Chapter 38: The Black Dragon Sword

"I have faith in my mother."

The one who responded was the eldest daughter of the Sea Princess. She had the same beautiful human-like upper body, wore a golden crown, and had golden scales covering her fishtail—all clear symbols of her royal mermaid lineage.

At the same time, she was a fearsome beast with a cultivation of 200,000 years, making her the second strongest among the merfolk.

Feeling the tremors rippling through the deep-sea domain, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Ever since the war between the Sea God faction and the Anti-Sea God faction ended, the ocean has not experienced such turmoil for a long time."

"But I wonder… what does Di Tian, King of the Soul Beasts on land, the one all soul beast clans honor as the Beast God, seek by returning to the ocean?"

Before the other merfolk could respond, a Demon Soul Great White Shark swam out from the inner royal court of the merfolk and stopped beside the mermaid princess, transforming into the form of a striking human woman.

It was none other than Xiao Bai, former leader of the Sea God faction and the mount of the first Sea God, Poseidon.

"This probably won't be anything good."

For some reason, Xiao Bai felt an unsettling sense of foreboding.

The mermaid princess cast an almost imperceptible glance at her but did not express any personal opinion. Instead, she responded in a neutral, diplomatic tone.

"Di Tian is, after all, the Beast God. We must show him the respect he deserves and host him in the grandest palace of our race."

"The battle between him and my mother will likely take quite some time to reach a conclusion. Let us begin prepar—"

Her words came to an abrupt halt.

She stood frozen, staring in shock at the battlefield between Di Tian and the Sea Princess.

Her beautiful eyes widened as her pupils contracted sharply.

Within them, a single pitch-black sword shadow was reflected.

It stretched boundlessly in all directions, as if capable of cleaving the entire ocean in two.

It was the ultimate technique created by Di Tian himself—the Black Dragon Sword.

And as his cultivation continued to advance, its power had become ever more terrifying.

At this moment, he had already broken free from the deep-sea psychic storm conjured by the Sea Princess.

All those strange spiritual weapons, including the legendary tears of a mermaid, had failed to inflict any harm upon him.

Now, wielding the massive Black Dragon Sword, he slashed down with devastating force.

The sword's hilt alone was two feet long, while its blade extended six feet, coiled with the form of a black dragon, its edges radiating a deep purple glow.

It was this very sword strike that shattered the psychic storm that had tried to imprison him.

But—this strike did not stop there.

Its momentum remained undiminished as it cleaved toward the Sea Princess!

Compared to the bystanders, the Sea Princess herself could perceive the true terror of the Black Dragon Sword.

It was not merely an extreme concentration of dark elemental energy taking the form of a blade.

It was also the pinnacle of spatial control.

Wherever the black sword light passed, even the seawater of the deep ocean was split apart.

The space within the slash was completely sealed, preventing the water from reuniting for an unnaturally long time.

With her power, she couldn't even dodge.

She could only take it head-on.

Her usually gentle and serene face twisted slightly, displaying an expression of rare discomfort and dread.

The discomfort came from the fact that, tens of thousands of years ago, she had lost to this very same sword.

And now, history seemed to be repeating itself.

The dread, on the other hand, was caused by what she had just sensed—

"Divine power!"

The shock rippled through her consciousness.

"No… no, that's not it!"

She quickly realized—

Di Tian had not used godly power.

Like her, he was still using soul power.

Although his soul power was unbelievably vast, nearly equal to her own combined with the full force of the entire deep-sea domain, its essence remained the same—it was still soul power!

There was no time to dwell on this revelation.

The Black Dragon Sword was already upon her.

She could only clasp her hands together at her chest, forming a profound hand seal.

Her lips parted as she chanted an ancient incantation, incomprehensible to most but breathtakingly beautiful, like a celestial song.

Her body began to dissolve into a transparent, oceanic hue.

Soon, her entire form faded into the deep sea, as if merging with the ocean itself.

But then—

Her melodic chant turned into a hoarse, ear-splitting shriek.

It was a sound that shook the very souls of all sea soul beasts in the deep-sea domain, leaving them writhing in pain.

Even the fearsome beasts among them were not spared.

The very seawater itself seemed to come alive, shaping itself into a massive, pure water spirit in the Sea Princess's image.

Yet—

That endlessly black sword light, as if capable of consuming all existence, still split the entire deep-sea domain in two.

Or rather, it cleaved through the water spirit that the Sea Princess had become.

For a long time, the ocean could not restore itself to normal.

The Sea Princess herself fell from her water spirit form, her face pale as a sheet, her soul power chaotic and unresponsive.

With this one strike—

She no longer had the strength to fight.

The Black Dragon Sword had shattered her vast psychic net that once covered the entire deep-sea domain.

If Di Tian were to now unleash his mastery of darkness over the ocean, she would be like a blind woman before him.

Most importantly, her most powerful psychic attacks had proven useless against him.

If she continued to fight, the outcome would be inevitable—total defeat.

Not to mention…

Di Tian stood before her, his expression calm and relaxed, clearly nowhere near using his full strength.

He walked toward her at an unhurried pace, and casually remarked:

"Not bad."

"Just like last time, you were able to take one of my sword strikes by borrowing the power of the ocean."

"But unfortunately, your cultivation is still only at 700,000 years. If you were to survive two more tribulations, then perhaps, defeating you in the ocean would require me to use my full strength."

Hearing his words, the Sea Princess smiled bitterly.

"I'll take that as a compliment, then."

"But tell me—your cultivation… it's not just at 900,000 years, is it?"

Di Tian did not bother hiding the truth.

He nodded.

"I recently passed my million-year tribulation."

His calm tone hit the Sea Princess like a thunderclap.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, she couldn't help but feel shaken.

A million-year soul beast…

A being that had existed only in myths had now become a reality.

And at this moment, he stood right before her.

Of course.

If he hadn't surpassed a million years, how could his Black Dragon Sword have given her a glimpse of god-level power?

Her stunned expression gradually faded.

She took a deep breath and asked:

"I have one more question, Beast God…how did you resist my psychic attacks inside the deep-sea storm?"

"I refuse to believe they had no effect on you at all."

After all, psychic power was her greatest source of pride.

Even if it was useless against him, she wanted to hear him confirm it so she could truly let go of her doubts.

Yet—

Di Tian did not answer her directly.

"You'll find out soon enough."

The Sea Princess could only sigh helplessly.

She then turned her gaze back to him and formally inquired about his purpose for coming to the ocean.

(End of Chapter)