu recognized that David was framing him to stop him from reaching the King and suggested that Karen let him flee amid the chaos.
• David ordered the guards to arrest Lin Taichu, drew his sword, and charged at him.

Lin Taichu escaped David’s Guards and hid in an abandoned warehouse in Atlantis’s lower district, keeping the Red Crystal safe. After waiting several days for a chance to contact Aron, he finally met him near Arui’s grave and warned that things had gotten worse.

• Lin Taichu escaped through the Dungeon exit while Karen’s men slowed David’s Guards, then hid in a pile of seaweed at the fish market.
• Lin Taichu decided to stay in the lower district, protect the Red Crystal, and avoid contacting Aron until it was safe.
• Lin Taichu found an abandoned warehouse and began recovering his strength while considering David’s connection to Arui and the seal.
• Lin Taichu waited near Arui’s grave for several days, hoping to meet Aron during his regular visits.
• Lin Taichu approached Aron at the grave and urgently told him that things had gotten worse.

Aron helped Lin Taichu hide and tried to tell the King that David had framed him and concealed the truth about Atlantis’s seal. After David turned the city against them, Lin Taichu seized a chance to confront the King during an inspection.

• Lin Taichu told Aron how David had framed him, and Aron agreed to help him reach the King and hid him in a secret reef cave.
• Aron repeatedly tried to approach the King, then finally reported Lin Taichu’s discoveries about the seal and Arui’s responsibility for the Coral Forest massacre.
• The King ordered a secret investigation, while David spread rumors accusing Aron and Lin Taichu of plotting to destroy Atlantis and tightened the search for Lin Taichu.
• Lin Taichu learned the King would inspect an eastern settlement, studied the guards and the square, and planned to approach him there.
• Lin Taichu blended into the crowd at the inspection and rushed toward the King when the procession stopped in the square.

Lin Taichu exposed David’s role in the Coral Forest incident and presented the Red Crystal as proof that he could help reinforce Atlantis’s seal. David took the king hostage to seize the crystal, but the king and guards subdued him.

• Lin Taichu fought through the guards and accused David of helping Arui frame him and conceal the Coral Forest incident.
• Lin Taichu showed the king the Red Crystal and explained how he had obtained it and how David had tried to silence him.
• The king ordered everyone to stop and demanded that David answer Lin Taichu’s accusations.
• David seized the king and threatened to kill him unless Lin Taichu handed over the Red Crystal.
• Lin Taichu distracted David as the king slammed into him, allowing the guards and Lin Taichu to capture and bind him.
• The king condemned David for betraying Atlantis and taking his sovereign hostage.

Lin Taichu cleared his name, helped reinforce Atlantis’s seal, and warned that demonic creatures might still be nearby. Just as a demonic force targeted the king, Lin Taichu shoved him aside, and the force possessed a soldier.

• The king had David arrested, accepted the crystal’s usefulness, and offered Lin Taichu the post of guardian envoy, which Lin Taichu declined.
• Aron reunited with Lin Taichu, and the king gathered his magicians and craftsmen to plan the seal’s repair using crystal powder, potion, and spells.
• Four days later, Lin Taichu joined the king, Aron, and the magicians at the Deep Sea Canyon, where they found demonic energy leaking through the seal’s cracks.
• Lin Taichu lent his internal energy to the exhausted magicians, helping them fully close the cracks and restore the seal.
• Lin Taichu warned that escaped demonic creatures could still be lurking nearby, then sensed a demonic force rushing toward the king and shoved him away as it possessed a soldier.

Lin Taichu fought the Dark Demon Seahorse after it revealed itself and used demonic energy to immobilize the merfolk. He discovered that the base of its tail was a weak point and circled it, looking for another chance to strike.

• The soldier transformed into the Dark Demon Seahorse, and Lin Taichu warned that it had controlled Arui and David.
• Lin Taichu and Aron attacked the seahorse, but it blocked their spells with Demonic Wind and wounded Lin Taichu.
• The seahorse released black smoke and demonic energy that immobilized the guards, mages, Aron, and the King, leaving Lin Taichu as the only one able to fight.
• Lin Taichu attacked the seahorse with a spear and was struck into a reef, but he continued to evade its Demonic Line and claws.
• Lin Taichu stabbed the base of the seahorse's tail and noticed that its wound healed more slowly, identifying the area as its weak point.

Lin Taichu defeated the Dark Demon Seahorse, saved Atlantis, and received the title of Ocean Guardian. As he began planning to cultivate, Aron and Captain Karen revealed that Atlantis could not patrol the deeper seas because they were too dangerous.

• Lin Taichu used his inner energy to overcome the seahorse's demonic resistance, and it reverted to an unconscious soldier.
• Aron, the King, and the recovered Atlanteans thanked Lin Taichu for saving them and celebrated the restored safety of Atlantis.
• The King named Lin Taichu the Ocean Guardian, and Lin told Aron he planned to stay in Atlantis for now before eventually returning to the human world.
• Lin Taichu planned to cultivate and asked Aron why Atlantis did not patrol the deep-sea region.
• Aron and Captain Karen explained that Atlantis's guards only ventured to the outer edge of the region because anything deeper was too dangerous.

Lin Taichu decided to train at the edge of the deep-sea region, where powerful sea beasts could sharpen his combat skills. The king agreed to send Rake and Barton with him, and Lin Taichu prepared to leave the next morning.

• Karen and Aron warned Lin Taichu that deep-sea behemoths were powerful enough to overwhelm Atlantis, though they could not survive outside the deep sea.
• Lin Taichu resolved to train in the deep sea, and Aron and Karen cautioned him against going alone.
• The king agreed to Lin Taichu’s plan and assigned the elite warriors Rake and Barton to accompany and protect him.
• Rake and Barton explained the hazards around the deep-sea edge and recommended starting in a coral reef area where Lin Taichu could retreat if needed.
• Lin Taichu set the route and departure time with the guards, checked his supplies, sharpened his Short Blade, and circulated his inner energy.

Lin Taichu trained in the deep-sea coral reefs with Rake and Barton, defeating sea beasts and steadily improving his combat skills and cultivation. After encountering a group of more than a dozen unusually large Iron Shell Shrimp, he prepared to test whether he could fight them all at once.

• Lin Taichu left Atlantis with Rake and Barton, carrying a signal whistle from Aron and Karen.
• Lin Taichu killed a powerful Stinger Fish after Barton blocked its venomous spines, then moved with Rake and Barton to a concealed cave.
• Lin Taichu practiced fighting sea beasts by day and cultivating in the deep-sea cave by night, growing strong enough to defeat Flame Fish with ease.
• During a patrol, Barton sensed many sea-beast auras ahead, and Rake identified a large group of Iron Shell Shrimp.
• More than a dozen Iron Shell Shrimp, each twice the size of ordinary ones, emerged from the coral thicket as Lin Taichu drew his Short Blade to face them.

Lin Taichu, Rake, and Barton defeated a group of Iron Shell Shrimp, but a powerful Bloodthirsty Shark attacked them and left all three injured. They retreated to Atlantis, where Aron and Karen arranged medical treatment.

• Lin Taichu, Rake, and Barton killed more than a dozen Iron Shell Shrimp through coordinated attacks.
• A Bloodthirsty Shark approached, and Lin Taichu told Rake and Barton to let him fight it alone.
• The shark badly injured Lin Taichu, then knocked Rake and Barton away when they joined the battle.
• Lin Taichu stabbed the shark's back, but its toughness and strength kept it from being defeated.
• Lin Taichu ordered a retreat, and the Bloodthirsty Shark let the three men escape to Atlantis.
• Aron and Karen heard what had happened and sent Lin Taichu, Rake, and Barton to a medical clinic.

After recovering from his injuries, Lin Taichu learned about Atlantis’s beast arena and decided to enter so he could keep improving his strength. Alicia paid his registration fee, and after he received his contestant badge, she began explaining the arena’s rules.

• Lin Taichu recovered from his battle with the Bloodthirsty Shark but grew restless because he could not find a way to improve in Atlantis.
• The King told Lin Taichu about the beast arena, where he could fight opponents and earn rare treasures, and Lin Taichu decided to register.
• Lin Taichu found the registration office and told the old registrar about his combat experience, but admitted he had no money for the fee.
• Alicia offered to pay Lin Taichu’s registration fee, and he completed the procedures and received a bronze contestant badge.
• Alicia sat with Lin Taichu and explained that the preliminaries would pit him against ordinary ferocious beasts or inexperienced contestants.

Lin Taichu prepared for the Atlantis arena tournament with training and combat manuals from Aron, then entered the preliminary matches. He began his first bout against Cliff and exploited the merman’s slow attacks, but the fight remained unresolved.

• Alicia explained the arena tournament’s rules to Lin Taichu, including its elimination format, permitted weapons and magic, and the rule that attacks could begin only after the bell.
• Aron visited Lin Taichu during training and gave him secret manuals of combat techniques and strategies.
• Lin Taichu trained with his Short Blade and studied the manuals until the preliminary matches began at the Atlantis arena three days later.
• Lin Taichu watched the first contestants fight before the host called him to face Cliff, a burly merman wielding a War Axe.
• Lin Taichu dodged Cliff’s heavy swings, kicked him in the abdomen after drawing his guard, and noticed that Cliff’s attacks were slow and left openings.

Lin Taichu defeated Cliff, then learned that his next opponent, Levi, had killed past opponents even after they surrendered. After reviewing Levi’s match recordings, Lin Taichu entered the arena determined to stop him as their bout was announced.

• Lin Taichu dodged Cliff’s War Axe and stabbed him in the armpit, winning his first arena match.
• Two contestants warned Lin Taichu that Levi, a powerful and ruthless merman, had killed his last three opponents.
• Lin Taichu used the King’s jade pendant to obtain recordings of Levi’s previous matches from the arena staff.
• Lin Taichu watched Levi kill opponents who tried to surrender and concluded that Levi was murdering them deliberately.
• Lin Taichu left the lounge with his Short Blade and entered the arena as the host announced his match against Levi.