Ren Tao only remembered that, during his battle with Tang San, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had devoured the Eight Spider Lances and evolved eight gray-blue spider spears. Yet only three days had passed while he recovered from his injuries. Why had the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King become like this?
While he was still reeling with uncertainty, another change occurred~
As the "mutated" Deep Sea Demonic Whale King flapped his way into the water, he kept bumping into Ren Tao, moving just like a little toy poodle...
The man and the whale finally began wrestling. What started as playful horseplay soon turned into a battle of "hand-to-hand combat."
Under the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's overwhelming pressure, Ren Tao also manifested the Evil Orca King's true form. He had no choice. Having transmigrated in soul alone, he was merely a modern-day worker; all his power resided in the Evil Orca King's body.
Only once they started fighting did he realize how ridiculous it was.
First, there was their appearance. Wings, red flowers, golden threads-their features were identical. The mutated Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and the Evil Orca King looked like twins, except that the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was slightly larger. Even their skills were remarkably similar. Devour, lightning-whatever skills Ren Tao possessed, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had them too.
Then there was the power of Devour, which formed a circulating current within their bodies. The power the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King devoured fed back to Ren Tao, while the power Ren Tao devoured strengthened the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.
Because their origins were connected, the law of conservation of energy meant that their combined energy remained constant.
Like two connected vessels of water, no matter how they fought, neither gained any energy, and neither lost any.
Their wrestling seemed utterly meaningless, but gradually, Ren Tao noticed something.
Were the Evil Orca King and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King constantly merging?
From their thoughts to their perspectives, and finally their bodies, the two slowly became one as they devoured each other.
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's form dissolved. Gradually, between sky and sea, only Ren Tao's figure remained.
Bone wings grew from his back. At his mental command, the golden threads beneath them became faint patterns entwined across his clothes, while the little red flowers that had originally grown atop his head became embroidered decorations on his collar, cuffs, and hem.
So these were... red-trimmed sleeves?
Though it was something of a mishmash, this was the best solution Ren Tao could think of for now.
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's form had disappeared, while his abilities had merged perfectly into Ren Tao's body. It was the equivalent of completing an evolution.
Ren Tao exhaled, and tiny ripples spread across the entire sea of inheritance, giving him the sensation of holding heaven and earth in his grasp.
An understanding dawned in his heart:
Only now have I truly received the inheritance of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's Whale Pearl. This sea of inheritance was formed from his cultivation and soul power.
It wasn't that the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's soul power and spiritual power were insufficiently strong. Most of them were being used to sustain this "sea of the great Dao" and nurture a sacred embryo-the super-species that would emerge after evolution.
When the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King died, he was being attacked from inside his body, and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring was far too overpowering. He couldn't draw on the Whale Pearl's power to attack, which allowed this sea of inheritance to remain intact. Come to think of it, wasn't I incredibly lucky?
Ren Tao beat his wings and skimmed swiftly over the sea like a wisp of smoke. His speed far exceeded his imagination; in just a few breaths, he reached the edge of the sea of inheritance.
A faint mist swirled here, completely blocking out the sights and auras beyond, making it seem like a sealed world.
As its energy grew more abundant, the sea of inheritance would expand further, eventually reaching the point where it could perfectly nurture a heaven and earth sacred embryo. For now, everything was only beginning.
"But what exactly lies beyond the mist?"
Ren Tao tried to go farther, only to discover that as he passed through the mist, his body gradually dissolved. He was not truly disappearing, but slowly leaving the sea of inheritance and returning to reality.
He turned and went back. Then he noticed a faint glimmer on the sandy shore.
Was that a glass bottle?
"A drift bottle?"
Ren Tao was startled!
The entire sea of inheritance had evolved from energy. How could there be a drift bottle here?
And who had left it? Surely not the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King?
Ren Tao flapped his wings, stirring up a whirlwind that instantly swept the drift bottle into his hand. He carefully sensed it~
Then the drift bottle melted!
A stream of information rushed into Ren Tao's mind.
"I am an evil soul master. My name is unimportant. Through endless devouring and Martial Soul Evolution, I long ago forgot who I was."
"Though I am an evil soul master, what I seek is not personal strength, but an understanding of humanity's limits. Through continual devouring and evolution, I want to know just how far I can go."
Evil soul master was a profession on the Douluo Continent. Its definition varied from era to era, but essentially, they were practitioners of unorthodox, sinister arts who cultivated by devouring soul power, spiritual power, souls, and martial souls.
This one, however, was clearly an evil soul master with "aspirations." Something like a modern genetic engineer?
After a moment's thought, Ren Tao simply sat down on the beach and carefully "read" the information this unnamed evil soul master had left behind.
"Because Spirit Hall relentlessly hunted me, I fled to the sea. Here, the forms of living creatures are utterly different from those on the continent... All manner of strange species completely blur the distinction between humans and soul beasts. I wonder, could this be evolution's ultimate direction?"
"Day after day of fleeing and fighting brought both my body and soul to the brink of collapse. In this lifetime, I would never see the endpoint of evolution, leaving only regret and bitterness!"
"Finally, one day, I encountered the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, a unique soul beast approaching a million years of age. Thus, I made a bold decision... to sacrifice myself to him, but have him preserve a strand of my consciousness, so that I could observe and understand his evolutionary journey."
"As long as I can witness the achievement of ultimate evolution, my life will hold no more regrets. And those ignorant people will finally understand that, in exterminating evil soul masters, they have severed another path for human evolution."
These seemed to be introductory remarks. What followed were all fragments of memories.
They included some bloody experiments the evil soul master had conducted, along with numerous theoretical extrapolations carried out within the sea of inheritance.
During this process, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had indeed followed his guidance, opening up the sea of inheritance and devouring sea soul beasts on a massive scale as he advanced unwaveringly toward dragon transformation.
Until one day, the Sea God descended from the heavens. Dazzling light illuminated the entire sea, and his Trident cleaved the waters and blinded one of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's eyes. The aftershock of Sea God's Light also dispersed the evil soul master's final wisp of soul.
The research ended there, but by that point, the evil soul master had already discovered the ultimate direction of evolution.
It could also be called the most important research finding of his life:
"The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King never believed that soul beasts could not become gods. He thought power was everything, but he was wrong! Apex predators have appeared in every world, yet in the end, they are often not the ones left standing. That proves they are not the correct direction of evolution. Only humans are the ideal inheritors of superior bloodlines. I dare say that even if the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King completes his dragon transformation, he will never transcend the constraints of this world's laws and become an existence equal to a god."
"There are several crucial conditions. First, you must be human-absolutely human. Second, you must possess the bloodline of a super soul beast. Third, you must possess energy as vast as the heavens and the sea. Whoever comes after me, if you can fulfill all three conditions, then congratulations. You have embarked on a journey of life unprecedented throughout the ages, and you will eventually attain achievements beyond the world's imagination."
At that point, the evil soul master's information stopped abruptly.
Ren Tao finally understood why he could initiate the super evolution within the sea of inheritance, while the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had stalled at the stage of dragon transformation.
So from now on, would I be walking the path of an evil soul master, never to return?
As he finished absorbing the information, the drift bottle dissolved completely into sand, trickling through Ren Tao's fingers. At the very end, however, a speck of black remained. It pierced his middle finger and plunged straight into his consciousness.
It became a black glimmer. On closer inspection, it was a black trident as slender as a thread.
"This is... the sea god's abhorrence?"
So the Sea God had planted the "sea god's abhorrence" in the evil soul master as well?
However, this mark seemed different from the one on Ren Tao. The main difference was that it had a visible form, and its surface appeared to have been corroded by something, leaving mottled traces of rust.
"Heh heh heh!"
The evil soul master's voice rang out in Ren Tao's mind, raising goosebumps all over him. "The Sea God's Mark? If I were in my complete state, do you think I couldn't devour it? I'll leave this puzzle to whoever comes after me! Sea God, look forward to the surprise I've prepared for you!"
I'm truly grateful to all my readers!
Your enthusiastic discussions of the plot and thoughtful suggestions have warmed my heart.
Sometimes, when I'm dissatisfied with my writing and begin to doubt myself, your support helps me regain my confidence.
Some comments are so funny that I keep laughing long after reading them.
I suppose this is one of the joys of writing. Thank you all again. I'll do my best to write well!
Before you continue