What he did know was that his senses made a gigantic quantitative leap forward! Like the difference between crawling and running, the improvement from Half-Instinct Realm was tremendous. His senses evolved to a monstrous level! For example, a Perception Realm Master might have the effective range of a small town. A Half-Instinct Realm might grasp a large town. An Instinct Realm, however, could fully sense an entire city! The range and potency of his senses were unlike anything from before. He could also leave his perception permanently activated at full strength without any drawbacks. This meant he had constant awareness of his surroundings the area of a city! It elevated his accuracy, power, and control to a profound level, allowing him to achieve nigh-impossible feats. This was how he knew he achieved Instinct Realm, and not a higher form of Half-Instinct Realm.
Yet, there was a much subtler sensation that he could not pinpoint. It was not something that he sensed in the Perception Realm, or even the Half-Instinct Realm. He only sensed it once he achieved Instinct Realm! Furthermore, this strange sensation was not tied to his five bodily senses. It seemed to go beyond the material plane and stretched into the immaterial. It was hard to describe, but perhaps a 'gut feeling' was the closest resemblance. This was why he decided to head to the Yunyun Stronghold because he felt his good fortune resting here. However, could someone really sense their fortune? Was that possible? Concepts such as fortune, misfortune, karma, spirituality, reincarnation, fate, destiny, and the natural order of the world… They operated more on faith than logic. As he grew stronger, he gradually shifted from these vague notions. After all, the strong could create their own destiny! Nothing could tie him down anymore! Despite that, when he stepped into the Instinct Realm, he seemed to touch upon these heavenly principles. He realized there was more than what meets the eye.
This was further reaffirmed by how he could find his disciples. He had no idea where they were or where they might be headed. Although his Instinct Realm granted him a vastly powerful perception, they could be anywhere in the world! It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, a hopeless endeavour! But by tapping into this mysterious connection to the heavenly principles, he could sense where his disciples were, no matter where they were. He could transcend distance! When he realized this, he was shocked. It was practically a divine ability! That said, there were restrictions. He could only sense people he had a strong connection with, his disciples for instance. The fact that Benedict was staying at the Yunyun Stronghold naturally did not evade him. Sensing random people was beyond him though.
Sword King Sin entered a deep meditative state, honed his senses, and isolated that faint connection to the heavenly principles. He channeled Martial Energy into his hand, causing it to glow blue, and reached out. Could he control the heavenly principles? If he could, then he would reach new heights never touched before. He would thoroughly step into the domain of gods! Bang! His hand clamped closed, but he frowned. There was no change. He proceeded to use countless different techniques and methods only to fail again and again. Nothing worked! That elusive feeling continued to taunt him from beyond his reach. He sighed. Things would be too easy if everything worked out as planned. Life was interesting specifically because things did not work out as planned!
"Does Avin Arcellius suffer from the same affliction?" he mumbled to himself. "Perhaps I should take a trip to the Zino Kingdom after all. Exchanging pointers might not be a bad idea." He then continued to meditate with zero interest in the battle above. His disciples were more than strong enough to handle it.
Hidek and Lanar were close to reaching the top deck when Hidek said, "Remember our master's instructions to not stand out. We should settle this without drawing attention to ourselves."
"I got it already. You don't need to repeat yourself so many times." Lanar scratched his ear in annoyance. "Let's make this more interesting. How about a competition to see who can kill the most?"
"What's the wager? I'll win, of course," Hidek said confidently as a heavy air of rivalry emerged between them. Ever since they became disciples of the Sword King, they competed more times than they could count. These competitions became as natural as breathing to them!
"How about whoever loses has to call the winner 'big brother'?" Lanar smiled mischievously.
He was younger than Hidek and the second disciple to join so he was lower in seniority. It would be satisfying to win! Of course, they could not use too big of a wager. Neither would accept a wager like 'expel yourself from the Sword King's tutelage', or something worse. A healthy rivalry was okay, and even encouraged by the Sword King; however, their master would punish them if they went too far. This small, yet insulting wager was just right.
"Very well! You'll be the one losing though."
"We'll see about that!"
On the top deck, Owen and the mercenaries exchanged blows with the pirates. Sparks flew as a fierce fight ensued! Someone screamed as they were cut down. It was unknown which side they belonged to since another filled their place instantly. Blood splashed in the air, prompting Owen to jump back while a trail of blood followed him. He glared at his opponent warily. It was a large burly man wielding a mace who smirked derisively. Although he looked dull, he was the strongest pirate present at the Fundamental Realm Expert level! Fundamental Realm Expert was at the same level as a High Knight of the Realm in the Alzar Kingdom, which was more than enough to sweep through this ragtag group of mercenaries. The pirate charged Owen and swung horizontally with shocking speed! He was far faster than he looked! Owen raised his guard, but the pirate smashed through it with ease, and sent him flying backwards. He crashed into the ship railing and vomited up a mouthful of blood. He could not move anymore! Watching the pirate approach, Owen smiled wryly. This might be the uneventful end to his dreadful life! Moments before he passed out, he regretted not quitting sooner…
"Die!" the pirate roared, swinging his mace down with enough force to pulverize Owen's skull!
"You're the strongest person here? How boring," Lanar whispered.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
The second he shouted that though, his vision split into two. Boom! His body was perfectly bisected in one strike! He died before he knew it! The gruesome sight created a fountain of blood that decorated the ship deck and coated everyone in red. It was horrifying! Thankfully, the other pirates did not have the leisure to watch since their bodies were also bisected an instant later. In the fraction of a second, before anyone knew what happened, the twenty invading pirates were killed! Lanar flicked the nonexistent filth off his sword and sheathed it. He was still below deck, having used Martial Energy to kill everyone from afar. To him, their lives were as inconsequential as the dust on the floor. He had no interest in personally striking them with his sword. They would dirty his blade! Were it not for his master's orders, Martial Energy would have been too good for them too.
He turned to Hidek and growled, "Don't you think that's cheating?"
"You never said I had to kill them directly, did you?" Hidek grinned.
As it turned out, while Lanar killed those twenty pirates onboard, Hidek used his Martial Energy to attack the pirate's ship directly. Water solidified in five blades that bifurcated the ship into five clean segments! The cutting potential required to slice straight through a ship without resistance was hard to imagine. If someone from the first Battle of the Maelstrom Gulf was present, then they would find it eerily similar to the Featherwind Sect's feats. With the ship dismantled, the crew plunged into the icy cold waters. Combined with the hectic situation and the tumultuous weather, their deaths were practically guaranteed. Over thirty people died like that! Everything happened in an instant. One second, everyone was fighting tooth and nail with the pirates, and in the next, all the pirates were massacred, and their ship was destroyed. Everyone rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Were they dreaming?
"It looks like I won this time," Hidek said nonchalantly.
"Huh? I'm the one who won! That doesn't count!"
"How are your kills more valid than mine then? You killed them with Martial Energy too!"
"I attacked them directly. You did not!"
"Call it efficient! I killed thirty people and their ship. That's more than your measly twenty!"
"I could have killed more than you if I wanted!" Lanar hissed. "Either way, that doesn't count!"
"How immature. That's why you're the second disciple, and not the first." Hidek shrugged his shoulders in resignation.
"Let's fight right here and now to see who's stronger then!" Lanar unsheathed his sword and prepared his Martial Energy. "Do you dare?"
"Hmph. As if I would back down from a challenge!" Hidek followed suit by drawing his sword and readying his aura.
They were about to clash when their master shouted furiously in their ears, "Impudent children! Stop that nonsense and come back right this instant!" After all, a fight of their level using Martial Energy might destroy the entire ship. It would be suicide!
"Yes, master!" Hidek and Lanar simultaneously retracted their auras, sheathed their swords, and dissolved their fighting spirit. They were not that bold to defy their master's orders.