The Giant descended, now five hundred meters above the sea.
Ye Yu looked down from above, arms crossed, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
The Giant glared up, teeth clenched, as if Ye Yu was taunting him—How does it feel to be this angry?
He couldn't afford to keep raging. He needed to act fast—he couldn't hold his breath much longer. Regret gnawed at him. Back on land, he shouldn't have engaged Ye Yu in battle. He should have headed straight for the city.
That bastard planned this from the start, the Giant cursed inwardly. He knew the sea was his advantage and my weakness. He provoked me, kept mocking me, all to stop me from bypassing him and reaching the city. Once I was furious, he made sure I'd focus on killing him first—giving him the chance to knock me into the sea while we were still near the shore.
The realization only fueled his fury. Ye Yu had orchestrated everything. If not for that Phantom, I wouldn't have been blasted this far out to sea. That damned Dominion Country attack pushed me even farther from the city, trapping me in the water. And now Ye Yu is exploiting his advantage, forcing me deeper into the ocean.
His fists clenched tighter. Once I'm back on land, I'll grind Ye Yu's bones to dust.
Jin Mo and the others wore grim expressions—they had figured it out too, but it was too late now.
"Damn it, he can't hold his breath much longer."
"Don't tell me he's going to drown. That'd be humiliating."
"Ye Yu can't be allowed to pass. If he does, he'll definitely hit Level 30, even with his absurd leveling difficulty."
Wang Quanshi's voice was heavy. "He might even reach Level 31. The rewards from a Mystic Realm this challenging would be enough to skip levels entirely."
The thought made their faces darken. Level 30 was the dream of every Ability User—a turning point. Right now, the highest among them was only Level 29.
And they knew all too well—the jump from 29 to 30 was a steep hurdle. Without the opportunities a Mystic Realm provided, it would take them at least ten more days to break through.
Ten days wasn't long, but with everyone starting at the same time, those days mattered. Falling behind meant losing out on resources. In just a month, the two major rankings would open for participation—they had to hurry. That was why none of the top prodigies wanted Ye Yu to succeed.
Meanwhile, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew grew more excited.
"The Captain's a genius!"
"Just drown already."
"The Captain's strategy was flawless. No wonder he was confident joining this fight."
"Still, most of the credit goes to Han Ling. Without Phantom and the Captain's Dominion Country, they wouldn't have blasted him into the sea so perfectly, stripping him of his advantage."
Han Ling flushed at the praise, smiling sheepishly. "It was the least I could do. Ye Yu saved my life. He's my idol—and my Captain."
Xia Ling and Zhang Tian stared intently at the live feed, watching the Giant's face turn red from holding his breath, silently praying.
Just drown already.
Ye Yu dove from the sea's surface, crimson lightning coiling around his fist as he gathered power.
The Giant faced him, preparing to strike back—but at the last moment, he shifted to defense, a smirk forming in his mind.
"I'll feign an attack, then suddenly defend when you're about to hit me," the Giant thought, a smirk playing on his lips. "Because I know that to reach the surface, I need leverage from the seabed. I'm not an underwater species, so I can't propel myself by kicking off the water or swimming up. With you in my way, the only option is to push off the seabed with full force. So I'll use your attack to drive myself downward. If I tried to dive straight down, you'd anticipate and block me."
Pleased with his plan, the Giant gloated inwardly, "I'm such a genius. Ye Yu, after all the times you've pissed me off, it's my turn to outsmart you, to play you, to make you seethe."
The thought lifted his spirits considerably.
Many of the prodigies watching the live stream had caught on as well.
Lin Muxue's expression softened as she praised, "It seems this big oaf isn't completely brainless. Good. Now that he's reached the seabed, he needs to push up even harder. He was so close last time. While reaching shore immediately is impossible, he must surface for air soon—or he'll drown for real."
Jin Mo and the others also realized this and breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as the Giant was reveling in his cleverness—whoosh!—Ye Yu, who had been poised to strike at the Giant's head, vanished in a flash. In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of the Giant's crotch. With a full wind-up, he threw a devastating punch without making physical contact, channeling all its force squarely into the Giant's vulnerable area.
The Giant had no time to dodge or counter. His face twisted in horror as excruciating pain erupted—unlike anything he'd ever felt. Given the sensitive location and the Giant's sheer size, the impact was magnified.
"AAARGH!"
The agony was so intense that every male viewer instinctively clenched their legs in sympathy. A hit there was incomparably more painful than anywhere else.
The Giant was sent flying backward, crashing into the barrier before sliding down. Despite his resolve not to scream, the pain forced a howl from his throat—which promptly filled with a mouthful of seawater. Already on the verge of suffocation, the sudden gulp made his struggle even more desperate.
As he slid, the Giant caught sight of Ye Yu's mocking grin and nearly shattered his teeth in fury. He realized then: Ye Yu had seen right through him. He'd known the Giant planned to use his punch to reach the seabed, anticipated his defensive move, and then blindsided him with a strike to every man's weakest spot.
The revelation sent the Giant into a rage. His eyes burned crimson, veins bulging as he roared inwardly, "Once I get up there, I'll tear you to pieces!!"
Ye Yu, watching the speechless, apoplectic Giant, taunted with a laugh, "Thought you were so clever just now, didn't you? What a genius you are. Hahaha..."
The Giant planted his feet against the barrier and launched himself at Ye Yu with all his might. The shallower depth near the shore would make breaching the surface easier.
Ye Yu, of course, had foreseen this. Power coiled in his arms again, muscles swelling and veins standing out as he threw twin punches, simultaneously directing the surrounding water.
The force of his blows and the surging sea collided with the Giant's desperate strike. Once more, the seabed erupted as if struck by a miniature nuke. The ocean's surface exploded, sending fish and shrimp soaring hundreds of meters into the air before they rained back down in a chaotic cascade.
At the point of impact, there was a brief stalemate before Ye Yu was sent flying back fifty meters. The Giant slammed into the barrier again, realizing this approach wouldn't work. Ignoring Ye Yu, it swiftly dove toward the seabed—it couldn't hold its breath much longer and needed to surface immediately.
Ye Yu continued attacking from the side, but the Giant endured the blows, its body aching even more. Its sole focus was reaching the seabed. Upon arrival, it withstood several more heavy strikes from Ye Yu before bending its legs and pushing off the ocean floor with all its might, launching itself back toward the surface. If it couldn't breathe this time, it would truly drown—it was fighting for its life.