Suitable

When Mu Tian'en stepped into the surging sea of sand, where the waves could swallow him at any moment, Golden Crocodile Douluo burst out laughing and stopped restraining the Soul Power he had been using to maintain his own weight.

In an instant, he plunged into the sea of sand like an awl through a cloth sack.

"Follow me!"

As Soul Power vibrated, Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice rang in Mu Tian'en's ear.

At that moment, Mu Tian'en shook his teeth, then promptly relinquished his control over the sea of sand, letting the waves crash over him and sweep him beneath its vast expanse.

"Open your eyes!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice continued to guide Mu Tian'en.

But when Mu Tian'en opened his eyes, he found that Golden Crocodile Douluo was already nowhere in sight.

In this place where water and sand mixed, visibility was so poor that ordinary Soul Beasts could not hunt. Mu Tian'en could see only the specks of golden light Golden Crocodile Douluo had left in the water.

The golden light led downward.

After letting out a mouthful of bubbles, Mu Tian'en began to sink.

With Martial Soul Possession, Mu Tian'en's breathing ability had also been greatly strengthened.

Although he still could not hold his breath underwater for more than two hours like a real whale, he could manage an hour.

Besides, Mu Tian'en also had the aid of his Soul Power.

Once he entered this world of mixed sand and water, Mu Tian'en's very presence began to spread.

Just like the name he had given his Martial Soul, he was like a black hole that never ran dry, drawing the surrounding currents and grains of sand to himself as his presence gradually began to merge with this world of mixed sand and water.

Gradually, a current as black as ink began to circle around Mu Tian'en.

The current Mu Tian'en had completely seized paid no heed to the assimilating power of the surrounding water. It simply followed him in silence, sinking in the direction where the golden light spread.

Before long~

Mu Tian'en saw Golden Crocodile Douluo standing a short distance from a giant turtle.

"You're here~"

Golden Crocodile Douluo did not turn around.

His perception through the water still allowed him to sense Mu Tian'en's arrival.

With a casual flick, he whipped up a wave that pulled Mu Tian'en directly to his side.

With the aid of Soul Power, his voice rang in Mu Tian'en's ear.

"Look carefully at the turtle's body."

At his words, Mu Tian'en turned his gaze to the great turtle, half of whose body was hidden by sand in the sand-and-stone-filled current.

It was larger than other turtles that lived in the water.

Its enormous shell rose in a far more formidable dome.

Countless holes stood out across it.

Sand, stones, and water constantly emerged from them.

Its four feet were not shaped like flippers, but more like a combination of the hooves and claws of land beasts, allowing it to grip the ground more firmly amid the unusual currents.

Its entire face was buried in the ground, as though it had not sensed the arrival of Mu Tian'en and Golden Crocodile Douluo at all.

Its cheeks bulged again and again as it swallowed the surrounding soil, digested the water and nutrients within, and expelled the remaining sand and stones through the holes in its shell.

The great turtle showed no sign of being threatening.

But for some reason, before this great turtle that seemed more suited to living on land, Mu Tian'en felt as though the surrounding sand-filled currents had grown eyes.

The water, which should have obeyed him, turned vicious the instant Mu Tian'en approached the great turtle.

A vortex capable of twisting off his limbs and disrupting Mu Tian'en's breathing formed in a mere instant.

And because sand and stones were mixed into it, they could easily enter an intruder's nostrils amid the chaos, causing bleeding and suffocation.

At that moment, Mu Tian'en lowered himself and drove both legs straight into the rock beneath his feet, using its weight to keep himself from swaying for the time being.

He looked at the great turtle, which had sensed Mu Tian'en's intrusion into its territory and raised its head. Mud and stones churned up a murky yellow cloud, yet it still revealed to Mu Tian'en the four rings on its neck that represented its age.

Four hundred years?

Mu Tian'en did not know what the four markings the turtle displayed meant.

But he understood the old man's words.

"I didn't expect Little Tian'en to be so lucky. The very first turtle we found is the right age. A little over four hundred years is just right, and it happens to have the skill we need."

Bubbles formed at Golden Crocodile Douluo's mouth.

His indifferent voice appeared in Mu Tian'en's ear at that moment.

But from beginning to end, he did nothing except stand ready to back Mu Tian'en up.

"So, Little Tian'en, kill it and let it become the strength that carries you forward."

"What?"

Mounted on a specially trained horse, Old Master Xiunuo looked in surprise at Ma Chengyuan, who had pulled another book of information on the Sinking Sand and Stone Turtle from his robes.

"This kind of turtle has an almost terrifying degree of control over the water, sand, and stones where it lives. It can sense an enemy's arrival through them in an instant, then tear the enemy apart in currents mixed with sand and stones. It's a very dangerous Soul Beast."

"Wouldn't the little fellow be in great danger if the principal had Little Tian'en kill that Soul Beast himself?"

Ma Chengyuan paid no attention to the surprise and anxiety in Old Xiu Nuo's voice.

He nodded and looked at the Temple Knights around them, who were advancing under their lead toward the sea of sand west of Vast Sea City. "Yes. But of all the people we're taking to that sea of sand, you're actually the only one who'll be of any real use, as a Soul Master with a partial water attribute."

Old Xiu Nuo wanted nothing more than to give his old friend a beating.

He had brought out the main force guarding Spirit Hall's main branch in Vast Sea City because of a single remark from Ma Chengyuan.

And now Ma Chengyuan was telling him these people were useless.

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Old Xiu Nuo looked at his increasingly cryptic old friend, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You didn't ask." Ma Chengyuan looked at the convincing show of anger on his old friend's face. "Besides, wasn't bringing them out your own idea?"

"If you want to draw out those spies in Spirit Hall, just say so. Don't push everything onto me."

Ma Chengyuan had seen through his old friend's plans at once, so naturally he had not intended to tell him that Old Xiu Nuo was the only one needed to make this trip.

"If you didn't have the ability to breathe underwater and guide me to Little Tian'en, I wouldn't have bothered with you either. I could have gone on my own."

Ma Chengyuan glanced at the old friend who had grown increasingly scheming since becoming a bishop. After rolling his eyes, he urged his mount on, quickening his approach to the sea of sand described in the Spirit Hall deacon's report.

He wondered whether the little fellow had found a Sinking Sand Water Turtle yet~