Chapter 304: Making Him Bleed

The ship was worse for wear. The railing had broken in multiple places, but worst of all was the mast, which had splintered in two and come crashing down.

It was now tangled in the rigging and was slowly falling further down. It was creaking loudly, and the railing underneath was about to give out.

The weather was horrid, and the rain pelted down on them all, stinging their faces and soaking their clothes within mere minutes.

Xue Wei hurried back into the main room under the deck and laid the sleeping Luoluo on a bench. He secured her with a rope so that she would not fall off, and then he returned outside to assist the others in weathering the storm.

"We have to cut the mast free!" one of the sailors yelled against the wind. His words were lost in the driving rain and wind, so he had no other option than to brace himself against the elements and move towards the group of experts, who were unsure of how to help.

When he reached them, his legs were trembling from fright. Never before had he experienced a storm this terrible, and his fear was getting the better of him.

When he reached the group of experts, he yelled at them, "Cut the mast free! We need to let it fall into the sea! It is going to drag us down!"

Hearing this, the experts, who had been waiting for instructions, all rushed to the main mast. Xue Wei, Hei Gou, and Lin Xiao, alongside the cultivators from the Demon Phoenix Continent, were all Qi cultivators and capable of somewhat steady flight, so they took the job of cutting the ropes at the top.

The King, Bai Tianyi and the experts from Yan Dalu were all running around on deck, trying to cut the ropes loose and push the mast.

Everyone had to be careful. As the mast fell further and further down, everyone was more and more alert, ready to move out of the way at any time so that when it gave way and fell into the sea, it would not drag anyone with it.

Even though they were cultivators, there were things they could not fight, and the storm was one of them. Their current strength was simply not enough to contend with Mother Nature when it was raging so fiercely.

Xue Wei and the others were very worried, and they rushed around the deck trying their best to aid the crew of the ship and do everything they were ordered to do.

Although they were only passengers, right now there was no doubt that they all needed to work together if they were to survive.

It felt like an eternity for them to pass through the storm, and when they managed to get past the worst part, their ship was in such a sorry state that it was impossible to continue their journey unless they found somewhere to repair their ship.

Fortunately, there were many small islands along the way to the Demon Phoenix Continent, and some of these islands were inhabited. These island peoples were seafaring by necessity, and thus they specialized in ships and sailing. Getting their ship repaired should be possible.

Things were, however, not that simple. Currently, the ship was moving slowly as the main mast, and therefore the biggest sail, was gone. Not to mention that they had lost track of their original route when the storm hit, and had to simply let the ship head out of the storm the fastest way possible.

When he saw that the situation had stabilized, Xue Wei hurried back to the cabin and found that the adorable Luoluo had slept through everything that had happened. Her eyes were still sweetly closed, a bit of drool falling from her slightly parted mouth.

Seeing this, he heaved a heavy sigh of relief and allowed for her to continue sleeping while he headed to the deck once more, to help the crew as much as he could with temporary repairs and cleanup after the disaster that had struck them.

The sky was grey, and rain was slowly drizzling down from the clouds above. Visibility was low as the gentle mist fell, and everyone was so focused on cleaning up after the disastrous storm that no one noticed the ship that was slowly creeping up on them.

The ship was the same size as the one that they were aboard. However, the ship was not in bad shape; in fact, it seemed in perfect condition as it glided through the rain.

By the time Xue Wei and the others noticed it, it was already right next to their broken ship, and everyone suddenly turned tense.

What was the purpose of a ship to appear silently like this?

They soon got their answer: a loud bustling noise suddenly came from the other vessel, accompanied by hooks and ropes that were thrown to their ship, and a group of pirates rushed to board their ship.

"Prepare to battle!" the crew called out as they took out their weapons from their storage artifacts.

Xue Wei looked around and sighed. Their ship was already a wreck; transforming into a full Azure Dragon would simply make their ship sink, so instead, he started taking on a dragonoid shape, a human body but with scales all over, and a tail.

Everyone was becoming excited. Although a pirate attack was supposed to be dangerous, the group of Xue Wei, Hei Gou, Lin Xiao, Bai Tianyi, and the King were filled with anticipation. They had not been in a real battle in ages, and it felt like forever since they last killed. It was finally time for them to kill people again.

The people from the Demon Phoenix Continent were also excited, and fervor could be seen in their eyes. However, the eyes of the Yan Dalu citizens and the crew were petrified and worried.

"They are the pirates under the Fierce Demon, Tao Wu!" one of the crew members said, horrified. "We cannot kill them, or he will come and kill us!"

"Well, do you suggest we just let them kill us then?" Xue Wei sneered back, his scaled hand suddenly shooting out and grabbing a pirate around the throat.

This pirate was a ninth-layer Earth Knight, so he had no ability to resist when Xue Wei clenched his fist, breaking his neck. The pirate breathed his final breath as the smile on Xue Wei's lips widened.

The Soul Power in the surrounding air was growing dense, as people died left and right. Xue Wei was having fun. He was like a fish in the water, darting around to kill everyone that was within reach and reveling in the bloodlust which was rushing to his head.

It was not only him who felt like this. Hei Gou was also becoming more and more ferocious as the bloodlust began to consume him. The metallic scent of blood in the air was also affecting them, and they could no longer hold back. The speed with which they killed increased in a frenzy.

At first, the pirates who boarded their ship were easy to deal with. They were all Earth Knights or low-rank Sky Knights. But as more and more pirates appeared, their strength seemed to climb ever higher.

Xue Wei went from killing them with an effortless swipe of his hand to fighting against them seriously. The more he fought, the more the blood splattered on his clothes, and the wider the smile on his face became.

Azure Light Finger!

Devouring Fist!

These two attacks rained down on one of the fourth-layer Sky Knights, landing directly on his spine. A terrifying crack resounded, and the Sky Knight pirate collapsed on the ground, his body limp and blood seeping out from the corner of his mouth as his final breath left him.

"I'll take the dragon, you guys take the kid!" someone called out, and suddenly a mountain of a man landed on the deck right in front of Xue Wei.

This was a Qi cultivator. He had no spiritual energy, but he was a full layer ahead of Xue Wei in Qi rank, so Xue Wei no longer dared to be as unbridled.

His eyes, which had been red from the bloodlust, were slowly turning solemn; his hands, which were drenched in blood, were clenching slowly.

He felt his ears buzzing from the bloodlust, but he did not lose his mind. He had been reveling in the feeling of bloodlust, but now it was time for him to return to his senses–if he forgot himself, then he was likely to end up dead.

Xue Wei reached out his hand, and azure Qi pooled in his palm.

Inner Might: Qi Sword Style.

Twenty-seven-layer Azure Sword!

Just as he was releasing the eight layers he could control of the Twenty-seven-layer Azure Sword, he pressed forward with indomitable power and all the strength that his physical body could produce.

The pirate lifted a sword that seemed anything but ordinary. It was shining with a lustrous glow, and Xue Wei was vigilant as he slashed down eight times with the sword technique.

Each wave of slashes was more powerful than the last, and while the strength of the first was not unbearable, when the second landed, the pirate started to get a feeling of apprehension.

When the third slash landed, he gritted his teeth and understood that he could not continue to meet the attacks head-on.

Xue Wei acutely felt the pirate’s change in tactics. He no longer tried using force against force; instead, he was like a slippery snake, twisting around, trying to dodge the attacks as much as possible, or softening the slashes that Xue Wei was releasing.

Unfortunately, the bandit was experienced in life and death battles, and Xue Wei had lived a carefree life for a couple of years, causing the bandit to have the upper hand in the battle.

He managed to avoid the Twenty-seven-layer Azure Sword's slashes, but Xue Wei was not simply going to give up.

After sensing that the pirate was slipping away from his final slash, Xue Wei twisted his body and kicked out.

Kick of the Raging Tempest!

The wind started to gather, and suddenly a tempest was created which headed straight for the pirate who had just managed to avoid the final sword slash.

Just as he avoided one attack, another came crashing down towards him.

This one was not as threatening as the final slash, but it was a rather annoying attack. The tempest shrouded him in a whirlwind of Qi, the attack ripping his clothes and skin. He felt how small cuts appeared all over his skin, and when they did, small threads of dragon Qi would invade his body, absorbing the Qi within his body.

Stepping backward, the pirate grit his teeth as he used his own Qi to attack the invading Qi dragons before making a hand seal.

Hellfire Seal!

Qi exploded forward like a ball of fire, heading straight for Xue Wei. The attack was as volatile as fire, and although it was made from Qi, it was extremely explosive.

Xue Wei felt an impending danger, but the speed was too fast; it was simply impossible for him to avoid the attack, so he struck out with his arm.

Devouring Fist!

The fist, which was capable of absorbing some of the energy of an attack, quickly swallowed a lot of the attack. Unfortunately, he did not have full control or comprehension of the attack, and he could only swallow so much of the energy, the rest landing squarely on his chest, causing him to cough up blood and stagger backward a few steps.

Xue Wei lifted his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a smile appeared on his lips. It was simply far too long since someone had managed to make him bleed.