Time passed.
Lían remained seated cross-legged at the bottom of the lake.
His breathing was steady.
His spiritual energy had gradually returned to its peak.
Then—
his eyes suddenly opened.
At almost the exact same moment—
the surrounding water moved.
His sword instantly flew into his hand.
A thin coat of water spread across his body.
Lían's gaze sharpened.
He remained completely still.
*...What is that?*
Something had appeared within the water.
He could feel it.
Not through his eyes.
Through the water itself.
A disturbance.
A presence.
Something moving beneath the surface.
*The next opponent?*
His grip tightened around his sword.
*I can't lower my guard.*
His sense spread farther.
*What kind of opponent appears directly inside the water?*
A thought surfaced.
*Could it also possess an Aquatic Water Body?*
His eyes narrowed.
*Or perhaps some kind of water-element technique?*
Neither explanation felt quite right.
The presence was too large.
Too heavy.
Then—
Lían's expression suddenly changed.
His pupils contracted.
His eyes widened.
"...What?"
The water before him violently shifted.
Something enormous emerged from the darkness.
A gigantic maw suddenly opened.
Rows of enormous teeth filled its mouth.
It snapped shut.
**BOOOOOOM!**
The water exploded.
Lían's body instinctively shot backward.
The creature's jaws closed on the place where he had been moments earlier.
The force alone sent a massive current through the lake.
Lían continued retreating.
His eyes remained fixed upon the creature.
*What the hell is that?!*
The enormous beast slowly turned.
Its massive body became visible through the clear water.
Blue scales covered its thick hide.
Four powerful limbs pushed against the lake floor.
A long tail swept behind it.
Its enormous eyes locked onto Lían.
Lían stared.
"...A crocodile?"
The creature opened its jaws.
A low rumble shook the surrounding water.
Lían's expression became serious.
*...A demon beast.*
But this was no ordinary crocodile.
Its body was massive enough to crush a house.
Its scales were thick.
Its jaws alone could probably swallow him whole.
Lían tightened his grip around his sword.
The crocodile slowly lowered its body.
Its eyes remained fixed upon him.
Then—
its enormous tail moved.
The water behind it violently erupted.
The beast shot forward.
Lían's pupils contracted.
*It's fast!*
He immediately moved.
The crocodile's jaws snapped shut again.
**BOOM!**
Lían narrowly escaped.
His body spun through the water.
The water cloak around him rippled violently from the pressure.
He steadied himself several meters away.
His gaze remained fixed upon the approaching demon beast.
*It isn't using any technique.*
*It's simply moving through the water.*
His expression hardened.
*And it's already this fast.*
The crocodile turned.
Its enormous body twisted within the lake.
Then—
it charged again.
Lían raised his sword.
Water gathered around the blade.
His eyes narrowed.
*Alright.*
*Let's see how strong you really are.*
---
After a while—
the battle had already spread across the depths of the lake.
**BOOM!**
The crocodile's massive tail swept toward Lían.
He raised his sword.
**CLANG!**
The impact struck like a mountain.
Lían's body was sent flying through the water.
He immediately twisted his body.
The surrounding water gathered around him.
His Water Control Art activated.
The current slowed his momentum before he crashed into the lake floor.
Lían let out a low groan.
"...Ugh."
He steadied himself.
His eyes remained fixed upon the enormous creature.
The blue-scaled crocodile slowly turned toward him.
Its body showed almost no sign of injury.
Lían's expression became increasingly serious.
*...So this is what it's like fighting a demon beast.*
He looked down at his sword.
Then—
back toward the crocodile.
He had already attacked it countless times.
Its sides.
Its back.
Its legs.
Even its belly.
Yet—
nothing had worked.
The sharp edge of his sword had only managed to leave shallow scratches across its scales.
Even the softer-looking scales beneath its body weren't much different.
*...I can't hurt it.*
His grip tightened.
The crocodile suddenly opened its jaws.
Lían immediately moved sideways.
**BOOM!**
Its jaws snapped shut.
A violent current swept past him.
Lían used the momentum to move farther away.
His eyes narrowed.
*My sword isn't enough.*
*My water techniques aren't enough either.*
He had already tried using the water to attack from different directions.
He had tried compressing it.
Accelerating it.
Using the lake itself to increase the force behind his attacks.
But—
the crocodile simply endured them.
Its scales were too tough.
Its body was too powerful.
And unlike his previous opponent—
this creature didn't need complicated techniques.
It could simply rely on its physical strength.
Lían's expression gradually became more focused.
*Then...*
*I need to find another way.*
The crocodile's massive body suddenly sank lower.
Its limbs pushed against the lake floor.
Lían's pupils contracted.
*It's coming again.*
The beast shot forward.
Lían's sword immediately moved.
The surrounding water gathered around the blade.
He didn't attack the crocodile's body this time.
Instead—
he targeted the water around it.
A powerful current suddenly twisted around the creature.
The crocodile's movement slowed for an instant.
Lían's eyes sharpened.
*...It worked.*
Only for an instant.
The crocodile violently shook its body.
The current shattered.
Its enormous jaws opened again.
Lían immediately retreated.
*No.*
*Controlling the water isn't enough to restrain it either.*
He continued moving backward.
His breathing became heavier.
*There has to be a weakness.*
The crocodile charged again.
Lían raised his sword.
The two figures collided once more in the depths of the lake.
The battle continued.
Again—
and again—
Lían's sword struck the crocodile.
**CLANG!**
The blade scraped across its scales.
A shallow mark appeared.
Nothing more.
The crocodile's tail swept around.
Lían immediately moved.
The massive tail passed through the water with enough force to create a violent current.
Lían was forced backward.
He steadied himself.
His gaze remained fixed upon the demon beast.
*...I can't keep attacking its body.*
Its scales were simply too tough.
Even the underside wasn't weak enough for him to exploit.
*If I continue like this...*
*I'll exhaust myself before I can injure it.*
The crocodile opened its jaws.
Lían's expression tightened.
He immediately moved upward.
**BOOM!**
The jaws snapped shut beneath him.
He glanced downward.
Those teeth...
If he were caught between them, there would be no chance to survive.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
*Then I need to stop thinking about breaking through its defense.*
*I need to find a weak point.*
His gaze traveled across the creature's enormous body.
The legs.
The belly.
The throat.
The joints.
Nothing seemed promising.
Then—
his eyes stopped.
The crocodile's head.
More specifically—
its eyes.
*...Its eyes.*
Unlike the scales covering the rest of its body, the eyes were exposed.
No armor.
No thick scales.
Just flesh.
Lían's grip tightened around his sword.
*If I can damage one of its eyes...*
*Or better yet...*
*Take away its sight completely...*
His expression became focused.
*Then this fight will change.*
But immediately—
another thought followed.
*Getting close to its head is dangerous.*
The crocodile's mouth was there.
So was its tail.
If he approached carelessly—
one mistake would be enough.
Lían watched the creature carefully.
The crocodile turned toward him.
Its enormous eyes locked onto his position.
Lían slowly raised his sword.
*Its eyes are the weakest point.*
*But reaching them...*
His gaze hardened.
*That's the real problem.*
The crocodile suddenly lunged.
Lían's body moved.
He didn't retreat this time.
Instead—
he slipped beneath the creature's massive head.
The crocodile's jaws snapped shut behind him.
**BOOM!**
Lían's eyes flashed.
*Now!*
Water surged beneath his feet.
His body shot upward.
Straight toward the crocodile's head.
The beast's eye widened.
Lían raised his sword.
*If I can blind it...*
*I can turn this battle around.*