Huai set up a grand teleportation formation within the Xie clan, seamlessly linking every Eternal Academy to one another. Now, anyone could travel between any of the branches instantly, without spending a single penny.
Huai declared to the clan that he would be leaving Canglan Star soon. A deep sadness settled over the whole clan. Huai and Wuhe waited for Yan, who approached with his parents, a rare, gentle smile on his face. He said to his mother, "Don't worry, Ma. I'll be okay. Master and Grand Elder are with me. They'll take care of me."
His father, Xie Wuyuan, rubbed his head. "Yan, never disrespect your master and elders. Always remember that he is your benefactor."
Xie Yan nodded firmly, then walked to his master. Huai accepted him with a smile. His face was already covered by a veil, but looking at his eyes, Yan could see the warmth in his master's gaze.
Wuhe stood beside Huai. The elders of the Xie clan, the Li family, and even the Canglan family were all present to see them off.
They all bowed in unison toward Huai and said, "Your Highness! Do not forget our Canglan Star. We are your servants. Remember us at any time you need our help." It was just a formality, but the sincerity warmed Huai's heart.
He nodded, then said, "Cultivate well! I want to see this Red Lotus Galaxy develop the strength to even fight against those filthy races." He didn't know why, but whenever he mentioned these Nether Races, his heart turned cold with an immense, instinctual hatred that even his system seemed to share.
Everyone nodded. "As you wish, Your Highness!" And with that, Huai, Wuhe, and Yan departed from Canglan Star.
Outside Canglan Star, in the vast quiet of the void, Huai summoned a sleek, 5th-level spaceship from his system space. This ship was a reward from a daily sign-in long ago; he just hadn't had an opportunity to use it.
He, Yan, and Wuhe all entered the spaceship, ready for their next journey. While teleportation would have been easy for Huai and Wuhe, Yan's new cultivation base couldn't yet handle the strain of continuous spatial folding. A ship was the safer, more comfortable option.
A few light-years ahead, another luxurious spaceship was fleeing through the void at full speed. It was being relentlessly pursued by a fleet of thirty or more ships of various classes, from Level 7 to 6, which continuously attacked its rear.
Inside the fleeing vessel, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen stammered, "Who... who are they?"
A protector beside him spoke in a grim voice. "Space pirates. They are space pirates!"
The young man commented, "Space pirates? Isn't humanity's territory controlled by Goddess Nexus? How could they still be operating in this day and age?"
Before he could continue, the protector said again, "The Goddess can't monitor every nook and cranny, Young Master. Goddess Nexus can only access the zones where humans live. She is not omnipotent."
The young man sighed. The other protectors, whose cultivation was lower, also looked grim as they watched the enemy ships close in.
The young man was Ling Tian, the young master of the Shadow Sword Sanctuary. The protector beside him, an old man with a long white beard and a single sword strapped to his back, was the 4th elder of the sect, Elder Bai Mo, known to the world as Black Blade.
Ling Tian had come out of the sect for experience, but he never imagined he would meet the scourges of the void.
On the main pirate ship, a man with a brutal scar across his right hand, which had claimed two of his fingers, stared at the fleeing vessel with greedy eyes.
A subordinate beside him commented, "Master! We've hit the jackpot! They must be from some huge family or sect. With our power, we can take down their ship any time now."
The man sneered coldly. "Humph! Those Shadow Sword sect disciples have killed too many of our brothers when we entered their territories. Now that I find a spaceship with their logo, I'm not leaving them intact. Hahahaha! Or else I'd have to change my notorious name, the 'Blood-Seeking Pirate'!"
Yes, he was the Blood-Seeking Pirate, a Star Sovereign Peak cultivator known for his vicious deeds in the lawless voids outside Nexus's control. He and his Blood Pirates killed whomever they wanted, looting any ship that crossed their path.
He ordered with cold eyes, "Launch an attack with that thing we looted before. The energy cannon that can destroy even Level 5 spaceships."
"Roger, boss!" his crew yelled, manually fixing the target. They were now just half a light-year away.
"Launching energy blaster! Three... two... one..."
In just a few milliseconds, a blinding beam of energy shot across the void, and with a huge boom, it slammed into the rear of the Shadow Sword Sanctuary's spaceship.
"Ahhhhhh!"
The explosion vaporized many of the protectors. Ling Tian and Bai Mo emerged from the safest compartment to a scene of carnage, gritting their teeth. They had started with a hundred protectors, ranging from Star Emperor to Star Venerable. Now, only half of them were left, alongside Elder Bai Mo, who was a Level 2 Star Sovereign.
Ling Tian was a Star Venerable at Level 4. He looked at the ships that now surrounded them, his face dark with fury. "Who are you? Why are you attacking us without reason?"
"Hahahaha! Without reason? So it is Young Master Ling Tian. And I see Elder Bai Mo is here as well," a rough voice boomed from the lead pirate ship.
Moments later, the pirate ships were upon them. Doors hissed open, and around three hundred pirates swarmed out into the void. Their cultivation levels were high; a hundred of them were Star Venerables. The one leading them, a middle-aged man with a notorious face, radiated a bloodlust so strong it nearly suffocated both Ling Tian and Elder Bai.
Bai Mo's face was grim. A Star Sovereign at the peak level. Most importantly, he knew them all too well.
Bai Mo said, gritting his teeth, "Blood Pirates! So you are the Blood Pirates."
Ling Tian looked at him for an explanation, but the elder's eyes remained fixed on the approaching horde.
A subordinate pirate jeered, "So, Elder Bai! You remember us! Hehe... let me introduce my master to you." He bowed to the man at the front. "He is my master, the Blood-Seeking Pirate!"
Elder Bai's expression was solemn. Ling Tian asked, "Elder Bai? Do you know them?"
The elder sighed. "Young Master, you don't know, but a few years back, these Blood Pirates entered our territory and devastated many inhabited planets. The Sect Master took action himself and killed many of them."
The Blood-Seeking Pirate sneered. "Hmph! That coward, your Sect Master, dared to attack my brothers. Even killed many of them. If I had been there, would he have had the ability to do that? Hahahaha... today, I have found the perfect time to take my revenge."
The faces of the remaining protectors and Young Master Ling Tian were gloomy. They couldn't fight this. With a peak Star Sovereign leading the charge, they would be slaughtered.
But at this moment, a gentle hum echoed from a few kilometers away.
Even the notorious pirate captain, kaelen looked into the distance and frowned. A beautiful, sleek spaceship was heading directly toward them. And the most annoying part was that it was a 4th-tier spaceship. Not even their energy cannon could put a scratch on a vessel of that class...
The sleek, 4th-tier spaceship came to a silent stop just before the swarm of Blood Pirate vessels. The door hissed open, and three figures emerged into the void: a boy who looked about twelve, and two young men who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen.
Elder Bai Mo, who had clung to a sliver of hope upon seeing the advanced ship, felt his heart sink. He had prayed for a formidable power visiting the Red Lotus Galaxy, but these were just youths, no older than his own young master. All hope was lost.
He looked at Ling Tian and said, gritting his teeth, "Young Master, when I and the other protectors engage them, I will try to create an opening for you. Take those three with you. Inside their spaceship, you'll be safe. Flee from this place and don't look back!"
But before Ling Tian could respond, the veiled young man chuckled, his voice echoing lightly in the void. "What's happening here? Why are you blocking the way with so many spaceships?"
One of the pirates laughed mockingly. "Young man, you came from outside the Red Lotus Galaxy, right? Here, we are the masters of the void. The Blood Pirates."
Huai placed a finger on his chin, feigning contemplation. "Blood Pirates? Good name, good name!"
Another subordinate sneered. "Heh! You have some good taste, boy. Now, leave your treasures and get lost!"
Huai pointed a finger at himself, tilting his head in confusion. "Are you talking to me? Why would I give you my treasures without any reason?"
"Enough nonsense! Just kill them and take their ship!" a Star Venerable pirate roared, lunging forward. He was hearing everything until he saw that noone initiate to attack, he took action himself , "Whoever kills them first gets the biggest share! Hahaha!"
He didn't get far. Before he could even cross twenty meters, he noticed the veiled man's eyes were smiling. Even the young boy was looking at him as if he were an idiot.
A sense of profound wrongness washed over him. Then he saw it , a flying object tumbling through space. It was a pair of legs, still attached to the lower half of a torso. His torso.
He looked down in horror. His body had been severed at the waist. He didn't even know when it happened. The quiet young man who had been standing beside the veiled one and the boy had vanished and reappeared in an instant, cutting him in two with a single, imperceptible movement.
His upper body drifted in the void, his eyes wide with disbelief as life faded from them.
A dead silence fell over the scene. Everyone including Young Master Ling Tian, Elder Bai Mo, the remaining protectors, Kaelen the Blood-Seeking pirate, and all three hundred of his pirates stared at the three newcomers with absolute horror.
Kaelen gritted his teeth, his voice strained. "Who are you?" No matter what method he used, he couldn't see through the cultivation levels of these three people. He assumed they were using some treasure to conceal their power, guessing they might be at the Star Venerable realm.
But Wuhe completely ignored him, returning silently to Huai's side.
Huai ruffled Yan's hair. "Did you see that, Yan?"
Yan nodded, his eyes bright. "Yes, I saw everything, Master. Can I help those people in need now?" He pointed his finger towards Bai Mo and Ling Tian.
Both Ling Tian and his elder frowned. Help? What does this child mean?
As if answering their unspoken question, Huai chuckled. "Hahaha, okay, you can go. But always remember one thing in life: never show mercy to any enemy who threatens your life."
Yan nodded firmly, then reached into his space pouch and drew a heavy scimitar. The blade was a deep, blood-red color, and an eerie aura emanated from it, pulsing along the golden dragon patterns engraved on its surface. The moment he held it, his entire demeanor shifted from that of a child to a seasoned warrior.
Kaelen, enraged at being so thoroughly ignored, shouted at his subordinates, "Kill them! Torture them to death! Let them see who we are!"
A hundred pirates moved as one, surging forward. To get to Huai and Wuhe, they had to go through the boy first. They didn't take him seriously at all, their greedy eyes fixed on the magnificent blade in his hands.
A creepy smile spread across Yan's face. "You dare to block my master's path? And you even announced that you want to kill him? Good! Then let me see if you are even worthy of touching his boots."