He saw the mass of sponge emerge from underground, and watched as countless mutated beasts trembled and prostrated themselves...

He also saw the hermit crab return to its "house," only to discover its two "gold mines" were missing and let out a pained wail...

After that, he lost his clone’s vision. It wasn’t because the distance had grown too great and severed the connection, but because the Sponge Beast had discovered it and absorbed the clone entirely.

Su Ze didn’t know if the Sponge Beast would give chase, but he didn’t speed up to escape. Doing so would only increase his chances of being exposed.

He stopped, paying close attention to the surrounding seawater. He completely merged his liquid form into the ocean, focusing on the direction of the currents, their rise and fall, and their speed. He controlled his form to synchronize perfectly with the water, becoming one with it.

He was no longer "another body of water within the ocean," but a part of the ocean itself.

Su Ze knew that from a human evolver’s perspective, the first response to discovering a potential intruder was to send out one’s Spiritual Power to find the target.

He guessed the Sponge Beast would likely do the same. He had to be flawless, to merge so completely with the seawater that he could fool the creature’s Spiritual Power.

Soon, Su Ze’s heart suddenly clenched for a moment. He suspected the Sponge Beast’s Spiritual Power was sweeping over him.

After a moment passed with no activity, Su Ze relaxed. He knew he had probably gotten away with it.

’I really didn’t expect a creature like that to be living under the big pineapple.’

It seemed now that the Sponge Beast was the true "new king." Its power was immense, with one foot already in the divine realm.

The hermit crab and the Great Sea Shell were most likely the Sponge Beast’s trusted subordinates.

’With those two geniuses helping it,’ Su Ze suddenly thought, ’this new king will have a hard time achieving anything great.’

Although he suspected he had successfully passed inspection, Su Ze didn’t make any rash moves. He continued to maintain perfect synchronization with the seawater, moving slowly with the current.

Only after more than half a day had passed, when the currents had carried him far from the trench, did he suddenly accelerate and make for the Dongli Coast.

Along the way, he realized he hadn’t encountered many mutated beasts. The beast tide seemed to have stopped.

This left him, who had been hoping to grind for more golden energy, feeling slightly disappointed.

By now, his "Bloodthirsty" skill had long since worn off, and the power boost it granted was gone. He had grown accustomed to that immense strength, and now that he was back to his original state, it felt a little strange.

...

Li Yongguan and Ye Jin led their thousand-strong contingent, marching at top speed to provide reinforcements. But when they reached the coast, they found the Dongli soldiers bustling with activity.

Some were busy collecting spoils, while others were busy ganging up on the remaining mutated beasts.

It was basically five or six Dongli soldiers ganging up on a single mutated beast. Their forces looked more than sufficient, even excessive.

Li Yongguan and Ye Jin exchanged a glance. Weren’t the front lines supposed to be overwhelmed by a raging beast tide, the defenses strained to the breaking point?

’Was the intelligence wrong?’

But since they were already here, they might as well give their new recruits some practice. Li Yongguan and Ye Jin ordered their soldiers to form squads of ten and hunt down the beasts.

But before they could even make a move, the beast tide suddenly retreated...

What was going on? ’Did our arrival scare the beast tide away?’

Li Yongguan didn’t think he was that important. He took Ye Jin to find his father, Li Fayi, and ask about the situation.

"That kid Su Ze is incredible..." Li Fayi clicked his tongue. He glanced at Li Yongguan, his son who had always strived to excel and made him proud. But compared to Su Ze, he suddenly seemed less impressive.

Li Fayi recounted everything Su Ze had done since arriving at the front line...

"Mr. Li, are you saying that Su Ze... that Mr. Su single-handedly killed tens of thousands of mutated beasts, drove off a Tier 5 beast, and turned the tide of the entire battle?" Ye Jin’s mouth hung slightly open, her wide eyes filled with astonishment.

"That’s right! If you don’t believe me, ask your grandmother." Li Fayi didn’t want to get into a long discussion with Ye Jin, so he quickly deflected the conversation toward Ning Yushen.

Just then, Ning Yushen walked over, and Ye Jin immediately turned to her for confirmation.

Ning Yushen nodded. "I even suspect this sudden stop to the beast tide has something to do with him. He’s been missing for a day and a night. Who knows what he’s been up to."

"Then did we come all this way for nothing?" Li Yongguan sounded frustrated. He had wanted to prove himself on the battlefield and show his father how well-trained his soldiers were.

Ye Jin also felt a sense of helplessness. Other generals either commanded from the rear, devising strategies, or led their troops from the front, spearheading the charge.

But Su Ze? His specialty was apparently killing all the enemies by himself, leaving his own soldiers with no one to fight.

By the time they arrived, the only thing left for them to do was cheer him on.

’What’s the point of training soldiers? We might as well have just brought a cheerleading squad.’

Meanwhile, Mrs. Yun and Mr. Ya were growing increasingly worried. A day and a night had passed with no news from Su Ze.

Just then, Mr. Ya, who was holding his Spirit Communication Phone, suddenly grew excited.

"There’s a signal! The boss, he’s coming back!"

Mrs. Yun took out her own phone and saw he was right. The two of them didn’t call Su Ze, but simply waited patiently on the beach.

A moment later, a hundred-meter-high wave erupted from the sea and crashed onto the sand, instantly taking the form of Su Ze.

He breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first time he had drifted in the sea for so long. The moment his feet touched the ground, he felt a comforting sense of solidity beneath him.

"Boss, where’d you go off to make waves?"