Soul Emperor Awakening

After mounting the Phoenix, Lin Xuan flew at top speed toward the Soaring Dragon Empire. He had been here for far too long; it was time to leave.

He pushed the Phoenix to its maximum speed. It wasn’t that he was in a hurry, but rather that he wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible. ’If a Core Formation Stage expert suddenly appears, how will I escape?’ So, his haste wasn’t about getting back sooner, but about the fear of being pursued.

After flying continuously for several days, he passed through a familiar stretch of sea—the Sea of Weapons. It instantly brought back memories of those Pirates, stirring up a mix of feelings within him.

Just then, roars of anger reached his ears, accompanied by the sounds of a fierce battle.

Lin Xuan looked down and saw a group of people fighting on a boat. Some had fallen into the water and were thrashing about, trying to swim up from the Demon Sea, only to find themselves sinking deeper and deeper.

’Hmph. Enemies really are bound to cross paths. To think I’d run into him again. It’s time to settle this debt!’ Lin Xuan spotted a familiar face in the crowd—it was none other than the Pirate Leader, Li Wei!

He hadn’t expected to run into this pirate again in the Sea of Weapons while on his way back to the Soaring Dragon Empire. He didn’t recognize the people Li Wei was chasing. In fact, among the entire group, Li Wei was the only one he had ever seen before; the rest were all strangers.

The people being pursued weren’t from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. They seemed to be a small team out hunting for treasure. They all wore the same insignia on their chests, likely the emblem of some treasure-hunting squad.

Most cities had similar squads that specialized in taking on missions or going on expeditions. They were usually composed of various skilled individuals who had gathered together to fulfill their own needs.

This group was just like that: three men and two women. One of the men had sunk into the Demon Cloud Sea, falling deeper and deeper, but was quickly pulled back up when one of the women threw out a silk ribbon and hauled him aboard.

Their Cultivation wasn’t very high; most were around the First or Second Layer of the Essence Pill Stage, with the strongest at about the Fourth Layer of the Essence Pill Stage. Considering they were all approaching thirty, this level of Cultivation couldn’t be considered impressive for their age.

Facing the Pirate Leader, they had no chance of escape. Li Wei’s Cultivation alone was enough to wipe them out in an instant.

"You guys go! I’ll hold them off! If you don’t run now, it’ll be too late!" Huang Hu roared, unleashing a powerful slash. But his attack was easily blocked by the enemy, without any difficulty at all.

"Brother, what about you?!" Huang Mei cried out in worry. At the same time, she rowed with all her might, trying to get them away, but no matter how far they retreated, the enemy easily caught up.

Li Wei sneered, "With your pathetic level of skill, you think you can escape? Surround them!"

The Pirates’ Cultivation was not only around the third and fourth layers of the Essence Pill Stage, but crucially, they could swim. They even had Tiger Fish pulling their boats, allowing them to completely outpace their victims.

Two boats quickly closed in, cutting off their escape. The Tiger Fish were far faster than their manual rowing, especially since their own cultivation was inferior to the pirates’.

Seeing their path completely blocked, despair filled the eyes of Huang Hu and his team. They knew they had no chance. They had always known this place was dangerous, but they never expected to run into Pirates!

As it turned out, the most terrifying thing wasn’t Demon Beasts, but people like these.

"Boss, they’ve got two nice-looking chicks. This is a pretty good haul!" one of the underlings snickered, a knowing look passing between them.

"I won’t make the same mistake again," Li Wei laughed. "Last time, that brat ruined my fun. Now another batch of fools who don’t know what’s good for them comes to the Sea of Weapons. Do they really think it’s such an easy score? The Weapons here are just bait for a trap, waiting for you to fall right in!"

The two women in the group turned deathly pale. They knew exactly what this meant. Being captured would lead to horrific humiliation—a fate worse than death.

Huang Hu’s face was livid with rage. One of those women was his own sister; how could he not be furious? But anger was useless. It wouldn’t increase his Cultivation by a single shred, especially when the gap between them was so vast.

THUD!

A young man fell to his knees on the boat and began to beg for mercy. "Please, spare me! You can do whatever you want with the women, sirs! I beg you, please let me go!"

"Deng Sen! What did you just say? Say that again if you dare!" Huang Hu roared, glaring at Deng Sen.

"Brother Huang, I don’t want to die! We can’t beat them!" Deng Sen turned to the Pirates and said fawningly, "I haven’t laid a hand on any of you sirs from the very beginning. Please, be magnanimous and spare this humble one!"

"Deng Sen, you... you’re abandoning even me?!" The woman pointed at him, trembling with rage. She was his partner, yet she never imagined that in their most perilous moment, Deng Sen would choose to abandon her!

Deng Sen didn’t dare to look at her, simply keeping his head down. To survive, he felt he had no other choice.

"Well, well! What a show!" Li Wei taunted. "Ditching your own woman. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her for you! Since you’re so sensible, kill the one next to you with the lowest Cultivation, and we’ll let you go." Li Wei’s eyes flickered to the companion beside Deng Sen, who indeed had the lowest Cultivation.

The words had barely left his lips when Deng Sen leaped up, swinging his longsword at his own companion without a shred of hesitation. Not a single bit! To save his own life, he would let someone else die in his place.

"Deng Sen, you dare!" Huang Hu roared. He was about to draw his saber to intercept when a powerful aura washed over him, freezing him in place.

The moment he moved, he would leave an opening for the Pirates to pounce. In truth, it was useless even if he stood his ground. The Pirates were simply toying with them for their own amusement. With such an overwhelming advantage, they could afford to play with their food.

The other women wanted to stop him but couldn’t. Deng Sen’s Cultivation was the second highest among them; how could they possibly block him? Besides, they weren’t even on the same boat.

In that instant, a figure descended, landing in front of Deng Sen. A single hand shot out and firmly caught the descending blade. No matter how much force Deng Sen put into it, he found it was useless; he couldn’t cut down even a fraction of an inch! The powerful energy on his blade was instantly dissipated.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone. No one had expected someone to suddenly appear and block Deng Sen. When this person landed on the boat, it didn’t rock in the slightest. Even when they caught the blade, the boat remained perfectly still, a clear testament to their incredible power.

"It’s you!" Li Wei cried out in shock when he got a clear look at the person.

"That’s right, it’s me. Enemies are truly bound to cross paths," Lin Xuan said with a calm smile that looked somewhat like the grin of the Death God.