When You Open Your Eyes, the Sky Has Fallen

The enormous sea soul beast roared, and the ocean immediately turned violent, sending all six of them flying.

Nightmare's voice rang out again. "Enjoy your lunch!"

Who exactly was whose lunch?! Xie Xie had already cursed Nightmare's ancestors eighteen generations over in his heart.

Cursing under his breath, he darted across the sea.

Fortunately, the outer sea had no airspace restrictions. At his speed, he would soon be able to escape this damned place.

But how could Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, watching from afar, possibly let him get away so easily?

Gu Yue casually tapped a finger.

Just as Xie Xie was about to leave the outer sea and return to the Sea of Destruction, he discovered that an invisible barrier had completely sealed off the surrounding space.

He slammed into it with all his strength, only to be sent flying back by the rebound force. With a bang, he smashed into the sea and kicked up a huge splash—drenching the pursuing sea soul beast.

The massive octopus froze, then flew into a rage. Its eight tentacles lashed wildly at Xie Xie. He flickered through the air as he fled, shouting, "You oversized octopus, keep showing off and don't blame me for getting nasty!"

The giant octopus spread its tentacles and bared its teeth at him, seemingly mocking him.

Xie Xie was furious. Shadow Blades and Light Blades turned into a storm, slashing at the octopus's huge head.

After a cloud of smoke drifted away, the giant octopus shook its massive head and bared its teeth again—completely unharmed.

Xie Xie's jaw dropped. "No way!?"

Its eight tentacles stirred up waves as it sprayed Xie Xie with a highly adhesive, corrosive mucus.

"I give up!" Xie Xie shouted, vanishing into the air once more.

Hearing that, the octopus immediately stopped its tentacles and began baring its teeth.

Xie Xie darted out from beside it and struck it several more times.

The octopus remembered that it was supposed to attack him.

Xie Xie fled again.

The octopus bared its teeth again.

Xie Xie launched another sneak attack.

And so the cycle repeated.

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, who had watched the whole thing: "..."

Gu Yue sneered. "Idiots."

Tang Wulin asked, "Which one?"

Gu Yue showed no mercy. "Both."

"...You're right." Tang Wulin deeply agreed.

Gu Yue's lips moved. The octopus, which had still been trading blows with Xie Xie, suddenly shuddered. It hurriedly got serious, and Xie Xie failed to dodge in time, getting whipped into the sea and convulsing like he had been electrocuted.

The others were having much more normal battles.

The sea soul beasts Gu Yue arranged for Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan were somewhat weaker and less aggressive.

For example—a gigantic starfish.

The starfish was covered in holes, and each hole contained a tiny eye.

Xu Xiaoyan's face went pale. She met the gaze of one eye, and then countless pairs of eyes focused on her. Her mind instantly went blank. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell into the sea unconscious.

The starfish was just about to attack when its opponent fainted outright. Remembering the warnings from those two, it was at a loss. It had no hands or feet, but that did not stop it from being bewildered.

A vine wrapped around Xu Xiaoyan's waist and lifted her out, hanging her upside down and giving her a shake. Seeing signs that she was waking up, it tossed her back in.

Xu Xiaoyan watched helplessly as she drew closer and closer to the enormous, disgusting starfish and let out a piercing shriek.

But her rich combat experience kept her from making a fool of herself again. While screaming, she swung her Star Staff. Starlight flashed, and within the domain created by Starlight Annihilation Divine Ray, Xu Xiaoyan directly teleported the starfish a hundred meters away.

But for the starfish to hold its own in such a bizarre place and be chosen by Gu Yue, it naturally had something special about it.

Countless eyes on its body began to flicker, and Xu Xiaoyan's Spiritual Sea churned. Her spiritual power was not weak, but under the starfish's assault, she could not perfectly control her soul skills.

Her pretty face was pale, but she forced herself to hold on. Her Star Staff spun through the air, and a dazzling star wheel lit up behind her. As it turned, Xu Xiaoyan instantly teleported elsewhere, causing the starfish's shockwave to miss.

But this was only the beginning.

Xu Lizhi had already lost count of how many times the sea serpent on the other side had sent him flying.

He even began to sympathize with Xie Xie—because he finally understood why Xie Xie always lay on the ground with a lifeless expression after sparring with the captain.

The gap.

A gap so vast it nearly drove him to despair.

The sea serpent clearly had no intention of killing him. It was treating him like a toy. That made Xu Lizhi suffer even more.

The more it acted this way, the more he understood that without his teammates, he was nothing.

He was a food-system soul master, and no one expected him to possess powerful offensive abilities. But what about self-preservation? If he could not protect himself and could only rely on others, then who would stand in front of him next time? The captain? Yuanen? Xie Xie? Or... Sister Xinglan?

Xu Lizhi did not know.

But he did not want to remain like this.

He could not hold his companions back—he still had to save Sister Xinglan!

He swallowed another Bloodthirsty Red Bean Bun, forcibly raising the defensive power of the Sturdy Crystal Bun and enduring another strike from the sea serpent.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

In the sea, the icy water drained away his strength, body heat, and blood energy.

He could nearly go without breathing. But that did not mean he would not grow tired.

No... no... Sister Xinglan... my companions are still waiting for me! I can't—die here! Xu Lizhi glared furiously and stepped forward one pace at a time.

With every step forward, he crushed a Destruction Crystal.

He had obtained these through immense hardship.

Just as the Destruction Power began to spread, it was wrapped within the Sturdy Crystal Bun and fixed onto Xu Lizhi's body.

This was how he had done it in the Sea of Destruction. Now, he would use this Destruction Power to clash with that serpent!

Light flickered in Gu Yue's eyes as she prepared to intervene at any moment. Tang Wulin pressed down her hand and shook his head at her. "Believe in him."

Gu Yue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately lowered her hand.

Xu Lizhi even began running along the seafloor. The Destruction Power eroded his body, but it also stimulated the endlessly circulating Mysterious Heaven Skill within him to accelerate. To some extent, it formed a balance.

The sea serpent hissed and shot forward like lightning, colliding with Xu Lizhi.

Its tiny eyes abruptly widened.

A destructive intent that made it tremble erupted from the tiny ant before it—the duration of the Sturdy Crystal Bun had ended at just the right moment!

Xu Lizhi roared, "Die!"

The sea serpent rapidly retreated, but Xu Lizhi held tightly onto it. Even when it dragged him into a reef, he did not loosen his grip in the slightest!

His entire body was drenched in blood, yet he did not even grunt.

Tang Wulin clenched his fists.

Gu Yue was astonished as well.

In her previous life, she had not paid much attention to them. Time had been too short, and before they could fully grow to the point where they could stand beside Tang Wulin, they had encountered the Plane war.

And among those qualified to face a god war directly, aside from her, only Tang Wulin had been.

Of course. Gu Yue suddenly understood. How could those he regarded as lifelong companions lack extraordinary qualities of their own, aside from sharing deep feelings with him?

She had forgotten that she, too, had once walked alongside them.

The sea serpent was about to be tortured to death by the destructive aura.

Xu Lizhi's life force was also growing weaker and weaker.

Tang Wulin looked at Gu Yue.

Silver light flashed again. The sea serpent was pulled to Gu Yue's side, while Xu Lizhi returned to the beach.

He had already lost consciousness. Destruction Power swirled around him, but it was no longer eroding him. Instead, it echoed with the milky white radiance rising from his body, forming a mysterious stability.

The sea serpent was covered in wounds. The Destruction Power clung to it like maggots on bone, making it hiss in agony.

Gu Yue touched its head with a fingertip. Nine-colored radiance flowed over its entire body, not only cleansing it of all Destruction Power but also healing its wounds.

She patted its head. "You worked hard."

The sea serpent twisted its body and nodded toward the two of them before diving back into the seabed.

The two turned their gazes back toward the sea.

The other three, being power attack system battle soul masters, adapted more quickly. But their situations were not much better, because the sea soul beasts Gu Yue had chosen for them were all exceptionally powerful.

Lightning struck the Titan Giant Ape viciously. The Titan Giant Ape let out a pained roar, then compressed the space with an air cannon and blasted the Electric Flood Dragon.

The Electric Flood Dragon swept its tail. The Titan Giant Ape leaped backward and shrank in midair. A pair of black wings spread open as demonic energy surged. The Demon Sword shattered the instant it collided with its tail. Then its tail lashed out. The wings behind Yuanen folded together, blocking the lightning whip, but the impact still sent her flying. Electric arcs flickered over her body, worsening her injuries.

She fell onto the sea, wiping the blood from her face. Her condition was far from good.

But she was not afraid, nor did she intend to retreat.

Yuanen soared into the air again, with only one thought in her mind—Xie Xie, wait for me!

On the other side was another angel.

But this angel was in even worse shape.

More than half the feathers on Yue Zhengyu's wings had fallen away, leaving them covered in wounds and bloodstains.

His eyes were crimson, and his soul power was nearly exhausted.

Facing him was a relatively small, humanlike sea soul beast—a Deep-Sea Merman.

Its upper body was human, but its lower half was an enormous, long tail.

Its tail flipped, sending towering waves into the sky.

Ordinary waves could not harm Yue Zhengyu. But these massive waves were filled with a frigid aura and automatically locked onto him. Once they struck him, the sacred aura around Yue Zhengyu would instantly weaken as it neutralized the cold energy.

Yue Zhengyu exhaled a breath of cold air. He pointed one hand at the sky, and flames ignited across his body.

Sacred fire purged the frigid energy within him, but it also consumed a massive amount of his soul power.

But he could not retreat.

If he perished in the mouths of these sea soul beasts, he truly would have no chance to grow old with Xiaoyan.

Yue Zhengyu's gaze became incomparably resolute.

The patterns on his Battle Armor lit up one after another as obscure incantations spilled from his mouth.

The merman immediately prepared to interrupt him, but after a voice entered its ears, it stopped and merely prepared its defenses.

Yue Zhengyu felt his mind become utterly clear. As the sacred fire burned, stray thoughts gradually faded away.

A pure power arose from within him, feeding the sacred fire.

The holy power of light around him grew increasingly dense. The Judgment Holy Sword appeared in the air, and a gigantic angel manifested behind him, gripping the enormous sword.

Normally, he would not have dared use this move.

Because Angel: Divine Descent, the inherited secret technique of the Holy Family, had no soul power threshold. It required only a resolute and pure heart.

He had never succeeded.

And every failure brought him backlash. Thus, he had gradually forgotten this secret technique in some corner of his mind.

But at this moment.

Only one thought remained in his heart, nothing else.

Divine Descent naturally came to fruition.

The energy of heaven and earth was stirred in an instant. As the Sword of Judgment descended, it seemed as though unseen laws answered its call.

The merman discovered in horror that it could not move.

Like a criminal bound to the execution platform.

A streak of Golden Light arrived in an instant, blocking its path.

Yue Zhengyu could only unleash this one move. After the Sword of Judgment descended, he entered an empty, lucid state. Carried in midair by the self-igniting sacred fire, he fell into deep meditation.

Blocking the Sword of Judgment was a golden spear.

The merman was still shaken, but it did not dare linger. With a flip, it dove back into the water.

A slender hand grasped the spear. Tang Wulin appeared beside Yue Zhengyu and gave him a gentle push, sending him flying toward the shore. He landed on the ground and entered meditation.

"This kid..." Tang Wulin smiled.

His gaze shifted elsewhere—to where the Stargod Sword's radiance illuminated the sea.

Sword Starfall, a thousand rays flashing.

Ye Xinglan's attacks did not consider defense.

Trading injuries for kills was what she did best.

Thus, she was in an even worse state than Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen.

Blood flowed all over her body, and even the Stargod Sword was covered in cracks.

She stood unsteadily atop a reef, but the hand gripping her sword remained powerful and steady.

A dazzling, multicolored Shell floated on the sea. Around it gathered countless balls of light containing terrifying power.

Ye Xinglan let out a low cry. The soul rings beneath her feet flashed. She kicked off the reef and shot toward it like a cannonball, thrusting the Stargod Sword forward once again with unwavering resolve.

The Shell opened and closed. The balls of light shone like countless cannon muzzles, firing powerful beams that crashed head-on into her.

Ye Xinglan ignored them completely.

She could see only—her sword!

Gathering the last of her strength, her final slash tore through the balls of light and embedded itself in the Shell.

The Shell let out a shriek. Silver light descended, and Ye Xinglan was teleported away.

Bathed in the soothing power of the Elements, the Shell shed pearls in grievance.

Tang Wulin watched in fascination and caught them beside it.

Seeing it continue to cry, he could not help saying, "Um... how about dropping some bigger ones?"

The Shell froze, then cried even louder. This time, Tang Wulin got his wish.

Large pearls fell into his hands one after another, and Tang Wulin was almost grinning from ear to ear.

Gu Yue appeared beside him with a speechless expression and poked him. "That's enough."

Tang Wulin stopped while he was ahead. He stroked the Shell and gave it some life energy as compensation.

The Shell stopped crying as well and hurriedly sank back to the seabed to hide.

The two returned to the beach. The six were sitting or lying in a neat row, but all of them had lost consciousness.

Tang Wulin held the pearl and smiled faintly. "After going through this, they'll transform."

Gu Yue said, "It's about time. I should go."

Even the pearl in Tang Wulin's hands seemed unhappy as he stuffed it into her hands, frowning. "So soon?"

Gu Yue accepted the pearl helplessly. "The sooner I go back, the sooner I can deploy the plan."

Since it concerned serious business, Tang Wulin naturally had no objections. "All right."

Just before Gu Yue tore open space and left, she was still a little worried. "Don't bully Shell."

Tang Wulin did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not that bored."

Gu Yue shot him an annoyed look. "You money-grubber."

Tang Wulin spread his hands. "It's not like I only became this way yesterday."

Gu Yue gave a soft snort. Just as she was about to step into the rift, she turned back and hugged Tang Wulin, kissing him on the cheek. Seeing his stunned expression, she smiled and walked into the rift, leaving behind a single sentence—"I have money. Spend it however you want."

Tang Wulin had just wanted to grab her, but Gu Yue left right away.

Tang Wulin laughed helplessly. "...You always tease me, then pat your butt and run away."

The Seven Old Demons appeared on the beach. Looking at the unconscious six, they praised, "Not bad. That idea of yours was pretty good."

Tang Wulin looked at them and said, "I'll leave the next stage of training to you all. I'll be entering seclusion for a while."

The Seven Old Demons had no objections. "All right, enough nonsense."

Tang Wulin looked at the six and lit another candle for them.

They had a long road ahead of them.