Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Amidst the whirlpool under the sea, Chang You opened its massive mouth, devouring seawater and swallowing the torn flesh and blood of soul beasts shredded within it, before spitting out the now worthless seawater.

Although Chang You's body was small, and its mouth seemed insignificant compared to the vast ocean, it consumed seawater at an astonishing speed thanks to its unique abilities and cultivation. The originally blood-red ocean, dyed so by the shredded soul beasts, began to fade rapidly.

However, as Chang You patted its belly, it still did not feel satisfied.

It had been dormant under the sea for decades, and every time it awoke, it required a massive amount of soul beasts to feed on. Although the soul beasts in this area had somewhat recovered, it was still far from enough to satisfy the hunger of Chang You, who had been asleep for so long.

Just as Chang You was pondering where to go next for food, a powerful surge of soul energy erupted from the sky. Instantly, Chang You felt as though the entire ocean had slipped out of its control, even the water elements around it were being gradually taken away.

"Yiii yiii yiii!"

Feeling provoked, Chang You let out an angry cry. Its soul energy burst forth, forcibly reclaiming control of the surrounding seawater and water elements. Then, with a swift stomp on the water, its entire body shot up to the surface like a rocket.

Chang You, resembling a monkey, stood on the surface of the sea. Staring at the black-clad man standing in the void above, its eyes revealed a hint of wariness but no trace of fear.

As an ancient variant of the fierce beast level, Chang You may not have been comparable to the top-tier existences within the ocean, but it was undoubtedly a domineering presence in the surrounding waters. Its strength alone rivaled that of a human's Super Douluo, and with the advantage of being in its marine domain, Chang You believed it was not inferior to any human soul master below rank 99.

"Yiii yiii."

Soul beasts, after reaching the hundred-thousand-year level, could generally speak human language, and fierce beasts could even take on human form. However, due to rarely interacting with humans, Chang You had almost forgotten how to speak. After letting out a couple of cries, it finally spoke in a voice resembling that of a middle-aged man:

"Human soul master, what do you want? Do you intend to fight me, King Chang You?"

As an ancient creature left behind from a bygone era, Chang You had never seen others of its kind since birth. In its mind, even if there were others of its species, with its cultivation, it would undoubtedly be the king among them. Thus, after surviving the tribulation of a fierce beast 20,000 years ago, it began calling itself King Chang You.

"I was merely passing through, but I didn't expect to encounter a fierce beast in this sea," Chen Ming said with a faint smile, looking at Chang You. "If Heaven presents an opportunity, it is a sin not to take it. Since this is the case, I shall claim your soul bone."

In the world of Douluo, it was a natural law for humans to hunt soul beasts, and for soul beasts to hunt humans or even each other. It was simply a matter of differing perspectives and positions.

To Chen Ming, if Chang You could devour an entire area of marine soul beasts upon waking, then it was only natural for him to devour Chang You in turn.

"How presumptuous!"

Chang You roared angrily, its long arms plunged into the seawater below. As its arms moved, the ocean seemed to churn under an invisible force, quickly forming whirlpools and turning murky.

Under Chang You's control, massive waves rose, forming towering water tornadoes dozens of meters high around it. The entire sea became turbulent and violent, and the water tornadoes continued to grow visibly larger, amassing more and more power.

This was Chang You's innate ability, Sea Stirring, which allowed it to dominate the surrounding water elements with overwhelming force. With its current cultivation as a fierce beast, this ability could genuinely stir an entire sea into chaos.

Within the water tornadoes, countless glowing points of light emerged. These lights condensed into the shapes of various soul beasts, formed from the chaotic water and elemental energy, and charged toward Chen Ming in a fierce assault.

This was Chang You's second innate ability, Beast Command.

As an ancient variant, Chang You possessed the ability to command the souls of soul beasts it had killed, transforming them into water monsters. These water monsters were once soul beasts that had perished at Chang You's hands. Over the years, their numbers and quality had only grown as Chang You improved its cultivation.

Although there was a limit to the number of water monsters Chang You could control, after countless years of selection and refinement, the power it now held was no small matter. Nearly every water monster possessed unique abilities or had been formidable in its lifetime. Moreover, as they were not truly alive, they feared neither death nor destruction. Even if shattered, they could be reformed by consuming soul power. With Chang You's fierce beast-level cultivation, each water monster it created was equivalent to a top-tier 50,000-year soul beast. And now, there were dozens of them swarming toward Chen Ming.

Among them, the strongest water monster radiated the aura of a 100,000-year soul beast—it was a Demonic Tiger Whale. Though its strength had diminished below that of a true 100,000-year soul beast due to losing its original body and being controlled by Chang You, its ferocity and fearless nature made it a threat comparable to a 100,000-year soul beast.

With this army of water monsters, even a 100,000-year soul beast would be suppressed in an instant. Against another fierce beast, caution would still be necessary. This was Chang You's most powerful innate ability.

This ability allowed Chang You to dominate the rich waters of this region. Even top-tier marine soul beasts like the Devil Spirit Great White Shark or Demonic Tiger Whale clans dared not invade its territory lightly. Though it was alone, Chang You was the equivalent of an entire tribe—a tribe that was fearless, loyal, and grew stronger with every battle.

Thus, Chang You, a single fierce beast, reigned supreme over this bountiful sea. Not even groups of marine soul beasts could challenge its status.

Chen Ming, however, found this ability intriguing. Within the cores of the peculiar water monsters, he could sense the fusion of Chang You's spiritual essence with the souls and elemental energy of the original soul beasts.

Although Chang You seemed to merely pull the trigger to activate this ability without understanding its deeper principles, the skill was undeniably extraordinary and well-suited for Chen Ming.

The attributes of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Water shared certain similarities. The Ice Dragon King was also the Water Dragon King. While Chen Ming had a stronger affinity for ice due to absorbing the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, after his spirit rings were modified by the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, he had also gained a near-Ultimate Water attribute, though he rarely used it.

Chen Ming reached out into the void, lifting a large volume of seawater into the air. Infusing the water with his power and spiritual essence, he compressed and shaped it until it formed a five-clawed true dragon composed entirely of seawater.

Manipulating the water and infusing it with spiritual essence required little effort for Chen Ming, far less than compressing the seawater.

The water dragon, now imbued with a portion of Chen Ming's spiritual essence and the power of the Water Dragon King, opened its eyes and roared in midair.

Although it had no true consciousness or thoughts, the spiritual essence, and dragon power Chen Ming gave it endowed it with the traits and will of a purebred true dragon.

The water dragon roared and charged toward the water monsters. Its slender tail lashed out like a whip, shattering several monsters instantly and delivering a powerful blow to Chang You's spiritual essence. The unexpected pain sent a shiver through Chang You, who had never felt such an experience.

Like a tiger among sheep, the water dragon created by Chen Ming possessed the qualities of a true 100,000-year pureblood dragon, even surpassing it in some aspects. The water monsters created by Chang You shattered one by one under the dragon's claws and tail, each destruction sending a mental shock back to Chang You.

At first, Chang You could quickly recreate new water monsters to continue the fight. But as more monsters were destroyed and its spiritual essence was repeatedly struck, even with ample soul power, the speed at which Chang You could summon new creatures visibly slowed.

When only a few water monsters remained, Chang You gritted its teeth and began stirring the seawater faster and faster with its hands. The ocean waves grew even more violent, and the surrounding elemental energy became unstable, escalating from mere turbulence to a true natural disaster.

Chang You let out a roar, its soul power surging. A massive domain unfolded, greedily absorbing the water energy around it to replenish its lost strength.

This was Chang You's innate domain skill, Demonic Sea Domain. It could absorb and corrupt water elemental energy, enhancing its attributes significantly while restoring its soul power based on the amount of water present. Enemies caught within the domain would be suppressed, with the degree of suppression depending on their strength and the abundance of water elements.

On land, this domain might have been mediocre, but in the ocean, it was undoubtedly one of the most powerful domains. If not for the fact that using it consumed Chang You's essence, this ability, combined with its other powers, would allow it to face any marine fierce beast below the fourth tribulation head-on.

A colossal water monkey rose from the ocean, its soul power and spiritual essence surpassing that of all the previous water monsters combined. Its massive body radiated a savage aura. Standing atop a hundred-meter-high water tornado, it reached out to grab the water dragon, seemingly preparing for a desperate final battle.

However, Chen Ming, who had been watching Chang You closely, saw through its intentions. As soon as the gigantic water monkey appeared, Chang You dove into the sea without hesitation, fleeing into the distance at full speed. What appeared to be a fight was, in reality, a cover for its escape.