In a region where only silence reigned, the vast expanse of sea stretched endlessly.
Far removed from any continent or island, the vast, silent waters, the terrifying stillness, where not even a single wave stirred, if one observes it from above.
Where no trace of land-dwellers could be found, only the mindless sea demon beasts ruled these depths, the completely undisturbed region of the realm.
The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in this place was so sparse that it was barely perceptible.
The Spiritual Qi density was far lower than anywhere on the continent, so low that, if not for the subtle resonance of the Heavenly Dao, one might mistake this place for the ordinary mortal realm without Spiritual Qi.
This place was the outer region of the Seventh Heaven, the farthest rim of this realm, only slightly next to the void between the Heavens—lonely, desolate, and untouched by civilization.
However, this silence and stillness of this region were about to be disturbed.
High in the night sky, above the vast expanse of sea.
Suddenly, a swirling purple vortex tore open the sky, spitting out two human figures before disappearing.
The Pirate King, Black Shark, felt dizzy from crossing the dimensional tunnel.
But with his high cultivation realm, he quickly regained his senses, stabilized his body mid-air, and stared angrily at the mysterious man in black and golden robes before him.
"Return what you stole, thief!" Black Shark roared, his voice rumbling across the endless sea, making a wave appear on the sea's surface.
"What are you talking about? If it were really yours, it'd still be with you. But now it's in my hands—so it's mine." Hengsheng replied with a smirk.
Hengsheng's words made the veins bulge on Black Shark's forehead, It had been a very long time since anyone dared steal from him, let alone talk back afterward.
The last fool who did this had long met the Yama King!
"HAHAHA… FOOL!" Black Shark laughed coldly and shouted to Hengsheng.
"I gave you a chance to return what's mine—now, I'll rip it from your corpse!" Black Shark roared, spittle flying from his mouth as his rage boiled over.
The great saber, a two-meter, single-edged saber—a famous weapon among pirates—appears in Black Shark's hand.
He let out a wild, thunderous roar that shook the sea itself, sending tidal waves surging across the still waters.
In the next instant, he disappeared from his spot, reappearing before Hengsheng with terrifying speed, bringing his great saber down in a brutal swing aimed straight at Hengsheng's head.
D—DOOM!!!!!!!
Black Shark's great saber clashed violently against the fist that wore a five-colored wooden gauntlet. The impact unleashed a terrifying storm—sky and sea seemed to reverse as shockwaves rippled across the heavens!
Without time for Hengsheng to rest.
The great saber swept through the atmosphere, tearing toward Hengsheng once more.
He blocked it with a profound martial technique, but when they clashed for the second time, he felt that immense, crushing power flood through his entire body.
DOOM!
Hengsheng activated his True Body—red lines of True Qi surged across his skin, enhancing his physical strength fortyfold.
He struck Black Shark squarely in the face, but the blow seemed to have little effect.
Black Shark returned a creepy smile before slashing his great saber in retaliation.
BOOM!
The two exchanged over a hundred moves in less than a minute. But despite his boosted strength, Hengsheng was clearly at a disadvantage.
Black Shark's saber tore through his skin multiple times, while Hengsheng's fists and palms hardly landed a blow to the Pirate King because of his higher speed.
Hengsheng flew backward with all his might, retreating for the moment. As he distanced himself, his mind raced—this Pirate King fought nothing like Xi Tianqi.
Their battle styles were completely different.
He compared what he had with the opponent's. Even though his overall strength was not much inferior, his speed was no match for a Spirit Integration Realm expert!
As he assumed, the evidence was once again in front of him.
With the tremendous speed, Black Shark instantly appeared like a ghost before Hengsheng, roaring like a furious beast. Saliva sprayed from his mouth, splattering onto Hengsheng's skin as his hammer-like fist slammed toward Hengsheng's head.
Before Black Shark's fist could land, Hengsheng's eyes gleamed with brilliant gold light, a blazing heat blast shot forth, striking Black Shark squarely in the face. The searing force made him scream in pain and halted his advance.
Hengsheng flew far away and cursed to himself for trying to fight with a Spirit Integration Realm expert head-on with only his cultivation realm.
It was not a very good idea since the other side was way faster than he was due to the Spirit Integration cultivation realm's innate trait of spirit-infused body, allowing the cultivator in this cultivation realm to move at a speed beyond physical law limits!
Hengsheng decided to stop trying to fight fairly against a Spirit Integration Realm expert.
He decided to use his Divine Artifact—Timbergrasp Cycle.
The last time he fought with a Spirit Integration Realm Expert, Xi Tianqi, he did not use his Divine Artifact since he knew the other factions might be watching.
The Divine Artifact is acknowledged among cultivators and factions as a treasure of immense value and prestige.
Hengsheng learned that the Divine Artifact is very sought after by all factions on all three continents, since it is very limited—no more than 100 of them were present in the entire Seventh Heaven.
If he brings it out, someone will be able to identify it as a Divine artifact, and then he would be in big trouble.
Since he did not want to be targeted by the masses while he was weak, in that battle between him and Xi Tianqi, he only used the System Power disguised as a strange technique.
However, this time he was the one who chose the battlefield—no eyes were upon him now. Without restraint, he freely wielded the Divine Artifact without worries!
The Timbergrasp Cycle on Hengsheng's right arm began to glow, radiating the profound aura of the Five Phase Dao.
Hengsheng's spiritual power surged severalfold, similar to when he activated the Absolute Cultivator Mode, allowing his strength to catch up with the Pirate King Black Shark!
Black Shark recovered from the burn on the face, roaring like an irrational beast. His spiritual qi spread outward, the sea trembled in response.
Then thousands of gigantic black sharks emerged from the sea below and soared through the sky, surrounding the whole place like they were preventing Hengsheng from escaping.
"You dare to burn my beard! I will eat you!" the Pirate King, Black Shark, roared.
Black Shark was like any cultivator who practices the incomplete soul-consuming technique, which will make their mind unstable. In Black Shark's case, he became irrational, often acting like a mindless beast.
Black Shark disappeared and reappeared above Hengsheng's head, swinging his saber at the foolish thief's head.
However, before Black Shark's saber landed on the target, the wooden gauntlet struck his abdomen, making his eyes widen as blood sprayed from his mouth, and the impact sent him flying backward.
Black Shark stopped mid-air and wiped the blood away. He was confused how the thief, who was clearly only in the True Body Realm, could match his strength.
Then Black Shark recalled something.
"You are the one who defeated Xi Tianqi?!" Black Shark asked the figure in black and gold robes that flew towards him, coming to a halt mid-air not far away.
Hengsheng silently thought for a second before he decided not to interact with this wicked pirate. With sudden bursting speed, his fist struck Black Shark's face, sending him flying.
The punch sent Black Shark flying backward, rolling helplessly through the air before halting mid-flight. Instead of displaying anger, his face twisted into madness, and he erupted into maniacal laughter for no apparent reason.
"NO TALK I LIKE THAT! HAHAHAHA!" Black Shark laughed maniacally as his spiritual qi surged through his great saber. He swung the saber, and with each swing, saber qi like a sharp shark's teeth manifested and soared toward Hengsheng.
Hengsheng made a circling gesture with his arms, and the five-element barrier appeared before him, stopping the saber qi from harming him. Then he sent a barrage of ten thousand Qi cannonballs toward the Pirate King!
Seeing the ten thousand Qi cannonballs rush toward him, Black Shark did not show concern. He continued his laugh even louder, to the point that the sea beneath them resonated with the laughter.
"I am King of the Sea!!!!" Black Shark roared. In response to his words, the sea surged toward the sky, forming a ten-thousand-meter-tall tidal wave that moved like a massive jaw, swallowing the barrage of the ten thousand Qi cannonballs.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! ….
Hengsheng saw his numerous Qi cannonballs being swallowed by the sea. His eyes narrowed; he did not expect the Pirate King to have such a move.
Hengsheng intended to end the fight quickly, as he was eager to find out what was really inside the Island of the pirates.
He focused on gathering an enormous amount of Spiritual Qi to perform a Heaven Grade technique, the Heaven's Pulse Fist Technique.
Even though the spiritual qi in this place was extremely sparse, he could still perform a Heaven Grade technique.
After all, the true power of such a technique didn't rely only on the surrounding Spiritual Qi, but rather on the aura of Heaven and Earth itself.
"HAHAHA! I am the King of the Sea!" Black Shark laughed maniacally as he rode above the massive tidal wave that moved toward the foolish thief!
Hengsheng's fist, glowing in various lights, shot forward with a profound motion.
Unleash the power of Heaven's Pulse Fist.
In the next moment, the vast sea and immeasurable sky split apart.