“For me… seal it away!”
That domineering roar was one Xiong Xiaobao had shouted only in his mind, and yet somehow, everyone seemed to feel it. In an instant, every single person turned their heads to look at him at once!
Even the enormous eel came to an abrupt halt, and with it, the waves suddenly shrank.
Ziqing, Jun Beiyue, and Baili Weisheng stopped at once, though none of them had yet grasped what was happening!
Then, not far off, a burst of purple radiance flared — and in that instant, the massive eel transformed into a streak of black shadow, hurtling straight toward that purple light.
“The Cosmic Poison Pouch!” Jun Beiyue exclaimed, in that voice pitched only for their ears.
Only then did Ziqing and Baili Weisheng understand. By now the black shadow had vanished completely into the purple radiance, and the roiling waters that had surrounded them all fell still, vanishing along with the eel.
The entire stretch of ocean instantly calmed. In the clear, sapphire-blue water, the golden light of the Jinjiao Palace intertwined with the purple radiance of the Cosmic Poison Pouch, casting the whole sea in breathtaking splendor.
Only now could everyone clearly see the scene before them: Xiong Xiaobao floated in the water with his eyes closed, his small face wearing a serenity far beyond his years, his entire body wrapped in a faint, sacred purple glow. Seen from afar, he looked like nothing less than a child of the gods.
The Cosmic Poison Pouch hovered above his head, a shining source of light, radiating purple brilliance in every direction.
For a moment, even the boy’s own parents were left staring in awe — this child carried the noblest bloodline of the Dream Clan, the most exalted bloodline of the Isolated Isle. He was destined for greatness.
Watching from a distance at the gates of the Jinjiao Palace, Madam Helian and Helian Shaoze stood dumbstruck, utterly unable to believe what they had just seen. Ziqing and the others, caught up in the chaos of battle, might not have seen it clearly — but mother and son had witnessed everything with perfect clarity.
That eel, several zhang long — had just been sealed away by this little child into that golden pouch!
What kind of treasure was that, to be so formidable?
“Mother, quick! Summon the sharks!” Helian Shaoze urged anxiously. While the boy was still motionless, they had to strike first!
Madam Helian finally snapped out of her daze and immediately let out an extremely unpleasant “ke ke” sound.
The instant that sound rang out, Baili Weisheng cried out in alarm, “Damn it, here we go again!”
Sure enough, no sooner had he spoken than surging waves came rolling up from the seabed once more, billowing up like steam, endlessly churning. This time, the sheer power of the waves was so great that even with every ounce of their internal energy, Ziqing and the other two couldn’t keep their footing.
And that, of course, was the most fatal danger of all.
Once you lost your balance in the waves, forget mounting an attack — even dodging or fleeing became impossible.
A wave surged up and instantly scattered the three of them in three different directions. All three fought with everything they had to control their movement, but none of them could manage it — only Jun Beiyue barely managed to hold himself steady.
Even so, even unable to look after themselves, all three kept their attention fixed on Xiong Xiaobao.
Amid such enormous waves, Xiong Xiaobao still hadn’t moved at all, seemingly protected by the purple light — but how long that light could shield him, no one knew.
Without question, amid the towering waves and the bobbing, scattered figures, Xiong Xiaobao was the most obvious target for attack.
Jun Beiyue struggled to get closer to him, and though Ziqing and Baili Weisheng couldn’t reach him either, neither gave up, both fighting with everything they had against the waves.
But then Baili Weisheng suddenly shouted, “Not good — sharks, more than one! Great whites! All heading for Xiong Bao!”
At those words, Ziqing nearly fainted from shock, and Jun Beiyue threw every last bit of his internal strength into surging against the current.
“Jun Beiyue, go back — go back to the barrier! I’ll poison them to death!” Baili Weisheng roared furiously. The waves were so massive, the sea so deep, he had no idea how much blood he’d need to let to poison these beasts to death — but he was willing to risk everything.
Xiong Xiaobao still had his eyes closed, and he was so small — one bite from a great white could swallow him whole!
Once swallowed, or even just bitten, poisonous blood or not, death would be certain — and it would be an ugly death at that.
“You little brat, you don’t have nearly enough strength yet to be activating the Cosmic Poison Pouch!”
Baili Weisheng muttered under his breath, just about to slit his own vein, when Jun Beiyue’s voice reached him at once. “If you don’t want to die, don’t move. Last time it was the Golden Scale Armor that saved you. This time, no one can save you.”
Jun Beiyue’s warning wasn’t wrong. Last time, it was precisely because Baili Weisheng had let too much blood and had it drained by the poison spider that his body had later begun to deteriorate.
His blood was far too precious — it couldn’t be replenished.
Just as Jun Beiyue, bobbing through the waves, was about to reach Xiong Xiaobao, Baili Weisheng had no choice but to abandon the thought of bleeding himself.
But then!
No one could have anticipated that, at that very moment, a white shadow suddenly shot out from behind Xiong Xiaobao. Obscured by the crashing waves, it was impossible to make out at first — but soon the white foam parted, revealing a massive, fang-filled maw.
“No—!” Baili Weisheng cried out.
At the same instant, Ziqing, fighting apart from the others, went rigid all over, instantly swept far, far away by the waves.
Jun Beiyue froze the exact same way, in that same instant, before he too was swept back by the current.
Husband and wife were both stunned senseless, terrified for the first time in their lives — a terror so overwhelming their minds went utterly blank, leaving them so powerless.
For the first time in their lives, they discovered that they truly weren’t so mighty after all — before the force of nature, before the power of a savage beast, they were so, so small.
In that fleeting instant — even as they were swept away by the waves, even as they watched helplessly — the fangs were about to close down, and still Xiong Xiaobao lay motionless, his young face peaceful and undisturbed, so heartbreakingly calm that it made them long for the days of his usual mischief.
It was about to bite down — about to bite down — it was biting down—!
But—!
At almost the exact same instant, a streak of red shadow suddenly burst out from the waves and slammed straight into the great white shark’s gaping, fanged mouth!
“Boom!”
An earth-shaking crash rang out, and at the same moment, the waves began to still, the entire sea filling with fine white foam — nothing could be seen clearly, but the scent of blood was unmistakable, sharp and clear.
And soon, great spreading clouds of fresh blood began to bloom out from the whiteness.
“Henggong fish — it’s a Henggong fish!” Ziqing murmured, her voice pitched only for their ears, a chill of horror running through her entire body, one she couldn’t shake off even now.
That’s right — it was a Henggong fish!
Ever since they’d entered the water, all four poisonous beasts had remained hidden, never summoned — how could they have forgotten about them?
The other three feared water, but the Henggong fish had no fear of water at all!
Sure enough, as the foam cleared and the spreading crimson began to fade—
There was Xiong Xiaobao, still perfectly fine, eyes closed tight, his face utterly calm, bathed in purple light. And beside him stood the Henggong fish, its body swollen to its absolute limit, rivaling two great white sharks, jaws stretched wide, countless rows of razor-sharp teeth bared — like some fierce demon of the sea, a stark and yet perfectly harmonious contrast to Xiong Xiaobao’s quiet, childlike innocence.
With the Henggong fish there, even if a sea monster came, there was nothing to fear!
“Henggong fish, I’m leaving this to you!”
Ziqing said coldly, then immediately turned and fixed a cold glare on Madam Helian and Helian Shaoze in the distance. Lit by the golden radiance, her plain, unadorned face had turned as cold as an avenging demon’s — anyone who dared threaten her son would face a guaranteed kill.
But before Ziqing could act, Jun Beiyue and Baili Weisheng beside her had already shot forward like arrows from either side of her.
…