Chapter 920: Fight

"Hmm, 'Island Master' has a nice ring to it. From now on, we'll just call him Island Master Min."

The pirates began talking over each other, sneering and mocking. Qiu Hu and his men stood still. The youngest among them, Wang Fubao, couldn't take it and wanted to retort, but Qiu Hu gave him a glare, making Wang Fubao sullenly swallow his words.

They'll get their due later.

Seeing this, the pirates became even more boisterous, curses and dirty words flowing freely. One even winked at Wang Fubao and let out a lewd whistle.

Only then did Min Tianxi wave his hand. "Alright, alright, show some respect to the Island Master. I'd also like to hear from Island Master He: what are the implications of leaving, and what are the implications of staying?"

"Either you pledge allegiance to me—I'm currently short-staffed and have plenty of work for you," He Lingchuan said seriously. "Or you leave. I'll give you a deadline: you must evacuate the Yangshan Islands and the surrounding waters within seven days."

The pirates immediately began to clamor.

This time, Min Tianxi didn't stop them. He clenched his hand into a fist the size of a grinding bowl and shook it at He Lingchuan. "Listen to my advice, young He: the Yangshan Islands are a place where might makes right. Even the Bailie people have no standing here. That paper deed you hold, hehe, in my eyes, it's just a piece of scrap paper!"

He leaned slightly forward. "You can do whatever you want in the rest of the Yangshan Islands, but Erdao's territory remains Erdao's territory. Anyone who dares to move an inch of it will pay with their life!"

With that, he grabbed a wine goblet from the table, crushed it flat, and threw it onto the sand.

The fragrant wine spilled across the ground, red like blood.

Min Tianxi was spitting as he spoke, and He Lingchuan raised a hand to shield his face, as if afraid of being sprayed.

He spoke in a calm tone, "What if the Yin Hui continue to ambush you?"

"That's our business, not yours," Min Tianxi said with a laugh. "Just stick to your own little patch of land and don't come here to court disaster."

He Lingchuan clapped his hands on his knees and stood up. The bandits behind him immediately became very wary.

But he merely bent down to pick up the wine flask, turned it over in his hands a couple of times, and mumbled, "What a waste. This flask was quite expensive."

He casually kneaded it a few times, and the crumpled flask was astonishingly twisted into a somewhat irregular silver disc.

No matter how soft silver was, it couldn't be molded like a ball of dough by an ordinary person. Min Tianxi's expression darkened.

He Lingchuan then looked at the bandit leader. "So, if someone's stronger than you, you'll obey, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Min Tianxi knew it was time to fight. He sprang from his chair and lunged directly at He Lingchuan, roaring, "Attack!"

The surrounding pirates, who had long been unable to hold back, raised their gleaming weapons and hacked at Qiu Hu and his men.

"No mercy!" Qiu Hu's grip was like a vice as he seized the nearest pirate's wrist and twisted hard. The man sagged, unable to hold onto his blade.

Before the long blade even hit the ground, Qiu Hu punched him in the throat. His index finger knuckle, protruding forward in what was called a "Phoenix Eye," struck the very top of the bandit's Adam's apple.

A cracking sound was heard as his Adam's apple shattered. Though made of cartilage, with Qiu Hu's amplified force, it surprisingly pierced inward, puncturing his windpipe.

The man collapsed, his legs twitching, clutching his throat with wide, staring eyes, making a rattling sound.

With Qiu Hu's strength, he could have easily killed him with a single blow, but he didn't.

That fellow had just mocked them; he deserved to suffer a little longer.

Seeing another bandit trying to ambush Lu Qiuwei from behind, he swiftly conjured his polished copper staff and smacked the man on the back of the neck.

That skillfully applied force sent the man flying ten feet away, and when he finally stumbled to a halt, his ears were ringing.

He instinctively reached for his ears, but felt a chill on his hand, and two of his fingers flew off.

Just as he began to scream, his upper lip was sliced off. Only then did he realize Wang Fubao was approaching him with a cold expression, blood still dripping from his blade.

That was the fellow who had whistled at him earlier; Wang Fubao intended to gouge out his tongue!

Meanwhile, Min Tianxi lunged directly at He Lingchuan, who casually grabbed the wine flask and aimed it at Min Tianxi's face.

Was this some childish brawl? The flying flask nearly blocked his vision, but Min Tianxi tilted his head to dodge, and then brought his hand-axe down in a direct chop to He Lingchuan's abdomen.

He Lingchuan couldn't dodge. The axe, gleaming with black light, drew a precise horizontal line across his abdomen.

It hit! Min Tianxi was initially delighted. His hand-axe had two main properties: once it wounded an enemy, even if only a single drop of blood was drawn, it would magnify the pain tenfold!

It was like the difference between being pricked by a blood sampling needle and being stung by a hornet.

The other property was deceleration. A wounded enemy's movements would slow, rendering them even less able to defend against Min Tianxi.

But then he was startled, because the hand-axe hadn't given him the solid sensation of cutting into flesh!

An illusion? Damn it!

He also heard his subordinate cry out in alarm from the side, "Dao Master, lo—"

He spun around quickly, but it was too late; a heavy kick landed behind his knee.

The force of that kick was utterly inhuman; Min Tianxi felt as though he'd been stomped by an elephant, and his leg bone groaned with a creaking sound.

Two red lights flashed on his body, followed by two soft popping sounds—

Two protective magical artifacts had exploded in succession!

If not for them absorbing most of the damage, his leg would have snapped instantly.

Min Tianxi was experienced, after all. As he half-knelt, he didn't forget to sweep his hand-axe in a circle, aiming directly at the enemy behind him.

But his opponent was faster. A gleaming long blade swept past from the side. Min Tianxi felt a chill at his neck; the blade was already pressed against his jaw.

That axe strike was easily blocked by his opponent's hand shield.

The blade's aura was chillingly cold, making his skin break out in goosebumps.

Before the sharp edge even touched him, a gash appeared on his neck. Blood flowed down, and he didn't even dare to swallow his saliva.

Immediately, a searing pain shot through the wound.

This pain was like a wildfire, burning all the way into his internal organs. Min Tianxi gritted his teeth, but couldn't endure for more than ten breaths before he bent over in agony—his lungs and nasal cavity felt as if they were on fire, and even breathing felt like a scorching burn!

He Lingchuan stomped his foot onto Min Tianxi's back, pressing him down so his upper body almost hit the ground. Then, he twisted the blade, forcing Min Tianxi's head up.

"Open your eyes and look closely!"

A chaotic battle raged around them, but anyone with eyes could see that He Lingchuan's subordinates had the upper hand. The tall man wielding the polished copper staff, in particular, loved to crack skulls, having already beaten at least four bandits into a bloody mess.

One of the bandits, a spellcaster, seized the opportunity to form a hand seal and conjure a water snake spell.

Being surrounded by sea, he waved his hand, and several transparent giant water snakes sprang from the water, lunging directly at the Rongshan disciples.

Seeing this, Qiu Hu propped his copper staff, took a deep breath, and as his chest and abdomen caved in, he suddenly exhaled with a roar:

"Hah!"

This thunderous roar was like a bolt from the clear sky, causing everyone present's qi and blood to surge, leaving them dizzy and disoriented. Those with weaker cultivation and self-control immediately clutched their ears, bent over, and vomited.

The few water snakes that bore the brunt of it were the unluckiest. They were almost upon the Rongshan men when they were astonishingly shattered to pieces by the violent sound waves, dissolving back into clear water that splashed onto the white sand.

Behind Qiu Hu, a dark shadow flashed past.