"Y-you, don't kill me! I really don't mean humans any harm!" The Sea Soul Beast's voice was thick with tears.
That slap from Du Busi had not only inflicted tremendous emotional trauma on her, but also made her realize that this human could kill her with ease.
She had never had much backbone, so she immediately began begging Du Busi for mercy. She was still young and didn't want to become a Soul Ring or Soul Bone!
But what did that have to do with Du Busi?
Life wasn't easy for anyone. He, Du Busi, was just an ordinary Level 98 Super Douluo.
He had only three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones in his entire body, and if they suited him, he wouldn't have any spares to give his disciples.
"Wait, Master. No, something's not right." Lin Yuan immediately stopped Du Busi, who was about to strike.
It wasn't because Lin Yuan had suddenly become softhearted. He had just thought of a possibility.
"What is it?" Du Busi looked at Lin Yuan in puzzlement.
Lin Yuan looked at the enormous whale and asked her hesitantly, "Could you be a Deep Sea Demon Whale?"
She was a whale, and some parts of her body were purplish-black, much like the traits of Soul Beasts with the word "demon" in their names.
Although only two Deep Sea Demonic Whales remained, this whale's reaction seemed to fit one of them.
She acted even more childishly than Lan Fozi had in the Douluo III era, but it was possible that Lan Fozi had this little-girl personality back in the Douluo II era.
At the enormous whale's response, Lin Yuan confirmed that she was Lan Fozi.
"Big brother, you know what kind I am?" The girl's voice turned cheerful and excited again, and there was no sign of her earlier fear for her life after Du Busi had threatened her.
She really sounded like an innocent little girl who was easy to coax.
Seeing Lan Fozi act this way, Lin Yuan couldn't help making a strange face, despite how exhausted he was.
Hiss—
Had this Soul Beast in front of him lived longer than he had across both his lives?
Or did all older female Soul Beasts have a fondness for acting young?
Xiao Wu, Wang Qiu'er, Gu Yuena, the future Buddha (the future Lan Fozi), Bai Susu...
Immortals fill the ranks like hemp stalks—apparently, it really was true.
They didn't just act young, either. They had all seduced young boys.
He shook his head, casting aside those useless thoughts.
"I've read about you."
"Then, big brother, do you know where the rest of my kind are? My mother said there are only the two of us left in our kind. Lan Fozi is always lonely. I want to find some relatives to play with."
Her voice was full of hope. Lin Yuan could tell that her mother had raised her well.
She was not only innocent and sheltered, but also saw the best in everything around her.
That made for a stark contrast with the things her mother, the Demon Empress, was doing.
Her mother, a five-hundred-thousand-year-old Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, was currently selling out every species on Douluo Continent.
"I only know what I've read in the historical records. I don't know much else."
"I see. Then there's nothing I can do. After all, I've never met any of my kind besides my mother." The girl's mood instantly sank again.
"If you don't mind, we can play with you." Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows at Du Busi.
"Speak," Du Busi said through mental communication.
"Master, I think we'd gain more by building a relationship with her than by killing her for her Soul Bone."
"Explain."
"Aren't the resources of Soul Beasts in the sea more abundant? If some Soul Beasts are friendly toward Deep Sea Demonic Whales, there must also be enemies. We can have her take us to hunt those Sea Soul Beasts. That way, we'll be able to find the hundred-thousand-year-old Sea Soul Beasts that are so hard to track down."
After hearing Lin Yuan's explanation, Du Busi began to think it over.
It did make sense.
When hunting Sea Soul Beasts, the hardest part wasn't killing them.
It was locating high-level Sea Soul Beasts far out in the depths—and the Deep Sea Demon Whale would even help them hunt.
That would allow the Body Sect to gain access to high-level Soul Beast resources without relying on the increasingly sparse Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
It really was a decent way forward.
More importantly...
"Really? You'll play with me?" Lan Fozi asked Lin Yuan excitedly.
More importantly, this Deep Sea Demon Whale looked incredibly easy to fool.
Soul Beasts were nothing like humans. They didn't have nearly as many tricks up their sleeves.
What Du Busi didn't know was that Lin Yuan had another reason for stopping him from attacking Lan Fozi.
If Du Busi killed Lan Fozi here, the Demon Empress might find out and turn her wrath on the Body Sect.
"Of course. And if you're willing, Lan Fozi, tell us where you live. We'll come find you when we have time." Lin Yuan felt like a strange uncle trying to lure a little girl away.
Although this little girl wasn't one by any traditional definition, whether by size or age.
"Really? That's wonderful! I made new friends today!" Lan Fozi excitedly spouted water into the air.
She had no idea what Lin Yuan was plotting.
She was simply happy to have made several new human friends with unusual physiques that day. Her innocent manner made Lin Yuan feel a twinge of guilt.
When Cao Xin saw that Lin Yuan and Du Busi still hadn't returned, he followed the direction of the water column that had shot into the air.
The sight of the enormous Lan Fozi startled him. Only after Lin Yuan and Du Busi explained everything did he relax.
With such a huge platform on the sea at his disposal, Du Busi had no intention of letting it go to waste.
He had Lan Fozi "drive" them out to the deep sea, then tossed Lin Yuan and the others into the water one by one.
Du Busi put Lin Yuan and the others through hell there. They were like beef tripe in a hot pot in their previous life.
Every time, he squeezed them to their limits before fishing them back out. Du Busi even came up with a deep-sea water-pressure routine, so they had more to worry about than drowning and suffocating.
Since Lan Fozi had brought them to the deep sea, Lin Yuan and the others had to keep their promise and play with her.
Wu Feng was the perfect choice. She didn't take part in Lin Yuan and the others' training.
That was because, under the crushing pressure of the deep-sea environment, a fire-attribute Soul Master really was at high risk of dying.
Over the three days of training, Long Aotian had gained a great deal and was showing signs of an Awakening.
Wei Na's mental power had also improved markedly under those extreme conditions, and its quality had made a huge leap.
Ning Tian's mental power had improved a lot during this time too, just like Wei Na's, but the results weren't worth the strain of the training.
Her Martial Soul had not changed in the slightest, either.
Nan Qiuqiu was delighted to discover that her bloodline seemed to have grown stronger. When sparring with Lin Yuan, her bloodline suppression over him had become even more powerful.
Nan Qiuqiu's changes also convinced Du Busi that a Martial Soul's Second Awakening wasn't a privilege exclusive to Body Martial Souls.
As for Lin Yuan, things were a little awkward. Although he had broken through to level twenty, he had gained the least of anyone.