Chapter 793: Chapter 792: West Sea Archipelago
Out on the sea, it was calm and peaceful.
With the members of the Sea Leaf Gang on board, the ship was anything but quiet. Except for the dead of night, there were voices and laughter all the time.
Qiu Rou and the other girls had been to the Western Archipelago and were impressed by its hustle and bustle. They were anxious but also looked forward to the future.
Niu Dali was in a tough spot.
Because of three beautiful women, he and Qiu Mingyue were in a ’cold war’. No matter how he joked around, he only received an indifferent smile from Qiu Mingyue. Each time he tried to enter her room, he would be told it was inconvenient, leaving him frustrated and helpless.
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but grin, yet he devoted most of his energy to martial arts.
No one would ever suspect what Shi Xiaole had been up to.
He was practicing two types of Internal Power!
One was the Ten Residences Mahayana Skill, and the other was the Enduring Humiliation Divine Skill.
It was widely known and unbreakable rule that one could only practice one type of Internal Power at a time because such power was stored in the Dantian, and different types of Internal Power would clash and risk causing demonic possession.
But Shi Xiaole was different.
Long ago, he discovered that the same Internal Power mobilized by different martial arts would produce different effects, and different martial arts were clearly distinct from each other.
Since martial arts could coexist, why couldn’t different Internal Powers be practiced simultaneously?
At a time when progress in all areas stalled, Shi Xiaole daringly succeeded in this experiment.
Now, his Dantian housed three different types of Internal Power. One was overwhelming and mighty like pulverizing mountains, which was the consummate Dragon Gate Divine Skill.
Another was elusive and inexplicable, eerily counteracting all other Mind Methods of Inner Power - this was the Ten Residences Mahayana Skill of Zhufaqing.
These two types were merged by an unusual Internal Power, keeping them in check and preventing mutual intrusion, which was the Enduring Humiliation Divine Skill of Yuan Shi line.
This situation was almost identical to the way the three martial arts coexisted.
"From now on, I’ll utilize the Wind Sword Way paired with the Dragon Gate Divine Skill, the Illusion Martial Way with the Ten Residences Mahayana Skill, and the Life-and-Death Martial Way with the Enduring Humiliation Divine Skill. When each reaches its ultimate state, my thought process and foundation will surpass anyone else in the world!"
Even the direct descendants of top forces couldn’t easily find suitable martial arts like Shi Xiaole because he was backed by the martial arts resources of the entire martial arts world in his previous life.
That’s why Shi Xiaole dared not slack off but worked hard to maximize each advantage to not let himself or his heavenly given opportunity go to waste.
Shi Xiaole had no intention of comparing himself with others. All along, he was challenging himself and defying the so-called iron rules—turning impossibility into possibility. He wanted to see where human limits lied!
Days went by.
Two months had passed since they set sail from Sea Leaf Island.
Perhaps due to the compatibility of martial arts and martial studies, coupled with Shi Xiaole’s startling comprehension, both the Ten Residences Mahayana Skill and the Enduring Humiliation Divine Skill achieved minor achievements at the same time.
"We’ve arrived at the Western Archipelago!"
On the deck, a group of girls grinned.
Beyond sight, a long black line appeared in the distance, taking on a three-dimensional shape and revealing a vast outline as they got closer. It was a tremendously large island.
The edge of the island was surrounded by a gray wall. Inside were numerous buildings of varying heights. Accompanied by a hustle and bustle and worldly atmosphere, it rushed to meet them.
"The Western Archipelago, as the name suggests, is not a single island, but an astonishing 108 islands! Even the smallest island is the size of several realms in the Flying Horse Dynasty, and the largest is comparable to a prefecture. Given the close distance between islands, it can be considered a miniature continent."
Upon seeing Shi Xiaole come out, Qiu Mingyue said, intentionally or unintentionally.
"Ahem, I’d already introduced all of this," Niu Dali cleared his throat.
Qiu Mingyue responded with a smile, making Niu Dali shudder and mentally cursing himself for being a motormouth.
After about half a 2-hour period, the pavilion boat stopped at a designated pier. During this time, the number of ships at sea increased considerably. Seen from the sky, they looked like countless stars.
"Among the 108 islands, ships are the only means of transportation. Hence, in the Western Archipelago, a few major shipping firms are extremely powerful, especially Treasure Ship Pavilion."
According to Qiu Mingyue, the Treasure Ship Pavilion controlled nearly half of the ship trade in the Western Archipelago, earning astronomical profits every day.
Naturally, to establish itself in such a lawless region, Treasure Ship Pavilion had an incredibly strong background. Rumor had it that several Void Origin Realm experts were stationed there, and it even had connections with some imperial powers.
Once they disembarked, a city wall as high as fifty meters cast a large shadow, giving off a strong oppressive feel. The words "Xiyu Island" were engraved atop the city wall.
After lining up and each paying a city entry fee of a hundred taels, Shi Xiaole and the others were allowed to enter the city.
"There are so many skilled fighters."
The adage held, the more dangerous a place, the more skilled fighters it attracted because weaklings simply couldn’t survive for long.
On the long street, out of a hundred fighters, there was one in the Spiritual-Passage Realm. Among a thousand, there was one Dragon Gate Realm Fighter.
Although everyone hid their strength, the sheer number of skilled fighters made it inevitable that some might unwittingly reveal a hint of their power, making the sky brighter and the sunlight more dazzling and piercing than anywhere else.
What was even more frightening was that Shi Xiaole keenly sensed killers’ instinct deep-rooted in these fighters. A mere inadvertent glance could terrify the faint-hearted.
Truthfully, people of the Western Archipelago weren’t inherently more talented than those from other places. The disparity in the proportions was due to, aside from a few adventurous weaklings, hardly anyone daring to come here.
Secondly, many people die here every day. Killing can occur from a mere disagreement, without any exaggeration, it’s a form of disguised elimination.
Fortunately, years ago, in order to maintain the normal operation of the city, several major forces of the Western Islands jointly issued a ban on killing in the designated areas, which gave the common people born in the Western Islands a chance to survive.
The street was a hundred meters wide. Along the way, many eyes were cast on Qiu Mingyue and her companions, their intentions unclear and ominous.
Due to the large number of people, an inn was obviously not the best choice. Qiu Mingyue simply found a real estate agency and bought a lavish manor.
"The price is at least twice that of the Flying Horse Dynasty, such a rip-off!"
Qiu Mingyue shook her head helplessly.
With her savings over the years, she could at most buy three such mansions here.
"If you think it’s a rip-off, why not give the money to me, and let me take care of you folks?"
In a defiant laughter, a group of men blocked the road ahead. Judging by their aura, several were Dragon Gate Realm Lords.
The real estate agent who earlier claimed to lead Shi Xiaole and the others to the manor, promptly joined the group in mocking, "This is not a no-kill zone. If you want to live, hand over all your possessions. And for you ladies, surrender obediently."
Song De had attempted similar schemes many times, always returning with a bounty. He believed this time would be no different.
These people clearly didn’t know the principle of not flaunting their wealth; what could they possibly be? Furthermore, in his observation, the burly man in the red robe seemed to be the most formidable one; as long as they held him off, the others would not be an issue.
While Shi Xiaole and the others kept silent, a woman in blue, who was one of Qiu Mingyue’s close confidants, stepped forward and coldly exclaimed, "Get lost if you don’t want to die."
"Hehehe, I’d love to die with you in bed."
Someone in the opposing group smirked, pulling out a blade, the rest of the men also spread out laughing, forming a formation that was ready for backup and retreat at any moment, clearly they had a prior understanding.
With her gaze turning cold, the woman in blue didn’t bother unsheathing her sword, but waved her hand forward casually.
Sword light sprang forth out of nowhere, under the pressure of the island’s array system, it only stretched several meters wide but swept across.
Schh, schh, schh...
Without even a chance to scream, a multitude of heads soared into the air.
"Divine Barrier Realm, you?!"
The real estate agent was dumbfounded.
How could he not realize, the woman in blue was only a follower, and if even the follower was at the level of Terrestrial Immortals, what about the others?
Terrestrial Immortals weren’t commonplace anywhere. Even in the heavily populated Western Islands, they were one in ten thousand. How could he have expected that a Terrestrial Immortal would be so easy to deceive, allowing herself to be exploited so easily?
"Dear sirs, ladies, please don’t kill me, please..."
Before he could finish his plea, the woman in blue decapitated the pleading real estate agent with a look of disgust.
The rest of the women were not idle, quickly discovering a large stack of silver bills and some precious items from the bodies of the men, presumably taken from their past victims.
Qiu Mingyue carefully glanced at Shi Xiaole, seeing that he showed no signs of displeasure, she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Don’t worry, Xiaole is not a pedantic man, he distinguishes clearly between gratitude and grudges."
Hearing Niu Dali’s words, Qiu Mingyue rolled her eyes at him, then led the women on their way. After all, they had the address of the manor on the deed.
"It’s a good thing we didn’t make a move!"
"These people are not to be trifled with. We’d better warn our brothers to be careful in the future."
From the shadows, several groups sighed in relief and quickly dispersed. As for the decapitated bodies lying haphazardly on the ground, only the cleaning crews gave them a second glance.
...
After spending a night in the purchased manor, Shi Xiaole and Niu Dali left the next day.
Niu Dali had long known Shi Xiaole’s intentions, so on their way here, they had already planned their next moves.
Their first stop was Qin Building.
Qin Building, one of the largest news organizations in the Western Islands, had eyes and ears throughout the hundred and eight islands. If anyone wanted to inquire about news, this was the right place to look.
The headquarters of Qin Building was located on Xiyu Island, which was the main reason why everyone chose to come here.
In front of a large, opulently decorated brothel, Shi Xiaole and Niu Dali stopped. Immediately, a coquettish girl approached them.
"Get your manager, Han, to come out. I want to see the Yan family."
Niu Dali caressed the girl’s body a few times, and then arrogantly said as they walked.
"Hehehe, Madam Han hasn’t welcomed guests for a long time. Now it’s Madam Liu who takes care of things."
The girls glanced at the elegant Shi Xiaole.
"Just tell her that I’m Red Robe Niu, she’ll definitely meet me."
Since this wasn’t an ordinary brothel, as soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately disappeared on the spot and within no time, Shi Xiaole and the others were invited into a private, lush garden where ordinary people could never enter.
