INHA Chapter 29

The blood of the strange fish is stinky.

The audience watching the livestream was immediately astonished, yet felt it somehow made sense.

This mutated fish was clearly no longer an ordinary fish. Given its ugly appearance and the fact that it ate humans, it seemed reasonable for its blood to stink.

But it was unfortunate for the person with special abilities who was in the water. Being in such a foul-smelling blood lake would mean their entire body would be covered in blood.

Then, the spotlight happened to shine on that person.

The live audience, as well as the people on the cruise ship, realized that although the person was in the blood-filled water, the blood formed a circle avoiding that person.

This scene made many people get goosebumps instantly, feeling both shocked and puzzled.

Why was this happening? Was the fish blood afraid of this person?

Half of his body was submerged in the water, his wide clothes floating, and he wore a hat so large it covered most of his face, revealing only a delicate, fair chin, making everyone instantly realize that this person didn’t seem very old.

This only added to the sense of mystery.

No one dared to underestimate this mysterious young man for a moment.

As the young man slowly raised the fish spear in his hand, someone suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “His clothes are dry in the water?”

The crowd was in an uproar. Upon closer inspection, it was true. Not only were his clothes dry, but every part of him was completely dry.

“I get it! Maybe he can control water, and blood counts as water. He must be using his ability to keep the blood away,” a young man who often read online novels suddenly shouted.

Others looked astonished. But thinking carefully, it seemed quite reasonable.

It wasn’t just that young man. Many netizens in Zhao Ang’s livestream also realized this and started commenting to explain it, eventually summarizing it.

【It’s confirmed that this person must be a superhuman or an immortal cultivator.】

【Why don’t you say he’s a merman or the Sea King? That sounds more plausible. There are ancient legends about mermen. Maybe he’s really a merman, able to control water and good with a fish spear, fitting the Sea King image perfectly!】

【Isn’t it insensitive to joke around when these people are in danger?】

【Then what should we do? Should I kneel down and pray for their safety?】

【That’s not what I meant.】

Zhao Ang felt the fiercer the argument among netizens, the more popular his livestream was. He aimed the camera at Xu Dongyou and thoughtfully zoomed in, once again drawing exclamations from the commenters.

【I’m so jealous. Whether he’s an immortal cultivator or a superhuman, I wish I could be one of them.】

【Who wouldn’t want that? If I had such abilities, I wouldn’t have to endure my boss’s tantrums at work.】

Meanwhile…

Xu Dongyou raised the fish spear and attacked the strange fish once more. Whether it was an illusion or the keen perception from his demonic heritage, he couldn’t tell.

This fish, which still appeared very ferocious, seemed to be gradually losing its strength. However, the fleshy lump on its forehead made Xu Dongyou instinctively sense danger.

It seemed that to completely incapacitate the strange fish, the lump had to be dealt with.

As the fish’s strength waned, it suddenly turned and fixed its gaze on the fresh and defenseless “delicacies” on the cruise ship. With a swift flick of its tail, it launched itself from the lake’s bottom, leaping to the highest point.

The people on the cruise ship screamed in fear, unable to stop it. The only crew member with a ranged weapon quickly launched an attack.

With a swoosh, the arrow flew out, striking the large, easy-to-target fish right at its most severely wounded spot.

The fish screeched in pain, and the lump on its forehead contracted rapidly, spraying out an oily substance that quickly headed toward the crowd.

It splashed back into the water, creating a huge splash.

The people on the ship couldn’t run away in time and could only use whatever they had as shields to block the oily substance.

But some people reacted slowly, unable to avoid it.

Zhao Ang, preoccupied with the live stream, didn’t have anything to shield himself with. He watched in horror as the oily substance sprayed towards him, standing there frozen.

Xu Dongyou quickly conjured a water shield, though this time it was different from before. It formed an arc to prevent the oily substance from dripping down.

The oily substance was sprayed first, but Xu Dongyou’s water shield was faster, quickly blocking it. The arc-shaped shield grew larger and eventually became a water ball, completely enveloping the oily substance.

This way, there was no worry about any excess substance being sprayed out.

After all, this stuff was extremely dangerous. Even a single drop could cause unknown harm.

Then, Xu Dongyou controlled the water ball, throwing it as far away as he could manage. The oily substance quickly corroded the water ball, turning it into a strange, black solid.

The connection between Xu Dongyou and the water ball was completely severed. The solid ball quickly sank into the lake, disappearing.

The strange fish was furious, its eyes filled with unbridled hatred and murderous intent towards Xu Dongyou. It charged at him with great speed.

Xu Dongyou charged forward without hesitation. Inspired by the water ball from before, he conjured several water arrows and directed them at the fleshy lump on the strange fish’s forehead.

The density of the water balls was compressed to the extreme, and when they struck, they exploded. Though the destructive power wasn’t immense, the lump was the fish’s weakest spot, causing it to scream in pain continuously. This only made the fish even more ferocious, determined to fight Xu Dongyou to the death.

The captain, no longer able to be afraid, urged the crew to steer the boat closer. Imitating those behind him, he waved his clothes while shouting, trying to distract the strange fish.

Another crew member aimed at the lump on the fish’s head and fired. However, the lump was only the size of an apple, making it difficult to hit.

Additionally, the fish kept guarding itself, constantly shaking its head, further reducing the chances of a successful shot.

Although the fish was large, everyone noticed that its intelligence hadn’t increased with its brain size. Despite Xu Dongyou holding its attention, the fish was easily distracted by the captain’s noise and the occasional arrow, making it angrily charge at the commotion.

Taking advantage of this, Xu Dongyou quickly gathered water and landed on the fish’s head. As the fish struggled to shake him off, Xu Dongyou swiftly thrust the fish spear into its head, using it to stabilize himself and avoid being thrown off.

He wanted to attack the lump directly, but the fish was too vigilant, and the small target was difficult to hit.

However, using his demonic powers was different.

Grasping the fish spear with his right hand, Xu Dongyou controlled the lake water around the fish with his left, expending nearly all his demonic energy to compress the fish’s head.

The fish thrashed its tail desperately, but its head was immobilized by the lake water.

Xu Dongyou advanced step by step, feeling his demonic energy depleting rapidly.

Everyone watched this scene, instinctively holding their breath in tension, afraid to disturb Xu Dongyou.

Zhao Ang, not foolish enough to shout at his livestream, controlled his excitement and focused his phone on Xu Dongyou. The comments were rapidly updating.

【Oh my god, how is he holding the fish in place?】

【It’s water; he can control water.】

【But the fish is huge, and its thrashing strength is immense. What kind of power is needed to control it?】

【Would kneeling and calling him “master” help? I want to learn from him.】

【Get lost, I was here first.】

【Master, is my kneeling posture correct?】

***

Xu Dongyou took five steps in one minute, while the captain steered the boat to assist. However, they lacked long tools and would have to swim to reach the lump on the fish’s head.

Fortunately, the only person on the boat with a ranged weapon still had four or five arrows left and began carefully aiming at the lump on the strange fish.

However, being an ordinary person without specific training, the first shot missed by quite a bit.

The captain, resisting the urge to curse, worried that the crew member would lose composure and perform even worse. He uncharacteristically offered encouragement, “Try again. You can do it this time.”

The crew member, nervously nodding, aimed again and pressed the trigger forcefully.

With a swoosh, the arrow hit right next to the lump, just missing the mark.

Everyone couldn’t help but sigh in frustration, some even pounding their chests in regret. It was so close, just a tiny bit off.

The crew member was drenched in sweat, feeling almost on the brink of collapse from frustration.

At that moment, Xu Dongyou took another step forward, grabbing the arrow and pulling it out. He couldn’t spare any demonic energy to summon another water ball, and there wasn’t time to retrieve the fish spear. Fortunately, he had the arrow. He clutched it tightly and fiercely stabbed it into the lump.

Then he twisted it.

The lump burst open like an abscess, releasing a greasy, foul-smelling substance. The stench filled the air instantly. Xu Dongyou, having held his breath in advance, didn’t blink as he pulled out the arrow and stabbed again.

The captain and others on the boat began to retch.

Even the people on the cruise ship, just thirty meters away, were affected.

Xu Dongyou continued until the lump completely deflated. With his last bit of demonic energy, he condensed water inside the fish’s belly and then made it explode.

The fish’s belly swelled up and finally burst with a loud bang, spraying chunks of flesh and innards everywhere. Everyone was covered in blood and was stunned.

Xu Dongyou’s demonic energy was completely depleted. As the fish struggled in pain, it flung Xu Dongyou high into the air, and he fell into the water, not resurfacing.

The captain quickly ordered the crew to steer the boat closer and jumped into the water without hesitation. Another passenger who was a good swimmer followed.

The fish, still barely alive, struggled desperately. But the more it thrashed, the more its innards spilled out. Finally, it gradually stopped moving.

It seemed to be dead.

The lake’s surface was almost entirely covered with innards and chunks of flesh, the stench so overwhelming that everyone started retching and vomiting uncontrollably.

Zhao Ang, vomiting as he held up his phone, shouted, “Look! The strange fish’s belly exploded. Look at all the fragments and innards floating on the lake!”

The scene was so bloody and shocking that even the live-stream viewers felt extremely uncomfortable.

However, more people were worried about the mysterious young man. After falling into the lake, he hadn’t resurfaced. They wondered if he was injured.

Fortunately, they saw the captain’s boat approaching the area where the young man had fallen. Someone eventually jumped into the lake to rescue him.

【He must be okay. I didn’t see him get hurt. How could he fall into the lake and not come up?】

【I guess he might be exhausted, maybe out of strength?】

【What should we do then?】

In fact, Xu Dongyou had never been a good swimmer. After awakening his demon clan bloodline, his swimming skills had worsened. If it weren’t for the “Water Evasion” technique, he wouldn’t have dared to jump into the water to help.

Now, his demonic energy was completely depleted. As he sank, he started flailing desperately, wishing he could transform into his original form, which might help him float with his feathers.

He had many talismans and tools in his pocket, including some self-defense items given by Elder Chen, but none of them could solve his imminent drowning crisis.

Xu Dongyou struggled to stay afloat with a frog stroke, but for some reason, it wasn’t working at all.

Finally, two figures dove into the water from a distance, racing towards him. Seeing them, Xu Dongyou flailed more energetically. The two swimmers quickly reached him and each grabbed one of his arms, pulling him up.

Xu Dongyou remembered that drowning people tend to instinctively cling to their rescuers, potentially causing both to drown. He tried to control this instinct rationally until the two rescuers pulled him to the surface. The three of them gasped for air simultaneously, only to be hit by the unbearable stench, which brought tears to their eyes.

It was so foul!

The captain couldn’t help but swim a few strokes away, finally succumbing to dry heaving.

Xu Dongyou, feeling like he was facing a great enemy, was pulled further away by the other rescuer until they reached the small boat, where he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Dongyou, completely drenched and uncomfortable, sat there, his mind blank from the stench.

He felt utterly overwhelmed by the smell.

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