Chapter 310. Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars (2)

"Go back to the Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars!" shouted the South Sea Dragon King upon snapping out of his thoughts. "If the Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars ends up collapsing, the Dragon Palace will be finished...

"Damn it, fine! I'll block it myself!"

The South Sea Dragon King forgot about the sword touching his crown and spun around to dash away. From the looks of it, he was in a hurry.

"I mean, you crazy bastard! You can't touch anything rashly!"

Gan Yezi followed the South Sea Dragon King in shock.

Zhou Xuchuan followed the South Sea Dragon King and Gan Yezi.

Looking behind the back of the throne at the top of the steps, a magnificent door greeted him. It was a golden door with considerable thickness and size.

With just a single glance, he could tell that it was a door leading to the Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars.

When he entered the wide open door, a long passage filled with crystals appeared before him. He grabbed the back of Gan Yezi's neck; the latter wasn't a martial artist.

"

Argh!

"

"Clench your teeth so you won't end up biting your tongue."

Zhou Xuchuan carried Gan Yezi under his arm and dashed forward using his lightness technique. Since it was a single hallway, there was no need to worry about getting lost. The passage wasn't that long. Moreover, it even descended, so it didn't take long for them to reach their destination.

He went down farther in the underwater cave that seemed to be beneath an island.

Before long, he and Gan Yezi arrived at their destination.

"Is this the...?"

The sight before his eyes was a cavern twice as big as the Dragon Palace. It was several times wider and taller. It felt more like a small world than a cavern. What caught his eye were the Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.

At first glance, it was clear that they were forged from unusual materials.

It wasn't limestone, marble, or crystal. He had assumed that it would have, at the very least, been a single chunk of metal, but that wasn't the case, either. No, they were made of wood. Of course, it didn't seem to be any ordinary wood.

Just looking at the thickness of the outer diameter, the pillars had to be thicker than the giant trees within the Southern Jungles.

Zhou Xuchuan put Gan Yezi down and looked around.

"...?"

This was definitely the first time he had seen such a sight. However, strangely, it felt familiar. It felt both strangely familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. There was something he couldn't explain in words.

...What's wrong with them?

He squinted his eyes and looked around thoroughly. The shaking continued; crystals and stone dust fell from the ceiling. Other than that, there was nothing special.

"I told you not to touch it!" Gan Yezi shouted at the South Sea Dragon King in annoyance.

The Dragon King was holding onto a trembling pillar.

"What if it collapses?"

"Touching things without knowing what you're doing is worse than leaving it alone. The Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars are responsible for distributing the shock heading to the Crystal Cave into nine parts. If you hold onto them, the shock distribution will become uneven, putting more burden on the other pillars!"

"

Hmph!

"

The South Sea Dragon King was surprised by Gan Yezi's sternness and quickly let go of the pillar. Not even he, someone "blessed" by the heavens, could do anything to Gan Yezi.[1]

After all, the survival of the Dragon Palace was in the blacksmith's hands, so it was natural that he couldn't treat him carelessly.

"Then what should we do now?! The Dragon Palace is about to collapse!"

"Of course, we should kill the guy who is the cause of this chaos."

"The cause?" Zhou Xuchuan asked upon hearing Gan Yezi's answer.

"Wait a minute. The cause of this shaking is supposedly the sea's anger... So, in essence, isn't it an earthquake?"

Zhou Xuchuan didn't believe what nonsense or whatever about the sea's punishment or anything.

He assumed that a tectonic shift was the reason behind the tremors.

"I thought about it based on the color of your hair, but judging by your reaction, you're not from this town. It's understandable, then."

Gan Yezi was similar when he arrived at the South Sea Dragon Gate. He kept hearing nonsense like the sea was angry because of greed, the Sea God was angry, the Dragon came to destroy the island, and so forth.

The statements were too abstract to interpret. Even if he wanted a direct answer, the South Sea Dragon Gate warriors' answers were always the same. Thus, he spent his time here alone, interpreting things on his own and finding the cause.

"You look like a martial artist, so concentrate on your hearing and listen carefully to the noises."

Zhou Xuchuan did as Gan Yezi told him to and focused on the sounds.

The sounds were varied—the sound of tremors, the sound of falling dust, cracking noises somewhere, the noises of shattering crystals and stones, and the sound of flowing water.

As he classified and organized them one by one, the buried noises appeared once again.

"...!"

Zhou Xuchuan widened his eyes upon noticing something.

There's no way... is this what they meant by the sea being angry and destroying things?!

***

"

Argh!

"

The Red Sea Warrior was struggling.

You annoying bastards!

He never could have expected that fighting on the shore without the Sandbank Pitfall Formation would be this annoying. The South Sea Dragon Gate's forces were struggling.

"

Hmph!

"

Clang, clang, clang!

Swords drawing lines swept across his red scales. If it hadn't been for the Dragon's Scale External Art, he would have been split into several pieces.

"You really are quite

tough

."

Duan Lihua praised the Red Sea Warrior with a show of admiration.

"..."

Zhuge Xiuluan furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh dear, what were you imagining, Tactician?"

Duan Lihua covered her mouth with his sleeve and smirked.

"...I didn't imagine anything."

"How cute."

Duan Lihua smiled with her eyes.

"

Raaah!!!

"

The Red Sea Warrior attacked Duan Lihua in the meantime.

"Dodge it!"

Wei Yihai blocked Red Sea Warrior obliviously from the side, looking like he had no idea what was going on. He unleashed a dazzling swift sword with his left-handed sword.

"

Tsk!

"

The Red Sea Warrior clicked his tongue and crossed his arms to block.

Clang, clang, clang!

The South Sea's First Sword grazed the Red Sea Warrior.

"Are you okay?"

"I would like to thank the Sect Master."

"As long as you're okay. More importantly, that brat is a problem."

The Red Sea Warrior wasn't the only one feeling frustrated.

The Hainan Sword Sect was the same.

Like his title suggested, his protection was truly the scales of a dragon. The problem was that they couldn't cut through them even when slicing with a sword.

It felt like he was wearing a defensive qi barrier.

The issue was that since his cultivation method was a Physical Cultivation Art, it didn't consume any qi like a defensive qi barrier would do. Moreover, he showed no signs of getting tired, either.

The good news was that the Red Sea Warrior's attacks were monotonous, making them easy to dodge.

He couldn't even show off his skills. Since his cultivation was focused on defense, his weakness was his insufficient offensive strength.

"It seems like we're going to have to join forces."

A bluish haze rose from Duan Lihua's sword and solidified around the blade.

"

Ha,

really. I know that they say that there are as many eccentric and skilled swordsmen as grains of sand in the Central Plains, but I didn't expect there to be this many. That disciple of the Mount Hua Sect is impressive, but you're no pushover either."

"I'm honored that the Sect Master of the Hainan Sword Sect has praised me. However, not even I can compare to the Sword God,

fufu.

"

Despite her words, Duan Lihua seemed to be in a good mood.

As the Hainan Sword Sect Master was a famous master and swordsman. It would never be a bad feeling to be recognized by such an expert.

"To ignore me, the Dragon's Scale! You truly have guts!"

The Red Sea Warrior leaped upward with a grin.

"

Ha!

"

The Dragon's Scale fell from above as if he were thrown from a catapult.

BOOM!

Even though the sandy beach acted as a cushion, the noise and impact were still tremendous. It was as if a whale had risen to the surface and then fallen, generating waves that rippled through the sand and coated the surroundings.

"Die!"

The Red Sea Warrior aimed at Wei Yihai and punched out.

It wasn't just any fist. It was a fist covered in dragon scales.

Although he didn't have any special techniques, the sheer power alone was extraordinary. Above all, the terrain was advantageous. Wei Yihai turned the sword in his left hand, placed the three fingers of his right hand on the blade, and pressed it lightly, taking on a defensive stance.

"Hmph!"

BOOM!

The moment the fist struck his blade, he shook violently. It was truly monstrous strength. He groaned involuntarily. Then, he sank, but it wasn't because he couldn't withstand the impact—it was because of the sandy beach.

His ankles dug deep into the sand.

The terrain was more important than most would think. He was standing on sand, so he couldn't fully display his usual skills.

The foundation of martial arts was one's lower body and footwork techniques. In the case of swordsmanship, one's footwork was even more important.

Even though he could supplement any issues with experience or other techniques, as he was a Harmony Realm Master, the fact that it was indispensable was still true.

While it wouldn't matter if one could continuously exude a defensive qi barrier or even sword aura, it wasn't as though he had infinite qi reserves like a certain somebody.

For most, it was common to use aura only at the moments in which one could decide the outcome.

Swoosh!

At his moment of crisis, a wave of sword qi came crashing down from the side to help Wei Yihai. It was Duan Lihua's Seventy-Two Waves Sword.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Dozens of sword lines crossed countless times, forming a net. Scratches quickly increased on the red scales.

The Red Sea Warrior gave up pushing and retreated with a face full of scratches.

"

Hmph!

"

Although the terrain was favorable, the enemy was formidable.

"Oh my."

Duan Lihua noticed something strange in the Red Sea Warrior's breathing.

"From the sound of his unstable breathing, gasping as if he's on the verge of death, he should be exhausted... right?"

Those cultivating their physique inevitably lacked endurance compared to those who cultivated internal cultivation, which was centered around breathing. No matter how great one's defense or strength was, they would easily get tired, which was another problem in itself.

"Then, it's time to end things—"

Screeeeech!

A loud roar drowned out Duan Lihua's voice.

"...?"

Duan Lihua and Wei Yihai both looked around in confusion.

No, it wasn't coming from near them. To be exact, it was coming from the sea beyond the coast. It was coming from the water where the six ships were located.

The sound was clearly coming from the sea, but they couldn't see anything.

"This, this sound..."

The Red Sea Warrior suddenly showed a strange reaction.

The earlier sight of him constantly exuding bloodlust and fighting spirit, completely the opposite of fear, was nowhere to be found. His broad shoulders narrowed, and his neck shrank back. He looked as if he was terrified of something.

It wasn't just the Red Sea Warrior who was acting strange. The South Sea Dragon Gate force, which had been fighting well until now, immediately stopped and grew afraid.

"T-the sea is angry..."

"Eeek!"

"L-lord dragon! P-please, calm yourself!"

The Hainan Island forces' martial artists also looked at the sea in confusion.

"What is that...?"

Even Zhuge Xiuluan, who had always been expressionless, showed a look of surprise.

Boom!

Screech!

"

Argh!

It's shaking!"

The sea was angry. There were no other words to describe it.

Several waves swayed one after another, and sometimes, they would hit the sides of the ship with all their might. The martial artists on board rolled across the deck, almost getting thrown off the ship.

Holding onto the railing, they barely managed to stop themselves from falling overboard.

"Ah!"

Zhuge Shengji screamed with a pale face.

Chu Lian held him close to her waist and laughed heartily.

"Those sailors were talking about how the sea was so rough and no one could be around here, but it really isn't much!"

"No! No! It's scary! I don't like it! I don't like it!!" Zhuge Shengji screamed while holding onto Chu Lian's waist. He looked on the verge of tears.

"This is the moment!"

The pirates who were replacing the labor force threw themselves into the sea.

Throwing themselves into the sea in this chaos was suicide, but it was the same for them if they stayed on the ship anyway.

They would die if they were forced to work as labor and then handed over to the imperial government. Since they had all mastered water immersion arts, the sea was a better choice than the land.

"Where are you going—" Hua Bisheng was about to shout at the missing pirate, but he immediately closed his mouth, frightened by the shadow on the sea surface.

At first, he thought it was a cloud or a whale.

However, it was too long to be a cloud or a whale.

Something coming to the surface.

"Hold on to anything!" he shouted, making a quick decision.

And immediately afterward, disaster struck the ship.

BOOM!

Something emerged from the water. It was so long that it was impossible to estimate its length. It was also incredibly thick. People were overwhelmed by its size and length and could do nothing about it.

The pirates who jumped into the sea immediately lost consciousness upon colliding with it, and they all sank into the depths.

"A-a-a-a-a-a-a dragon?!" Zhuge Shengji stammered and froze.

Chu Lian also stared blankly in front of it with a surprised expression.

Its vertically split pupils were bright yellow. Waves crashed over the scales that sparkled in the water droplets. Its twisted figure was half out of the water while the other half was under the surface.

"No, it's a snake," Zhou Xuchuan said. He had just landed on the railing. Zhou Xuchuan laughed, pushing back his wet hair. However, unlike his laughter, his face was filled with tension.

"It's been almost what, thirteen, fourteen years...?"

Memories of the past flashed through his mind.

Underwater caves, the wooden Nine Children of the Dragon Pillars, the howls...

And a snake that could be mistaken for a dragon...

"It's been a long time."

It was a reunion with the guardian of the Water Spiritual Fruit.

1. Note that he's 'blessed' because he calls himself a king and a god, not that he's actually blessed by the heavens. ☜