The moment he entered the water, Li Yang shot backward as if he had run into something unbelievable.

"SPLASH!"

As he retreated, the water churned, and a massive, ferocious creature revealed itself.

It was a bizarre creature resembling a giant lobster. Its body was a full four meters long and entirely pitch-black, as if encased in a thick suit of armor.

Even Li Yang felt a sense of danger from its two giant pincers.

’Is that a lobster? It’s... it’s way too big, isn’t it?’

Li Yang was shocked as he stared at the enormous, lobster-like creature.

The largest lobster on record was only 1.2 meters long, but this thing was three or four times that size!

It looked like one of those highly destructive sea monsters from a disaster movie.

A violent glint flashed in the lobster-like behemoth’s ping-pong-ball-sized eyes as it swung its two massive pincers and charged straight at Li Yang!

Li Yang didn’t dare let his guard down. He clenched his fists and unleashed his full power!

His right fist smashed into the lobster monster’s body like a hammer.

"BANG!"

With a dull thud, the lobster monster was knocked back several meters. A fist-shaped dent appeared on its shell, and a jolt of pain shot through Li Yang’s own fist.

’This shell is way too hard, isn’t it?’

Li Yang rubbed his fist. ’What is my current strength? If I had to classify it, I’d be considered a Mid-Earth-Level.’

His physical constitution was twenty times that of an ordinary person. With that kind of power, a single punch could incapacitate a fierce tiger. He could even blow the head off a great white shark. But this lobster monster wasn’t dead; it just had another dent in its shell.

Instead of cowering after being knocked back, the lobster monster became even more frenzied and charged at him again.

Li Yang fought as he retreated, throwing punches relentlessly. He had a knife, but he’d already tried it and found it couldn’t pierce the monster’s shell at all. His fists were far more effective.

Soon, Li Yang was back on the shore, but the lobster monster actually pursued him onto land.

’It dares to follow me?’ Li Yang sneered inwardly at the sight.

His power was definitely greater on land!

The lobster monster was strong, but it was much slower than him, leaving it wide open to his attacks.

And so, with punch after punch, the lobster monster’s resistance grew weaker and weaker until, finally, it stopped moving.

"Whew, it’s finally dead!"

Li Yang let out a sigh of relief. The lobster monster’s body was covered in a dense pattern of fist-shaped dents; there was hardly an intact spot on it.

However, despite having killed the lobster monster, Li Yang’s own fists were now bleeding and throbbing with a fiery pain.

He circulated his Cultivation Technique, and the ambient Spiritual Power from heaven and earth flowed into his body, slowly healing the wounds on his hands.

’What on earth was that thing?’

Li Yang pondered silently.

Based on his assessment, the lobster monster’s strength was at least close to Earth-Level. If it were to fight a great white shark, the monster would definitely win.

But no such creature was listed among the known apex predators of the ocean.

As he was thinking, Li Yang’s expression suddenly changed, and he spun around.

"Who’s there!?"

Someone was standing right behind him.

It was a man in his thirties, dressed in black, looking at Li Yang with a smile.

There had been no one behind Li Yang a moment ago; the man seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

It would have scared a more timid person to death.

"So young, yet at the Earth-Level. To think Coastal City had a hidden genius Cultivator." The man wasn’t surprised that Li Yang had noticed him and simply smiled as he spoke.

Noticing Li Yang’s wary gaze, he added, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Shao Jie, and I’m from the Celestial Origin Palace."

’Shao Jie? The Celestial Origin Palace?’

Li Yang watched the man, his mind on high alert.

Without a doubt, this man was a Cultivator.

Even though he knew Cultivators existed, this was the first time he had ever met one.

Furthermore, meeting Shao Jie meant that his own hidden identity as a Cultivator was now exposed.

And as things stood, Li Yang was completely unaware of the rules of the Cultivation Realm.

Seeing that Li Yang didn’t respond, Shao Jie smiled. "You must have stumbled upon a Cultivation Technique by chance to gain your current strength, right?"

Shao Jie didn’t know every Earth-Level Cultivator on the planet, but he was familiar with all the young ones, and he had certainly never seen Li Yang before.

Li Yang was silent for a moment before nodding. "That’s right."

Shao Jie smiled. "Then how much do you know about cultivation?"

Seeing that the man before him seemed to have no ill intent, Li Yang said, "I know the cultivation realms are divided into Yellow Level, Profound Level, Earth-Level, Celestial Level, and King Level. I don’t know anything beyond that."

Shao Jie nodded. "Yes, that’s how we classify the cultivation realms. As I just told you, I’m from the Celestial Origin Palace. It’s the Cultivator organization of Hua Country, and it’s also the most powerful Cultivator organization in the world."

’The most powerful?’

Li Yang froze and looked at Shao Jie.

Shao Jie said with a smile, "The Celestial Origin Palace was founded by the strongest Cultivator on Earth. Wouldn’t you say that makes it the most powerful force?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Hearing this, a look of shock flashed in Li Yang’s eyes. "You mean the strongest one? The being who can withstand a nuclear bomb?"

He never expected that the very first Cultivator he’d ever met would be a member of the same organization as that terrifying being who could withstand a nuclear strike.

Shao Jie glanced at Li Yang. ’This kid isn’t being honest, is he? Said he only knew the cultivation realms? Looks like he knows quite a bit more.’

He smiled and nodded. "You’re right. Our leader can indeed withstand a nuclear bomb."

As he spoke of that person, a clear look of awe and adoration filled his eyes.

’So it’s really them,’ Li Yang marveled to himself.

"Since you know, are you interested in joining us at the Celestial Origin Palace?" Shao Jie asked, looking at Li Yang.

"You have the Talent for cultivation, and your strength has already reached the Earth-Level. Joining a Cultivator organization is your best option. Only by interacting with other Cultivators can you improve your strength more quickly."

Hearing Shao Jie’s invitation, Li Yang considered it for a moment. Instead of refusing, he asked directly, "What are the benefits of joining?"

He wasn’t some hot-headed kid; he’d had his reservations.

Shao Jie wasn’t surprised by Li Yang’s question. If he ever met a Cultivator who, after just a few words, was begging to join, he’d assume that person was a simpleton. It was only natural to ask for clarification.

Shao Jie smiled. "The Celestial Origin Palace has many things—things that are hard to get in the outside world, and things that don’t exist in the outside world at all. For example, certain medicinal herbs that can aid cultivation are virtually impossible to find out here, but the Celestial Origin Palace has treasures like that readily available!"

’Medicinal herbs that can help with cultivation?’ Hearing this, Li Yang’s interest was piqued.

His current cultivation method relied on absorbing the strange energy from the world around him; he had never encountered any such herbs.

After a moment’s thought, Li Yang suddenly asked, "Do you have any Anticancer Agent?"