Chapter 47: Turmoil in the Southern Sea

Beihai City, at the plaza of the Nanhai docks.

The moon shone brightly, but the atmosphere on the dock plaza was as turbulent as the stormy waves of the southern sea. Chen Yuxuan and Chen Yulei gazed at the four figures standing in the plaza. They spoke not a word, simply sipping the last mouthfuls of fiery liquor from their battered flasks, laughter lingering on their faces.

Qian Zhouliang was the first to speak, his voice hoarse and sharp as he laughed and asked, “I wonder if Third Master Chen has managed to scale new heights?”

Chen Yuxuan replied with a smile, “Not a single step forward.”

Qian Zhouliang narrowed his eyes. “Then hasn’t Third Master Chen squandered such a golden opportunity?”

Chen Yuxuan shook his head, still smiling, then tilted his head back for another gulp of spirits, a look of utter satisfaction crossing his face.

“What is your meaning?” Qian Zhouliang pressed, his tone growing sharper.

Chen Yulei gave a hearty, innocent smile. “The rare item is gone. We never saw it.”

Qian Jiashun, hearing this, smirked, his lips curled in mockery. “Trying to fool a three-year-old?”

At this, Chen Yuxuan and Chen Yulei exchanged a glance and a knowing smile, shrugged in unison, and each drained the last drop from their flasks. Realizing the liquor was finished, they tossed the battered flasks aside in frustration.

Thud, thud, thud...

The two battered flasks landed as if guided by some uncanny force, not far in front of Qian Zhouliang and his son. The father and son squinted, their mood soured. They were not ordinary men, but figures of immense influence in the southern sea—hardly accustomed to such treatment, especially at the hands of their peers in power.

Had it been a commoner acting thus, perhaps they would have shown mercy, letting their superiority stand unchallenged. But from equals, there could be no mercy—only resentment.

He Anjian, though aware of the longstanding rivalry between the Chen and Qian families, was compelled to intercede for the sake of the greater southern sea. He looked up at Chen Yuxuan standing on the deck and asked, “Yuxuan, what is going on?”

In contrast to his attitude toward the Qian father and son, Chen Yuxuan responded sincerely, “Uncle He, the rare item truly is gone.”

He Anjian nodded, saying nothing further.

A burly figure stood silent, his left cheek marked by a fearsome centipede-shaped scar, a massive blade slung at his side—Liao Hailong, ever mute.

Qian Zhouliang smirked, “Is the head of the Chen family planning to burn his bridges?”

Chen Yuxuan’s voice turned sharp. “Qian Old Dog, I’ve already said the rare item is gone. If you don’t believe me, so be it. But to accuse us of treachery?”

At the words “Qian Old Dog,” Zhouliang’s wrinkled face twitched, and he revealed a frightful expression. His tone became cold and venomous. “Little mongrel of the Chen family, after decades you finally made it to the master of Sword Cliff, and now you think you’re something special?”

Chen Yuxuan drew his sword from his waist, pointing it down at Qian Zhouliang in the plaza below, his voice fierce. “Qian Old Dog, enough! Today, I will avenge the relatives of our Chen family who died unjustly, and my elder brother who died saving us. Prepare to die!”

Before his words faded, Chen Yuxuan was already riding his sword, thrusting toward Qian Zhouliang, his form carving a thin line of light through the air.

As Chen Yuxuan attacked, Qian Zhouliang stood like an immovable statue, unmoving in the plaza. In the next instant, his right hand erupted with black light, the arm swelling dramatically, forming a glowing limb resembling a black dragon’s arm. His skeletal frame, now burdened by the massive dragon arm, looked grotesquely mismatched, yet the spectacle was striking.

Clang!

Chen Yuxuan’s sword struck Qian Zhouliang’s black dragon arm, the clash reverberating across the plaza.

After a moment’s stalemate, Chen Yuxuan leveraged the force to retreat, drifting lightly back onto the deck. He glanced at the faint black aura lingering on his sword’s tip and frowned, his voice grave as he addressed Qian Zhouliang: “The Venomous Dragon Arm lives up to its reputation!”

The Venomous Dragon Arm was Qian Zhouliang’s famed technique. The Qian family’s commercial empire in the southern sea owed as much to this skill as to the current head’s shrewd management. In the past, the Chen family—once one of the three great clans of the southern sea—was destroyed in part by Qian Zhouliang’s Venomous Dragon Arm, though other forces played a role.

The origin of the Venomous Dragon Arm was extraordinary—not for being the signature move of some grandmaster, but for its legend. It was said Qian Zhouliang acquired the ability after obtaining the limb of a black dragon during a trade voyage, and the dragon was rumored to be a true dragon—a title reserved for those among the dragon demon clan who had attained the Dao. No wonder its origins were so imposing.

Qian Zhouliang bared his teeth in a chilling grin. “Third Master Chen’s swordsmanship, combined with the Rootless Pine, grows ever more astonishing!”

He knew Chen Yuxuan’s sword arts had improved, yet he was certain Yuxuan had not used the rare item; otherwise, his progress would not have been so modest. Still, it suited him—if Chen lacked the fortune to benefit from the item, let it fall to himself. Should he advance further with its aid, he would have no need to contend with the Chen family.

Chen Yuxuan wasted no more words. He raised his sword, forged from the spiritual energy of the Sword Cliff’s ancient pine forest—the Rootless Pine. Sword energy surged around him like stormy waves. This time, he would not probe, but strike in earnest.

Sword energy swirled rapidly around Chen Yuxuan. With a thought, countless blades of energy paused at his side, their tips aimed at Qian Zhouliang.

“Hah...”

Before Chen Yuxuan could act again, Chen Yulei beside him transformed into a flash of lightning, striking toward Qian Zhouliang in an instant.

But before the lightning could hit its target, a figure cloaked in red light—Qian Jiashun—intercepted him.

Blocking the lightning, Chen Yulei gradually regained his form. Qian Jiashun watched him, sparks still flickering around Yulei’s robust frame. He grinned, “Best not meddle in their fight. Let me see the Chen family’s famed Thunderbolt Style for myself.”

Chen Yulei laughed wildly, threads of lightning like slender dragons coursing faster through his stout body. “Very well! I’ve been wanting to test the Qian family head’s strength myself!”

A streak of red light and a bolt of lightning tangled in battle across the plaza. The lightning moved swiftly, constantly shifting position, while the red light remained still except when the lightning struck—like a rhinoceros facing off with a vulture, only baring its fangs when the vulture swooped in.

Since arriving at the plaza, Liao Hailong—the burly figure with a centipede scar and massive blade—had stood unmoving. Now, at last, he prepared to act, watching the fight between Qian Jiashun and Chen Yulei. He gripped his blade, ready to aid Jiashun and take down Yulei.

But before he could step forward, he felt a wave-like aura enveloping him. He turned, unsurprised, to find He Anjian not far off, surrounded by a sea-like energy.

He Anjian smiled. “Brother Liao, I think you’d best stay put.”

Liao Hailong’s expression remained wooden as he looked at He Anjian. “You wish to intervene?”

He Anjian merely smiled and nodded.

He had no choice but to stop Liao Hailong. If the delicate balance among the three great families of the southern sea were broken tonight, the He family—lacking successors—would not withstand the combined might of the Qian and Liao clans.

Liao Hailong spoke in the same wooden tone, “Then let me see to what extent the old He family head has cultivated his Oceanic Unity technique.”

He Anjian smiled. “And I’ve long wanted to see just how wild Liao Hailong’s ‘Mad Blade’ style truly is.”

The tension on the dock plaza grew ever more taut, ready to snap.