Chapter 6: Retaliation Without Mercy

At this moment, Shuisheng had already submerged beneath the sea. This area was a shallow coastal zone, with a depth of about 8 to 12 meters. He was very familiar with the local sea conditions; besides occasionally fishing nearby depending on the weather, he sometimes dove underwater to gather marine products like sea urchins, mussels, and oysters.

After diving in, he swiftly swam to the bottom of the boat and found a wooden plank that had been used to patch the forward side compartment. He pulled hard.

The plank came loose from the forward side compartment, along with several nails, revealing a bowl-sized hole. Seawater rushed into the cabin through the breach. A few days earlier, during a typhoon, he had been fishing offshore. In the storm, he accidentally strayed off course and the boat scraped against an unknown reef, leaving this hole. At the time, he urgently dove in and used this plank to temporarily seal the hole with nails. This was a makeshift fix, planning to take the boat to a shipyard for proper repair in a few days.

Faced with today’s situation, seeing that these men only barely knew how to swim, he steeled himself underwater and tore off the patch. “If you play me like this, I won’t let you off easily.”

Indeed, Shuisheng had never been a magnanimous person since childhood. He never forgave those who harmed him easily.

The roosters and geese that pecked at him in his youth mostly ended up in his belly.

The village dogs that chased and bit his backside and hind legs eventually became dog meat stew.

The wasps on the mountain that stung him — their entire nests paid the price for the reckless acts of a few.

The village children who bullied him, after being beaten until their faces were bloodied, had since avoided him for years.

This was how he, an orphan from a fishing village, had survived for fourteen years.

Now, these schemers had tricked their way onto his boat, murdered the law enforcers of the “Heavenly Court” organization right before his eyes, and sent accomplices to search his “home,” asking recklessly about his ties to the Yan family. They might even try to kill him next...

“You show no mercy, then don’t blame me for being ruthless.” He was willing to sacrifice this shabby boat and not let them have an easy time.

The fishing boat quickly sank to the seabed. The three uninvited guests struggled desperately underwater. Their supernatural powers and physical strength were being drained continuously. Without rescue by the time their reserves were exhausted, they would sink to the bottom and become food for fish, shrimp, and crabs.

These supernatural sea creatures were notoriously cruel and bloodthirsty. Once they saw a drowning person unable to fight back, their courage swelled, and they would swarm to attack.

Ordinary people could hold their breath underwater for about 2 to 5 minutes; with training, this could extend to 5 to 10 minutes. Beyond that, suffocation was inevitable.

For a level-one supernatural ability user, the time was roughly three times longer — over ten minutes underwater was achievable. This was essentially the limit even with training, with about 15 minutes being the extreme.

For a level-one water-element user like Shuisheng, his personal breath-holding limit during deep dives was about 45 minutes. This advantage was a key reason he often had better and larger sea urchins, conchs, and shellfish for sale than others.

Shuisheng stayed submerged for a while, cautious not to expose his head and reveal himself to the three men. Soon, he spotted the bodies of the two law enforcers lying among the coral and seaweed on the seabed. He drove away the supernatural fish and crabs attracted by the scent of blood, then grabbed the standard-issue belts around their waists and began towing them toward shore.

Whether alive or dead, these two were still law enforcers of the “Heavenly Court.” Shuisheng had respect and admiration for them. He always believed that without these people maintaining order, the entire Donghua Kingdom would descend into chaos.

With his former strength, it would have been challenging enough to swim underwater alone, let alone with two unconscious people in tow. But after cultivating the “Essentials of Immortal Power,” his supernatural ability had become solid and concentrated, vastly different from the scattered and unstable state before. Now, even carrying two people didn’t feel particularly difficult.

Once he was far enough from the boat, he surfaced, keeping only his head above water while treading with his feet, swimming toward the shore.

To his great surprise, just as he was about to reach the beach and his supernatural and physical strength neared exhaustion, a certain spot in his dantian suddenly cleared, his mind brightened, his entire sensory perception sharpened, and his supernatural power flowed more smoothly.

His previous limits vanished simultaneously, his stamina and breath-holding capacity seeming endless.

From what he had read in books, this was a breakthrough — he had advanced from level one to level two of his supernatural abilities.

His initial awakening of supernatural power had come from the opportunity when diving to collect sea urchins near his breath-holding limit.

From the time he first gained his powers over a year ago until now, breaking into level two was remarkably fast.

Finally reaching the shore, he cut the ropes binding the two unconscious men’s hands and feet and performed chest compressions and artificial respiration on them one by one. Minutes later, both coughed up water and regained consciousness. However, the male law enforcer remained pale due to severe abdominal bleeding.

Fortunately, some fisherwomen nearby were digging for clams with wire nets. Recognizing some of them, Shuisheng entrusted the two men to their care and instructed them to call for help. After a brief rest, he dove back into the sea, swimming toward the site of his sunken fishing boat.

This time he was not in a hurry. The three men would not drown immediately; their struggle would take some time.

Half an hour later, he arrived about half a mile from the sunken boat. From afar, the sea surface was calm, with no sign of the boat or anyone. He took a deep breath and dove to inspect.

After a while, he found his fishing boat lying on the sandy seabed, now a silent companion amidst the occasional passing fish.

He searched around and found the bodies of the middle-aged man and two companions unconscious within 300 to 400 meters from the boat. It seemed they would soon perish from suffocation on the sea floor.

These men, quick to resort to killing, were villains. He had no intention of saving them. Who else but villains would dare kill the “Heavenly Court” law enforcers?

If he lacked the strength to kill them himself, was he not allowed to let them die?

Unfortunately, his fishing boat and its gear would accompany them in death. Without the boat, his livelihood would be in jeopardy.

He had originally planned to search their weapons, wallets, and valuables, which together might buy a new boat. But after reconsideration, he abandoned the idea. If those two law enforcers survived, they would surely report what they had seen today, and as the only survivor, Shuisheng would be questioned.

The current situation could be treated as a maritime accident. Their deaths were due to the boat’s damage. If he took their belongings, it could be seen as robbery leading to death. Though their actions deserved the death penalty, their lives were not his to take.

With this in mind, he gave up any plan to seize their possessions.

Just as he prepared to surface, his gaze suddenly fixed on something in the dim underwater light. Besides the three drowning men, another figure was drifting with the underwater currents from the direction of Wind Gate Island.

A corpse.