A Bet with the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King had never imagined that, before a battle even began, he would one day argue with a six-year-old human brat over the definition of molestation.

And that brat was the Sea God's illegitimate child, standing on the deck of this shabby ship in a chubby penguin onesie, soot still smeared across his cheeks, reasoning him into a logical dead end with an expression that said he was being perfectly reasonable.

Zi Zhenzhu stood by the railing, the deathly pale tension on her face completely gone, replaced by an almost numb blankness.

She looked at the bearded uncle beside her and found that his expression was exactly the same as hers.

Mouth hanging open, eyes wide, brain clearly having given up on processing the absurd scene before them.

They had thought they were about to fight a battle of life and death.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King, an overlord of the sea who had lived for countless millennia, a terrifying existence that even Bo Saixi had to face with her full strength.

And now, this ruler of the sea was floating on the surface, arguing with a six-year-old child over whether the Sea God's earth-shattering trident strike all those years ago counted as molestation.

"That man back then ambushed this king from behind while this king surfaced to breathe!" The Deep Sea Demon Whale King had clearly been driven mad with rage and began spilling every detail of his humiliating past. "That trident strike came down from behind and sent this king straight from the surface into mud three thousand meters beneath the sea! This king crawled for three whole days before getting out! And you say that wasn't mol—"

"That wasn't molestation." Jiang Lan cut him off decisively. "That was an ambush. Ambushing someone and molesting someone are completely different things."

"What's the difference between those words?!"

"Of course there's a difference." Jiang Lan counted on his fingers as he explained seriously. "An ambush is something you do in a fight. Molestation is hooligan behavior. My big brother beating you up was an ambush, not molestation. If you go around saying my big brother molested you, people will think he has some weird fetish. That would be bad for my big brother's reputation."

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King trembled with rage. The seawater around him began to boil, bubbling furiously.

He no longer wanted to eat anyone, nor did he care about destroying any Sea God heir. Right now, he only wanted to swallow this sharp-tongued little brat alive.

"And besides." Jiang Lan planted his hands on his hips and looked up at the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, his tone shifting from reasoned debate to stern instruction. "You're some ancient senior who's lived for who knows how many millennia. My big brother beat you up, yet instead of getting revenge on him, you came here to bully a six-year-old kid like me. What kind of ability is that? If you really have any backbone, go to the Divine Realm and challenge my big brother to a duel right now. I'll wait here for you. I definitely won't run."

The deck fell silent again.

Zi Zhenzhu slowly turned her head and looked at the little ghost who had eaten and drunk for free aboard her ship for a month with entirely new eyes. This child was not only absurdly powerful in battle; his talent for infuriating people was equally astonishing.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King remained silent for a full five seconds. Then he laughed. That laughter was more chilling than his roar—low, hoarse, like two reefs grinding against each other beneath the water.

"Kid, have you ever heard the saying, 'A father's debts are paid by his son'? This king cannot reach the Divine Realm, so this grievance can only be vented on you."

Jiang Lan looked at the Deep Sea Demon Whale King and said, "How about this? Let's make a bet. If I can injure you within three moves, you let us go."

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King considered it, then agreed. "Fine. If you can break this king's defense in three moves, not only will I let you leave, I'll even grant you a stroke of fortune."

He was just a little brat. It would be a miracle if he could even scratch the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's hide.

"First Soul Skill—Sea God Form!"

Golden light exploded, illuminating the entire sea as brightly as day.

The pirates on deck instinctively squinted. Once the light dimmed a little, they saw that familiar form they had already witnessed once before.

A round little set of golden armor, a crooked helmet, and a miniature trident with a rag hanging from it.

But this time, no one laughed.

Jiang Lan gripped the trident with both hands and drew a deep breath. His two short legs kicked hard against the deck, launching him like a golden cannonball. He stepped off the railing for leverage and leaped into the air, raising his miniature trident high before viciously driving it toward the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's massive single eye.

"Eat my trident, quack!"

The trident struck the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's eyelid with a crisp ding.

Then it bounced away.

The recoil sent Jiang Lan tumbling backward. He spun twice in midair before barely steadying himself and landing on the sea surface, the trident in his hand still humming.

He lowered his head and looked at the trident's tips. They were completely undamaged.

Then he looked up at the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's eyelid. It did not even have a white mark on it.

"...Huh?" Jiang Lan blinked.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King had not even bothered to dodge. His single eye was half-lidded, and his gaze plainly asked, Are you scratching an itch for me?

The pirates on deck felt their hearts go cold. Inwardly, they prayed for the Sea God to show his divine power.

"First move." There was a lazy trace of mockery in the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's voice.

Jiang Lan clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the trident.

"I'm not done yet!" He charged again, this time circling to the side and fiercely stabbing toward the gap by the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's gills.

The scales there were thinner than those on the rest of his body. Jiang Lan had watched for quite some time before finding this possible weak point.

The trident struck precisely into the gap by the gills, then bounced away again.

Having used too much force, Jiang Lan was flung more than ten meters across the sea, rolling and tumbling before finally plunging headfirst into the water. Only his two short legs remained above the surface, kicking frantically.

Doro swam over, bit his ankle, and dragged him out of the water like she was pulling up a radish.

"Pwah!" Jiang Lan spat out a mouthful of seawater. The hood of his penguin onesie had fallen over his face, and he looked utterly bedraggled.

"Second move." The Deep Sea Demon Whale King sounded even more languid than before. He even yawned.

The airflow from that yawn puffed the ship's sails outward.

The atmosphere on deck turned completely frigid.

"Kid, you have one move left." The Deep Sea Demon Whale King lowered his head, bringing his single eye close to Jiang Lan—so close that Jiang Lan could see his own miserable reflection in it. "You used two moves in Sea God Form and couldn't even scratch this king's skin. Do you want to try something different for the third move?"

After saying that, he laughed first, his laughter making even the sea surface tremble.

Jiang Lan stood on the sea surface, drenched from head to toe, the orange flippers of his penguin onesie resting atop the water.

He straightened his crooked helmet, gripped the miniature trident tightly, and puffed out his cheeks as though he had stuffed two walnuts inside.

He was neither angry nor discouraged.

He merely lowered his head to look at his trident, then raised his eyes to look at the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's huge single eye before drawing a deep breath.