That sea soul beast was only the beginning.
Soon, as the battle continued, the second, the third, and then more and more sea soul beasts fell beneath Bai Chen's hands.
During this process, he finally understood why evil soul masters advanced so quickly.
In just ten minutes of combat, his soul power had already risen by an entire level, reaching Level 23.
He was confident that if he truly let himself loose and slaughtered without restraint, then as long as he didn't die prematurely, reaching the level of someone like Dark Blood Demon, becoming a Super Douluo before the age of twenty, would be effortless.
Power was simply too easy to obtain.
Devouring was indeed one of the most direct and efficient methods of cultivation.
It was dangerously addictive.
Because of that, when Bai Chen killed the twentieth soul beast, he suddenly stopped.
"…Young Master."
Xue E looked at Bai Chen, who was covered in blood, unsure of what to say.
Not far away, Xu Xiaoyu and Xu Xiaoyan also wore complicated expressions. Clearly, Bai Chen's sudden burst of ruthless slaughter had frightened them.
Bai Chen took a deep breath and waved his hand at Xue E.
"Uncle Xue, I'm heading back to the ship first."
He couldn't keep killing.
If he continued, the will of slaughter would eventually seize control of his mind.
Fortunately, after the intense killing just now, Bai Chen felt that the agitation from the evil attribute had subsided somewhat. At least now he didn't feel physical discomfort if he stopped killing.
Turning around, he began walking toward the hunting ship.
"Young Master, watch out!"
At that moment, he suddenly heard Xue E's panicked shout.
At the same time—
The ice beneath his feet cracked violently.
A massive mouth burst upward through the shattered ice, lunging straight at him.
Ten-thousand-year soul beast.
Bai Chen made the judgment almost instantly.
Perhaps because he was standing at the edge of life and death, his brain began operating at an unprecedented speed.
Options flashed through his mind one after another.
Block it?
Impossible. He didn't currently have the strength to confront a ten-thousand-year soul beast head-on.
Wait for help?
Also impossible. Xue E was still some distance away. By the time he arrived, Bai Chen would already be inside the beast's stomach.
Dodge?
No. The enemy was simply too fast. He couldn't escape its attack range.
Strategy after strategy flashed through his mind in an instant.
Then he made a decision.
If the enemy is too fast to dodge…
Then I'll just stop it.
"Tick… tock… tick… tock…"
For a brief moment, Bai Chen seemed to hear the ticking of a clock.
Colorless energy surged outward.
The surrounding space warped slightly.
As yellow light burst forth, Bai Chen's first soul skill activated.
The sea soul beast froze in midair.
It was as if someone had pressed a pause button on time itself.
The effect lasted only one second.
After that second passed, the beast regained its freedom and continued its attack exactly as before.
But in a battle like this—
one second was enough to determine life or death.
During that single frozen second, Bai Chen did not retreat.
Instead, he landed directly on top of the beast's head.
The Evil God Hook stabbed deep into its eyeball.
Black mist surged outward, instantly corroding and devouring its brain.
For most creatures, the eyes were among the most fragile parts of their body.
If Bai Chen had attacked any other location, his hook would never have pierced the defenses of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
But even a ten-thousand-year beast couldn't protect its eyes from the corrosive power of the Evil God Hook.
In terms of raw strength, Bai Chen was far inferior.
But using his strongest attack against the enemy's weakest point—
The outcome was inevitable.
Victory was decided.
"ROOOAR—!"
Its brain being devoured by the black mist, the ten-thousand-year soul beast let out a miserable howl and thrashed violently.
Even at this point, it still had strength left to resist.
Massive waves of seawater surged toward Bai Chen, seemingly trying to smash both of them into pieces.
But at the critical moment—
Several flashes of silver sword light sliced through the air.
Within a single breath, the already heavily injured sea soul beast was cut into multiple pieces.
Xue E arrived just in time, holding a silver longsword, and finished the beast.
The corpse lost all resistance.
The portion still connected to Bai Chen's hook rapidly decayed under the devouring power, turning into dust.
A massive surge of energy poured into Bai Chen's body.
He could feel his soul power rise again.
He was now very close to Level 24.
"Young Master, are you alright?!"
Xue E's worried voice pulled Bai Chen back to reality.
He blinked in surprise before flashing a bright smile.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Thanks, Uncle Xue. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead."
"…"
Xue E stared at Bai Chen speechlessly.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never believe that the boy smiling brightly before him was the same person who had just delivered such a cold and calculated counterattack.
That calm, almost ruthless expression—
Even many veteran soul masters who had killed countless enemies didn't possess such composure.
If Xue E himself had been in that situation, he knew he would never have been able to react so perfectly within an instant.
It required reaction speed, analysis, courage, and judgment.
The qualities of a battle-hardened warrior.
But Bai Chen was clearly not a battle-hardened warrior.
Was he simply a natural-born combat genius?
Xue E's thoughts became increasingly confused.
Too many unbelievable things had happened today.
His mind could barely process them all.
"Brother Bai Chen!"
Bai Chen suddenly heard an urgent cry from behind.
Turning around instinctively, he caught Xu Xiaoyan, who had rushed forward and thrown herself into his arms.
Looking down, he realized she was crying uncontrollably.
She clung tightly to him, as if afraid he would disappear in the next second.
Bai Chen smiled bitterly and patted her back gently.
"Hey, don't cry so hard. See? I'm perfectly fine."
But his words had the opposite effect.
Xu Xiaoyan cried even harder.
Earlier, when she watched Bai Chen slaughter so many sea soul beasts with such cold efficiency, she had actually felt a little afraid.
To a six-year-old girl, such a scene was unimaginable.
For a moment, she even wondered if the person standing before her was still the gentle, humorous big brother next door, or some terrifying killing machine.
But when she saw him facing a ten-thousand-year soul beast in a life-or-death moment, that fear was instantly replaced by something even stronger—
Terror.
It was the first time she had seen someone close to her face death.
For that brief moment, she thought she was about to lose Bai Chen forever.
Thankfully, it lasted less than half a second.
Bai Chen immediately counterattacked and killed the beast.
Xu Xiaoyu also walked over, still shaken, and asked:
"What was that soul skill you used earlier? Why did it suddenly freeze in place when you activated it?"
Bai Chen gently patted Xu Xiaoyan's back and chuckled.
"My first soul skill…"
"It's called Time Freeze."