"Er..."
Jiang Chen stared in astonishment at the incredibly narcissistic Luu Fei before him.
He had seen countless uses for True Essence, but he had never seen someone use it to show off by erupting in a brilliant flash of light like Luu Fei!
However...
Luu Fei's strength did make Jiang Chen take a second look.
He looked to be about the same age as him, yet his cultivation had already reached the Third Stage of Human Emperor Realm. Jiang Chen couldn't help but be surprised.
Jiang Chen then said, "Luu Fei, thank you for saving my life. I, Jiang Chen, will never forget this kindness!"
"Don't mention it!"
Luu Fei laughed heartily, spit out the blade of grass in his mouth, and squatted in front of Jiang Chen. He asked quizzically, "Brother, your name is Jiang Chen? You don't look like you're from the Azure Sky Sea. Where did you come from? How did you get so badly hurt? In your condition, you can't even use a shred of True Essence! But then again, it's strange. It's a miracle that you're even alive with injuries this severe!"
Jiang Chen was taken aback.
He had just woken up and hadn't had a chance to check his injuries.
One look, however, brought a bitter and helpless expression to his face.
Just as Luu Fei had said, his condition was terrible.
Over seventy percent of the meridians in his body were severed, and his True Essence was blocked, making it impossible to circulate.
At this moment, aside from his physical strength comparable to an Emperor Realm expert, Jiang Chen couldn't use even a bit of True Essence Power. His current combat ability couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as slaying an Emperor Realm expert; even a master at the Human King Realm or above could easily take his life!
"Brother Jiang, why did you stop talking?"
Luu Fei waved a hand in front of Jiang Chen's face.
Seeing Jiang Chen look at him, Luu Fei thought he was worried about his injuries and immediately smiled. "Alright, don't worry too much. Your injuries are serious, but not incurable. How about this? For the next few days, just rest up on the ship. I'll prepare some healing Spirit Medicine for you. I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time!"
Seeing the sincerity on Luu Fei's face, Jiang Chen's heart warmed.
They had only just met by chance, but Luu Fei was so willing to help him generously. Jiang Chen was secretly grateful and committed this kindness to heart.
"Get some rest for now. I'll have someone bring you food in a bit!" Luu Fei said with a smile.
Jiang Chen said gratefully, "Thank you!"
"Hey, we're all wanderers in the same boat, no need to be so formal!" Luu Fei waved his hand and turned to leave the cabin.
Jiang Chen forced his exhausted body to sit up on the bed.
He carefully examined his physical condition, and the final result made him sigh in relief. 'Thankfully, the meridians are only severed; they can be slowly repaired by taking Spirit Medicine. As long as I can reopen the meridians and get my True Essence circulating again, I can heal myself. However, during this time, I can't even open the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle. I'll have to let Gai Shi and the others stay inside!'
'I wonder how Elder Celestial Secret and Elder Asura are doing. With the Ice Emperor's methods, I doubt he'll spare my Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, will he?'
Jiang Chen's fists clenched tightly, a cold hatred flashing in his eyes. 'Ice Emperor, if a single person from my Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect is harmed, I, Jiang Chen, swear that I will take your head! I will make you suffer every torment in this world, leaving you in a state where you can neither live nor die. That day will not be far off!'
A seed of revenge had already taken root and sprouted deep within Jiang Chen's heart.
His hatred for the Ice Emperor was higher than mountains and deeper than the sea.
A feud to the death!
However, Jiang Chen knew that unless he broke through to the Demigod Realm, he was no match for the Ice Emperor. The most urgent matter at hand was to recover his cultivation and head to Zhongzhou. Only in Zhongzhou, the Martial Arts Holy Land, could he step into the Demigod Realm faster!
Jiang Chen took a deep breath and immediately began to cultivate, working hard to recover from his injuries.
「Not long after...」
A curly-haired young man with a long nose walked in, carrying a tray of food and a bowl of medicinal soup. He smiled and said, "Brother Jiang, I'm Axiu. The captain asked me to bring you dinner and the medicinal soup. I'll be taking care of your daily needs for the time being. I hope you get well soon!"
Jiang Chen nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Axiu!"
"Hey, the captain always tells us he's the man who will become the Pirate King, and we are the War Generals under his command. We should have the demeanor of the strong, helping the weak and punishing the evil. It's just what we do!" Axiu laughed, his eyes filled with heartfelt reverence when he mentioned Luu Fei.
In other Pirate Groups, many might have been forced to join out of desperation.
But in Luu Fei's Pirate Group, every expert followed him willingly. Furthermore, Luu Fei treated them all as sworn brothers.
Every one of them was utterly loyal to Luu Fei!
Jiang Chen glanced at Axiu in surprise, then asked, "Axiu, I'm new here and don't know much about the Azure Sky Sea. Could you tell me about it?"
"No problem! Let me tell you, the Azure Sky Sea is located..."
Axiu immediately began to describe the geography of the Azure Sky Sea and the structure of the powers within it.
From Axiu's introduction, Jiang Chen learned that the Azure Sky Sea was composed of several commerce associations, Sea Races, Pirate Groups, and powerful Loose Cultivators.
Among them, the Pirate Groups led by the Four Great Pirate Kings—the East King, West King, South King, and North King; the two great commerce associations, the Celestial Essence Commerce Association and the Heaven's Edge Sea Pavilion; and the four great Sea Races—the Demon Flood Dragon Race, the Yaksha Race, the Sea Dragon Race, and the Mermaid Clan—formed the Ten Great Forces. These were the strongest Overlords of the Azure Sky Sea, and no one could challenge their position!
An excited expression appeared on his face as he said, "Let me tell you, our captain is a genius! He's so young, but his cultivation is already at the Third Stage of Human Emperor Realm. I believe that in a few more decades, he will definitely advance to the Emperor Realm. When that happens, Luu Fei's Pirate Group will become the fifth Pirate Group with a Pirate King!"
Jiang Chen nodded to himself.
He now had a basic understanding of the Azure Sky Sea.
Jiang Chen asked, "Then how far are we from Zhongzhou?"
"Zhongzhou? If you want to get to Zhongzhou, we have to cross the sea territories controlled by seven great powers: two major commerce associations, three Pirate Kings, the Yaksha Race, and the Mermaid Clan. Even if all seven of these powers don't obstruct us and we have a clear path, it would still take half a year," Axiu said.
Jiang Chen grunted in acknowledgment, his brow furrowed slightly. 'There's only a little over a year left until my battle with Xiang Tianwen. It seems I need to recover my strength and get to Zhongzhou as soon as possible!'
With this in mind, Jiang Chen dismissed Axiu and drank the medicinal soup. He found that the severed meridians and injuries inside his body were indeed being nourished.
「For the next half month.」
Jiang Chen remained on Luu Fei's pirate ship, taking the medicinal soup on schedule every day. His injuries recovered quite a bit. Although fifty percent of his meridians were still not healed, the injuries to his physical body had mostly recovered. With his physical strength alone, he was now strong enough to slay a master at the Human Emperor Realm Fourth Stage.
「On this day.」
Jiang Chen was in his cabin healing when a frantic Axiu suddenly burst in, roaring at him, "Brother Jiang, enemies are on our tail! The captain is leading the brothers to stop those bastards from the Mountain Wild Group from boarding. He told me to inform you to quickly take the secret passage under the bed and escape through the sea. He doesn't want you to get involved!"
Jiang Chen was stunned.
He opened his eyes and looked at Axiu, who had already opened the entrance to the secret passage. He frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Are your enemies very strong?"
"Strong?"
Axiu froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "That's the Mountain Wild Group! In the nearby seas, the Mountain Wild Group is one of the top three pirate groups. How could they not be strong? The one chasing us this time is the Mountain Wild Group's third-in-command, Mountain Leopard. He's a master at the Human Emperor Realm Fourth Stage! Even the captain is no match for him. Hey, hey, Brother Jiang, where are you going? The exit to the secret passage is over here!"
As if he hadn't heard him, Jiang Chen walked straight out of the cabin. He waved his hand, and his faint voice echoed back into the room...
"Block up the secret passage. It's only the Human Emperor Realm Fourth Stage. I'll go and slay him."