Chapter 940: There's... There's Another Master?! |
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Crackle, crash—!
The torrential rain pounded madly on the deck, and surging waves slapped against the hull with deafening roars.
Yet, everyone's movements froze in place.
Whether it was the two Legendary Battle Masters slumped on the deck coughing blood, the Peak Battle Masters forced into a corner by sea beasts, barely able to hold their weapons steady, or those who were just struggling at death's door moments ago...
At this moment, all eyes were fixed dead on that slender figure suspended in mid-air.
No one had expected that this girl, who had huddled in a corner by the ship's railing since boarding, looking gentle and frail, actually hid such earth-shattering power.
After all, among those cleaved in two by the Sword Qi from her single strike were deep-sea leviathans capable of clashing head-on with Peak Battle Masters.
Yet, under her Sword Qi, these powerful Sea World Beasts hadn't even lasted half a breath.
"One, two, three, four, five... all nine rings are hundred-thousand-year ones?! What kind of monster is this?!"
Someone exclaimed in a trembling voice.
It had to be understood that the two Legendary Battle Masters on the ship each possessed only a single hundred-thousand-year World Ring.
This girl, who looked barely over twenty, not only had the strength of a Legend, but all nine of her rings were hundred-thousand-year ones!
Where did this person come from?
She had never been heard of before.
"There's another master?"
The Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse, seeing his subordinates all slaughtered by that single sword strike, stared at Li Qingran with a trace of gravity in his gaze.
The oppressive aura from those nine hundred-thousand-year World Rings was too strong.
But this was not reason enough for him to retreat.
Hummm—!
The nine deep-blue World Rings shimmering with divinity beneath his feet erupted with a blinding radiance.
His serpent tail lashed fiercely through the air, exploding into a curtain of water mist.
His massive figure flashed, leaving only a blurry afterimage as he charged straight at Li Qingran, carrying a momentum that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.
The golden light on the Golden Trident in his hand flared once more.
This time, he struck with his full power from the outset.
Whoosh—!
The seawater of the entire sea area was drawn by him, transforming into several towering water dragons that followed the trident as they all surged to kill the young girl.
Facing this strike.
Not a trace of fear appeared on Li Qingran's face.
"At dawn, battles follow the golden drums; at night, sleeping embraces the jade saddle."
She chanted softly, and the eighth World Ring on her lit up in response.
The black-and-red intertwined radiance of the World Ring swept across the sea and sky, even the violent wind and rain seemed to stagnate at this moment.
Vast Battle Power, like a volcanic eruption, poured entirely into the Su Xian Sword in her hand.
Her vermilion lips parted slightly, her clear and melodious voice pierced through the rain curtain and waves, carrying the chilling, steel-clad aura of war as she chanted word by word:
"Wish to take the sword at my waist, to directly slay Lou Lan!"
The moment the verse fell, the void behind her exploded with a thunderous roar!
Ink-black Sword Qi gushed forth from the sword's body, spreading out behind her.
The earth-shaking sound of golden drums resounded across the sea and sky, making even the deep sea tremble.
As the line 'Wish to take the sword at my waist' just finished,
The clanging of iron armor and the sound of hooves treading the void washed over the waves, as if a million-strong army was marshaling within the ink-black expanse.
As the three words 'Slay Lou Lan' were chanted.
That ink-like Sword Qi abruptly transformed into a legion of thousands.
Spears and halberds stood like a forest, their cold gleam surpassing snow.
The Sword Qi legion of thousands, with an unstoppable forward momentum, advanced in a sweeping formation to meet the charging Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse!
Li Qingran was taught by Chen Huaian, and coupled with her exceptional talent, her comprehension of the Green Lotus Sword Manual had long since reached a state Perfected to the Extreme.
Although she hadn't reached Chen Huaian's level.
Her experiences training in two realms had also allowed her to touch the threshold of the Dao.
When Sword Qi enters the Dao, it is no longer mere Sword Qi.
It is the Slaughter engraved in the bones of poetry, the military soul fused within the Sword Intent.
Wherever the Sword Qi passed, the towering water dragons were instantly shredded into mist.
Even the void was trampled layer by layer into fragments by the hooves.
The entire churning sea area was actually pressed down several feet by this immense, overwhelming force!
The Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse's charging momentum froze, his pupils filling with terror for the first time.
He could clearly feel it—the killing intent wrapped within that legion of thousands could completely crush his assault.
"Damn it!"
He roared, crossing the trident in front of him.
The World Rings at his feet erupted, and a deep-sea Barrier dozens of *zhang* thick condensed around his body.
Ancient runes swirled frantically across the Barrier's surface.
This was his trump card defensive Battle Technique; it could even delay the combined full-force attacks of several Legendary Battle Masters for a moment.
But the next second,
The Sword Qi legion of thousands crashed into the Barrier.
Boom—!
That supposedly indestructible deep-sea Barrier, before the legion of thousands, shattered like paper, instantly bursting into a sky full of watery fragments!
The remaining momentum of the military formation Sword Qi smashed heavily into the Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse's chest.
"Pfft—!"
He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with its string cut. Over half of the hard scales on his serpent tail were blasted away, and even the Golden Trident in his hand was sent flying, crashing heavily into the sea surface and stirring up waves dozens of *zhang* high.
And the spreading ink-like Sword Qi did not cease, sweeping across the entire sea area like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves.
The sea beasts and Sea Emperor Clan Soldiers who had been madly swarming forward just moments before, without even time to scream, were shredded into bloody froth by the sharp Sword Qi. Thick-skinned giant whales, sharp-tentacled octopuses—none had even half a moment of resistance before this Sword Intent.
In barely a single breath, the previously dense swarm of Sea World Beasts surrounding the ship had been slaughtered clean, not even the ambushers lurking underwater were spared.
The dark sea surface was now littered with the corpses of sea beasts.
Li Qingran hovered in mid-air, her longsword pointing diagonally at the sea, only an unfathomable chill remaining in her eyes.
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly suppressed the waves, wind, and rain, spreading across the entire sea area:
"A good dog doesn't block the path. If you dare block the way again, I will exterminate you all."
The Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse who had crashed into the sea surfaced from the waves, clutching his ruptured wounds.
His eyes were filled with humiliation and resentment, yet also harbored apprehension.
He understood all too clearly.
The strength of this young girl before him surpassed his own by a hundredfold!
If he stayed here any longer, forget completing the blockade mission, he'd probably leave his own life behind.
Gritting his teeth until they nearly shattered, he ultimately shot Li Qingran one last resentful glare. Then, with the few remaining battered soldiers, he fiercely whipped his serpent tail, plunged headfirst into the dark depths, and vanished without a trace in an instant, not daring to look back.
The wind and rain gradually eased, the churning sea surface slowly calming.
Li Qingran lightly tapped the void with her toes, her figure gracefully landing back on the deck.
With a soft *shing*, the longsword returned to its sheath. The immense, sea-crushing aura surrounding her vanished completely in an instant.
She turned her head, looking at the woman standing by the ship's railing who had been stunned the entire time. The ice in her eyes instantly melted, revealing that sweet smile again, a completely different person from the one who had just slain a thousand with a single sword.
The woman stared at her blankly, taking a long while to regain her senses. Her eyes shone with a complex light—shock, gratitude, and an irrepressible admiration and curiosity.
She reached out to support the descending Li Qingran, her fingertips still trembling slightly: "Miss, you... you're incredible!"
"Hehe, it's just average~"
Li Qingran lifted her chin slightly, saying delightedly:
"Mainly, my Husband taught me well. Compared to my Husband, I'm still far, far behind.
You haven't seen my Husband wield his sword; that's the truly amazing one!"
Hearing this, the woman's gaze at Li Qingran held a bit more pity.
Husband?
What Husband?
It was merely the girl's unyielding longing taking form in her heart.
"Thank you, Senior, for your intervention!" The two severely injured Legendary Battle Masters, supported by others, came before Li Qingran, their tone respectful: "If not for Senior's intervention today, all of us would have perished in these seas. This great kindness and virtue, we will never forget for the rest of our lives!"
The other Battle Masters also bowed in salute one after another, their mouths full of words of gratitude.
But in their eyes as they looked at Li Qingran, besides heartfelt gratitude, there was an even thicker, almost palpable wariness.
No one could forget the sight of this young girl cleaving the waves with a single sword, slaughtering countless sea beasts. They couldn't forget how a single line of poetry summoned a legion of thousands, how a single strike sent that Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse, who had overpowered two Legendary Battle Masters, fleeing in defeat.
Such power, capable of overturning rivers and seas, was simply not something they could afford to provoke.
And such a person was their future competitor at the Sea God Temple.
Just thinking about it made their scalps tingle...
Just as everyone was sighing with relief at having survived the calamity.
The Captain at the helm showed not a hint of joy on his face: "You shouldn't have provoked that Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse..."
He sighed.
The hearts everyone had just relaxed were chilled by the Captain's seemingly nonsensical words.
The Peak Battle Master who had just caught his breath frowned and stepped forward, his tone carrying some confusion:
"What do you mean by that? That Sea Emperor Clan Powerhouse initiated the ambush just now. Are you saying we should have just surrendered without a fight?"
The other Battle Masters chimed in agreement.
The Captain's expression turned grave as he shook his head, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly, knuckles turning white:
"You don't understand... The Sea Emperor Clan and the coastal Garna Empire signed a secret pact a century ago.
This sea area is their territory. As long as we don't actively provoke them, there are ways to negotiate—taking detours through remote sea trenches, offering them some deep-sea treasures as toll fees. At worst, handing over two or three of the weakest Battle Masters for them to take back as slave laborers. They wouldn't then pursue relentlessly."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the severed limbs and bloodstains on the deck, his voice full of bitterness:
"But in the battle just now, you not only killed countless of their clansmen, that girl even severely wounded their leader, forcing him to flee. Most crucially, you didn't kill him completely, you let him go back...
The Sea Emperor Clan holds the deepest grudges, especially that serpent-tailed powerhouse; his status within the clan is likely not low.
Having suffered such a great loss this time, they will absolutely not let it go."
"After he returns, he will inevitably summon even stronger experts from his clan.
When that time comes, what awaits us won't be just these sea beast ambushes, but the entire Sea Emperor Clan army swarming out in full force!"
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