The Silver Dragon nodded, catching Evan Chu's drift. But in his heart? He wasn't just planning to give that fish-head a slap on the wrist—he wanted the guy half-dead. Disrespect the Dragon Clan King? You pay for it, no exceptions.
Right then, the fish-headed Patrol Inspector whipped out a black steel trident, gleaming with a creepy light—definitely not your run-of-the-mill weapon. Figured Evan was easy pickings, so he went straight for him.
In a flash, the guy lunged at Evan, trident stabbing out. If that hit, Evan would be wrecked. But Evan? He didn't even flinch. Honestly, after busting through to the ninth layer of the Starforge Body, he was dying to see just how freakishly tough he'd gotten.
Evan didn't bother reacting, but Silver Dragon sure did. Before that trident could even touch Evan, Silver Dragon unleashed a palm strike—late-stage God-Venerable force, like a tidal wave ready to smash everything to bits.
With the fight raging over the sea, that palm wind kicked up tsunami-sized waves. The fish-head got blasted hundreds of meters away. Silver Dragon was holding back—only because Evan told him to. If he'd gone all out, that guy would've been a corpse.
Blood sprayed through the air, raining down. The guy crashed into the sea and didn't come up for ages—he was messed up bad. Evan frowned, but didn't blame Silver Dragon. "We gotta bail, quick. Smashing up an East Sea Patrol Inspector means trouble's coming for sure," he said.
Silver Dragon nodded, and the two shot off at breakneck speed. Just moments later, figures appeared above the sea—two of them looked straight-up human.
"Only a mid-stage God-Venerable or higher could smack a Patrol Inspector around like that. And the Inspector says those two aren't Sea-Clan? That's fishy as hell," one of them muttered.
"No kidding, it's freaky. The sea and land haven't mixed in ages. Did they really bust through the barrier? I don't buy it! Even when all four Dominion Lords teamed up, it didn't work. So how'd those two manage it?" another said, voice full of disbelief.
"We need to tell the Dominion Lord, pronto. If land-dwellers showed up, we gotta be ready. They can't hide forever—there's no land out here. Sooner or later they'll dive in, and we'll nab them then," the first guy said.
The two figures melted into the sea. If Evan and Silver Dragon were here, they'd sense these two were late-stage God-Venerables—and they'd be totally floored.
After flying for half a day, Evan and Silver Dragon finally pulled up. "Silver Dragon, this sea region is nuts. Not a single island, not a scrap of land. It's like we're stuck in an endless ocean! Looks like we gotta go underwater," Evan said.
"Young Lord, that Patrol Inspector clocked us as outsiders instantly—there's gotta be some trick to it. If we head underwater, we'll just draw more Sea-Clan. I can't figure out how he spotted us," Silver Dragon said, sounding uneasy.
"Maybe it's the sea qi. All the Sea-Clan live in the water, most of 'em evolved from marine creatures, so they've got sea qi all over. Us? Not a trace. If we wanna blend in, we need sea qi on us. I know how to pull it off—just not sure about you," Evan mused.
"Shouldn't be a problem. Dragon Clan's got ways to gather aura. Just not sure what this 'sea qi' stuff is, Young Lord—or where we're supposed to get it!" Silver Dragon replied.
"Easy—just grab sea qi from Sea-Clan folks. But don't kill unless you can wipe out every clue. Otherwise, we're in for a world of trouble," Evan warned.
"Gotcha. So we're diving in to snatch some sea qi next?" Silver Dragon asked.
Evan grinned, then flashed into the water and vanished. He activated Watershift, melting into the sea—leaving Silver Dragon totally stunned as Evan's figure disappeared without a trace.
"Silver Dragon, hang tight here. I'm heading for the seabed to scope things out. If it's clear, I'll drag a few Sea-Clan back for you!" Evan's voice echoed from the water.
Evan already had a plan. Any weak Sea-Clan he ran into? Straight into the Timewheel Bracelet—no one would ever know. Inside its inner world, he could absorb sea qi without a hitch.
With Watershift, Evan tore through the water like a torpedo. He hit the seabed in no time, passing all kinds of Sea-Clan—some tough, some pushovers—and even fish and shrimp, just like a normal ocean.
But the seabed? Whole other story—packed with Sea-Clan. Evan lucked out: there was a full-blown city down here, buildings just like on land. Building stuff underwater? Wild.
Sure, it's tough for land-dwellers, but for Sea-Clan? Piece of cake. Flip it around, ask Sea-Clan to build on land—it'd be just as brutal.
Blending into the seawater, Evan was invisible. He found a hidden spot and waited, coldcocking any passing Sea-Clan and tossing them into the Timewheel Bracelet.
Just like when he snatched Nether qi in the Netherworld, Evan spent half an hour grabbing over twenty Sea-Clan for the Timewheel Bracelet—the toughest was mid-stage God-Emperor, and a few were demigods.
He steered clear of the real heavyweights—too much noise, too much risk. Without Space Domain or his best martial skills, he stuck to easy pickings.
Evan raced back to where Silver Dragon was supposed to be—only to find him gone. The water stank of blood, clear signs of a fierce fight. Sea-Clan must've found Silver Dragon, who cut them down and bailed.
Silver Dragon wouldn't stick around underwater, so Evan blasted out of the sea and unleashed his divine sense, scanning the skies for any sign of him.