...


    "I see, so all these gems are only a part of the so-called Emerald of the Seven Seas. No, that is not right either. It is better to say that all the Sea Gems are just fragments of this emerald. And all the thirty-two seven-color emeralds are nothing but a part of the main Emerald of the Seven Seas."


    "Once gathered, they will naturally merge and become a single gemstone," Shin was sitting on a boulder deep in the ocean as he was organizing the information that he had collected from interrogating some of the participants that he had defeated.


    He spared their lives in exchange for this information.


    He wanted to do this since the very beginning but could not as the pace of the battles was way too intense to find the opportunity to do so. The continuous wave of opponents did not give him the time to do so.


    Despite being more intense, this round had relatively few participants compared to the previous rounds, giving Shin enough time to do more things while waiting for the other challengers who would try to steal his Sea Gems.


    He had gained quite a lot from interrogating the sea creatures with weaker minds and afraid to die slowly and painfully. The torturing methods that he had learned from the mafia training camp truly came in handy during times like this.


    Aside from the true nature of the Sea Gems, he also learned that the complete Emerald of the Seven Seas was an amazing treasure.


    It was a powerful gemstone that held the powers of the seven great water bodies within this realm such as the Blazing Sea, the Boundless Ocean, the Ocean Depths, the Abyssal Trench, the Lake of Mysteries, the River of the Afterlife, and the Sea of Origin.


    These bodies of water were ruled by the so-called Kings of the Sea, who were the ones who had initiated the gathering of the seas.


    This gathering was supposed to look for candidates who had the potential to become a King of the Sea like them, which would also lead the creatures of the sea to prosperity.


    But it later became a competition where these kings flaunt and boast about the greatest talents of their respective races, which made the gathering the Festival of the Sea.


    Those who would be crowned as the champions would be the next in line to become the rulers of a particular great water body.


    The Emerald of the Seven Seas was a tool to find and evaluate the potential of the crowned champion, which would also grant these worthy individuals a power that would rival the current rulers.


    But in exchange, they had to make an oath to protect the seas from the foreign beings that were trying to cause chaos in the world.


    The emerald would also grant individual protection that would prevent the other kings from harming them, which was why these kings were unable to raise their weapons against one another despite having an unfathomable power.


    This festival could only be held every hundred years.


    It was also a selection process that would produce the greatest warrior of the sea.


    After learning about all of these, Shin felt that this particular Festival of the Seas was somewhat different from the past.


    He was not sure about it, but he could feel that the current kings of the seas seemed to be planning something that was going against the tradition of this gathering.


    Moreover, there was also a strange clue that he had gotten from the system previously when he just started the trial.


    System: Survive as many rounds as possible.


    "Just hand over your Sea Gems so that I can proceed with the next prey," he added as he strongly increased the strength of his tentacles and crushed his victim.


    "The Gods of the Sea will never forgive you and your tribe for betraying them!" the sea creature turned into its original form of a clam before dissipating in the water.


    Octo picked up the gemstones that were scattered on the seabed before smirking. "Your so-called gods are the ones who betrayed their subjects first."


    ...


    In another place, a group of sea creatures were currently surrounding a single participant, who possessed a muscular build and carried a huge harpoon in hand.


    From the look of it, these sea creatures were already dead while their corpses were being controlled by a huge quantity of parasites.


    Behind these sea creatures floated a creature with an alluring body. She looked like a personification of temptation due to her seductive figure and beautiful face.


    The muscular creature remained calm despite being surrounded by these sea creatures. He stared at the opposing side straight into the eyes before calmly saying. "It seems like the rumors are true. The ''Ruler of the Sea Monsters'' is colluding with those filthy demons."


    "You are not qualified to question Lord Leviathan''s decision, Falan. Not even the leader of your Devouring Whale Tribe is not worthy of our lord," responded the other party.


    "You talk big for some who only rely on your parasites, Darya," responded Falan in a provoking tone.


    "Moreover, you talk so big about your lord when the Sea Dragon King claps him during their most recent battle," he chuckled, insulting her king.


    The expression on Darya''s face suddenly turned ugly as she fiercely glared at him. "I see that you have become arrogant after being crowned as the prince of your tribe."


    "Let me see if you really can be the strongest candidate in this Festival of the Seas," she added as she commanded her army to attack.


    Falan held his harpoon in front of him before mumbling. "In the name of the God of the Primordial Waters, Hydros – I, a descendant of the whales who devour all the evil of the seas, will punish this sinner, who betrayed our kind."


    Boom!


    The moment when he opened his eyes once again, a suffocating pressure quickly enveloped the entire place, which froze the movements of the sea creatures besieging him.


    BOOM!


    ...


    Similar events occurred in different places, making the top seeds of this tournament fight against one another.


    These were the followers of the Lord of the Ocean Depths, the Ruler of the Sea Monsters, the Ancient Hydra, and the Overseer of the River of Death were attacking those from the factions of the other Kings of the Seas and powerful tribes.


    Amid the chaos, those from the World Serpent Race also started making their moves.


    "It is time. Let our brothers know that we can now proceed with the will of our great leader."


    ......