The snake-ape beasts and four-armed snake-apes below had all retreated back into the building. A total of six of these level-eight elite hunter beasts had appeared, relying on their speed and sharp claws to charge and kill among the group. In just a short time, they had killed six people.
Three were from Su Li's Jinying No. 1 Building B, two from Wu Feng's Shimao Center, and one from Jiang Shuijue's Jinying No. 1 Building A.
The water was their world. The group submerged in the water fell into chaos. Though they were formidable, they struggled to cope. Aside from Su Li, who had just killed one hunter beast, even Gong Xiao and Ling Yi working together could only hold off the beast without finishing it off.
Five hunter beasts remained. Su Li continuously activated "Spider Walk" in the water, matching their speed as he charged toward another beast. With his left hand, he kept gesturing, ordering the others to hurry and surface to escape.
Those fortunate enough not to be attacked by the hunter beasts quickly floated upward. These beasts were incredibly fast, while the group's speed in the water was severely hampered. On land, they wouldn't fear them, but in the water, they crumbled at the slightest touch.
Gong Xiao and Ling Yi also realized the dire situation. Though not weak, they found it nearly impossible to kill the hunter beasts in the water and began to surface.
Fortunately, in that short time, seven or eight people had already surfaced and climbed onto the rafts. Under Wu Feng's command, the rafts carrying the sea cow carcasses began to move away, while two empty rafts stayed put, waiting for those still emerging.
Wu Feng stood on one of the rafts, holding a prepared torch in his right hand. He lit it, and massive fireballs separated from the flames, hovering around him. He was ready to launch them at any monster that surfaced.
In the water, he had no way to use his abilities, but out of it, with fire, his strength and confidence returned.
The situation in the water grew more dire. Su Li's first kill had earned him four effective spirit sources and granted him the special skill "Hunter Beast Claw."
This "Hunter Beast Claw" was like an upgraded version of "Gluttonous Fang," capable of fully transforming his hand into a terrifying claw. Its power was considerable, far surpassing "Gluttonous Fang," but with his superior twin swords, this skill felt more like a useless addition, hard to put to use.
Su Li lunged at the second hunter beast, gesturing with his left hand for Jiang Shuijue to hurry up.
He had just noticed that if not for Gu Mingfeng's "Rock Skin" shielding her, Jiang Shuijue would have died.
Her abilities weren't suited for underwater combat. If she didn't leave soon, she'd be in even greater danger.
Seeing Su Li's gestures, Jiang Shuijue understood and quickly surfaced, preparing to climb onto a raft.
"I should trust Brother Su. These monsters are terrifying, but they can't hurt him. Staying would only distract him." Jiang Shuijue decisively climbed onto the raft, with Gu Mingfeng surfacing right behind her.
The hunter beast that had pounced on him but failed to harm him was punched back underwater by his counterstrike. Enraged, it rose again to attack Gu Mingfeng, who had just surfaced.
The people on the two rafts acted swiftly. Wu Feng's girlfriend, Lin Meimei, was a formidable level-six spirit source user. Her spirit source technique was firing air arrows.
She mimicked drawing a bow, controlling air arrows and shooting them into the water.
The hunter beast, sensing danger, abandoned its attack on Gu Mingfeng and turned to target others still underwater.
Su Li intercepted the second hunter beast. This one had witnessed him kill the first and knew how terrifying he was. Instead of fighting, it fled downward at top speed.
Su Li's eyes narrowed. He activated "Spider Walk" simultaneously, sending water splashing as he shot downward like a rocket. His right hand swung the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword.
The fleeing hunter beast's head flew off, severed by his blade.
He had already entered the second form of "Demon Muscles." To minimize casualties, he pushed his combat power to its peak. With the speed boost from "Demon Muscles" and "Spider Walk," his underwater speed now surpassed the hunter beasts'.
"Level 7 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 80/110"
A message appeared in his mind, and he gained four more spirit sources.
Su Li had killed the second hunter beast, leaving four. Most of those submerged had surfaced and boarded the rafts. Now, including Su Li, Gong Xiao, and Ling Yi, nine people remained in the water.
Su Li didn't stop. After killing the second beast, he activated "Spider Walk" again, charging toward the third.
The four remaining hunter beasts were clearly shocked by Su Li's consecutive kills of two of their kind. They stopped chasing those heading upward and retreated, gathering together as if to confront him as a group.
"Four gathered together? That saves me trouble." Su Li was pleased rather than alarmed. Gripping the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword, he prepared to unleash "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" to take them all out at once.
Just then, he caught a shadowy mass appearing nearby out of the corner of his eye.
A strong sense of unease surged through him, making him halt his charge. He changed direction, using "Spider Walk's" extreme speed and "Demon Muscles'" multiplicative boost to dart diagonally like a torpedo, dodging the shadow's sudden attack.
The shadow didn't pursue him but maintained its trajectory, shooting upward.
Suddenly, blinding blue-white electric light exploded in the water. Even at a distance, Su Li felt his muscles convulse and contract, his entire body instantly paralyzed.
Not just him—the four hunter beasts were frozen too, faring no better.
The worst off were those heading upward. The two at the rear, both level-six spirit source users—one from Jiang Shuijue's Jinying No. 1 Building A, one from Shimao Center—were directly hit by the shadow. The blue-white electric light engulfed them instantly.
In the water, they couldn't scream. Only gurgling sounds escaped their mouths as Su Li watched them convulse violently, their bodies rapidly charring black.
The others weren't directly hit but were close enough to the electric light to be stunned, their hearts momentarily paralyzed.
When the blue-white light faded, the survivors regained their senses. The two who had been hit had blackened, charred skin and floated motionlessly downward, devoid of life.
Now, Su Li could clearly see the shadow was a massive squid, over five meters long, pitch black. Its most bizarre feature was a monkey-like face covered in scales.
This giant squid could discharge electricity in the water. The terrifying current had instantly turned two powerful level-six spirit source users into charcoal, a sight that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Spider Walk" and "Peek Rune" activated simultaneously as he charged toward the giant squid, sensing the information flooding his mind.
"Name: Demon-Faced Electric Eel, Level: Eight, Leader-class spirit source beast. The muscles on its sides consist of 60,000 to 100,000 regularly arranged muscle slices, each acting like a small battery capable of generating voltage. Nearly 100,000 'small batteries' connected in series produce terrifying voltage. It can deliver three immensely powerful high-voltage discharges in quick succession before needing rest to recover. Killing the Demon-Faced Electric Eel guarantees acquiring the special ability 'High-Voltage Shock.'"
Learning the eel's details—an eight-level leader beast—underscored its power. Yet Su Li had no choice but to charge forward. After that first devastating discharge, it could still unleash two more. If he didn't stop it, Gong Xiao, Ling Yi, and the other six fleeing upward would likely all perish.
The electric shock's power was staggering, instantly frying two strong level-six users. Su Li couldn't fathom its intensity.
"Spider Walk" combined with "Demon Muscles" had Su Li adjust his muscles to a defensive state. His chest and back muscles swelled and condensed into a special demon-face form. Gripping the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword with both hands, he shot upward like a cannonball, lunging at the Demon-Faced Electric Eel above.
The eel had been about to pursue the six above and unleash a second terrifying discharge, but Su Li's speed caught it off guard. It curved its massive body, its monkey-like face turning to face him. Its mouth opened, revealing sharp fangs, as blue-white electric light gathered on its head for a second powerful discharge aimed at Su Li.
At that instant, Su Li activated the spirit source within the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword.
Facing such a terrifying eel and its high-voltage discharge, he wasn't sure if "Demon Muscles" could withstand it. The safest move was to kill it before it fully discharged.
Even underwater, the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" was unstoppable. The sword transformed into an energy blade under the spirit source's influence, elongating like a bolt of lightning to over three meters. As Su Li swung it, the slash was devastatingly fast and powerful, cleaving into the eel's head and slicing downward through its body.