Chapter Nine: Entering Whirlwind (Part One)

Kuang Chi could feel himself on the verge of breaking into the Innate Realm. For the Mad Dragon Technique, the transition from the Acquired to the Innate—reaching the fifth level of mastery—was the most perilous stage. It was the moment most members of the Kuang family would seclude themselves in a safe place to cultivate. When Kuang Chi left home, his grandfather had especially reminded him of this when passing on the secrets of the sixth level.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, the Demon Thief came by only three times, though he seemed to completely approve of Kuang Chi’s seclusion. What the Demon Thief was busy with during those days, Kuang Chi did not know, but he always appeared exhausted.

One day, the Demon Thief entered Kuang Chi’s cabin, looking weary. After checking the flow of true energy within Kuang Chi’s body, he smiled and said, “Not bad, kid. The Mad Dragon true energy within you is much more stable than last time.”

Kuang Chi smiled. “Old ghost, you seem quite busy these days.”

The Demon Thief sighed. “No choice. We have to use this ship to sneak into the Gale Empire, but there’s a problem. The ship purchased a huge load of beast core crystals on Aquamagus Star, but the secrecy wasn’t exactly airtight. You can imagine how the space pirates would react to that.”

Kuang Chi was startled. “Old ghost, are you saying this ship is being targeted by space pirates?”

The Demon Thief nodded with a hint of frustration. “Of course it is. Still, this ship isn’t bad. The strength of the escort crew means our chances of making it through the asteroid belt are pretty high. What I haven’t decided is whether we should transport our own core crystals into the Gale Empire along with the rest.”

“Of course we should!” Kuang Chi exclaimed. “Once you head to our Caro Empire, who knows when you’ll come back? Leaving them here would just be a waste.”

The Demon Thief thought it over and finally said, “You’re right. Even at your home, some things will still require money, after all. Only, if we do this, there’s no turning back.”

Kuang Chi made a face. “Who needs a way out? Once we’re in the Gale Empire, all we’ll be thinking about is how to get back to Caro. Once we reach War Dragon Star, I’ll definitely convince my grandfather to let you establish your own school there.”

The prospect of founding his own school was incredibly tempting for the Demon Thief. In this Sea of Death, most were of other races, and humans were few and far between. Finding suitable disciples was even harder. Kuang Chi’s offer was difficult to refuse.

The Demon Thief pondered for a long time before finally nodding. “Very well. A few days before the ship’s departure, I’ll go back and fetch the core crystals.”

One day, as soon as Kuang Chi stepped out of his cultivation chamber, he found the Demon Thief in his lounge, counting a large chest full of core crystals. As soon as Kuang Chi sat down, his divine beast, Xiaohua, popped out from behind his collar and spoke up, “Master, Xiaohei says he wants to eat core crystals.”

At that, the Demon Thief hastily slammed the chest shut and locked it. “Eat again? He’s not afraid of bursting? No one eats as much as that one. It won’t make much difference whether he eats them now or later. Better wait until we’re back in the Caro Empire to decide.”

In the blink of an eye, Kuang Chi and the Demon Thief had spent nearly another month’s time aboard the starship. In fact, the ship’s purchasing was completed twenty days ago, after which everything fell oddly silent. By all rights, the ship should have departed long before. It seemed the captain or owner had noticed something amiss and was deliberately waiting on Aquamagus Star.

One morning, as Kuang Chi emerged from his quarters, the Demon Thief was grumbling in the lounge: “Does this captain even know how to do business? Who buys a mountain of core crystals and then just sits in port, waiting for the pirates to finish setting their ambush and roll out the red carpet? Kid, do you think we picked the wrong ship to take to the Gale Empire?”

Kuang Chi could only smile wryly. “Old ghost, what choice did we have? If not this ship, then which? How many years would we have to wait for another ship with an open spot headed for the Gale Empire through the stargate? Stop complaining and focus on how we’re going to get this ship safely through the asteroid belt.”

The Demon Thief sighed again. “You’re right. The pirates have probably already laid their net, just waiting for us to walk right in. What now?”

Kuang Chi grew more frustrated the more he thought about it, finally standing up. “Old ghost, maybe we should go talk to the captain. If we keep waiting here on Aquamagus Star, it’s only going to get more dangerous. If we end up empty-handed, it won’t be worth it.”

The Demon Thief quickly pulled him back. “No, we can’t. They might think we’re spies. I spent a fortune and called in so many favors to get us on this ship. If they throw us off now, it’d be a joke.”

“So what do we do?” Kuang Chi asked, exasperated.

After thinking it over for quite some time, the Demon Thief clenched his jaw and said, “Once we’re close to the asteroid belt, we’ll go to the captain. We’ll show him the secret route and guide the ship straight through.”

This secret route was discovered by the Demon Thief after decades navigating the asteroid belt—a half-natural, half-man-made passage where the asteroids were particularly stable, just wide enough for their current vessel.

Another half month passed before the transport ship finally left the spaceport and headed into deep space. As the glowing band of the asteroid belt drew closer outside the portholes, the Demon Thief left Kuang Chi in the room and went to the bridge himself. He had to convince the captain to abandon the planned route.

He was gone for nearly three hours before the ship came to a halt. Half an hour later, the vessel finally turned toward the entrance of the secret passage.

It had taken three and a half hours, but at last the Demon Thief succeeded in persuading the ship’s owners. Kuang Chi breathed a long sigh of relief. So long as they entered that hidden channel, there would be no need to fear even the most numerous space pirates—the region was full of massive, stable asteroids, making navigation safe so long as one had an experienced guide. Without such guidance, though, one could easily crash into a stray, shifting rock.

Seeing that the Demon Thief had not returned but that the ship had entered the hidden channel, Kuang Chi finally let his worries subside.

New updates begin—though I paused for more than a month, I will never give up. Please keep supporting me. Thank you.