The sight below made Yan Nujiao dizzy, and she hurriedly closed her eyes. She knew their lives hung by a thread; the slightest error in Hu Xiaotian's judgment would send them straight into the sharks' gaping jaws. After several consecutive leaps, Hu Xiaotian drew ever closer to the fire ahead. He could now see it clearly: a rock roughly thirty feet square rose above the water, with a bonfire burning atop it. Beside the fire stood a tall, powerfully built man with blazing, tiger-like eyes. Seeing their peril, he shouted, "Get up here!"
Hu Xiaotian kicked away a vicious shark that leaped out of the water, then sprang into the air. He somersaulted twice before landing steadily on the rock. A shark lunged onto the rock behind him, jaws wide, only for the man there to raise his fist and slam it into the beast's head. His strength was astonishing. That single blow burst the shark's brains, sending it tumbling back into the sea, where its savage companions immediately swarmed over it and devoured it whole.
Then Yan Nujiao cried out in delighted surprise, "Uncle!"
The man on the rock was equally overjoyed. "Nujiao! Is it really you?"
Only then did Hu Xiaotian realize that this man in the underground water cavern was Yan Tianlu, the chief of Python Jiao Island. Blood stained his body, and exhaustion filled his face. What had reduced the mighty chief of Python Jiao Island to such a state?
Hu Xiaotian undid the straps and lowered Yan Nujiao to the ground. She, too, noticed her uncle's poor condition and rushed forward to hold his arm. "Uncle, what happened to you?" she asked anxiously.
The punch had aggravated Yan Tianlu's injuries. He caught his breath and said, "Nothing serious. Some scoundrels ambushed me!" His tiger-like eyes