Volume 6: Theft Is Robbery - Chapter Seventeen: I Am a Pirate (Part Two)

Chapter Seventeen: I Am a Pirate (Part Two)

The Ghost Immortal looked at the ring on Kuang Chi's left hand and asked, "Young Master Kuang, where did you get this ring?"

Without even thinking, Kuang Chi told him the whole story from beginning to end. For some unknown reason, Kuang Chi instinctively felt that the Ghost Immortal before him was a person he could trust.

Lowering his head, the Ghost Immortal pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Young Master Kuang did the right thing. If you had handed this Dragon God's Knot over to those old ghosts like the Saber Sovereign, who knows, the Kuang family might have produced another freak just like you."

Hearing this remark, which was hard to tell whether it was praise or criticism, Kuang Chi furrowed his brow. The Ghost Immortal chuckled softly and said, "I only know that this ring is called the Dragon God's Knot. Legend has it that it is the product of a powerful ancient cosmic civilization, definitely not manufactured by humans. As for which civilization it belongs to, that remains unclear. The function of this ring is somewhat similar to the biological spores we humans use today."

Pausing for a moment, the Ghost Immortal let out a couple of strange chuckles before continuing, "Legend has it that your left hand fused with one such Dragon God's Knot."

Kuang Chi let out a gasp of astonishment, glanced down at his left hand, and quickly asked, "Senior, are there many of these Dragon God's Knots?"

The Ghost Immortal smiled and replied, "Of course not many. If they were common, this item wouldn't be so precious."

Kuang Chi looked at the ring on his left hand again and asked, "Then, what if I wanted to have someone fuse with this Dragon God's Knot?"

The Ghost Immortal shook his head directly, answering, "The conditions for using the Dragon God's Knot are far harsher and more stringent than those for biological spores. It can only fuse with a newborn infant, and moreover, it must be an infant with whom it can form a resonance. That is why the Dragon God's Knot in your left hand existed within the Kuang family for over three hundred years before finally fusing with you."

Kuang Chi was stunned. After a long silence, he suddenly asked, "Senior, how do you know all of these things?"

The Ghost Immortal let out a series of low chuckles and said, "Is there anything in this world that I want to know yet cannot find out?"

Kuang Chi thought about it and realized it made sense. With the other person's ability to tail a Martial Sovereign-grade expert completely undetected, using such skills to gather intelligence was hardly a difficult task.

Having finally figured out the reason for his left hand's mutation, Kuang Chi's mood improved considerably. He smiled, bowed respectfully to the Ghost Immortal, and walked toward the exit of the cabin where the Ghost Immortal resided.

Just as Kuang Chi reached the doorway, the Ghost Immortal suddenly spoke up, "As for what I just told you, you had better pretend that you still know nothing at all."

Without turning his head, Kuang Chi simply nodded.

Upon stepping out of the Ghost Immortal's cabin, Kuang Chi began searching for Zixia and the others. However, after checking several cabins, he could not find a trace of them. Finally, Ah San informed him that the young ladies were currently inside his private bathroom.

Remembering the little nine-headed turtle in the bath, Kuang Chi's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly rushed toward the bathroom.

As soon as he pushed open the cabin door, the sound of cheerful laughter drifted out from within. Closing the door behind him, Kuang Chi walked over cautiously. Taking in the scene inside the bath, he offered a bitter smile and simply sat down nearby.

Zixia, Phil, Anna, and Jing'er were all soaking in the pool, and what were they holding in their hands if not the little nine-headed turtle?

The four of them were wearing swimsuits, teasing the little nine-headed turtle in the water, while the four You family sisters and the female attendants of Zixia and Phil stood quietly by the edge of the pool, serving these demanding mistresses.

And to be fair, four breathtaking beauties soaking in a pool of blood-red water made for a rather pleasing sight. (Do not scold him; Kuang Chi's nerves were a bit abnormal, harboring certain peculiar inclinations.)

At first, Zixia and the others paid no attention to Kuang Chi walking in, treating him as if he were mere air. Eventually, seeing that Kuang Chi likewise ignored them and calmly sat down by the pool to pour himself a drink, they grew restless.

The only thing missing in Kuang Chi's bathroom was anything ordinary; the ant-blood fine wine specially brewed for him by Tyrannosaurus Peak was abundant.

Seeing Kuang Chi acting in such a manner, Zixia finally lost her restraint. Sitting in the pool, she resentfully snapped, "Fatty, the little turtle has hatched—why didn't you tell us?"

Kuang Chi had already prepared his excuse and replied immediately, "Didn't all of you fail to ask?"

Zixia let out a huff and said bitterly, "Even if we didn't ask, couldn't you have told us? And besides, you have such a wonderful place here and never mentioned it either, you—!"

Nearby, Phil chimed in casually, "You narrow-minded bad guy."

Hearing this, the other three chimed in as well, and even Anna joined the chorus of condemnation, clearly having been assimilated and recruited into Zixia's faction.

Faced with the four women's relentless volley of accusations, Kuang Chi had no choice but to surrender, pleading, "All right, I was wrong, is that fine? It's just that these past few days since you arrived, I haven't had the time to talk to you about these things."

Only then did Zixia and Phil let him off the hook. By this time, Kuang Chi had finished the fine wine in his cup, gone aside to change into the oversized swim trunks he specially used for bathing, and cheekily slipped into the pool. There was no helping it; given Kuang Chi's substantial belly, regular people's swim trunks simply wouldn't fit him.

Seeing Kuang Chi sneak into the pool like a thief, the four women all pretended not to see him. This actually made Kuang Chi feel rather strange, especially given the heart-palpitation-inducing smile plastered across Zixia's face.

They stayed a few more days on this royal garden planet of the Drifting Wind Empire.

Then, the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect boarded the ship along with more than a dozen Martial Sovereign-level experts of the Demonic Sect. Not long after, the mummified old man from the Wu family also boarded with five Martial Sovereign experts and his lovely great-granddaughter.

Following the arrival of the Wu family's Martial Sovereigns, Kuang Chi, under the signal of the Saber Sovereign, gave the order for the spaceship to set sail. When Kuang Chi came down from the bridge and walked into the spacious hall not far behind it, the first things to greet him were the piercing gazes of Zixia and Phil, which felt hot enough to roast him like a suckling pig.

Kuang Chi glanced at the young Wu family girl sobbing softly beside Zixia; only a fool would fail to understand what was going on.

Zixia said coldly, "Fatty, your skills are really growing by the day."

Without thinking, Kuang Chi immediately shifted all the blame onto the Saber Sovereign, blurting out, "It has nothing to do with me! It was Senior Saber Sovereign and the others who forced me. They said if I didn't agree, they would wipe out the entire Wu family."

Hearing Kuang Chi say this, the sobbing young Wu family girl burst out crying even louder. To be honest, Kuang Chi had the utmost admiration for this young lady's crying abilities; it seemed that every time he saw her, she was crying. Tears seemed to flow as effortlessly as tap water for her.

Fortunately, however, the attention of Zixia and the others was successfully diverted. Zixia quickly pulled the young Wu family girl—whose name Kuang Chi still didn't know—into her arms and began to soothe her softly. Evidently, Zixia and the others could not escape the spiritual assault of the young Wu family girl either. Soul-type abilities were truly formidable; even Kuang Chi himself felt a sour sensation in his chest.

At that moment, the voice of Kuang Da Pi came from outside the door, "Young Master, the Demonic Sect and those fellows from the Wu family would like to invite you to discuss the itinerary."

Kuang Chi practically fled out the cabin door. Kuang Da Pi, waiting outside, winked at him and smiled, "Young Master, did our head mistress scold you?"

Kuang Chi let out a soft groan. Naturally, he would never admit to such a thing; those who claimed they weren't afraid of their wives were always the ones most afraid of them on the inside. Kuang Chi retorted directly, "Nonsense, it's just that the Wu family girl in there was crying and wailing, it was driving me crazy."

Looking at Kuang Da Pi's smiling face, it was obvious the man didn't believe him. But Kuang Chi didn't care to convince him and hurriedly urged Kuang Da Pi to lead the way.

Kuang Chi arrived at the resting area assigned on the ship for the various Martial Sovereigns. Entering a relatively spacious hall, he could tell from the interior arrangement that it had already been converted into a conference room.

By this time, nearly a hundred Martial Sovereigns from the three factions had almost all arrived, packing the entire hall to capacity. Many were forced to stand against the walls.

Fortunately, Kuang Chi was assigned a seat, and sitting right next to him was Jing'er, whom he hadn't seen earlier.

After Kuang Chi sat down, the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect spoke up directly, "Young Master Kuang, according to the intelligence we gathered, there are over fifty Martial Sovereigns from the True Martial Sect on Cook Planet."

"That many?" Kuang Chi exclaimed in shock. For a single planet, that number was indeed substantial.

The Saber Sovereign chimed in from the side, "That number is only a preliminary estimate. It's entirely possible there are even more."

Kuang Chi looked around at the surrounding Martial Sovereigns. Given that his own side had dispatched over seventy Martial Sovereigns in one go, he wasn't overly surprised by the enemy having a large number of such experts; rather, he was just astonished that a single planet could harbor so many.

At that moment, the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect turned to ask Jing'er, who was seated beside her, "Princess Jing'er, has your imperial family uncovered anything unusual on Cook Planet? If it were merely for mining ores, the True Martial Sect wouldn't invest such a massive number of Martial Sovereign-level experts in this single planet."

Jing'er shook her head with a blank expression and replied, "If we hadn't heard from you last time that Cook Planet was the stronghold of the True Martial Sect, we wouldn't even have known that True Martial Sect experts existed there. We only learned from other sources that Cook Planet is the source of the precious metal smuggling in our Drifting Wind Empire."

The Saber Sovereign slowly stated, "The reason we called you here today is to let you know that unless you can give us a proper and reasonable justification, we cannot afford to enter into such a massive-scale conflict with the True Martial Sect. A battle involving hundreds of Martial Sovereign-level experts hasn't occurred in human society for thousands of years, and we are not keen on seeing it happen."

Hearing this, Jing'er's expression suddenly shifted. Kuang Chi glanced at Jing'er from the side; clearly, she had also been kept in the dark. If the Emperor of the Drifting Wind Empire hadn't even been able to detect the mobilization of such a vast army of Martial Sovereign-level experts, then he wouldn't deserve to be Emperor any longer.

At this thought, Kuang Chi couldn't help but recall the box the Emperor of the Drifting Wind Empire had asked him to deliver to someone called the Poison Demon. Because of various reasons these past few days, Kuang Chi hadn't informed the Saber Sovereign about this matter. Perhaps this was stirred up by that Dragon God's Knot; Kuang Chi felt that he could no longer trust this elder as easily as before.

At that moment, Jing'er cast her gaze toward Kuang Chi, and soon, virtually everyone in the cabin was looking at him.

After pondering for a moment, Kuang Chi continued, "The matter of Cook Planet must be resolved. I'm actually a bit strapped for cash right now; I'm almost running out of money to support my wives. Everything I've eaten and used these past few days has been provided by Jing'er."

With that, Kuang Chi stopped talking with a calm expression, but everyone present understood his meaning instantly. For people who had lived long enough to become old foxes, some things didn't need to be spelled out explicitly.

The Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect mused for a moment and then shifted her gaze to the Saber Sovereign beside her. The Saber Sovereign opened his eyes, exchanged a glance with the Holy Maiden, and finally said, "Young Master, would it be alright if we discuss this matter with the Demonic Sect first and give you a reply afterward?"

Kuang Chi nodded gently, stood up, and casually pulled Jing'er, who was sitting beside him, to her feet. The two walked back to Kuang Chi's room in silence, whereupon Kuang Chi turned to look at Jing'er, who had followed him all the way.

Seeing Kuang Chi looking at her, Jing'er's expression dimmed, and she said softly, "Fatty, I'm sorry. I really didn't know there were so many Martial Sovereigns on Cook Planet."

Kuang Chi let out a soft sigh and said, "I believe you. But you'd better go ask your father. While I'm very willing to help you, I don't want to become someone else's chess piece, and your father is no exception."

Jing'er nodded with a desolate look on her face and left. Once she was gone, Kuang Chi called Ah San in. When Ah San entered, Kuang Chi asked, "Ah San, how are all of you progressing with your cultivation?"

Ah San laughed heartily and replied, "Having the Divine Martial Beast feels completely different. The recovery and growth of the Qi sensation inside our bodies is much faster than before. At this rate, I think it won't be long before I become a Martial Sovereign." With that, he burst into a proud, hearty laugh.

Hearing Ah San say this, Kuang Chi was naturally overjoyed. After all, this group of people should now be considered his primary chips. The stronger this group became, the stronger Kuang Chi himself would be, and naturally, his right to speak within the family would grow heavier.

Having a voice in family matters wasn't something guaranteed simply by becoming the young master or the patriarch; even as the head of the Kuang family, one had to find ways to win the support of the elders in the Kuang Martial Hall, otherwise, one might not even manage to hold onto the position of patriarch.

The family rule stating that thirty executive elders of the Kuang Martial Hall could vote to depose a patriarch was by no means just for show.

That was the actual reality of the Kuang family today. Only by securing his own right to speak could he avoid being manipulated by them. Just like the incident with Phoebe; if it had been the present Kuang Chi, neither the Kuang family nor the Karachi family would have ever dared to treat Kuang Chi's opinions as mere wind.

Kuang Chi inquired further about the progress of the groups from the Demonic Valley and the Clear Smoke Pavilion, and then smiled, saying, "Go notify Senior Saber Sovereign and have him bring a senior named Poison Demon to my quarters. I have important matters to discuss with them."

Not long after, the Saber Sovereign walked in, accompanied by a lean, middle-aged man who looked completely unremarkable at first glance.

Upon entering, the Saber Sovereign glanced at Kuang Chi, who was sitting in the middle of the hall simply drinking on his own, and asked, "I wonder what important business Young Master has in mind, calling two old fellows like us over?"

Kuang Chi pointed to the wooden box placed right in the center of the cabin and said, "This is what the Emperor of the Drifting Wind Empire asked me to hand over to Senior Poison Demon, saying that this item is meant to buy the life of someone called the Apocalypse Martial Sovereign."