Che Han’s expression was very complex. Things had actually turned out in such a way that he owed a favor to the victor.
Michelle and the rest retracted their gazes and glanced at one another.
“I feel that we have a rather impressive backer now,” Little Pao muttered.
He suddenly thought of Bo Junior, but when he turned around, he found that Bo Junior had vanished.
“There’s no need to look. Feng Mo and the Bo Duo have definitely already left the Sea King's Dome. They aren’t stupid, so they won’t wait for the Sea King to chase them down and kill them,” Michelle said as she looked at the peak of the mountain with a complex expression. Once Lu Yin became the Sea King’s son-in-law, his status would experience a complete reversal, and he would not be even one bit below Nightqueen Yanqing.
Michelle was right, as Feng Mo and the Bo Duo had already left the Sea King's Dome in a panic, as their world had been overturned. They had been the hunters for so long, but in the blink of an eye, their prey had become the Sea King’s son-in-law! It wasn’t only them, but not even the Blackbeard Pirates would dare to casually take action against Lu Yin now. The Sea King carried a formidable reputation.
Zhang Dingtian gathered himself, but he thought that it was a pity that Lu Yin had not fought against Mu Rong.
Ling Que also felt that it was a pity that the two had not fought.
Xun Jiong was exasperated, as who would have expected that Lu Yin would ultimately be the one to become the Sea King’s son-in-law.
No matter how much of a commotion there was throughout the Sea King's Dome, Lu Yin was dragged through the void by Hai Dashao until they stopped at a pavilion atop a cliff. Lu Yin saw a familiar face with wide eyes staring at him, though clearly unhappy. It was the pretty maid who had represented the Sea King’s daughter on the ship that had brought Lu Yin to the Sea King’s Dome.
The two exchanged glances.
“Little sis, I brought your future husband here so that you two could have a chat,” Hai Dashao said, only to tear through the void and leave the very next moment. He gave off the feeling that he was fleeing, as though he was afraid of being captured.
The maid reached out, but she could only grab the air since Hai Dashao had already left. “Hmph! You run fast, but I don’t believe that you’ll never come back. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Lu Yin blankly stared ahead; if he couldn’t figure out what was going on by this point, he might as well have resigned himself to stupidity. The pretty maid who had escorted his group was the Sea King’s daughter herself, Hai Dashao’s little sister, Hai Qiqi.
Rumors had it that the Sea King's daughter was ugly beyond comparison, which was why the Sea King was looking for a handsome husband—to improve the genes of the Sea King’s descendants. Of course, Lu Yin had not believed such rumors, as no heir of the various great powers would be ugly. But what was the matter with her vicious tongue? It insulted others incessantly and with great variety, and she even used novel sayings each time.
“Lu Yin, did you know that there’s an everlasting truth in the universe?” the pretty maid, no, Hai Qiqi asked as she looked at Lu Yin with a stern gaze.
Lu Yin was stumped. A truth? He looked seriously at Hai Qiqi and wondered if this was related to the Sea King's Dome.
“What truth?” he replied solemnly.
Hai Qiqi looked at the sky with a melancholic face. “A flower can be thrown onto a dung heap… A pile of dung such as you actually managed to grab a hold of me.”
Pfft!
Nearby, the four maids could not hold their gentle laughter back.
Lu Yin choked, but he couldn’t even think of a retort for a moment.
Hai Qiqi sighed, “What exists between us is not some destined union, but is more what connects beauty and the beast together. A union between us is ill-fated, so…” At that moment, she directed a serious face towards Lu Yin before going on to say, “Just give up. We won’t ever be happy together. Even though you used all your strength to pull out the Sea King's Trident, we won’t ever be happy together. Maybe I can talk to father and allow you to spend your life with the Sea King's Trident, so just don’t bother me, alright?”
Lu Yin was angered, as he had been struck by her poisonous tongue as soon as he arrived. Was there no law in these lands? Also, when had he used all of his strength to pull out the trident? He could swear that he had not used any strength. It would actually be more accurate to say that the trident had leaped up by itself.
“Rumors have it that the Sea King's daughter, Hai Qiqi, is incomparably ugly and can’t wait to be married off. However, there’s no need to create such a scam either. Let me tell you something—that trident practically jumped out on its own. I didn’t use any force at all. This whole thing must have been set up by Hai Dashao so that he could marry you off. Speaking of things, how difficult is it to marry you off? To think that they needed to resort to such petty tricks,” Lu Yin retorted without restraint. He rarely verbally attacked anyone, but he had no choice when faced with Hai Qiqi. Otherwise, he would be abused by Hai Qiqi’s malicious words until he started doubting his entire life. This brat was capable of generating caustic insults until the end of time.
Hai Qiqi grew furious. “Nonsense! Even my second brother can’t pull it out, so how could he have set anything up?”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “Even Hai Dashao can’t pull it out? In that case, how could I have possibly managed to do such a thing? Think about it—this must have been orchestrated by the Sea King in order to marry you off. What a scam!”
“His Majesty has been in seclusion for such a long time that there’s now way he could have set it up! Your intelligence is even inferior to that trident’s!” Hai Qiqi shouted.
Lu Yin was about to retort again when a cough suddenly sounded out. The two stopped and turned to look to the side.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.” The four maids bowed respectfully.
Nearby, a middle-aged man was silently watching Lu Yin with a gentle smile. He was tall and sturdy, though his appearance did not quite match up to his reputation. Lu Yin thought to himself, This is the Sea King? He doesn’t seem that much different from some next door uncle. He doesn’t have any of the prestige that’s normally associated with a powerhouse! He can’t even compare to Northgate Taisui.
When Hai Qiqi saw the Sea King, she ran over and pouted. “Father, brother’s gone too far this time! He wants to ruin me by marrying me off to this dung heap!”
Lu Yin’s eyelids twitched. You’re the cow shit! Your whole family’s cow shit!
The Sea King lovingly patted Hai Qiqi’s back. “Be a good girl and don’t cry. You can’t say such things. He isn’t a dung heap. Obedient daughter, don’t cry. Don’t make such remarks, as people are not a pile of dung. That’s offensive.”
Hai Qiqi wiped the corners of her eyes, even though there were absolutely no tears there. She softly replied, “Alright, he might not be a dung heap, but he barely counts as a person.”
“Haha, that’s better! One must have manners when speaking.” The Sea King was very happy as he looked at Hai Qiqi in a contented manner.
Lu Yin was dumbfounded, but at least he now knew where Hai Qiqi had learned to speak so maliciously. This Sea King was nauseating!
The Sea King comforted Hai Qiqi for a moment, and then he turned to look at Lu Yin with a smile. “Kid, what’s your name?”
“Lu Yin.”
“Lu?” The Sea King’s eyes flashed, but then his lips curled up. “That doesn’t sound very good. Change it to Hai Yin.”
Lu Yin was speechless, as he felt no desire to speak any further.
“So you’re the one who pulled my trident out?” the Sea King asked. As he spoke, the Sea King's Trident automatically flew into his hand, and he stored it away. Beside the Sea King, Hai Qiqi glared at Lu Yin with an intimidating expression.
Lu Yin grudgingly replied, “Junior did not pull it out. Rather, that trident leaped out by itself. How about this, Sea King? Could you reinsert it and let me try to pull it out again? This junior promises that it won’t be pulled out this time.”
Hai Qiqi’s eyes gleamed, and she hurriedly tugged at the Sea King’s sleeves. “Yes! Father, look at how malnourished he is! It would be too much for him to even kill a chicken. How could he have possibly been strong enough to pull the Sea King's Trident out? There must have been a mistake somewhere.”
Even though Hai Qiqi’s words were unpleasant, Lu Yin still accepted them. At the moment, the thing he wanted the most was to get away from this father and daughter duo. In fact, the further away he was, the better!
The Sea King beamed at Hai Qiqi. “You’re a good girl, and father understands. Alright, you go on ahead, and I’ll think about how to handle this matter.”
Hai Qiqi expectantly replied, “Father, you can’t throw your daughter to this dung heap! You’ve said that the universe’s truth is something to be destroyed.”
The Sea King remained serene. “Relax, father understands.”
“Seventh Bro, you really can’t shake off the title of being a dung heap.” The Ghost Monkey was amused at the situation.
Lu Yin glanced to the side at this weird father-daughter pair. One day, if he was able to, he would definitely bury the entire Sea King's Dome in cow shit.
Hai Qiqi left and took her four maids along with her, leaving only Lu Yin and the Sea King atop the cliff.
“Kid, your surname is Lu, so where are you from?” the Sea King gently asked Lu Yin.
Lu Yin shook his head. “I don’t remember. I lost my memory.”
The Sea King was amused, and he looked deep into Lu Yin’s eyes.
Suddenly, Lu Yin found that he could not shift his gaze away. He was stuck in the same situation again; it was just like when Mister Mu had asked if Lu Yin belonged to “five” or “six” and Lu Yin had answered that he didn’t know. At that time, Mister Mu had looked into Lu Yin’s eyes, and it was the exact same as this current scene.
The Sea King also caused Lu Yin to be unable to shift his gaze, which showed the strength of a powerhouse. Compared to the two powerhouses, the current Lu Yin was like a small child tottering around.
After a while, the Sea King shifted his gaze away, seemingly paying no heed to what had just happened. “So, what did you feel when you pulled the Sea King's Trident out?”
Lu Yin hurriedly replied, “Sea King, please overlook this matter. Junior truly did not use any force. It was that trident that leaped out on its own.”
The Sea King laughed. “So are you saying that I arranged things in order to force you to wed my daughter?”
“Of course not! However, there must be some mistake in this matter. I request that the Sea King look into this matter, and this junior is willing to attempt to pull it out again.”
“There’s no need. I am the one who understands the situation concerning the Sea King's Trident the clearest. Pulling it out once will cause you to be so weary that it will be impossible to pull it out the second time.” The Sea King spoke with certainty.
Lu Yin was speechless, “But senior, it’s true. Junior did not even use an ounce of force.”
The Sea King seriously sized him up and down. “Don’t mind what Qiqi says. That brat is hypocritical, so you don’t have to feel inferior. I am selecting a son-in-law today, and whoever is capable of pulling out the Sea King's Trident will become my future son-in-law. Even if they are a dung heap, they will become the universe’s most expensive dung heap.”
Lu Yin blinked. So the crux of the matter was that he was still shit? Also, which eye did this guy use to see that Lu Yin felt inferior? He also enjoyed his own backing!
He wanted to say something to recover some of his face, but the Sea King waved a hand. “I know, I know. A man must keep up with appearances and needs some dignity. However, pulling out the Sea King's Trident is an honor for you, or do you actually believe that you qualify to become my son-in-law on your own merits? Let me tell you something. I would even dare to say that the direct descendants from the major clans are not qualified.”
Lu Yin wanted to speak, but then the Sea King glared at him. “Or, could it be that you do not want to become my son-in-law?”
That one sentence caused the entire Sea King’s Dome to change.
The sunlight above them vanished, the Starfall Sea started boiling, and the entire region became spatially unstable. It felt as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Most people stared blankly at the sky, as only the people of the Sea King's Dome understood that the Sea King was furious.
In that instant, Lu Yin felt an unprecedented and terrifying strength envelop him. This strength was different from Northgate Taisui’s, and it was even different from the Seven Courts Elder’s. The Sea King’s strength felt undefiable, as if he were the ruler of the heavens.
This was the strength of an Envoy! Only a few Envoys existed throughout the entire universe. Even the network only contained some scattered pieces of information regarding Envoys, none of which could have prepared Lu Yin for this.
Lu Yin could acutely feel the pressure, as just a glance from such a powerhouse was enough to cause a heaven-toppling scene.
The Sea King’s strength appeared quickly, but it disappeared just as fast. After no more than a split second, the Sea King's Dome returned to normal while the Sea King resumed his middle-aged neighboring uncle’s appearance that did not match his power.
He smiled at Lu Yin.
This time, Lu Yin felt terror well up in his innermost being. He had forgotten that this person was a super powerhouse who could toy with his life. Perhaps this was the strongest powerhouse he had ever met.