......


    Bang!


    Shin kicked the seabed, leaving a deep footprint on its surface alongside an intense tremor that spread in every direction.


    Swoosh!


    Then his body turned into a streak of light that flew straight to Nuguro, who was arrogantly looking at him from a higher altitude.


    Nuguro now had an overwhelming confidence due to the newly acquired powers that he possessed. He believed that with these powers, he would be able to defeat anyone in his generation or even those adults of the other Oceanic Tribes.


    He had already tested some of the effects of the demonic powers that he possessed, so he wanted to try the magical powers that he newly acquired.


    He slowly raised his left hand and pointed toward Shin, who was heading in his direction, before focusing his Mana Essence at the tip of his finger.


    Zong~! Long~! Long~!


    Not long after, a tiny sphere of light was formed while emitting a blinding light.


    Swoosh!


    Then, suddenly, a beam of light flew out from that sphere and flew forward. It appeared right in front of him almost in an instant, magnifying before his eyes at a slow yet also rapid pace.


    Shin''s pupils contracted as he stared intently at the beam of light that was heading his way. It was just a couple of feet away from his face when his body reacted to it. Fortunately, he was fast enough to respond and managed to raise the icy sword horizontally in front of him.


    He slightly inclined the sword to deflect the trajectory of the incoming beam while summing a huge amount of Mana Essence to protect his body.


    At the same time, he also leaned toward the opposite direction of the sword to minimize the damage as much as he could.


    Boom!


    But despite his efforts, he was still blasted by the beam of light right after it hit the sword. The impact was so strong that it sent him flying back to the bed of the sea and getting buried by the collapsed corals and rock boulders.


    Whoosh!


    A huge cloud of dirt spread in every direction due to the collapse, blocking the sight of everyone.


    Those from the Devouring Whale Tribe were blasted away due to the strong shockwave, sending them crashing against the surrounding boulders and corals and getting buried under the collapse during the process.


    Nuguro ignored the rest and focused on the direction where Shin was buried. He squinted his eyes when he sensed that there was still a signal of life coming from that spot.


    Seeing that, he quickly gathered more energy on the tip of his fingers and started firing in that direction continuously like an artillery barrage.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The spot where Shin was buried was bombarded by a series of explosions, further spreading the cloud of dirt that was formed alongside them.


    After a while, Nuguro stopped when he felt quite satisfied with the bombardment and watched the cloud of dirt settle. But he suddenly frowned deeply when the water became clear once again.


    As the cloud of dirt settled, a thick dome of ice was erected at the center of a huge crater that the previous explosions had created.


    The dome of energy was made of pure Mana Essence that solidified and turned into a solid ice that also resembled the hard shell of a turtle along with a serpent coiling around it.


    Shin was also revealed standing within it while holding the icy sword horizontally before him while releasing a dense Mana Essence.


    ''Four Symbol Scripture: Heavenly Black Tortoise – Blessing of the Northern General''


    Seeing that, Nuguro deepened his frown before sending another series of beams that immediately bombarded the barrier.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    But this time, the power behind each beam of light was much stronger than the previous ones. For each explosion, the barrier dome protecting Shin shook violently.


    It was at that moment when another beam of light landed on his previous location, creating yet another devastating explosion.


    Such scenes repeated multiple times as Shin tried his best to survive the bombardment and encirclement of the explosions and the swarm of snakes.


    He had not launched any counterattack yet as there was no opportunity to do so. He focused on keeping himself alive while switching from dodging and defending with his techniques.


    His current appearance was already a complete mess after suffering from Nuguro''s attacks. Even the ice armor that he was wearing was already full of cracks along with the broken edges.


    It would not take that long before he became trapped by his opponent''s attacks and got caught by them.


    Hiss!


    While he was cornered in such a predicament, he suddenly heard a series of hissing sounds from a certain direction.


    These hissing sounds were completely different from the ones that he was hearing from the snake swarm under Nuguro''s command as he could not feel any ill intent coming from them.


    Moreover, they seemed to be guiding him toward something.


    "Huh!?" When he focused his ears to listen to these hissing sounds, he realized that the source was where the altar was located.


    When he raised his head and turned toward that location, the hissing sounds became louder as if it was calling for him.


    He was unsure what it was but trusted his instincts and followed the sound. He charged his course and swam toward the altar to the best of his abilities.


    The more he got near the altar, the louder the sound and the clearer he felt that something was calling him.


    Nuguro, who was somewhat attacking from above leisurely, suddenly noticed Shin''s strange actions. Then, when he heard that the latter was trying to head toward the altar, a sudden ominous feeling warned him about something.


    Realizing this, he quickly intensified his attacks and even used more advanced techniques to prevent Shin from reaching the altar.


    But as if something was guiding Shin to dodge those attacks, none of his spells nor his serpents managed to touch Shin.


    Not even a scratch!


    Seeing this, Nuguro quickly changed his target. He summoned a colossal serpent with his demonic powers before ordering it to destroy the altar.


    Roar!


    But as the black serpent was about to reach its target, Shin suddenly appeared right in front of him, blocking its path.


    Shin summoned multiple layers of ice walls, trying to halt the advance of the black serpent to the best of his abilities.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    But all of it was meaningless as none of them managed to stop the colossal serpent from advancing.


    Shin then gambled his life as he summoned a huge sphere that was filled with mysterious runes. The sphere resembled a shell of a turtle while a huge serpent coiled around it.


    Boom!


    When the black serpent collided with it, the powerful momentum that it carried finally dropped before continuing to weaken as it pushed the spherical barrier toward the altar.


    Bang!


    When the barrier finally reached the altar, the momentum of the black serpent finally died down. The barrier was full of cracks and on the verge of collapse, but it completely stopped the colossal monster.


    Shin, on the other hand, already had his feet touching the top of the altar at that time. There was a cold energy that traveled from his foot toward his heart when he came in contact with the surface, making him shiver.


    When he raised his head again and looked at the widely opened mouth of the black serpent, his eyes were completely dyed with a bloody color while the aura he carried rose by several folds.


    Roar!


    Not long after, a deafening roar shook the entire realm as he opened his mouth and shouted.


    ......