When Sea King Modu looked at Yang Su, his drop of blood essence allowed him to sense extremely pure laws of various elements emanating from him. It looked like this aura was being suppressed before so he hadn't sensed it from him until now.
'If I could absorb this brat's body and soul, I'll definitely be able to forcefully turn my original body's soul into a Divine Beast Soul and enter the Soul Transformation Realm. No, with this high of a talent if I instead take over his body and cultivate it as my second clone I could reach the Heavenly Palace Realm. But... on the other hand, if I absorb him and these bloodlines my original body would definitely enter the Soul Transformation Realm with a small chance of entering the Heavenly Palace Realm.'
All of a sudden Sea King Modu was conflicted with two choices.
Should he take the time to cultivate his clone to the legendary Heavenly Palace Realm, or should he absorb this brat and allow his original body to take that small chance to reach that level instead? To enter the Heavenly Palace Realm with this clone or his original body, which one?
Sea King Modu couldn't decide. This was the consequence of getting a buffet of nutrients all of a sudden. It's just too difficult to make a meal plan with so many options in front of him.
However, Sea King Modu made two mistakes in this instant. First, he was ignorant that God Qi was needed to enter the Heavenly Palace Realm, even Sea Beasts needed it. But this could be contributed to the lack of knowledge of the realms above the Soul Transformation Realm. Most Soul Transformation Realm existences like him only know the name of the next Realm and could only fumble around after reaching its front gate; not knowing how to enter.
His second mistake was entirely his fault, he let his greed blind him and allowed Shi Chun to approach him.
Swish!
Shi Chun's sword tore through the void as it went to sever Sea King Modu's hand that was holding Yang Su's neck.
Seeing this, Sea King Modu simply let go of Yang Su, who was caught by Jun and went to address Shi Chun's sword.
However, this was where he made his third mistake and it would prove to be quite costly.
He thought a mere Early Transformation Realm cultivator couldn't stop him from getting what he set his eyes on. He'll simply catch Yang Su and the others after killing him.
But immediately after he let go of Yang Su's neck, a powerful force suddenly rose from the ship itself.
"Huh?"
Sea King Modu was confused as he felt this force lift his body and flung him off the ship. He soon steadied himself in the air and looked at the ship to see an old man forming hand seals.
The ship's shattered barrier reformed and even strengthen more than before.
Sea King Modu's face turned dark. He was careless, the Formations on that ship had the ability to exert power similar to the Mid Soul Transformation Realm, despite it being controlled by a cultivator of a lower level.
That old man after recovering the ship's barrier flew outside of the ship to join Shi Chun and the other elders from the Mercenary Associated tasked to protect this carrier.
Sea King Modu glanced at Shi Chun and then at the four elders by his side. He snorted.
'No matter, one Early Soul Transformation Realm cultivator and a few Quasi Soul Transformation Realm cultivators aren't enough to stop me.'
Sea King Modu thought as he took a step forehead to step on these ants who dare stand before him. However, the old man that had just flown up from the ship formed a hand seal and pointed in the direction of the ship.
The Formations on the ship suddenly lit up causing a blinding light to be released. At the same time, a large green Runic Formation extended from beneath the ship to cover a kilometer in diameter around the ship.
Sea King Modu felt the suppression of this Formation and as he look below his feet, not even the blinding green glow of the Formation could bring light to the dark expression on his face.
Shi Chun stared at Sea King Modu with a serious expression.
'Listen up, I've sent a message to my brother. He'll be here soon so all we have to do is hold him back. His cultivation seems to have dropped to the Mid Formation Realm after the attack from our South Border Guardian, if that's the case this is doable.'
The four elders from the Mercenary Association heard those words of assurance via voice transmission, but it didn't change the panicked expressions on their faces. This was the Sea King of the entire Ocean! This was completely outside of their expectations to face the most powerful force in the Ocean rather than the few weaker ones they anticipated.
'E-Elder Chun, why is the Sea King attacking us?'
Shi Chun frowned.
'I do not know.'
Even though Shi Chun replied with that, his gaze landed a still unconscious Yang Su and the others around him.
His heart was filled with confusion.
'His aim was for one of those youths from the group. What could possibly have warranted the Sea King himself going after these kids?'
Shi Chun didn't have a good feeling about this. As he was racking his brain for something, Shi Chun's amazing deduction skills he showed by figuring out Tai's identity came into play.
He recalled what was discussed by Yang Su and the others while he was hiding nearby.
Lihua: "What did you and Teng Ye talk about, did he mention anything about his Leviathan race that Sea King Modu mentioned?…"
Fang Chen: "He doesn't know much about his bloodline, or his beast clan because he was just born when it was destroyed…"
Lihua: "Alright, if that's the case it can't be helped. But you mind telling us how his Leviathan race is related to your Divine Beast legacy?"
Fang Chen: "That's because our races are allies. At least that's what I can confer considering the feeling we both get from his bloodline and my legacy."
Shi Chun's face blenched and his body quivered.
'The reason why he's after Teng Ye isn't because he's afraid of being dethroned, it's something else. It has something to do with his bloodline! And he probably sensed a similar bloodline from that child's Divine Beast legacy so he showed up here. We didn't know, I have to tell brother, he's after bloodlines.'
"ELDER CHUN!!!"
One of the Mercenary Association elders cried out for Shi Chun, causing him to snap out of his thoughts, and swiftly turned his head to see Sea King Modu had used some method to block the suppression of the Formation.
His figure was already in front of the elder who was in control of the ship.
'He's trying to destroy the formation!'
"BASTARD!!"
Shi Chun yelled and didn't hesitate to dash forward, his sword slashing out at Sea King Modu causing a terrifying sword arc to shoot towards him.
Shockingly, despite having only reached the Early Formation Realm, this full-strength attack by Shi Chun was no different than an attack Mid Soul Transformation cultivator attacking.
Shi Chun was a sword genius for a reason, his sole focus on the sword abandoning everything else in the pursuit of it caused his attack power to become outrageous.
This was the true power of a swordsman, nothing but high attacking power.
The elder who was being attacked by Sea King Modu saw that Shi Chun had the attacking power rivaling the Mid Soul Transformation Realm and his pale face filled with terror beamed with joy.
He saw Sea King Modu's figure pause and he didn't waste any moment to retreat at full speed.
However, his expression suddenly fell.
He was the only one who could see Sea King Modu's expression, and his heart thumped when he saw the vicious grin he had on his face.
He wasn't paying any attention to him, but Shi Chun who was approaching him.
'Oh no, it's a trap!'
"Elder Chun, wait!"
The elder tried to warn Shi Chun but it was too late.
The drop of blood essence on Sea King Modu's forehead that was resisting the Formation's pressure suddenly released a blinding purple light. His aura then rose to reach the late Soul Formation Realm and he turn to pounce at Shi Chun's approaching figure.
Shi Chun saw that his attack was quickly shattered by Sea King Modu's palm before he suddenly felt something stab through his abdomen.
*Vomit*
Shi Chun vomited out a mouth full of blood along with pieces of his internal organs. He looked down to see a hand stuck inside his body up to its elbow.
"Yes, that's right. Don't think I didn't recognize you were the biggest threat with that abnormal sword energy. I can't believe you ants force me to use my blood essence. Anyway, with this, I'll be able to kill you all before the reinforcements you call with that jade slip comes. Kukuku!"
Sea King Modu's mocking laughter entered Shi Chun's ears and his blood ran cold.
Whether it was because of his life slipping away, or because of Sea King Modu's scheming nature, it wasn't clear.
Shi Chun looked up from the hand to see Sea King Modu looking at him with a ridiculing expression.
'Damn it.'
Shi Chun cursed in his heart.