Chapter Ninety-Two: Return to Thousand Mountain Island, Displaying Strength!
Qianshan Island Harbor.
A few guards were dozing, yawning endlessly. They had once been petty officials, but now all had been drafted into the Qianshan Army.
“Hm?”
One of the guards, bleary-eyed and half-asleep, suddenly snapped awake with a jolt! He saw two massive ironwood warships approaching. On the slightly trailing ship, a blood-stained lone star was painted on the hull. Below it, a slender flying dagger was drawn—razor-sharp and unmistakable, so vivid that even from afar, one could see the blade rising and falling with the waves.
A banner bearing the Bai family’s green dragon emblem fluttered atop the warship. But on the hull, the blood-stained lone star had been slashed through with a giant “X,” painted simply with blue tree lacquer, splitting the whole insignia.
“Someone has taken down Peiro’s head, captured his flagship, and is now returning?”
The guard hurried up to the watchtower to report. A captain rushed out, face grave, watching as the two colossal ironwood warships slowly entered the harbor.
“The Bai family… No, the Qianshan Army shall see a new titan rise among its ranks!”
…
Aboard the Sea Swallower.
“The harbor defenses are much stronger than before. Even a single watchtower is now manned by experts who have broken through three stages of qi and blood. Clearly, the Qianshan Army has mobilized considerable strength in a short time.”
Bai Xuan withdrew his gaze.
He had already given all necessary instructions to his crew. The precious fungus and sea serpent would be delivered safely to him for careful keeping.
“This time, after slaying Peiro, it is time to reveal some of my true strength.”
He had decided this even before setting sail; only by taking the blood of a half-step grandmaster could he prove that his power far surpassed that of a mere prodigy nurtured in a greenhouse.
Soon, the Sea Swallower docked at the harbor. Dozens of soldiers hurried over, and a captain greeted them respectfully.
“May I ask which captain of the Bai family has captured Peiro’s flagship?”
“Bai Xuan.”
Bai Xuan leaped from the ship and replied calmly.
“So it is Lord Bai Xuan!” The captain was secretly shaken.
“So young—a captain already at his age, having reached the third qi and blood breakthrough, and now capturing Peiro’s flagship?”
“Bai Xuan… Yes, that’s the name of the Bai family’s greatest prodigy. Rumor has it he’s a collateral genius from the Second Fleet, having risen from obscurity. Yet he’s seldom seen, elusive as a dragon.”
He could tell clearly that Bai Xuan was definitely young. Though the iron bones secret art made him appear tall and imposing, he still bore the sharp vigor of a youth.
“Lord Bai Xuan, your spoils will be registered here, and the Qianshan Army will record your merit.”
The captain bowed with utmost respect.
“A true prodigy,” he murmured to the soldiers as Bai Xuan departed. “Quickly report to General Liu: Peiro’s fleet has been hunted down, the Qianshan Army has achieved another victory, and the merit belongs to Bai Xuan!”
…
A short while later.
On Qianshan Island, broad streets paved with neat green stone bustled with life between the many taverns.
“Have you heard? Two days ago, the Qianshan Army vanquished another Starhunter pirate fleet on the open sea—five ships sunk! It’s said the twenty-fourth and forty-fifth names on the Black List were both killed on the spot, their heads lopped off and displayed!”
“Satisfying! Hahaha, so satisfying… When those Starhunters raided our island and abducted our people, did they ever think the slaughter would be returned tenfold?”
“The Qianshan Army is formidable! I wonder when they’ll slay a half-step grandmaster. I’ve joined the army myself, and soon I’ll be assigned to a Bai family warship—they say it’s called the Kaiyang!”
In a tavern, dozens of stout men in martial attire clinked cups and laughed, excitement on every face.
“So many have been drawn here?”
As Bai Xuan walked the streets, he saw that the crowds had grown far larger than before. Most wore swords at their waists, spears on their backs, or carried exotic weapons—nine-section whips, iron fans, twin hooked blades, and more.
Most radiated faint traces of qi and blood—they were all martial artists, now flooding into Qianshan Island, clad in fighting garb.
With his current eyesight, Bai Xuan could easily discern that there were already four or five with three breakthroughs in qi and blood, each with considerable strength.
“It seems the experts from the surrounding seas have all been drawn here.”
“No wonder,” he thought.
No matter how powerful a lone martial artist, unless he achieved grandmastery, he could never match an army. If the Starhunters dispatched a ship with hundreds of pirates, all armed with bows, crossbows, blades—what could a third-stage expert do, after all?
Thus, with the founding of the Qianshan Army, countless experts who harbored grudges against the Starhunters but could not oppose them alone, flocked to Qianshan Island.
Such is the formidable reputation of the Qianshan Army. Should a few grandmasters join, then the army would truly come into its own.
“Yet with great power comes great peril,” Bai Xuan knew well.
“Growing so strong, the Starhunters will not stand idly by. Few forces on the East Sea dare to act so openly. With the Qianshan Army as the spearhead, the Starhunters will surely seek to eradicate them!”
“We must grow stronger, and quickly.”
Seeing so many martial artists, Bai Xuan understood: if things dragged on, the situation would seem to flourish like flowers in spring, yet in reality, the Starhunters’ main force would be upon them in the blink of an eye.
Bang, bang, bang!
He arrived at the White-Browed Marquis’s courtyard and knocked. Two burly men came out and let him in.
Inside.
Bai Xuan entered and found the atmosphere heavy, few people present, some engaged in heated argument, the air tense.
“You’re back?” At the entrance, Bai Tianyuan was watching the quarrel. When he saw Bai Xuan, he immediately came to greet him, sighing.
“Recently, Uncle White-Browed Marquis has been in low spirits. He wanted to go to sea himself to eradicate the pirates, but could not. Now everyone is arguing in the courtyard.”
The reason was simple.
Within the Bai family, grandmasters guarded the main island. Even if the fleet suffered sudden attack, the family’s foundation was secure—these were the anchors of the clan. If they left, it would be easy to fall victim to ambush, or, should the family be attacked, disaster would follow.
Now that the Qianshan Army had been established, someone had to defend the island; neither grandmaster could leave.
“I understand.”
Bai Xuan listened, then strode toward the arguing disciples—a group of tall, mature men, locked in fierce debate.
“You want to go?”
One man’s voice was dark. “Bai Luan, your strength still lags behind the Black List’s top names.”
“Even if you took a ship, you’d only be cut down by flying blades. You want to drag your brothers along to die with you?”
“If you want to die, that’s your business. But don’t make your brothers die in vain!”
The speaker, Bai Louyue, was known among the disciples for his loyalty and generosity; otherwise, he’d never have stayed on, defending the martial hall.
“You! Senior Bai Luo’s leg is broken, Uncle White-Browed Marquis has been despondent for over a month—you haven’t noticed?” The disciple called Bai Luan clenched his fists in anger. “So what if he’s a half-step grandmaster! I’ll take two hundred sailors and our repeating crossbows—an arrow volley can kill a half-step grandmaster! I’ll fight him, rather than watch Senior Bai Luo suffer!”
“You have sailors and crossbows, but doesn’t Peiro?”
Bai Louyue was exasperated. “If you took a ship and fought him head-on, what are the lives of your brothers to you?”
He knew well: a volley of crossbows could indeed kill a half-step grandmaster, but only if paid for in blood. Perhaps two hundred would fall before the enemy was shot down—but most armies would collapse after thirty percent casualties. To lose half would be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. And the enemy had even more men.
Just then—
“Enough!”
A deep voice came from the house. The White-Browed Marquis spoke, his tone grave: “Stand aside. Bai Xuan, come in.”
Bai Xuan nodded to the disciples and entered the house.
Inside.
The White-Browed Marquis still lay on his recliner, his countenance aged and listless. He spoke in a low voice: “What do you want, Bai Xuan?”
“I have come to inform you, Uncle Marquis,” Bai Xuan replied, respectfully taking out a cloth-wrapped object and placing it on the ironwood tea table by the chair. “On this voyage, I hunted down this item and offer it to you.”
With a crash, the atmosphere in the room changed. It was as if a tiger opened its eyes, a sudden wind howled through, making the doorframe rattle as if it would be blown away!
“Hoo…”
The White-Browed Marquis let out a long breath, then slowly drew back the coarse cloth to reveal a twisted, near-shattered meteoric iron flying blade.
“Bai Xuan.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Show me your Tiger Pounce Step!”
…
Boom!
In an instant, thunder seemed to flash through the courtyard. The door and frame exploded, shards of wood flying everywhere! Two blurred figures, swift as a gale, shot through the shattered doorway to the courtyard wall!
“You can dodge it!”
Bai Xuan’s eyes brimmed with blue qi and blood. His vision, already keen, was further enhanced by secret medicine, enabling him to follow the White-Browed Marquis’s speed!
Black lines faintly appeared on his legs, and his speed soared to an astonishing degree.
He bent backward, body supple as if boneless, displaying terrifying flexibility—like a bow drawn to its limit!
In a flash, the White-Browed Marquis’s claw, accompanied by a tiger’s roar, swept past Bai Xuan’s face, grinding the courtyard stones to dust!
Again and again, their figures flickered—one pounce, and they darted back to the little house. In a heartbeat, they vanished, the door shattered, the wall reduced to powder, and not a soul in sight!
The disciples in the courtyard were left gaping, unable to believe what they’d just seen.
“That speed…” Bai Luan stared in disbelief. “Sixty meters in a step? Seventy? No, even that’s too slow!”
He himself was skilled, a three-breakthrough black list expert, but what he had just witnessed defied comprehension.
Speed—pure speed! In the face of such velocity, even arrows and bolts seemed to pass like raindrops in slow motion, unable to harm such a terrifying foe!
“All of you, go home!”
The White-Browed Marquis’s voice boomed, sweeping away all gloom, resounding like a tiger’s roar.
“Yes, sir!”
Though countless questions burned in their hearts, the disciples could only obey.
Only Bai Tianyuan stared wide-eyed, “Was that just now really Bai Xuan?”
“That speed… it’s terrifying. So this is genius. Bai Xuan was merely hiding his strength all along!”
“How strong is Brother Bai Xuan?” Bai Tianyuan wondered as he left. “Could he already be among the top thirty on the Black List? At that speed, he could kill me in an instant.”
He could never have imagined… Bai Xuan now needed only a heartbeat to kill a half-step grandmaster!
…
Inside the house.
The White-Browed Marquis looked at Bai Xuan.
“Ha…”
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahahaha! Heaven has favored me! Such a genius! Such a genius… In the entire history of the Bai family, there has never been another like him!”
His laughter grew louder and louder, excitement lighting his face, wrinkles smoothing away. With qi and blood surging, he seemed to shed thirty years, his muscles swelling and bones cracking, returning him to his prime!
(End of chapter)