“Wait for me~”

She quickly wanted to take off the helmet and put it on again later, not wanting to miss the chance for a head pat.

But just then, the several mentors suddenly said, “Everyone, get ready to depart.”

As the words fell, a yellow light suddenly appeared, enveloping the Deep Sea Palace barrier. The mentors passed through the barrier without wearing diving suits and went outside. Strangely, they could pass through the barrier, but the seawater from outside couldn’t come in.

Sui Li’er couldn’t understand the magical principle behind this barrier. All she knew was that she missed the chance to be petted~

Inner thoughts: I can make up for it later at night… Uwu…

Chen Ling continued to “geek geek” and touch her helmet, a smile on his face all the while. It felt like he was touching a little bald head, very entertaining.

People around them started moving, but he kept “geek geek” touching her head.

Sui Li’er: ???

“Chen Ling?”

“Geek geek~”

“Chen Ling! It’s too noisy!”

“Haha~” Chen Ling laughed and touched her head a couple more times before withdrawing his hand.

“Hmph~” Sui Li’er pouted, thinking: Is touching this helmet better than touching my head? Hmph~

Although she felt a bit unhappy, she still planned to reach out her hand and activate the hand-holding skill.

However, this time, Chen Ling took the initiative to hold her little hand. He softly said, “Let’s go.”

Seeing him so gentle, Sui Li’er smiled and thought, Lord God is so gentle~ I forgive you, hehe~

But at that moment, one of the mentors who stayed behind looked at Chen Ling and said, “Why aren’t you wearing a diving suit?”

Chen Ling glanced at him indifferently, “I don’t need to wear one.”

The mentor furrowed his brows, “Nonsense! The depth here is 13,900 meters. Can you handle it without a suit? Put it on! If you don’t wear it, your qualification for the exam will be revoked!”

Seeing this, Chen Ling was about to teach them a lesson. How dare they talk to the boss like this?

“Aww~ Chen Ling, please put it on~” Sui Li’er shook his hand.She didn’t want Chen Ling to be disqualified from the exam, as they couldn’t attend school together then.

But she forgot that Chen Ling never had this so-called qualification for the exam from the beginning. He heard her plea and rolled his eyes, looking at the clothes on the ground. With a thought, he put it on himself.

Then, he pressed the switch, and the clothes tightened around his body.

“Hmm?”

Little Chen Ling suddenly felt pressure as the suit constricted around him. He unintentionally looked down and saw the bulging package. His package was the biggest among those present.

〚 Ding~ Target, Sui Li’er, embarrassed! Points +1 billion! 〛

Chen Ling: ???

He glanced at her and saw her staring blankly at his lower body, her face turning crimson.

Little Chen Ling immediately had the urge to look up. Now that Chen Ling was wearing the tight diving suit, if he looked up, he would be in big trouble!

He quickly recited the Still Mind Spell. Then, several runes flashed with golden light and entered Chen Ling’s brow.

From a distance, Yan Ran was surprised to see him using magic!

It was the first time she had seen Chen Ling using magic. She had always thought that Chen Ling had some mysterious way of hiding the magic spells.

“Is that… the Still Mind Spell?”

A mind calming spell? As a high-level grand mage, Yan Ran naturally knew what the Still Mind Spell was used for.

She subconsciously glanced at little Chen Ling from afar and was startled by what she saw.

“…”

It’s so big!?

Even the male mentor who had commented on Chen Ling before widened his eyes, thinking, “Dang, what are the kids eating these days to grow so big?”

“Cough~ Let’s go.”

“Oh! Okay!” Sui Li’er snapped out of her daze, blushing, and nodded quickly, avoiding eye contact with Chen Ling for the time being.

Then, Chen Ling held her hand and quickly caught up with the rest of the group.

With the diving suit at over 10,000 meters deep, one would still feel a certain level of pressure. Even with the oxygen-supplying helmet, it was still a bit difficult to breathe. It required some time to adapt and move freely at this depth of the ocean floor.

The pace of the large group gradually slowed down.

Meanwhile, Sui Li’er leisurely enjoyed the scenery around her as Chen Ling guided her along. She only paddled her feet a few times and happily held Chen Ling’s hand, swimming joyfully. Along the way, they encountered large schools of fish, which didn’t seem to fear humans and freely swam through the gaps between them. Sui Li’er happily swam and even reached out to touch the fish.

After a while, the pressure around them noticeably increased, and the number of fish decreased. A faint but eerie energy dispersed in the surrounding seawater, making people feel uneasy. The surroundings turned dark as they were now at a depth of over 10,000 meters, where sunlight couldn’t reach. It was pitch black, and the seawater passing over their helmets and bodies emitted a muffled sound. The whole world felt immersed in water. Bubbles kept rising, producing a somber sound that made people feel quite uneasy.

At this point, the voices of people around them became more frequent. “Wow, it’s so dark… Is anyone there?” They could no longer see the people next to them. The fear and loneliness from the deep sea compelled them to seek a sense of security. They needed light and the comfort of hearing others’ voices.

Sui Li’er remained silent, feeling a bit scared, and tightened her grip on Chen Ling’s hand. Just then, someone activated their magic and illuminated the area with golden runes. A glimmer of gold appeared in the darkness, easing some of the fear from the deep sea.

However, the next moment, everyone was frightened to the core, and the more timid girls screamed out loud. “Ah!”

In front of them was a massive eye, reflecting golden light from the magical illumination. The patterns in the pupil were larger than a person. It was a gigantic curse beast – a Titan-level, equal to a human Curse Master.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, shocked to find such a huge curse beast in the surroundings of Pisces·Deep Sea Palace.

Chen Ling also halted, showing no ripples of emotions. Sui Li’er, terrified, pulled his hand, trying to get closer to him.

Although Chen Ling didn’t get any points, he could sense her fear. He comforted her softly, “I’m here.”

“Okay~” Sui Li’er replied.

At this moment, the mentors also stopped. One of them calmly said, “This is a Titan-level curse beast, the Silver Water Dragon!”

“Silver Water Dragon!?”

Someone immediately exclaimed. It was a terrifying beast that wreaked havoc on the Water Nation a hundred years ago, almost sinking the coastal areas of the country.

In history, this rare curse beast has only appeared once, and it is said that it can even transform into a dragon. After transforming, it can reach the strength of a Forbidden Curse Master!

No one could have imagined that it was actually trapped under the sea of the Water Nation, at a depth of ten thousand meters….

Chen Ling couldn’t help muttering, “If I were to release it, I should be able to reduce quite a lot of points, right?”

“Huh? What did you say just now, Chen Ling?” Sui Li’er asked.

Chen Ling shook his head, “It’s nothing.” Then he looked at the Silver Water Dragon.

〚 Silver Water Dragon Attribute: Water Elephant Pisces, Realm: Titan level (Curse Master level) Stage: Adult, Characteristics: Tough skin, capable of evolution 〛

“Why didn’t they kill this kind of curse beast and keep it imprisoned here?” someone asked fearfully, taking a few steps back and looking at the silver dragon in front of them with terror.

“Yeah! Why not kill it?”

The mentors didn’t explain to them. They just said lightly, “Your assessment today is to leave any kind of mark on its body using any means possible. As long as you can do that, you will pass the assessment.”

“What? How is that possible?” Someone voiced their doubt.

The Silver Water Dragon’s biggest feature is its tough skin. Back then, several curse masters had to join forces to barely defeat it. How could these young mages possibly leave a mark on its body?

But the mentors didn’t explain further. They just looked calmly at the group of examinees.

“This… this is impossible,” Sui Li’er said, feeling puzzled.

Chen Ling smiled and said, “It’s possible. The reason why the Silver Water Dragon has such strong defense is that it relies on the powerful magic inside its body. The magic causes a miraculous reaction in its skin, making it extremely hard. But now, all of its magic has been transferred to the Deep Sea Palace.”

“The Deep Sea Palace is binding it, acting as an electric eel and a magic supply generator. It’s not just that; there are other powerful curse beasts in the surroundings.”

“All of them are at the Titan level! With just the magic inside these curse beasts’ bodies, they can support the operation of the Deep Sea Palace.”

“So, it’s currently very weak, and you don’t need to be too afraid.”

“Ah, I see. So you know everything, huh? Amazing!” Sui Li’er giggled.

〚 Ding~ Sui Li’er feels happy, points +100,000! 〛

Chen Ling smiled and remained silent.

The words were heard by the people around, and they all looked at him in surprise. The mentors in front also looked at Chen Ling with some astonishment. They hadn’t expected this young boy to know so much.

However, when they noticed the large bulge on Chen Ling’s body, they all showed puzzled expressions.

What’s this?

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