827 But I did nothing!
Kyle's eyes narrowed upon hearing the words of the old demon. He glanced at the still water with a focused gaze.
'Is there something wrong with the water?'
Immediately, another demon chimed in to scold the first one who had spoken up.
"Let him be. He appears to be someone from the other races who seems to have joined our side; otherwise, why would a human enter this land and still be alive? I'm sure he's here to take a dip as punishment for a task he may have messed up."
The other demons agreed with him and continued their work.
They were there to catch fish that radiated the essence of natural laws and could sell for a considerable amount of money.
To them, it was a normal occurrence to see fools who had come to take dips in the Sea without understanding the consequences. The old demons never provided any details; instead, they relished the spectacle, which made their dull day a bit more interesting.
They all mentally began betting on how loudly this tall human youth would shout after jumping into the water and started deciding who would fish him out. That's why they all clicked their tongues in distaste when the human squatted down and reached out with his finger to check the water. Many of them scoffed.
Kyle ignored them and felt the painful sensation that traveled to his finger. It was almost as if his finger was being skinned. But this much pain was nothing to him.
His eyes glowed faintly as he sensed the raw power of various natural laws in the water, which seemed to be clashing with one another due to their differences. Yet, the surface of the clear water remained perfectly still, without a single ripple.
It was nearly impossible to contain so many natural laws together. Surprisingly, this Sea of Consciousness had so many that he couldn't even keep track of them.
"Who constructed this place? A true Celestial who had reached the peak?"
He murmured, taken aback. Just how much power was needed to harness the forces of so many natural laws in this Sea?
"That person must have reached a level of strength I can't even comprehend if this place was truly created by another."
He stood up, and the demons thought he would retreat now that he had experienced the pain. Yet, their eyes nearly popped out when he took a step back and jumped into the water without hesitation. A splashing sound echoed in the air as Kyle's figure vanished beneath the disturbed surface. The demons glanced at each other.
"What the hell just happened??"
"Is that human crazy? He felt the pain with his finger and still jumped in??"
"He didn't even scream!"
"Who is he? We need to report this to the superiors. No one has been able to jump into the Sea like this and not scream."
"He isn't even coming out! He went deeper! Won't he already be dead?"
The old demons scattered in different directions when the human didn't emerge from the water even after a while. They had to report this anomaly to their leaders!
Meanwhile, in the distance, Jian, whose floating figure was seated cross-legged an inch above the still, glass-like water surface, opened his eyes with a frown.
He had heard the sudden commotion, and that's why his focus was disturbed.
"Damn it... I was so close, very close to grasping something significant. Something otherworldly! Those old demons, I should have eliminated all of them to clear the area when I arrived here."
He hissed under his breath, frustration bubbling inside him. In truth, he was very far from the old demons—so far that they couldn't even catch a glimpse of him. But his senses were very sharp, allowing him to pick up on even the faintest whispers or movements in his surroundings.
"Anyway, who the hell just jumped into the Sea? I didn't sense their presence at all."
Confusion flickered in his eyes. Were people nowadays so powerful that they could leap into the Sea of Consciousness and remain submerged for so long? He shuddered at the mere thought of his first plunge into this Sea; it was a nightmarish experience that still haunted him.
"That individual who just jumped in is probably dead by now. Or maybe he just threw himself in the Sea for good to end his life. I can't wrap my head around why the demons are making such a ruckus."
With a shake of his head, Jian closed his eyes, ready to once again concentrate and try to find that thing he was about to grasp. He had been studying the natural laws of time and space, and he was confident he had made significant progress.
Suddenly, a laugh escaped his lips.
"My understanding of the natural laws of time and space is still not as powerful as Kyle's. But they are powerful enough to freeze initial-stage supreme ranks."
His concentration was once again disrupted when many supreme ranks suddenly arrived at the edge of the Sea, seemingly searching for the human who jumped in. However, they could not find him, nor could they go into the water to search for him, and that's when they noticed Jian, who cursed.
"Damn it, what a dreadful day! What happened to my luck stat? Why do I have a feeling that it's not working today? I formed a shield around myself so the demons can't sense me! Who would have imagined that so many supreme ranks would suddenly appear and detect me?"
He jumped to his feet and vanished in another direction, not in the mood to fight. He was there to learn the natural laws and grow stronger. Engaging in unnecessary battles would only waste his time.
However, as he floated to find another peaceful spot above the Sea to evade the supreme rank demons, his head suddenly slammed into a solid surface that rippled violently upon contact.
"What is this? A barrier?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief when he attempted to shatter the barrier, only to be violently flung backward. He couldn't even leave a single scratch on it!
"Who the hell created such an impossibly powerful barrier above this place?"
Jian felt around the barrier, but he was jolted when it suddenly cracked.
"But I did nothing??!"
He exclaimed, watching as the barrier cracked and shattered into pieces. A cold, lifeless body was flung out of the barrier, followed by a familiar crimson phoenix.