Fingers brushed against his lips, feeling the slight dampness and the lingering exotic fragrance in his mouth. Wang Zhong looked at Hai Die with complex eyes. The gentle warmth emanating from the鲛珠 in his abdomen made him speechless.
"Silly fish."
The 鲛珠, which was directly related to his life, was given to him so easily.
"Hmph!"
"You're the silly one, I'm a genius."
Hai Die placed her hands on her hips, indignant. She was greatly offended by Wang Zhong's remark.
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Hai Die is a genius." Wang Zhong chuckled and nodded in agreement, his tone full of pampering.
The trust she had placed in him with her life naturally earned her Wang Zhong's most sincere care.
"Come, I'll show you the sea."
Hai Die grabbed Wang Zhong's hand and, with a leap, pulled him along.
The seawater enveloped his face, and what met his eyes was a magnificent and dazzling deep blue world.
Red, colorful, striped, various sea fish of different colors and forms frolicked freely within. Giant corals, like small mountains of brilliant hues, stood erect on the seabed, stretching endlessly. Seaweed swayed, and starfish and anemones densely populated them, like embellishments, enhancing their exquisite beauty.
This world was truly beautiful.
Upon first seeing this scene, Wang Zhong's eyes were filled with astonishment.
"How is it, pretty, right!"
Hai Die, with her hands behind her back, asked Wang Zhong with a smile.
"Mmm, so beautiful."
Wang Zhong nodded seriously, agreeing. How could such a world not be beautiful?
Standing still in the sea, Wang Zhong quietly admired the unique scenery of the ocean before him. Hai Die, with her hands behind her back, remained silent, simply accompanying him.
Occasionally, Hai Die would quietly turn her head, looking at Wang Zhong's dazed and astonished face, a gentle smile curving her lips, her eyes filled with tenderness and warmth.
"Let's go, I'll show you the true beauty of the sea!"
Hai Die exclaimed with full of energy. With a flick of her tail, she pulled Wang Zhong, who was still captivated by the magnificent underwater scenery, and headed forward and deeper into the ocean.
Laughter echoed non-stop.
In the sea, Hai Die was truly the princess of the sea.
Occasionally, she would release Wang Zhong's hand and dart down towards the coral clusters. She would pick up a spiny sea urchin and playfully toss it towards Wang Zhong.
As she threw it, she giggled mischievously, "Wang Zhong, catch this!"
And so, a sea urchin encased in bubbles was thrown before Wang Zhong.
"Hehe."
Sticking out her tongue at Wang Zhong, Hai Die swam back and forth in the sea as if dancing. Each swing of her large tail carried a unique beauty.
Schools of brightly colored fish circled around her, occasionally kissing Hai Die's smooth cheeks. Each time, Hai Die would flick those 'naughty' little fish with her slender fingers, leaving them dizzy and spinning.
Weaving through the coral reefs, Hai Die's free, uninhibited agility and liveliness, the flawless and heartfelt smile on her face, were a different kind of beauty that Wang Zhong had never seen in the pool.
After playing for a while like this, Hai Die suddenly looked up, her pretty face showing surprise. "Why is it already dusk?"
With a hint of reluctance, Hai Die returned to Wang Zhong's side and said regretfully, "Wang Zhong, I have to go back."
"Last time I was out for too long, my aunt was terribly worried. I didn't tell her I was coming out today. If I don't get home by tonight, she'll definitely be frantic."
"I'll come find you tomorrow."
Wang Zhong said gently, "Okay, see you tomorrow!"
Sticking out her head, she gave Wang Zhong's cheek a light kiss and waved goodbye.
Watching Hai Die's receding figure, Wang Zhong gently lowered his waving right hand. He had been with her the entire day, and he felt no discomfort, no suffocation. Every breath was as natural and smooth as on land.
This was the magic brought by the 鲛珠.
He extended his hands and clenched them in the sea, feeling that his power was not diminished at all. Wang Zhong nodded with satisfaction.
"My power hasn't changed, but because I'm in the sea, it's quite different from land."
"I must adapt to this difference as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if I can live in the sea, I won't be a match for the Deep Sea Demon Whale King."
Thinking of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King hiding in the deep sea, Wang Zhong smirked.
"Once I adapt."
"Deep Sea Demon Whale King, your good days are numbered."
As soon as he said this, Wang Zhong's expression suddenly changed, and the smile on his face disappeared.
"Because the little fox has awakened, my previous cultivation progress has returned. Coupled with the wolf god's sacrifice, my soul power has reached the threshold of level fifty-nine. Another month or so should be enough to break through."
"And by then, I'll need a soul ring!"
"The Deep Sea Demon Whale King, that hundred-thousand-year soul beast, seems to be just right."
"It's just... it doesn't have the characteristics that can provide me with the soul skill I want!"
Wang Zhong crossed his arms and fell into deep thought. Having obtained the Ninja Book, the wood release techniques recorded within had an incredibly high compatibility with his own tree spirit martial soul. These wood release techniques, which sounded incredibly powerful just from their descriptions, were making him itch with desire.
In Wang Zhong's consideration, his sixth soul skill would either be serpentine or simian, corresponding to the wood dragon and wood giant in wood release.
But the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, it's a whale! It's too different from the soul beasts Wang Zhong wanted to hunt.
"Wood Dragon, Wood Giant, Thousand-Hand Buddha, Birth of the Tree World. These few soul skills are the directions I will develop in the future."
"The Deep Sea Demon Whale King doesn't fit any of them!"
Thinking of this, Wang Zhong let out a sigh of regret.
"Why must you hunt soul beasts?"
Suddenly, the little fox's voice echoed in his mind.
Wang Zhong grinned, a little conflicted and embarrassed, saying, "Well, little fox, if I don't hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings, my soul power will stagnate."
"There's nothing I can do about it!"
The little fox had once said that it was the monarch of beasts, the ruler of all beasts. Therefore, all beasts were its subjects, even its citizens.
Yet Wang Zhong was thinking of hunting those beasts for soul rings. This didn't seem very friendly to the little fox.
"No, you've misunderstood my meaning."
"I'm not asking you to stop hunting soul beasts. The law of nature is survival of the fittest, the strong live and the weak die. If they are killed or hunted, it's because they are too weak. I don't mind."
"What I mean is, the tree martial soul can provide you with soul rings of any desired age, so why are you abandoning the root for the branches and hunting beasts!"
Wang Zhong's pupils shrank to the size of needles. The conflicted and embarrassed expression on his face vanished abruptly. He heard something that could be called absurd, even horrifying.
"Little, little fox, you, you... what are you saying..."
"My tree martial soul, can... can... provide me... with soul rings of any desired age!"
Because the truth was so unbelievable, even though Wang Zhong knew the little fox wouldn't lie to him, he stammered and was filled with disbelief.
"Yes."
"Ever since I absorbed the wolf god's soul ring and soul power, the tree martial soul has changed. You didn't notice, did you!"
In the sea of consciousness, the little fox said with a smile, narrowing its foxy eyes.