The Oriole

The fierce battle had reached its final stage.

The Variegated Jellyfish's enormous bell was badly damaged, its colorful glow dim to the extreme. Nearly half of its dozens of tentacles had been severed, while the rest hung limply, drifting powerless through the seawater. The venom and mental power it had gathered within itself were nearly exhausted, and its Soul Power fluctuations were as weak as a candle flickering in the wind. Only instinctive spasms and a feeble defensive layer of Soul Power remained to protect its core.

The Red-Armored Spike Turtle was in no better condition. Its once-heavy stone armor was now riddled with pits and cracks corroded by venom, with blurred flesh visible through several openings. More than half the spikes on its shell had broken, one eye was a mangled bloody mess and tightly shut, while the other was bloodshot and filled with savagery and exhaustion. Even its massive limbs moved unsteadily as it paddled through the water. Its Soul Power fluctuations were somewhat stronger than the jellyfish's, but they too resembled a dying bonfire, flickering erratically.

It stared fixedly at the dying Variegated Jellyfish in the distance, letting out a low roar from its throat—if it even had one—filled with hatred and the thrill of victory. Though it had paid a terrible price, it had won! This stretch of sea would ultimately still be ruled by it!

Forcing its heavy body onward, it slowly swam toward the jellyfish. It opened its maw full of sharp teeth, preparing to deliver the final blow to this traitor—in its eyes—then devour its life essence to replenish itself. It might even use this chance to break through!

Now!

Jingtian, lurking within the shadow of a massive coral reef at the edge of the battlefield, suddenly had his deep-blue eyes blaze brilliantly!

This was the moment he had been waiting for—the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's mind was utterly consumed by victory and the desire to devour its prey, its defenses reduced to their lowest point. Crippled by severe wounds and exhaustion, its reaction speed and Soul Power circulation had both fallen to rock bottom!

Without the slightest hesitation, Jingtian's eight arms erupted with force. His body, which had long been coiled to strike, shot forward like a spring compressed to its limit! He moved so fast that he even carved a brief vacuum trail through the seawater! He abandoned all disguise and poured the full strength of his 350 years of cultivation into this ambush, aiming directly for the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's intact but bloodshot eye!

At the same time, he drove the Poison Source within his body to its utmost limit! This was no longer a scattered venom attack. He compressed and refined nearly ninety percent of his neurotoxin, mixed with the newly fused traits of "Penetration" and "Armor-Piercing," along with a trace of venomous force imbued with metallic sharpness that he had comprehended from the Iron-Bone Fish's energy, into a poison thread as thin as a hair and as dark as the deepest night. It coiled around the very tip of one arm!

This was the most potent, most penetrating, and most concealed strike he could currently unleash! All its power was concentrated at a single point!

Though severely wounded and emotionally unsteady, the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's battle-honed instincts still sensed the deadly danger! Its intact eye snapped wide open, catching a glimpse of a deep-blue shadow rushing toward it at terrifying speed! It wanted to dodge, to pull its head back, to unleash its Soul Power in defense!

But it was too late! Its battered body had slowed its reactions, while Jingtian's speed and decisiveness had exceeded all its expectations!

"Pfft—!"

An incredibly soft sound, like a needle piercing rotten leather.

That night-dark poison thread struck with perfect precision, plunging into the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's intact eye! The dreadful penetrating force within it instantly broke through the eye's fragile defenses and continued deeper, stabbing directly toward its brain!

"Roaaargh—!!!"

An indescribably shrill howl of agony traveled far through the seawater, carried by rippling Soul Power! The Red-Armored Spike Turtle's massive body went rigid as though struck by lightning, then began to thrash and roll about madly, without any pattern! Its pierced eye was instantly soaked and corroded by pure blackness. The black venom seemed alive as it frantically spread through the wound and into its skull!

The instant his strike landed, Jingtian used the recoil to retreat at high speed and open the distance. He had no intention of lingering to witness the results, because he knew that although the blow was lethal, the Red-Armored Spike Turtle was still a 350-year Soul Beast renowned for its defenses. Its final desperate counterattack would undoubtedly be terrifying!

Sure enough, driven by extreme pain and fear of death, the Red-Armored Spike Turtle erupted with its last—and most frenzied—burst of power! The remaining stone armor on its body exploded apart, becoming countless sharp fragments that shot in every direction! At the same time, its huge body ignited with earthen-yellow Soul Power flames. Like an out-of-control meteor, it began charging and crushing everything around it indiscriminately!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The seabed was thrown into chaos. Reefs shattered, mud and sand swirled wildly, and a brief but terrifying zone of death formed! Even the dying remains of the Variegated Jellyfish nearby were struck by several flying stone shards, falling completely silent. Then they were crushed beneath the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's wildly rolling body, utterly dead beyond doubt.

Jingtian had already retreated to a safe distance, watching this final madness with cold eyes. He could sense the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's life force collapsing as swiftly as an avalanche, and the strength of its terrifying struggles rapidly weakening.

Ten breaths, twenty breaths, thirty breaths...

The Red-Armored Spike Turtle's movements grew slower and slower. The Soul Power flames over its body completely died out, leaving only weak, nervous spasms. Its massive body slowly sank to the seafloor, stirring up a cloud of murk.

The dust—or rather, the mud and sand—settled.

The center of the battlefield was a complete mess. The Red-Armored Spike Turtle lay on the seafloor with both eyes destroyed—one corroded into a black hole, the other already injured—its shell shattered and its flesh mangled. It no longer gave off the slightest trace of life. Not far away, the Variegated Jellyfish's remains had nearly been ground into fragments, mixed among seaweed and broken reef stones until they were difficult to distinguish.

The two Soul Beasts that had dominated this sea region for centuries had perished together like this... no, they had died to a deadly ambush by a third party.

Jingtian did not approach immediately. He remained alert, carefully sweeping the surroundings with his senses to ensure that no other threats had been drawn in by the commotion. At the same time, he confirmed that both Soul Beasts were truly dead.

After waiting a while longer, until the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's corpse had begun to grow faintly cold, Jingtian finally swam over slowly.

He first came to the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's corpse. Looking at the enormous body that had once made him deeply wary, now lying there devoid of life, Jingtian felt little emotion. In the Deep Sea, the strong devoured the weak. It had died today only because it was not strong enough, nor cautious enough.

He did not waste anything. His arms extended nimbly, locating the relatively weak connection between the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's neck and belly shell. He injected a small amount of corrosive venom to soften it, then cut it open and began devouring the purest life essence and Soul Power core within. The energy of a 350-year earth-attribute Soul Beast was heavy and immense, carrying the steadiness and resilience of the earth. It was completely different from his own sinister, venomous nature. The devouring process was even more difficult than when he had consumed the Iron-Bone Fish, and the energy conflict was more intense, but the gains were greater as well.

Next, he came to the Variegated Jellyfish's remains and searched through the fragments for its energy core, which had not yet fully dissipated, as well as certain special tissues containing intense venom and mental power. He devoured them all.

Two entirely different kinds of energy—the heaviness of the earth attribute, and the strange, sinister nature of venom and mental attributes—clashed and surged within him. Jingtian felt as though his body were about to be torn apart. Both his Soul Power and Poison Source became extraordinarily active and unstable. He did not dare delay and immediately returned to his nest at top speed.

Back within his safe fortress, he activated all defenses. He coiled beside the Water-Condensing Pearl, whose gentle energy helped stabilize his mind and suppress the violent energy conflict within him. At the same time, the ancient, solemn aura emanating from the rift seemed to provide a strange trace of harmony to the fusion of these energies.

He entered a deep state of digestion and transformation.

Time passed amid the silent flow of energy.

After an unknown length of time, Jingtian slowly "awakened."

He felt the changes within his body as the deep-blue rings on his skin flashed with a profound gleam in the dim nest.

His Soul Power cultivation had soared as if riding a rocket, breaking directly through the 500-year mark and continuing to consolidate and rise steadily! His body had grown again, his arms becoming thicker and more powerful. The suction force of his suckers could now easily leave indentations in rock. His sensory range had expanded to nearly four hundred meters, becoming clearer and sharper.

But the greatest change came from his venom.

After devouring the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's earth-attribute energy core, his Poison Source seemed to have gained traces of "heaviness" and "sluggishness." In the future, his venom might not only numb nerves and erode energy, but also make those poisoned feel as though their bodies had become heavy and their movements slow.

Devouring the Variegated Jellyfish's mental-attribute energy and highly toxic tissues greatly enhanced his venom's mental interference. It might even develop secondary effects similar to hallucinations or mental shocks. At the same time, his analysis of the jellyfish's own variegated toxins made the color of his venom even stranger and more unpredictable. Amid its deep blue, it could now reveal radiant, multicolored light, making it more deceptive.

More importantly, after simultaneously devouring the energy of two high-level Soul Beasts and forcibly fusing them with the aid of the Water-Condensing Pearl and Rift Aura, his body seemed to have developed a greater tolerance for energy conflicts and a stronger ability to harmonize them. His Origin Spirit Energy had also grown considerably and become more solid.

I solved two major problems at once and gained such rich rewards. Jingtian assessed the gains from this venture. The risks had been enormous, but so had the returns. His strength had undergone a qualitative leap.

Now, of the three strongest Soul Beasts in this sea region once controlled by the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's alliance, two were gone. Only he remained—the deeply hidden "oriole."

But Jingtian was not carried away by victory. He knew the disturbance here had been significant and might already have drawn the attention of stronger beings farther away. Moreover, with the "apex predators" of this sea region suddenly wiped out, an ecological vacuum had formed. It would not be long before new Soul Beasts tried to move in and fill it.

He needed time to digest these tremendous gains, thoroughly stabilize his cultivation, and become familiar with the new properties of his venom.

At the same time, he needed to redefine his own "territory" and "hunting grounds." It was time to truly bring this sea region under his control. However, his methods would need to change. He would no longer hunt quietly and discreetly as before. Instead, he could appropriately... reveal his presence and establish boundaries.

Jingtian slowly swam to the entrance of his nest, his deep-blue gaze—or rather, his senses—turning toward the sea region outside. It had just endured a bloody slaughter and had now returned to "calm."

A 500-year Blue-Ringed Octopus was already considered a powerful figure in the outskirts of the Western Silent Sea Abyss. Yet he was still as far from his ultimate goal as the stars.

But at the very least, he now had a sturdier starting point.

And after this tempering, his venomous fangs would become deadlier and more concealed.

The Deep Sea remained dark, but the hunter had quietly evolved.