Chapter 190: Come Back Halfway

Zhang San was silent. After a long moment, he gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and sighed. "It's gone at the Sea Corpse Race's place?"

"It was shattered by a Golden Core cultivator," Xu Qing replied truthfully.

Zhang San looked at Xu Qing's calm expression and realized his previous judgment was wrong. This guy, he thought, must be as crazy as the captain.

He was only in the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he had the ability to make a Golden Core cultivator destroy his magic ship.

This wasn't something just any Foundation Establishment cultivator could encounter, especially not and return alive. "Where's the captain?" Zhang San couldn't help but ask. He figured if Xu Qing was in this state, the captain couldn't be doing much better.

However, considering that these two had accomplished such a significant feat among the Sea Corpse Race, it seemed reasonable that their magic ship would be gone.

"The captain..." Xu Qing thought of the three Golden Core auras that had appeared in the sky when he teleported away, and he fell silent for a moment.

"Never mind," Zhang San sighed. "When I'm refining your magic ship, I'll make a coffin for the captain too. If it's not needed this time, maybe it will be next time."

Xu Qing nodded and took his leave.

After watching Xu Qing depart, Zhang San shook his head and walked into his workshop for refining magic ships. He mused that since he was making a coffin, he might as well make two.

"They're like brothers, and both are so crazy," he thought. "Better prepare one for each of them; that's fair."

As night fell outside, Xu Qing walked along the street, looking at the harbor and listening to the sound of the waves. The familiar sensations brought a great sense of relief to his heart.

"So next," he pondered, "I'll lie low within the sect for a while!"

After some thought, Xu Qing entered the Punishing Division of Port 176.

As the Deputy Director of the Punishing Division, Xu Qing's arrival caused tension among all the members of the Division, especially since the Punishing Division in Port 176 served as the headquarters of the Mystic Department. And Xu Qing, as Deputy Director, was in charge of the Mystic Department.

Therefore, his appearance led all the disciples within the Punishing Division to show him great respect. Outside Xu Qing's residence, there were even Qi Condensation disciples from the Punishing Division serving as guards, ready to respond to his call at any time.

The Mute was also among them. After Xu Qing entered his quarters, the Mute quickly arrived and squatted outside the main door, glaring menacingly at everyone. It seemed that in his perception, anyone who came too close was an enemy, regardless of whether they belonged to the Punishing Division. Xu Qing clearly noticed the commotion outside and sensed the Mute's presence.

"He's cultivating very quickly." In Xu Qing's view, the Mute's spiritual sea outside the dwelling had already reached a depth of seventy zhang, indicating he had entered the seventh level of the Sea Transformation Scripture. To reach such a level in a short time was impressive, and while Xu Qing noted it, he had no intention of investigating further. After all, everyone had their secrets, and he wasn't concerned with other people's affairs.

Thus, time slowly passed, and half a month went by.

Although Xu Qing's return was low-key, news of it gradually spread. However, since he was within the Punishing Division and had a fearsome reputation, while he did receive requests for visits, few people actively came to disturb him, except for Huang Yan, Ding Xue, and a few others.

Meanwhile, many things had also occurred on the battlefield during these two weeks. The conflict between the Seven Blood Eyes and the Sea Corpse Race had reached a fever pitch. Particularly a week earlier, both sides had engaged in a massive battle.

The Seven Blood Eyes divided their forces into seven routes, launching a general offensive against the seven secondary islands outside the Sea Corpse Race's territory, aiming to breach them. The Sea Corpse Race did their utmost to resist, but the Seven Blood Eyes' divisions were a mix of real and feigned attacks; four of the routes were merely feints, with their strategic objective not being to capture, but to tie down enemy forces. The remaining three routes were the true spearheads, with the goal of occupying the secondary islands to serve as staging points, allowing the Seven Blood Eyes army to directly threaten the Sea Corpse Race's homeland.

This battle was earth-shattering and exceptionally brutal. Although Xu Qing had not witnessed it firsthand, the Punishing Division's war records described the battle very clearly. Ultimately, the Seven Blood Eyes indeed successfully captured two secondary islands. As a result, the war became extremely disadvantageous for the Sea Corpse Race. Even the high-ranking cultivators from both sides had engaged in combat multiple times, and the war had escalated significantly.

The rewards offered by the Seven Blood Eyes also increased again, causing a large number of their disciples to fight with bloodshot eyes.

At the same time, the bounty related to the captain and Xu Qing had seen its popularity slightly decrease due to the large-scale battle. However, the sudden appearance of an additional bounty soon made Xu Qing's popularity temporarily surpass that of the captain. This additional bounty came from the Sea Corpse Race's Dao Child, Miao Chen!

"Additional bounty: Anyone who kills Xu Qing, I, this Dao Child, promise to fulfill ten requests for them, anything within my power! And for anyone who provides correct clues, I, this Dao Child, also promise to fulfill one request for them."

As the Dao Child of the Sea Corpse Race, Miao Chen possessed extraordinary combat prowess and immense renown; many foreign races had even heard of him. Thus, his additional bounty immediately became a hot topic. Subsequently, with so much attention, the battle between Xu Qing and Miao Chen inevitably spread. This was not what Miao Chen wanted, but he had no choice; for him, as long as he could kill Xu Qing, everything else was secondary.

So, he first issued an additional bounty to draw more malicious gazes toward Xu Qing's location, then he sent another message.

"Xu Qing, do you dare come to the battlefield and fight me, this Dao Child? In this battle, no one else will participate, only you."

Xu Qing naturally saw both messages but directly ignored them. He thought this Dao Child Miao Chen was a bit foolish. Whether it was his attitude from living in the slum or his training experience with the Seven Blood Eyes, Xu Qing had no interest in such duels. He preferred to secretly sneak over, cut a throat, and leave, which was much cleaner and more efficient.

Meanwhile, many things had also occurred within the sect during this half-month. The most significant was the establishment of a huge museum in Port 176. Although this matter was initially kept secret, it was too significant to hide. Moreover, Zhang San no longer concealed it; instead, he actively promoted it. Consequently, all cultivators in the entire sect soon learned that only one item was displayed in the Port 176 museum.

That was... the nose of the Sea Corpse Race's Seventh Corpse Ancestor statue!

This nose would be openly exhibited on the museum's opening day. All Seven Blood Eyes disciples could come to visit, and cultivators from other races could also come to view it. As soon as this news broke, not only was the Seven Blood Eyes sect shaken, but the Sea Corpse Race also heard about it. Their entire race instantly went mad; nothing could humiliate them more than this.

The Seven Blood Eyes Patriarch naturally heard about it and was quite pleased. In his gratification, he even wrote a calligraphy piece and had it teleported back to the sect from the battlefield, where it was hung high in the museum. This piece of calligraphy consisted of only four characters: "Fire from the nose."

Xu Qing received Zhang San's voice transmission, left the Punishing Division, and arrived at the nearly completed museum. He saw the colossal Corpse Ancestor's nose and the four characters hanging on it, and he was momentarily stunned. Zhang San, standing beside him, also had a solemn expression.

"What do the Patriarch's four characters mean?" Xu Qing pondered, looking at Zhang San.

"This... does it mean we should set it on fire? Arrange it to look like it's being burned by flames?" Zhang San hesitated, muttering uncertainly.

Just as Xu Qing was about to speak, he suddenly sensed something and sharply turned his head to look outside the museum, where it was empty. "What's wrong?" Zhang San was startled.

Xu Qing stared at the spot, his eyes narrowed. The next instant, he suddenly raised his right hand, a dagger appeared in it, and he fiercely slashed it to the side. A scraping sound, accompanied by a surprised voice, came from where Xu Qing's dagger landed.

"Huh!"

Following the sound, a gust of wind whistled, suddenly coming from behind Xu Qing. Xu Qing's face remained impassive as two clusters of life-fire instantly erupted within him, forming a rolling heatwave. At the same time, he spun around and unleashed a punch.

A booming sound resonated. Xu Qing staggered back a few steps and looked at the empty space not far away, where a figure seemed to be inside the distorted void, also retreating.

"Chen Erniu," Xu Qing said slowly, looking at the distorted area.

"Call me Director!" an exasperated voice came from that spot, but the captain's figure did not appear. Zhang San, standing by, also recognized the captain's voice and looked delightedly at the fluctuating distortion.

"Captain, you're back!"

"Of course. This time, there wasn't much danger; just a few dozen Golden Cores chasing me. I escaped effortlessly, and I even visited the Sea Corpse Race's battlefield, returning from there on my way."

The captain's voice emanated from the void, then an apple appeared out of thin air, floating in mid-air. With a crunch, a bite was taken from it.

"Why are you still invisible?" Zhang San asked curiously.

In the void unseen by Xu Qing and Zhang San, a figure stood there. This person had only one leg and one arm remaining, their waist was almost severed, and their entire body was covered in countless wounds, several of which had penetrated through their body. Especially their face, which was disfigured, bruised, and swollen beyond recognition, and their hair was singed as if burned by fire. It was indeed the captain.

He endured the excruciating pain throughout his body, struggling to open his eyes, which were swollen to mere slits. With a pouting mouth, he spoke proudly.

"I'm used to it," he said. "I find invisibility quite good; it's convenient for many things. And as your superior, being in this state can further highlight my status."

As he spoke, he deliberately held the apple, opening his sausage-like mouth wide, and calmly continued to eat, adding casually, "Those dozens of Golden Core cultivators were played around with by me. I even had time to visit the First Corpse Ancestor statue and relieved myself there. It's a pity that thing was too big to move, otherwise I would have brought it back for you all to urinate on too."

"And the reason I'm like this is also to take care of Deputy Director Xu. I'm fine; I can enter and exit the Sea Corpse Race's territory three times with my eyes closed. But Deputy Director Xu couldn't, so to cover for him, I even went to the Sea Corpse Race's imperial palace for a stroll."

"If I wasn't in a hurry to come back for you two, I would have planned to visit the Sea Corpse Race Patriarch's healing grounds to see if I could get anything from him."

As the captain spoke proudly, his face was swollen like a pig's head, and the pain throughout his body made him tremble uncontrollably. His injuries appeared as severe as when Ju Ying was mad that day, but in reality, his internal organs were almost shattered. Clearly, it had been incredibly difficult for him to escape alive this time. Yet, his dignity as a superior prevented him from losing face. After speaking, he glanced at Xu Qing and transmitted another message.

"Deputy Director Xu, I helped you a great deal this time. Remember the fifty thousand spirit stones you owe me; don't forget to pay me back."

Xu Qing silently listened to the captain's words, lowering his gaze to look at the shadow on the ground, which no one else could see but he could perceive. The shadow, at this moment, was forming the shape of a figure with one leg and one arm, trembling all over while eating an apple.