"Is that so?"

Pei Zi Yun replied without thinking as he looked out towards the vast sea. Raindrops fell down upon him and caused a splattering sound. He whipped out a flask of wine and took a deep sip before he charged out.

The instant Pei Zi Yun landed on the opposing side’s boat, he saw four short lances fly out from the pirate boats. The lances were coated in metal and had a sharp pointed edge. The four lances flew towards him in a conical formation.

"Pu!" Pei Zi Yun pointed at the oncoming lances, causing one of them to s.h.i.+ft its trajectory and turn towards the pirates. A few of them saw this happening and screamed out in fear, as they drew their swords and chopped the lance down before it could harm them.

"Blinding Light!" A bright ray of light permeated through the rains and exploded out with great force, causing most of the pirates to lose vision temporarily. The next moment, a flash of light from the blade of a sword could be seen, followed by screams of pain. Four pirates clutched their wounds and fell back. Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

"Cloud Form!"

Pei Zi Yun and his sword moved so quickly that their physical form could only be seen as rays of light. Pei Zi Yun dashed onto the deck. The minute the rays of light reached the deck, all the pirates standing there fell to the ground. At this point, a samurai warrior shouted out, as he drew his sword.

"Zhng" The clear sound of a pair of swords as they connected against one another rang out. The gleam of the sword changed trajectory once more as it spotted an opening in the samurai’s defense, and stabbed through it. The point of the sword entered the samurai’s chest and exited from his back. Blood poured out of his wound as he fell into the waters below.

"Die!" The soldiers behind Pei Zi Yun arrived on this boat and started killing the remaining pirates. Pei Zi Yun glanced across the boat and noticed that the leaders of this boat had already been killed. The morale of the pirates here had been broken. He then turned around and walked away. He noticed a dead pirate on the ground held tightly onto a metal claw in his hand.

It seemed like this pirate had tried to hook a boat towards him using the metal claw, but was pulled over onto the other boat instead. He was then killed off before he could even react.

The sounds of battle and the throes of death were extremely loud and filled the entire area. At this point, the mast of the boat snapped as a bolt of lightning cracked in the sky.

Pei Zi Yun landed and heard the sound of a sword as it whistled through the air, aimed at him. He ducked and narrowly avoided the blow. In the next instant, he swung his sword in the same direction and heard the groan of his victim, and smelt the scent of blood.

All of a sudden, a blade slashed down hard, the reflection of the blade was almost blinding.

"Zhng zhng" A series of metallic sounds rang out from the contact between the pair of blades. Suddenly, there was a change in speed and both parties reacted accordingly. Three blows were met with three responding parries. Their shadows locked into each other, making it difficult to accurately see their moves as they drew closer to each other. Several moments later, they pulled apart once more.

Pei Zi Yun took several steps back, his expression revealed a severe look as he spoke softly, "Good sword techniques."

"I am Fanban Zhengyi of the Heavenly Fragrance Company." The warrior standing across him had long and unkempt hair which reached his shoulders. He wielded a long blade in his right hand. Although he looked rather frail, his movements were extremely agile and precise. Each strike was intentional and he looked to

be about thirty years of age. At this point, he spoke gruffly.

"Pei Zi Yun, Top Scorer."

"That sounds like it’s a legal and upright business. Why have you stained and corrupted yourself in this affair?"

"This matter concerns my master, and I shall not speak of it to anyone, including you." The warrior spoke softly.

"Is that so?" Pei Zi Yun spoke and pointed, "Constricting Spell!"

His spell wrapped around the warrior, who struggled with the vines that had reached out to entangle him. The warrior gave a loud shout as his sword glowed brightly with energy. Instantly, the vines scattered, not affecting him in any way.

"My Dao arts have no effect on you?" Pei Zi Yun sighed.

The warrior then spoke with a heavy j.a.panese accent, "I’ve witnessed swords meant to kill and swords meant to protect. I then realize that the soul of a sword can be activated. You are using what we term, the holy sword. The only reason it’s not working for you is that your sword techniques aren’t pure enough."

"What?" Pei Zi Yun gave a cold laugh, "Swords are swords. What swords for killing and swords for protecting and even the soul of a sword? Those are just empty words."

As he spoke, he charged forward with his sword raised. The warrior seemed to have entered a sort of trance as he readied himself for the impending blows.

"Zhng zhng" The sounds rang out continuously as the reflections from the swords scattered in all directions as the pair of shadows finally broke apart. Wind and thunder a.s.saulted the ground beneath them.

Between the both of them, n.o.body looked to have lost yet. At this point, the warrior seemed to have slipped in the rain. A small slit formed in his robe, and his skin became visible. However, he was not hurt.

Just then, a pair of pirates dashed into the fray, their swords were raised, as they tried to interfere in the fight. The second they ran past Pei Zi Yun, the pair of them collapsed lifelessly. They didn’t even have time to groan or scream out in pain. Their throats were slashed and they died instantly, which caused fresh blood to fly in the air.

Pei Zi Yun held his sword and laughed, "You must be among the best swordsman in j.a.pan. If you combine your skills with a Daoist, you might even be able to threaten me. It’s a pity that in this world, strength is the only thing that matters. Your swords for killing and protecting, can they block my strength?"

"Just one breath is enough for me to recover. What about you?"

"How much energy have you got left? Can you still withstand another few strikes of my blade? Besides, you’ve already been lured into my ploy, and now you stand alone."

"Fire!" The minute Pei Zi Yun gave this command, numerous crossbows appeared at the side of the s.h.i.+p. At the next moment, the sounds of arrows as they whizzed through the air could be heard. All the surrounding pirates fell to the ground, as blood oozed out from the bodies into the sea.

Rainwater fell down upon the samurai’s face unceasingly, as his long hair was soaked in the droplets. As Pei Zi Yun spoke, he remained expressionless. He was somewhat in admiration of this samurai. It was just a pity that someone as skilled as him would have to perish. Just thinking of this made his blood boil for some strange reason.

"That’s how the swordsmen in your country fight?" Fanban Zhengyi spoke gruffly as he charged forward. Raindrops pelted down upon the deck, as it washed the blood of the fallen pirates, staining the entire area a bright shade of pink.

The Pei Zi Yun and the samurai splashed through the blood-stained water as their swords crossed against each other. A single burst of lightning flashed through the sky while the pair concentrated their strength on each other. Within the blink of an eye, they moved past each other, struck out.

Pei Zi Yun then stood still after moving past the samurai, his expression was stoic as the blade of his long sword pointed down to the ground. Drops of blood slid down the razor-sharp blade and fell to the ground. Fanban Zhengyi, however, raised his head to the sky as he fell to his knees. A single thin line of blood then became visible across his face. The slash across his face ran down from his brows across his nose, down to his throat and chest. Within seconds, his life was snuffed out.

"No, our leader has died in battle." There was a series of movements within the pirates’ boats as several pirates dashed forward recklessly, in apparent anger and distress.

"What valiant warriors." Pei Zi Yun spoke as he drew his sword and ran past the oncoming group of pirates. In that second, the air seemed to turn heavy, and everything slowed down. Blood spilled out of multiple wounds from each pirate, as they fell to the ground.

"We’ve arrived, we’ve arrived." The rest of the pirates that arrived on the new wave of boats seemed to have lost their minds upon seeing so many fallen comrades. Some of them charged into the thick of battle despite knowing they would perish. Others jumped into the sea and even more from the previous waves lay on the ground, dead.

"Onto the next boat!" Pei Zi Yun shouted as his shadow pounced onto the next boat.

Chen Pu was a scholar turned official. Seeing Pei Zi Yun’s shadow slide across the battlefield and all the blood around, he spoke, "Master Top Scorer is the leading official, why should you risk your own life?"

The leader of the troops was hoisting the imperial banners at this point as he directed his soldiers onto the next wave of boats. Seeing this, he laughed and replied, "Only you officials would care about such formalities, and would see it inappropriate that the leading official would get his hands dirty."

"Fighting a war isn’t like inviting a guest over to dine with you. It’s a matter of life and death."

"If Young Master Pei wasn’t well versed in fighting arts, he wouldn’t take such risks to rush into the battle. But since he’s equipped with the necessary skills, why shouldn’t he involve himself?"

"Look at how Young Master conducts himself. He struck as quick as lightning, attacked the driving force behind their attack, and neutralized the key members of the opposition. In doing so, he shattered the morale and confidence of the enemy. And yet he does not overextend his position. That is the true spirit of someone who understands war."

As he spoke, he saw Pei Zi Yun subdue several pirates who had surrounded him. At this point, he retreated back onto his wars.h.i.+p’s deck and stopped attacking. As he panted and recuperated his energy.

Even if he was a Daoist, there was a certain physical limit to his endurance. This was his limit.

The throes of the dying emanated in the air. More than ten boats and wars.h.i.+ps had engaged in fierce battle. Seeing such a scene, Cai Yuan Zhen raised his blade and shouted out, "Spare those who surrender, spare those who surrender."

Following Cai Yuan Zhen’s orders, the soldiers who were fighting echoed his orders. Even the soldiers on board the wars.h.i.+ps shouted out these orders as well, as they raised the bows and lances in their hands.

The sounds of everything going on was ear piercing. Many pirates had fallen to the ground and tossed their weapons aside in clear surrender. The winds blew across the many flags and banners, causing a rustling sound.

Most of the pirate boats had either sank, were annihilated, or had surrendered. Seeing such a situation, the morale among the pirates reached an all-time low. Approximately ten boats had fled the scene. These were the craftier pirates, who directed their boats away from the fight seeing that the battle was almost lost.

"Cai Yuan Zhen, we now have to rely on the speed you promised. Chase after those boats, kill them all." Pei Zi Yun disengaged himself from battle and ordered. "But do not overextend. If you’re unable to catch them within half an hour, recall all s.h.i.+ps and regroup. Even if you fail to catch them, scattering them would be good for us."

"However, if anyone disobeys the orders and overextends, our position will be compromised. Even if you manage to kill them, you will be punished. I will use the powers evoked to me via the imperial banners and behead you." Pei Zi Yun shouted as he conjured his Dao arts to amplify his voice, causing large ripples to form across the seas as a testament to his strength.

"Yes!" Cai Yuan Zhen and the rest of the lieutenants shouted out their acknowledgment. Nine wars.h.i.+ps each started chasing after a boat.

The rain was getting heavier at this point as it a.s.saulted the men beneath the skies. A curtain of mist started to form over the seas, causing a certain obscurity.

There was plenty of screams on the remaining wars.h.i.+p as the soldiers started chaining up the surrendered pirates. Each one of them had fallen to their knees on the deck, trembling in apparent fear as they repeatedly kowtowed for their lives to be spared.

There was even plenty of gold and silver which were obtained from the pirate boats.

Pei Zi Yun stood atop the deck of the wars.h.i.+p as wind and rain a.s.saulted his back. He glanced far across the sea before turning his eyes down to look at the pirates. He walked past some of them and noticed several were gravely injured. He plunged his sword into the chests of those he knew wouldn’t recover and tossed their bodies into the sea.

The surface of the water started to turn red, as several sharks circled around those corpses, as they seemed to have found food.

After half an hour had pa.s.sed, all of the nine wars.h.i.+ps sent out had returned. Cai Yuan Zhen approached Pei Zi Yun, his entire body was covered in blood. "Your excellency Pei, we’ve managed to sink seven boats. The rest escaped, and we’ve caught several key pirate prisoners and captured many others who surrendered. What should we do now?"

"Boom!" The roar of a thunder echoed shortly after a fork of lightning burst over the skies. Pei Zi Yun laughed, "Pa.s.s my order around. We should take advantage of the winds and rain. Turn our wars.h.i.+ps around, and return to Golden Islands. We shall take on the bandits’ stronghold now."

"What?" Cai Yuan Zhen asked wide-eyed, in shock.

"Hm, hm, soldiers, obey my order and carry it out as I command!"

"Yes!" Cai Yuan Zhen hurriedly replied. They had fought two consecutive battles in a short span of time. However, they sustained very minimal losses to their fleet. The order was pa.s.sed on at once. Before long, they raised their masts and each soldier returned to their s.h.i.+p in preparation to set sail once again.

"Distribute the meat and food supplies to replenish their energies. The next battle is going to be intense. We have to kill them all and end the reign of these pirates once and for all." Pei Zi Yun spoke.

Following the orders, the food supplies were distributed. Apart from steering the s.h.i.+ps, all the soldiers involved either distributed or received the food supplies. As soon as they received food, they started devouring it hungrily. There was even warm wine provided in order to rapidly recuperate their strength.

Pei Zi Yun took a huge bite out of a chunk of beef as rainwater continued splas.h.i.+ng down on his back. He didn’t seem to mind, seeing that the rainwater was extremely clean and pure. He could even detect a hint of sweetness on the corners of his mouth.

Upon the deck, Chen Pu opened an umbrella and sighed, "Young Master’s war tactics are unbelievable. You’re a G.o.d in your own right. Even your fighting skills are unparalleled. No wonder the Governor is so a.s.sured.

"Once you decided to attack the pirates, you wasted no time and struck hard and fast. You then waited on the sentry island to allow the pirates to chase you. While they were chasing, you turned around and attacked them, catching them by surprise. Down to the last part, when the pirates are scattered and returning back to their base in haste, you decided to attack their stronghold, now that they’re weak."

"When I first discussed this matter with the Governor, we knew that taking down the pirates was possible. But it would require at least half a year. It’s only been two days and one night, and we’re so close to finis.h.i.+ng them off for good."

"Heaven is on my side as well. If it weren’t for this rain, the results might not be as good." Pei Zi Yun spoke in between huge bites of beef. As soon as he spoke, a flash of lightning could be seen across the skies. Before long, the entire naval fleet disappeared from view, into the depths of the torrential rain.