Chapter 188: Dragon Tribulation, Encountering a Warship in the Deep Sea

As the tide receded, the sea surface returned to calm; the azure water showed no trace of its previous terrifying ferocity, looking from afar like a blue gem.

The sea is multifaceted; it bestows abundant marine resources on humanity, yet it is also fearsome—a slight roll can capsize fishing boats on the ocean, and no one can provoke its majesty.

The fishermen could still feel lingering fear from the recent wave; some thought it was merely an accident, while the older generation believed it was the Dragon King revealing his spirit.

"I think the Dragon King is blessing us."

"Uncle, we should believe in science; there is no Dragon King in this world."

"Then explain how such a huge wave could just recede—who else besides the Dragon King could do that?"

The young man was about to retort when he suddenly felt something smack his head; a salty breeze blew over him, and touching it left a slippery, sticky sensation.

He took down the object on his head and saw, to his shock, a palm-sized small fish, as if just caught from the sea, continuously flapping its tail.

The young man instantly flared with anger: "Who threw a fish at me?!"

The old fisherman beside him laughed and teased: "Who let you talk nonsense? This is the Dragon King punishing you."

Hardly had his words fallen when a "thud" sounded, and several more fish slammed onto the ground.

Here is some distance from the sea surface; these fish could not have been washed ashore by the tide—it seemed as if they had fallen from the sky.

Everyone's expression turned bewildered; they instinctively looked up at the sky, unable to help but widen their eyes.

In the sky above, countless fish fell thick and fast, mixed with shrimp, crabs, and other marine creatures, even seaweed.

Crackling sounds rang continuously, like firecrackers; in a moment, the original beach was overrun by these fish.

Everyone hurried to find shelter, lest they be struck by these things.

Countless fresh fish rained down from the sky, all varieties, common and uncommon; the young man stared, speechless: "Is this a fish rain?"

The old fisherman, however, grinned ear to ear: "This is the Dragon King's compensation for us."

Having said that, he clasped his hands together and bowed devoutly toward the sea: "Thank you, Dragon King."

Now the young man said nothing more about feudal superstition; his expression was somewhat complex, as one strange event after another overturned his ordinary notions.

Such a huge wave had just passed, and now this peculiar rain fell.

The fish rain lasted a total of ten minutes; fish were hopping and jumping all over the ground, and the fishermen picked up their nets, delighted as if celebrating New Year.

"Now it's great—we can catch fish without going out to sea."

"Sigh, I was still worried about having no catch today, but it looks like heaven had already arranged things."

"Who says otherwise? These fish are enough to feed us for several days."

Originally, due to bad weather they were restricted from going to sea, amounting to half a day with no income; now these fish falling from the sky make up for their loss.

Some people didn't even bother to grab a net, simply scooping up fish from the ground and returning home laden.

This scene exceeded everyone's expectations; every face bore a smile.

Compared with the fishermen busy catching fish on shore here, the rescue team on the other side immediately launched operations, although they knew the Whalefall's chances of survival were slim, they would not give up any possible chance.

The rescue team followed the last signal from the Whalefall before losing contact; although the tide and waterspout had dissipated, it did not mean the sea had become completely harmless.

The dark seawater looked calm, yet surged with an unknown undercurrent, as if a huge phantom lurked in the depths of the seabed.

"The Whalefall's last signal left here; based on the wind speed at the time and their estimated course, it very likely headed east."

The rescue team continued eastward, unaware that countless green glimmers had arisen in the seawater, converging from all directions toward the deep seabed.

Unnoticed, a thin layer of fog arose, like a white gauze draped over the sea surface.

"How did the fog suddenly appear?"

A member of the rescue team furrowed his brow, feeling that today's weather at sea was truly strange—first a waterspout, then a huge wave, and now even fog.

"Everyone be careful, keep an eye on the surroundings, and see if there's any trace of the Whalefall."

Fortunately, the rescue team is experienced, all veterans; although this fog somewhat affects visibility, as long as it's not extreme bad weather like a storm, they can still cope.

Milky-white fog drifted over the ocean, like a bodiless ghost, soon engulfing the seawater and making the surrounding scenery increasingly blurred.

As far as the eye could see, they seemed to have sailed onto a mysterious continent where only white remained, giving an unreal feeling.

Because of the fog's influence, they did not see the green seawater; that green glow could almost take substance, constantly shuttling across the sea surface.

The rescue team kept trying to contact the Whalefall; at this moment, the signal operator stared at the instrument display in shock, thinking he was hallucinating.

"Captain, Captain! We've captured the Whalefall's signal."

Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted: "Where is the Whalefall now?"

This meant the Whalefall had luckily avoided the waterspout and escaped disaster, but since they had escaped, why didn't they return? And why didn't they send a distress signal?

Various doubts arose in everyone's minds, yet the operator's next words made them even stranger.

"Captain, the instrument shows the Whalefall is right beside us!"

"How is that possible!"

They could detect the Whalefall's signal, which meant the Whalefall could also detect them—why had they not contacted us all this time?

Could something have happened aboard the ship?

"Calling Whalefall, we are the rescue team—how are you now? If you receive this, please contact us immediately!"

After sending several short messages in succession, they all sank like stones into the sea, with no response.

Although the surrounding fog was large, obscuring most of the view, if there truly were a vessel nearby, they would surely have noticed it.

The suddenly appearing fog was truly bizarre to the extreme, as if it completely isolated them from the Whalefall, like a ghost wall.

The distance between them appeared close at hand, but in reality it was as far as the ends of the earth.

"Howl!"

Just as everyone was puzzling over it, the strange howl sounded again.

Everyone's faces slightly changed; compared to the previous illusory, unreal feeling, this monster's voice was very clear, as if it were right nearby!

The sea breeze blew over, slightly dispersing the fog; in the flash of lightning, the rescue team members finally saw clearly the scene on the sea surface at that moment.

Countless green bubbles leapt from the sea surface, as if given life, transforming into tiny sprites; the whole scene looked dreamlike to the extreme.

Everyone widened their eyes, wanting to see more clearly, but the mist quickly gathered, blocking their probing sight, so nothing could be seen.

"What on earth is going on!"

"Were those green bubbles just now coming out of the ocean?"

"I've seen my share of big winds and waves, but I've never seen such a strange scene."

"Could something abnormal have happened in the depths of the ocean?"

Just as everyone was arguing nonstop, in the ocean not far from the rescue team,

A huge black shadow lurked there, faintly visible with a dim green light; Ye Qin kept his eyes tightly shut, like a deep-sea behemoth, the horns on his head emitting a strange radiance, and the pressure emanating from his body made people feel chilled to the bone.

The surrounding seawater was like an abyss, seeming able to swallow any light; only those green scales, like the morning star in an eternal night, would never go out.

The water's spiritual energy gathered layer upon layer; though it had no color of its own, due to Ye Qin's influence it formed a green water membrane that completely enveloped him. At this moment, Ye Qin released all his mental power, finally understanding the abnormality of his body.

So he was about to become a flood dragon!

The instant he leapt into the seawater, it seemed to awaken the ancient bloodline within him; Ye Qin's true form was merely an ordinary little green snake, and as he cultivated and his realm rose, his bloodline also mutated.

From the moment horns began to grow on his head, Ye Qin knew he would become a dragon.

Since ancient times, Great Xia has taken the dragon as supreme, calling itself the descendants of the dragon; in former ages people believed that kingship was heaven‑mandated, so the Son of Heaven was the incarnation of a golden dragon, hence the Son of Heaven's robe is called a dragon robe, embroidered on the chest with a five‑clawed golden dragon.

Any creature that has any connection with the dragon will see its status rise considerably; even fish wish to leap over the Dragon Gate to become true dragons.

But is the dragon truly the most precious of beings?

Actually not; in ancient mythology, the creator Nüwa, who mended the heavens and fashioned humans, had a human head and a snake body, and the cultural progenitor of the Huaxia people, Fuxi, also had a snake body.

In many ancient tribes, the snake was used as a totem.

In mythology there are many divine beasts related to snakes, which are not weaker than dragons, only stronger.

But with the passage of time, in the long river of history, those who worship snakes have become ever fewer, while those who revere dragons have become ever more numerous.

But actually, for Ye Qin, whether he keeps a snake body or becomes a dragon, both are merely a stage in his comprehension of the Great Dao.

Therefore, he never thought of changing himself, nor of evolving his physical form.

Because if his origin changed, he would no longer be himself!

Therefore, no matter what he may become in the future, the snake body will always be his original substance!

But now, due to the influence of his realm and state of mind, he needs to become a flood dragon and then a dragon, to experience and comprehend this process, to feel the enlightenment brought by this evolution, in order to count it as a fulfillment.

So Ye Qin chose to enter the sea to become a flood dragon, but this is naturally only temporary. For the dragon is not his ultimate goal; one must know that returning to simplicity and truth, returning to the origin, is the supreme Great Dao.

Thus, Ye Qin is now no longer confused; he has made ample plans for his future cultivation path.

"Become a flood dragon, become a dragon, undergo this process, comprehend this creation, finally accumulate and burst forth, return to simplicity and truth to transform into a divine snake!"

After figuring out the path he would take in the future, that final shackle was finally completely broken, and the green membrane that had originally wrapped his body also shattered accordingly.

Precisely because of this, the surrounding sea area was affected, the magnetic field also increased, stirring up huge waves and water spouts.

Fortunately, Ye Qin's mental power sensed all this, and he promptly nipped the danger in the bud, thus preventing a greater oceanic disaster.

Although Ye Qin is not good at water, at this moment he faintly feels an illusion that the entire sea area is under his control; even though he has not yet fully awakened, his mental power remains active, wandering along the seawater.

He does not know where he is going, only that this road is endless, seemingly without an endpoint; this experience feels full of novelty to Ye Qin.

His jade‑green pupils slowly opened, a gaze that words cannot describe, crossing the distance of time and space, as if a colossal being had lightly cast a glance down the river of history.

In this sea area, there is no longer any marine life present.

The distant marine creatures sensed something, froze in place, and the originally swimming schools of fish came to a halt, as if a pause button had been pressed.

If someone were in the ocean right now, they would find these marine creatures behaving strangely, as if they were all staring in the same direction with fixed gazes, and on the faces of these creatures one could see expressions of fear and reverence.

As Ye Qin wandered through the ocean, the whole sea became restless, countless ripples spreading outward; at this moment his form was immensely huge, over thirty meters, equivalent to the height of a ten‑story building, the length of a Boeing aircraft.

This body length already far exceeds that before becoming a flood dragon, having increased by several times.

The horns on his head were rugged and weather‑worn, and even his belly had grown four claws.

Four claws make a flood dragon, five claws make a dragon.

As he moved, the seawater kicked up spray, and countless green lights again began to move, shuttling through the entire sea area.

The rescue team could notice the ship's obvious shaking, as if a colossal beast in the sea had turned over, but the heavy fog prevented them from seeing anything clearly.

Compared to the boundless ocean, the rescue team is like a tiny leaf drifting on the surface, and everyone inexplicably feels a bit uneasy.

After a good while, the shaking finally subsided; a thread of sunlight pierced the heavy sky, fell on the sea surface, the mist gradually dispersed, and the sea shone like fish scales with alternating blue‑green light.

Seeing the long‑absent sunshine, everyone's hearts simultaneously relaxed, feeling as if the clouds had parted to reveal clear skies; the dark clouds, together with the gloom in their hearts, were dispelled, and the ocean finally welcomed calm.

"Hey, look over there!"

Only a cry was heard; not far from them, a ship was slowly sailing on the sea surface—it was the previously lost Whale Fall!

The Whale Fall was intact, but oddly, the ship was unusually quiet, and no human figure could be seen.

"Are you all alright?"

The rescue team members shouted at the top of their lungs, but there was no response from the ship, so they had to launch a few small boats, intending to land on the Whale Fall to check the situation.

As the distance to the Whale Fall grew closer, a rescue team member on the small boat seemed to catch something out of the corner of his eye.

Beneath the azure seawater, a huge black shadow could be vaguely seen swimming past, like a sea serpent‑like creature, but far larger than a sea snake, easily capable of overturning their small boat.

A feeling of inexplicable trepidation rose in the crew member's heart: "Is this my illusion? Why do I feel as if something is there?"

His companion looked in the direction he indicated; the seawater trembled slightly, the depths were pitch black, yet nothing could be seen, and after looking several more times he still found nothing.

"You must be mistaken; there's clearly nothing there."

The crew member rubbed his eyes, "Maybe I really was seeing things."

At this moment the small boat had already neared the Whale Fall, and everyone successfully boarded it.

Only then did they understand why the Whale Fall had not responded: everyone aboard was unconscious, all collapsed on the deck.

Were it not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, they would be hardly distinguishable from the dead.

"Vital signs are stable, and there is breathing."

After a thorough check, they had no obvious external injuries, yet for some reason they had fallen into a coma.

The rescue team piloted the Whale Fall back to shore at once and immediately sent these people to the hospital.

The people from the Whale Fall in the hospital soon woke up, and this incident became a local oddity.

After all, no one expected them to survive and return, for the scale of the waterspout was terrifying, yet they were not only unharmed but even the hull suffered no damage.

Because this incident was truly too bizarre, it even attracted the attention of local news media, and some people went to interview them.

The surviving crew members wore smiles of relief all over their faces and recounted their personal experiences.

"You don't know how dangerous the situation was then; as we watched, the waterspout was about to swallow us, when suddenly a burst of green light appeared, and we passed out; when we opened our eyes again, we were already in the hospital."

The reporter, whose face bore a professional smile, also grew slightly unnatural in expression upon hearing such exaggerated words.

"You mean the waterspout had already engulfed you at that time, but some mysterious force stopped it?"

The crew member nodded vigorously, "That's more or less right, and before I lost consciousness I heard a strange cry and saw a huge dark shadow—I don't know what creature it was; could it be a sea god?"

The crew member beside him, hearing this, immediately retorted his companion, "What sea god! That's a Western thing—we don't go for that; clearly it's the Dragon King protecting us."

"Besides, that shadow was thick and long, really seeming somewhat like a dragon."

"Moreover, have you noticed that when these strange events occurred, there was no trace of any fish or shrimp activity in this sea area—perhaps there had already been omens."

After the report came out, many people thought the Whale Fall's crew were bragging.

"That's way too fantastical—it feels like listening to a fantasy tale; if they really were that close to the waterspout, they'd have absolutely no chance of survival."

"But they also had no need to lie, and the rescue team also said that the point where the Whale Fall lost contact was very near the waterspout."

"Perhaps the waterspout never actually engulfed the Whale Fall and simply changed direction."

"If the waterspout had indeed been near the Whale Fall back then, not only the people but even the hull would have been destroyed."

Online opinions varied wildly, and soon someone revealed that, at the exact moment the waves and waterspout disappeared, a rain of fish also fell.

To the fishermen, this was clearly a gift from the Dragon King; the tale of the Dragon King's manifestation spread widely, and it was his protection of everyone aboard the Whale Fall that let the ship escape unharmed from the waterspout.

"Although all this can be explained by science, it's really strange."

"When things go against the norm, there must be something uncanny—especially when so many strange events occur together."

"Can anyone explain that weird cry? It certainly can't be the sound of a dolphin or a whale."

"I feel that cry is somewhat familiar, as if I've heard it somewhere before."

The waterspout that the Whale Fall encountered, the vast white fog the rescue team ran into, the towering waves, and the sudden rain of fish—all these things were filled with an extraordinary quality.

Taken individually, each of these events is something that hardly ever happens under normal circumstances; to have them all occur on the same day is too much of a coincidence.

Moreover, among these phenomena there is a common point: everyone heard the roar of an unknown creature.

However, in the eyes of those old fishermen, these are all omens of the Dragon King's manifestation, and that strange cry is naturally a dragon's roar.

People's attitudes toward such matters are generally doubtful, since none have personally experienced it and thus don't know its miraculous nature.

At this moment, Ye Qin was completely unaware of the waves he had stirred up on shore; he roamed the deep ocean, and the scene he saw was utterly different from that on land.

All kinds of miraculous algae and marine plants grew inside a gigantic crystal palace, dazzling the eyes and immersing one in this azure world.

He restrained the terrifying aura on his body, so the small fish and shrimp around him increased in number; furthermore, because his whole body emanated spiritual energy, even many schools of fish were drawn to him.

Nevertheless, no matter how he restrained his aura, a trace of it would still leak out unconsciously—the bearing of a mythic creature—so those fish and shrimp dared only to follow from a distance, not daring to come too close for fear of offending Ye Qin.

Whether transforming into a jiao or into a dragon, one must undergo the baptism of heavenly tribulation to be considered complete!

Originally Ye Qin was going to undergo tribulation, but considering that now is not the best time for tribulation and lacking confidence to withstand this heavenly tribulation, he temporarily suppressed the energy within his body.

Therefore, this jiao transformation is not counted as complete; his fleshly body still has many flaws.

One must wait until a future tribulation to truly be considered a complete jiao transformation, and this could even give rise to some divine abilities unique to the dragon clan.

As for the specifics, Ye Qin cannot calculate them, for after all he is the only one of his kind in this world, and every path must be walked by himself.

At this moment, as Ye Qin moved, dark clouds gathered overhead, pressing the whole sky to the brink of collapse—a sign that tribulation was imminent; however, because Ye Qin suppressed his realm, the thunder of tribulation has not yet fallen, just as it was during his first tribulation.

But this mass of clouds will continue to follow him like a shadow until the tribulation descends.

"I have now reached the third realm of the primordial spirit."

After successfully transforming into a jiao, Ye Qin's cultivation level naturally broke through, his primordial spirit fully condensed, and he also initially grasped a new divine ability that allows him to freely control the size of his body.

In Journey to the West there is a divine ability called Heaven and Earth; the caster can embody heaven and earth, imitating their scale—tall as heaven, wide as earth—and it counts as a great divine ability.

The divine ability Ye Qin possesses is similar to that, allowing him to freely change the size of his body.

However, given his present realm, enlarging his body to the size of heaven and earth is still somewhat difficult, but shrinking it back to its original size poses no problem.

Now he is on the seabed, with nothing but fish and shrimp around and no humans, so he maintains his massive jiao form; when he comes ashore he will shrink back to his original size, which is also much more convenient.

Ye Qin currently has no intention of going ashore; he has only just transformed into a jiao, and the seabed abounds in water spiritual energy, which greatly benefits his cultivation and can also nourish his body.

"Because I just broke through, the water spiritual energy in this sea area has pretty much been absorbed."

Ye Qin used his mental power to sense carefully; the spiritual energy here is too scarce, so he cannot absorb it all—he must always leave some remainder.

His gaze turned toward the not‑far ocean, carrying a hint of depth and pressure; the whole sea is interconnected, so just because this area lacks it doesn't mean other places do.

……

In the international waters nearest Donghai, a warship sailed across the ocean, its black hull resembling a large bird, floating above the blue sea.

On its white flag a red sun rose slowly, fluttering in the wind with a rustling sound—this was a search-and-rescue guard ship of the Divine Illumination State.

Its flight deck is 93 meters long, with a maximum width of 10.8 meters, its speed is 24 knots, its power is about 10,900, and its hull is equipped with four twin‑mounted heavy guns and eight triple‑mounted machine guns.

"Beep beep beep—"

At this moment in the cockpit, the instruments suddenly emitted a piercing sound, instantly drawing the pilot's attention: "What's going on?"

"It seems something biological is approaching the ship."

Only a small red dot appeared on the display above the instruments, rapidly approaching them at extreme speed, causing the pilot to stare in disbelief.

"This speed is far too fast! What kind of creature could have such speed?"

Realizing the unusual nature of the situation, they immediately reported the news to the ship's supreme commander, Shanye Hongyi.

Reporting to the chief officer, an unknown object is detected rapidly approaching!

Shan Ye Hongyi frowned, "Could it be a ship or submarine from another country?"

The sea area is vast; within the visible range, only their ship sails through, and no other ships are seen.

Shan Ye Hongyi couldn't help but speculate conspiratorially, suspecting that a foreign ship might be secretly approaching them.

The personnel in charge of detection kept issuing commands at the console, watching the feedback information from the database, then shook their heads.

"It doesn't look like that; the information returned by the system is very vague and not in our data collection database, so we can basically rule out warships or submarines and the like; it's likely a marine creature."

This remark immediately piqued Shan Ye Hongyi's interest.

The warship possessed the most advanced detection and capture system of the Divine Illumination Country, yet strangely, it could not capture what this object was.

"It's not even in the database; let's go over and take a look to see what it actually is."

Shan Ye Hongyi wasn't worried about any mishap, after all, the warship's defense and attack capabilities are of world-class level.

"Received!"

The helmsman, following the position indicated by the small red dot on the instrument, quickly turned the ship and headed east.

(End of chapter)