Xiao Chen’s heart sank, and his thoughts raced as fast as lightning, spurred on by a bad premonition. It seemed like he had attracted trouble by making a move this time. Perhaps this merchant ship was carrying something extraordinary.
In fact, Xiao Chen should have guessed this long ago. Even if there were many quasi-Emperors in the Black Sea, it was not to the point where one would run into a Great Perfection quasi-Emperor pirate the moment one entered. In the end, the problem lay with the merchant ship.
“Young Hero, thank you for helping out. I am eternally grateful for your help,” the middle-aged man said with a smile on his face after he flew over to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s expression did not change. He replied calmly, “Just doing what I can. Since I can help, I will. There is no need to be so polite about it.”
“I have an unreasonable request. Young Hero should be heading to Black Water City, right? How about we travel together?” the middle-aged quasi-Emperor suggested in anticipation.
Black Water City was on Black Water Island. It was the largest city in the entire Black Water Sea with a population of over one hundred million. Black Water Island was also astonishingly large, about the same size as one of the great nations of the Sky Dome Realm.
After arriving at Black Water Sea, one naturally had to make a trip to this city to broaden one’s horizons. However, Xiao Chen did not want to be associated with this merchant group.
Xiao Chen fixed his gaze on the ship, in no rush to answer. Instead, he asked, “I wonder, what is this ship of yours carrying?”
This question stunned the middle-aged quasi-Emperor, whose expression changed unnaturally as he replied, “Nothing much. It is just some goods that the Black Sea desperately lacks—Sunlight Stone, Secret Silver, Black Gold, and other similar things.”
Noticing the other party’s expression, Xiao Chen countered with a smile, “Is that so?”
The middle-aged quasi-Emperor sighed and said, “Very well. I’ll tell you the truth. My merchant group took on a large consignment. As for what exactly it is, I do not know, but it came in large numbers. I only barely managed to fit it in after using several large ships. Unexpectedly, I encountered trouble the moment I entered the Black Sea. I would like to hire you as an escort for our merchant group.”
Xiao Chen decisively refused. He then said, “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to the goods on your ship. There should be a hidden expert on your ship who is even stronger than me!”
The middle-aged quasi-Emperor found that explanation strange, so he asked, “An expert? How come I don’t know about it?”
Clearly, the middle-aged quasi-Emperor felt it was odd that Xiao Chen was so certain there was an expert on his own ship, one that he was not aware of himself.
“Young Hero, you must be joking!” the middle-aged quasi-Emperor exclaimed in some disbelief.
Xiao Chen thought for a while. He was very sure about his guess. It would be inexplicable if there was no expert aboard the ship.
Why did that mysterious person fifty kilometers away not make a move to snatch the goods that he wanted?
There had to be someone on the ship who daunted that mysterious person, deterring him from making a move casually. That was the only way to explain this.
Xiao Chen did not reply to the middle-aged quasi-Emperor. He glanced at the merchant ship and called out, “Senior, since you are on the merchant ship, how about you make an appearance and give this uncle some peace of mind?”
[TL Note: Anyone older is addressed as uncle or auntie. They are not necessarily family.]
“Hahaha! Young man, your eyes are very good. If I still do not come out, it would be unbecoming.” A vigorous, white-haired old man in good health emerged from the ship’s hold while laughing loudly.
The middle-aged quasi-Emperor said in shock, “Old Ma?”
The middle-aged man knew this person. This was an old man that the consigner left to watch the goods. This person was merely a Superior Grade Martial Sage, not even comparable to himself. How could this person be an expert?
The middle-aged man sent out Mental Energy from his sea of consciousness, and Old Ma was indeed only a Superior Grade Martial Sage.
However, just when the middle-aged man was about to retract his Mental Energy, an aura akin to that of the deep sea came from Old Ma. Unexpectedly, Old Ma was a Consummation quasi-Emperor.
Furthermore, this was not a quasi-Emperor who reached where he was by cultivating an Earth Ranked Cultivation Technique. Instead, what Old Ma practiced was a peak Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique. Otherwise, his aura would not be this frightening.
The moment this happened, the middle-aged quasi-Emperor nearly fell from the sky.
Old Ma did not look at the middle-aged quasi-Emperor at all. He came directly to Xiao Chen and asked doubtfully, “Young man, which Holy Land did you come from? That’s not right. You use the saber. There is no Holy Scion who uses a saber. Could it be that you are the disciple of the Northern Sea Saber Sovereign? Or perhaps the disciple of the Inferno Saber Sovereign or the Ice Saber Sovereign?”
With one glance, Old Ma eliminated the possibility of Xiao Chen being of the Black Sea’s factions. This was because Old Ma had lived in the Black Sea for several hundred years and was already very familiar with the information of the various peak experts and outstanding young talents of the Black Sea. Xiao Chen did not fit the profile of any of those people.
In that case, Xiao Chen could only be a cultivator from outside the Black Sea. However, Old Ma was not very familiar with the cultivators of the Heavenly Starry Ocean and could only guess.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, “Old sir, there is no need to keep guessing. I’m from the Kunlun Continent.”
“Oh, the Kunlun Continent. In that case, you must be a disciple of that powerful Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian. The ancestor of my clan was once friends with him.”
Old Ma suddenly jumped to a conclusion regarding Xiao Chen’s identity. He believed that Xiao Chen had to be the disciple of the Saber Sovereign, Wu Xiaotian.
How else could Xiao Chen possess a seventy-percent-comprehended saber soul no weaker than some of the older-generation bladesmen’s?
“How about it? Since you are going to Black Water City as well, we can go together,” Old Ma invited.
Xiao Chen did not deny Old Ma’s guess. He shook his head and said, “Sorry, I’m used to traveling alone. I’m afraid I can’t agree to Senior’s request.
Clearly, the goods on this ship were extraordinary. He would get dragged into this matter if he joined them. How could he continue to mix with these people?
“That is somewhat unfortunate. I have an invitation letter here. If Young Master has nothing to do, you can come to our Jadeite Mountain Manor on the fifteenth of next month to attend a ritual we are holding.
Old Ma did not continue insisting. Instead, he took out an invitation letter and handed it to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen received the letter and took a look. The invitation letter did not mention what ritual this was, appearing somewhat mysterious.
He knew a little about the Jadeite Mountain Manor, which was rather famous in the Black Sea. However, this fame was not due to the strength of the current Manor Lord. Instead, it was because of the current Manor Lord’s grandfather, who was a Sovereign Martial Emperor known as the Jadeite Sovereign.
Hence, even though the Jadeite Mountain Manor was only a Rank 8 sect, it held a lot of influence in the Black Sea. Even the peak Rank 9 sects had to give the Jadeite Mountain Manor some face.
However, as far as Xiao Chen knew, this Jadeite Sovereign was not ambitious and had a rather gentle character. The Jadeite Sovereign was not concerned with developing his faction and spent much of his time wandering the Starry Heavens, rarely returning to the Jadeite Mountain Manor.
However, no matter how gentle this Jadeite Sovereign was, he was still a Sovereign Martial Emperor. His name was sufficient to intimidate the other factions.
As Xiao Chen watched the merchant fleet slowly sail away, he entered deep thought. He put away the invitation letter and muttered to himself, “Simply making a move to help resulted in encountering trouble of such a level. The faction that dares to offend the Jadeite Mountain Manor is not going to be a simple one.”
As for that middle-aged quasi-Emperor on the merchant ship, he was now so full of regret that his intestines turned green. Because of a moment’s greed, he got caught up in a conflict between major factions.
Even if the middle-aged quasi-Emperor got to Black Water City safely, he might not be able to leave the Black Sea alive.
—
Before night fell, Xiao Chen arrived at a small island, prepared to rest for the night before continuing on his journey. Everything he had seen so far gave him a deep impression of the chaos within the Black Sea.
Along the way, he had run into several more fights. In each one, people would die. Life was like grass here. This was a place where the strongest fist spoke, a blatant display of survival of the fittest.
The triggers were mostly very minor matters. With just the slightest disagreement, people started fighting each other.
Those who had lived in the Black Sea for a long time and absorbed the mysterious substance in the sky were irritable, facing extreme difficulty in maintaining their calm.
Xiao Chen also ran into some trouble along the way. However, after he decisively killed a Superior Grade Martial Sage, the number of people who came to pick a fight with him lessened.
After he arrived at the city, he found an inn to spend the night. He took a hot bath, then sat down cross-legged and prepared to cultivate.
A moment after Xiao Chen closed his eyes, all sorts of noise entered his ears.
There were noises from people having coitus, the tumult from fights, miserable shrieks from the streets, people arguing, and many other kinds of sounds. These made it hard to settle his mind.
Xiao Chen inhaled deeply and took this as a test to temper his mental state. Then, he continued cultivating.
He was almost done cultivating the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation’s seventh layer. He only needed to open five meridians and clear a tribulation before he could advance to the eighth layer.
For the whole night, Xiao Chen carefully tested whether he could open one of these meridians.
When it was day, he paid and immediately left, continuing on his way in an unhurried manner. His destination was naturally the largest city of the Black Water Sea, Black Water City.
After leaving this island, Xiao Chen flew above the sea for about forty kilometers, cautiously using his Spiritual Sense to monitor his surroundings. Then, he landed on a reef jutting out of the sea.
After that, he shaped his Spiritual Sense into a line and peered carefully in a particular direction. After a while, he withdrew his Spiritual Sense, and his expression turned strange.
Xiao Chen actually discovered someone familiar in this place. Furthermore, it was someone he did not expect at all.
Fifty kilometers away, Yue Bingyun traveled with a man, walking on the surface of the sea.
This man was Xia Luo, the descendant of a powerful Martial Emperor of the Black Sea, the Thunder Fire Sovereign. He possessed an astonishing cultivation, clearly an outstanding young talent.
This Thunder Fire Sovereign had left his mark in history by accomplishing the magnificent feat of ruling the entire Black Sea. Unfortunately, his reign did not even last for a hundred years, ending with his death.
Hence, the Xia Clan’s strength fell significantly. Now, it could only be considered a reasonably strong Rank 9 sect, far from a Holy Land.
Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense picked up on Xia Luo pandering to Yue Bingyun as they traveled, finding opportunities to chat with her.
It was a pity that Yue Bingyun maintained her distance from Xia Luo, leaving him at a loss.
“Bingyun, where are you going?”
After accidentally meeting Yue Bingyun at sea, the talented Xia Luo immediately went over and stuck to her. He intended to use his charm to subdue this Holy Daughter, who came from the Heavenly Starry Ocean.
Unfortunately, his efforts did not seem to be effective at all. Yue Bingyun said politely, “Young Master Xia, I’ve said it before: please address me by my full name. My current destination is Black Water City.”
[TL Note: Addressing someone with just the given name is a sign of familiarity and closeness.]
“What a coincidence! My destination is Black Water City too. It looks like we can travel together,” Xia Luo immediately said. Actually, that was not his destination, which was an underwater Remnant.
Yue Bingyun smiled helplessly. Naturally, she was perfectly aware of how this “coincidence” happened. However, that did not matter. If the other party wanted to follow her, she had her ways to shake him off.
