Time slipped by quietly.
In the blink of an eye—
An hour and a half had passed.
When the forces they had sent out still hadn't returned—
Both the White Emperor Pirates and the Black Shark Pirates could no longer sit still.
When they had dispatched people to investigate that suddenly appearing ruin, they had given clear instructions—
Do not cause unnecessary trouble.
So, logically speaking—
By now, their men should have returned long ago.
Even if that ruin was extremely important—
Even if its value was no less than the ruin they were currently fighting over—
They should have at least sent one person back to report.
But—
Four hours had passed.
Nearly four full hours.
Not a single word.
How could they possibly remain calm?
"Something's wrong! Something definitely happened! One hundred percent, something happened!"
That was the shared thought of both pirate leaders.
Just as they were about to dispatch more men to investigate—
A survivor appeared!
A survivor from the Black Shark Pirates!
A Black Shark pirate who had jumped into the sea to save himself before Zhao Xuan joined the battle, clinging to a piece of wreckage and swimming back by sheer willpower.
"N-n-n-not good!"
When the Black Shark Pirates' grunts on shore spotted him, he was so exhausted he was on the verge of collapse.
Upon hearing the news—
The Black Shark Pirates' leader rushed to the beach.
He immediately fed the survivor two pouches of mid-tier energy fluid, finally pulling him back from the brink.
"What happened? Where's the second leader?" the Black Shark leader demanded urgently.
"T-the s-second leader… the second leader is dead!"
The moment those words fell—
The entire place went deathly silent.
Then—
In the next second—
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
"What!? What did you say!? Do you know what you're saying!? Speak clearly! What exactly happened!? The second leader was perfectly fine—how did he die!? Could it be those White Emperor Pirate bastards!?"
The Black Shark leader asked with a ferocious expression.
"B-b-boss, here's what happened!" the grunt hurriedly explained.
"The second leader followed your orders and led us to investigate the newly emerged ruin nearby. But not long after we left, the White Emperor Pirates caught up!"
"The ones who came were their second and third leaders!"
"Even though our second leader was strong, under the joint attack of their second and third leaders, he could only defend passively! And then—"
Before the grunt could finish—
The Black Shark leader suddenly burst into a savage laugh.
"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"
"I knew it was those damned White Emperor scum! I knew it!"
"B-boss—"
The surviving pirate tried to say more, but his leader had already stormed off in fury.
"Any movement on the White Emperor Pirates' side?" the Black Shark leader asked a trusted subordinate.
"Have their second and third leaders returned?"
"No! In the past three to four hours, our scouts haven't seen a single ship approach this area."
Hearing this—
The Black Shark leader's eyes flashed.
Killing intent surged through his body.
"We can't delay any longer. The situation is extremely unfavorable for us. If we don't take out the White Emperor Pirates' leader now, once their two leaders recover from their injuries, we'll be finished!"
Muttering to himself, the Black Shark leader suddenly shouted:
"Li Si!"
"Here!" replied a peak sixth-tier ability user.
"Go prepare. Notify the brothers—we move now. Catch the White Emperor Pirates completely off guard!"
"Yes!"
Not long after—
At the ruin entrance in a small swamp on the southern side of the barren island.
"Kill!"
"Charge!"
Boom!!!
The Black Shark Pirates suddenly launched an attack on the White Emperor Pirates not far away.
Boom!!!
The Black Shark leader charged at the front.
He locked onto a White Emperor Pirates squad captain—
In a sudden ambush—
With just two punches, he smashed the captain dead on the spot.
Immediately after—
He charged toward a second White Emperor squad captain.
"Zhen Youbing!!!!"
Just as his fist crashed down on that White Emperor captain—
A furious roar came from afar.
"You're courting death!!!!"
"You really think I won't kill you just because you have an eighth-tier king as a son-in-law!?"
The White Emperor Pirates' leader roared hysterically from the distance.
Then—
A figure rushed toward them at high speed.
Hearing this—
Zhen Youbing, the Black Shark leader, remained expressionless.
His punch did not slow in the slightest.
It slammed heavily into the White Emperor squad captain.
Pfft!
This was a full-power blow from a seventh-tier lord—
And not just any seventh-tier lord.
Zhen Youbing's strength ranked in the upper-middle among seventh-tier experts.
How could a mere peak sixth-tier captain withstand that?
With a spray of blood, the captain was sent flying.
However—
He appeared to be an animal-type ability user with a stronger physique.
So although he took the punch head-on, he wasn't killed instantly.
Just as Zhen Youbing was about to press the advantage—
The White Emperor Pirates' leader finally arrived in a killing fury.
The two immediately clashed.
Their battle officially marked the opening of the decisive war between the White Emperor Pirates and the Black Shark Pirates.
At the same time—
On the western side of the island.
Seven or eight kilometers away.
A small single-mast sailboat was speeding toward the island.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Same old routine!
To save as much time as possible, Zhao Xuan kept punching the sail to propel the boat forward.
Suddenly—
He stopped punching.
He tilted his head slightly, listening to the sounds coming from afar.
Then—
He heard intense battle noises.
"They're… fighting?"
Zhao Xuan narrowed his eyes.
A bad thought immediately surfaced in his mind.
"Damn it! Don't tell me one of them passed the ruin trial already!?"
His face darkened instantly.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
After all—
That ruin produced spiritual medicine that boosted Armament Haki growth!
Its value was extremely high.
Even Zhao Xuan, a true tycoon, found it tempting—
Let alone those two broke pirate crews!
Zhao Xuan had long anticipated a decisive battle between them.
That was why—
He had rushed back in such a hurry.
Because—
He didn't want to miss this ruin.
Or more precisely—
He didn't want to miss the ruin's cleansing reward.
After all—
A single ruin cleansing could easily increase mental strength and physique by twenty to thirty points.
And it was instantaneous.
Unlike consuming spiritual herbs, which required massive time and effort to fully absorb.
But—
Zhao Xuan never expected—
That the ruin cleansing he had set his sights on would be stolen right under his nose!
"Damn it all!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The more he thought, the angrier he became.
"Bastards! Bastards! Bastards! Bastards! Bastards!"
"You even dare touch my ruin!"
"Have you lost your damn minds!?"
"You're all courting death!!!"
Raging fury surged through Zhao Xuan's body.
If the White Emperor Pirates and Black Shark Pirates knew what Zhao Xuan was thinking right now, they would curse in unison.
Damn it!
What do you mean your ruin!?
We discovered it first, damn it!
…
Because the White Emperor Pirates and Black Shark Pirates were already fully engaged in battle on the island, neither side noticed Zhao Xuan's arrival.
After landing—
Zhao Xuan immediately grabbed a large pile of spiritual herbs and medicines from his spatial ruin.
He spent a few minutes restoring the stamina he had consumed while traveling.
Then—
He charged straight toward the center of the battlefield.
At the center—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Black Shark leader, Zhen Youbing, and the White Emperor leader, Mei Maobing, were locked in a fierce battle.
Their strengths were nearly equal.
However—
Because Zhen Youbing had tried to instantly kill two peak sixth-tier White Emperor squad captains before Mei Maobing could react—
He had been caught in an opening by the enraged Mei Maobing.
So—
Zhen Youbing was currently at a slight disadvantage.
Boom!!!!
In a violent clash, the recoil sent both men flying backward.
And at that moment—
By sheer coincidence—
Zhao Xuan had just arrived.
Seeing Zhen Youbing flying toward him, Zhao Xuan's eyes lit up.
"Perfect timing!"
A smile spread across Zhao Xuan's face.
Meanwhile—
Not far away—
That Black Shark pirate who had barely survived earlier happened to glance toward his leader.
And in doing so—
His gaze swept over Zhao Xuan.
Instantly—
His face turned pale.
In that moment—
His mind replayed the horrifying scene from four hours earlier—
Zhao Xuan brutally beating their second leader and the White Emperor Pirates' second and third leaders—three seventh-tier experts—to death with wild punches.
In the blink of an eye—
His face went white.
"Boss! Watch out!!!!"
In sheer panic—
He shouted a warning to Zhen Youbing.
"Watch out?"
Hearing this—
Zhen Youbing was momentarily confused.
"Is there an enemy behind me?"
With that thought—
His Observation Haki swept backward.
Then—
It detected Zhao Xuan charging toward him from one or two hundred meters away.
At this moment—
Because Zhao Xuan hadn't entered Dragonman form—
To Zhen Youbing, a seventh-tier expert—
He looked completely harmless.
"Watch out? Watch out for what?"
Zhen Youbing was puzzled.
At that instant—
Roar!!
A terrifying roar—
A roar that struck straight into the soul—
Suddenly erupted behind Zhen Youbing.
"What—what was that sound!?"
Before he could react—
Conqueror's Haki fused with the Azure Dragon Fruit's dragon might silently enveloped everyone present.
"T-this… this is!"
"Conqueror's Haki!"
"What's going on!?"
"…"
Confusion surged through the crowd.
Before anyone could react—
Tap tap tap tap!
A rapid series of footsteps thundered across the ground.
Then—
Under everyone's intense gaze—
A black shadow burst out of the forest behind them.
In the blink of an eye!
In an instant!
That shadow appeared right behind Zhen Youbing.
A deep sense of unease engulfed him.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
Before he could react—
Boom!!!!
A terrifying sonic boom exploded behind him.
The next moment—
Zhen Youbing felt as if his head had been struck by a siege hammer.
Stars exploded in his vision.
Boom!!!!
Zhao Xuan's fighting style had always been—
Strike when they're down and kill them!
He never gave enemies time to react.
So—
The instant the first punch landed—
The second was already on its way.
Thud!!!!
An iron fist wrapped in Armament Haki and endless lightning slammed into the Black Shark leader's head.
Everyone watching felt their hearts seize.
Boom!!!
Then—
Zhao Xuan threw a third punch.
Thud!
The sound of fist striking skull echoed across the battlefield—
Drowning out all other combat noises and ringing in everyone's ears.
Boom! Thud!
Boom! Thud!
Boom! Thud!
Like a bell being struck again and again, the impacts rang out endlessly.
In mere seconds—
In just three to four breaths—
Zhao Xuan had smashed Zhen Youbing's head with twenty to thirty punches.
At that moment—
Zhen Youbing's head had already caved in.
Bright red blood—
Poured from his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.
From time to time—
White, tofu-like matter even seeped from his seven orifices.
And yet—
Zhao Xuan showed no sign of stopping!
He continued punching like a madman.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
His fists rained down relentlessly.
It had to be said—
Zhen Youbing's skull was truly tough.
Only after enduring more than ten additional full-power punches—
Did his head finally—
Like a watermelon—
Explode.
Blood and pulp sprayed everywhere.
The entire battlefield—
Fell completely silent.
Whether White Emperor Pirates or Black Shark Pirates—
Everyone was frozen.
Stunned.
They all stopped fighting simultaneously.
Rooted to the spot.
Dazed.
Completely and utterly dazed.
The only sound left—
Was Zhao Xuan's heavy breathing.
As he gasped—
Zhao Xuan casually opened his spatial ruin.
Right in front of everyone—
Without any restraint—
He shoveled massive handfuls of spiritual herbs and medicines into his mouth.
As if they were worthless.
He chewed a few times—
Then swallowed them whole.
Some—
He didn't even bother chewing.
He just swallowed them outright.
As the flood of spiritual herbs entered his body—
Zhao Xuan's chaotic aura rapidly stabilized.
And yet—
No one present reacted.
Not even Mei Maobing, the White Emperor Pirates' leader.
Because—
He was stunned too.
He had been utterly shocked by the brutal sight of Zhao Xuan smashing his old rival's head to pieces.
It took nearly a full minute before he finally snapped back to reality.
Recalling how Zhao Xuan had devoured those spiritual herbs in under half a minute—
Recalling the spatial rift Zhao Xuan had opened—
Mei Maobing suddenly locked his gaze onto Zhao Xuan.
Looking at Zhao Xuan, who had already recovered seventy to eighty percent of his strength—
An overwhelming greed surged through his body.
Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!
Kill him, and everything he has will be yours!
Kill him, and his spatial ruin will be yours!
Now—kill him while you can!
Don't let him recover any further!
That voice roared wildly in Mei Maobing's mind.
Suddenly—
He clenched his fists.
His eyes turned red.
Greed filled his face.
"Kill!!!"
The next moment—
He moved.
Roaring, he charged straight at Zhao Xuan.
At this moment—
His mind was completely consumed by greed.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Perfect! Perfect! I've been waiting for you! I've been waiting for you for a long time! I thought you wouldn't dare come!"
Seeing Mei Maobing rush in, madness exploded across Zhao Xuan's face.
He threw his head back—
And let out an exhilarated, ecstatic laugh.
The battle instinct within him surged wildly.
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
At this moment—
Zhao Xuan's mind was filled with nothing but battle.
Battle intent soared.
Then—
Zhao Xuan moved.
Facing the charging White Emperor leader—
Facing that seventh-tier lord—
He charged forward to meet him head-on!
The next instant—
The two collided!
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