Chapter 538 - The Fourth Ultimate Dark Form

On the deck, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix was standing to Whale King Arlington's right. As always, he was clad in a white trench coat, his bearing both elegant and formidable.

However, the arrogance that had once clung to him at every moment as well as the contemptuous glint between his brows had vanished without a trace. Clearly, the defeat and brutal fight a few days earlier had dealt Holy Fist Demon Phoenix a heavy blow.

He had once believed himself foremost beneath the realm of Holy Fist! He had been unexpectedly crushed by Cassius of the Golem Sect. At the level of an extreme combat artist, the sheer amount of Qi was no longer the main factor determining combat power.

The Will of the Fist and the path of one's fist technique were paramount. It didn’t just represent potential but immediate fighting strength. Take Whale King Arlington for example. Though he had only broken into the extreme combat artist realm a few years ago, he had already traveled a considerable distance along that road.

The key was that he had comprehended his own path of the Dominator Fist and, whether deliberately or not, had begun challenging masters of every sect in the United States of Anna until he swept through an entire nation's Covert Martial Arts community.

After that, he even crossed the seas to the Hongli Empire, and had been planning to challenge the Blue Star Empire next. His Will of the Fist was on the path to being tempered ever sharper with every battle.

At the close of the exchange tournament, Whale King Arlington's all-out ultimate move during his duel with Cassius had already come within a hair's breadth of matching Holy Fist Demon Phoenix.

Holy Fist Demon Phoenix had been an extreme combat artist for decades and his Qi stood just beneath Holy Fist. That Arlington could compare with, or be only a step or two behind Holy Fist Demon Phoenix spoke volumes.

For an extreme combat artist, finding one's own path was crucial; adhering to it unwaveringly was even more so. Clearly, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix could do neither. He was the deputy leader of the Gate Organization and served Xiadu. That alone doomed him to lack even the right to glimpse the realms of Holy Fist, Dominator Fist, or Ultimate Fist!

How could one who had betrayed his human identity attain the realm of Holy Fist, the epitome of humanity's peak? That had nothing to do with whether one’s character was good, evil, neutral, or chaotic.

Even if Holy Fist Demon Phoenix honed his Covert Martial Arts to perfection and refined his Qi until it could no longer be compressed, the gate to the Holy Fist realm would never open to him for all eternity. Nonetheless, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix would not know this hidden truth unless someone pointed it out. Even if someone did point it out, he might still refuse to believe it.

Thus, he had been pondering why he had lost to Cassius for almost a week . Finally he reached a conclusion: Covert Martial Arts. The Covert Martial Arts he trained was inadequate!

He recalled what the First General King had mentioned to him in a letter. An incomparably powerful Holy Fist had left behind a Covert Martial Arts inheritance within the ancient ruins of the Eternal Archipelago.

This was clearly an opportunity...

If he could obtain that fist technique, perhaps the bottleneck he had faced in recent years could be broken and his strength could begin to grow once again. Then, he would have the ability to take revenge on Cassius.

For this reason, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix deliberately deployed one of the Gate Organization's still-immature dark creature technologies. He took out the corpse of the previous deputy leader and followed the rituals devised by the Florence dark creature test site. He successfully used an Arcane Stone Tablet to connect to an origin of calamity.

He then mutated the former deputy leader's remains with a high concentration of calamity. At the same time, using the Qi lingering in the corpse, he also summoned the deputy leader's spirit from the World of Calamity.

The mutated corpse and the chaotic spirit combined, becoming the Gate Organization's former deputy leader, Armor Ghoul. That was the figure draped in a black robe standing on Holy Fist Demon Phoenix's right. He stood motionless, like a rigid statue. Cold air drifted from his sleeves and collar, exuding an eerie, dark aura.

In the Gate Organization's original plan, deputy leader Armor Ghoul was supposed to be completely resurrected through the experiment. He would regain his mind and move freely among the living. However, the final result was far from perfect.

The current Armor Ghoul was closer to a war machine branded with Covert Martial Arts. He fought by instinct, guided intermittently by Holy Fist Demon Phoenix's commands. But in any case, it was a top-tier reinforcement. He was a passable replacement for the First General King.

Of course, Armor Ghoul's significance went beyond that. As the first deputy leader "revived" by the Gate Organization, he served an extremely important role in the experiment. In time, the technology would mature, improving step by step. Perhaps one day true resurrection could be achieved.

***

The sea breeze blew and the hull rocked. Two days passed in a flash as the fleets of many sects gradually approached the Eternal Archipelago.

Originally, the Hellsing of Black Rain Manor had set out first. However, they had deviated from their route midway and lost some time. Moreover, the combat artists of the Covert Martial Arts world used fast warships. Thus the combat artists' fleet were the first to arrive in the region of the Eternal Archipelago.

The real danger was about to begin.

Several white sails drifted leisurely on the endless azure sea like snowy feathers. From far above, they appeared tiny. It was only upon closer look that one would realize that those sails belonged to towering warships.

On the damp bow, a figure in a black coat gazed into the distance. Cassius rested one hand on the rail, feeling the boat sway side to side. He slowly lifted his head and surveyed the sky where a few white clouds gently floated by.

A seagull skimmed past, flying away from the fleet. A few seconds later, more and more seagulls followed.

"Something's coming..." Cassius lowered his head, every hair on his body bristling. He could sense a vague unrest in the air. Something dangerous was steadily gathering strength.

Five minutes later, the sky suddenly darkened and everyone could clearly feel the change in atmosphere. Looking up again, they saw massive dark clouds, as though soaked in ink, spreading across the sky. They looked heavy, like swollen, dripping sponges.

"We're in the storm belt now!" On deck, the former navy navigator shouted. His seasoned instincts told him something big was coming.

No sooner had he spoken than a bolt of lightning split the sky, cleaving the clouds in two. The lightning struck the distant sea, forming a bluish-purple lightning tree. It looked like a gigantic tree with numerable branches rising from the ocean into the sky.

Boom!

Thunder roared through every eardrum and directly to the brain. It felt like sitting quietly on the first floor while a dozen iron balls suddenly collided overhead. The clanging was truly frightening.

These were signs of a storm!

The veteran fishermen reached that conclusion at once and warned the crew to prepare. The warships' sails were quickly furled, leaving bare masts standing.

The sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

An old fisherman stood on deck, his weathered face staring blankly at the sky. His mouth hung slightly open, utterly shocked. The thick black cloud layer continued descending from the sky. It blocked the sun and sight alike like a giant hand from the heavens, ready to chop the whole sea to pieces.

It was a scene straight out of a myth.

"In more than twenty years at sea, I've never seen such a foreboding sign of an oncoming storm. The storm to come will be terrifying..." The old fisherman muttered.

Another sudden lightning bolt split the sky, making him shiver. Trembling, he scurried toward the cabin.

Only Cassius remained standing at the bow. His black cloak snapped and billowed like a rapidly swirling dark cloud. He cast a deep gaze toward the heart of the sea, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.

With Cassius's Golem Covert Martial Arts having advanced another step, his perception and sense of forewarning had improved again. Now, he was sensing malice. It seemed to come from the sky, from the ocean, from everywhere. This was not the threat of a natural disaster but human-made malevolence.

Was something hiding within the clouds and quietly watching him?

Crash, rumble...

Rain and lightning mingled while thunder roared. The sea wind blew harshly while rain crashed down like a waterfall, slapping them across the face. Raindrops as large as beans hammered the deck, splashing into hazy mist.

For a moment, everyone's eyes blurred.

Bam!

The waves charged toward them like an armored general leading a cavalry of ten thousand. The force of the waves made the ship sway madly. The surging seawater, whipped by the gale, rushed and tossed up white spouts that soared skyward.

From afar, it seemed like the sea and sky became one within the torrential rain. One could no longer distinguish where the ocean ended and the sky began.

Woooo...

A long, drawn-out howl rang out amid the noisy tempest. A couple of seconds later, another clearer howl sounded. They seemed to draw closer to the fleet with every occurence. After ten consecutive howls, the thing was almost upon the warships.

Layer upon layer of waves slapped against the vessels, nearly capsizing them.

"It's a sea monster! The devil ray! Damn it, I once swore I would never cross paths with that monster, but here it is..." The fisherman clinging desperately to the mast was filled with terror.

The devil ray he spoke of was a gigantic sea monster passed down in fishermen's tales for centuries. Legend said the creature was unimaginably huge, like an iceberg of flesh gliding along the seabed. It was said that several fleets had perished in its maw.

Cassius's feet seemed glued to the deck. He looked at the surging storm with a cold smile on his face.

Wooo...

Another long howl suddenly drew near.

"Quit the theatrics! Get out here!" Cassius leapt down, plunging into the water like an arrow. He spun like a high-speed drill, boring straight for the seabed.

Boom!

An explosive sound erupted from the ocean floor. Water surged up and the ships scattered in all directions. The water parted down the middle to reveal an open stretch.

Only then could everyone dimly see a massive dark shadow beneath the surface. The shadow was enough to cradle two entire fleets. It was a black, oppressive mass that inspired extreme dread.

"My god, sea monsters are real! The devil ray is real! That gigantic sea monster is active right here in the storm belt of the Eternal Archipelago!" An old fisherman cried, clutching a pole as his lips turned corpse-white.

"We're doomed!"

"I knew this money wouldn't be easy! Thirty voyages' pay, and in exchange I have to give my life!" The sailors too were in despair. They had heard the legend of the devil ray.

"Doomed?"

"Who is doomed?"

"It is that sea monster that is doomed."

"Heheh, meeting Golem Sect's Cassius can only mean one thing..."

One combat artist after another emerged from the cabins, ignoring the storm and the rocking ship, as they walked straight to the rail. They looked at the gigantic thing below. Though surprised, they showed no fear.

So what if it was a hundred-meter sea monster? So what if it was the legendary devil ray? Could it possibly be bigger or harder than a mountain?

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

After that international exchange tournament, many elders and sect heads had visited the mountain outside East Sea City. It had indeed been smashed apart with brute force!

"Do not panic, keep sailing. We will hold the storm back. Just focus on moving forward..."

The combat artists released their Qi. A vast and mighty presence exploded outward, enveloping the entire fleet. It forcibly kept the rain and the wind outside.

In an instant, the deck became calm, dry, and fresh.

The crew and guides raised their heads abruptly, looking at the manifestations of will that had appeared in the sky. Some were pristine full moons, while others were dazzling stars. Some were blood-red pupils, others blades of judgment. Some were glazed mythical beasts, and others towering colossus.

They brimmed with formidable intent and power, instantly suppressing the forces of nature.

Boom!!!

A sudden thunderous roar erupted from the sea like a volcanic explosion. A huge hundred-meter shadow burst from the water and skipped across the surface like a stone. It flew again and again, smashing against the sea with loud crashes.

A translucent irregular cavity appeared within the rain.

Swoosh!

A figure leaped from the water, chasing after the shadow at breakneck speed. Though he had started second, he arrived first, intercepting the devil ray in midair.

Boom!!!

The mythical sea monster was blasted apart in midair by a lone, tiny figure. Blood sprayed to every corner, dyeing a vast stretch of the sea red. Cassius seized something amid the bloody rain and then glided back to the warship's bow. His clothes remained dry and neat, as though nothing had happened.

He opened his palm and looked down. It was a pale root that looked like bone yet was actually plant matter. The piece in his hand was only thumb-sized yet, it was still wriggling slightly. In truth, this plant root had permeated every inch of the devil ray's body. Even its skeleton and nerves seemed to have been parasitized and controlled by this thing!

Cassius immediately activated his Golem Covert Martial Arts, devouring it entirely. White ash sifted down between his fingers.

He suddenly opened his eyes, an uncanny light flashing in his pupils.

"Ultimate Dark Form! There's an Ultimate Dark Form in the Eternal Archipelago!?"