Tang Wulin faltered slightly before finally deciding against attacking for a second time. He roared with fury, "What do you want?"

Old Demon Nightmare shrugged in response. "I don't want anything; I just don't like seeing you so happy. Remember that I'm a demon, and demons only like to see people suffer. If you show me that happy face again, I'll show you what it means for joy to breed sorrow."

Tang Wulin's breathing was very fast and heavy. He had never hated anyone more in his entire life, and he wanted nothing better than to tear this Old Demon Nightmare to shreds with his bare hands.

Not only was he torturing his body, he was also torturing his heart.

"What do I have to do for you to release my friends?" Tang Wulin snarled.

A disdainful look appeared on Old Demon Nightmare's face. "That'll depend on your performance. Do you think I'll let them go just because you've stolen a plane? Truth be told, I've been really looking forward to seeing what emotions they'd display after realizing that they'd mated with the wrong partners. I've been holding back my innermost urges for your sake, so you should really be thanking me. What kind of expression is that? You don't look very grateful. How about you show me a smile? Otherwise, I'll release the mist again."

"You..." Tang Wulin was clenching his teeth so hard that it felt as if they were on the verge of shattering. He controlled his own emotions with all his might, and forced a smile onto his own face.

Old Demon Nightmare made his way over to him before patting him on the shoulder. "See? Isn't that much better? Alright, let's begin the next segment. What should the next segment be? Let me think... It was clearly far too easy for you to steal an aircraft in the air, so why don't you swim there this time? Swim over to the legion base and steal another plane. I'll release your friends after you do that."

Swim there? Tang Wulin's pupils contracted drastically upon hearing this.

What did that entail? It entailed that he would have to swim through black seawater that devoured all energy. After making it out of that region of the sea, he still had to swim through 30 kilometers of seawater infested by countless powerful sea soul beasts.

The sea soul beasts in this region of the ocean were so powerful that the federation had deployed an entire legion to this coast, and built up so many powerful defensive barricades; could he really swim over to the other side?

Old Demon Nightmare raised a hand, and a black crystal flew over to Tang Wulin.

"This is my Nightmare Crystal. When you feel like you can't go on any longer, inject your soul power into this thing, and you'll instantly be teleported back here. The rest will be up to you, but don't take too long because I might not be able to repress my urges for much longer, kukukuku!"

Old Demon Nightmare vanished into thin air amid a string of sinister cackles.

Tang Wulin held the Nightmare Crystal tightly in his hand, and his breathing began to accelerate.

He didn't fear hardships, and nor did he back down from challenges, but no matter how he looked at it, Old Demon Nightmare was clearly someone who didn't keep promises.

But what choice did he have? In the face of the threat being posed by Old Devil Nightmare, he had no choice but to do as he was told. Old Demon Nightmare was taking advantage of the most vulnerable part of his heart, and he had no choice but to do this for the sake of his friends.

Tang Wulin knew how to swim, but it was far too difficult to pass through a stretch of the ocean that was infested with so many sea soul beasts. On top of that, on the other side of the ocean was the Northsea Legion base. He had no doubt whatsoever that he'd be bombarded by all types of soul weapons as soon as he stepped onto the shore.

……

Xu Lizhi was panting heavily, and all of his clothes were soaked with sweat once again. His mind was entirely filled with horror, and his body was spasming uncontrollably.

"You're a useless piece of trash! If I didn't adore your chubby appearance so much, I would've sliced you up and eaten you already! I can tell that you've been hiding behind others your entire life, haven't you? There's always someone there to shield you from danger, so you can continue being the useless trash that you are! You can't even get past the 300 meters of the seawater of destruction; when will you ever get to the other side? It took you three whole months to barely get used to flying an aircraft, and you didn't lose any weight throughout that entire process! Useless, useless, useless! You have zero redeeming traits! How are you ever going to steal a plane like this? I should go and find some other source of entertainment."

Xu Lizhi panted heavily as an image appeared before his eyes. The image depicted two people in a cave, both of whom were completely inundated by pink mist.

The two people in the image were Ye Xinglan and Xie Xie.

Ye Xinglan's body was beginning to writhe, and she seemed to have awakened from her unconscious state. Meanwhile, Xie Xie's body also began to tremble as his hands tore at his clothes in a semi-conscious state.

"No!" A roar that barely sounded human erupted out of Xu Lizhi's mouth.

He howled like a madman, "Don't do it! Please don't do it! I'll swim to the other side even if it kills me! Please stop!"

He fell to his knees in front of Old Demon Nightmare, and his body was trembling uncontrollably. He was truly on the verge of breaking. If it weren't for the fact that there was still a glimmer of hope left, he really didn't want to continue living any longer.

"Crack!" A metal fence fell from above to separate Ye Xinglan and Xie Xie.

"Go!" Old Demon Nightmare commanded in a cold voice.

"Argh!" Xu Lizhi roared with fury, and his eyes were completely bloodshot as he sprinted toward the inky-black seawater. He flailed his arms with all his might, trying to get to the blue seawater as fast as he could while his energy was being rapidly sapped away.

In that instant, an astonishing burst of power erupted from his rotund frame as he tapped into all of his latent potential. The seawater parted before him, and his body was becoming more and more feeble, but adrenalin was pumping through his veins. If he couldn't make it to the other side, then Xinglan was going to be...

Just the mere thought spurred him on, and his soul power circulated within his body at an unprecedented speed as he swam like a deranged man.

Old Demon Nightmare stood on the shore with an evil smile on his face. The image depicting Ye Xinglan and Xie Xie vanished into nothingness, and at this point, Xu Lizhi had already made it out of the black region of the sea.

However, one sea soul beast after another quickly began to appear before him.

Xu Lizhi continued to flail his arms like a madman, unleashing his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and Mysterious Jade Hands to create a series of vortexes in the seawater. One sea soul beast after another was torn apart as he swam onward with all his might. A series of wounds were being inflicted onto his body during the process, but he was so pumped with adrenaline that he didn't even notice.

……

Tang Wulin lay spread-eagled on the shore, not wanting to move even a single muscle. He felt as if his entire body had been torn apart. He could still clearly recall the instant when the giant demonic fish's sharp teeth had pierced through his skin.

Even his golden dragon scales had been unable to protect him, and the Nightmare Crystal and brought him back just in the nick of time, but he was completely exhausted.

He was able to rely on his own wealth of soul power and the versatility of his Bluesilver Emperor vines to make it out of the sea of destruction, but even though the blue sea beyond that was abundant with life force energy, it was an even more terrifying place.

There was not a single sea soul beast there that was younger than 100 years old as all of them had most likely become snacks for the more powerful sea soul beasts already.

All of the sea soul beasts were so fearsome, and they hunted in schools. On land, he could use his Golden Dragon King bloodline aura to intimidate all soul beasts, but that effect was greatly hampered in the sea. Tang Wulin had already done everything that he could, but he was only able to swim for 500 meters before being completely overwhelmed.

There was simply no end to the number of sea soul beasts in that region of the ocean, and he couldn't see any hope. He'd already tried to slaughter them with all his might, but there were always more sea soul beasts waiting for him, and each one was more powerful than the previous one.

I can't do it! I may not even be able to swim to the other side after becoming a Titled Douluo. Tang Wulin was starting to become quite dejected. However, whenever these negative thoughts began to get the better of him, he would think about his friends. If he couldn't make it to the other side, then his friends would...

With that in mind, his heart jolted violently, and he reflexively sat up.

A figure made his way over to Tang Wulin from afar before taking a seat in front of him.

Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon seeing this man as he wasn't Old Demon Nightmare, nor was he any of his friends. After being here for so long, it was only the second time that he'd encountered this man.

"Senior!"

Old Demon Scourge still wore his signature benevolent smile, and he said, "I've heard about everything you've been through; Nightmare has truly gone too far!"

A sympathetic look appeared on his face as he spoke.