Chapter 124: Undersea Surveillance

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

In his stone hut by the sea, Yin Shiqi finished engraving the last piece of stone in his hands and surveyed the various sculptures scattered across the floor, nodding with satisfaction.

"Not bad at all!"

Over the past six months, the Pope had not assigned him any new missions. He had remained in the Sanctuary, focusing on his training. Aside from giving a single lecture to the trainees in the camp, he spent all his other time by the seaside practicing his carving.

Because the previous expedition to North America had been fraught with peril, he had put his heart and soul into his training over these past six months, working with a diligence far surpassing his previous efforts.

The stone statues filling the floor were the fruit of this half-year of discipline.

Looking from the earliest carvings he had made six months ago to the final piece from today, he could see at a glance that his work had become increasingly refined and exquisite. This evolution in his carving skill was a side reflection of his growing control over sword energy and his deepening mastery of his Cosmo.

He was now very close to the level of a mid-tier Silver Saint.

He turned his gaze toward the east and pondered to himself, "Half a year has passed; Mu should be just about finished with his work."

With that thought, he touched the silver ring on his left hand. The Crater Cloth had suffered severe damage during the last expedition and remained unrepaired to this day. Now, it was time to head to the Jamir Plateau.

"However, before I leave for Jamir, there are some loose ends to tie up." Yin Shiqi looked at the sculptures on the floor and then toward the calm surface of the sea.

With a gentle stamp of his foot, a ripple of Cosmo surged outward, instantly shattering all the stone carvings into rubble.

He then turned toward the sea and began to walk forward slowly. Utilizing his ability to control water, he stood steadily on the surface and made his way toward the deep water. He did not stop until he had reached a point nearly a thousand meters from the coastline.

"This should be far enough." He glanced back at the distant shoreline and nodded to himself.

Deep beneath the water, a Mariner clad in dark green armor swam over and used telepathy to send a message to his companion, "Is that kid still carving stones on the shore?"

"No, he’s stopped," the companion replied, shaking his head as he watched the Mariner approach. "He’s currently standing on the water's surface right above us. He’s likely planning to practice some water-based combat techniques."

They were Mariners dispatched by the General of the Sea Dragon, who guarded the North Atlantic, tasked with gathering intelligence on the Sanctuary. Their original plan was to land on this coast and slowly explore the interior.

Unexpectedly, they had discovered a Saint—and a Silver Saint at that—right here by the shore. To avoid exposing their movements and for their own safety, they had temporarily abandoned their plan to go ashore, waiting for him to leave.

Little did they know, this young Saint would remain by the sea for half a year. Aside from one brief departure that had given them a chance to land once, they had been forced to hide beneath the water for the rest of the time to remain undetected. It was fortunate that the Sea Dragon General had sent several different teams to land at various points along the coast, otherwise, they would have had nothing to report upon their return.

However, thanks to their long-term observation, they had also learned the daily training routine of this Silver Saint: carving and water manipulation. Now, seeing him on the water, they assumed he was preparing to practice the latter.

Hearing this, the newly arrived Mariner looked up toward the surface and sighed, "Tell me, is it not an insult to our pride that a Saint is actually better at controlling water than we are?"

"Give it a rest!" his companion shot him a glare and added, "We are nothing more than foot soldiers who have only just ignited our Cosmo. How can we compare ourselves to a Silver Saint like him?"

"Even if he didn't have water-manipulation abilities, his raw telekinetic control over the flow of water would likely still be stronger than ours."

Cosmo could be manifested as telekinetic energy, used for tasks like voice transmission or moving objects, and had a wide range of applications. Consequently, the vast gap in their strength made any comparison impossible.

"Fair point," the first Mariner sighed in resignation.

On the surface, Yin Shiqi gathered his Cosmo into his right hand and punched down toward the water beneath his feet.

"Vortex Shredder!"

In an instant, his Cosmo expanded, and a massive water spout formed beneath him. Like a colossal dragon of water, it began to drill deep into the ocean depths.

Below the surface, noticing the water spout rapidly drilling down toward them, one of the Mariners exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, is that guy pushing a bit too hard today?"

During their past observations, he had mostly just messed around on the surface and never exerted himself to reach such depths. Now, the vortex had already descended nearly a hundred meters and showed no sign of stopping, which was highly abnormal.

The companion beside him froze, then cried out in alarm, "This is bad! He’s discovered us and is launching an attack!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he scrambled to retreat. The water spout was descending directly above them without deviation, and as it sank deeper and deeper, it was impossible to believe this was a coincidence.

Hearing this, the other Mariner also realized the danger and fled in panic.

On the surface, Yin Shiqi, having locked onto the two Mariners with his Seventh Sense, curled his lips into a smile.

"Do you really think it’s not too late to run now?"

Across the vast expanse of deep water, he would normally have been unable to detect the presence of these two, but after returning from his lecture, he had discovered that someone had touched the sculptures he left on the shore. Once he investigated carefully, he naturally tracked them down.

Seeing that the two were weak and merely hiding to monitor him, he hadn't bothered with them. But now that he was leaving the Sanctuary, he had to take care of them to prevent them from harming the trainees in the nearby camp.

He had originally intended to use his sword energy to strike them down directly, but the water was too deep, and the water resistance would have severely weakened the force of his blade. He had no choice but to use the power of the water itself to crush them.

*Gurgle!*

As Yin Shiqi intensified his output of Cosmo, the water spout’s descent accelerated, and its rotational speed increased significantly.

The two Mariners had not even swum a meter when the overwhelming suction of the vortex caught them.

"No—!"

They struggled with all their might, but they could not break free from the vortex's pull and were dragged directly into the swirling current.

Moments later, the blue water spout was stained a deep, bloody red. The bodies of the two Mariners were torn apart by the tremendous torque of the vortex.

"Done and dusted."

After eliminating the two Mariners, Yin Shiqi ceased his output of Cosmo, and the water spout gradually dissipated. Two bleeding corpses slowly sank into the depths of the sea.

"I wonder if my Crater Cloth will become even stronger after this repair?" With a hint of anticipation, Yin Shiqi slowly walked back toward the shore.