By the shores of Hanhai City, the seawater at night took on a deep bluish-black hue, with waves lapping against the shore. The sound of the wind mingled with the crashing of the waves, creating an atmosphere that was both mysterious and terrifying.
Perhaps due to the recent havoc caused by the sea soul beast, there wasn't a single person within hundreds of meters of the shoreline.
The fishing boats that should have been moored by the shore were now dragged onto land, left unattended and scattered haphazardly.
Fang Chang took a closer look at the seawater in front of him and gently dipped one of his spider legs into the water.
"Ugh," Fang Chang shivered as soon as his leg touched the water, quickly pulling it back. The seawater at night was freezing!
Although he had the "Cold Resistance" skill and wouldn't be harmed by the cold, the sensation was still very real.
After several attempts, Fang Chang's body gradually adapted to the low temperature of the water, and he slowly began to walk deeper into the sea.
Thanks to his "Underwater Breathing" skill, he didn't have to worry about being restricted while moving in the water. In a way, he could be considered half a sea soul beast.
Fang Chang continued to walk further and deeper into the sea.
Soon, he reached a spot dozens of miles offshore, roughly where the old man had said the sea soul beast was first sighted.
The water here was about ten meters deep, and combined with the darkness of the night, the underwater environment was even murkier than the surface. He couldn't see anything clearly.
But at least from where he was on the seabed, there didn't seem to be anything unusual, nor were there any particularly large sea soul beasts.
Let's keep going, Fang Chang sighed inwardly, maintaining his "Stealth" state as he ventured further into the sea.
Since he didn't know the situation of his opponent and the underwater environment was unfamiliar to him, he didn't dare to be too conspicuous.
Hmm? After walking another dozen or so miles into the sea, Fang Chang finally realized something was wrong.
Throughout his journey, he hadn't encountered a single sea soul beast, not even an ordinary fish. While it could be a matter of probability, it seemed too coincidental.
At that moment, he caught a glimpse of a massive shadow moving toward him under the faint moonlight filtering through the water.
Fang Chang cautiously hid to the side, quietly observing the shadow.
The seawater was too dark, and with the waves rising and falling, the moonlight flickered in and out. If it weren't for Fang Chang's six extra eyes, he wouldn't have noticed the creature.
As it got closer, Fang Chang gradually made out the creature's true form.
Its body was slender and short, about two meters long, but from its body extended eight appendages—whether they were tentacles or legs—each over ten meters long.
These appendages looked incredibly unnatural on its body, yet there they were.
A bit closer, and Fang Chang could finally use the "system" to see its stats.
Race: Sea Spider
Soul Power: 83,000 years
HP: 33,181
Strength: 6,992
Attack: 6,871
Defense: 5,665
Speed: 3,481
A sea spider? Fang Chang was surprised. So there were relatives of his in the sea too? Though this one looked quite different!
And it seemed to be female.
Could this be the sea soul beast the villagers were talking about? Fang Chang grew curious.
An eighty-thousand-year soul beast, while not comparable to a hundred-thousand-year one, could still easily overpower most Soul Douluo-level human Soul Masters, especially with the natural advantage of being in the sea.
If this was indeed the creature, it made sense that the Spirit Hall said only a Title Douluo could handle it.
If it had been an octopus, as the villagers described, it might have been easier. But now that he saw it was a fellow spider, and only an eighty-thousand-year soul beast, Fang Chang hesitated.
He was only about 20,000 years away from facing the heavenly tribulation, but to meet the evolution conditions, he still needed to devour three hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
This essentially meant he could only devour hundred-thousand-year soul beasts from now on, carefully calculating the increments to ensure he didn't trigger the tribulation before he could evolve.
After thinking for a while, Fang Chang decided to greet this giant creature first and then make a decision.
He took a few steps forward, temporarily deactivating his "Stealth" state, and used his "Telepathy" skill to communicate with the sea spider. "Hello, fellow spider in the sea."
The sea spider seemed not to hear Fang Chang's voice, continuing to move forward on her own. In just a few steps, her long legs had already stepped over Fang Chang's position, completely ignoring his presence.
This... Fang Chang felt a slight irritation at being ignored. He tried again, this time using one of his shield-like forelegs to touch one of the sea spider's long legs.
The sea spider paused slightly, turning her head to glance down at Fang Chang from above, then turned away and continued walking, still ignoring him.
Despite her small body, her legs were nearly twice as long as Fang Chang's, and with both of them sinking slightly into the soft mud of the seabed, the height difference became even more pronounced.
From the outside, it looked like a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy looking up at a two-meter-tall giantess.
This unbalanced "height difference," combined with her attitude and demeanor, made her seem aloof and unapproachable—or, to put it another way, "arrogant."
Fang Chang took a deep breath, suppressing his rising anger. In all his time in the Douluo world, this was the first time a spider had dared to act so arrogantly toward him!
This time, he quickly moved in front of the sea spider, blocking her path. "Fellow spider, didn't you see me?"
But... the sea spider looked at him, then raised her legs even higher, stepping right over him and continuing on her way, still ignoring him.
Fang Chang was now thoroughly furious. How should he deal with such an arrogant sea-dwelling relative? Even if he didn't eat her himself, he could take her back to feed his offspring!
With this thought, one of his shield-like forelegs swung toward one of the sea spider's long legs, creating a "swishing" sound as it cut through the water.
The sea spider instantly sensed the attack from below and instinctively lifted the targeted leg, narrowly avoiding Fang Chang's strike. Then, her eight eyes glowed red as she looked down at him.
Fang Chang was also surprised. Based on his calculations, this attack should have been enough to break one of the sea spider's legs.
After all, although their soul power was similar, her attributes were far inferior to his.
But the speed of his attack was significantly slower than on land, and its power was reduced by more than half, allowing her to dodge.
Right, he hadn't accounted for the resistance of the water. Fighting in the sea would require some adaptation before he could move as freely as on land.
But the sea spider clearly wasn't going to give him time to adapt. Her eyes flashed red, and four water arrows formed in the surrounding seawater, shooting straight toward Fang Chang's body.