“Ah!” The Peacock Princess’ blood nearly froze when she saw this scene.

She wanted to save the Mermaid Queen, but the latter was too far away, not to mention that given her lacking cultivation, she couldn’t have made a difference even if she was beside the latter. She would have only been sliced in half as well.

“Big brother…” She anxiously turned to the mysterious man, wanting to know if he had any solutions. But to her astonishment, there was no one beside her.

“???”

She quickly realized what was going on and turned to the Mermaid Queen. Indeed, the man was already standing in front of the Mermaid Queen, holding her by the waist as the mountain-like silhouette of the Tranquility Bell suddenly enveloped the two of them.

When the Mermaid Queen was locked in place by the halberd and her attempts to resist it were unraveled one after another, what she felt in that instant wasn’t despair, but regret.

What a pity I still don’t know his name and appearance even till the very end…

Just then, a sturdy hand wrapped itself around her waist, and she sensed a familiar aura. Surprised but delighted, she raised her head and saw a familiar figure standing in front of her.

Pah!

The halberd was so powerful that the golden bell silhouette only stopped it for a brief moment before shattering into pieces.

But Zu An knew the Tranquility Bell he conjured wasn't a true deity-grade weapon and couldn’t withstand the halberd’s might… so he quickly conjured another Tranquility Bell inside before the previous one shattered.

Right after the halberd shattered the first Tranquility Bell, it crashed right into the second one.

Kacha!

The bell cracked and shattered within a second.

The halberd continued falling downward, only to encounter yet another bell.

…

The Ocean races’ experts were dumbfounded.

How many bells do you have?

That being said, they were awed by how he unhesitatingly confronted this overwhelmingly powerful halberd. That attack was strong enough to slice even the Four Dragon Kings’ sturdy bodies in half.

The halberd shattered bell after bell, but its momentum decreased with each layer. By the time it destroyed the last bell, it had already depleted its momentum, and only a strong gust of wind blew toward the stunned Mermaid Queen.

He actually neutralized that ridiculously powerful attack? If not to protect me, he wouldn’t have to use such a dumb method to receive the attack.

She looked at Zu An’s visage with tender eyes.

If only he wasn’t wearing that metal face mask.

Kacha!

Zu An’s mask cracked before shattering into pieces.

The Mermaid Queen was alarmed. Afraid that he had been injured by the halberd’s shockwave, she quickly tossed him a healing skill.

Zu An smiled at her. “I’m fine.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He felt awkward for having gone too far with his boasting. He'd wanted to precisely neutralize the halberd’s might with the shattering of his last Tranquility Bell, but he'd miscalculated and ended up suffering the shockwave. Р𝓪Νօ𝐁ÈŜ

Thanks to his cultivation, he was unharmed, but his face mask had shattered. That made him so embarrassed that his toes curled up.

On the other hand, the Mermaid Queen exhaled in relief upon learning he was unharmed, though she fell into a daze the next second. Redness slowly engulfed her beautiful face, as shyness overtook her usual poise.

Why does he pretend to be average-looking when he’s so dashing?

The Peacock Princess had been paying close attention, so she saw his appearance too. She fell into a daze as well.

So dreamy.

She envied her descendant’s luck.

Why don’t I have such good luck too?! How annoying.

It was only upon sensing the anomalous gazes that Zu An realized what had just happened. He quickly took out another face mask and put it on.

He had gotten careless, thinking there was no need to conceal his real looks since he had donned a metal mask. He figured no one could take off his mask without his permission anyway. Who could have thought he would be embarrassed so quickly?

It was just a brief slip, and the clashes between the halberd and the bells had produced a blinding light, so only a few experts managed to see his true face. Still, he couldn’t help but worry if the revelation of his appearance would result in irreversible changes to history.

While he was contemplating, the monster opposite him spoke with a thunderous voice. “Oh? You are surprisingly strong for someone who looks like a chick.”

“…” Zu An couldn’t deny that, given how hulking the other party was. He solemnly asked, “Who are you? Are you from the underworld?”

The Ocean races were shocked to hear the term ‘underworld’. It was a foreign term to them. Strictly speaking, they had heard of it from folklore, but none of them had thought it truly existed.

The humongous Ox Head guffawed. “You know the underworld? I guess you aren’t as simple as you look. Who are you?”

“I have ties with your underworld. May I know who your current ruler is?” Zu An asked, curious to know if the Necropolis Emperor was currently residing there.

Is my future authority not taking effect because he’s still around?

The Mermaid Queen glanced at Zu An.

Isn’t he from the future? How is it that he has ties with the underworld? Is he dead? Is that the true reason he’s averse to me?

That thought scared her. However, she quickly refuted that conjecture. She found it hard to believe that he was dead when his hands were this warm.

“Our Shaman races are the rulers of the underworld! Hmph, we finally have a chance to make a comeback after so many years. The Fiend races shall pay for the despicable deeds they committed back then with their blood!” As he spoke, the Ox Head got more excited, to the point where he started howling and his eyes turned red once more.

The other monsters began roaring frenziedly, as if they had just recalled painful memories.

“This isn’t good. They have gotten even stronger!” the Mermaid Queen exclaimed in horror.

The Ocean races had barely fought the monsters to a draw earlier. It would be highly disadvantageous to them if the monsters went on a rampage now, and the presence of the mountain-like Ox Head expert didn’t help either.

Meanwhile, Zu An fell into deep thought.

Shaman races? Why would there be Shaman races in the underworld? What’s going on?

While he was in a daze, several more massive hands shot out from the gorge. Three more monsters who were as big as the Ox Head climbed out. They resembled the monsters on the battlefield—a Horse Face, a Golden Cangue General, and a Silver Chain General.

The four monsters boasted physiques comparable to Mojard’s massive beast form. Their stature blocked off the sky, exerting tremendous pressure on those beneath.

The hearts of the Ocean races plummeted. Despair began seeping into their hearts.