Chapter 304. Pirates of the South Sea (2)

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Thud!

Zhou Xuchuan chased after him, scoffing as if Fang Jun's actions were utterly meaningless.

He kicked off the deck and jumped overboard before imbuing his Yongquan acupoint with qi and stepping on the water.

Before his feet could sink, he quickly took his next step.

With each step, small waves splashed behind him. Startled, the sharks fled.

"No!" Fang Jun screamed, trying to dive.

"Yes!"

Zhou Xuchuan grabbed Fang Jun by the nape of his neck and returned to the pirate ship.

Boom!

The two men jumped high and landed on the ship in a spectacular manner, causing it to shake violently.

"W-what the hell..."

"Did you see that?"

Shock and disbelief.

Those two emotions swirled in the air. Exclamations erupted from every corner. It was a natural reaction. Zhou Xuchuan had just displayed power beyond that of an ordinary human.

Even though he was no god, Zhou Xuchuan had run

on

water and soared more than a zhang high before landing back on the ship.

They all glanced at him in awe, especially shocked since they were all sailors who valued superstition.

"D-damn it..."

Fang Jun, a master of the Harmony Realm, had no intention of resisting. He only grumbled with a sad expression on his face.

"You, what sort of bastard are you?" Zhou Xuchuan asked, but Fang Jun remained silent.

"You're from the Dark Heavens Association, right?"

"Dark Heavens Association?" Duan Lihua repeated, her eyes widening in surprise.

Zhao Yangxian simply tilted his head, clearly wondering what they were talking about.

Fang Jun kept his mouth shut, neither confirming nor denying.

"Hya~ how wide their reach is. Did they really recruit the Eastern Pirates?"

Sometimes, silence was the same as affirmation.

"Explain."

"..."

Fang Jun didn't even try to meet his gaze.

Zhou Xuchuan moved his sword to Fang Jun's neck and spoke again.

"Judging from the fact that you jumped out of the ship right away, you seem to value your life quite a bit, don't you?"

"Ugh..."

"Good. Should we talk in the cabin?"

The roots of the Dark Heavens Association, the officials, had tried every means possible to escape the purge of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang at the time.[1]

Some believed they could borrow the power of the Eastern Pirates on the coast and escape to distant places like Hainan Island or the other external regions.

That's why they decided to recruit the Eastern Pirates.

However, that wasn't as easy as they had thought.

Since the overall scale of the Eastern Pirates was so large, it was actually as powerful as the Martial Alliance, Evil Valley, or the Demonic Path's Two Lineages. So, after much thought, they decided to secretly plant subordinates among the pirates, hoping to control or at least cooperate with the South Sea pirates.

Even if getting their reach over the Pirates of the Empire of the Morning Calm's waters or the three other seas of the Central Plains was impossible, getting their claws in at least one of the seas of the Central Plains was enough.

After that, the Dark Heavens Association made various proposals to the pirates of the South Sea, either through the Seven Stars Division soldiers or the people they had infiltrated the Eastern Pirates. Sometimes, they would even predict and take advantage of the movement of transport routes or imperial naval forces in order to increase their influence over the Eastern Pirates through stable and successful plunder.

Through these achievements, they gained both power and recognition within the Eastern Pirates and were eventually able to exert real influence over the South Sea.

And one such infiltrator was the Great Pirate Fang Jun.

"P-please don't misunderstand. While I was once a part of the Archive of the Dark Heavens Association, I'm now independent."

"Independent?"

The Head Archivist of the Archive had died in the Southern Jungles. However, the organization wouldn't have just disappeared because its leader had died.

Zhou Xuchuan's thoughts spun quickly.

"It can't be... are you saying that you betrayed the Dark Heavens Association?"

"Yes."

No matter how far the Dark Heavens Association had spread and how powerful it was, it was difficult to completely control the Eastern Pirates.

The Eastern Pirates didn't settle down anywhere. They often moved repeatedly and spent half of their lives on the sea.

Just as the absolute power of the Emperor did not extend to the provinces, the power of the Dark Heavens Association also had its limits.

Furthermore, Fang Jun hadn't been a member of the Dark Heavens Association from the beginning. Like Meng Gang, the Stockade Boss of the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest, theirs was more of a cooperative relationship. He had joined only to make use of them.

"...Hmm."

It was a fairly convincing explanation. However, Zhou Xuchuan couldn't believe it completely.

The man in front of him was none other than a pirate, and the most vicious one among them.

Even a fool wouldn't blindly believe him.

"If you're going to try to persuade me, do it properly. There's no way that someone who betrayed the Dark Heavens Association would still have his head attached to his shoulders."

Traitors weren't tolerated in the Dark Heavens Association. No matter how far out at sea Fang Jun was, the Pure Faith Star would have come looking for him.

"Yes, you're right, that was definitely the case in the past. However, thanks to you, Zhou Xuchuan, there's nothing they can do about me."

"It's my fault?"

Fang Jun shook his head up and down.

Yes. You, you bastard—

ahem

, you and that Domination God Monarch weakened the Dark Heavens Association. Now that the Dark Heavens Association is short on resources, they've been forced to swallow their anger at my betrayal and have no choice but to ask me to maintain a cooperative relationship."

Fang Jun joined the Dark Heavens Association and worked for them in order to gain authority within the Eastern Pirates.

However, as he gradually produced results and gained stability over time, he began to have doubts.

"The goal of the Dark Heavens Association is to bring down and conquer the Central Plains

murim

. However, I don't care about the Central Plains, and I have no intention of returning to that place."

In the first place, Fang Jun was the son of Fang Guozhen, a traitor, and had been known as the son of the great pirate for a very long while.

All that awaited him upon return to the Central Plains was death. To him, the Central Plains was just another area to plunder.

Moreover, his family was either hiding on ships or on nearby island bases of the Eastern Pirates, so he didn't have any desire to go back 'home.'

"The reason I joined in the first place was because I wanted to use them to rule the South Sea. I achieved my goal, and the Dark Heavens Association wasn't what it used to be, so I took advantage of the opportunity to betray them."

Fang Jun wasn't just a pirate who was strong and greedy.

As expected of a pirate who ruled the South Sea, he was also very clever.

The Dark Heavens Association provided the Eastern Pirates with transportation routes, transportation timelines, and the locations of the imperial naval forces, and in return, received a considerable amount of plunder.

Among the things they received were secret ledgers of officials and hidden techniques of various sects.

Above all, since the Eastern Pirates were also in charge of secretly transporting supplies and people, they were very useful to the Dark Heavens Association in many ways.

Considering that the Association had to prepare for an impending Great War, losing such a resource would have been fatal.

Of course, there was a way for them to replace Fang Jun.

However, Fang Jun's influence was unexpectedly great. Moreover, since he was almost always out at sea, they couldn't exert their authority over him.

If they lost Fang Jun now, without a suitable replacement, the Dark Heavens Association would need to start from scratch to build up another resource. The problem was that they couldn't afford that.

They didn't have enough people to begin with. They had even gone so far as to bring in the Demon Cult.

Ha, seriously. If this really is true...

While Fang Jun's cultivation was profound, his mind was also incredibly sharp. He knew how to use his surroundings and the situation he was in to his advantage.

"Trust me. I'm telling the truth."

"Were they the reason you were able to get my information so quickly, too?"

"It wasn't just information. I was even asked to keep you on Hainan Island as much as possible, or to deal with you."

"Even though your life is on the line here, you still seem to be speaking a little

too

obediently," Duan Lihua said, scoffing and crossing her legs.

Fang Jun's eyes flicked to Duan Lihua's thighs. He swallowed and quickly looked away.

"Unless you're crazy, no one wants to fight a monster... no, the Sword God, head-on. I don't want to die."

While Fang Jun wasn't the head of one of the eight organizations, like the Seven Stars Division or the Archive, he was still somewhere in the middle.

That was why he received so much information. He had been given dozens of messages and updates in order to locate Zhou Xuchuan in case the swordsman was still moving through the sea.

He was one of the few who knew just how terrifying the Dark Heavens Association's greatest enemy was.

"While I received a request from the Dark Heavens Association, I had no intention of carrying it out. I didn't want to get involved, so I stayed away from Hainan Island and just wandered nearby waters."

Could it be the truth, or is it a lie?

The more Zhou Xuchuan thought, the more cautious he became.

Looking at Fang Jun's face, he seemed genuinely wronged. But there was still a chance it was all an act.

Though he couldn't fully believe it, he decided to put those doubts aside for now and keep talking.

"Then what's the South Sea Dragon Gate? Is it also part of the Dark Heavens Association?"

A mysterious sect unknown in both his previous life and his present one.

Considering its scale and power, Zhou Xuchuan suspected it might be related to the Dark Heavens Association.

"I don't know."

Zhou Xuchuan's eyes immediately filled with bloodlust.

"I really don't know, so calm down!"

Fang Jun stepped back in shock.

He spoke fearfully but clearly.

"I swear to the heavens, no, to the sea, that I don't know much about South Sea Dragon Gate. Do you really think that they would tell me, someone who betrayed them and forced our relationship to become a cooperative one, with detailed information regarding their other forces?"

"You must have heard something before, right? If it's South Sea... No, that's enough."

The Dark Heavens Association made sure that except for their executives, their forces had limited information about each other. It was a rule that had been kept in the darkness for a long time.

Since they hadn't even reached out to the forces on Hainan Island yet, it was likely they hadn't told the pirate anything at all about the factions they

were

using.

It was possible that Fang Jun knew less than he did.

Zhou Xuchuan was confused.

Various thoughts were swirling in his head. He felt a little frustrated, but there was no point in thinking too deeply about it now.

I'll figure it out if I go to the South Sea Dragon Gate.

His face, which had been filled with worry, brightened slightly.

"Fang Jun."

"W-what?"

"Thank you for your tale."

"I'll do anything if you spare my life."

Fang Jun was like a dog with its tail between its legs. The person he was looking at, Zhou Xuchuan, wasn't a hero on any level, but a monster.

"Oh, before that, I have something to ask you..."

"...?"

"Could you tell me, by any chance, how much you've plundered and how many people you've killed?" Zhou Xuchuan asked, smiling kindly.

Fang Jun quickly looked around, startled.

Is he asking me to prove my worth if I want to live?

It was a very pirate-esque way of thinking.

"You don't have to worry, as there are more than you can count with your hands."

"Good. Then I should be able to beat you to death with a light heart. Thank you."

"It's a joke! I haven't killed any... ugh!"

Bang!

Fang Jun flew backward as Zhou Xuchuan's fist slammed into his jaw.

"I'll spare your life."

Zhou Xuchuan stared down coldly, then drove his sword into Fang Jun's lower abdomen, just below the navel.

"A-agh!!! You... promised, though..."

"I didn't take your life, so you don't have to worry."

Zhou Xuchuan grabbed Fang Jun by the scruff of the neck, opened the captain's cabin door, and walked out.

The pirates tied up with ropes on the deck all looked at one another, their faces pale with fear.

Zhou Xuchuan kicked Fang Jun's butt and asked Zhao Yangxian to translate.

"Please tell them this. 'If you don't want this to happen to you, take out all of your assets.'"

As soon as Zhao Yangxian translated, the pirates all kneeled with their hands up in the air in submission.[2]">

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.[/ref]

"Is it all over now?" Duan Lihua asked, following Zhou Xuchuan out of the cabin.

Zhou Xuchuan reached into his sleeve and confirmed the book was still there. Then, he nodded.

"Let's go back to Hainan Island."

The next day, the area around Hainan Island was bustling.

The pirate group that had plagued the South Sea for so long had finally been defeated, and the looted goods had been recovered.

People praised Zhou Xuchuan's name, and when they heard that he was with the Hainan Sword Sect, they also praised the Hainan Sword Sect.

1. I'm not sure why the author started using the Emperor's birth name all of a sudden instead of his imperial title. ☜

2. Funny note, it's specifically a position in which you're sitting there knowing that you need a scolding. It looks like this. ☜