Shackles of Humanity

The battle inside the passenger ship was fierce. The tall man’s combat skills were superb. Surrounded by several vicious pirates, his long blade danced in a brilliant flurry of white light, with every strike aimed at his enemies’ vitals. The sea pirates, though ferocious, struggled to take him down quickly.

The others, however, were no match. In an instant, the sea pirates cut them down in a bloody massacre, forcing many to throw down their weapons and surrender.

A masked sea pirate stood on a small boat, coldly observing the battle on the ship. Annoyance flickered across his face as he saw his subordinates still hadn’t finished the job. Drawing a short blade from his waist, he leaped onto the passenger ship like a seabird and charged the tall man, wielding the blade with both hands.

The man’s expression remained unchanged as he met the attack with a backhanded block. CLANG! Sparks flew as the two blades collided. A searing pain shot through the webbing of his hand, and his long blade was sent flying from his grasp. Despair washed over him. ’These sea pirates are all savage, with at least seven or eight Martial Artists among them. I’ve been fighting for so long my strength is giving out. Even at my peak, I doubt I’d be a match for this masked pirate.’

The masked sea pirate sneered, the flash of his blade accelerating. Just as he was about to cut the man down, a pale green figure streaked past. Several nearby sea pirates grunted in pain, their weapons clattering to the deck.

It was the young girl, Miss Zhang. Wielding a longsword, she stood protectively in front of the man and said angrily, ”You’re not sea pirates!”

The masked sea pirate said in a raspy voice, ”Miss Zhang. Unlucky for you. You’re coming with us.”

Miss Zhang’s expression changed as something occurred to her. ”You’re from the East Sea Xi Family?”

”Hmph. We’ve long heard that the young lady of the Thousand Islands Sea’s Zhang Family is exceptionally clever. It seems your reputation is well-deserved!” The masked sea pirate sounded surprised, then chuckled lightly. ”Our young master has long wanted to invite Miss Zhang to the Hundred Flowers Banquet on Chongjun Island, but you’ve always refused. I trust you won’t be refusing this time.”

The girl’s delicate eyebrows shot up in anger. ”Then we’ll see if you have the skill for it!” With a flash of movement, her longsword shot toward the masked sea pirate.

A pale green figure weaved through the narrow cabin at high speed. Muffled grunts sounded wherever the light of her sword passed. The masked pirate dodged back hastily, and the scarf covering his face fell away, revealing a long, horse-like face. A startling gash marked his cheek; she had nearly pierced his skull.

The surrounding pirates were utterly unable to withstand the girl’s lightning-fast sword, and three of them were killed in an instant. The horse-faced pirate gathered his strength, locked onto her figure, and with a great roar, slashed out with his blade.

The girl in green faltered for a moment to dodge the blow. This finally gave the horse-faced pirate a chance to break free of her attack. He retreated from the cabin and touched the cut on his face, remarking with awe, ”I never expected Miss Zhang to already be a High-level Martial Artist!”

Just then, a deep blue yacht pulled up alongside the passenger ship. A middle-aged man with his hands clasped behind his back landed gracefully on the deck. He glanced at the blood and bodies filling the cabin, frowned, and said, ”I told you not to cause a needless slaughter. Why have so many innocents been harmed?”

The horse-faced pirate’s expression became deferential. ”Sir, a few of them didn’t know what was good for them.”

The middle-aged man ignored him and turned to the girl. ”You must be Zhang Quanling’s granddaughter.”

The girl’s face had been grim ever since the middle-aged man boarded. ”You’re Xi Jinghui?”

”Impudent girl! Is our master’s name something you can speak so freely?” the horse-faced pirate immediately bellowed.

The middle-aged man waved his hand. ”No matter,” he said with a smile. ”Strictly speaking, this girl and I are even distantly related.”

With a cold expression on her young face, the girl said, ”As a Body Master and the vice president of the Body Technique Association, are you really going to involve yourself in secular affairs?”

The middle-aged man shook his head. ”Ordinarily, I wouldn’t get involved in such a trivial matter, but I owed my younger cousin a favor from years ago. Little girl, just accompany Commander Shang to Chongjun Island as a guest for a few days.” He sighed. ”After witnessing such a slaughter today, I will have no choice but to enter seclusion for a few days when I return.”

The girl couldn’t stop herself from cursing, ”What kind of bullshit Body Master are you? I see you’re just a sanctimonious hypocrite! You let your men hijack a passenger ship and murder so many innocents. Today, I’m going to experience the Water Element Divine Techniques of a Xi Family Body Master firsthand!” As she spoke, she cradled her longsword, and faint, star-like points of light began to gather around it.

The middle-aged man’s expression turned ugly. He snorted. ”You ignorant little girl. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson on Zhang Quanling’s behalf!”

By now, the points of light on the girl’s blade had condensed into a long, narrow, cyan sword beam. She hurled it at the middle-aged man like a shooting star. Executing the technique clearly took a heavy toll on her; her face instantly became deathly pale.

The middle-aged man waved a hand, and a massive cyan hand materialized from thin air to meet the beam. With a sharp CRACK, the sword beam shattered. He then reached out and effortlessly plucked her longsword from the air, remarking in surprise, ”To be able to use Water Energy to form a sword beam at such a young age… it seems you’ve already begun Water Energy Infusion. Zhang Quanling is truly a lucky man.”

At this, the girl collapsed to the deck. Though she could use Water Energy to fight, the gap between a Martial Artist and a Body Master was simply too vast. She had no strength left to resist.

”Yu’Er, this has nothing to do with you! Don’t drag the Zhang Family into this. Just go.”

The girl’s face fell. She looked toward a storage compartment in the corner, from which a one-armed man was emerging. His face was ashen, and blood was still streaming from his severed limb.

”Brother Fu, why did you come out!”

The one-armed man walked onto the deck and faced Xi Jinghui, his expression blank. ”I’m the one you want. Let Xiaoyu go, and I’ll come with you.”

Xi Jinghui sneered. ”That’s not for you to decide.”

The horse-faced pirate standing nearby shot his men a look. Several of them immediately swarmed forward, taking out ropes braided with steel wire and securely tying up everyone on the ship.

The horse-faced pirate produced a jet-black rope from his tunic, stepped forward, and said with a smile, ”My apologies, Miss Zhang.”

Though her face was etched with fury, the girl knew that with a Body Master present, the two of them had no hope of resisting. She could only let herself be captured.

A short while later, the twenty or thirty people still alive on the passenger ship had all been herded onto the deck by the pirates.

The horse-faced pirate cautiously asked Xi Jinghui, ”Sir, how should we deal with these people?”

A cold glint flashed in Xi Jinghui’s eyes. ”This matter cannot get out, or it will damage my Xi Family’s reputation. After I leave, you can deal with it as you see fit. Remember, the ship can’t be left behind either.”

The words had barely left his lips when a quiet voice spoke up from the stern of the ship. ”Aren’t you going a little too far?”

Xi Jinghui showed no surprise. He looked at the refined-looking young man who had suddenly appeared on deck and asked with a smile, ”And which great family’s prodigy might you be, young friend?”

The young man was none other than Luo Kai. With a neutral expression, he said, ”You’ve already captured the people you wanted. Why not let the others go?”

”You haven’t lifted a finger this entire time. Why reveal yourself now?” Xi Jinghui’s smile vanished as he shot back the question.

Luo Kai replied coolly, ”I dislike trouble, so I detest those who create it.”

Xi Jinghui stared at him, surprised, and his face darkened. ”I noticed your unusual aura and decided to turn a blind eye. You’re merely a High-level Martial Artist. Do you intend to make a move against me?”

Luo Kai slowly drew the long blade from his back. Sensing his killing intent, the Severing Blade began to hum. He stated flatly, ”I might not be able to kill you, but not a single one of your subordinates will be able to escape.”