Chapter 151: A Mistake?

A desperate scream rang out over the sea.

Another warrior at the Human Realm had been torn to pieces by a Level Four Azure-Scaled Beast. More Level Three Azure-Scaled Beasts descended on the mangled body and devoured it.

The moment he died, the essence within him scattered, then was absorbed by the acupoints Shi Yan had quietly sent toward the scene. He secretly roused the negative energy in those acupoints and fused it with his essence, condensing it into another Magnetic Annihilation Field.

The field erupted, churning the seawater into a maelstrom. A new waterspout formed out of nowhere above the sea. No one knew where it had come from, yet it seemed to have a mind of its own. It swept across the water, raising waves as it went, and immediately swallowed a Level Four Azure-Scaled Beast.

But the waterspout did not stop there. After swallowing the beast, it continued toward the last Level Four Azure-Scaled Beast.

Beneath the waves, Linda’s group had been at a severe disadvantage from the start. The Azure-Scaled Beasts had surrounded them as soon as they entered the sea. With four Level Four beasts watching them hungrily, Linda’s people had suffered one death after another, unable to gain the upper hand underwater.

The battle began to turn when two waterspouts appeared without warning.

The first had saved Linda from the Azure-Scaled Beasts’ teeth and swallowed two of them, freeing her to fight.

The second had barely appeared before it swallowed one beast, then charged toward the rest. Three of the four Level Four Azure-Scaled Beasts were caught in the waterspouts, and the last was being pursued. They no longer had the attention to spare for Linda and the others struggling in the water.

Linda wielded her short swords, cutting down one Level Three Azure-Scaled Beast after another. Her bright eyes kept turning toward Shi Yan. Yet Shi Yan, submerged nearby, remained calm and made no move to attack. There was not even a strong surge of energy around him.

Linda could make no sense of it.

Had he not been the one behind it?

Puzzled, she watched him discreetly for a while, but saw no sign of any extraordinary power. As the Level Three beasts pursued him, he kept dodging; when he could no longer evade them, he fought back, but achieved no notable results.

Linda stared in disbelief, then suddenly cried, “Back to the boat!”

The surviving warriors gathered around her. Shi Yan did the same, swimming quickly through the water toward her.

The two waterspouts continued to rage across the sea, dragging the Azure-Scaled Beasts nearby into their swirling currents. The last Level Four beast was swept up as well. It and the others were trapped by the force of the spinning water.

Linda led the way, her twin short swords weaving a dazzling net of light that shredded the Level Three beasts blocking their path.

Behind her came Camon, wielding a silver spear. With each thrust of his arm, he pierced another Level Three beast. The two of them led the charge, scattering the beasts that closed in and cutting a path toward the boat.

Shi Yan followed in silence, his expression impassive.

A rope ladder had already been lowered from the boat. When Linda reached it, she did not climb aboard. Instead, she shouted, “You go first!”

The crew did not argue. They seemed accustomed to Linda’s way of doing things and quickly climbed the ladder one after another.

Shi Yan came up beside them. Without even glancing at Linda, he reached for the ladder.

“Get back!” Camon snapped. He strode over, seized Shi Yan by the collar, and yanked him away. “Huo Jie, you go first!”

A warrior friendly with Camon immediately snatched the ladder from Shi Yan and climbed up.

“Camon!” Linda said sharply. “You’re still going to argue about this at a time like this?”

“He’s not one of us. He should be last,” Camon grunted, helping Linda fend off the Azure-Scaled Beasts closing in. “Our own people go aboard first. Then he can follow. This guy’s got something wrong with his head. He has no strength, but still got off the boat with the rest of us. I didn’t see him do a thing down there except dodge around. What was the point of him coming? He’s useless!”

Shi Yan frowned but ignored him. He stayed beside Linda, waiting for the others to climb aboard.

“You get up there!” Linda said, snatching the ladder and thrusting it into Shi Yan’s hands. “I’ll cover you.”

Shi Yan did not hesitate. He took the ladder and climbed rapidly onto the boat.

Linda and Camon were the last to remain in the water. Swordlight flashed from Linda’s short swords, and the Azure-Scaled Beasts that approached were slashed apart, their blood scattering through the sea as they fled in every direction.

The scales of the Level Three beasts could not withstand the swordlight of Linda, a warrior at the First Heaven of the Hundred Tribulations Realm. Even underwater, with the four Level Four beasts trapped, she fought with fierce momentum.

Her long hair was soaked, several unruly strands hanging across her ample chest. As she swung her arms, droplets flew from the ends of her hair. Her lithe body twisted and turned as she sent out successive arcs of swordlight, holding back more than a dozen beasts by herself.

After Camon climbed aboard, Linda cut down three more Level Three beasts with two strokes. Then she grabbed the ladder with one hand, continued fighting with the other, and called, “Pull me up!”

The crew had been waiting for her command. At once, they all hauled her out of the water.

“Set sail! We’re leaving now!” Linda ordered as soon as she was aboard. “While those Level Four Azure-Scaled Beasts are trapped, we have to get away. If they break free, we’ll still be in grave danger.”

She need not have said more. The crew had already begun to move the boat. It sped through the faint mist, cutting through the waves toward the southeast. The Azure-Scaled Beasts trailed far behind, still refusing to give up the chase.

Out on the sea, the two waterspouts continued to wreak havoc, dragging more and more beasts into their swirling depths. Their appearance had been inexplicable, and they had arrived just in time to catch the Level Four Azure-Scaled Beasts. It was fair to say that the group owed their escape to those two waterspouts.

“We’re blessed with incredible luck. Without those waterspouts, we’d all be dead,” Jett said, lying limp on the deck as he stared at Linda, whose soaked clothes clung to her curvaceous figure. He gave a foolish chuckle.

Jett was a Second-Heaven warrior at the Human Realm and had served Linda for many years. They had faced plenty of danger over the years, but never anything as hopeless as what they had just endured. He was sincerely grateful to have escaped with his life. He had no strength left, but his shifty eyes were still lively.

“I wonder where those waterspouts came from,” Camon said with a smile. “I almost think some god was secretly helping us. They seemed to be targeting the Level Four beasts. Both of them swallowed every last one. I can hardly believe it. I thought we were done for, but here we are, breathing fresh air again. It feels wonderful. Truly wonderful!”

“Those waterspouts came at the perfect time!”

“Could we really have earned the gods’ favor?”

The crew murmured in amazement, marveling at the strange waterspouts.

Linda alone stayed silent. She paid no heed to the way her soaked clothes revealed her graceful figure. A strange glimmer filled her eyes, as though she were turning over some possibility in her mind.

After a long while, Linda fixed her gaze on Shi Yan and bowed slightly. Her generous neckline revealed a glimpse of pale skin as she said solemnly, “Thank you.”

“Linda, what are you doing?” Camon sprang to his feet, half amused and half appalled. “You can’t seriously think this fellow created those waterspouts, can you?”

“Hah! That’s ridiculous.” Huo Jie shook his head, his face full of scorn as he looked at Shi Yan. “If he had the power to cause all that, I’d be a Divine Realm powerhouse.”

Even Jett, who usually sided with Linda, could only smile wryly and shake his head. “Sister Linda, are you exhausted from the fight? This guy has no sign of energy about him. How could he possibly create such a spectacle?”

The remaining crew all looked at Shi Yan, their eyes full of disdain.

Linda ignored them. She continued to gaze at Shi Yan and said again, “Thank you.”

Shi Yan frowned and shook his head. “You’ve got it wrong. It wasn’t me.”

He did not want to get too involved with these people, nor did he intend to remain aboard for long. Once they reached Cloudglow Island, he would leave at once. This was, after all, the Yuanluo Sea, within the sphere of influence of the Three Gods Sect, the Gu Family, and the Dongfang Family. There was nothing to be gained by drawing attention to himself.

“It wasn’t you?” Linda looked confused, her brows knitting together. “Are you sure?”

“It wasn’t me,” Shi Yan repeated, shaking his head.

Linda straightened and stared at him for a long moment. Then she turned to the others. “Stay alert. Keep your guard up in case those Level Four Azure-Scaled Beasts break free and come after us.”

She was still deeply puzzled. She knew every crew member aboard and understood their abilities. None of them could have restrained the Level Four beasts.

Shi Yan was the only one she did not know: his background, his realm, his strength—all were a mystery to her. And she had seen him sealed inside the glacier, so naturally he was the first person she suspected of having acted in secret.

Yet underwater, she had not detected any unusual energy from him. While the waterspouts were raging, he had remained submerged, dodging the beasts. Neither waterspout had once turned aside to protect him. Taken together, none of this suggested that he had been the one behind it.

But if it was not Shi Yan, who could it have been? Had the waterspouts truly formed naturally?

Linda shook her head to herself, her mind full of questions. The look she gave Shi Yan grew stranger still.

Shi Yan paid her no mind. Once aboard, he returned to the pile of miscellaneous cargo. But now he had two Azure Moonstones in his hand. He held one up to the Blood纹 Ring and tried to guide the cold energy seeping from within it into the stone.

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