“Today you are not going anywhere. By not helping the Water Temple, we are already helping Ling Xiao. If we become enemies with the Water Temple just for him, every single member of our Twin Flowers Pirate Crew will die. Can you bear that responsibility?”
Hua Fuguang was utterly calm.
She knew that if Ling Xiao died because of this, her little sister would hate her for the rest of her life. Yet she had no choice.
She was the leader of the Twin Flowers Pirates. She had to be responsible for every crew member.
“Sis, you can’t do this! Can’t you see? Ling Xiao will not die. Once he survives, his future will be limitless. Even the Water Temple may not be able to stop his rise. We have to help him now!”
Hua Luoying shouted desperately.
“If you have such confidence in him, then there is even less reason to worry.”
Hua Fuguang simply closed her eyes, refusing to listen to her sister’s pleas.
Back on the street, more than a thousand blood-soaked pirates, each a seasoned killer, leapt down from the ship. They howled like beasts from the deep ocean, radiating evil, sinister, and brutal auras.
Not one of them was innocent. Every hand had taken hundreds of lives.
To these pirates, human life held no value.
Whatever belonged to them was theirs. Whatever belonged to others was also theirs. If others refused to hand it over, they simply took it by force.
That was the pirate way: simple, brutal, and without reason.
The hidden martial artists along the street did not even dare breathe loudly, terrified of provoking these fiends and losing their lives.
Yet Ling Xiao remained seated at the little stall, savouring his tofu pudding as though the newcomers did not exist.
A man in a blue robe stared icily at the corpse on the ground, its chest completely shattered.
He was the Water Temple’s representative in Sin City, tasked with gathering wealth for the Temple.
The One-Eyed Pirate Crew had been an excellent source of revenue.
Now their leader was dead, killed after the Water Temple’s name had been invoked.
As the Temple’s representative, he could not tolerate such blatant disrespect.
Standing on either side of him were the four captains of the One-Eyed Pirate Crew.
The captain of the first fleet had flaming red hair. His cultivation was equal to the late one-eyed dragon’s, and he possessed a powerful flame martial soul. His combat strength was formidable.
“It would be overkill for me to act against such a brat. Captain Fire, you go first. No need to observe any martial code. Kill without mercy.”
The Water Temple representative sat at the prow and spoke coldly.
“Yes, sir!”
Captain Fire glared at Ling Xiao, who was still eating at the stall. He suddenly threw a punch. Flames surged, and the table instantly burst into roaring fire, thick smoke billowing upward.
“Ling Xiao! Get over here and die!”
His furious roar shook the heavens, no less imposing than the one-eyed dragon’s had been.
“I always heard the first fleet captain of the One-Eyed Pirates was nearly as strong as their leader. Seeing him today, the rumours were true.”
Faces in the crowd flickered between worry and gloating.
Some genuinely feared for Ling Xiao.
Others delighted in his misfortune.
After all, people are different. You cannot expect everyone to wish you well.
But everyone agreed on one thing: Captain Fire was powerful. If the others joined him, Ling Xiao would be in serious trouble.
Yet although the table burned to ashes, the bowl in Ling Xiao’s hand remained intact, as did the stool beneath him.
The bowl seemed to float in mid-air without any support, yet it did not fall or shatter. The sight left onlookers dumbfounded.
They could not help but marvel inwardly.
This Ling Xiao really was something. Then they recalled how domineering he had been against the one-eyed dragon. This display no longer seemed surprising, and they relaxed slightly.
“Damn it, putting on airs for me?”
Scarlet flames erupted around Captain Fire. A fiery phantom appeared behind him, making him look incredibly ferocious.
“Get him! Tear that brat apart alive! No need to hold back. Everyone attack!”
At Captain Fire’s roar, the nearly three hundred pirates of the first fleet charged toward Ling Xiao with savage cries.
In their eyes, even if Ling Xiao was strong, three hundred Celestial Human realm warriors should be more than enough to crush him.
“Kill!”
Captain Fire waved his hand and barked the order in an icy voice.
“Kill!”
The pirates lacked military discipline and coordinated tactics, but their ferocious, demonic howls still carried terrifying momentum as they rushed Ling Xiao.
At that instant, a bone-chilling cold spread across the entire street.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
An icy presence descended upon the world. Every pirate could not help shivering, feeling as though they had plunged into an icy abyss.
Wind rose.
Snowflakes cut like blades.
Soft and supple, yet brimming with murderous intent.
Screams exploded among the pirates. The bodies of those who reached Ling Xiao first gradually froze, turning into translucent aquamarine ice crystals.
The pirates behind could not halt their charge and crashed heavily into their frozen comrades.
The ice sculptures toppled and shattered on the ground.
There was no blood, but the scene was equally eerie and cruel.
Any pirate who came close to Ling Xiao could not escape being frozen solid.
Pirates were human too.
When fear overwhelmed their ferocity, they no longer dared advance.
Dozens of their comrades had already died before their eyes in that bizarre, horrifying manner. Who would not be shaken?
Who was it?
Who had intervened to help Ling Xiao?
The onlookers wondered.
And this person was willing to offend the entire One-Eyed Pirate Crew to protect him. Just what was Ling Xiao to them?
The surviving pirates of the first fleet surrounded Ling Xiao yet did not dare take another step.
The mysterious helper had not revealed themselves.
The pirates had no idea who their enemy was, but that person was unquestionably terrifying.
“Anyone who retreats dies!”
Captain Fire’s voice rang out coldly. He charged forward first.
He now understood: without his direct involvement, his subordinates stood no chance against Ling Xiao.
“Yes, sir!”
Under his threat and encouragement, the pirates regained their nerve. Fear was once again replaced by savagery. They glared at Ling Xiao with ice-cold eyes and turned ferocious once more.
“Attack!”
Captain Fire led the charge, his fleet close behind. Their towering killing intent condensed into a torrent that surged forward.
This time, no snow fell. No freezing chill arrived.
Instead, plum blossoms filled the sky.
A refined, elegant fragrance drifted through the air, intoxicating and mesmerising.
