Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Before half a cup of tea had been brewed, the small boat sped back.

His confidant whispered a few words in Xian Tieshou's ear.

Xian Tieshou's expression changed, then he turned to the side and gestured for them to join in. "The Three Alliance Leaders have said that since the Ghost Shadow Clan is here, they should all enter the game together. Brother Wumian, please."

Xu Hao glanced at him, then stepped forward with his Swift Wave Step, his entire body moving like a giant black bat, silently darting back to the bow of the black ship.

"Make way!" Xian Tieshou roared angrily, his face dark.

The Salt and Iron Society's warships quickly dispersed to both sides, clearing a wide channel.

The black ship slowly started up in the gray-white sea fog, its tattered flag painted with the faces of no officials fluttering in the wind, and swaggered into the core area of ​​the combined fleet.

The vice president leaned forward and whispered, "President, are we just going to let them pass like this? Just throw them some old, beat-up boat, put on a white flag, and they think they're the Ghost Shadows? When has our Salt and Iron Society ever suffered such humiliation!"

Snapped!

Xian Tieshou slapped the vice president across the face with a backhand, cursing in a low voice, "You don't know anything! Those mad dogs, the Ghost Shadow Clan, usually set up a shabby shop in the black markets of a few major supply islands to take orders, and you can't even find a living person. Haven't you heard of their rules for taking orders? They don't act unless they're sure, but when they do, they take the whole ship and the whole crew, a business that wipes out the entire family! They dare to compete with the Blood-Clad Tower under the Free and Unfettered Alliance for jobs right here in Shengzhou."

The vice president covered his face: "But rumors say they never show their faces, so why are they making such a big fuss about it today?"

"Even the Three Alliances are envious of the Sea King's Tomb, so what's so surprising about these bastards trying to get a piece of the pie!" Salty Iron Hand gritted his teeth. "The chilling aura emanating from this guy's palm strike is definitely at the Inner Strength Realm! Rumor has it that the leader of the Ghost Shadow Clan, 'Faceless,' is at this level!"

……

Along the way, the eyes of various forces were drawn to them.

Several of the twelve bandits present looked at the eerie, dilapidated ship with apprehension in their eyes.

The black ship slowly sailed into the core area and anchored at the edge of the triangular encirclement formed by the three alliance flagships.

On the deck, Luo Meng gripped the helm tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

The mud monkey stood upright, but its two legs wobbled inside the wide black robe.

"Straighten your backs, everyone," Chen Yuanzhi reminded them in a low voice.

Xu Hao stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the ship.

Three extremely oppressive auras swept across the flagships arranged in a triangular formation opposite them without any hesitation.

Two are at the mid-stage of the Opening Aperture Realm, and one is at the early stage of the Opening Aperture

These three top figures from Shengzhou clearly wanted to probe the depths of this dilapidated ship.

Xu Hao didn't move.

The Zhenyuan ship beneath their feet, however, was not happy about it.

It had just swallowed the sea corpse demon general of the inner strength realm and was feeling unwell. When it was provoked by these three energies, the huge and complex resentment deep inside the ship instantly rebounded.

Under the crimson beast fangs, Ao Zheng grunted, his eyes filled with apprehension.

Under the blue flag with a gold anchor, Luo Tianheng paused, his hands behind his back, and frowned.

The resentment emanating from this black ship was too eerie, exuding a deathly stillness and malevolence found only in the depths of an ocean trench.

The Thousand-Faced Illusion Armor was so perfectly disguised that even those at the Tongqiao Realm couldn't see through it. Instead, they were intimidated by the resentment and mistakenly believed that the Ghost Shadow Clan's strength was unfathomable.

Under the white banner with gold coins, Ye Piaoling, the leader of the Xiaoyao Alliance, closed his folding fan, breaking the deadlock.

"So they are the Faceless Brothers of the Shadow Clan."

Ye Piaoling, his face amiable, spoke clearly across the sea, "This vessel is brimming with resentment; it seems it's been rife with shady dealings. A while ago, the Blood-Clad Pavilion under my Free Spirit Alliance inadvertently stole a few of your orders. Brother Wumian, you haven't come here today to demand an explanation, have you?"

Ye Piaoling's voice wasn't loud, but it carried the inner energy of a Tongqiao Realm cultivator, causing ripples to spread across the sea as it approached the black ship.

These words were laced with hidden meaning, clearly using the Blood-Clad Tower as bait.

If Xu Hao fails to handle this situation or shows even the slightest fear, this seemingly amiable and wealthy leader of the Xiaoyao Alliance would not hesitate to crush these arrogant guests.

The deck was deathly silent.

Luo Meng gripped the rudder tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands, sweat dripping from his chin onto the wooden board.

The mud monkey was in even worse shape; its two legs trembled like leaves inside its wide black robe, and its teeth chattered.

Chen Yuanzhi stood behind the two men, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and kicked the mud monkey in a very low voice.

"Stay calm."

Xu Hao stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the ship, his wide black robe fluttering in the sea breeze.

Faced with Ye Piaoling's probing, his face behind the mask remained completely expressionless.

The pressure from the Tongqiao Realm was indeed astonishing, but the Zhenyuan was standing on its feet, which had just eaten its fill.

He didn't even need to consciously activate his qi and blood; the demon ship itself was already extremely dissatisfied with this provocation.

The wooden planks at the bottom of the ship creaked with a teeth-grinding sound, and a chilling and pure aura of extreme resentment burst forth from the ship's side, forcefully shattering the approaching oppressive force.

Xu Hao's voice, hidden behind his mask, was hoarse and cold, brimming with arrogance.

"The Shadows only take jobs at sea. They have no interest in competing for jobs on land."

Ye Piaoling's smile froze.

Xu Hao's tone was even colder: "If the Blood-Clad Tower wants to go to sea, there's still room under this ship."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Zhenyuan made an extremely muffled chewing sound underwater. The crunching sound carried with the seawater and sent chills down one's spine.

Ye Piaoling snapped her folding fan shut with a clatter, her smile undiminished, but her eyes were icy cold.

Arrogance is good; the sea is full of arrogant people, but they also die the fastest.

Especially this hothead who dares to bar his teeth in front of the Three Alliances without even knowing their background.

The Tomb of the Sea King is full of traps and mechanisms, and it needs a reckless madman like him to go ahead and clear the way.

While everyone remained silent.

The sea surface began to shake violently without any warning.

It wasn't wind or waves, but a deep, rumbling sound coming from the very depths of the ocean.

Immediately afterwards, the sea area within a radius of nearly a thousand meters exploded with a deafening roar, and thick columns of water tens of meters high shot straight into the sky like an inverted waterfall.

The stagnant water, which was originally ice-cold, was now bubbling and gurgling.

"A huge object is about to emerge from the seabed!"

Ao Zheng stood under the crimson beast fang banner, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

Immediately afterwards, the sea area with a radius of nearly a kilometer exploded.

A thick column of water, tens of meters high, shot straight into the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar. The scalding seawater instantly turned into white steam that enveloped the entire sea area.

Steam rose thousands of meters into the air, and the sweltering, humid air made it hard to breathe.

"This thing underwater is really hot-tempered. Is it suffocating down there?" Luo Meng secretly wiped the sweat from his face behind his mask and stared into the thick fog with his bull-like eyes.

Xu Hao stood at the bow of the ship, letting the scalding steam hit his mask.

"Whether they've suffered from pent-up frustration is unknown, but there are certainly plenty of people rushing off to their deaths."

The thick white fog lingered for most of the day before gradually dissipating.

Anxious shouts and curses could be heard from the surrounding fleets of the three alliances and twelve pirates, but no one dared to make any rash moves at this juncture.

It wasn't until noon that the sea breeze finally dispersed the steam.

When visibility returned, a collective gasp of astonishment filled the deck.

In the middle of the once empty sea, a bronze ruin suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The ruin was covered with mottled bronze rust and was shaped like a giant bowl overturned on the sea. Its surface was engraved with intricate and strange array patterns, exuding a sense of vicissitude and death that suppressed all things.