Deep Sea Demonic Whale King

"Orange alone won't be enough..." Jiang Lan muttered to himself. Then he slapped his cheeks hard, as if cheering himself up. "Whatever! Dreams aren't real! Someone as amazing as Mama Bo Saixi would never cry! She's the Sea God Douluo—she isn't even afraid of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King!"

"The Deep Sea Demon Whale King isn't afraid of Bo Saixi either," Doro said after thinking for a moment.

Jiang Lan fell silent for three seconds, then flopped onto the hammock, scooped Doro up, and hugged her like a pillow. "Sleep, sleep! We still have dishes to wash tomorrow!"

"You already washed them."

"Tomorrow's dishes!"

The hammock swayed gently, while the sound of waves outside the ship was like a lullaby.

Jiang Lan closed his eyes and tried not to think about Bo Saixi, the little dried-fish wind chime outside the Sea God Palace, or the piece of fish belly meat waiting for him in the kitchen.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

For Bo Saixi on Sea God Island, that month had felt as long as an entire year.

Every day, she stood on the steps outside the Sea God Palace and gazed north. Every day, she set an extra bowl and pair of chopsticks at the table. Every day, she flicked the little dried-fish wind chime hanging from the doorframe, listened to its rustling sound, and softly cursed that little brat.

But for Jiang Lan aboard the Zi Zhenzhu, the month had been remarkably fulfilling.

He washed dishes, scrubbed the deck, carried cargo, caught fish, learned knot-tying from the sailors, and pestered Zi Zhenzhu to tell him about the customs and sights of the continent. Every day, he kept himself happily busy.

His feat of knocking out the Evil Orca King with a single punch had, over the course of the month, fermented into a half-true, half-false legend throughout the ship.

Whenever the old pirates drank too much, they would embellish the story yet again. It had already evolved from him knocking the Evil Orca King unconscious with one punch to him scaring a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast out of its wits with a single glance.

That evening, the Zi Zhenzhu was anchored in a calm stretch of sea.

The setting sun dyed the ocean gold and crimson. Seagulls circled in the distance, and the scent of grilled fish drifted across the deck.

The sailors sat around in groups of three or five, eating, drinking, enjoying the sea breeze, and chatting. The atmosphere was unusually relaxed.

Jiang Lan squatted at the bow, happily gnawing on a grilled fish, his cheeks covered in charcoal ash.

Doro lay beside him, holding an Orange in her little hands and nibbling it bite by bite. Her purple bead-like eyes narrowed into slits.

"Little Guga!" the bearded man called out, raising his cup. "Last time, you said you had some Sea God Form. Was that real, or were you just bragging? Let us have a look!"

"Yeah! Show us!" The other sailors joined in, clinking their cups.

Jiang Lan stuffed the last bite of grilled fish into his mouth, stood up, and puffed out his chest. The belly of his penguin onesie bulged out. "Of course it's real! Watch closely, gaga!"

Doro consciously shuffled away, afraid of getting caught in the blast.

Jiang Lan planted his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and activated the Soul Power inside him.

A beam of golden light exploded from his body, illuminating the entire ship as brightly as day.

The sailors all squinted. A few who had drunk too much were directly dazzled off their barrels.

When the light faded, a sight appeared on the deck that silenced everyone at once.

Jiang Lan stood there, gleaming from head to toe in golden light, looking like a golden mushroom.

The deck remained silent for a full three seconds.

Then earthshaking laughter erupted.

"Pfft, hahahahaha—!" The bearded man laughed so hard that he toppled straight off his barrel. He spilled wine all over himself and did not even bother wiping it away. "This is the Sea God Form? Isn't this just a golden penguin?!"

"Why is that trident still hanging with a rag? That's so sloppy!" The young pirate in a headscarf laughed so hard that he pounded the deck, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Is that helmet two sizes too big? Look at him—he has to crane his neck just to see where he's going!"

"My god, if Lord Sea God saw this, would he take back the divine position on the spot?"

"Take it back? I think he'd die of anger on the spot!"

Doro silently watched from the corner, covered her face with her little hands, and let out a helpless groan.

She had expected this scene long ago. The last time Bo Saixi saw this form on the beach, she had nearly suffered a mental collapse. These drunk pirates were even worse.

Jiang Lan became frantic from being laughed at. He waved his miniature trident and spun around in place, but his helmet slipped sideways from the momentum.

He hurriedly straightened the helmet, only for the trident to fall again. When he bent down to pick up the trident, the helmet slipped sideways again. His entire body fell into an endless loop of frantic fumbling.

"Stop laughing! It just hasn't finished growing yet!" Jiang Lan's face turned bright red. His helmet sat crookedly on his head, exposing half of his puffed-up little face.

Zi Zhenzhu leaned against the railing with a cup of wine in hand, a rare trace of a smile on her lips. Over the past month, this little rascal had indeed made life on the ship much livelier.

Although he ate more than anyone else, he never slacked off at work. He was good at washing dishes, scrubbing decks, and catching fish. The sailors' initial dislike had turned into fondness.

"Enough, enough. Shut your mouths." Zi Zhenzhu put down her cup and clapped her hands. "Little Guga's skill is real, at least. None of you even have Martial Souls. What right do you have to laugh at him?"

The laughter gradually subsided, but the sailors' shoulders continued shaking. It was obvious they were struggling terribly to hold back their laughter.

Jiang Lan gave Zi Zhenzhu a grateful look, then struck his pose again and tried to appear more imposing. "I'm telling you, once I become a Titled Douluo, this golden armor will become really huge, and this trident will become really long. Then, if anyone dares laugh at me, I'll skewer him with my trident and throw him into the sea to feed the fish, gaga!"

The moment he finished speaking, the miniature trident in his hand flew out because he had swung it too hard. It traced a golden arc through the air and landed precisely in a barrel of fresh water on the deck.

Water poured through the hole pierced by the trident tip, splashing all over the deck.

"Hahahahahaha—!"

Even Zi Zhenzhu could not hold it together this time. Her shoulders shook violently, and she had to turn around and pretend to admire the scenery.

Jiang Lan ran over in frustration and pulled the trident from the barrel. He used too much force, tipped backward, and fell onto the deck with a smack.

Like a golden turtle flipped onto its shell, he kicked his two little legs in the air several times but simply could not turn himself over.

Doro jogged over and pressed her head against his back, using tremendous effort before finally pushing him upright.

While the entire deck overflowed with laughter and cheer, no one noticed the subtle changes taking place in the deep sea beneath the ship.

Three thousand meters beneath the surface, within a pitch-black abyss, a massive point of light slowly lit up.

It was an eye—an incomparably enormous eye.

The owner of that eye lay coiled within the deepest trench on the ocean floor. Its colossal body stretched for miles, and black scales glimmered with an icy, dim light in the darkness.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King.