A woman's scream, high-pitched and sharp, filled with immense surprise and fear, echoed across the sea.
This sound wasn't made by the woman who had transformed from the Soul Beast White Shark; it belonged to someone else.
A slender figure leaped from the sea, her massive tail fin whipping up waves, and lunged fiercely towards Wang Zhong.
"Hai Die, no!"
The woman cried out in alarm.
The Wang Zhong before her possessed immeasurable strength. Since their confrontation, he hadn't revealed a single martial soul or soul ring, yet he had already suppressed her to this extent.
Although Hai Die was an unparalleled genius on Sea God Island, reaching the Soul Emperor realm at such a young age, her abilities were easily manageable for even the woman, let alone Wang Zhong.
However, to her astonishment, the mountain-like force pressing down on her shoulder abruptly withdrew.
Wang Zhong spread his arms and embraced Hai Die as she leaped from the sea.
"Bad guy, bad guy!"
"Liar, liar, liar!"
"You promised, and you even swore, that you wouldn't harm any resident of Sea God Island."
"But you're bullying Sister Xiaobai right now! Liar, liar!"
Her slender fists pounded incessantly on Wang Zhong's shoulder as Hai Die yelled furiously into his ear.
She was furious. She had been cultivating peacefully, having just broken through to Soul Emperor and preparing to absorb the God-Bestowed Soul Ring granted by High Priest Bo Saixi. Suddenly, Wang Zhong's summons reached her.
Before she could even find an excuse to slip away from the High Priest, she saw Wang Zhong surrounded by sharks in the crystal ball before the High Priest.
Hai Die was terrified by this sight and, without even a pretense, leaped directly into the sea from the High Priest's side, rushing here without a moment's delay.
What greeted her eyes was Wang Zhong forcing Sister Xiaobai to her knees with a single palm strike. This had greatly panicked her.
Wang Zhong embraced Hai Die by her slender waist and placed her gently on the sea's surface. He spoke with immense helplessness, "I wasn't bullying her."
"She wanted to bully me, and I was only defending myself. Besides, I didn't hurt her. Look for yourself, where is she injured?"
"Little Fish, you can't wrongly accuse people like this."
Hai Die's pounding on Wang Zhong's chest abruptly stopped. She quickly disengaged from his embrace, pulled Xiaobai up, and began to circle her, examining her up and down.
"Sister Xiaobai, are you alright!"
Meeting Hai Die's worried gaze, Xiaobai looked at her, then at Wang Zhong. Already in agony from the dual mental torment of ice and fire, her expression was now one of utter bewilderment.
The friend he spoke of was Hai Die? Then the Merman Pearl in his hand...
Considering this, Xiaobai seized Hai Die's wrist. Both her spiritual power and soul power probed, and indeed, the dantian area in her abdomen was empty.
"You, you, you..."
Xiaobai released Hai Die's hand abruptly, pointed at her nose, her entire body trembling with rage.
"You idiot!"
"Do you know that the Merman Pearl is your life? You dared to give it to an outsider! And a land soul master at that!"
"If he wanted to kill you, it would only take a thought! You utter imbecile, you colossal fool!"
Xiaobai was utterly infuriated. How could the successor to Sea God Island's High Priest commit such a foolish act!
"Xiaobai, Wang Zhong is not a bad person."
Hai Die knew how frightening her actions were, and their relationship was exceptionally close. She could only hold the other's hand and patiently explain.
"Not a bad person! Does that automatically make him a good person!"
"You can know someone's face, but not their heart; this is a saying humans themselves have come up with. How many times have you seen him? What do you know about him that makes you trust him so blindly!"
Angrily shaking off Hai Die's hand, Xiaobai's resentment boiled over. The inherently pure nature of the merfolk left her speechless.
"He gave me delicious food!"
Xiaobai heard this and rolled her eyes.
"He saved me!"
"He traveled thousands of miles to send me back to the sea... Mmph!"
Hai Die's words were cut short as she abruptly covered her mouth. She darted behind Wang Zhong, peeking out timidly at Xiaobai.
Xiaobai's expression suddenly froze. She asked in surprise, "What did you just say?"
"He saved your life!"
"He traveled thousands of miles to send you back to the sea!"
"When did this happen? How come I didn't know!"
Suddenly, Xiaobai remembered that not long ago, Hai Die had indeed been absent from Sea Maiden City and Sea God Island for a considerable period.
She had assumed Hai Die was in seclusion for cultivation, but now it seemed that wasn't the reason at all.
Standing aside, Wang Zhong listened to the two women's conversation. He glanced sideways at Hai Die, who was hiding behind him, and sighed with a shake of his head.
"It seems Hai Die has never mentioned that incident."
"Perhaps she was afraid of worrying others. And looking at the care and concern this hundred-thousand-year-old White Shark has for Hai Die, she truly cares for her. Hai Die's status and position here are probably extraordinary."
Thinking these thoughts, Wang Zhong turned to Hai Die behind him and said, "Little Fish, sometimes, concealing things from those who care for you will only cause them more worry."
"Being truthful might be better."
Xiaobai's delicate eyebrows slightly rose, and her gaze fixed on Wang Zhong with a hint of strangeness. She was unsure of the true meaning behind his words.
Was it an attempt to elicit favors, or was it sincere?
"Oh."
Hai Die pursed her lips reluctantly. Only then did she slowly emerge from behind Wang Zhong, her gaze drifting as she recounted some recent events.
These events, however, had caused certain beings to tremble with fear.
"You hid something so big from us!"
"You hid something so big from us!"
Two female voices rang out simultaneously. Besides Xiaobai, another person had arrived.
Also leaping from the sea, a mermaid who bore a four-part resemblance to Hai Die, but was clearly more mature, stood with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely at Hai Die. Her gritted teeth suggested she wished she could beat the other into submission.
"Aunt!!!"
"Why are you here too!"
Upon seeing the Sea Maiden's arrival, Hai Die felt her stomach drop. She immediately shrank behind Wang Zhong, playing the ostrich.
"If I weren't here! If I wasn't here, I would never have known you were hiding such a serious matter."
"And you lied to me, saying you went out to play!"
The Sea Maiden was so enraged her eyebrows shot up, her eyes seemingly spitting fire.
Putting aside Hai Die's status as a candidate for High Priest, the blood relation between them was enough. The Sea Maiden Douluo did not wish for Hai Die to suffer any harm.
Yet, Hai Die had concealed this. She had been captured, even auctioned, and it was only after several turns of events that she returned to the sea.
The danger inherent in these seemingly simple words was chilling even to hear. During this ordeal, had Hai Die had even a sliver less luck, she would never have returned alive.
How could she not be angry?
"Your focus seems rather peculiar."
"You are both blaming Hai Die for not telling you, but I want to know, is it her fault?"
"She was kind enough to save someone, only to be captured. Isn't that the fault of those people? Yet you are fixated on Hai Die's minor transgression, completely overlooking the sins and evils of those who captured her. This is truly interesting!"