Because he originally wanted to go to the West Sea Demon City for honing, Zhou Leng carefully contemplated underwater combat.

At first, he could only practice one cultivation technique with a single breath.

Slowly, as he became familiar with underwater combat, he could complete two sets of cultivation techniques.

After practicing the Flying Cloud Leg, he then practiced the Eight Trigrams Step.

The Flying Cloud Leg and Eight Trigrams Step, after much practice and guidance from Elder Song Juesi, had both reached the Great Success of the Tenth Layer Heaven, ready to advance to Perfection at any time.

The stepping technique and body technique in the water had a different feel altogether.

Water is a resistance, but it can also become an assistance.

Slowly, Zhou Leng discovered some small techniques for underwater combat.

He could use True Qi to control the water and affect the opponent's vision.

He could strike in advance, allowing the water to propel him to strengthen the force of his next attack.

He could use Water Sound Transmission to judge the opponent's movements faster and more clearly...

The mammoth herd lingered.

Zhou Leng kept practicing Overlapping Waves Palm, Flying Cloud Leg, Eight Trigrams Step, Cloud Wandering Body Technique, and Mountain Charging Fist underwater, even training the Flying Crane Technique and Cloud Stepping underwater.

The Flying Crane Technique had little use underwater, but Cloud Stepping opened a whole new door for Zhou Leng.

Cloud Stepping in the air could only use True Qi Force to forcibly lift the body a little, which had its uses but was limited.

After training underwater for a while, he slowly developed new uses for Cloud Stepping.

Because, in water, he could borrow force from all directions.

Zhou Leng moved like a swimming fish, performing all sorts of incredible actions in the water with the method of Cloud Stepping.

Treading water like steps, ascending step by step.

Body inverted, stepping backward on stairs, descending swiftly.

Sometimes like stepping on slanted stairs, sometimes like stepping on circular stairs, changing directions and striking in any direction at will, turning the underwater into a playground.

Though his swimming speed wasn't as fast as that of the Sea Siren, in terms of short-distance dodging maneuvers and mastery over water, he might even be superior.

The Sea Siren had no such versatile True Qi.

Now, the only drawback was the inner breath for air exchange.

But as soon as he advances to Innate, he could do it easily, and by learning the Underwater Breathing Technique, he could roam freely in vast waters.

The mammoth herd seemed to take residence in the lake, refusing to leave.

After several hours, Zhou Leng had to go out and check this month's new student ranking, so he headed to the shore.

The robust body shook, water droplets exploded into mist, scattering away, leaving his body instantly dry.

Huang also walked ashore, glanced at Zhou Leng, and shook his body.

Nothing happened.

Huang frowned, lifted his two front paws, and then stomped heavily on the ground like a little tiger, shaking his body again.

Still, nothing happened.

He sighed, shook his body randomly, and flicked his fur, scattering water droplets.

Zhou Leng quietly sensed, a glint flashing in his eyes.

Upon awakening, the severe soreness all over his body proved that his body hadn't recovered, yesterday's training was too intense.

But just now, after training beneath the water, that soreness had diminished significantly, almost vanished.

The minor injuries sustained from overtraining yesterday had completely healed.

Originally, it would take at least another day to recuperate.

He looked at his legs again.

Flying Cloud Leg, Perfection.

Eight Trigrams Step, Perfection.

He picked up the Demonized Watch and glanced at it; it was already ten in the morning.

He had been soaking in the water for five hours.

He turned to look at the lake surface, the Eight-toothed Mammoth herd was still bathing.

"Looks like I'll have to come often in the future."

Zhou Leng waved his hand in Xiaoba's direction to bid farewell, then returned with Huang.

Together, they left the World of Fierce Beasts, just stepping out of the mountain cave, hearing long alarm sirens coming from all directions.

Demons attack.

Zhou Leng summoned up True Qi, running swiftly, saying, "Huang, Demons attack, be prepared."

"Woof!" Huang barked in response.

Nearing Xiaoru Village, the Demonized Watch signal recovered, messages densely popping up.

Zhou Leng slowed his pace, quickly scrolling through.

There were warning notifications from the city's Martial Mansion, inquiries from relatives and friends.

Zhou Leng first opened Martial Faith to read Xu Qingjin's messages.

"Are you still in closed-door cultivation?"

"You didn't get into trouble, did you?"

"After we heard the alarm, we hid in the underground shelter of Yueda Mall, what about you?"

"If you get this message, make sure to reply, don't scare me."

"Zhou Leng, haven't you seen the messages?" The voice was shallowly anxious.

"I'm very safe, don't worry. You must be careful."

No further messages followed.

Zhou Leng glanced at the time of the last message, fifteen minutes ago.

He attempted a voice call, but it couldn't connect.

He tried to phone directly, out of service area.

It must be a signal outage.

Standing on the hillside, Zhou Leng looked toward Rucheng.

In some places, thick smoke billowed, shadows of demons faintly visible on rooftops and outer walls of buildings.

Across Rucheng, groups of people and demons were locked in battle.

By the Longyou River, tens of thousands of sea monsters and humans were in a massive melee, densely packed.

Rucheng was burning.

Xiaoru Village was very quiet.

Zhou Leng took a deep breath, saying, "Huang, you go back, it's safer to stay by Elder Tree, I'll go find Xu Qingjin. If she's safe, I'll hunt demons."

"Woof..." Huang lightly barked, darting to Zhou Leng's side, wanting to follow.

"No, you don't have enough strength," Zhou Leng said.

"Woof woof..." Huang barked loudly, then sniffed hard.

Images of rescue teams saving people from rubble from the news flashed through Zhou Leng's mind, and he nodded, saying, "Alright, follow me, but you're not allowed to fight, only to find Xu Qingjin, got it?"

"Woof!"

Man and dog, they rushed into Xiaoru Village.

Xiaoru Village was silent. Zhou Leng knew they had already hidden in the underground shelter, so he headed towards Yueda Mall with Huang.

To conserve energy and True Qi, he did not use his Lightweight Skill, opting for Qi Manipulation running.

With every step, he crushed the ground beneath, sprinting rapidly.

Huang followed behind, running with all its might, his ears flapping in the wind.

Located in a remote area, Xiaoru Village initially had no Demons, but as they entered the city, scattered Demons began to appear.

They were either fighting humans or searching around.

Zhou Leng suppressed his urge to kill and continued running straight.

After a few steps, a cry for help suddenly echoed from a nearby residential area on the left front.

Zhou Leng hesitated for a moment, then dashed into the area, seeing a green-skinned Fish-man chasing a few people.

Zhou Leng exerted the Flying Crane Technique, shattering the ground, leaping dozens of meters in an instant, reaching near the Fish Demon.

Heaven Island Falling into the Sea struck the Fish Demon's head.

Puff... The head of the Fish-man in the late stage of Blood Transport exploded, and its body was severed into several pieces.

"Thank you..."

Zhou Leng didn't even glance at the people, turned around, used the Flying Crane Technique, and ran out of the area.

After running for a few more seconds, a red-skinned Demon with a fork appeared charging head-on.

As the two neared, Zhou Leng swung his hand, slapping the red-skinned Demon's face.

Brushing past each other.

The Demon's head alongside its face shattered to pieces, and the headless body stumbled forward.

Zhou Leng sped with the Flying Crane Technique, and when his True Qi was only half left, he had to slow down and switch to Qi Manipulation running.

Looking back, Huang had already turned into a small dot, but was still running wildly.

Zhou Leng waved at Huang, pointed a direction, then turned onto the next street.

Soon, Zhou Leng arrived outside Yueda Mall.

The mall's many glass exterior walls were shattered, with large holes smashed in many places.

On the roads surrounding the mall, cars were parked haphazardly; many had burned down to frames, still smoking.

Dozens of people and scattered Sea Sirens were scattered everywhere, fighting separately.

Zhou Leng quickly reached the entrance of Yueda Mall and checked the network connection.

As expected, the network was down nearby, and even a local network couldn't connect to Xu Qingjin's phone, likely because of being deep inside the underground shelter, causing poor signal reception.

Entering the mall, it was empty.

The display windows were shattered, the ground in chaos.

Not a single body was around, making Zhou Leng sigh in relief.

He looked at the light screen projected by the Demonized Watch.

The map highlighted the entrances of the four shelters in Yueda Mall.

He descended to the first basement level, where many partitions had collapsed, but many were also damaged.

Zhou Leng's expression was solemn.

At this moment, Huang arrived, panting heavily.

"Can you smell Xu Qingjin's scent?" Zhou Leng asked.

Huang sniffed hard, the mall's scent complex.

Huang looked embarrassed, shook his head lightly.

"Stay close to me and be careful."

Zhou Leng followed the traces of destruction and, based on the shelter's directions, moved quickly, faintly hearing distant vibrations.

Passing by the first basement level's supermarket, the shelves had collapsed, and liquor spilled all over the ground.

Walking briskly, he reached the entrance of the first shelter on the second basement level.

The door was tightly shut, showing signs of damage but hadn't been breached.

Zhou Leng immediately ran to the second shelter, which was also locked.

The third shelter's entrance was the same, prompting him to rush to the fourth shelter's entrance.

The lighting was mostly broken, the passageway's light flickering.

The further he went, the louder the noise, with faint battle cries coming through.

A few steps later, the shelter's door came into view.

The pungent odor spread, the steel door of the shelter wide open, its edges uneven, faint green liquid stains present.

The strong acid corrosion of the Sea Sirens.

The floor behind the door was littered with human and Sea Siren bodies.

Zhou Leng's heart sank, raising his arms defensively, cautiously moving forward.

Suddenly, Huang let out a light bark.

Woof!

Zhou Leng sharply turned to look at Huang, asking, "Did you catch Xu Qingjin's scent?"

Huang nodded, then shook his head.

"Just a little, but not certain?"

Huang nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Leng quickened his pace, following the sound forward.

The sounds of fighting grew clearer.

The ground was increasingly covered with bodies.

Soon, Zhou Leng reached a corner, peeking out towards the hallway ahead.

In the dim corridor, faint lights flickered.

A dozen Sea Sirens blocked the corridor, while at the end, some Martial Artists used various makeshift things to either fight or defend.

Human Martial Artists were retreating step by step as the Sea Sirens advanced slowly.

Zhou Leng took a deep breath, lightly stepped, using the Flying Crane Technique with Eight Trigrams Step, sneaking up behind the Sea Siren ranks.

Cover, choke, twist neck.

With a slight crunch, he forcibly twisted off the head of an early-stage Sea Siren of Body Refining.

This sound was barely noticeable in the chaotic corridor.

Zhou Leng was like a night assassin, dispatching Sea Sirens from behind one by one.

After killing the fourth Sea Siren, one ahead of him happened to turn around, screaming out.

Zhou Leng thrust both palms forward, performing Two Dragons Emerging from the Water, slamming into the backs of two Sea Sirens simultaneously.

Bang bang!

Two consecutive thuds, one Sea Siren at the mid-stage of Body Refining spat blood, falling forward.

The other Sea Siren, only at the late stage of Blood Transport, exploded into fragments, splattering everywhere.

"Kill him!"

Half of the Sea Sirens turned, charging at Zhou Leng.

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