Translator: CinderTL
That night, at the Flame Tiger Sect's martial arts hall in Jinhua District.
Under the lights, a silver metal box was opened, revealing a dark golden cube that crumbled into dust, filling the box with debris.
A thick hand withdrew, revealing a figure clad entirely in golden armor, standing before a mirror. His face was obscured.
[Steel Bones LV3: 88/100]
"Still a bit short."
The golden visor retracted, and Chen Feng's eyes flickered.
He remembered Lin Hao's words, and there was one point he agreed with.
Killing was easy, but the challenge lay in not implicating too many others.
The Azure Armor and the Holy Shield Colossus had been revealed to the public multiple times, and their related methods had undoubtedly been noted by observant individuals.
The surveillance in Yun Port was more advanced than in Nanjiang. If he were to use these two abilities again, the traces would be too obvious.
"I need a new identity."
"Moreover, it must be powerful enough to easily defeat other fourth-tier cyborgs."
His eyes bright, Chen Feng gazed at his reflection in the mirror.
Golden armor covered his entire body, no horn, no Black Flash.
He was now a completely new cyborg, utterly distinct from the Blue Demon.
The only shortcoming was that his Steel Bones were starting to fall behind his current strength.
If he encountered a cyborg made of Special Titanium, and his Steel Bones were destroyed, revealing his face or the green-black carapace, all his efforts to conceal himself would be in vain.
Thus.
His eyes bright, Chen Feng raised his hands.
The snake-shaped pattern on his right palm was dim, while the Black Crow Mark on his left palm was unusually deep.
[Serpent Spirit Power: 0/100]
[Power of the Dead: 200/100]
The panel's prompt instantly appeared, and numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.
Titanium wasn't easy to obtain. Lin Hao had mentioned that they would have to wait for the city council to allocate it, so there was nothing he could do for now.
As for the martial arts True Arts he had mastered, they were either complete or missing subsequent techniques, so Limit Breaking Orbs would have to wait.
At this moment, Chen Feng recalled the diary he had read in his dream.
The Star Soul Elixir, which could strengthen the Spirit Soul, might be the key to breaking through the Gate of Spirit.
Alternatively, there might be advanced metals like Titanium and Obsidian, similar to what he had found in the Serpent Spirit Secret Realm.
"Just one night. Even if I gain nothing, I can afford the time."
With his mind made up, Chen Feng didn't hesitate any longer.
He lay flat, closed his eyes.
The Black Crow Mark on his palm suddenly flickered.
---
Under the night sky.
A blood-red moon hung in the sky, its light casting an eerie glow over the endless ocean.
Waves crashed, froth churned, and a faint mist rose.
A two-masted sailing ship appeared on the sea.
Figures dressed in coarse linen or thick wool moved about, some holding carbines and scanning the ocean with wary eyes, others carrying oil lamps onto the deck.
"Hey, everyone, be careful."
"This is the Black Sea. Those pirates won't show us any courtesy!"
"Ke Ao, I'm talking to you!"
A cold voice rang out, and a burly man with a full beard stepped onto the deck, holding a carved oil lamp. He kicked a companion who had fallen asleep next to a sack of cargo.
"Ow!" The man yelped, clutching his backside and sucking in a sharp breath.
Sensing the tension, a man holding a carbine quickly stepped forward to plead, "Captain Lei Long, Ke Ao got injured while rescuing someone on Hurricane Island during the day. I told him to rest for a while."
"If you're going to punish someone, punish me."
Hearing this, the man with the oil lamp shone the light on the kicked man, revealing faint bandages on his back.
"Then I'll punish both of you."
His expression still cold, the man called Lei Long, who appeared to be in his thirties, had a chest covered in thick hair peeking out from his coarse clothes.
At his words, both Ke Ao and the man who had pleaded for him looked downcast, clearly frightened, and the atmosphere turned silent.
"For this voyage's payment, each of you will be docked twelve copper coins."
"But before that, Ke Ao, get back to the cabin and rest. And bring Lin Ji up here."
"Yes, Captain Lei Long!"
Both men felt as if they had been pardoned, and the one named Ke Ao hurriedly left.
The atmosphere eased once more, and someone couldn't help but speak up.
"Captain, you're a third-tier Storm Sequence Master. With you here, why do we have to be so cautious in this Black Sea?"
"Yeah, Captain. Aren't the pirates here just small fry? Maybe we could fend them off without your help."
Similar murmurs of agreement arose, but Captain Lei Long shook his head without explanation.
Continuing to warn and remind the crew on the deck, he glanced out at the sea.
Based on the timing, they shouldn't be that unlucky.
As long as they left this area and reached Banli Port, this cargo would be safe.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted.
His pupils contracted as he looked ahead.
In the distance, under the blood-red moon, within the mist nearly a kilometer away.
A massive shadow was rapidly approaching, accompanied by the sound of howling winds.
Before he could speak, crew members widened their eyes, noticing the disturbance, and followed his gaze.
Splash!
The sound of waves crashing, and a shadow loomed under the blood-red moon.
It seemed as if some enormous creature had appeared. Everyone held their breath as they saw a twenty-meter-long, multi-masted sailing ship emerge from the mist, appearing not far ahead.
A pirate flag with a crimson sea pattern fluttered from the mast, and a group of figures stood on the bow of the ship, staring coldly at them.
Some held rifles aimed, others carried torches ready to light the fuses of over a dozen cannons.
At the forefront was a towering figure, two meters tall, with bulging muscles, brown eyes, and curly brown hair flowing in the wind.
"T-Tiger, the Great Shark?"
"Isn't that the third mate of the Blood Sea Admiral? What's he doing in the Black Sea!"
"He's a fourth-tier Crimson Sequence Master!"
Exclamations of fear erupted, and panic and worry spread instantly.
The third mate of one of the Five Pirate Admirals, a mid-to-high-tier transcendent being beyond human limits!
With a bounty of thirty-five thousand gold coins across the kingdoms of the Bountiful Continent, his face was as well-known as the wanted posters.
For a moment, even Captain Lei Long's face turned pale, looking grim.
"The news was true…"
"Captain, what do you mean?"
Someone urgently asked.
"I remember now!"
"When we passed Hurricane Island, there was a telegram saying that Tiger, the Great Shark, had plundered a large merchant ship in the White Pearl Bay of the Steel Kingdom a few days ago. The Black Sea is one of the routes out of White Pearl Bay…"
A sharp-witted crew member, sweating profusely, spoke in a panic, finally understanding why the captain had been so cautious earlier.
In an instant, the other crew members' eyes widened.
But before they could process it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannons roared, and burning iron balls shot toward them from the multi-masted ship. Everyone's faces turned pale.
With such range, their ship's equipment alone was superior.
"Storm!!"
At the critical moment, Captain Lei Long snapped back to attention.
A roar echoed as a bluish-gray light seemed to erupt from his body, and a fierce gale suddenly swept across the deck.
Whoosh!!!
The wind howled, the mast swayed, and the sails flapped.
With his own strength, he managed to weaken the momentum of the over a dozen iron balls, forcing them to stop and plunge into the sea.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Muffled explosions sounded underwater, and flashes of light flickered before extinguishing.
His face pale, Lei Long gasped for breath, not minding the energy he had expended, and shouted urgently.
"Helmsman! Move!!"
Snapping into action, the helmsman at the wheel grabbed the rudder, trying to turn the ship and escape.
But.
"A third-tier Storm Sequence Master?"
A cold voice rang out, and everyone's hearts chilled.
Turning their heads, they saw the burly man standing at the bow of the multi-masted ship. His muscles rippled, and his body changed.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a half-shark, half-human figure.
Or more accurately, a shark-headed humanoid with fins on his back.
Swoosh!!!
The next moment, he dove into the water.
Splash!
The waves churned, and the atmosphere fell silent.
But Captain Lei Long and the others on the two-masted ship turned pale.
Splash!!!
The sea surged, waves rolling and crashing.
It was as if someone had stirred up the ocean from below, and a massive wave several meters high rose and crashed toward the two-masted ship.
"Storm!!"
Lei Long roared again, unleashing his full power.
The bluish-gray light reappeared, and a fierce gale rose.
But the next moment.
Boom!!!
The gale was shattered, and the wave, like a massive wall, crashed down.
The two-masted ship was pushed backward on the sea. Some on the deck fell, others were thrown into the water, and seawater flooded the deck, soaking everything.
At the critical moment, Lei Long, suppressing the backlash, unleashed his power once more, barely managing to create a gale to offset the force and prevent the ship from capsizing.
"Oh?"
A cold voice rang out again.
The half-shark, half-human figure of Tiger, the Great Shark, surfaced, his eyes filled with mockery.
He enjoyed the thrill of making his enemies fear, then slowly tormenting and killing them.
Deliberately controlling his power to keep them struggling, seeing hope only to fall into despair again and again.
"Heh."
Seeing blood trickle from Lei Long's mouth, he prepared to strike again.
But the next moment.
Hum!!!
A fierce gale blew, and the mist on the other side of the sea was abruptly pierced.
The sudden commotion puzzled everyone, and when they turned to look.
A silver-gray colossus, emitting a golden light, streaked across the sky, its stone wings spanning nearly eight to nine meters.
Splash! The massive figure flew over their heads, and faintly, they could see a figure in black standing on its back.
The atmosphere turned strangely silent. On the two-masted ship, Lei Long's face stiffened, and under the overwhelming pressure, he instinctively suppressed the urge to call for help.
In contrast, Tiger, the Great Shark, who was half-submerged in the sea, looked grave, his eyes filled with shock as he watched the colossus fly away.
Fifth-tier!
A powerhouse on the same level as the Blood Sea Admiral!!!
"Phew!"
He sighed in relief, grateful that the other party might have had urgent business and hadn't bothered with them.
Or perhaps, they were wary of the Blood Sea Admiral and thus hadn't made a move.
With these thoughts in mind, he shook his head.
Looking up again at Lei Long and the others on the two-masted ship, seeing their expressions of despair.
Tiger, the Great Shark, sneered.
Whatever the case, at least he was satisfied with their despairing faces.
Swoosh!!!
Suddenly, the wind reversed.
A shadow loomed overhead, blocking the blood-red moon.
The despairing faces of Lei Long and the others on the two-masted ship lit up with hope once more. Tiger, the Great Shark's expression stiffened, and he quickly looked up.
A silver-gray colossus, six to seven meters tall, stood in mid-air, and a figure in black, who in his eyes was merely robust, stood on its shoulder.
Fair skin, black eyes, and short hair.
Clearly not from the nearby Steel Kingdom, but more like someone from the Su Kingdom in the East Sea, as the rumors went.
"Does anyone here know where this is?" he asked.
But no one could understand. Amidst the confusion, he shook his head, seemingly disappointed.
"S-Sir?"
Tiger, the Great Shark, reacted first, not daring to surface from the sea, and quickly spoke up, "These people stole something from our Blood Sea Pirate Crew. I'm here to retrieve it."
"Please don't misunderstand."
"Bullshit!"
Lei Long snapped out of it and urgently tried to explain.
But the figure in black paid them no attention.
Instead, he looked toward a corner of the two-masted ship, his eyes lighting up as if he had found something interesting.
Coming to his senses, Lei Long quickly ordered his men to search.
In the midst of the chaotic wait, the pirates on the multi-masted ship were drenched in cold sweat, not daring to attack.
Tiger, the Great Shark, submerged in the sea, suppressed his frustration, not daring to speak or move.
Finally, one by one, items were brought out by Lei Long's crew, held high in their hands.
A carved oil lamp.
A bag of coins, mostly copper and silver, with a few gold coins bearing engraved human faces.
A deep blue stone, the size of a fist.
Chen Feng's gaze lingered on the last item. He sensed that his Steel Bones had a reaction to it, suggesting it might be a high-grade metal.
"Where did you get this?"
Chen Feng instinctively asked, then remembered they couldn't understand him.
Arriving in the Dead Crow Secret Realm and finding himself on the sea, the situation was similar to the Serpent Spirit Secret Realm, relying entirely on the Holy Shield Colossus to fly.
These two ships were the only people he had encountered so far.
"Sir, if you want this, please take it."
Captain Lei Long trembled as he spoke. Though he couldn't understand the man's words, he could tell he was interested in the item.
He didn't dare ask for anything in return, knowing the power and untouchable nature of a fifth-tier Sequence Master.
Swoosh!
The stone wings flapped.
The Holy Shield Colossus approached the two-masted ship, the wind from its wings stirring the waves below.
The deep blue stone was grasped in its hand, and Chen Feng instantly confirmed it was a high-grade metal ore, no less valuable than ordinary Titanium.
"There's no such thing as a free gift."
"So…"
He muttered to himself. Tiger, the Great Shark, submerged in the sea, though he didn't understand the words, felt a sudden sense of danger.
This was a transcendent ability of the fourth-tier Crimson Sequence—danger perception.
Swoosh!!!
In an instant, he plunged deeper into the sea, trying to escape.
Before anyone could react, the figure in black flashed, and a black sphere appeared, exploding three meters below the sea's surface.
Boom!!!
A massive wave surged, and a huge whirlpool formed on the surface.
Bits of shattered flesh, bone, and blood splattered onto the decks of both ships. Everyone stood frozen, eyes wide.
Silence, only the sound of waves remained.
The ships rocked on the sea, and the young man in black with short hair stood on the deck, his expression calm, the black and green on his hand fading.
"So, this should be an equal exchange."
(End of the Chapter)
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