It forced out a smile uglier than a grimace, trying to salvage the situation. "Um... it was a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! I didn't know you were here... Xiao Bai, she... she must have had her reasons for hunting my people this time, right? I'll let it slide this time, but if you come again, then..."
It had meant to leave itself an out with a threat, something along the lines of "Next time, I won't go easy on you."
But before it could finish, Bo Saixi, who had been standing still all this while, slowly raised her eyes.
Her deep blue eyes, as vast as the ocean, calmly fixed on the Evil Orca King. They held no emotion, yet sent a chill rising from the depths of the fifteen-thousand-year-old ocean tyrant's soul.
Bo Saixi parted her red lips. Her voice, ethereal and dignified, carried clearly through the seawater and into the Evil Orca King's mind. It was utterly unworldly, yet held an unquestionable force.
"What will happen if you come again?"
"..."
The Evil Orca King was instantly struck dumb. Its enormous mouth opened and closed, but it couldn't utter a word. Inside, ten thousand Sea Soul Beasts seemed to stampede through its mind. Stupid woman! Can't you see I'm just trying to give myself an out? Do I have to finish what I was saying and then get slapped to death by you? You really have no tact!
It could gripe all it wanted, but under Bo Saixi's calm, oppressive gaze, the Evil Orca King immediately put on the most ingratiating smile it could manage. Its huge tail even wagged ingratiatingly. "Nothing will happen! Absolutely nothing! Your Excellency, High Priestess, you've got me wrong! I mean, if you need a Soul Ring next time, why trouble Xiao Bai? Just come to me! I know these waters like the back of my fin. I know which Soul Beasts are the best quality and the right age. I know much better than that idiot Xiao Bai—er, I mean, I know much better than Xiao Bai! I'll make sure everything is arranged perfectly for you and this young master!"
It knew full well that Bo Saixi had come in person to hunt a Soul Beast because Xiao Bai, its mortal enemy, must have put her up to it.
But did it dare blame Xiao Bai?
No!
It could only take all the blame upon itself and desperately try to curry favor. After all, it wasn't the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. It had no power to match Bo Saixi.
Bo Saixi watched the Evil Orca King's abrupt shift from arrogance to obsequiousness, and the way it desperately fawned over her. A trace of indifference flickered in her eyes.
She gave a slight nod, as though she had merely dealt with a trivial matter, then waved her hand casually.
"Mm. You may go."
Those simple words made the Evil Orca King feel as though it had been pardoned. It hurriedly bobbed its head. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, High Priestess! I'll leave right away, right away! I won't disturb you and the young master!"
With that, it didn't dare linger for another moment. Its enormous body turned around in near-panic, stirring up a current as it sped off into the depths, afraid that even a moment's delay might cost it its life.
Watching the Evil Orca King flee in disarray, Xiao Bai gave a disdainful snort.
Bo Saixi turned her gaze back to Li Qing, who was at a crucial moment, and a hint of thoughtfulness entered her eyes.
The Evil Orca King's arrival and retreat had been nothing more than a minor interlude, but it seemed to herald that the appearance of Li Qing, the Sea God Inheritor, had already begun to stir up the waters of the deep.
At that moment, Li Qing was completely unaware of what was happening around him. He was channeling the Mysterious Origin Water-Controlling Flag with all his might, making the final fusion with the three-thousand-year Soul Ring.
The runes on the flag blazed with light, as if some mighty power were awakening.
Meanwhile, high above Sea God Island, where a gentle glow shone year-round, a golden streak of light shot through the sky like a sword cleaving through the morning mist. It seemed to move slowly, yet traveled at an impossibly fast speed, piercing the island's protective barrier without a sound before landing on the white-sand beach at the island's edge.
The golden light faded, revealing a tall, upright figure.
He wore a simple gray robe, yet it could not conceal the sacred air he possessed by nature.
His face looked no older than that of a middle-aged man, and his handsome features were breathtaking. Golden hair, like flowing sunlight, fell loose over his shoulders.
He was Qian Daoliu, High Priestess of Spirit Hall, the Angel God's representative in the mortal world, and a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo.
Qian Daoliu stepped onto Sea God Island and slowly surveyed the familiar yet faintly strange scenery around him.
Azure sea, blue sky, white sand, the towering Sea God Mountain in the distance, and the magnificent temple barely visible at its summit... Everything seemed unchanged from when he had come decades ago.
Time seemed to have stood still here. Only the water element, several times richer than on the mainland, and the omnipresent aura of the Sea God reminded him where he was.
A complex, indescribable feeling quietly stirred in Qian Daoliu's heart. It was here that he had first met the peerless Sea God Douluo, Bo Saixi.
And it was here that he and Tang Chen, his lifelong friend and rival, had shared those years of competition, admiration, and subtle affection.
Sea God Island held too many memories for him: memories of power, of duty, and of that buried, unspoken... stirring in his heart.
But the uninvited guest's reflections did not last long.
Barely three breaths after he landed, several powerful auras surged up from the depths of Sea God Island like sharks scenting blood. They swept through the air at tremendous speed, carrying undisguised wariness and hostility, and arrived above the beach in an instant, forming a loose encirclement.
There were seven of them, each with a different appearance, but all radiating the formidable aura of a Titled Douluo.
They wore armor or robes of various designs, each etched with ocean runes. They were the guardian Douluos who protected the Seven Sacred Pillars of Sea God Island!
At their head was a burly man who strode with the bearing of a dragon. A faint blue dragon-shaped apparition circled around him, and his aura was the most vast and powerful of the seven. He was the foremost of the Seven Sacred Pillars, Sea Dragon Douluo!
When Sea Dragon Douluo's knife-sharp gaze landed on Qian Daoliu and he recognized him, a flash of uncontainable astonishment crossed his eyes. It quickly turned to icy hostility and deep wariness.
The other Sacred Pillar Douluos behind him, including Sea Horse and Sea Maiden, also looked grave.
Qian Daoliu?
What was he doing here?
This towering pillar of Spirit Hall, an existence on the same level as the High Priestess of Sea God Island, had hardly set foot on the island in decades.
The painful memory of Spirit Hall's large-scale invasion of Sea God Island had yet to fade. Now the enemy's supreme leader had come alone. What was he after?
Sea Dragon Douluo tamped down the tumult in his heart and stepped forward. His formidable aura crashed toward Qian Daoliu like a tsunami, and his voice rang out, cold as iron and openly challenging. "Qian Daoliu! This is Sea God Island. Spirit Hall has no welcome here! You came to my island without so much as announcing yourself. What are you after? Was the lesson from decades ago not enough? Do you mean to start another war today?"
His words were full of hostility.
That was not only because of his resentment toward Spirit Hall's invasion. Deeper down, it came from the secret, burning affection he harbored for Bo Saixi.
He knew that his status and position were far beneath Bo Saixi's. His feelings could never bear fruit, and he didn't dare reveal even the slightest hint of them.
Now, facing this "rival in love," who had once been Bo Saixi's equal and might even have shared some subtle connection with her, Sea Dragon Douluo finally had an outlet for the feelings he had kept bottled up. Naturally, his tone was especially sharp.
Before you continue