Chapter 385: Dragon King Hall

Chapter 385: Dragon King Hall

When Su Mo and Little Situ returned to the dock, the guards of Chiyan Island had already arrived.

Massive ships blocked the harbor, forming layers of barricades, clearly intending to prevent any vessel from leaving.

Qi Yang, the Island Master of Chiyan Island, had died in an unexplained manner.

Neither Chiyan Island nor the South Sea Alliance could ignore this matter.

The island was packed with so-called "guests" today. While the merchant guilds were one thing, these pirates had to be thoroughly investigated—especially the Blood Sickle Society.

Among the large ships anchored near Chiyan Island, most belonged to the Blood Sickle Society.

Qi Xuelian, the Boss of the Blood Sickle Society, had brought his entire crew here in full force, all for the sake of that alchemy tome.

Now, the guards of Chiyan Island stood at a standoff with the pirates of the Blood Sickle Society.

One side refused to let them leave, while the other had no intention of staying.

A clash was inevitable.

Using the chaos, Su Mo took Little Situ back to the flagship of the Ziyang Escort Bureau.

Yang Xiaoyun and the others were already waiting at the bow. Seeing Su Mo and Little Situ return, they finally relaxed.

Su Mo returned Little Situ to the four cardinal ladies—East, West, South, and North—then turned to Yang Xiaoyun:

"Still no sign of Qi Xuelian?"

"No."

Yang Xiaoyun nodded.

"Chiyan Island was clearly prepared. It seems Qi Yang had arranged for reinforcements before his death.

"Yet he died before seeing it through.

"Though we hurried back as fast as we could, we’re still trapped in this encirclement.

"Right now, the Blood Sickle Society has sent elite fighters to rescue Qi Xuelian, but the outcome remains unclear.

"Do you think the Blood Sickle Society will get out alive today?

"And what should we do now?"

"Qi Xuelian is not some amateur. One loss doesn’t mean he’ll truly be trapped here.

"Let’s observe how the situation develops before deciding."

Su Mo turned his gaze to the scene before them. The Blood Sickle Society, along with a group of pirate crews, stood poised to fight.

Under the leadership of a young man, the guards of Chiyan Island eyed them like prey.

Neither side was in a hurry to start a fight.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the surrounding merchant ships stood on their decks, observing silently and biding their time.

Some just bolted from the docks, wanting no part of the chaos.

Time passed minute by minute—perhaps the time it takes an incense stick to burn, or maybe an hour—when suddenly, a sharp whistling of wind came from afar.

Those who heard it couldn’t help but look up.

They saw four or five people darting over from the city.

One of them was carrying another person—the unconscious Qi Xuelian himself.

"Damn right! They’re here."

Su Mo glanced at Song Yuanlong:

"Our decoy’s here. Be ready. The moment chaos breaks out, we leave immediately."

Under different circumstances, Su Mo might have been interested in engaging with the South Sea Alliance.

But today, with their Island Master freshly dead, even the highest status wouldn’t get you a polite chat.

So, for now, getting out was key.

Song Yuanlong understood Su Mo’s meaning and nodded, signaling the crew under his breath to prepare.

Meanwhile, those martial arts masters returned to the Blood Sickle Society’s ship and, without hesitation, barked orders to cast off.

The situation was already tense, and the moment the Blood Sickle Society moved, Chiyan Island’s forces bellowed:

"Esteemed guests of the island, a bloody disaster has occurred today. Hold your departure!"

From the Blood Sickle Society’s ship, a voice roared, laughing:

"What does your island’s incident have to do with us?

"Even if Qi Yang’s corpse rose up, we’d still leave like we damn well please!"

The words were a straight-up insult.

Qi Yang had died atop that building, witnessed by all.

As the saying goes, you don’t slap a man’s face—yet the speaker had just spat right in Chiyan Island’s face.

The young man from Chiyan Island’s face went stormy:

"Cut them off! Arrest those bastards!"

"Move in!"

With simultaneous orders from both sides, a ship-to-ship brawl erupted.

Chiyan Island’s ships quickly lashed their ships together, forming a blockade against the Blood Sickle Society’s vessel.

The Blood Sickle Society, however, rammed their bow forward. On the open sea, there might have been room to maneuver, but at such close quarters, punching through was hopeless.

Their only chance was to board and fight blade-to-blade.

And so, steel met steel.

The young man on the crimson-salted isle displayed extraordinary martial arts, cutting through the pirates like a scythe, leaving no match in his wake.

However, the Blood Sickle Society fielded even more martial arts masters.

They swarmed the seas, each wielding deadly techniques.

When steel met steel, the clash quickly descended into chaos.

Some from the Blood Sickle Society slithered beneath the waves, attempting to send Chiyan's fleet to the depths.

Meanwhile, Chiyan Island's martial arts masters sought to behead the snake by taking its head, aiming to seize Qi Xuelian, the Blood Sickle Society's chief.

Simultaneously, more masters came pouring from the city walls.

Having failed to intercept the martial arts masters rescuing Qi Xuelian earlier, they now sought to trap the Blood Sickle Society forces between them, determined to bury them all on Chiyan Island.

Yet, they were a heartbeat too slow.

A martial arts master from the Blood Sickle Society, bearing a warhammer fit for giants on his back, leaped into action.

With contemptuous heaves, he pitched two Chiyan Island sentries overboard like sacks of grain before landing firmly on the deck.

The hammer found his grip in one fluid motion. He gathered his qi with a roar and prepared to strike the deck.

Chiyan Island's martial arts masters rushed to intervene but were blocked by Blood Sickle Society members.

In that brief delay, the hammer came crashing down.

Channeling his inner force, a hammer-born typhoon exploded from the impact, spiraling outward like a dragon's tail.

The deck, the first to bear the brunt, twisted and shattered under the force, sending shockwaves downward—straight into the water.

A thunderous explosion followed.

The entire ship hung suspended for one terrible moment as geysers of white fury erupted around it.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The ship's death cry marked the spread of massive fissures.

From the point of impact, lightning-fissures spiderwebbed through the bow, splitting it from the hull with a resounding snap.

The ship was riven asunder by the brute's single strike.

The burly man bellowed his triumph to the heavens at the sight.

With a butcher's flourish, he bellowed:

"Finish them!!!"

The Blood Sickle Society was ready—their ships came crashing in like a tidal wave as the hammer struck.

Though their own prow splintered from the impact, the force of the collision ripped the wounded ship wider still.

In the blink of an eye, a gaping hole was formed.

Seizing the opportunity, the hulking man leaped back onto the ship, while the Blood Sickle Society bandits who had been underwater, halfway through hacking at the hull, clambered aboard and returned to their own boats.

The remaining ships of the Blood Sickle Society quickly formed a formation, tearing the opening wider.

The encirclement by Chiyan Island was no longer watertight.

Within moments, not only the Blood Sickle Society but also other pirates unaffiliated with them, along with some merchant ships, poured through the breach and out into the open sea.

The Ziyang Escort Agency naturally slipped into the mix, soon breaking free from the encirclement.

The next moment, the ship formation broke apart in chaos.

Some were pirates, others belonged to merchant fleets—naturally, they couldn’t stay teamed up for long.

Though their shared goal was to escape Chiyan Island, their next destinations varied.

The Blood Sickle Society, being pirates, might have wanted to plunder merchant ships, but that was impossible now.

Too busy saving their own skins, they could only watch them slip away.

Meanwhile, Su Mo and his group sailed south. Before long, they spotted a large fleet pouring out from Chiyan Island in the distance—reinforcements.

Their target, however, remained the Blood Sickle Society, which had nothing to do with Su Mo and his companions.

After all the harrowing ordeal, they had finally broken free. Sitting on the ship’s railing, Su Mo watched the chaos on the distant sea and couldn’t help smirking.

"Something feels off..."

Yang Xiaoyun, puzzled, asked, "What’s missing?"

Su Mo scratched his head for a while before suddenly snapping his fingers.

"Cannons!" he said.

"??"

Yang Xiaoyun blinked. "What’s that?" she asked.

"...Hmm."

Su Mo thought for a moment before replying, "Well... it's sort of... a kind of ranged weapon?"

Yang Xiaoyun laughed lightly.

"I see. But in that scrap, they were slinging enough throwing weapons already."

"Still, such gimmicks won't last. Real martial arts are what really keeps you alive."

"The burly man's hammer strike was so powerful that it actually cleaved the large ship in two.

"His sheer strength could almost give Xiaoxiao a run for her money in arm-wrestling."

"..."

That’s completely different.

When thinking of pirates, what comes to mind first?

Naturally, it’s the cannons mounted on their ships.

At the command, a broadside of cannonfire would blast the enemy vessel to kindling.

That kind of firepower is even more terrifying at sea.

After all, your only footing on the open water is the deck beneath your feet. If that’s destroyed, you’re as good as dead.

Thus, cannons are undoubtedly a ship’s deadliest weapon.

Yet, since Su Mo set sail, he hasn’t seen a single ship equipped with such things.

At first, he assumed it was because those small-time pirates couldn’t get their hands on them.

But the Blood Sickle Society and Chiyan Island are heavy hitters. Even in their clashes, they still fight hand-to-hand—whether by boarding or sabotaging ships, it all comes down to close-quarters combat.

There’s no ability to blow enemy ships out of the water from afar.

He couldn’t tell whether cannons simply haven’t been invented in this world yet...

Or perhaps they are hoarded by a privileged few?

Like that telescope?

But if that were truly the case, wouldn’t those who possess them rule the Southern Seas unchallenged with such power?

And if they truly don’t exist...

Then, as someone from another world, shouldn’t he do what transmigrators are supposed to do?

Would building a few cannons really be too much?

Su Mo pondered this but then shook his head, smiling at Yang Xiaoyun.

"I actually think that burly man is no match for Xiaoxiao.

"Even without using internal energy, Xiaoxiao could easily sink a ship—just by bouncing on it a few times.

"That guy doesn’t even come close."

Yang Xiaoyun rolled her eyes hard enough to see her own brain, and was momentarily speechless.

Once the spectacle ended, Su Mo waved his hand, shooing everyone back to work.

Qi Yang, the Island Master of Chiyan Island, died a gruesome death, while the Blood Sickle Society busted through Chiyan Island’s defenses...

From this day onward, this series of news began to circulate across the South Sea.

However, for Su Mo and his companions, the only thing that really mattered to him was the Poison Dragon Alchemy Scripture.

From the looks of it, it seemed there might be more than one copy of the Poison Dragon Alchemy Scripture.

But exactly how many existed remained unclear.

Whoever had leaked this scripture into the martial world—what was their purpose?

Only those with exceptional medical expertise could decipher the hidden meanings in the alchemical recipe.

Could it be that this person suffered from a hidden ailment and was looking for treatment?

Yet, if Longmu Island was indeed the island mentioned by the elders of Xuanku Pavilion, it would surely contain Little Situ Taoist’s opportunity.

An opportunity that could even cure the three yin and three yang meridian damage, as well as the six pulses—what illness could it possibly fail to treat?

These doubts swirled in his mind, one by one, before finally settling into silence.

In any case, Gupiao Island was almost there.

Whether Longmu Island truly existed or was just smoke and mirrors would soon be revealed.

However, before arriving at Gupiao Island, Boss Yin finally started putting together the intel about the Dragon King Hall for Su Mo.

Inside the study, the handful of pages Su Mo now held in his hands were written by Yin Xiaoyu.

And Yin Xiaoyu herself stood across from him.

Her wounds were mostly healed by now.

The only thing missing was only what Su Mo intended for her to lack.

Su Mo’s gaze did not linger on the young woman for long before shifting to the words on the paper.

Yin Xiaoyu’s handwriting had a refined, elegant quality.

Though Su Mo had diligently practiced calligraphy over the years, he still wasn't even close.

He wasn't in the same league as Yang Xiaoyun, let alone Yin Xiaoyu.

Yin Xiaoyu came from Tianxiang Pavilion, which, though it was really just a brothel, had women skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

That much was clearly true.

Skimming through it, Su Mo quickly got through what Yin Xiaoyu had written.

Then, he raised his head and looked at her:

"What about the rest?"

"...Haven't gotten to it yet."

Yin Xiaoyu lifted her hand—her injury wasn't fully healed.

Her forearm was still in a splint, and writing this much had already required pushing through sharp pain in her wrist.

Su Mo nodded slightly upon seeing this. It seemed he would have something to keep himself occupied next.

He could pester for updates while on the ship...

However, he was quite satisfied with what Yin Xiaoyu had written.

It was full of hard facts, laying out the whole setup of Dragon King Hall from top to bottom, including who holds what role these days.

Dragon King Hall.

Below the Hall Master are the Two Saints, Four Dragons, and Eight Divisions.

The Two Saints are highly revered, have unmatched martial skills, and are ghostly figures.

Even ordinary disciples of Dragon King Hall have only heard of their names but never seen them in person.

They only send orders with tokens.

The Four Dragons are named after the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.

Yin Xiaoyu figured this had something to do with the martial arts they practice.

Lastly, there are the Eight Divisions.

The Eight Divisions are scattered all over the South Sea. The moment the Dragon King Hall's Eight Divisions Demon-Slaying Order goes out, they rally at a set spot.

For ordinary maritime forces, assembling dozens or even hundreds of ships in one place is already considered enough to rule the South Sea.

However, each of the Eight Divisions possesses a fleet of a hundred finely built and battle-tested ships.

When the Eight Divisions unite, no foe, no matter how formidable, stands a chance—they’ll wipe them out.

After reviewing these details, along with the names mentioned, Su Mo put the papers aside.

He looked up at Yin Xiaoyu:

"Boss Yin..."

"Please don’t," Yin Xiaoyu quickly replied.

"Chief Escort Su, just call me by my name. Forget the 'Chief' title."

Su Mo arched a brow and couldn't help but laugh:

"Boss Yin seems quite content with the current situation?

"To be honest, among all the people I've captured, you are the one who appears the most relaxed on this ship.

"Your cooperation makes me almost suspect that Boss Yin has something up her sleeve."

"Chief Escort Su, you see right through me," Yin Xiaoyu sighed. "You probably know my background. Even if I don't speak of it, plenty will spill those past events to you.

"I once trusted the wrong person and almost got killed.

"Just to survive, I turned to learning the Slayerheart Demon Sutra."

"How could one cultivate such demonic arts without it changing you in some way?

"By the time I realized it, I was already in too deep, past the point of no return.

"I had no choice—whether willing or not, I had to just go with the flow.

"However, on Qiuping Mountain, Chief Escort Su showed incredible skill and yanked me back from that frenzied, demonic state.

"...The next words must not be heard by my subordinates.

"To tell the truth, I'm actually happy about it.

"I've had a hard life—I never wanted to kill anyone.

"It was simply that no one could stop me, yet I didn’t want to die either.

"Now that Chief Escort Su has knocked me out of that state, I no longer need to fear the Slayerheart Demon Sutra driving me mad and slaughtering the innocent again.

"To be honest, this period has been the most peaceful time since I began cultivating the Slayerheart Demon Sutra."

Su Mo chuckled upon hearing this:

"Well, if that’s the case, it’s a good thing.

"Boss Yin may keep relaxing."

"Chief Escort Su means... I can stay on the ship for good?"

Yin Xiaoyu looked at Su Mo.

Su Mo nodded. "Naturally. If Boss Yin wishes, you may call this ship home."

"Then I thank Chief Escort Su."

Yin Xiaoyu bowed right away.

Su Mo shook his head with a smile:

"Boss Yin, there's no need to stand on ceremony. Speaking of which, apart from the Dragon King Hall, I have another matter I’d like to inquire about."

"Chief Escort Su, ask away. Whatever I know, I won't hold anything back."

"Good."

Su Mo nodded. "Boss Yin, have you heard of Gupiao Island?"

"Gupiao Island?"

Yin Xiaoyu paused. "Does Chief Escort Su mean that small island off Broken Star Bay?"

"That's the one."