Making a Name

Li Hao rushed back. By now, the clash on the deck had reached a fever pitch. Combatants fell in rapid succession; several members of the Demon Hunt Corps were blasted through the air and plunged into the sea, their fates unknown. Yet the moment Li Hao reappeared, terror struck the pirates. Where was their leader? An instant later, a flash of sword light blazed. With a thunderous boom, a Three Suns expert currently besieging Liu Long was torn to shreds by that single strike. The sword radiance flickered, and another strike flashed out. A second Three Suns cultivator let out a shrill cry of terror, but death was already upon him! "Run!" someone bellowed, hoping only to spur others into fleeing alongside him to buy a sliver of hope. Only if everyone ran would there be any chance of escaping this swordsman with their lives. "Kill them all! Leave none alive!" Li Hao’s voice echoed across the sea. Sword qi cut sweeping arcs across heaven and earth, filling the air with relentless, whistling shrieks. Puffs of tearing flesh and wet explosions rang out without end. Gore and severed limbs flew everywhere. A great many pirates had already fallen, but these scoundrels were capable enough when the wind blew in their favor; despite their losses, they had continued to fight. Now, however, with Li Hao’s return and their leader gone, their will to fight disintegrated entirely. A rout! Scores of supernaturals broke and fled. Li Hao claimed a life with every thrust of his blade, sometimes cutting down several supernaturals in a single sweep. In the blink of an eye, at least a hundred supernaturals were slaughtered beneath his sword qi, utterly devoid of any will to resist. The morale of the Demon Hunt Corps surged! They struck out with renewed ferocity, felling another massive wave of supernaturals on the spot. "I surrender! I surrender..." A Solar Flare supernatural dropped to his knees, begging for mercy at the top of his lungs, stripped of every shred of dignity, gripped by nothing but naked terror. Many turned to look at Li Hao. "Kill!" Li Hao uttered just one word. His sword thrust forward, impaling the supernatural through the chest. That single strike shattered what little hope the remaining pirates had left. Someone screamed desperately, "Fight them to the death!" "Kill!" "—" Those shouting the loudest were cut down by sword qi an instant later. Blade in hand, Li Hao pursued them relentlessly. Even so, a handful of supernaturals managed to plunge into the water and vanish. Li Hao paid them little mind; he thrust his sword into the sea, churning the blood-soaked waves. Their motes of light remained plain as day to his eyes—where could they possibly hide? Could they escape? Even if someone truly capable managed to elude Li Hao, they still could never hope to escape Black Panther’s nose. The slaughter continued. For five or six straight minutes the killing went on, until Li Hao’s arms grew slightly numb from swinging his blade. Finally, the surroundings fell completely silent, save for the ragged gasps of breath echoing in everyone's ears. Corpses littered the deck. The sea around them was dyed entirely crimson. Of the five or six hundred supernaturals, only a small handful had fled; all the rest had been slain. Yet could those who fled truly escape death? Li Hao glanced into the distance. A mote of light abruptly vanished. Silent and clean. Black Panther might be a dog, but his water skills were remarkably keen. Any water-element supernaturals who submerged into the depths were torn apart the moment they crossed paths with him, their lights snuffed out instantly. His nose was exceptionally sharp, rivaling even Li Hao's extraordinary eyes. Li Hao touched down on the deck. The wooden planks beneath his feet were cracked and battered. The massive vessel was well-built; to have endured a battle among so many supernaturals without breaking apart was a testament to its craftsmanship. Inside the cabin behind the deck, bodies also lay strewn everywhere. Amidst this charnel house, faint, muffled weeping reached his ears. Li Hao looked toward the sound. Among the piles of corpses, more than a dozen living women were huddled in a corner, shivering from head to foot, weeping softly into their hands. Li Hao peeled off his helmet, revealing his true features. He looked at them, his tone solemn and commanding. "I am Li Hao, Vice Minister of the Silver Moon Night Patrollers and Chiliarch of the Martial Guard Army. By official order, I am patrolling these waters to eradicate pirates. I am an officer of the military!" They might not know what the Night Patrollers or the Martial Guard Army were, but they surely understood what a soldier was. Yet the moment those words left his mouth, the women trembled with even greater terror. Li Hao’s expression shifted, and a sudden weight pressed down upon his chest. Why? In that brief pause, something dawned on him. Among the crowd, several women shook violently as they looked up at Li Hao. Catching his gaze, they hurriedly bowed their heads, their bodies quivering as they pleaded, "Sir soldier... we... we know nothing... we saw nothing..." The military had not brought them any sense of safety; instead, it inspired a terror far more suffocating! Li Hao knew these women had to have come from the destroyed coastal town in Linjiang. Yet here, having just been rescued, they showed no gratitude, no relief at surviving a nightmare—only boundless dread and panic. Why? Had the military lost every shred of respect and trust among the people? Was Linjiang in an even worse state than Silver Moon? Had this world fallen so far that commoners feared soldiers more than monsters? He thought of the Battle Heaven Army. When they had marched in ancient times, it surely could not have been like this. Never like this. "I am the commander of the Demon Hunt Corps," Li Hao said, looking at them. "I can escort you back. I already know your town was overrun. Perhaps some of your family members are still alive..." "No... don't send us back..." One of the women suddenly fell to her knees, weeping in sheer terror, her voice trembling with dread. "Please... sir soldier, please do not send us back... we... we just want to live... I still have a child... If we go back, we have no way to live..." Li Hao froze. He stared blankly at the woman, momentarily at a loss for words. At his side, Liu Long sent a voice transmission: "Linjiang is rather... rather backward and feudal. These women were dragged away by pirates. Even if any of their family members survived, taking them back would mean a death sentence." Li Hao turned his stunned gaze to Liu Long. Liu Long continued in a quiet transmission: "What's more, their town was destroyed. If these women return alive, the authorities in Linjiang might claim they colluded with the pirates, or that they're pirate spies. We cannot send them back; doing so would strip them of any chance of survival. I... I saw very small children in the lower hold, some still breathing... It's likely that some of these women are their mothers. Commander... we cannot let them return!" Li Hao stood in a daze, saying nothing. Why? He understood, yet in his heart, he desperately wished he didn't. It shouldn't be this way! Linjiang was incompetent; it had failed to repel the pirates, allowing a whole town to be destroyed and its people slaughtered. These women had been abducted and violated by pirates, barely clinging to life. Shouldn't Linjiang be the one seeking bloody vengeance against the marauders? Yet Liu Long’s words made everything bitterly clear. He had once thought Silver Moon was wretched enough. When Silver City faced its crisis, the Night Patrollers sent only a single Solar Flare... Back then, he had thought Silver Moon's supernatural system was utterly useless. Yet today... looking at this... Li Hao let out a sudden, self-deprecating chuckle. So this was an era where everyone competed in wretchedness. Compared to their neighbors, Silver Moon was remarkably decent—quite good, in fact. Silver Moon's leaders seemed to be doing a respectable job: pirates were fought, supernaturals within the borders were kept in check, the livelihoods of commoners were managed, and everything continued to function in an orderly manner... Whenever he read ancient texts, he had felt Silver Moon was a lifeless, somber place, devoid of vitality, where the common folk lived mediocre lives. Yet at this moment, though he had never stepped foot in Linjiang, he suddenly felt that Silver Moon was far better than such lands. How truly... laughable! Without a word, he stepped forward and walked down into the lower hold, which was heaped with corpses. There were ordinary citizens, supernaturals, martial masters, and... small children. Many of them had had their internal organs completely scooped out. Li Hao stood silently among the corpses, surrounded by mounds of dead flesh, wordless and still. What kind of godforsaken era was this? When humans killed humans... they were far crueler than any beast! "Waaah..." A shrill, piercing wail snapped Li Hao back to reality. He took a few steps forward. Inside an iron cage, several children were imprisoned. They were all very young; some were still wrapped in swaddling clothes. Yet like cattle, they had been crammed into this cage, squeezed tightly against one another. Several children had already died. Yet many more inside the cage were still alive. Li Hao looked at them. The slightly older children were clamping their hands over their own mouths in sheer terror, while others desperately clamped their hands over the mouths of wailing infants, as though terrified of inviting some unspeakable horror. Li Hao reached out, grasping the iron bars, and snapped the cage open. Up above, several of the terrified women trembled as they peered down. Seeing the black-armored figures, their legs gave out. Unable to walk, one of them threw herself down and began crawling frantically toward Li Hao across the floor! "S-Sir... they're just children... please don't eat them... eat me instead..." With trembling words and limp limbs, she dragged herself through the piles of corpses, casting aside all fear as she clawed her way toward the cage. Li Hao bent down. A child who had been jostled out of the cage lay wailing on the ground, and he lifted the babe into his arms. The infant was far too small. Perhaps only a few months old, without a single tooth. The baby was sucking on its tiny fist, crying from sheer starvation. The women who crawled over were consumed by terror. "Sir soldier... the baby is hungry... he didn't mean to offend you, sir..." Li Hao turned around, holding the infant in his arms as he looked at the women crawling toward him. In his eyes was a flicker of bewilderment. "I saved you. I am a soldier. I am here to protect you. Why... why are you so afraid of me?" Shouldn't you feel relief? Even if I don't care for your thanks, do I truly look so wicked? The crawling women dared not speak. One of them hastily snatched the baby from Li Hao’s hands. Paying no heed to his presence, she tore open her clothing and frantically put the starving infant to her breast. The milk was streaked with blood; she had crawled across a deck drenched in gore. Finding milk, the tiny child finally stopped weeping, though the flow was scant. Struck by so much terror, the woman's body was barely able to produce any nourishment at all. Inside the iron cage, the other children continued to shiver. Li Hao opened his mouth to say something, but found he had no words. He looked toward the opening above. "Hong Qing, Liu Yan, take off your black armor... come down here and talk to them!" With that, he turned and walked away. A gentle wisp of sword energy radiated outward into the hold. Without it, these people would have frozen to death; out on the dark sea, the howling night wind was bitingly cold. The Demon Hunt Corps set about clearing the battlefield, while several female soldiers quickly hurried over to the women. Seeing Liu Yan and the others, the captives looked taken aback, and the raw terror in their eyes softened ever so slightly. *** Li Hao stepped out of the cabin as the warriors swiftly cleared the deck. Without a word, he made a quick sweep with his perception and dove straight into the ocean. A moment later, he hauled several black-armored bodies to the surface. During the fierce fighting earlier, a dozen martial masters had been knocked into the sea, some of them knocked unconscious. If Li Hao hadn't retrieved them, they likely would have drowned. Yun Yao began tending to the wounded martial masters. During the preceding battle, the healers and core support members had been well protected, sparing them from serious danger. Moments later, Liu Long walked over, catching his breath. "Roughly five hundred supernaturals were killed. We can't get an exact tally now. We've recovered nine storage rings; a few of the Solar Flare cultivators wore them as well, though we haven't checked the contents yet. "Inside the hold, there's a room used like a vault. It holds a stockpile of divine energy stones that weren't kept in rings—probably communal property. "We gathered about twenty thousand cubes of mysterious energy... A good deal dissipated, or it would have been more, but many corpses sank into the deep and couldn't be retrieved..." Those twenty thousand cubes came purely from the residual energy of the fallen supernaturals. The full extent of the spoils would depend on what lay within the storage rings. Li Hao had claimed two rings himself, both belonging to Rising Light experts. Liu Long had secured nine of them; the haul promised to be considerable. Li Hao didn't dwell on the loot. Instead, a lingering doubt troubled him. "Boss, Silver City might be small, but in the eyes of many, the Inspectorate can still be trusted. The garrison in Silver Moon is trusted as well. When people face danger and see the Inspectorate or soldiers, they should feel relief. Why... why was it like this?" Liu Long sighed softly. "In Linjiang—or rather, in many places—it's said that 'troops pass like a fine-toothed comb.' Some soldiers are worse than bandits. Bandits might leave you a way out... but soldiers will chop off your head, claim it was an enemy's, and take the military merit!" Li Hao looked at him in disbelief. "Linjiang isn't one of the three northern provinces. It still has its Governor-General's Manor. It hasn't fallen into total chaos..." "It's all the same!" Liu Long shook his head. "Besides, the dead are just commoners. Who cares about them? The Nine Departments actually started out well enough, but things gradually slipped out of control, which had a great deal to do with the rise of supernaturals. If supernaturals hadn't emerged, and if the Nine Departments had been given a few more decades, things might have improved. But the rise of supernaturals... it cut the reforms short, leaving even the reformers within the Nine Departments powerless..." When the Nine Departments first sought reform, their intentions had been sound. Silver Moon had been one of the beneficiaries. One couldn't say the Nine Departments were entirely wicked; things were certainly better than under the imperial court's direct rule. But before the Nine Departments could see their reforms through, the emergence of supernaturals twenty years ago had shattered everything. Thus, the world had plunged into utter turmoil! A wave of helplessness washed over Li Hao. For the first time, he truly tasted that suffocating darkness. No wonder those people feared soldiers like tigers... In truth, soldiers could sometimes be far more terrifying! Silver Moon was relatively fortunate; Huang Yu commanded the garrison, maintaining strict military discipline. Li Hao let out a long breath. At this moment, his mind was an unmoored tangle of thoughts. It was chaotic. Naturally, he pushed those thoughts aside. The enemy might not be entirely eradicated yet. He looked at Liu Long. "Hold the line here. I'll head forward to scout. There may still be lingering threats." "Be careful!" Li Hao said nothing more, stepping into the air and taking flight. He only wanted to put distance between himself and this place; what he had seen had upended several of his long-held assumptions. It turned out that beyond Silver Moon, the world was far more dreadful. It turned out Silver City was actually quite decent. The scattered supernaturals who drifted through were handled by Liu Long and his team; the Three Great Organizations dared not act too brazenly here; the military had consistently suppressed unrest; and the Martial Guard Army actively eradicated coastal raiders... Even the General Administration Bureau, which had seemed so useless, had quietly kept the wheels turning, maintaining relative stability for the people. At the very least, one rarely heard of anyone starving to death in Silver Moon. "Could Silver Moon actually be a sanctuary?" Li Hao murmured under his breath in quiet disbelief. Hadn't everyone said that the frontier province of Silver Moon was perhaps the poorest among the ninety-nine provinces? Hadn't they said Silver Moon was crawling with barbarians? Hadn't they said the martial arts underworld of Silver Moon was the darkest of all? Yet why, at this moment, did it seem superior to so many other lands? The three northern provinces were in chaos. Linjiang was said to be far wealthier than Silver Moon, yet right now... those notions crumbled into dust. It was nothing remarkable after all! With these thoughts churning in his mind, Li Hao soon arrived in the distance. On the surface of the sea, a dog was thrashing about, snapping its jaws shut around the neck of the last surviving supernatural. Li Hao looked at Black Panther. "Can't you learn to communicate with your mind, like the great monsters do?" Being unable to communicate was exhausting. Black Panther looked up at him, an innocent, bewildered look in his eyes, and shook his head. He couldn't. "Why not?" Black Panther shook his head again, continuing to shake it. He just couldn't. As for why... who knew? He could understand speech, and he wanted to talk. He wanted to do what that old tortoise did, sending out a ripple of spiritual intent to speak, but he always felt something was missing. It was likely... likely because he was still too weak! Yes, weak monsters couldn't speak. As for when he would be able to... he probably had to grow stronger, much stronger than he was now. Perhaps then he could do it. Li Hao sighed with a touch of disappointment. Without another word, he waved his hand and stepped forward across the sky. Black Panther trotted swiftly over the sea, waves rolling beneath his paws in a manner strikingly reminiscent of the force derived from the Nine-Fold Forging Force. The hound's mastery of the Nine-Fold Forging Force had reached an extraordinarily profound stage. He knew nothing else, having grasped only the barest surface of the Five Animals Art, yet the Nine-Fold Forging Force seemed to have been passed down to him in full. Man and dog advanced swiftly. After covering several dozen li, Li Hao spotted another ship. A flag fluttered atop its mast, yet no lanterns shone aboard; it was draped in darkness. But through Li Hao's eyes, he saw over a hundred motes of light! Roughly a hundred people! Yet their caliber was remarkably high. The previous pirates had included even Starlight practitioners, but here, the weakest were Lunar Nether, while the vast majority were Solar Flare, accompanied by three Three Suns experts. Though far fewer in number than the first group, their overall strength was vastly superior. The White Shark Pirates! Seeing that flag snapping in the dark wind, Li Hao knew this was another contingent of the White Shark Pirates. He hadn't expected them to deploy two detachments in succession: one led by a mid-stage Rising Light, the other by a late-stage Rising Light. They certainly held Silver Moon in high regard! "Kill them all!" Li Hao sent a mental command to Black Panther. An instant later, he landed silently upon the deck. Like an assassin moving through the shadows, he locked onto one of the Three Suns experts. A silent thrust of his sword flashed out, and with a wet squelch, he slit the man's throat in an instant! "Enemy attack!" A shrill shout shattered the stillness. Yet Li Hao prowled through the ship like a sovereign of the dark, executing one lethal strike after another. As a martial master clad in silver armor, his presence was undetectable to these people until the moment he took a life. "The enemy is too strong! Flee!" Someone bellowed and leapt into the sea. Yet the instant he hit the water... he vanished, torn apart by Black Panther waiting below. Body after body tumbled into the depths. Others took to the air, only for flashes of sword light to send their corpses crashing down. "We are the White Shark Army! Which senior expert is—" Slash! Before the man could finish his words, his body had been hacked into pieces. The White Shark Army? A pack of man-eating brigands dared call themselves an army! Li Hao found the notion utterly repulsive. In the darkness, Li Hao unleashed his sword without restraint. Despite his severe injuries, all he wanted now was to slaughter these scoundrels as swiftly as possible! Five or six minutes later, Li Hao kicked open a cabin door and thrust his sword forward, cutting down a supernatural hiding within. A faint smirk touched his lips. Where could you hide? Outside, Black Panther leapt onto the deck. Man and dog roamed through the vessel, prompting fresh waves of wretched screams. Some had clung to the hope of surviving by drawing in their supernatural energy, but before this pair, concealing one's presence was virtually impossible. One relied on his extraordinary vision; the other relied on an infallible sense of smell. A few minutes later, the massive ship went dead quiet. Li Hao's hands held several more storage rings. "Commander Liu, does anyone know how to sail? Steer that ship over to meet me. We've captured another vessel!" Li Hao spoke over the communication channel, and Liu Long promptly replied, "We have hands who can sail. We're on our way!" *** Roughly ten minutes later, the battered first ship, pocked with craters though still seaworthy, pulled alongside Li Hao's newly seized vessel. Both ships were immense and solidly built. They had clearly been reinforced with supernatural arts, and perhaps even had treasures forged into their hulls, preventing supernatural attacks from easily destroying them. By now, Liu Long and his men could see the corpses strewn across the deck. Warriors leapt across without waiting for orders, immediately setting about clearing the battlefield. Shortly after, Liu Yan crossed over and looked at Li Hao. "We calmed the women down a bit, but they're still in a very fragile state. There are too many corpses over there—mostly commoners—and we can't just toss them into the sea... Commander, can we move the survivors over here?" "Go ahead," Li Hao said with a slight nod. Liu Yan hurried back to make the arrangements. Hong Qing walked over, her eyes rimmed with red. Having removed her helmet and armor, she looked visibly sorrowful. "Commander, they are so pitiful... they have no homes left. Can... can I bring them back to Silver Moon, and then escort them to the Sword Gate?" "..." Li Hao paused in surprise. Hong Qing quickly explained, "The Sword Gate has taken in many people in similar straits... In situations like this, without proper care and comfort, severe psychological trauma will linger. Our Sword Gate has experience with this. Otherwise, even if we give them money and food... over time, they might lose their minds! At the Sword Gate, there are people who have survived similar ordeals who can comfort and guide them. That way, they might step out of the shadows and find a new life. Otherwise... no matter where they go, they will likely end up perishing." Li Hao nodded. He truly had no idea how to handle such matters. Hearing Hong Qing's proposal gave him a measure of relief. The Sword Gate... perhaps they could manage what he could not. He could kill enemies, but when it came to tending wounded hearts, he was at a loss. Hong Qing added, "I spoke with them for a bit. They said the man we killed earlier was the Third Commander of the White Shark Pirates. Just this afternoon, the pirates overran their town and slaughtered everyone, sparing only these women whose looks caught their eye... Along with the infants, who needed to be nursed, which was the only reason they weren't killed immediately. In the past, this happened all the time: the women were eventually butchered, and the children raised to become pirates themselves..." Li Hao frowned. He had little desire to speak right now, nor did he want to hear any more of these gruesome details. Even after all this slaughter, a suffocating knot remained tightly coiled in his chest. After a long silence, Li Hao spoke: "The White Shark Pirates lost over six hundred supernaturals this time, including two Rising Light experts and eight Three Suns... How much strength do you think they have left?" Before anyone could answer, Li Hao took a deep breath. "Never mind that for now. We have more people to care for; let's head back first! And another thing... take every remaining pirate corpse... haul them onto the broken ship, and string them up!" The expressions of those around him changed drastically! A cold light flickered in Li Hao’s eyes. "Hang them from the ship, and sail it right back! Come sunrise, the news will spread across the realm. If the White Shark Pirates want revenge, let them come! If they don't... once I have settled these people and had my fill of food and rest... I will go hunt them down myself!" "Commander..." Liu Long frowned. "Wouldn't it be better to keep a low profile? We might have a chance to ambush them again..." "No!" Li Hao shook his head. "Lying low is useless. Against these beasts, the lower your profile, the more vicious they become! Violence must be met with violence! Blood must be paid in blood! That Rising Light pirate wasn't afraid of death when I fought him, but when I subjected him to far more brutal methods, he finally knew fear! He broke! Against such fiends, merely killing them is not enough—we must strike absolute terror into their bones!" Li Hao knew that scuttling the ships and pretending nothing had happened might indeed be tactical, leaving room for future ambushes. Yet doing so would never make those monsters feel fear. Liu Long remained somewhat concerned. "What if they launch an all-out assault against Silver Moon...?" "Hmph!" Li Hao’s eyes were cold as ice. "If they dare, and the experts in White Moon City still refuse to act... then Silver Moon has nothing worth staying for! Kong Jie, Director Zhao, Deputy Director Zhou, Commander Huang Yu... which of them isn't a top-tier powerhouse? And don't forget the Earth—" He had been about to say the Earth-Overturning Sword was in Silver Moon as well, but seeing Hong Qing present, he swallowed the words. With so many titans present, if pirates truly assaulted their shores and they still chose to cower, did they intend to endure in silence until the grave? As for what grand schemes they might harbor, Li Hao had no desire to know. All he knew was that the White Shark Pirates might not even possess the courage to come. And if they did come, he would simply slaughter them! Liu Long considered this for a moment and nodded. He offered no further objections. Li Hao had been shaken to his core, pushed beyond his usual composure. A man normally so intent on keeping a low profile that he wished no one knew his true strength was now insisting on hanging the pirates' corpses from the sails, openly issuing a warning to every brigand across the North Sea. Without another word, Liu Long bellowed, "Hang all the pirate corpses from the sails!" "Understood!" A chorus of shouts answered him. The Sword Gate martial masters found the order thoroughly gratifying, seeing nothing improper about it. The young disciple who had previously recounted the pirates' atrocities to Li Hao felt his blood surging with fierce exhilaration. For a moment, his inner force stirred, and he swiftly pierced the corpses, threading thick ropes through them to hoist them high upon the sails! The women being transferred were leading their surviving children. Liu Yan had intended for them to wait inside, but one by one, the women stepped out. With eyes burning with venomous hatred, they glared up at the pirates swinging from the rigging, their faces filled with fierce vindication. Even so, maternal instinct prevailed, and they moved to shield the children's eyes from the sight. Li Hao watched in silence. Once everything was cleared, he gave the order: "Return to port!" Under the control of the Demon Hunt Corps, the two great ships set sail toward Nandu. By now, the horizon was beginning to pale with the first light of dawn. Li Hao threw a punch, shattering the pirate flag fluttering above the mainmast! After a moment's thought, he unfurled a long black banner. The next instant, his martial spirit manifested: a fierce tiger, resembling a man-eating beast poised to burst from its cage, was branded deeply into the fabric! Li Hao traced his sword finger through the air, carving a blood-red character for "Li" onto the banner. The banner rose high into the air, snapping in the wind. Li Hao stood motionless and silent, gazing up at the flag as though lost in thought. A fierce tiger bursting from its cage! He seemed to have something to say, yet knew not how to put it into words. Thus, he had crafted the very first banner of his life: the Li Tiger Flag! The darkness broke and scattered. The banner fluttered against the wind, evoking a tiger roaring across the mountains, ready to devour its prey! *** Nandu. Kong Jie had arrived. Standing on the coast, Kong Jie frowned, looking somewhat road-weary. Rushing through the night even with his formidable cultivation had taken a toll. He had intended to set out to sea, only for Wang Ming to inform him it was unnecessary, as Li Hao and his men were already on their way back. Kong Jie’s brow furrowed continuously. That reckless Li Hao had actually taken to the sea in the dead of night! If he had fallen out there, words would fail to describe the sheer folly of it. Fortunately, it seemed nothing catastrophic had occurred; he was returning, so he likely hadn't encountered anything insurmountable. As for the pirate threat... Kong Jie hadn't been overly concerned. With Hou Xiaochen away, Silver Moon couldn't possibly be left entirely undefended. Had the pirates truly fallen upon Nandu, the city was capable of holding out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. The defenses were not so fragile as to crumble in an instant, as Li Hao had feared. Just as he was pondering this, an exclamation rang out from the shore. "What is that?" Kong Jie swiftly turned his gaze toward the sea. Through the mist, two colossal vessels emerged. A banner fluttered high in the air, seemingly right before one's eyes despite the distance: a fierce tiger looked ready to roar forth, while the character "Li" burned blood-red, radiating a chilling killing intent that seemed poised to pierce through the void! Li Hao? Kong Jie paused in surprise. The next moment, his pupils constricted violently. Things were dangling from the sides of the massive ship, fluttering in the morning breeze. He had initially assumed they were decorative riggings, but with his exceptional eyesight, his gaze sharpened. Corpses! Scores of bodies—hundreds, likely—mutilated and broken, strung up around the hull of the great vessel! Far in the distance, Li Hao seemed to emerge from his reverie. Suddenly, his booming voice rolled across the waves: "The Demon Hunt Corps of the Silver Moon Martial Guard Army has annihilated a detachment of the White Shark Pirates, slaying hundreds of supernaturals! We display their corpses as a warning to all! Citizens of Nandu, fear not!" The mighty voice echoed far and wide across the coast! A stir ran through the city, and soon, crowds came rushing toward the harbor. People gazed in awe at the two colossal ships from afar, stunned to the core. Hundreds of supernaturals slain? "The Martial Guard Army's Demon Hunt Corps?" "Never heard of them..." "I know a bit! It's said to be a unit of the Martial Guard Army led by Li Hao. Their numbers are small, but they slaughtered many members of the Three Great Organizations at Cross-Cut Gorge... Who would have thought he'd gone out to sea to hunt pirates?" "The White Shark Pirates are one of the Eight Great Pirate Fleets... This... this is extraordinarily bold! Slaying so many supernaturals—aren't they afraid of retaliation?" "—" The crowd buzzed with eager chatter. The people of Nandu were remarkably worldly; many merchant sailors who frequently ventured out to sea were far more knowledgeable than the residents of small northern towns like Silver City. They knew of the Eight Great Pirate Fleets, the Three Great Organizations, and the existence of supernaturals. As a bustling open port, their perspectives were broad, and they looked on with endless astonishment. Yet as the two ships drew nearer, some grew pale with fright. "They call Li Hao the Demon Sword, claiming he slaughters without batting an eye... To think he's even more vicious than the rumors! Heavens above, how many did he kill?" "Pah! Those were all pirates. Why don't you talk about how ruthless the pirates were? Still... he's bold to the extreme. Isn't he afraid of the White Shark Pirates' vengeance? They say the White Shark Pirates have Rising Light powerhouses! Li Hao has killed Three Suns, but if he crosses a Rising Light..." "Idiot! With so many pirates deployed, they must have been led by a Rising Light! Could Li Hao be capable of slaying a Rising Light now?" "—" Whispers and debates rippled through the gathering crowd. Several observers turned noticeably pale. "That's... that's the *Sea Shark*, the flagship of Third Commander Sea Shark! Sea Shark is a mid-stage Rising Light top expert... Could he... could he be dead?" Their faces drained of color. Others with wider horizons gasped in horror. "The *Sea Shark* sailed here... Could they have been planning to raid Nandu? Otherwise, why would they cross paths with the Martial Guard Army? Heavens... were the White Shark Pirates planning a sneak attack on Nandu last night?" "Your news is out of date! Just this morning, word arrived from Linjiang that Binhai Town, not far from us, was sacked and butchered by the White Shark Pirates! I was planning to gather my family and flee this morning... and now the *Sea Shark* is right here!" "—" From every direction, onlookers watched, debated, and stared at the black-armored warriors aboard the decks. The Demon Hunt Corps! Most eyes, however, were fixed on Li Hao—on the young man standing tall at the prow. Some looked at him with fear, some with envy, and others with raw admiration. Nearby, Kong Jie stared at Li Hao in utter shock, then at the two massive vessels, finding the scene difficult to fathom. Sea Shark... was dead? Not just Sea Shark—he seemed to recognize the second vessel as well. His eyes twitched, and he murmured under his breath, "The Faceless Shark's ship?" Beside him, Wang Ming blinked. "What?" "The Second Commander of the White Shark Pirates always wears a mask. People call him the Faceless Shark!" Just as Kong Jie recognized it, others in the city did too. A supernatural cultivator stared into the distance and drew in a sharp breath. "That's... that's the Faceless Shark's *Sea Breaker*! Impossible... Both the *Sea Shark* and the *Sea Breaker* are here... Those two Rising Light commanders of the White Shark Pirates... how could this be?" Unbelievable! This was simply impossible! Those two were overlords of the sea. The White Shark Pirates' standing as the fourth greatest pirate fleet owed a tremendous debt to those two commanders. Yet now, they seemed... dead? If they weren't dead, how could their warships have been captured and sailed back? At that moment, Li Hao leapt from the ship, touching down lightly on the shore. Across from him, Kong Jie could no longer maintain his composure. He stared at Li Hao. "You killed both the Faceless Shark and Sea Shark?" Li Hao glanced at Kong Jie. "The masked one?" "Yes." "I don't know who he was... but he's dead either way." Kong Jie sucked in a breath. A sudden realization struck him, and he glanced at Black Panther. Did the dog team up with Li Hao to pull this off? That hound was no weakling. Last time, Kong Jie had seen him ambush Elder Chi Ming and kill him in a single strike. Recovering his composure after the shock, Kong Jie asked, "Why... why did you come back like this?" Killing them was one thing, but returning like this... wasn't he inviting immense trouble? Li Hao’s voice remained calm. "These monsters were thoroughly depraved; they even consumed human flesh. I strung up their corpses to serve as a warning! If the White Shark Pirates dare to come, the Demon Hunt Corps will naturally sail out to meet them! If Director Kong is worried, Li Hao will take full responsibility for the consequences!" Kong Jie sighed helplessly. "That's not... What I mean is, you... pulling a stunt like this... Ah, whatever. You're already up to your neck in trouble, so I suppose it hardly matters. You'd best not venture out to sea again, nor leave Silver Moon. Nandu is a port city; it's teeming with spies. Doing this means word of you killing both the Faceless Shark and Sea Shark will spread in no time. Those two weren't ordinary figures; they were Rising Light experts. You need to be careful..." Li Hao showed no concern. Raising his voice, he shouted toward the city, "There are bound to be pirate spies lurking here! Tell White Shark that both Sea Shark and the Faceless Shark died by my hand, Li Hao! Tell him to wash his neck clean and wait for me to take his head! The Moon Sea is my domain—it is no place for a murderous dog like him to run rampant!" Kong Jie nearly rolled his eyes. This brat truly had no fear of trouble! Li Hao, however, smiled. A sudden clarity had settled over him. In this moment, everything had clicked. Why should I fear trouble? I don't fear it at all! The more trouble that comes, the better. He recalled what he had read in the ancient texts: back when the ancient Human King was merely at the fourth rank, surrounded by ninth-rank foes, he had breached countless cities, slain countless enemies, survived a hundred battles by the skin of his teeth, and grown stronger with every fight... until at last he became an invincible powerhouse. With such a massive disparity, the Human King had never feared death. Now, Li Hao was capable of matching a mid-stage Rising Light. At most, his enemies were at the Rising Light Metamorphosis stage—still within the same major realm, merely higher by the late and peak sub-stages. Why should he tremble in fear? Let the storm rage even fiercer! All around the harbor, sharp intakes of breath sounded one after another. Every supernatural and commoner lurking in the city stood frozen in shock. Both commanders of the White Shark Pirates had been slain by Li Hao? Didn't that mean the Demon Sword... could kill even late-stage Rising Light powerhouses? Impossible! This was happening far too fast. Just days ago, his feat of slaying six Three Suns experts had been terrifying enough. How many days had it been since then? Beside them, Wang Ming was ecstatic. Quickly remembering his role, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Prepare a banquet! Celebrate! A victory banquet for the Demon Hunt Corps! A banquet for General Li!" He had missed out on the battle, which was a great regret; now he had to make up for it and show his presence. All around, the vendors and shopkeepers whose stalls he had reserved exchanged nervous, frightened glances. Soon, however, they hurried to prepare the feast. The folk of Silver Moon were tough and spirited by nature. Though gazing at the hanging corpses in the distance gave them a fright, the Silver Moon military had a decent reputation. Furthermore, word was spreading that had the Martial Guard Army not wiped out the White Shark Pirates, the fiends might have attacked Nandu last night. This realization quickly put the citizens at ease. Before long, mouthwatering aromas drifted through the air. At the same time, the news spread like wildfire in every direction. On this day, Li Hao—previously only moderately known—shot to absolute fame. Beginning from Nandu, the legend spread across the land: Demon Sword Li Hao, Commander of the Demon Hunt Corps, had swept across a thousand li of ocean in the dead of night, slaying two Rising Light commanders of the White Shark Pirates and cutting down hundreds of supernaturals...