Chapter 27: Shark Battle Whirlpool, Instant Kill!

"I hadn't wanted to use this move... Sea God's Protection!"

With a wild roar, Yu Lie's body suddenly expanded again, his entire frame swelling with power. The roaring of crashing waves echoed from his body—the sound of blood surging madly through his veins with explosive speed!

"Die!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yu Lie's speed skyrocketed. He unleashed dozens of punches in a single breath, so fast his fists became mere blurs. At last, he broke through Bai Xuan's twin palms and landed a heavy blow to Bai Xuan's chest, sending him hurtling seven or eight meters back!

"Die—huh?"

Yu Lie's eyes were bloodshot, his twisted joy vanishing, replaced by an expression of utter terror.

"Impossible!"

He looked as if he'd seen a ghost, every hair on his body standing on end.

Not far off, Bai Xuan had taken the punch to his chest. The black sharkskin jacket exploded and tore apart under the strike. Bai Xuan ripped the shredded garment from his upper body and cast it aside, spreading his hands wide.

His skin gleamed with a bronze hue. The spot where he'd been struck faintly shimmered with blue-green scales, and—astonishingly—he was completely unscathed!

"With blood and energy this powerful, my bronze skin and iron bones can easily withstand the attacks of an equal opponent," Bai Xuan exulted silently.

At this level, with bronze skin and iron bones combined with the Azure Scale Technique, not even a master who had broken through three times in blood and energy could threaten him.

This was his first time facing a formidable enemy, his true strength fully unleashed—the exhilaration of such battle was unprecedented!

However, now that he had gauged his opponent's abilities, Bai Xuan sensed there was no need to continue. It was time to finish this.

"Out of respect for you," Bai Xuan said as he reached behind him, untying the tightly bound Coldsteel Fish Spear and stripping away the thick layers of cloth.

"I'll use my strongest technique to kill you—"

"Shark Duel: Vortex Spear!"

In an instant, Bai Xuan's blood and energy retracted deep within him, as if he stood at the bottom of the sea, a thousand meters down, all his power compressed. He flickered forward, appearing in a flash. Only the spear in his hand shone with a deadly edge, a terrifying vortex force spiraling on its tip. Spinning at high speed, the spear shot forth like a bolt of lightning.

"Golden Bell Shield! Sea God's Thunder!"

Yu Lie's expression changed drastically as he bellowed. Escape crossed his mind, but a premonition told him that to flee now would mean an even swifter death.

With a roar, his blood and energy rang like a bell. Faint golden light flickered across his arms; this strike surpassed all limits, unleashing every ounce of his strength—more than he’d ever mustered before!

He swung both fists, the air splitting with a boom, hoping to block the spear. But the vortex force was soft and yielding, dispersing the impact of his blows to the sides. The spearhead came straight for him, all its power focused to a single devastating point. It pierced his pale gold throat, lifting him clean off the ground!

Bang!

The force of the thrust burst out through the back of Yu Lie's neck, spraying a mist of blood like a cyclone that tore through the ruined temple's roof, staining it crimson.

"Too weak!"

Bai Xuan flung the corpse from his spear, sending it crashing to the ground with a splatter of blood.

He had finally found a seemingly well-matched opponent, yet when he fought with full force, the other man was utterly powerless—a single blow was enough to crush him.

"A master who’s broken through three times in blood and energy... but now, he’s no match for me!"

Disappointment mingled with excitement within Bai Xuan. His arduous training had not been in vain.

At the crucial moment, overwhelming strength meant total domination—the enemy was slain in one move, future troubles forever eliminated.

A short while later.

"Still alive."

Bai Xuan checked on the girl. During the fight, he had been extremely careful to avoid her position. Fortunately, his opponent had also held back for fear of harming her. Now she lay in a deep sleep, breathing steadily; clearly, she was unharmed.

Bai Xuan hefted the Coldsteel Fish Spear and, one by one, ran through the two unconscious, dying henchmen, finishing them off with a final Iron Sand Palm that shattered half their bones.

Two hours passed.

Zhao Yan, Old Li, and a white-haired elder hurried to the scene. As they pushed open the doors, all three froze, their pupils constricting in shock.

"Yu Lie is dead!"

They could all see it: the entire ruined temple was shattered, flagstones cracked and broken, pockmarked with footprints, sand and gravel scattered by bursts of energy and palm strikes. Even the Sea God statue at the front had lost a large chunk.

Yu Lie’s massive body knelt on the ground, head lolling, blood pooled and nearly dried. The other two men lay dead, bodies twisted, bones shattered to pulp, their flesh a mangled mess.

The place was like a battlefield of demons, marked with the signs of a brutal, bloody struggle.

"Hiss—" Zhao Yan sucked in a cold breath, a chill running down his spine.

Yu Lie was a notorious fugitive at sea, wanted by the authorities for a reward of eight hundred silver taels—and he was terrifyingly strong. A single punch from him had sent Zhao Yan flying; two left him gravely injured.

Yet this fearsome villain, with two henchmen at his side, had been beaten to death here in this ruined temple?

"His palm techniques were formidable, but his spear arts even more fearsome," observed the white-haired elder, stepping forward, his brows knit in astonishment.

"Yu Lie died without injustice; his opponent was utterly superior, overwhelming him from start to finish. After a fierce struggle, he was slain nonetheless."

"Master, how can you tell what techniques were used?" Zhao Yan asked, still shaken and confused.

"Look at his fists. Yu Lie was a master of the Golden Bell Shield; his fists could shatter steel with ease, yet the skin on his knuckles is torn. Clearly, he met someone who matched him blow for blow, but was outdone in external martial arts," the white-haired elder murmured.

"As for the spear—it's clear. The fatal strike pierced his throat, blood spraying up to the temple roof. That was a frontal assault: one attack, one kill. Yu Lie didn't even have a chance to fight back."

"Terrifying—absolutely terrifying. If we had run into this warrior ourselves, even I might not have escaped," he added.

This white-haired elder was Zhao Yuanchen, an old constable of Qianshan Island Town. In his youth, he had overseen an entire district's constabulary, though his temperament was too detached for officialdom. He eventually retired to the "Sword-Catcher’s Office," instructing disciples like Zhao Yan.

He, too, was a master who had broken through three times in blood and energy. In his youth, he had slain several peers in combat and massacred over a hundred pirates aboard a pirate ship, decapitating their captain.

Yet even with his experience, the sight of these corpses filled him with dread.

"Ying'er!"

Old Li, almost sickened by the bloody stench in the temple, hurried forward in a panic, searching frantically.

"She’s fine—Ying’er is unharmed. Thank goodness!" He found the girl sleeping behind the statue and heaved a long sigh of relief, joy flooding his heart.

"She’s been exposed to sleeping smoke. It’ll take about four hours before she wakes," Zhao Yan said, checking her condition.

"Sleeping smoke... flying knives... poison... To think someone so powerful would still use such tricks?" The white-haired Zhao Yuanchen circled the temple, noting every sign and clue, his heart chilled.

That someone with overwhelming strength would still resort to underhanded means—who could withstand such an opponent?

"If the enemy hadn’t occupied the ruined temple, perhaps he would have simply fired a spear from behind and killed Yu Lie in an instant. There might not have been a battle at all," Zhao Yuanchen thought, conjuring an image in his mind of a terrifying figure lurking in the shadows, a long spear in hand, its edge dull yet deadly, stalking through the darkness of slaughter.