Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 196: Chapter 33: Fierce Battle

Flesh and blood flew in all directions.

The Black Rider Ghost walked forward, picking up the flying halberd from amidst the brains, his sole presence preventing most of the people on the ship from daring to approach.

A wrist, dripping with water droplets and brimming with agility and explosive power, reached onto the ship, its owner a man with a banana in his mouth, popping up just as his gaze met the red pupils of the Black Rider Ghost.

Swoosh~

The Black Rider Ghost raised his arm, and the short halberd sped through the air. The man leapt onto the deck, twisted with the force of his wrist, hung upside down with the grace of a flash of light grazing past the dark halberd. Upon landing, he casually drew out a long spear with a red tassel and thrust it straight at the Black Rider Ghost!

The Black Rider Ghost only had a single halberd left in hand. With a roar, he swung his arm forward, the black halberd colliding against the tip of the man’s spear. The man glared furiously, the spear’s tip vibrating eerily. The shaft of the spear whirled up a series of spiraling currents strong enough to distort the air and bloomed like a trumpet flower in mid-air, knocking the black halberd flying.

The great spear drove straight through, piercing into a gap in the armor and nailing the Black Rider Ghost’s wrist to the deck.

Li Yan turned his head slightly, witnessing this spectacle.

“Eh?”

The man still had the banana in his mouth. He picked a long lance from a pool of blood with the tip of his foot and, with a reverse flick, unfastened the Black Rider Ghost’s other arm. The lance’s tip pierced through like a venomous snake, nailing both of the Black Rider Ghost’s arms to the wood.

He didn’t stop there, kicking furiously and snatching two long spears from two Red Flag pirates, impaling them one on each of the Black Rider Ghost’s thighs, to the left and to the right.

In just a few breaths, he had the Black Rider Ghost nailed down tight!

Spitting out the banana, he yelled to his companions.

“Bring me my spear!”

Someone hurriedly nodded, scampered to the back, opened the deck, where a spear with a black handle wrapped in sharkskin lay hidden.

The person embraced the spear.

“Xiaoyi bro, catch!”

As he said this, he threw the long spear towards the man with the banana.

Neiliansheng’s thousand-layered cloth shoes stepped on the threshold, and a light red figure swiftly sprang forward like a tiger or leopard, the Ring Dragon Sword intercepting the exchange between the man and the spear.

Xiaoyi’s eyes flashed sharply, and he cursed, “Seeking death,” before pulling a ring-handled large saber from a corpse and slashing it down toward Li Yan’s head.

The Ring Dragon Sword parried upwards to meet the steel saber, both lethal blades clashing with a metallic ring, their wielders unyielding, unmindful of the gleaming edges before them, pressing forward step by step. After barely two exchanges, with the black spear yet to touch the ground, there came a clanging sound. The steel saber flew from its owner’s grasp!

“How can it be that fast!”

Xiaoyi was shocked. The man’s sword arts were ferocious, and the speed was beyond belief.

The gleaming sword tip danced like cold, snowy light. As Xiaoyi was thrusting and parrying clumsily, Li Yan delivered a heart-stabbing kick to his body, hitting the same spot where he had just kicked the Red Flag pirate.

A burning sensation in his chest, Xiaoyi stumbled several steps back before he could dissipate the force.

Li Yan chuckled softly; the momentum of the Ring Dragon Sword halted without pursuit. He turned instead to catch the flying spear, unloading its momentum with a clang, grabbed it with his left hand, and with a flick of his wrist he retracted the Ring Dragon Sword. He spun a flourish with the spear in one hand and aimed it at Xiaoyi from a distance.

The shaft was thick and smooth, unwavering, the sharkskin peeling off, and the spearhead was transparent, an entire piece of natural… diamond?!

[Xiaoyi’s Beloved Spear] (Self-Made)

Quality: Fine

Sharpness: 90

Li Yan looked up, gazing at this “Brother Xiaoyi,” who, with his superior spear skill, had rendered the Black Rider Ghost utterly incapable of fighting back.

The Black Rider Ghost, formerly known as “Ghost Rider Yukimura,” although killed in seconds by Taishuai, still held strength at the peak of the Nine Glows level, which the current Li Yan found difficult to deal with.

According to Yan Fu, the peak of the Nine Glows was powerful enough to shake mountains.

Although the Black Rider Ghost, as a summon with the potential for growth, had not yet reached the strength of Ten Cities, both his torso, immune to kinetic force, and his 83% spear skill, endowed him with powerful combat abilities.

In just two exchanges, Xiaoyi had nailed down the Black Rider Ghost, who had an 83% spear skill. Just how high was Xiaoyi’s specialization in spear skill?

Li Yan triggered “Swallow Through the Curtain”

Name: Zhao Xiaoyi

Status: Inner Origin (Through intense qigong practice, he achieved explosive power and reaction speed above that of ordinary people)

Specialization: Spear Skill 93%, Naval Battle 85%

Skills: ???

Threat Level: Red~Deep Red

Strength Assessment: Ten Cities

Level 5 combat essence is calling out to me…

Almost laughing out loud, Li Yan tossed away the black-handled spear he held, which Zhao Xiaoyi caught, flipping the spear tip towards Li Yan, his face full of caution.

Li Yan flicked his sleeve, drawing the Tiger Head Great Spear, pointing its Devouring Blade at Zhao Xiaoyi’s face.

Upon seeing Li Yan’s technique, Zhao Xiaoyi couldn’t help but speak up, “Is it the Taiping Document’s Minor Universe Skill, or the Fiery Cauldron Madam’s ghostly money trick?”

“Everything’s fine.” Li Yan licked his lips.

“Shall we clash?”

Zhao Xiaoyi stared at Li Yan, his mouth quirking up in a smirk.

“Let’s clash.”

The two stepped forward at the same time, the platinum Devouring Blade and the diamond spearhead intersecting. The trumpet flower-shaped swirls on the black pole and the black tassels on the Tiger Head Great Spear vibrated like a fierce tiger leaping across a ravine.

Flying Carp Spin!

Tiger Rises!

Clang~

The prolonged screeching sound slid far away.

Li Yan’s astonishment was beyond measure, barely able to hold on to his long spear, and Zhao Xiaoyi, too, was baring his teeth in agony, half of his body numb and immobile.

The Devouring Blade did not pause, driving straight for Zhao Xiaoyi’s throat.

Zhao Xiaoyi’s tongue cracked with spring thunder, his palm dragging the great spear to block the ferocious momentum of the Devouring Blade.

Li Yan pressed down with his thumb, his palm lifting the shaft of the spear.

Swallow Through the Curtain!

Zhao Xiaoyi did not show weakness, the clear diamond spearhead met the attack and bloomed into icy buds in the air.

Plum Blossom Nine-Maneuver!

The black and white spears tangled and whirled, with Li Yan and Zhao Xiaoyi’s footwork nearly unmoving, allowing both spear heads to weave together in hurricanes that shook each other, damaging the ship’s wood planking, ropes, and barrels, scattering and splintering anything they touched. A slight misstep would result in a bloody and horrific spectacle.

The many pirates watched with cold hands and feet, only Cha Xiaodao on the periphery muttered to himself about “having to fight him” in words that made no sense to anyone.

Bang!

The more Li Yan fought, the more invigorated he became, his eyes star-like, seeming to burn people, and his undisguisable triumphant smile growing even wider.

His spine twisted like a great dragon, the Tiger Head Great Spear wrapped in wind and thunder, each strike fiercer and more aggressive than the last, waving freely, unbridled in his full force.

Exhilarating!

But Zhao Xiaoyi’s back was already soaked.

The Black Flag pirates had initially been greatly encouraged by Zhao Xiaoyi’s engagement, but when Li Yan entered the fray and snatched the Black Spear with the Ring Dragon Sword, these men had their spirits dampened.

Now, as the two men contested, Zhao Xiaoyi seemed on the verge of faltering, and morale plummeted to rock bottom.

After more than sixty exchanges, the Tiger Head Great Spear seized the opportunity to slash down, Zhao Xiaoyi’s face turned beet red as he forcefully held it up with his spear, crosswise.

Bang!

Li Yan brought the spear down again.

Zhao Xiaoyi’s vision darkened, blood already seeping between his teeth.

Bang!

The Devouring Blade shrieked, and with a thump, Zhao Xiaoyi was knocked to his knees. Li Yan took advantage of the momentum to slide and flick away the black pole spear, the Devouring Blade piercing Zhao Xiaoyi’s neck, barely breaking the skin.

Such a pity.

Li Yan felt a twinge of regret.

No wonder his specialization in spear skills doesn’t threaten me as much as a deep red level.

Li Yan realized that this human, without the aid of spells like the Taiping Document to bolster him, was quite low in natural quality.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Xiaoyi’s burst power and speed, which came from practicing internal Qigong, was roughly equivalent to a Gu Huo Bird with about 40% Awakening Degree, significantly weaker than him in terms of sheer strength. In contrast, Ruan Anming, whom Li Yan had killed, when he used the Taiping Document · Bright King, was not at all inferior to Li Yan in terms of speed and strength, and even had much higher defense.

Unfortunately, in Li Yan’s view, Ruan Anming’s sword skill was not worth mentioning, nor was he a good opponent.

After this probing, Li Yan also had a rough idea of the level of this world’s “fruits,” excluding ships, cannons, and Magic Motion Technology, which he segmented into three tiers,

The lowest, like Zhuo Huxing and Zhao Xiaoyi, practiced some “martial arts,” capable of unleashing blade energy and possessing physical abilities far beyond that of ordinary people. Their level of combat skill was about the same as that of Li Yan’s world.

From them, Li Yan could gain access to purchase rights, probably for low-level martial arts like Qigong.

Next come those like Madam Shi and Zhang He, with supernatural abilities, commanding wind, fire, water, earth, curses, and poisons, quite magical indeed.

The highest level, and currently out of Li Yan’s reach, were the divine or demonic entities associated with Heavenly Mother Mazu. If the ghosts and monsters from the battle at Yan Capital were of a horror movie caliber, then the divine entities of this world possessed powers capable of altering the outcome of wars, moving mountains and filling seas.

Thinking about this, Li Yan looked down and said, “If you don’t want your brothers to die off, tell them to lay down their weapons and surrender.”

Li Yan had expected Zhao Xiaoyi to resist, but after a throbbing in his throat, he shouted loudly.@@novelbin@@

“Stop fighting, put down your weapons!”