Chapter 546: Fighting the Flood Dragons Alone
Ao Xinyan was extremely worried and swam upward, ready to fight alongside Zhang Ruochen no matter how dangerous it was. "Captain, let's fight them to the death. Even if we all perish together, so be it."
"Has Zhang Ruochen finally lost his patience?"
The four evil path experts from the Black Market looked up, their expressions filled with schadenfreude.
All the Ruins Realm warriors felt that Zhang Ruochen was simply seeking death by opposing the Flood Dragon Clan.
"Roar!"
That Flood Dragon commander roared furiously, its head shaking rapidly as it swelled, crimson scales sprouting across its skin as it transformed back into a massive dragon head.
Extending its claws, it appeared above Zhang Ruochen and bellowed, "Outer realm human, you ant-like scum, you dare strike me with a dragon tendon whip? I'll tear you apart limb from limb!"
Zhang Ruochen snorted coldly. "What of it if I did?"
"Crack!"
Zhang Ruochen lashed out with the whip again, striking the fleshy crown atop the Flood Dragon commander's head.
The Flood Dragon commander raised a claw to block the dragon tendon whip, but the force behind it was abnormally powerful. The whip wrapped around its claw and still landed on its crown.
The Flood Dragon commander screamed again and retreated backward.
Witnessing this, everyone was stunned, utterly baffled by what was happening.
Zhang Ruochen was only at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, yet he was beating the Flood Dragon commander—a being at the Fish-Dragon Sixth Change—like it was his grandson, leaving it powerless to fight back.
This was far too abnormal.
"How has the captain become so powerful?" Ao Xinyan was deeply puzzled and confused.
Cheng Yue Star Envoy pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood. "It's not that his power has increased, but that all of our power has decreased!"
"The water pressure of the sea is suppressing our cultivation and strength. However, Zhang Ruochen can control space, so he remains unaffected. If I'm not mistaken, Zhang Ruochen has been holding back, waiting for this very moment."
Ao Xinyan and Huang Yanchen suddenly realized the truth.
The Flood Dragon commander lunged at Zhang Ruochen, its sharp claws striking from both left and right simultaneously.
"Your speed is too slow!"
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen shot upward, slipping through the gap between the claws, and landed on the Flood Dragon commander's head.
Grabbing the fleshy crown with his left hand, he drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword with his other hand, dragging a long arc of sword light. With a twist of his wrist, he plunged it downward.
"Thud!"
The sword tip pierced through the thick scales and into the Flood Dragon commander's skull.
Zhang Ruochen swept the sword horizontally, his feet pushing off as he circled around the commander's head, slicing it clean off.
The entire sequence was clean and decisive, without any hesitation.
Seeing that a mere human had dared to kill a Flood Dragon commander, the Crimson Cloud Flood Dragons charged forward, surrounding Zhang Ruochen at the center.
"Roar!"
Four Flood Dragon commanders stood at four directions, leading the swarm, unleashing deafening roars of fury.
The scene was like a chaotic dance of dragons.
Though they were flood dragons, not true dragons, it was still a breathtaking sight.
Standing at the center of the flood dragon swarm, Zhang Ruochen held his sword alone. His jet-black hair floated like seaweed in the water. His handsome face showed no trace of fear, his eyes growing colder and sharper. He roared, "Kill!"
"Whoosh!"
He transformed into a blur, charging forward and landing beneath a Crimson Cloud Flood Dragon. He thrust his sword into its belly and dragged it forward.
With a tearing sound, the flood dragon's abdomen split open, its body cleaved in two.
The Crimson Cloud Flood Dragons were normally incredibly fast, but at a depth of fifteen thousand meters, they had become sluggish, unable to evade Zhang Ruochen's attacks.
A Crimson Cloud Flood Dragon at the Fish-Dragon Third Change could only move at a speed comparable to an Earth Extreme Realm initial stage martial artist.
In just ten breaths, Zhang Ruochen had slain seventeen Crimson Cloud Flood Dragons. The seawater was filled with massive dragon corpses sinking toward the bottom.
"Whoosh!"
Two Flood Dragon commanders at the Fish-Dragon Seventh Change charged forward simultaneously to stop Zhang Ruochen's slaughter.
One of them gathered power, its claws sparking with lightning, unleashing a burst of electric light at Zhang Ruochen.
Even in this environment, it could still wield lightning and unleash a powerful attack, showing just how formidable this Flood Dragon commander was.
On the surface, Zhang Ruochen would have been no match for it.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen pushed his arm forward, using his sword-controlling technique to launch the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Thud!"
The sword pierced through the electric light, skewering the commander's claw and plunging into its belly.
By the time the Abyssal Ancient Sword flew back, the commander's body had been severed in two at the center.
Just then, a powerful energy fluctuation came from above the seawater.
"Has the Black Bone Flood Dragon King finally lost its patience?"
Zhang Ruochen looked up, clearly sensing that the Black Bone Flood Dragon King had plunged into the water and was rushing downward.
The Black Bone Flood Dragon King was a sixth-rank savage beast, comparable to a Half-Saint.
Its power was a hundred times greater than even the strongest Flood Dragon commander.
Even with the water pressure suppressing its strength, Zhang Ruochen still couldn't hope to contend with it.
His only hope was to break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm's Supreme Extreme Realm.
Fast! Fast! Fast!
Zhang Ruochen was already very close to thirty million military merit points. He was just one step away from the Heavenly Extreme Realm's Supreme Extreme Realm, and could reach it at any moment.
Now, he was racing against time. He had to accumulate enough military merit points before the Black Bone Flood Dragon King arrived.
"Swish, swish!"
Zhang Ruochen split his focus, directing the Abyssal Ancient Sword to kill another Flood Dragon commander at the Fish-Dragon Seventh Change.
At the same time, he charged toward another Flood Dragon commander at the Fish-Dragon Sixth Change, unleashing a Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm strike at its head.
The commander tried to flee, but Zhang Ruochen grabbed it and pinned it under his foot.
"Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Sixth Palm: Divine Dragon Tribulation."
Zhang Ruochen's palm crackled with dozens of electric arcs, striking down onto its head.
The Flood Dragon commander screamed, its head splitting with bloody cracks.
Zhang Ruochen struck twelve more times in succession, finally piercing through its skull. White brain matter oozed out as seawater flooded its body. The commander was dead.
Elsewhere, the Abyssal Ancient Sword had severed the Fish-Dragon Seventh Change commander into nine pieces.
Thus, four of the five Flood Dragon commanders were dead, leaving only one at the Fish-Dragon Sixth Change.
That commander was terrified out of its wits and immediately fled upward, unwilling to face Zhang Ruochen.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Zhang Ruochen kicked off, churning up a wave of water as he gave chase.
Killing a Fish-Dragon Sixth Change commander would earn him four hundred thousand military merit points. With that, he might just cross the thirty million mark and trigger the resonance of the gods.
"Bold human, how dare you slaughter the Flood Dragon Clan!" The Black Bone Flood Dragon King's voice rang out.
At a depth of fifteen thousand meters, there was no light, only pitch-black darkness.
Suddenly, a holy light descended.
It was like a meteor streaking across the night sky, falling from the heavens.
The white holy light condensed into a massive handprint, crashing down toward Zhang Ruochen, who was chasing the commander.
Zhang Ruochen knew the Black Bone Flood Dragon King had arrived.
He remained calm, launching the Abyssal Ancient Sword in an arc that bypassed the holy light handprint, continuing toward the Flood Dragon commander.
At the same time, he channeled all his true qi into his palm, unleashing twelve palm strikes in succession, amplifying his power twelvefold to meet the attack.
The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm's fifth palm, Elephant Force Ninefold Stack.
Now that the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm had reached the Spirit-level Upper Grade martial technique tier, this palm's power had increased, allowing it to unleash a twelvefold attack, now called "Elephant Force Twelvefold Stack."
A martial artist at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection daring to exchange blows with a sixth-rank savage beast was an unheard-of marvel.
Yet, that marvel was unfolding before everyone's eyes.
"Zhang Ruochen... this is... this is..."
A Ruins Realm warrior at the Fish-Dragon Second Change could hardly believe his eyes, at a loss for words to describe his shock.
There was no doubt that Zhang Ruochen would surely die, with no suspense.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen's palm strike collided with the holy light handprint above, producing a thunderous roar. A ring of ripples spread through the water, sending the surviving Crimson Cloud Flood Dragons and Ruins Realm warriors flying.
"Pfft!"
Even with the Dragon Pearl protecting his body, Zhang Ruochen was severely injured, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The palm strike sent him plummeting downward, falling over a thousand meters before he finally stabilized. Then, with a "wah," he spat out another mouthful of blood.
The Black Bone Flood Dragon King's strength was overwhelming. Even with the seawater suppressing its power, Zhang Ruochen was no match for it.
Still, surviving a single blow from the Black Bone Flood Dragon King was a remarkable achievement.
In the distance, a flood dragon's scream echoed.
Just then, the Abyssal Ancient Sword had severed that Flood Dragon commander's body, killing it.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen felt a mysterious and unfathomable power fluctuation from the heavens and earth, as if the gates of the divine realm had opened.
Could it be... had his military merit points truly reached thirty million, meeting the gods' requirements and breaking through the Supreme Extreme Realm's barrier?
A look of joy spread across Zhang Ruochen's face.
At that moment, the blood qi of all the Ruins Realm natives he had killed—in the Black Tortoise Ruins Realm, Wood Essence Ruins Realm, and Five Elements Ruins Realm—rose from the soil, the seawater, and the air, converging toward the nine heavens above.
Guided by a vast and incomprehensible force, a grand sacrificial ceremony, spanning the void and crossing all the Ruins Realms, had finally begun!