The First Target: The Rebellious Eight-Headed Serpent, Belcher!

On the boundless sea, Haiming lay leisurely on a patch of gray-blue open water, humming a tune. Beside him was Sea Dragon Douluo, who had come along with him.

Beneath them was Little White in her true form, wearing an unhappy expression.

A hundred-thousand-year Demon Spirit Great White Shark!

Little White was more than willing to carry Haiming, the bearer of the Sea God's Legacy. But she was far less willing to carry Sea Dragon Douluo as well. Still, it was the High Priestess's order, so she had no choice but to agree.

After considering Haiming's proposal, Bo Saixi had Sea Dragon accompany Haiming to places inhabited by vicious Sea Soul Beasts, where they would hunt Soul Beasts for Soul Bones. Little White accompanied them as both their mount and helper.

With the equivalent of two top-tier Titled Douluo, this group would have no problems so long as they did not encounter the Evil Orca King clan, their natural enemies, or the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.

"Grandpa, who's our target this time? Why did you and Little White both have to come along?"

Haiming had a blade of wild grass between his teeth. He had been chewing on that same blade for two whole days.

Sea Dragon Douluo sat cross-legged on Little White's tail, his expression extremely solemn. Only after hearing his grandson's question did he answer, "Our target is a Sea Soul Beast over ninety thousand years old. More than a hundred years ago, it betrayed the Sea God. After killing several warriors of Sea God Island, it left the island's territory and roamed along the boundary between the continent and the open sea. It is the ruler of the coastal waters."

Haiming's expression turned serious.

A ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast, and one that ruled the seas at that. No wonder they needed Little White, who was comparable to a Titled Douluo. Even Sea Dragon probably could not guarantee victory!

"Then, Grandpa, what Soul Beast are we facing? There can't be many rulers capable of surviving in the coastal waters, right?"

Powerful Soul Beasts required enormous territories to hunt in, and that was even more true in the ocean. The territory of the strongest Sea Soul Beast, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, encompassed a vast stretch of sea. A ruler of the coastal waters...

The Demon Spirit Great White Shark had only become the ruler near Sea God Island after being driven there out of necessity.

"Ninety thousand years. Eight-headed Belcher."

"Belcher?"

Haiming blinked. "Isn't that thing a Sea Soul Beast known for its venom, with fairly average strength? Eight heads... a mutated Sea Soul Beast?"

(A little joke here. The Belcher Sea Snake those clickbait articles praise so highly is actually a chubby homebody with pathetic venom. Also, a tribute to the strongest woman in my heart, Lucky Emperor Maple! Please bless me with even one ten-thousandth of your luck!)

Sea Dragon stared at his grandson for a long time before finally sighing.

"It seems the High Priestess taught you quite a bit, but you still know far too little about some basic matters."

Sea Dragon fell silent for a moment before beginning to explain the characteristics of Belcher Soul Beasts to Haiming.

Belchers below the ten-thousand-year level used their weak venom to kill ordinary Soul Beasts. They could only prey on Soul Beasts of the same level if those creatures had especially poor poison resistance.

However, once a Belcher reached ten thousand years, its venom would greatly intensify and could inflict terrifying damage even on Soul Beasts of the same level.

After breaking through twenty thousand years, a Belcher's snake venom would no longer grow stronger. Instead, it would grow another head, greatly increasing the amount of venom it possessed.

At thirty thousand years, it would grow another head, and so on.

The Eight-headed Belcher they were seeking this time was a powerful Soul Beast on the verge of entering the hundred-thousand-year level!

"So its venom is still only at the ten-thousand-year level?" Haiming's lips twitched. The venom of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and that of a ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast were completely incomparable. This Belcher looked like it was all bark and no bite!

Seeing his grandson relax somewhat, Sea Dragon said nothing more and simply closed his eyes to rest.

With him and the Demon Spirit Great White Shark King present, nothing would happen to Haiming even if he underestimated their enemy. He could treat this as a trial.

About a week later, Haiming and the others finally arrived in Eight-headed Belcher's territory. After offending Sea God Island and fearing retaliation, the creature had deliberately hidden itself far away!

On the way there, Haiming had encountered no fewer than ten Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, the strongest of which had even reached sixty thousand years!

Unfortunately, after sensing the aura of the Demon Spirit Great White Shark, every one of them had fled, leaving Haiming without even an opportunity to test his skills.

"Lord Haiming, I can already sense that fellow's aura, but it seems to be hesitating over whether to flee..."

Little White transmitted her thoughts to Haiming, immediately snapping the bored Haiming to attention.

A ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast was still a ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast, even if the venom it relied on for survival was pathetic. It was not something Haiming could handle.

At most, he could exchange a few moves with a Soul Beast around forty thousand years old that did not excel in attack or speed.

"Grandpa."

Haiming called out softly. Sea Dragon rose to his feet as nine perfectly matched Soul Rings appeared behind him!

Two yellow! Two purple! Five black!

The seawater before Little White began to form a whirlpool, as though something deadly lurked at its center!

"Wretched beast! Show yourself at once!"

Sea Dragon roared. A massive phantom of a Blue Dragon condensed behind Sea Dragon Douluo, while waves of deep-blue ripples spread from his body.

Blue scales rapidly covered the bare skin of his upper body. The scales were round, each one bearing raised ridges, making him look as though a Divine Dragon had descended into the world!

A blue crystal resembling an eye protruded from his chest, Soul Power flowing within it!

Haiming stared in amazement. This was his grandfather's Martial Soul, and also his father's Martial Soul!

That Blue Dragon behind him was so cool!

Kyogre's true-form armor was pretty good too, but every man dreamed of Dragon Transformation!

"Hiss—roar!"

A low cry rose from the whirlpool as an enormous creature emerged. Its ugly appearance nearly made Haiming vomit up yesterday's meal!

Eight enormous snake heads clustered together. Its body was not sleek and rounded as Haiming had imagined, but rather a barrel-shaped body like that of a fat homebody, with an absurdly short tail.

It could be said that Eight-headed Belcher was such an ugly Soul Beast that it could make children cry at night!

Compared to it, even the two-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Pearl Bo Saixi had once brought back looked far more handsome!

"Hiss—roar!"

Eight-headed Belcher saw Little White, whose size did not lose to its own, and Sea Dragon on her back with his Martial Soul and Soul Rings unleashed. It was clearly somewhat panicked.

"It is asking why we intruded into its territory."

As the translator, Little White relayed Eight-headed Belcher's words to Haiming.

Haiming's eyes darted about as he quietly moved closer to Sea Dragon.

"Grandpa, how strong is this Eight-headed Belcher?"

Sea Dragon immediately understood what Haiming was thinking when he saw his sneaky expression.

"Don't get any ideas. Once I kill it, see whether it produces a Soul Bone. If it does, absorb it."

For Kyogre, any Soul Bone could be transformed into one best suited for Haiming. There was no need to limit himself to whales or sharks, as Ten-Thousand-Year creatures of those two types were genuinely scarce in the ocean.

Haiming pursed his lips. He had been hoping to slash at a ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast a couple of times, but it seemed there was no chance of that now.

Still, a ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast... with his luck, it should produce a Soul Bone, right?