Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 540: Fire Pig Enters the Sea

Zhao Changhe had a feeling that if it was him who had thrown a punch at the water figure, no matter how much power he put into the punch, the punch would not have done much.

After all, if one were to slash at water with a blade, the water would simply keep flowing—the same logic applied to a punch. What was the point of punching water?

However, with the punch coming from Lady Three, it was an entirely different story.

Facing Lady Three’s terrifyingly powerful punch, the water figure responded in kind, and their fists collided. With a thunderous boom, the entire water figure shattered into countless droplets, scattering into the sky like fine rain.

Zhao Changhe’s mouth hung open in astonishment.

It felt as though Lady Three could even disperse a tsunami with a single punch if it so came to pass.

No matter how mystical or powerful the water figure was, it was still only at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries. Back then, when facing the corpse demon Xue Wu, whose soul was at the Profound Control Realm, even hiding within the body of the celestial maiden did not save its soul from being shattered by Lady Three’s punch.

The Black Tortoise’s punch was second to none in its ferocity!

If I were to get into a domestic dispute with her, could I even survive? Wait, why am I even thinking about this?

At this moment, Zhao Changhe was close enough for his voice to reach her, and he called out, “Lady Three, be careful! They can take control of the water in your body! Also, that water figure isn’t dead. It will turn into an energy crystal once it’s really dead.”

Lady Three glanced back at him from amidst the waves, her expression a mix of curiosity and something unspoken. In the end, though, she did not say anything back.

Suddenly, chaos erupted from within her. Her blood surged, roiling wildly as if trying to burst out from her veins.

Lady Three steadied herself internally, remaining calm. Thank goodness that piggy warned me in time. This kind of silent, sudden spell is different from martial arts and it’s really easy to fall victim to it. Now that I know what it’s about, it’s a lot easier to handle.

After a quick assessment, she realized that her enemy could only partially affect the flow of her blood. The other party’s control over water was not over all of the water within her body. Had that been the case, it would have been much more troublesome. But with things being as they were, this technique was useless on her!

Boom!

Lady Three threw another punch.

The scattered droplets of water in the air began to coalesce again, but her punch scattered them even further before they could do so, breaking them down even further—from fine rain to a mist.

Yet, she could still sense movement. The other party showed no signs of weakening.

Lady Three frowned. Do I need to strike it until it turns into a crystal? That makes sense, I guess... This lifeform probably has a core, something equivalent to the brain or heart, but where is it?

Even more worrying to her was that Hua Zhenming and the other pirates were still floating in the water, fighting the fishmen. Some of the pirates had already been killed. If this mist did not coalesce and instead spread across the surface, would the pirates be massacred?

Fortunately, the water figure did not seem to consider that option, or perhaps it simply did not regard the pirates as worth the effort. The mist continued to gather, and a drifting voice echoed from above, “The deep oceans may seem calm on the surface, seemingly still for eternity, but beneath lies a hidden, violent power. Once enraged, it destroys everything... You are naturally suited to be one of the Sea Tribe... If you submit to my master, you will be second only to him.”

Lady Three floated in the air, her expression one of disdain as she coldly laughed. “Second only to him? The Sea Emperor? He’s only fit to lick my feet!”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

The water figure let out a sigh. “It appears there is no other way then...”

The mist suddenly sped up its reformation, quickly reforming into a new water figure, looking as if it had never been harmed.

As long as it was in the ocean, it was indestructible. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The water figure made a gesture akin to cracking its neck and slowly said, “You’ve been attacking all this time. Isn’t it my turn now?”

Lady Three narrowed her eyes. Without waiting to see what kind of attack it would unleash, a snake-like whip suddenly appeared, coiling around her like layers of starlight chains.

Despite being deep in the ocean waves, not a single drop of water could penetrate the defensive bubble that the whip formed. An absolute and impenetrable barrier had appeared around her with the emergence of the whip.

The water figure was visibly taken aback.

It had already attempted a stealthy assault, but its attack was blocked by the whip’s defense. It had thought there were plenty of openings to exploit, but suddenly, it felt like all those openings had vanished, leaving it with no clear way of reaching her.

The Black Tortoise’s defense was unparalleled.

Lady Three’s gaze, sharp and focused, locked onto the water figure from behind the layers of whip shadows. The true specialty of the Black Tortoise was counterattacking from a defensive position. When the opponent exhausted themselves trying to break through her defense, that was when they would reveal their most fatal weakness.

Where is its energy core?

* * *

Ever since Zhao Changhe had given Lady Three the warning, he had not had any time to observe her battle. He had immediately gotten caught up in his own battle.

Boom!

The small boat he was on shattered as a giant crab smashed through the bottom with one of its claws. Zhao Changhe leaped into the air, Dragon Bird in hand, and slashed down.

A crescent-shaped saber light flashed, slicing through the seemingly impenetrable crab shell like tofu. The giant crab was cleaved in two, along with the fishmen surrounding it, leaving a mass of bodies floating in the water.

Army Breaker!

What used to be a move that drained him completely was now, with the spiraling fusion of the Six Harmonies Art and the Vicious Blood Art, something he could unleash multiple times. Furthermore, it was many times stronger than before.

The terrifying endurance of the Six Harmonies Art fully manifested itself in this battle out in the open sea. Zhao Changhe was no longer just a three-move wonder—he had become a man of endurance.

Countless fishmen leaped out of the water from all directions, steel tridents pointed at Zhao Changhe.

After a wild and powerful slash, of course, he was left wide open.

But a longsword suddenly appeared in his left hand, tracing a shimmering arc of water.

Ding, ding, ding, ding!

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out. Blood sprayed in every direction as the fishmen nearby were pierced through and through until they looked like sieves. They fell back into the water, belly-up.

Not only was Zhao Changhe no longer a three-move wonder, but he was also no longer full of openings, constantly getting wounded like before.

“...At the end of the day, they’re still just fishbrains,” Zhao Changhe muttered as he looked around at the floating corpses. With a deep breath, he landed on the surface of the water.

Just as he was about to step onto a piece of the shattered boat and leap back up into the air, he had a sudden thought. Instead of jumping up, he dove headfirst into the water.

Although he had not been paying attention to Lady Three’s battle, the bird’s eye view that he had access to allowed him to keep track of the situation. He could see Lady Three’s fierce, wild expression as clearly as if he were standing next to her.

If the water figure was indestructible in the sea, then perhaps its energy core was hidden beneath the surface, while the humanoid figure above was just a decoy.

No matter how fierce Shelly is, her thinking is still a bit slower than mine. It appears that it’s still up to the Fire Pig of Shi, to investigate.

The surrounding fishmen were overjoyed. Did this guy really just dive into the water? Is he an idiot?

Even Hua Zhenming and the pirates did not dare to fight the fishmen underwater. They relied on various tools to stay above water, knowing that letting the fishmen drag them down would be fatal. Diving in only would slow them down and make them an easy target.

That fool actually charged straight into the water?!

A swordfish shot toward him, moving with speed unmatched underwater.

Zhao Changhe appeared sluggish, his sword and saber moving as if in slow motion, hindered by the water.

It looked like he would not be able to block the swordfish’s attack in time, but his saber suddenly accelerated, slicing through the swordfish’s “sword” with ease. Blood spurted out, staining the seawater red.

The surrounding fishmen were stunned. What just happened?

Zhao Changhe grinned.

He could still grin! The water didn’t even enter his mouth!

The crystal Xia Longyuan had given Zhao Changhe allowed him to “repel water.”

Though it looked like he was submerged, there was actually a fine layer of air keeping the water at bay. Not only did this allow him to breathe, but it also prevented the water from slowing him down.

And that was not all. The true value of this crystal lay in the fact that, by focusing on its energy signature, he could also sense other similar signatures.

Deep in the ocean, a bright blue glow stood out clearly in his perception.

There it is!