Child of Destiny

Shin rolled his shoulders while twisting his neck a little, producing a series of popping sounds, as he got ready for the battle.

He was facing a seeded candidate right now, so this was going to be much harder compared to the previous battles that he had in this realm. But he was also quite excited at the same time given that it was something that he was looking forward to since he had mastered the abilities of the World Serpent Race and incorporated them with his techniques.

Swoosh!

Right at that moment, his opponent suddenly disappeared from his current location while leaving a strong shockwave behind.

Bang!

Gammarus then appeared right in front of Shin while swinging his right arm forward with his pincers widely opened.

Shin tried to dodge them as fast as he could, but the trajectory of the attack swiftly changed and closely followed his actions.

It was trying to force him to block, which was something he could not afford given the crushing force that those pincers had. His bones would be crushed instantly if he tried to block them.

The pincers were fast approaching and sealed his retreat paths, forcing him to face them head-on.

Shin then quickly retreated a little to create some space between him and the pincers before throwing an uppercut.

Bang!

His fist landed on the bottom of the pincers, changing their trajectory. With the barely missed attack, Shin tried to retaliate with a quick punch but was immediately blocked by the sturdy shell armor of his opponent.

Bang!

His bones were crushed once again the moment when his fist hit the shell armor of his opponent.

He quickly retreated, trying to buy some time to heal his hands. But Gammarus was quick to respond and swiftly blocked his path.

Shin was quickly bombarded by a barrage of attacks, forcing him into a passive position once again.

He could not afford to exchange blows in a frontal confrontation, so he had to find a way to break through the powerful defenses of his opponent.

Using attacks empowered with Yin Force was the most ideal since it was the most effective against opponents with strong defensive capabilities. The penetrative effects and internal damage that such attacks could produce were the bane of defensive-type opponents.

But the problem right now was the strong reflective effects that the shell armor of his opponent had. Such an ability was quite annoying to deal with, especially with it was this powerful.

The attack that it reflected was not just twice what he just dealt, but at least ten times the original power. This was why his bones almost broke every time his fist landed on the shell armor.

Even if it did not reflect the damage that he had dealt internally, the external punch was still packed with decent force, which was why the return damage that Shin had received was strong enough to crush his bones.

“I guess I should change my approach?” mumbled Shin as he created a space between him and his opponent. “Should I try sowing the seeds that I planted?”

He tightened his fingers while forming a claw with both of his hands. Then he channeled his energies in those claws before swinging them forward, sending a barrage of crescent energies toward the devil lobster.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A storm of energy swept through his opponent, trying to slice the hard shell of protecting the humanoid lobster. But all Shin dealt was a bunch of scratched marks on its armor, signifying that even this move was not dealing that much damage against his opponent.

Gammarus smirked with that and shouted. “Do you think such a pitiful attack can harm me? It can’t even-…”

He was about to say something when he sensed an overwhelming amount of Mana Essence gathered around Shin.

Then he saw Shin taking a stance while the Mana Essence from the surroundings was gathering around his fist.

Gammarus sensed an immense threat coming from Shin at this moment, making him wary. He was about to do something when he suddenly sensed something strange from his body, particularly the area where Shin had hit him earlier.

Those areas were quite stiff for some reason as if something was restraining from within. At the same time, his armor also felt somewhat colder compared to how it usually was. The cold energy mixed in the crescent waves that Shin had sent seemed to be quite tricky to deal with.

It was at this moment when Gammarus realized that the earlier attacks were not as random as they seemed on the surface.

“Do you think that I am that easy?” shouted Gammarus before putting his pincers together to gather a large amount of Mana Essence in between them.

He then pushed those pincers forward, forming a huge sphere of energy made of pure Mana Essence. The surrounding waters even trembled, which led to the formation of a huge whirlpool that pulled everything to it.

Bang!

He then sent the sphere straight to Shin when the accumulation of energies reached its peak.

Swoosh!

Right at the same time, Shin suddenly threw his rotating fist forward, sending a spinning torrent forward right after he released all the accumulated energies from his fist.

Bang!

A moment later, the torrent formed a head of a huge head of a white serpent that opened its mouth wide, trying to swallow the incoming energy ball heading at it.

Roar!

BOOM!

The collision between the two powers threw the sea into chaos, even forming a huge tsunami on the surface alongside a destructive storm in the sky.

A violent water current swept through the entire place, disrupting the original flow of the sea. The two currents then clashed against each other, making the surroundings even more chaotic.

The unpredictable current crushed the surrounding rocks at the seabed along with the corals and other things in that place.

A thick cloud was also formed, blocking the vision of both parties that were currently engaged in battle.

But Shin and Gammarus ignored all the chaos around them and continued to send their attacks at one another.

Energy spheres, water blades, water arrows, ice spears, and other range attacks were being thrown by Shin toward his opponent while the opposing side crushed them with raw power alone.

But this time, Gammarus did not solely rely on his shell armor due to what happened earlier. He had almost fallen into the trap that Shin had laid since the first strike the latter had given him, so he had to be extra careful this time to avoid any accidents.

He had dispelled the foreign energy that hid within his body as well as reinforced his armor with his unique energy to further strengthen their toughness and defensive capabilities. It was also to fight against the cold that Shin had mixed with his energy attacks.

What was even more annoying about these attacks was they were a mixture of different kinds of techniques.

As one of the young elite warriors of his tribe, he was quite experienced at battling those from different races and tribes, so he should be familiar with the abilities that a World Serpent had.

He should be able to handle someone like Shin, who was just a hatchling compared to the other World Serpents that had faced up until now.

But he was strangely being held back by his opponent due to the strange techniques that Shin was using, mixed with the powers of a World Serpent.

Moreover, these techniques were not just from a simple adjustment of World Serpent’s techniques, but an advanced modification that not only enhanced the effects of the original versions but added a few effects as well.

“I guess combining the World Serpent Techniques with the Heavenly Black Tortoise Method is effective,” mumbled Shin as he continuously waved his hands, sending a series of spells toward his opponent.

The Heavenly Turtle Method of the Four Symbol Scripture was originally meant for illusion and defensive techniques along with a few that could reinforce the other techniques from his arsenal.

It could also be used for offensive techniques, but when he added the unique techniques of a World Serpent, he could have a variety of offensive spells.

‘Four Symbol Scripture: Heavenly Black Tortoise – Hail of Ice and Snow’

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A huge group of ice shards appeared behind Shin while pointing their sharp and pointed ends toward Gammarus, who was currently being bombarded by the previous spells.

Shin then pointed forward, commanding those shards to fly toward his opponent with a speed that could not be caught by the naked eye.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Seeing the new wave of attacks heading in his direction, Gammarus suddenly shouted, releasing a powerful shockwave mixed with his powers.

Roar!

The shockwave produced multiple layers of violent ripples that repeatedly hit the barrage of ice shards heading his way, destroying them in the process.

“I can no longer take this! I am going to shred you in pieces!” Gammarus felt very humiliated after being on the receiving end of Shin’s attacks.

He felt like a lab rat laid on an experimentation table. He could tell that Shin was using him as a training dummy to test the current abilities that he possessed.

He was the fourth seed for this festival of the seas, so he should be the one looking down on everyone else, who was fighting for opportunities.

Even though Shin’s attacks were ineffective against him due to his powerful defense, being a ‘punching bag’ was still humiliating for someone like him, who was one of the top geniuses of the seas.

Roar!

Gammarus’ body grew larger, and so did the shell armor that he was wearing. Sharp spikes grew from his shoulders and forearms, matching his new size.

He was much bigger than his previous size but was not as big as the colossal beings when they transformed with their ‘Gigantification Skills’.

Shin smiled when he saw that his ‘punching bag’ grew larger. “This is getting a little more interesting.”

He then bumped his fists before a set of ice armor surfaced from his body with a sleek design. “I guess I should be picking up my pace as well.”

…