"A battle ship?!" squinting into the distance Yue Chen spotted the approaching ship.
"Looks like a group of thieves at sea" Bo Yang had a higher level of cultivation and had sharper hearing and vision in comparison making it easier to identify the group.
"What do we do now?" the dwarf captain asked, her faced beading with sweat. She knew better than Yue Chen and company that this wasn't just any group of theives.
"Change directions dwarf captain, take a detour if necessary" Yue Chen's expression displayed his indifference as he sat cross legged and started to cultivate.
"Hm? Where did Zhao Yali go?" noticing the disappearance of Zhao Yali's presence Zhao Xue couldn't help but ask.
"..." Yue Chen subconsciously flinched "Xue'er your father the emperor and I will some day stand face to face on the battlefield, will you be able to cut down your own flesh and blood much less oppose him?"
"I- i..... Chen'er is very important to me but my father has always treated me well, asking me to choose between you...." hearing Yue Chen's words Zhao Xue became conflicted.
"Then you shouldn't have followed me, you should return to the Saintless Continent" Yue Chen stated plainly. Even though he knew he was being unreasonable for asking her to choose between her father and himself he knew it was necessary.
"But-" biting her lip Zhao Xue raised her head to keep her tears from falling.
Yue Chen scoffed and turned away. If Zhao Xue wasn't able to decide who was more important then there was no point in having her with him.
"Bo Yang return to the Xuan Empire along with Princess Zhao Xue" as he finished talking Yue Chen closed his eyes and continued cultivation, ignoring the protests of the two.
"Yue Chen we're being followed!" the dwarf captain shouted, snapping Yue Chen out of his state of concentration.
"Bo Yang can your wind element get me over there?" Slapping his sides Yue Chen stood up in a frenzy.
Bo Yang shook his head in response "I can't, the distance is too much for my wind magic to carry you, the farther from me it is the less control I have over the wind. If they were within 400 metres then maybe-"
Yue Chen looked in the direction of the battle ship then at the dwarf captain that wore a conflicted expression. Did she have a solution?
"Dwarf captain any ideas?"
"It's Ling Ran you asshole!!" Ling Ran snorted at the hard headed Yue Chen and turned to her crewmen. "Raise the flags for a negotiation"
"Negotiation?! these are pirates we're talking about, Miss dwarf they can't be trusted!" one of the crew members stepped forward to show his disapproval.
Within a few minutes both ships had drawn close with a distance of less than about 300 metres from each other. As the pirate ship came to a stop a muscular figure came forward. Wrapped around his wrist was an obsidian colored cloth and it could be seen that it had been down back together in various places. The muscular figure coughed loudly causing the scars on his bare chest to tremble as if alive. "We aren't here for a fight, I am Mu Yang of the Obsidian Pirates! give us the one with the Venomous Heavenly Body and we'll be on our way!"
Venomous Heavenly Body? Yue Chen frowned as his eyes met with Ling Ran's. "I don't need an explanation, I'll assist in protecting everyone here as promised" dousing his curiosity Yue Chen made his decision.
After hearing Yue Chen's stance Ling Ran nodded with a smile, thinking she'd made the right choice.
"Lower the flags, prepare the ion cannons!" Ling Ran issued her order with a wave. In mere moments six gigantic laser cannons were pointed at the ship of pirates.
"Fire!"
"bzzzt!!"
Followed by Ling Ran's command was a high pitched buzz as all six ion cannons fired simultaneously.
As the smoke subsided Ling Ran's once hopefully expression warped into one of despair.
"Nice try kid but there's no one in the Saintless Continent that can pierce my impervious armor!" Mu Yang revealed a complacent smile with a frenzied laughter. "Boys!"
As he said this a group of pirates rushed forward in tandem and began chanting obscure words. Flashes of golden light appeared above Ling Ran's ship, bombarding the group with arrows of light.
Yue Chen shot Bo Yang a look and nodded. With a knowing look Bo Yang nodd
Torrents of wind gathered beneath Yue Chen's feet at Bo Yang's command, propelling him forward. Slamming his feet against the air Yue Chen shot up into the sky at bullet speed. Performing a perfect somersault he twisted his body, evading an arrow fired in his direction.
In the next moment Yue Chen had already boarded the pirate ship, landing next to Mu Yang. Instantaneously he drew his blades and swiped forward.
Klangg!
Sparks flew in the air as Mu Yang's saber collided with Yue Chen's blade. Withstanding the recoil Yue Chen spun the blades in his hand, stabbing at Mu Yang's heart.
Mu Yang let out an excited laughter while deflecting both Yue Chen's daggers "you're vicious for a kid so young!!"
As he said this Mu Yang swung his saber forward. Parrying the attack head on Yue Chen threw himself backward in a somersault. "shut up"
"Come work for me kid, the Obsidian Pirates welcome cold blooded men like you!" Mu Yang let out a wild laugh, assaulting Yue Chen with a barrage of slashes.
"....." since his qi wasn't of strong foundation Yue Chen hesitated to use any qi consuming moves which resulted in him being on the defensive.
A whistling sound as if cutting through air resound from behind Yue Chen suddenly, reflectively he twisted his arm above his head blocking the blade. It was the blade of one of the Obsidian Pirates. No longer sitting idle the pirates that were not casting spells all rushed at Yue Chen.
Staring at Yue Chen, Mu Yang could see his hesitation which further incited his fighting spirit. "You're holding back aren't you, kid!"
At the moment the enigmatic voice that had constantly stirred Yue Chen's mind had begun it's havoc once more. "You're qi is pretty thin for a Human realm, what a disappointment"
"Shut up" Yue Chen retorted as he parried countless blades, spinning in an arc.
"Stop holding back kid, or you'll die where you stand!" by this time Mu Yang had stopped his advances, watching his subordinates rain down an endless barrage of attacks on Yue Chen.
"Shut up!!" as if something went off in his head Yue Chen shouted at the top of his lungs. Unwilling to save his qi any longer Yue Chen performed [Dance of the Shadow Demon]. In an instant Yue Chen had arrived next to Mu Yang, his blades stabbing into his back.
Klang!!