Chapter 14: The Truth Revealed

Upon hearing the Great Octopus King's words, the other commanders wore expressions of disappointment, though they dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction; the overwhelming pressure exerted by the Great Octopus King undoubtedly kept them in check.

However, this commander of the Tiger Shark clan, known as Iron Tooth, possessed the bloodline of an ancient Dragon Whale. While his strength was not as terrifying as that of the Great Octopus King, he had reached the peak of the mid-stage of the Spirit Refinement realm. In terms of sheer power, aside from the Great Octopus King himself, no one present was a match for this shark commander.

Unlike the disappointed looks of the others, Iron Tooth’s face was filled with excitement. He bared a mouth of sharp, white teeth and grinned at the Great Octopus King, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. If I fail to capture this human, I will dig out my own demon core and serve it to you as a snack."

Seeing this, the Great Octopus King’s expression softened into one of satisfaction. Iron Tooth was, after all, his most capable subordinate; in critical moments, the King could always count on his confidants. He chuckled immediately, "Very well, go then. If you bring that accursed human cultivator back to me, I promise to give you my third daughter's hand in marriage."

At these words, the expressions of all the other demon commanders shifted. Many began to secretly pity Iron Tooth. The Great Octopus King had three daughters. The eldest, born of a jellyfish demon, had mediocre bloodline and only reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm, yet she possessed such gentle, watery beauty that she had long captivated the young demons of the Myriad Spirit Sea.

The second daughter, born of a Cold-Electric Sea Serpent, was average in appearance but had already attained the Nascent Soul realm.

The third daughter, however, was born of a female octopus of the same clan. Having inherited the Great Octopus King’s ancient bloodline, her strength was formidable; despite being born later, she was already approaching the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Of course, due to inheriting that same ancient bloodline, her appearance left much to be desired. Her face was covered in tentacles, and her limbs had not fully transformed, barely maintaining a human shape. Her temperament was notoriously shrewish, famous throughout the Myriad Spirit Sea. The Great Octopus King had long been tormented by the headache of her existence.

Offering her as a reward to Iron Tooth was, on one hand, a move to further win him over, but more importantly, it was a chance to offload this heavy burden. Iron Tooth, however, seemed entirely indifferent. After bowing to the Great Octopus King, his form shifted into a massive tiger shark, and he shot out of the grand hall like a sharp blade.

Meanwhile, on the island where Zhang Xiao resided, thunder and lightning were already raging. Bolts of lightning crashed down upon him, while Hei Zi had long since retreated to a distance. Watching the sky ablaze with falling thunder, Hei Zi muttered to himself, "A freak, he’s a total freak."

His master would undergo a tribulation just by closing his eyes for a simple session of seclusion. The sheer intensity was such that even if Hei Zi were to reach the Tribulation stage himself, he doubted his own tribulation would be any more daunting.

Even more monstrous was the fact that his master did not even bother to summon a magical artifact, relying solely on his physical body to endure these strikes, appearing as if he were actually enjoying them. It wasn't just Hei Zi; any other cultivator would have surely called Zhang Xiao a freak upon seeing this.

Zhang Xiao sat centered in the sea of lightning, his body covered in scales. A giant tri-colored wheel rotated slowly behind his head—black, silver, and gold—three distinct auras perfectly merged into one.

He had gained much from this seclusion. With the help of merit, he had not only fused his three cultivation techniques but had also pushed the Seven Transformations of the Profound Heaven to the fourteenth level, bringing his cultivation to the late Nascent Soul stage.

Once he survived this tribulation, he would be able to fuse with the Flame of Bi Fang and master the second transformation of the technique: the Bi Fang Transformation.

With the Flame of Bi Fang, he would be able to challenge the Spirit Refinement realm. Even if he didn't break through entirely, he would be able to walk away from any Spirit Refinement mid-stage cultivator, and he would have the strength to put up a fight against those in the late stage.

As the bolts of lightning smashed into him, Zhang Xiao absorbed part of their energy into his body to temper his flesh, while the rest surged into his sea of consciousness to refine his spirit. Within his mind, golden lotuses bloomed amidst the thunder, drawing in the energy, which was then swallowed by the golden crystal of his primordial spirit.

However, this seclusion also deepened Zhang Xiao’s concerns regarding the drawbacks of his avatar. Although he had used merit to forcibly fuse the three different spiritual energies, the flaws remained, and had even grown more pronounced. He realized he needed to find a way to convert his avatar into a second primordial spirit as soon as possible.

Just as Zhang Xiao was enduring the tribulation while contemplating where to find a Spirit-Dividing Fruit, a shocking demonic aura suddenly surged from the distance, approaching his location at high speed. Zhang Xiao’s brow furrowed. He saw a demon clad in precious armor, wielding a trident, with the head of a shark, riding a massive shark toward him.

Behind him followed a dense swarm of at least three thousand sharks, each exuding an aura equivalent to the early Nascent Soul stage. Zhang Xiao’s expression darkened. He hadn't expected to encounter so many demons at this moment, though he wasn't overly worried.

The leading demon was at the peak of the Spirit Refinement realm, but Zhang Xiao was confident he could eliminate him. Zhang Xiao opened his attribute panel:

Zhang Xiao, Lord of the Nation: Level: [Hidden], Cultivation: Poro Zen Scripture (7th Level), Seven Transformations of the Profound Heaven (Late Nascent Soul Stage), Lifespan: 8,000 years. Strength: 6,000, Endurance: 8,000, Agility: 6,700. Merit: 0, Battle Merit: 0.

His attributes had surged to an astonishing level. It felt as if he could shatter the world with a flick of his hand, yet looking at his merit, which had plummeted to zero, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

Looking at the incoming demons, a flicker of ruthlessness crossed Zhang Xiao’s eyes. He longed to rush down and slaughter them all, but he hesitated, fearing that such a massacre might alert the Myriad Spirit Cave or similar powers. He did not yet know that he was already marked for death by the Myriad Spirit Cave, having assumed his previous actions had left no trace.

Seeing that Zhang Xiao was nearing the end of his tribulation, Iron Tooth waved his trident. The sharks behind him transformed into humanoids—though they retained their shark heads and fins. They began to encircle Zhang Xiao’s island.

Iron Tooth scanned the scene, his expression changing as he sneered, "Hahaha! I wondered how a mere human who just reached the late Nascent Soul stage could have wiped out the Shell Demon clan so cleanly. So, you had a Spirit Refinement early-stage Demon Scorpion helping you."

Iron Tooth pointed his steel trident at Hei Zi and shouted coldly, "Hmph! Though you are a demon from the mainland, to serve a human is a disgrace to our kind! Take this!"

Iron Tooth roared, and his trident turned into a shooting star, hurtling toward Hei Zi. With Iron Tooth’s mid-stage Spirit Refinement strength, Hei Zi had no chance of blocking a full-force strike, especially since he hadn't fully recovered from his previous battle with Zhang Xiao.

As the trident neared, Hei Zi panicked, realizing he was too slow to dodge. But just as his heart sank, Zhang Xiao moved. He left behind a blur in the air and appeared directly in front of Hei Zi.

Facing the incoming trident, Zhang Xiao, clad in his scales, threw a punch. *Boom!* A thunderous explosion echoed as the trident was sent flying by the force of his blow.

Hei Zi exhaled in relief. Across from them, Iron Tooth’s eyes widened. He knew the power of his own strike—his ancient Dragon Whale bloodline granted him strength that rivaled the Great Octopus King himself—yet Zhang Xiao had deflected it with a single punch.

Iron Tooth was forced to re-evaluate his opponent. Zhang Xiao slowly raised his head and said, "You say I wiped out the Shell Demon clan. Did you see it, or did you just hear about it?"

Iron Tooth sneered, "You think you covered your tracks well? You didn't know that a small one from the Shell Demon clan managed to escape the island before you arrived. He saw exactly how you slaughtered his kin."