In fact, it wasn't just Old Jiang Ba. Even Su Daiyi was extremely worried.

If things were as the other Family Heads feared, once Xu Lai was besieged, he was more likely to die than live on this trip across the sea! Even though Su Daiyi had unconditional faith in Xu Lai, her palms were slick with sweat. Even a fierce tiger cannot stand against a pack of wolves.

Facing the siege of eleven Grandmasters, could Xu Lai really hold out?

Mr. Xu, you have to survive, you must...

At that moment, Su Daiyi wasn't thinking about her family or the hollow emptiness of losing the bet. There was only deep anxiety. Indeed, more than any of those concerns, she worried whether Xu Lai would die here. Su Daiyi suddenly felt a pang of regret, wishing she had never asked Xu Lai to represent the Su and Jiang Families in this battle.

Then, the scene, which had been frozen for nearly a minute, finally began to move, and everyone turned to watch.

...

...

The eleven Grandmasters were breathing heavily, their gazes fixed on Xu Lai, filled with an icy chill. To have cultivated to this level, they all possessed immense pride. They could not tolerate such blatant disrespect!

Xu Huang, the most violent-tempered of the group, pointed at Xu Lai. His killing intent was palpable as he snarled, "Forget Niu Taishan! We'll kill you first!"

Feng Lang stepped forward, his tone just as chilling. "He is my target!"

"You want to fight me for him?" Xu Huang sneered. "Feng Lang, you lost to me ten years ago. Ten years later, you're still no match for me. Get lost. I don't want to kill you!"

"A lot can change in ten years," Feng Lang said coldly. "Back then, if I hadn't been injured when you ambushed me, you'd be nothing!"

Their words were laden with aggression. As their gazes clashed, sparks flew, and a battle instantly erupted between them. Neither held back as they attacked, and spiritual energy exploded in the air.

Within a radius of hundreds of meters, not a single fish or shrimp remained. Feeling the terrifying pressure, the creatures instinctively scattered and fled.

Xu Lai, who had initially planned to take down everyone before heading to Sea Temple Island to complete his mission, simply took out another handful of sunflower seeds and began to crack them open.

He had to admit, that old man Niu Taishan had some skill, taking the Xuantian Finger head-on. Even though he was injured, Xu Lai admired his recklessness.

"The grass on his grave will probably be three meters tall next year," Xu Lai murmured to himself.

"..."

Only Niu Taishan, who was closest, heard Xu Lai's mumble. The veins on his forehead throbbed. Shouldn't the priority be getting rid of Xu Lai first?! Why have those two been so blinded by rage?

But Niu Taishan didn't dwell on it. He began to quietly retreat. The more chaotic it was, the better. He could use the mayhem to reach Sea Temple Island first, avoiding any fighting or injury!

However, he didn't get far before he noticed the sky was growing darker. He looked up and saw the bright moon suddenly shrouded by dark clouds that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Dark clouds?" Niu Taishan muttered, vaguely feeling that something was not right about their sudden gathering, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Within the clouds stood two figures. One was a young man with eight heads; he was Yomotsu Hiraka, Orochi's only offspring. The slender woman beside him was his mother, the Thunder Beast, one of the top Demon Kings of Sakura Country.

The Thunder Beast looked down at the brawling humans on the sea below, her scarred face filled with scorn.

"See that? That's the Human Race for you—selfish and cruel. They'll fight to the death over the most trivial of benefits."

Her words failed to bring Yomotsu Hiraka to his senses. He just stared blankly at Xu Lai. After so many days, he had finally laid eyes on his father's killer.

The Thunder Beast glanced at Yomotsu Hiraka. Noticing that her son's hand, hidden in his sleeve, was trembling slightly, she spoke with displeasure. "Go down and kill all of those humans."

"But Mother, Xu Lai is still..." Yomotsu Hiraka's expression changed dramatically. This was the human powerhouse who had easily killed the Three-tailed Crane Demon General and his own father, Orochi. To appear now would be suicide, wouldn't it?

"Hmph." The Thunder Beast let out a sharp breath. For days, she had used her subordinates and connections to find an opportunity to help Yomotsu Hiraka conquer his inner demon. At last, she had found the perfect moment—in the sea, far from land, with no other powerful humans nearby. It was a heaven-sent opportunity!

Yet Yomotsu Hiraka was cowering before the fight had even begun. The Thunder Beast was deeply disappointed, her voice turning frigid. "With me here, could he even harm a hair on your head? Useless thing!"

"..."

After a moment's hesitation, Yomotsu Hiraka clenched his teeth and leaped from the dark clouds.

BANG!

As soon as he appeared, he transformed into his true form: a serpent's body dozens of meters long with eight giant, ferocious heads that let out a heaven-shaking roar.

"ROAR!"

BOOM—

The twelve drones in the sky instantly exploded.

Everyone—from Xu Huang and Feng Lang, who were in the middle of their fight, to Niu Taishan and the other Martial Artists—was sent flying by the force of the roar. They all spat out blood simultaneously. Gazing at the enormous demonic beast, their faces turned deathly pale.

"A Sea Demon!!!"

Monsters. An existence that ordinary people and low-level Martial Artists knew almost nothing about. There are monsters on land, so naturally, there are also monsters in the sea. The ocean, which covers seventy percent of the planet, has yet to be fully explored by humankind, in large part because of the Sea Demons.

Countless dangers lurked beneath the waves, where a single misstep could lead one to perish in the vast ocean. Even with the Sea Cities near Hua Country's coast, the Hua Country Martial Dao World chose not to attack, but to coexist peacefully, with neither side infringing upon the other.

But a monster was a monster. Some races were so bloodthirsty and cruel that they not only feasted on humans but even cannibalized their own kind. Thus, they were forbidden from landing on Hua Country's shores or entering its coastal waters. They were also forbidden from attacking humans.

Any violators—would be executed!

The terrifying pressure emanating from this Sea Demon made Niu Taishan and the others feel as if they couldn't breathe. Their instincts screamed that no one here was its match. Even an Eighth Grade, or perhaps a Ninth Grade Great Martial Sect, might not be able to restrain it.

Feng Lang suppressed his terror and shouted angrily, "What Sea City are you from? Have you forgotten the pact?"

One of Yomotsu Hiraka's giant, burly heads turned to stare at the speaker and let out a long string of words in a hoarse voice.

But Feng Lang and the others couldn't understand a word of it.

Xu Huang's pupils constricted. "Damn it, it's a Sea Demon from Sakura Country! We have to run!"

Sea Demons from other countries would not necessarily abide by Hua Country's agreements. A fight was out of the question. But with twelve Grandmasters in total, including Xu Lai, they should be able to escape.

However, apart from Xu Huang, not one of them turned to flee. Instead, they stood together, their faces resolute as they stared down Yomotsu Hiraka.

Because behind them lay Hua Country's East Sea City. The city's docks and the mainland were a mere dozen nautical miles away. Even closer, on the cruise ships, were hundreds, if not thousands, of Hua Country's people. If they allowed this Sea Demon, whose intentions and Boundary were unknown, to set foot on land, it would cause countless casualties.

They were terrified of death. But they could not retreat.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.