From the moment Xiao Hua struck and fought Ao Jian, only a few breaths had passed. Jiang Xia, who had been injured by Ao Jian earlier, had merely tumbled through the air a few times and had just landed on the deck. Seeing Xiao Hua act so cleanly and decisively, Jiang Xia hesitated. She was not like Xiao Hua. Not only were there sea clansmen of the Dongtian River aboard this dragon ship, but the Great Elder was beneath the deck. How could she abandon them and flee? Yet she knew Ao Jian's strength only too well. Aside from Jiang Tian, even she and Xiao Hua were no match for him. If she did not flee with Xiao Hua now, she feared she would never have another chance.
"Human, stay behind!" Ao Jian sneered. The Dragon Pearl vanished from midair, and in the next instant, two-colored radiance appeared beyond the watery glow. Though Xiao Hua's Water Evasion Technique was formidable, before a Dragon Pearl born of Water Essence itself, it still fell short by half a notch.
Boom... With a tremendous crash, Xiao Hua's figure was revealed before the Dragon Pearl's radiance, while that radiance was torn into wisps. Ao Jian's Dragon Pearl, too, was struck with hairline cracks!
"Roar..." Ao Jian howled in pain, his heart aching for the pearl. With a sweep of his dragon body, he vanished as well. His Water Evasion Technique was innate—now that Xiao Hua had been blocked by the Dragon Pearl, how could he still escape? Under Ao Jian's urging, the Dragon Pearl transformed into a net of radiance and merged with the demon formation. Streams of dragon qi within the radiance were like sharp blades, yet even this radiance was being corroded by the strange seawater. Still, Ao Jian blocked Xiao Hua's