Child of Destiny

Shin and Gammarus destroyed a huge portion of the sea where they were fighting due to the powerful attacks they had.

Shin still did not dare face the devil lobster head-on as the damage-reflection ability of the latter was much more powerful than before due to the transformation.

He still relied on the elemental powers of his current race along with the specialized techniques that he possessed. The unique skills and abilities of the World Serpent Race greatly complement his Mentalism Techniques, particularly the Heavenly Black Tortoise Method, which shared similar traits.

With this, Shin was also able to modify most of his techniques to complement the Boundless Ocean Technique just like what he had done with the other Mentalism Methods and breathing techniques.

‘Four Symbol Scripture: Heavenly Black Tortoise – Turtle General Defense’

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A group of hexagonal barriers appeared around Shin and stuck together to form a dome barrier filled with Mana Essence. An advanced rune was situated at the center of each hexagonal segment, which represented the properties of hardness, toughness, and a variety of defensive properties.

Boom!

The barrier blocked the huge water torrent that was directed at Shin, trying to crush him by force.

Fortunately, this barrier was strong enough to withstand the overwhelming strength of the attack along with the unstoppable water pressure that it had.

Swoosh!

As the thick cloud settled, a huge figure appeared beside the barrier, striking it with a powerful attack that carried a dense Mana Essence.

Bang!

The barrier was unable to withstand the attack and crumbled in an instant right after the collision.

Swoosh!

Fortunately, Shin was already a distance away when the huge pincers slammed into the ground where he previously stood.

The speed of a World Serpent could not be underestimated within the water.

Even if Shin did not major in speed unlike the fastest World Serpent that he had seen in the first round of the tournament, he was still much faster than most of the sea creatures due to his unique physique and special abilities.

The talent of this vessel and the breathing technique were very special after all, and even a perfect complement with each other.

Hu~!

Regulating his breathing from the distance, Shin suddenly moved his hands in slow and gentle motion, leaving a series of overlapping afterimages behind.

When his hands stopped, his palms were already pressed against one another while the dense Mana Essence was being channeled into them.

Swoosh!

Gammarus immediately caught up to Shin at this point and suddenly appeared before the latter. He raised his huge pincer and thrust it forward, trying to crush Shin with it.

At this moment, Shin suddenly separated his palms as an icy sword conjured between them.

‘Elemental Sword Materialization (Ice/ Water): World Serpent’s Fang’

Shin swiftly grabbed the sword and swung it diagonally upwards, deflecting the incoming pincers upwards.

Bang!

Shin quickly retreated as he relieved his muscles from the recoil that he had gotten from the collision.

At the same time, he also wiped the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. This weapon materialization was an advanced mana control, where he had to channel a large portion of his mana while conjuring the weapon he had projected inside his mind.

He had exhausted more than half of his mana essence reserve just to form it, which also cost him a portion of his life force (HP).

He had spent quite a lot of effort just to summon this sword, which was his ‘Racial Soul Weapon’ in a sense.

He was still unfamiliar with this transcended technique, which resulted in his current injuries that were further worsened by the earlier exchange.

Regardless, he was not in a position to think about all of these since his opponent would surely not let him recover in immediate time.

“You are giving me more surprises, the more I know you,” commented Gammarus as he walked out of the cloud of dirt.

He glared at Shin before casting his gaze at the exquisite sword filled with silver runes in the latter’s hand.

Even himself, who was confident with his defensive capabilities, was getting an immense threat coming from that sword.

“The Fangs of a World Serpent is sure dangerous,” he commented as he continued to glare at Shin. “To think a hatchling such as yourself can conjure one, albeit being in an incomplete form. I can’t afford you to live now, especially after seeing such a crazy potential.”

“You can be the most dangerous variable to our great cause if I let you go. Your threat level should be as high as Falan right now,” he added before suddenly charging at Shin.

Hu~!

Shin, with now a sword in hand, felt much calmer despite the current state of his body.

Regenerating from his injuries would have to take some time, and it would be hard to move his body with such several injuries within his body.

His opponent might not let him heal his internal wounds, but Shin was confident enough that he could perform much better in this state compared to earlier.

With a calm mind and relaxed body, he raised his ice sword before swinging it multiple times in front of him while infusing a series of sword principles in every swing.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Those seemingly casual swings sent shivers done to the spine of his opponent, making Gammarus halt his advance.

At the same time, he raised his arms in front of him while increasing the defensive qualities of his shell amor. He even created an extra layer of protection over the surface of his armor as an additional precaution.

He got a bad feeling coming from these simple swings from his opponent.

Boom!

Right after he planted his feet into the seabed, a strong current swept through the entire place, following the swings that Shin had thrown.

At the same time, sharp energies mixed with the water pressure and cut through everything on their path.

Even the protective layer that Gammarus had summoned was shredded after suffering repeated strikes from these sharp energies.

Fortunately, his shell armor was strong enough to fend off the rest of the impact from the sharp energies after they had lost a great majority of their momentum.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of metallic sounds could be heard as the sharp energies collided against the shell armor of Gammarus.

The devil lobster was about to charge forward when a voice suddenly rang behind him.

“Damn~! I know that this body is much more powerful than my in-game avatar, but it sure far surpassed my imagination,” mumbled Shin as he looked at the icy sword in his hands. “Is it also because of this materialized weapon? Tsk! The abilities of Sea Ancients are ‘broken’ powerful.”

Swoosh!

Gammarus quickly spun around while swinging his arms behind him, planning to smash Shin with it, particularly the spiked armor wrapped around his forearm.

“Huh?”

But to his surprise, despite his fast reaction, he found no one behind him, much less struck someone.

“Sigh~! It is just a pity that I have to wait for a long time before I can achieve similar things with my ‘original’ body.”

“I wonder which is stronger – An Ancient Being or a Transcendent Being?

Then the same voice sounded behind Gammarus for another time, astounding him.

“This speed-…!” Gammarus was trying to say something when a series of sword flashes bombarded him from every direction, trying to cut through his arm.

Bang! Bang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of sparks appeared every time the sword flashes struck his armor. But despite the power and special powers imbued with each strike, the shell amor remained sturdy and unbreakable.

“As expected, this shouldn’t be enough to defeat someone with a top-seeded status. I guess I have to try something more advanced,” mumbled Shin as he rested the icy sword on his shoulder while scratching his head a little.

“Arrogant bastard!” Gammarus was infuriated after being treated as an insignificant being.

Even if Shin did not say anything about it, he could feel the latter treating him as if he were some random creature in the sea.

He was familiar with this feeling as this was how those older World Serpents looked at the other sea creatures.

The current Shin was reminding Gammarus of that unforgettable and humiliating experience that he suffered before.

Roar!

With a deafening roar, he spun for another time and swung his pincers at Shin.

Shin, who could feel some changes in his demeanor after he held the Word Serpent’s Fang, seemed to ignore the danger behind him and ducked forward in a very calm manner.

Swoosh!

The water was split when the pincers flew past his head.

“This sword-… It has an odd calm effect that can erase all the negative thoughts flooding my mind,” mumbled Shin as he side-stepped to dodge yet another attack from his opponent.

At the same time, he was also getting immense power from the sword, which not only reinforced all his abilities but also amplified the effects of the Boundless Ocean Technique as well.

“What is this feeling? Why do I feel that I can do anything,” mumbled Shin as he suddenly turned around.

When Gammarus looked at Shin’s eyes, he could not help but freeze, especially after seeing the coldness from those crimson pupils.

This brought him to the time when he experienced that unpleasant event.

Shin, on the other hand, was unaware of the consequences of summoning the World Serpent’s Fangs despite not having the ability to properly wield.

He felt that his blood was boiling in excitement while he was keeping a calm and cool expression on his face.

Violent yet cold-hearted.

A sleeping serpent was about to be awake.

……