The vast and boundless sea, having weathered the storm, had returned to a state of absolute tranquility. Yet, this peace was violently shattered by an overwhelmingly oppressive presence.
Over thirty black-iron warships, akin to a school of ferocious sharks, had tightly encircled the tiny wooden boat, forming an inescapable iron cage. The sea breeze carried the tang of rusted iron and a bone-chilling killing intent.
A figure clad in black flood-dragon armor hovered in mid-air, looking down like a sovereign passing judgment upon two insignificant ants beneath his feet. His peak Foundation Establishment aura, tyrannical and overbearing, weighed down upon the entire expanse of the sea, causing even the ripples on the water's surface to still. He was none other than the Black Flood Dragon King, the Island Master of Flood Dragon Island, one of the most notorious pirate overlords of the southern seas.
"You two, did you just emerge from the misty sea?"
The Black Flood Dragon King's voice was not loud, yet it carried a majesty that brooked no deceit. His falcon-like eyes locked onto the two men, brimming with scrutiny and unadulterated greed. He had seen the heaven-piercing pillar of light with absolute clarity. He was certain that within the forbidden misty sea, a peerless, wondrous treasure had been born into the world.
Old Kinh tightened his grip on his harpoon, his complexion incredibly solemn. He whispered into Tran Kien's ear, "Be careful. This man is the Black Flood Dragon King, ruthless and incomparably cunning. His cultivation base is at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, but a single half-step away from Core Formation. We are no match for him."
Yet, Tran Kien felt not a shred of fear. He was no longer the youth who had to rely on schemes to escape the City of Chaos. After inheriting the heart of the dragon, his cultivation base had skyrocketed, and his Saber Intent had undergone a complete metamorphosis. He needed a battle, a worthy touchstone to test the limits of his newfound strength.
He raised his head, meeting the gaze of the Black Flood Dragon King head-on, his voice tranquil. "What if we did? What if we didn't? This path belongs to Heaven and Earth; don't tell me your Flood Dragon Island claims dominion over the entire great sea?"
A single sentence, incredibly placid, yet carrying a silent, underlying provocation.
"Hahaha!" The Black Flood Dragon King threw his head back and roared with laughter, the sound filled with towering arrogance. "Excellent! What an excellent, wet-behind-the-ears brat! Your father here cares not who you are. As long as you obediently hand over the treasure you retrieved from the mist, I can spare your miserable lives. Otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but an icy killing intent had already enveloped the tiny boat.
Tran Kien smiled as well. He did not draw his saber. He merely raised his hand, circulating his Primordial Chaos Qi. A tiny, silver streak of lightning danced upon his fingertip.
"As for a treasure, there is indeed one," he said, his tone utterly nonchalant. "But I wonder, does your Flood Dragon Island possess the capability to take it?"
Seeing the streak of lightning on Tran Kien's hand, the Black Flood Dragon King's pupils shrank slightly. He could sense that this minuscule trace of energy harbored a terrifying, destructive power. The contempt in his eyes faded slightly, replaced by a greed that burned even brighter.
"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! If that's the case, then die!"
The Black Flood Dragon King lost all patience. He let out a heaven-shaking roar. The massive broadsword strapped to his back, engraved with the image of a flood dragon, flew from its scabbard with a resounding CLANG. Gripping the blade, he mustered every ounce of his life's strength and unleashed a devastating downward cleave from the sky!
"Black Flood Dragon Swallows the Sea!"
A gargantuan, pitch-black streak of saber qi, carrying the roaring of a flood dragon, tore through the very air. It was not merely saber qi; it swept up the surrounding seawater, forming a watery black flood dragon that opened its dark, gaping maw, intent on swallowing the tiny boat whole. The absolute, pinnacle might of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Facing such a catastrophic attack, Old Kinh's face turned deathly pale. In his heart, only utter despair remained.
But Tran Kien did not take a single step back.
He let out a resounding bellow. The Primordial Chaos Qi within his body, infused with the power of the Dragon Veins and heavenly lightning, surged and boiled outward. The matte-black saber in his hand vibrated with a humming thrum—not out of fear, but of sheer, unadulterated exhilaration.
He employed no complex forms. He merely executed a single motion, one he had tempered tens of thousands, millions of times.
A slash.
An upward cleave, rising to meet the descending black flood dragon head-on.
"Saber Intent - Thousand Hammers, Hundred Refinements - Lightning-Fire Obliteration!"
This slash contained not only the indomitable will of tempering, not only the luminous, righteous aura of the grand sun. It had fused with the domineering, destructive power of heavenly lightning, along with the fluid, shifting profundities of the sea that he had just comprehended!
A streak of saber light—neither golden nor silver. It was the color of primordial chaos. Silver lightning crackled within, solar flames blazed, yet it took the form of a white-capped ocean wave. It emitted no heaven-shaking momentum; rather, its power was restrained to the absolute limit.
Two horrifying forces—one attacking from above, one rising from below; one pitch-black, one the color of chaos—collided in mid-air.
There was no earth-shattering explosion as one might expect.
There was only an ear-piercing SZZZZZ...!!!
The watery black flood dragon, upon striking Tran Kien's chaotic saber light, reacted like a mere water snake encountering a True Dragon. The entirety of the black qi and demonic aura within it was instantly purified by the lightning and fire. Its berserk power, meeting the yielding "Intent" of the sea, was smoothly guided and deflected to either side.
Tran Kien's chaotic saber light, barely diminished, cleaved through the black flood dragon and continued its upward trajectory toward the still-astounded Black Flood Dragon King in the sky.
"WHAT?!?!"
The Black Flood Dragon King roared in sheer horror. He could not believe that his full-powered strike had been dismantled so effortlessly. He hastily raised his broadsword to block.
CLANG!!!
A crisp, resounding clash of metal echoed across the surface of the sea.
The Black Flood Dragon King's broadsword, a high-grade magical artifact, was snapped cleanly in half by Tran Kien's single slash!
PUKE!
Coughing up a massive mouthful of fresh blood, the Black Flood Dragon King was blasted backward like a kite with its string cut. He crashed heavily onto the deck of the largest warship, cratering the sturdy wood.
The entire pirate fleet—over a thousand men—froze in that instant, turning to stone.
Their overlord, a peak Foundation Establishment expert, had been grievously wounded and his magical artifact destroyed by a single slash from a nameless youth!
Tran Kien hovered in mid-air, the matte-black saber in his hand thrumming softly. He did not give chase. He merely looked down coldly at the panicking pirate fleet.
"The treasure is right here," he spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it echoed clearly in the ears of every single person present.
"Is there anyone else among you who wishes to take it?"