Chapter 925: Fighting

"Huh, 'Island Master'—that’s a nice title. From now on, we’ll call you Island Master Min." The pirates chattered and jeered. Qiu Hu and his men stood their ground, but the youngest, Wang Fubao, couldn't take it and wanted to retort. Qiu Hu glared at him, and Wang Fubao had to swallow his words in frustration.

Save it for later; we’ll settle the score all at once.

Seeing this, the pirates clamored even more vigorously, spouting profanities with every breath. One of them even winked at Wang Fubao and let out a lewd whistle.

Min Tianxi finally waved his hand: "Alright, alright, give the Island Master some face. I also want to hear what Island Master He has to say—what happens if you go, and what happens if you stay?"

"Either you surrender; I happen to be short on hands here, and there is plenty of work for you to do," He Lingchuan said sternly. "Or you leave. I’ll give you a deadline: you must evacuate the Yangshan Archipelago and the surrounding waters within seven days."

The pirates immediately erupted in an uproar.

This time, Min Tianxi did not stop them. He curled his hand into a fist the size of a mortar, shook it at He Lingchuan, and said, "Little Brother He, take my advice: the Yangshan Archipelago is a place where the hardest fist wins. Even the Bailie people have no standing here. That piece of land deed in your hand, heh, in my eyes, it’s just a scrap of paper!"

He leaned forward slightly: "You can play however you like in other parts of the Yangshan Archipelago, but the territory of the Second Path remains the territory of the Second Path. Whoever dares to move even a fraction, we will take their life!"

Having said that, he grabbed the wine vessel on the table, crushed it flat, and threw it onto the sandy ground.

The fragrant wine flowed everywhere, as red as blood.

Min Tianxi was spitting as he spoke, and He Lingchuan raised his hand to block his face, fearing he would be sprayed.

His tone was steady: "What if the Yin-Hui continue to ambush you?"

"That is our business, and it has nothing to do with you," Min Tianxi laughed. "Just keep jumping around on your own little patch of land and don't come here looking for a death wish."

He Lingchuan slapped his knees with both hands and stood up. The bandits behind him grew highly alert.

But he only bent down to pick up the wine pot, turned it over in his hand, and muttered, "What a waste. This pot was actually quite expensive."

He kneaded it a few times, and the crumpled pot was actually twisted into an irregular silver disc.

No matter how soft silver is, it shouldn't turn into a ball of dough in the hands of an ordinary person. Min Tianxi’s expression darkened.

He Lingchuan looked at the bandit leader again: "So, if a fist is harder than yours, you’ll be obedient, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Min Tianxi knew a fight was coming. He sprang from his chair and lunged straight at He Lingchuan, roaring at the same time: "Do it!"

The surrounding pirates had long been unable to restrain themselves and raised their gleaming weapons to hack at Qiu Hu and the others.

"No holding back!" Qiu Hu’s grip was like a pair of tongs; he grabbed the wrist of the nearest pirate and twisted hard. The man’s body slumped, and he could no longer hold his blade.

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

With a *crack*, the Adam's apple shattered. Although it was cartilage, under the force of Qiu Hu’s blow, it actually pierced inward, rupturing the windpipe.

The man collapsed to the ground, legs twitching uncontrollably, clutching his neck with wide-open eyes, his throat emitting a "kaka" sound.

With Qiu Hu’s strength, he could have easily killed him in one blow, but he didn't.

Since this wretch had mocked them earlier, he could suffer a bit more while alive.

Seeing another bandit sneaking up on Lu Qiuwei from behind, he waved his hand, and his solid copper staff was already in his grip, striking directly at the base of the man's neck.

The deft force sent the man flying a full ten feet away; when he stumbled to a halt, his ears were still ringing.

He instinctively reached up to cover his ears, but felt a chill on his hand—two of his fingers had been sliced off.

Just as he began to scream, his upper lip was sliced away. He realized Wang Fubao was standing close by with a cold face, fresh blood dripping from his blade.

It was this wretch who had whistled at him earlier, and Wang Fubao intended to carve out his tongue!

Meanwhile, Min Tianxi lunged at He Lingchuan, who casually grabbed the wine pot and smashed it at his face.

Are we playing like children? The flying wine pot nearly blocked his vision. Min Tianxi tilted his head to avoid it and swung a hand-axe directly at his abdomen.

He Lingchuan failed to dodge, and the black-glowing axe drew a precise horizontal line across his abdomen.

A hit! Min Tianxi felt a surge of joy. His hand-axe had two major properties: once it wounded an enemy, even if only a drop of blood was drawn, it would amplify the pain tenfold! That was roughly the difference between being pricked by a blood-sampling needle and being stung by a hornet.

The other property was sluggishness. A wounded enemy’s movements would slow down, leaving them with even less power to parry Min Tianxi.

But then he was shocked, because the hand-axe lacked the solid sensation of cutting into flesh! A trick of the eye? Oh no!

He also heard his subordinates exclaim from the side: "Island Master, watch o—"

He turned with lightning speed, but it was too late; someone had kicked him heavily in the back of the knee.

The force of this kick was simply inhuman. Min Tianxi thought he had been stepped on by an elephant, and his leg bone gave a low, creaking groan.

Two flashes of red light appeared on his body, followed by two soft "pop" sounds—

Two protective magic treasures had exploded in succession! If not for them absorbing most of the damage, his leg would have snapped on the spot.

Min Tianxi was, after all, highly experienced. As he dropped to one knee, he didn't forget to swing his hand-axe in a circular arc, aiming for the enemy behind him.

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

That axe blow had been easily blocked by the opponent’s hand-shield.

The blade’s *qi* was so chilling it made goosebumps erupt on his skin.

Before the edge even touched him, a cut was opened on his neck. Blood trickled down, and he didn't even dare to swallow his saliva.

Immediately after, a sharp pain flared from the wound.

This pain was like a wildfire, burning all the way to his internal organs. Min Tianxi gritted his teeth, but couldn't hold on for more than ten breaths before he bent over in agony—his lungs and nasal cavity felt like they had been set on fire, and even his breathing was being scorched! He Lingchuan stepped on his back, pressing his upper body almost to the ground, then twisted his blade, forcing him to lift his head: "Open your eyes wide and watch closely!"

The surrounding area was a chaotic melee, but anyone with eyes could see that He Lingchuan’s men had the upper hand, especially the tall guy with the solid copper staff, who loved to crack people’s skulls open; he had already beaten at least four bandits into a colorful mess.

One bandit was a spellcaster; he seized the opportunity to form a seal and summoned a Water Snake spell.

Surrounded by the sea, he gestured, and several giant, transparent water snakes lunged from the ocean toward the Rongshan disciples.

Seeing this, Qiu Hu planted his copper staff, took a deep breath, pulled in his chest and abdomen, and then suddenly exhaled with a shout: "Tai—!"

This roar was like a clap of thunder on a clear day, blasting everyone present until their blood surged and they felt dizzy; those with weaker cultivation and focus simply clutched their ears and bent over to vomit.

The water snakes, bearing the brunt of the attack, were the most unfortunate. They had been about to charge the Rongshan men, but were instantly shattered by the violent sound waves, collapsing with a splash and turning back into clear water on the white sandy ground.

Behind Qiu Hu, a black shadow flashed past.

(End of Chapter)