When they reached the riverbank piled with countless pebbles, Ryan Carter set the little crocodile spirit down. The little crocodile spirit immediately chased after the groupers in the shallow water, moving at an astonishing speed—Ryan Carter could only catch a blurry shadow of the little black creature darting by.

“Not bad at all!”

Ryan Carter was a bit surprised. The little crocodile spirit was practically a fishing expert; in no time, it had caught three or four fat, large groupers in its mouth, which would surely be delicious when roasted.

Soon, Ryan Carter realized that the little crocodile spirit didn’t eat the groupers at all; it was simply using these agile fish to practice its hunting skills.

Groupers were among the hardest river fish to catch. Unlike sluggish grass carp, they could swim swiftly along the smooth river pebbles, change direction suddenly, or, if all else failed, hide in the cracks between stones...

As a young crocodile-type spirit, it would normally target clumsy young deer or sheep coming to drink, first camouflaging itself in the muddy water to get close, then biting down in one swift move.

There really weren’t many crocodiles that could catch groupers like this little crocodile spirit!

After hunting groupers for a while, the little crocodile spirit seemed to find it no longer challenging and began swimming farther away.

In the blink of an eye, Ryan Carter saw that the little crocodile spirit had already swum into deeper waters.

“Come back here!”

The area near the waterfall was extremely dangerous. The river’s surface might look calm, but beneath it lurked a terrifying undercurrent that could hurl anything in the water down to the base of the waterfall’s drop!

The little crocodile spirit clearly lacked survival experience. It had intended to use the river’s current to strengthen its limbs and body, and had even deliberately kept some distance from the waterfall, but didn’t realize there was still an undercurrent nearby, which was now pulling its small body in!

At first, the little crocodile spirit was still moving its body and tail rhythmically, keeping pace with the current...

But soon, it began to drift backward bit by bit. No matter how much it sped up its swimming, it was being sucked toward the waterfall’s edge.

Seeing things go wrong, Ryan Carter immediately stripped off his clothes and dove naked into the river, swimming with all his limbs toward the little crocodile spirit.

“Hang in there!”

Ryan Carter quickly felt the resistance of the river, and it was as if something below his waist was wrapping around him, pulling him in a certain direction!

He couldn’t panic, nor could he rush—he had to conserve enough strength.

Ryan Carter slowed down, inching closer to the little crocodile spirit.

Finally, he reached the little crocodile spirit’s side, and hurriedly let it climb onto him...

The little crocodile spirit was terrified by the force of nature. It scrambled onto Ryan Carter’s head, like a fawn about to drown, its little claws flailing.

“Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble~~~~~~~~~~”

Behind them, the roar of the waterfall’s torrent grew closer. Ryan Carter knew very well that he, too, had been caught in the waterfall’s whirlpool. Even though he was still a hundred meters from the falls, breaking free would not be easy.

Ryan Carter tried to maintain a steady swimming pace, hoping to temporarily match the force of the whirlpool.

But his body kept being pulled in, his strength fading. It was already extremely difficult just to keep from being swept away.

“Splash!!!!”

A wave slapped him in the face. Just as Ryan Carter was about to take a deep breath, he choked on water and was instantly swept backward, his strength gone.

After a moment underwater, Ryan Carter suddenly burst to the surface, glanced back at the massive waterfall pit less than forty meters away, and realized there was no way he could escape this terrifying whirlpool!

“Don’t be so naughty next time.”

With one hand, Ryan Carter grabbed the little crocodile spirit on his head, kicked hard with both legs, and, taking advantage of the moment his upper body broke the surface, hurled the little crocodile spirit forcefully out of the whirlpool.

“Glug glug glug!!!!”

The next second, the raging river, like the gaping maw of a monster, swallowed Ryan Carter whole and sent him crashing toward the thunderous waterfall’s edge.

……

On the riverbank, a pitch-black little crocodile circled endlessly in the shallows, trying several times to dive back into the water, but, lacking strength, was pushed back by even the gentlest waves.

“Wuu oh oh~~~~”

“Wuu oh oh~~~~~~~”

It kept calling out, as if crying for help, or perhaps in sorrow, like a lost child unable to find its parents.

All around, only the “rustle” of wind through the sweetgum leaves could be heard. No one else passed by; the little crocodile spirit received no help.

At last, it plunged into the river again. Its dark skin began to split as it touched the water, and something on its forehead started to break through the skin, slowly extending outward...

Blood spread along the riverbank, and patches of black skin kept peeling off the little crocodile spirit’s body.

As it swam toward the waterfall, its figure stretched longer and longer, its limbs and tail growing stronger, its speed increasing.

……

Below the Phoenix Embankment was a huge river pool. Ryan Carter felt dizzy and faint, then everything went black and wet, as if something had swallowed him whole.

When Ryan Carter came to, he found himself indeed at the mouth of a creature—none other than a waterfall flood dragon!

Blue scales, long whiskers, no horns but an extremely long body, like a thousand-year-old python.

This flood dragon was majestic and handsome; even amid the surging, magnificent waterfall’s torrent, its imposing presence could be felt!