The moment he entered the seawater, Bai Ye felt his limbs go limp.
He couldn't swim!
He felt utterly powerless, his body incredibly heavy, constantly sinking downwards.
"Damn Devil Fruit!"
Those who consumed a Devil Fruit were cursed by the sea, forever unable to swim.
At this moment, Bai Ye felt utterly wretched. He had only spoken carelessly, and his usual prayers for a golden gacha pull had never come true. Yet, when he spoke of bad luck, it manifested.
As Bai Ye thought this, he struggled to open his eyes, hoping for his Lapras to appear. He was disappointed.
Lapras wasn't unwilling to save Bai Ye, but it was unable to.
Lapras tried its best to swim downwards, but the turbulent currents tossed its body about, preventing it from getting close to Bai Ye.
"This is it!"
Bai Ye sighed in his heart, but at this moment...
"Hidden quest 'King of the Seas' triggered."
"You have received a hidden quest."
"As the King of the Seas, you possess the sea's power and favor, but you must also face challenges. In the deep sea, countless terrifying existences covet you, wanting to kill you and seize the sea's power from you."
"Therefore, you must always be prepared to face their challenges."
"Quest: Defeat ten sea beasts. Quest reward: 5 points to all physical attributes except intelligence x1."
...
Bai Ye felt numb. At a time like this, it was actually giving him a hidden quest?
Wasn't this just asking for trouble!
It was like having just undergone surgery, and his wife shouted, "I want it!"
However, with the hidden quest appearing, Bai Ye remembered he had something good.
"Wrathful Sea Scale Might!"
Wrathful Sea Scale Might (Weapon) (Armor) (Gold): A weapon and armor forged from the souls of sea beasts, a symbol of the King of the Seas. From this day forth, if you do not yield to the abyss, then fight until death!
Bai Ye let out a low roar, and immediately, the seawater around his body was pushed aside.
A set of blue-green armor appeared on Bai Ye's body.
The next instant, the surrounding seawater parted, forming a vacuum-like space. Bai Ye even found that he could walk directly in the sea.
King of the Seas (The surrounding waters shall fear their king; you can move unimpeded in the sea.)
"Aha!"
Bai Ye's eyes lit up. He then bent his knees, exerted force, and shot upwards.
The next instant...
With a boom, the sea surface erupted with a loud noise as Bai Ye broke through.
Arriving on the surface, the sky was still dark, with wind and rain all around.
Waves churned and crashed, making noise.
Suddenly, an astonishing depression appeared on the sea surface, with countless waters pouring into it. Then, an incredibly massive octopus slowly emerged from the depression.
Its enormous tentacles thrashed wildly in the air before lunging towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye, falling through the air, watched the approaching giant octopus tentacle. His body suddenly transformed into lightning.
With a crackle!
Accompanied by a flash of electricity, Bai Ye's body vanished.
When Bai Ye reappeared, he was directly above the giant octopus's head.
Bai Ye reached out and clenched his fist in the air. A golden halberd appeared in his hand.
Then...
Bai Ye raised the halberd and struck down!
Sea Breaker (A halberd blade forged from the souls of sea beasts. If used in the sea, it can break through the sea with triple its power.)
As the halberd fell, the octopus tentacle that had been lunging at Bai Ye was instantly sliced in two. Then...
Rumble!
The sea surface suddenly split open, with a central section being brutally cleaved apart.
As the sea surface was split by the strike, a rift appeared on the giant octopus's body. Its massive form was then cut in half and crashed into the sea.
A large volume of seawater surged upwards, tens of meters high, before fanning out in all directions.
"Current sea beasts defeated: 1/10"
Bai Ye descended from the air and heard Lapras's voice.
The churning waves kept pushing Lapras's body away.
Bai Ye quickly reached out, and the surrounding seawater instantly calmed, becoming placid. Then, Bai Ye landed steadily on Lapras.
Bai Ye looked at the armor on his body, a look of amazement on his face.
This thing was quite amazing!
Wrathful Sea Scale Might, with its armor and weapon integrated, would normally not reach gold quality in terms of its effects. At most, it would be at the borderline between gold and red quality.
But...
In the sea!
Bai Ye found this thing to be somewhat invincible. Not only was the attack power of Sea Breaker tripled, but the King of the Seas effect allowed Bai Ye to move freely in the sea. Moreover, Bai Ye could clearly feel his spirit connecting with the surrounding seawater.
Sea Soul (When fighting in the sea, you can manipulate seawater to fight. The amount of seawater manipulated and the power of the seawater attacks depend on your spiritual power.)
Because he had always been on land, Bai Ye had never experienced the effect of Sea Soul.
But now, Bai Ye felt it.
It was terrifying!
Apart from not being able to elementalize his body, Bai Ye felt as if he were using the abilities of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
In fact, the Sea Soul effect could indeed be understood as giving Bai Ye an additional ability – the manipulation of seawater.
However, this ability was environment-specific, only usable in ocean areas, not rivers or lakes.
As Bai Ye thought this, he reached out in front of him...
Rumble!
The sea surface seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, suddenly letting out a loud roar. Then, a water spout twenty to thirty meters high shot up into the sky.
Bai Ye grinned, looking at his palm, feeling quite good about it.
But at this moment...
A huge dark shadow swam past beneath the sea surface.
Lapras was very sensitive and seemed to have sensed something immediately, crying out quickly.
"Huh?"
Bai Ye looked down.
Suddenly, the sea surface that had just calmed began to undulate continuously.
The next instant, the sea surface bulged with a massive water bag, lifting Lapras and Bai Ye into the air.
As the seawater slowly descended, a large black fish suddenly appeared, its gaping maw revealing rows of fine teeth, looking extremely ferocious.
Bai Ye frowned. Again?
Seeing the big fish approaching him, Bai Ye abruptly waved his hand downwards.
The seawater that was falling downwards suddenly suspended in mid-air, transforming into water arrows that pierced towards the black fish.
Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff...
In the blink of an eye, the black fish's body was completely pierced.
...