After about the time it took an incense stick to burn, a figure slowly emerged from the fading haze of the battlefield. A battered warhammer hung loosely in his hand, and the black armor covering his body bore several scorched marks.

"Hooooooo..."

Luo Chen let out a long breath. He glanced at the nearly destroyed Flowing Fire Hammer in his hand and frowned slightly; then he swept his sleeve. The murky aftermath clouding the seabed cleared at once. The flood dragon's corpse lay motionless below; it was charred through, and Luo Chen could swear he was feeling a faint scent of roasted meat.

He put away the hammer and extended his left hand. A black iron thumb ring and a dark-green ring on his index finger caught the dim light. The thumb ring flickered, and a powerful suction force pulled the flood dragon's body inside.

The dark-green ring was Liang Baizao's, and its name was simply the Ink Ring. A low-grade enchanted treasure in its own right, it had since become Luo Chen's primary storage tool, and most of his important resources had already been transferred into it. The Thundernet Hoard Ring had reached the same grade through centuries of lightning refinement, but it had been smaller to begin with and designed to store Lightning Essence rather than serve as a true storage treasure. The Ink Ring simply offered greater capacity and far better durability; even when Liang Baizao was besieged and his body shattered, the ring survived intact, which spoke well enough of its quality. The Thundernet Hoard Ring still had its uses, though. Storing something like a flood dragon's corpse suited it just fine.

After putting away the corpse, Luo Chen did not bother cleaning up the battlefield and simply retraced his path, heading back.

Over an hour later, a streak of light slipped past the heavily guarded shores of the Sunken Sea and touched down on an unremarkable mountain with scant spirit energy. Luo Chen drew out his flying sword and carved out a simple cave residence in a few swift strokes, then set down the Divine Seal Compass and raised the Surging Cloudmist Formation. Only after it was in place did he step inside, swallow a few pills, and sit down to regulate his breathing.

By the time the sun set and midnight crept in, Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes. His aura was partially restored. Only now did he have the leisure to reflect on the battle.

"It's still too rough... I got a bit overconfident."

He let out a bitter laugh. This trial had nearly gone terribly wrong. Back when he was in the early stages, he was already facing different late-stage Demon Kings. Against the Golden Wolf King, he had been utterly crushed. Against Golden Pincer, the Overlord Crab King in the Profound Rock Sea Region, he had fought evenly; he had later won by striking from the shadows, then taking down the Crab Kings when they were gravely wounded.

Now, at the sixth stage, his mana was far stronger than before and his techniques far more refined, and he had even created a new killing move not long ago. By all logic, he should have been able to overwhelm a late-stage Demon King with ease. But reality proved otherwise. The flood dragon not only possessed a formidable body but could also move freely along the seabed of the Sunken Sea and even control the black murky seawater to an extent. In fact, its water manipulation ability was amplified by the environment itself.

The battle had pushed Luo Chen hard. He had unleashed the Infinite Blaze Prison at full power, assumed his Sky Roc True Form, and nearly destroyed the Flowing Fire Hammer in the process. In the end, it was only thanks to the superior defense of the Profound Dust Armor that he managed to bring the Overtide Devil Flood Dragon down. Though a trace of regret lingered, so too did a newfound clarity. The Overtide Devil Flood Dragon had not entrenched itself in the Sunken Sea without reason; the ability to control the black murky seawater to its will, limited though it was, made it a far more dangerous creature than it appeared. Without the boost from the Infinite Blaze Prison, the outcome might well have been different.

Even so, Luo Chen had fulfilled his purpose to some extent. He was now considerably more familiar with his new killing move.

He turned the workings of the Infinite Blaze Prison over in his mind. Once he unleashed it, it could greatly amplify his attacks within a hundred-zhang radius. Whether spells or enchanted treasures, everything struck with far greater force than usual. But that was not its true power; its best effect lay in restraint. Anyone and anything trapped inside would be held like a fly in amber. It was similar to a Nascent Soul Domain, although it worked differently. It did not simply weigh down on the opponent, but also threw their mana into disarray, making precise control impossible. In the midst of battle, that loss of control would inevitably give rise to openings that he could use to bring the opponent down.

The reason the flood dragon had forced Luo Chen into his Sky Roc True Form was that, aside from its immense demonic power, it also possessed a formidable physical body. With its demonic power thrown into disorder, it had chosen to rely on brute force and engage him in close combat. Unfortunately for it, Luo Chen's Sky Roc True Form was built for that kind of exchange, even more so than the flood dragon's own body.

"Either way, it wasn't bad... It definitely wasn't just lucky to survive the war against the devil sect. It really did have some skill. Honestly, it was no weaker than a human Adept." Luo Chen let out a quiet breath, then took out the distribution map. "Fr the next one... I'll have to choose more carefully."

This trip was meant to test his edge, getting the Infinite Blaze Prison. It was a test, after all, not to push his limits. Thus, there was no need to deliberately seek out the strongest opponents. Those with some skill, yet not enough to threaten his life, were the most suitable. With that in mind, he also made a point of avoiding any Demon Kings known for water manipulation abilities. An encounter with the Overtide Devil Flood Dragon was more than enough.

***

Five days later, a burly figure appeared within an oceanic basin of the Sunken Sea. This should be where that flood dragon is hiding.That's a good amount of spirit stones, and I can also use the blood fiend qi to temper my Golden Ni Saber.

Saberstorm gripped his long saber, his thoughts drifting time and again to another saber he had seen at Withered Wood Ridge: a True Artifact, the Divine Fortified Blood Blade. If Blood Hermit could achieve such a feat, then so could he. So long as he kept cutting his way forward, his Golden Ni Saber would one day break past the limits of enchanted treasures and become a peerless saber!

The thought lingered only for a moment before he suddenly halted on the ruined battlefield. Where had that massive flood dragon gone? He clearly remembered that when he had last seen this Demon King, it had been right here. He had even earned a fair amount of merit from Peaceward Fortress after submitting the information.

He frowned and spread his divine consciousness to search the surrounding area. Under the constant erosion of the black murky seawater, all traces left behind by the battle had long since been wiped clean. Still, something caught his attention. He crouched down and retrieved a bloodstained scale from the sand. A brief inspection confirmed that the scale and the blood on it belonged to the Overtide Devil Flood Dragon. Yet upon it lingered another trace of mana, faint but domineering.

"Such domineering and scorching mana... Could it be him?" Saberstorm froze for a moment as a figure vaguely surfaced in his mind. "But how is that possible?"

That man was indeed formidable, but he was just a sixth-stage Adept. In order to face the Overtide Devil Flood Dragon, even Saberstorm himself, an experienced and battle-hardened ninth-stage Adept, had to make full preparations. Could it be that the man's true strength had already reached the ninth stage? With doubt flickering in his mind, Saberstorm slowly uttered a name: "Devil Lord Azure Yang..."

He turned and headed east. There, another creature awaited—a Scorching Flame Sawtooth Shark, also a late-stage Demon King like the flood dragon. It would make a fine whetstone for his saber. If he could slay it, he could even use its metallic serrated teeth to repair the damage his Golden Ni Saber had accumulated over years of battle.

***

A day later, Saberstorm stood alone above a reef-strewn stretch of sea with a look of confusion on his face. "Where's my shark?!"