The Mutant Sea Tribe, Chu Yu's Resentment

The next day.

In the abyssal depths of the ocean, the crystalline dome of the East Sea Dragon Palace was now overgrown with crimson tumors.

The pillars, once adorned with luminous pearls, were now encrusted with translucent egg sacs, within which humanoid figures twitched faintly.

At the center of the grand hall, the throne had been usurped by a fleshy mass ten meters in diameter—its surface writhing with hundreds of distorted human faces, each silently screaming, their purplish veins squirming beneath the skin like maggots.

Crunch, crunch—

The newly sprouted six arms of the grotesque sphere were shoving the corpses of sea demons into its gaping central maw.

Thick, viscous fluids oozed down the throne, pooling onto the jade floor and mingling with mountains of rotting fish and crustaceans.

Twenty clam-maidens knelt mechanically at the foot of the steps.

Their upper bodies retained the delicate forms of young maidens, but from the waist down, they had fused into crab-like limbs, using their pincers to tear apart seahorses and feed them to the ravenous sphere.

The sphere had shrunk considerably since its first appearance, yet its mutations had grown more grotesque—clearly evolving through its recent feasts.

Then—

"R-Report, Your Majesty!"

A one-eyed yaksha crawled into the hall, trembling, its third hand—sprouted from its dorsal fin—oozing pus and blood.

"The humans are holding a sect tournament in Tianhai City in three days! At least a hundred thousand will gather along the coast—"

"Shut up!"

Before it could finish, a face on the sphere’s surface—adorned with a thin mustache—screeched. A neighboring face, framed by twin buns, chimed in, "Humans can’t compare to fresh orca meat!"

But the elderly face above them, its forehead bulging with tumors, spasmed and muttered, "No... I smell the threads of fate burning..."

The moment those words left its lips—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The entire sphere convulsed violently. Every face opened its mouth at once, hundreds of voices—men, women, children—blending into a deafening roar that shattered the surrounding coral: "The Chosen One’s path is deviating! The Scavenger is coming!"

Squelch!

A newly grown arm smashed down onto the jade steps, flinging the mangled remains of a clam-maiden onto the yaksha’s face. "EAT!!! HUNGRY!! SO HUNGRY!!"

"My son! Where is my son?!"

The massive sphere’s gaping maw shrieked incessantly.

The next moment—

Gurgle…

A dark current stirred, swirling with foul-smelling bubbles as a figure clad in azure-scaled armor strode into the hall.

It was Lan Ming, the Second Prince of the Sea Clan—though now, one of his dragon horns was broken, and where his pupils should have been, two squirming flesh buds pulsed.

As he knelt before the sphere, a wet squelch echoed from his chest—embedded there was half of the East Sea Dragon King’s face.

"Father."

Lan Ming gazed adoringly at a face on the sphere that bore an uncanny resemblance to the Dragon King. "Third Brother and the others still doubt Your Majesty’s true form, but I—"

A tentacle slithered from the sphere, stroking his broken horn. The tip of the appendage split open, dripping a mucus that instantly regenerated the horn into a black, barbed bone blade.

Lan Ming shuddered with ecstasy, his scales flaring—unaware of the meaty tendrils creeping up his neck, rewriting his memories.

In his eyes, his father’s majestic form now radiated a divine golden light.

"My obedient child."

A kindly old man’s face surfaced on the sphere, even as its abdomen split open, vomiting forth a "trident" that dripped black blood.

The weapon was nothing more than three entwined intestines, topped with half of a still-beating fish heart.

Yet in Lan Ming’s vision, it was a sacred artifact of the sea, studded with luminous pearls.

Then—

A woman’s face purred, "Take my new toy to Tianhai City."

An elderly face cut in, "Bring me the Chosen One!"

A child’s face giggled like silver bells, "And let’s see what this so-called Scavenger is capable of! Heehee~~"

With that, a grinning child’s face peeled off the sphere—

Splat!

It slapped onto Lan Ming’s chest, morphing into the illusion of a gem-encrusted breastplate.

In reality, it was a rotting chunk of flesh gnawing at his heart-scale.

"This son swears to deliver the Chosen One’s heart to you!"

Lan Ming raised the grotesque trident high—and in an instant, black mist erupted from its prongs, engulfing every sea denizen in the hall.

By the time he marched out of the Dragon Palace, his legion of sea demons had transformed into monstrosities riddled with fish eyes.

The shells of shrimp soldiers and crab generals split open, spewing countless fleshy tendrils.

The East Sea... had fallen.

......

......

Primordial Holy Land.

Sunlight bathed the stone path along the cliffside as Chu Yu kicked aside a binding spirit chain.

Her snow-white robes were stained with blood—

Left behind three days ago, when twelve enforcers had joined forces to suppress her with a demon-slaying array.

Yes, once again, she’d been framed by that bitch Su Bailian and thrown into confinement.

But this time, she’d fought back—only to be crushed beneath the elders’ combined might.

And worst of all... the order had come from the sect master himself, her so-called "righteous father"!

As she walked, whispers from the disciples below reached her ears.

"Did you hear? Little Lian is said to be the reincarnation of Mu Xueyi—that prodigy from ten thousand years ago!"

"The Holy Maiden reborn? No wonder she summoned the Nine Heavens Phoenix phenomenon..."

"Nine Heavens Phoenix? Elder Gong said it was her spirit pet, Boqi, causing that commotion! Apparently, it ate too many spirit mushrooms and evolved into a divine-grade beast!"

"Now they’re saying she’s not Mu Xueyi’s reincarnation at all—she’s the Beast Taming God reborn!"

"Huh? How many versions of this story are there?"

"Who cares? Lian-Lian... my sweet Lian-Lian is just adorable..."

"?? Your Lian-Lian? She’s MINE!"

"Wanna fight, bastard?"

"Bring it on!"

BOOM!!!

Chu Yu froze mid-step, her face contorting as sword energy erupted from her fingertips, slicing through an entire grove of pines.

On the severed stumps, the bloody characters she’d carved three days ago were still visible—

"Su Bailian" had been scratched out over and over, until it morphed into "May the bitch die horribly."

"Mu Xueyi?"

She sneered, smashing a stump to splinters with her palm, her eyes brimming with venom.

If you’re Mu Xueyi’s reincarnation, I’ll eat shit!

This had to be another one of that slut’s underhanded schemes!

And these Primordial Holy Land disciples—what idiots! How could they believe her?

But...

"The sect tournament..."

She wiped the blood from her lips, her mouth twisting into a grin.

Just like the last life...

But this time...

I’ll make every single one of you regret it!

You all love Su Bailian so much?

Fine!

Let’s see how the Primordial Holy Land fares in this tournament WITHOUT ME!

Hatred seethed in her chest—she wanted to tear Su Bailian apart right this instant.

But—

No...

Just imagining the looks on their faces when she carried out her plan...

It made her...

"Heh... hehehehe!!"

"Just you wait!"

I’ll make sure you all regret ever siding with Su Bailian!