Before Captain John—or any of the sailors on deck—could react, Qian Renxue took a single step forward.
Then—She leapt.
Golden light flashed briefly as her figure left the deck, her white-and-gold robes fluttering like the wings of a falling angel.
Splash—
The sea swallowed her whole.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to freeze.
"L-Lady Eve!"
"Gods above—she jumped!"exclaimed a sailor close by.
----
In the unfathomable depths of the sea, where sunlight could never reach and pressure alone was enough to crush mountains, an ancient existence slept.
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
His colossal body floated motionlessly, stretching over two hundred meters in length. His massive tail alone exceeded two hundred meters, coiled like a slumbering mountain range. His entire form shimmered faintly, scales reflecting a deep sapphire-blue glow, as though the sea itself had crystallized around him.
Upon his massive head were two enormous eyes, each nearly three meters in diameter, vast enough to swallow ships whole in a single gaze.
Yet—The left eye was ruined. A jagged scar crossed the socket, forever blind on that side.
This wound was a mark of humiliation engraved into his very soul.
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was a million-year-old soul beast, feared by all oceanic sea soul beasts and revered as the tyrant of the deep. In this era, he was acknowledged as the strongest soul beast of the sea, an existence even other hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts instinctively avoided.
Twenty thousand years ago, he had challenged a Poseidon—the Sea God, before his ascension.
He had lost the fight and with that defeat, he had lost his left eye… and his chance at divinity.
At the moment he was in deep sleep. However, even in deep slumber, his hatred did not fade.
Within his dream, vast seas churned violently. Divine tridents shattered beneath his might as waves rose higher than the sky themselves.
Poseidon knelt before him.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
The Demonic Whale King's laughter echoed through the dreamscape.
"Look at you, Poseidon, you wretch!"
"From today onward, I am the Sea God!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
The ocean bowed to him in the dream.
Victory tasted sweeter than anything reality had ever offered.
Then—
A calm, feminine voice pierced through the illusion.
"How pitiful."
The dream trembled.
"To only be able to confront Poseidon… inside a dream."
His laughter froze.The waters around him rippled unnaturally.
The Demonic Whale King's massive body stirred as rage surged through his consciousness.
"WHO IS IT?!"
His voice roared through the deep sea, carrying terrifying pressure capable of crushing lesser beings instantly.
"Who dares to speak before this king?!"
The voice answered again, unhurried and mocking.
"A king?"
"You should call yourself the King of Cowards instead."
That single sentence struck deeper than any weapon.
----
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's eyes snapped open.
The deep sea shook violently as his enormous body twisted, currents exploding outward like underwater hurricanes.
HOOOOOOOOOOH—!
A deafening whale cry reverberated through the ocean depths, sending countless sea soul beasts fleeing in terror. Coral forests shattered, seabeds cracked, and pressure waves surged for kilometers.
His remaining eye burned with fury as he scanned the darkness.
Someone had entered his domain and dared to mock him.
The ancient tyrant of the sea was awake.
-----
The surrounding sea began to churn violently as the ancient tyrant of the sea moved.
Invisible pressure spread outward in concentric waves. The water itself seemed to lose its gentleness, transforming into a furious, suffocating force. Massive waves rose one after another, colliding and collapsing with thunderous roars.
On the surface farway from the position, the ship lurched dangerously.
The deck tilted sharply as if the vessel might capsize at any moment. Wooden beams groaned, sails snapped wildly, and seawater poured over the sides like a flood.
"Hold fast—!"
"Secure the ropes!"
Captain John shouted hoarsely as he struggled to maintain balance. Even with decades of experience at sea, his legs trembled uncontrollably. The sailors were no better—some clung desperately to the mast, others were thrown hard against the railings.
This was no ordinary storm.
Then—The ocean exploded.
A gigantic shadow surged upward from beneath the waves, tearing through the sea surface as if breaking through a fragile mirror.
BOOOOOOM—!
Towering columns of water were thrown into the sky.
The sailors stared in horror as the true body of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King emerged, blotting out the heavens. His massive form eclipsed the ship completely, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the world itself had shrunk beneath his presence.
The pressure alone forced many to their knees.
In the next instant, the monstrous form began to shrink and twist, light rippling across its surface.
When the waves finally settled, a humanoid figure stood above the sea.
He was nearly three meters tall, his physique broad and overwhelming. Deep blue hair cascaded down his back like flowing seawater, drifting unnaturally despite the lack of wind.
Covering his body was a set of bizarre deep-purple armor, crystalline in texture, as if carved from the deepest layers of the abyss. The armor formed seamlessly—chestplate, shoulder guards, abdominal armor, battle skirt, and protective plates for all four limbs—without a single visible crack at the joints.
A tall neck protector rose behind his head in a semicircle, etched with gill-like patterns, reinforcing his inhuman nature. At the center of his chest was a fist-sized gem, glowing faintly with a dark, ominous light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
He stood upon the sea itself, water supporting his feet as though acknowledging its ruler.
His remaining eye—cold, ancient, and tyrannical—locked onto the golden-haired girl floating calmly before him.
For the first time since awakening, his expression became serious.
"Who are you?"