The vast ocean, the golden beach, the sea breeze gently stirring the surf that lapped against the shore, the continuous sound of the waves crashing.

Qin Fen stood quietly by the sea, recalling the words Ge Bing had spoken just before being taken away by the ambulance.

"Little Pluto, Shangguan Chuanqi—their chances of winning are greater! That's because you haven't reached the True Innate Realm of Blood Exchange Rebirth, whereas it is rumored that both of those young masters have already achieved that level."

Blood Exchange Rebirth? Qin Fen’s brow remained furrowed. What exactly was the True Innate Realm of Blood Exchange Rebirth? He supposed he would have to ask the expert from the metal sphere about it tonight.

Not an equal to Little Pluto or Shangguan Chuanqi? A slight curve touched the corner of Qin Fen’s mouth. This answer wasn't entirely unexpected. Even with guidance from the grandmasters of the liquid metal sphere, the time frame had been too short—barely less than half a year.

Little Pluto and Chuanqi, however, had cultivated under powerful figures since childhood; their foundations were incredibly deep. It was like giving a struggling high school student six months of intensive tutoring from eight Ph.D. advisors; the knowledge gained would never surpass that of a student who had followed a single Ph.D. mentor since birth for over a decade.

Too many mentors resulted in mental diffusion—listening to one advisor today and another tomorrow, ending up as a mediocre blend, inferior to the student who adhered to the singular philosophy of one dedicated teacher from beginning to end.

Seven of the Eight Great Masters had already appeared, and every single one was a Black Hole level expert! Although the ultimate pinnacles of martial arts shared commonalities, the paths themselves were vastly different, often leading in diametrically opposite directions.

Qin Fen deeply felt the immensity of the martial arts concepts held by the seven masters; absorbing the entirety of even one was immensely difficult, let alone absorbing seven and forging his own martial path.

“First among the new recruits, truly not the peak,” Qin Fen sighed toward the sky, “That was merely a goal for a certain stage.”

“Hey, hey… look! Why is the Squad Leader stripping off his clothes and walking into the sea?”

“Could it be he heard Little Pluto was coming to cause trouble? Realizing he can’t win, he decided to commit suicide?”

“Suicide? Impossible! I bet he just wants to go for a swim.”

The raw recruits murmured among themselves from a distance, watching Qin Fen walk steadily into the deeper waters. In the blink of an eye, the seawater reached his neck. A mere small wave could completely submerge him beneath the ocean.

Qin Fen took several more steps forward, and his figure suddenly vanished from the sight of the police officers.

The beach did not gently slope into the sea; such gradual descents only occurred on artificially manicured bathing resorts.

On an unadorned beach, one might walk along only to suddenly step into a void and sink, completely submerged.

Just like the water, Qin Fen instantly heard gurgling sounds all around him—the sound of moving water. The surrounding seawater immediately pressed against him, threatening to flood his nostrils and force its way into his ear canals.

The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill automatically circulated vital energy into every meridian of his body. His ear canals, which had felt slightly uncomfortable under the water pressure, immediately normalized.

The currents underwater were far more forceful than those on the surface. Qin Fen closed his eyes, sensing the flow of the seawater, and his true qi flowed even more smoothly.

The Dragon-Elephant Prajna! The dragon is the king of the waters, capable of summoning clouds and rain; in anger, it can overturn rivers and overturn seas.

Squeezed by the water from all directions, his true qi momentarily felt like an aquatic flood dragon. Qin Fen felt a noticeable surge in his strength.

He chuckled inwardly. People often said that practicing martial arts underwater increased the difficulty a hundredfold. However, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill seemed immune to such trouble.

With a chest full of vital energy, Qin Fen, possessing Nine-Star strength, had an oxygen reserve far exceeding that of ordinary people. He continued deeper into the ocean with his eyes closed.

Qin Fen walked until he reached a depth of two hundred and seventy meters. While he didn't feel a dramatic change initially, his senses gradually sharpened.

After descending past two hundred and seventy meters, Qin Fen could clearly feel that with every step he took, the immense pressure surrounding him increased sharply, as if attempting to squeeze all the true qi from his body.

Three hundred meters! Qin Fen halted his advance. This method of underwater pressurization was indeed unique; every step down brought a frantic increase in pressure.

The mere thirty meters between two hundred and seventy and three hundred meters brought ten times the pressure accumulated from the initial two hundred and seventy-meter descent!

Qin Fen readjusted the true qi within him. Moving underwater was an entirely different concept from moving on land. Even the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, which transformed into a dragon upon entering the water, could not truly escape this law.

The colossal pressure of the seawater was becoming difficult to resist, compounded by the surging undertow. Qin Fen had to exert himself fully, a challenge far more demanding than any simulated gravity room.

Qin Fen planted his bare feet, sinking his hips, and began executing the Arhat Fist, the Hong Fist, and the Twenty-Four Form Simplified Tai Chi—forms he had practiced countless times—on the seabed.

‘Practicing fists underwater is truly different from the gravity room!’ Qin Fen marveled at the various forces surging around him. ‘To exert power with every movement feels like fighting a deep-sea leviathan. The pressure is unbelievably immense, but even more astonishing is the momentum!’

Previously, when striking on land, no matter the opponent, Qin Fen always felt the grand momentum of the world was under his command! Yet, here in the sea, facing the boundless power of the ocean, Qin Fen realized for the first time that he could not command this great momentum.

Facing the sea, Qin Fen felt like a pathetic insect, able only to desperately carve out a tiny, confined area to control as his own momentum.

However, just as his momentum began to form, the ocean seemed to sense a challenge. A massive underwater wave rushed in, completely annihilating the momentum he had painstakingly created.

‘So, my momentum was merely superficial. Against true, overpowering force, it’s weaker than an egg. If I truly encountered the Earthly Martial God Song Wendong now, perhaps a single expression of his anger could shatter all my so-called momentum?’

He threw out a move of the Coiling Dragon Fist and immediately felt a new sensation. In this seawater, he truly seemed to become a genuine dragon. Though the pressure hadn't lessened, while his body felt weary, there was also an indescribable sense of comfort.

Although he hadn't managed to manifest his own momentum, there was a feeling of borrowing the ocean’s momentum, an almost perfect fusion about to occur—but the borrowing wasn't smooth; at the critical final moment, the ocean rejected him.

‘Interesting… one more time… No!’

Qin Fen’s brow tightened. He had exerted too much energy; his oxygen supply was more than half gone. Continuing this way, he might suffocate to death.

‘Going back slowly is too risky—I’ll rush up!’

Qin Fen stood still on the seabed, adjusting his physical state. Ascending from the deep ocean was completely different from descending, a concept he remembered from high school studies.

When workers dive deep, a significant amount of gas dissolves into their blood and tissues. When rising from the water, the ascent must be extremely slow to allow the dissolved nitrogen in the blood and tissues to diffuse out.

Ascending rapidly from the deep sea, where the pressure drops suddenly by several atmospheres, causes severe physical damage. Gas forms undissolved bubbles in the tissues; these bubbles can form embolisms in small blood vessels, obstructing blood flow, causing pain in muscles and joints, and even paralysis.

The gas redistributed itself throughout every meridian in his body, and his heart pounded powerfully on the seabed, his blood flowing as if propelled by a pressurized pump.

Everything prepared, Qin Fen bent his legs and unleashed two bursts of explosive power toward the sandy bottom beneath his feet. The counter-thrust flung Qin Fen upward like a launched projectile, piercing the water with a straight surge.

Splash…

A spray of water erupted as Qin Fen burst halfway out of the surface. “So refreshing!”

With that single word, he expelled the carbon dioxide from his lungs and took a deep breath. All the tissues in his body felt boundless ease. His internal true qi circulated with a faint vibration, shaking off every bead of water clinging to him.

“My god! Did you see that?” Wu Hui screamed from the shore. “I’ve been here before! I used to come here when I enjoyed diving. I took my full decompression suit to that spot! That’s three hundred meters deep!”

Three hundred meters? The twenty-one raw recruits stared at the small figure on the ocean surface in astonishment. They knew Wu Hui wouldn't lie, and they understood what diving three hundred meters entailed.

In the past, a dive of just one hundred meters was a world record; every meter deeper meant a terrifying increase in value. Even a Nine-Star martial artist managing to descend to two hundred and thirty meters was likely near the absolute limit.

But three hundred meters… the body of the Federation's strongest Nine-Star martial artist absolutely could not withstand such a terrifying depth!

“Oh no! The Squad Leader is diving again…”

Lin Feng looked at the others and asked, “Should I call for an ambulance again?”

The group exchanged glances, unsure whether they should bother.

“Oh my god, the Squad Leader is back up… Oh my god, he’s diving again!”

The twenty-two officers watched Qin Fen, mouths agape, alternating between surfacing and submerging, repeating this cycle for an entire hour.

“Hoo…” Qin Fen broke the surface again, his body quite fatigued. This kind of training wouldn't show results after just one day; he would need to train here every day to see any effect.

Walking out of the water, Qin Fen turned back to look at the magnificent, surging sea. The resentment he had felt earlier about being exiled to Tianbei City had completely vanished, replaced by a sense of elation. This truly was an excellent place for cultivation; practicing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill in the sea this afternoon should significantly accelerate his training speed.

“Squad Leader…” Wu Hui cautiously approached and whispered, “Are you… Qin Fen?”