Chapter 33: Before his true qi is completely exhausted, there is no guarantee he can kill all of us!

"Everyone, don't panic! We are in the ocean! Land creatures don't know how to swim; they're total landlubbers who can't exert any strength here! Even if he really is a brown bear, once he's in the sea, he still has to tuck his tail between his legs!"

The shark spirit immediately shook its body, transforming into a massive, ten-meter-tall shark monster to block the imposing aura emanating from the brown bear.

And honestly, with its huge fins and mouth full of teeth opening and closing with a constant chattering motion, it actually looked quite fierce.

"Exactly! So what if he's a human grandmaster? We have the numbers!"

"He won't necessarily be able to wipe us all out before his true qi runs out!"

"Charge!"

Pumped up as if high on adrenaline, the great demons transformed one after another. In an instant, five or six towering sea monsters, each over ten meters tall, appeared around the brown bear, baring their claws and roaring wildly.

Yet, despite being pumped full of adrenaline, not a single one actually dared to charge forward!

For a moment, all the great demons exchanged awkward glances.

These marine great demons were different from those on land. Land-bound monsters, hiding in the wilderness or bustling cities, frequently interacted with humans and thus understood just how formidable a human grandmaster could be.

Even land monsters had plenty of contact with humans before reaching the level of great demons, and they had access to comprehensive information and intelligence.

Not so for the denizens of the deep. Except for a tiny minority of marine races like the mermen who had regular dealings with humans, the vast majority faced severe communication barriers, let alone any exchange of information.

Consequently, marine monsters only truly ventured onto land after reaching the status of great demons, and the knowledge they acquired was relatively one-sided.

Moreover, once they became great demons, they naturally lacked the patience to systematically study human knowledge, treating such trips merely as a way to broaden their horizons.

Take the fake dragon god, for instance. It had spent a fair amount of time mingling among humans and had learned quite a bit, but it had become hopelessly addicted to popular pulp fiction.

The other great demons were in a similar boat—lacking systematic education, they simply picked up a bit of knowledge here and there.

Besides, being great demons, everyone cared about saving face; none of them would lower their pride to discuss their study insights with others.

If some fledgling marine creature came along to inquire about the human realm, these great demons would simply answer according to their mood, or lazily mention whatever left the deepest impression.

And then, nobody knew when it started, but every marine great demon that had ever visited the land returned with the exact same consensus:

1. Human grandmasters are terrifyingly savage—eight feet tall with an eight-foot waist, capable of tearing off your skull with their bare hands, and the kind who can polish off eight bowls of rice in a single meal!
2. Human grandmasters are absolute romantics with mush for brains! The completely unreasonable kind!

As for why such a notion existed, well, that was simply how it was written in martial arts rumors and pulp novels!

Anyway, the more these stories spread, the more subsequent marine great demons who visited the land dared not challenge grandmasters, relying solely on fragmented gossip heard from market-stall novels. And those novels... well, you understand.

So whenever these marine great demons returned and were questioned by others, they would put on an inscrutable expression and reply loftily:

"Human grandmasters? Not bad at all!"

In truth, apart from recently acting like a wandering vagrant roaming the world, the Sword Saint had been cooped up at the Divine Sword Manor for over a decade. Challenging him would have been quite easy.

Moreover, the Duke's Manor belonging to his old man actively welcomed challengers looking to beat up the family's doorstep.

Yet for all these years, they had never even heard of a sea demon attempting it...

Anyway, that was just how it was. Somehow, in the minds of the marine tribes, human grandmasters had been thoroughly demonized. And through endless retelling, even the great demons came to accept these absurd notions as absolute, unquestionable truth.

Thus, while they roared ferociously, not a single one dared to step forward and beat Ji Huo up.

Ji Huo waited for a moment. Finding it rather bizarre that these great demons shouted so arrogantly yet refused to make a move, but pressed for time nonetheless, he laughed heartily:

"Since you refuse to come up, I shall make the first move myself!"

With that, he circulated his profound arts, and the giant brown bear suddenly pressed one paw against the sky while slamming the other toward the earth!

As the two massive paws squeezed inward, a violent suction force burst forth from them, causing the surrounding seawater to rush frantically toward the giant bear's palms!

"Not good! He wants to pull us all in!"

The great demons, who had been standing on high alert, immediately scattered backward upon seeing Ji Huo's action. In a flash, their bodies moved like fish; despite the relentless pull of the surrounding currents, their fluid agility allowed them to easily slip away from the suction.

"Oh?" Ji Huo blinked, suddenly realizing that his Star-Pulling Hand wasn't very effective against marine monsters.

No, rather, it was because these monsters were in the ocean. They were far too familiar with the marine environment, and a casual flick of a tail allowed them to navigate the water effortlessly.

In contrast, he was entirely unfamiliar with the deep-sea environment and underwater combat. With the advantage shifting drastically against him, merely pulling the currents was not enough to pin them down, let alone drag them close.

"Oh?"

In the distance, the great demons who had managed to break free from the suction force regained their wits and exchanged bewildered looks.

"Doesn't feel all that strong, does it?"

"I could do that myself!"

"I shed my fish skin for this?"

"Wait, do you smell something musky?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

For a moment, the uproar among the great demons grew even louder, yet still no one stepped forward.

The shark spirit twitched the corner of its mouth, silently cursing these cowards in its heart.

Still, it wasn't a major issue. As long as they could stall Ji Huo until the Great King arrived, everything would be fine.

Noticing that an increasing number of marine creatures were arriving from afar to seal off the perimeter, Ji Huo rubbed his chin. Having roughly gauged the situation of these sea dwellers, he decided to stop wasting time.

He grinned, the brown giant bear twisting its mouth into a wicked, charming smirk.

The marine great demons, who had previously concluded that this landlubber wasn't all that impressive, felt their hearts skip a beat upon seeing the brown bear's crooked smile.

"Do you know what the biggest weakness of the marine race is?" Ji Huo asked with a grin, his pearly white teeth flashing brightly even in the pitch-black depths of the deep sea.

The massive brown bear formed by his condensed qi bared its own blindingly white teeth as well, its furry bear face plastered with an insidious grin.

"What?" Playing the straight man to perfection, the shark spirit couldn't help but ask.

Ji Huo's smile widened further. He clenched both fists and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Then, faint blue arcs of electricity began to crackle across his hair.

"It's that you're all in the sea!!!"

Laughing wildly, Ji Huo flung his arms wide open as blinding bolts of lightning coursed through his entire body.

In an instant, the fur of the giant brown bear transformed from earthy yellow to cyan, turning it directly into a towering thunder bear.

Accompanied by a deafening roar from the giant bear, countless bolts of lightning erupted from its body, spreading wildly outward with the bear as the center. There was no need to aim; the seawater simply conducted the electricity, turning the area into a massive fish-frying zone.

"Taste my hundred thousand volts! Wahahahahaha!!!"