Quick and Decisive

Ten minutes earlier, in the Death Calamity Sea. A giant golden bird flew through the air, winging over island after island. Yu Xian and Sima Gao sat on the bird's back playing cards. Yu Xian's face was completely covered in a smug grin, while Sima Gao looked grave and solemn. "Pair of threes!" "Pass." "Pair of fives!" "Pass!" "Both Jokers—empty hand!" Yu Xian cheerfully played out the last cards in his hand, beaming at Sima Gao. The two then began their next round, though against Yu Xian's monstrous luck, Sima Gao clearly had no chance of winning. "Big Brother, there are so many people swimming down below!" Little Nora's voice drifted back from ahead, dripping with shock, revulsion, and disgust. Yu Xian also paused in surprise. Setting down his cards, he walked to the edge to look down. Sure enough, in the golden ocean below floated many bizarrely shaped figures. Sima Gao walked up beside him and said, "Those are all death calamity ghosts. The water of the Death Calamity Sea is actually a part of the Abyss. If you fall into the waters of the Death Calamity Sea, you transform into a death calamity ghost who can never leave. They will try every means possible to drag living beings into the water, so whatever you do, don't let them touch you." "Then in battle, wouldn't you win simply by knocking your opponent into the seawater?" Little Nora exclaimed in surprise upon hearing that. Taking it a step further, Yu Xian chuckled, "In that case, wouldn't it be even better to scoop up some seawater in a container and splash it onto your opponent by surprise?" "Duckie's idea is sound—in the past, people have indeed done that," Sima Gao said. "As for your method, Benefactor, it actually doesn't work. The moment seawater from the Death Calamity Sea is removed from the sea, it turns into golden energy. Once you open the lid, it instantly vanishes, allegedly returning to the Death Calamity Sea." Although Yu Xian and Little Nora both believed the seawater of the Death Calamity Sea was the Sun Emperor's urine, it wasn't actually urine. After all, an existence of the Sun Emperor's caliber had long ceased needing bodily excretion; waste did not exist for him. To be precise, the seawater of the Death Calamity Sea was an evolved manifestation of the Sun Emperor's bladder traits—because he possessed a bladder, this golden liquid existed. As the three were chatting, a blackish-purple cross-shaped starburst suddenly flashed in the distance, followed by a terrifying beam cannon of violet-black light surging rapidly toward them. Yu Xian frowned slightly and thrust his right fist forward. Invisible fist force hammered down from above, intercepting the beam cannon midway. This beam cannon was a System-rank attack that Little Nora could not withstand, which was why he had stepped in. Had he not acted, countless islands behind them likely would have been pierced through in an instant, and there was no telling how many people would have died. "Someone's fighting up ahead. Let's go take a look," Yu Xian said to Little Nora, readying himself for battle. Sima Gao, on the other hand, remained frozen in place, drenched in sweat. Just seeing that beam cannon had given him the distinct sensation that he was about to meet his late great-grandmother. If Yu Xian hadn't neutralized it so effortlessly, there probably wouldn't even be scraps left of him right now. Little Nora accelerated, flying forward. After about three minutes, they saw a tiger-headed, human-bodied white tiger and a fellow with a goat's head, an alligator's maw, and a human body locked in combat against a dark-black dragon. The battle between the two sides was exceedingly ferocious. Beneath the violent shuddering of energy, shockwaves radiated outward almost continuously. Yu Xian stood atop Little Nora's head, his biological force field shielding both Little Nora and Sima Gao. After watching the clash for a moment, he asked, "Little Nora, which side do you think are the bad guys?" "The dragon, of course! The dragon clan are all bad guys," Little Nora answered with utter conviction. It simply despised dragons. It wasn't even very close with the dragon girl Little Nia, whom Niman had raised. Fortunately, Little Nia was currently attending school in Crescent Bay, so they rarely crossed paths, which was the only reason they hadn't fought each other. "Then should we help the tiger?" Yu Xian asked. Little Nora shook its head. "Or maybe we shouldn't poke our noses into other people's business?" "Benefactor, Duckie... if the information I have is correct, that white tiger should be Bai Chonghu, and that goat-headed, crocodile-jawed fellow is Zhou Eyang," Sima Gao spoke up timidly. "That black dragon is You Xinghun, head of the Ghost Dragon clan's You family. Bai Chonghu, Zhou Eyang, and their sworn brother Sun Shenhou wiped out several clans just a while ago. I'm afraid they can hardly be considered good people." Bai Chonghu and Zhou Eyang, along with You Xinghun who was contending against them, were all System-rank powerhouses. With their hearing, in the absence of barriers or arrays, they could hear everything across tens of light-years. Naturally, they had heard Yu Xian and Little Nora's exchange, as well as Sima Gao's words. While You Xinghun had no strength to spare fighting one against two, that did not mean Zhou Eyang and his ally lacked leeway. Just as Sima Gao finished speaking, Zhou Eyang roared in fury, "Insolent! How dare mere ants like you pass judgment upon us!" With those words, he whirled around violently and unleashed a beam of cross-shaped black light. In the next breath, the dark light morphed into a beam cannon, blasting toward Little Nora, Yu Xian, and Sima Gao. A closer inspection would reveal that this cross-shaped black light matched the pupils of his eyes exactly. Normal goats had horizontal slits for pupils, but his pupils were shaped like a cross, and the vertical slit bore an uncanny resemblance to that of an alligator. Zhou Eyang was a half-breed, born from the union of a goat demon and an alligator demon. Thus, he possessed the traits of a goat alongside those of an alligator, and scales were even concealed beneath his fur. A major reason for plotting against the Ghost Dragon clan and the Niu family this time was that both families possessed dragon bloodlines. An alligator was also a type of dragon, and if he could assimilate the power of these two families, he might well evolve into a Croc Dragon. "Resorting to violence over a single disagreement." "Since you made a move, take a punch from me as well!" Yu Xian dispersed the beam cannon with an effortless wave as he looked at Zhou Eyang. *Not good.* The moment Yu Xian effortlessly blocked his attack, Zhou Eyang realized that Yu Xian was very likely of the same rank. He had just been about to open his mouth to apologize and ease tensions when he saw flowers blooming in Yu Xian's eyes. Then, a fist expanded infinitely within his cross-shaped pupils. "Spare—" Only a single word managed to surface in Zhou Eyang's mind before his body was blasted apart in the very next instant. The force of the punch carried on unabated, hammering his shattered remains straight down into the Death Calamity Sea. Now he was truly, thoroughly dead. "Old Zhou!" It had all happened far too fast. By the time Bai Chonghu reacted, Zhou Eyang had already been killed in a single strike. He let out a grief-stricken, furious roar and dove straight down, seemingly intent on retrieving Zhou Eyang's corpse. Yet as he neared the sea, he abruptly accelerated, skimming the surface of the water as he fled at top speed. Only an idiot wouldn't run. An existence capable of one-shotting Zhou Eyang could just as easily one-shot him. Unfortunately, Yu Xian had long since learned to pull weeds by the roots. Since an enmity had formed, if he didn't clean up the enemy thoroughly, was he supposed to save them for the New Year? He snapped his fingers, and Zhang Gangxing—now renamed Tiangang Star—instantly appeared behind him. Yu Xian smiled faintly. "Go slaughter that tiger. Make it quick." Make it quick! Tiangang Star received the command. His body gave a slight shudder, and a tiger's head was already in his grasp. "..." You Xinghun and Sima Gao both stared wide-eyed, sucking in a harsh breath of cold air. *That really was fucking fast—way too fast.*