The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

"Whoa, what a haul! A huge haul!"

"Ha! Ten thousand pounds of Primordial Stones and two hundred thousand Gold Coins! I didn’t think that merchant ship would be so loaded. And all these delicate little beauties, too."

"Boss, with so many pretty ladies, you’ve gotta share a few with us brothers."

On a massive sailboat, a group of burly men surrounded more than a dozen frail, beautiful women, laughing lewdly.

One of them, a one-eyed brute, stared at the trembling women, his single eye glinting with a vicious green light, like a starving wolf spotting a tender lamb.

The women, seemingly aware of their impending fate, were pale as death, their eyes devoid of light. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, but this, rather than eliciting any pity from the pirates, only seemed to egg them on.

Just then, a pirate on lookout suddenly shouted.

"Boss, we’ve got a situation!"

"What is it? Let me see."

Hearing this, the one-eyed brute walked to the bow. He looked out and saw a Profound Vessel, glowing with a faint cyan light, heading steadily toward them.

"That’s... a Profound Vessel!"

The one-eyed brute’s pupil contracted. ’A Profound Vessel. That’s not something just anyone can own.’ They, for instance, only had a modified sailboat. While much stronger than a common vessel, it was nothing compared to a Profound Vessel.

’A cyan glow... could it be a Top-Level Profound Vessel forged from Bronze Iron Wood? Damn... Which power does this Profound Vessel belong to?’ The one-eyed brute swallowed nervously. Having roamed the Celestial Dragon Sea Region for so long, he had at least that much of a discerning eye.

There were plenty of Profound Vessels in this sea region.

But Top-Level Profound Vessels were few and far between. The power behind each one was a major name in the Celestial Dragon Sea Region, not someone the one-eyed brute could afford to provoke.

’Wait, this Profound Vessel doesn’t have any markings?’

The one-eyed brute’s brow furrowed. Generally, any Top-Level Profound Vessel would bear the insignia of its backing power, but this one had none.

This couldn’t help but arouse his suspicions.

"Boss, what do we do?"

"Back off for now. We’ll assess the situation before doing anything."

Qin Ya, seated on the bow of his Profound Vessel, watched the distant sailboat suddenly pull back. He frowned slightly. ’Retreating? What’s going on?’

As his vessel drew closer, Qin Ya saw a dozen or so frail women huddled together on the sailboat’s deck, surrounded by fierce, armed men.

’Pirates?’

The scene before him immediately brought to mind the pirates of the Celestial Dragon Sea Region, infamous for their burning, killing, and plundering—committing every evil imaginable. And he wasn’t wrong.

’Should I save them?’

Qin Ya mused, stroking his chin.

He wasn’t some bleeding-heart hero. He wouldn’t act rashly without a clear grasp of the enemy’s strength. It would be a complete waste to get himself killed by mistake.

Just then, the sailboat suddenly changed course and headed toward him.

"I am Luoo Biao. Might I ask where Your Excellency has come from?"

The one-eyed brute, the pirate leader Luoo Biao, stood at the bow and shouted to Qin Ya, his single eye constantly scanning the Profound Vessel.

’No one else?’

’Just this young man?’

At this thought, a fire ignited in Luoo Biao’s heart. ’This kid doesn’t look all that strong. If I could snatch that Profound Vessel... No, no. Better sound him out first.’

’If this kid is the scion of some major power, he’ll be trouble.’

Qin Ya smiled faintly at his words. He knew the one-eyed man was probing him. Although his Profound Vessel was from the Vast Sea Divine Palace, it had been sitting unused and had never officially set sail, so it bore no insignia.

’This one-eyed brute is afraid I have powerful backing.’

Qin Ya’s eyes swept over the pirate ship. There were more than forty pirates. Most were in the Earth Element Realm, with only nine having reached the Celestial Essence Realm. That Luoo Biao was the strongest among them—a martial artist at Celestial Essence Realm Perfection.

"Where I come from is not important. You’re the leader of these pirates, aren’t you?"

Having roughly assessed the strength of both sides, Qin Ya spoke with indifference.

Luoo Biao’s eyes narrowed, his voice laced with caution. "I am."

"Then... die."

With a cold cry, Qin Ya leaped. He crossed the dozens of yards between the ships in a single bound, landing on the pirate vessel. A flash of light appeared in his hand, and a milky-white Ninth-Grade Long Spear materialized. He thrust it forward, like a Flood Dragon bursting from the sea. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The one-eyed brute, Luoo Biao, was aghast. But as a martial artist who had survived numerous life-and-death battles, his instincts took over. In that instant of crisis, a black Ghost Head Saber appeared in his hand.

He brought the Ghost Head Saber up horizontally before his chest, just in time to block the incoming spear.

CLANG!

An immense force traveled up the saber’s blade, blasting Luoo Biao back dozens of yards. If he hadn’t managed to grab a ship’s rope, he would have been knocked into the sea.

Back on deck, Luoo Biao’s hands trembled. He stared at a spear-sized hole in his Ghost Head Saber, his pupil contracting. His saber was a Seventh-Grade Profound Soldier! To pierce a hole in it with a single strike, that long spear...!

’It must be a Ninth-Grade Profound Soldier!’

"Well now, this kid is loaded with treasures." Luoo Biao licked his dry lips, his eye blazing with greed. "You’re the one who doesn’t appreciate a kind offer! I was trying to be civil, and you just start swinging!"

"If that’s how it’s gonna be, then I don’t give a damn who you are!"

"Brothers, get him!"

With a furious roar from Luoo Biao, the forty-odd pirates swarmed forward.

’Hmph. As long as you’re not at the Extraordinary Realm, we have the numbers. We can wear you down and kill you!’ A cruel smile crept onto Luoo Biao’s lips. He could tell Qin Ya hadn’t reached the Extraordinary Realm yet; otherwise, he never would have survived that first spear thrust.

"A disorderly mob, that’s all."

Qin Ya spoke with indifference. The cold light of his spear flashed, sweeping aside the pirate at the front of the charge. The long spear danced like a frenzied dragon.

Gleams from the spear shot out like meteors, falling like a torrential downpour.

For Qin Ya, whose Spear Technique had already reached the Peak Realm, dealing with these pirates was effortless. In just a few moments, the deck was littered with bodies.

"Heh, Storm Slash!"

Suddenly, a Celestial Essence Realm pirate roared, unleashing a slash of Blade Qi that carried a sharp gale. It left a trail of destruction in its wake, empowered by a decent comprehension of the Wind’s Great Trend. Seeing this, Qin Ya merely smiled.

"Wind-Splitting!"

Qin Ya had already comprehended the Wind’s Great Trend to the point of Perfection, and was even close to grasping its Mysteries. The Wind-Splitting Spear he now unleashed was worlds apart from its former power. It instantly tore through the Blade Qi, and its residual force shredded the pirates standing in its path. With a sickening sound, a rain of blood sprayed across the deck.