I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

"Boss, that ship has no sails and is entirely powered by magic. Could it be a tough opponent?"

The foreman chuckled, slapped the man on the back of the head, and muttered in a low voice:

"Using magic to propel a small boat is nothing special. As for tough opponents? Who carries a sword? A knife is more reliable than a sword! These swordsmen are just hotheads who thought they were heroes after practicing for a few days. They've probably just put some holy light spell on their swords to scare people. They'll have to watch my reaction."

The pirates nodded in agreement, and relaxed their grip on the hilts of their swords.

The small boat got even closer.

The minor leader put on a warm smile, cupped his hands in greeting to Ji Tian, ​​like a long-lost friend:

"Brother, it's quite rare to sail in foggy weather. What kind of business do you run?"

But then a voice came from the other side:

"I am a sea adventurer."

adventurer?

This word didn't have a very good reputation among the pirates.

The foreman's original plan was that if the other party said "fisherman," he would follow up by saying, "How's the catch lately? My boat is short of supplies, can I come aboard and take a look?"

But now the other party only said "adventurer", which clearly shows that they have seen through my methods.

Then there's nothing to talk about.

His fake smile vanished abruptly, and his right hand gripped the hilt of the curved sword at his waist.

"Brothers, let's do it! Kill that hothead first, then tow the boat back—"

Before he could finish speaking, his sword was only half an inch out of its sheath when a very thin arc of silver-white light flashed before his eyes.

Before the squad leader could even figure out what it was, he felt a chill in his lower abdomen.

He slowly lowered his head and saw that his scimitar had broken in two at some point, with the front half of the blade flipping in the air and falling towards the sea.

Then my upper body started spinning.

In a daze, he saw several of his men frozen in the pose of raising their knives, taking a step, and opening their mouths. Then their bodies began to tilt from the waist up, their upper and lower bodies silently dislocating, as if they had been cut by something extremely sharp.

They didn't even have time to scream before they plunged into the water.

The minor leader's consciousness began to fade.

The young man in white was still standing at the bow of the boat, in the exact same posture as before, his hand still resting on the hilt of his sword.

It was as if he had never moved.

But when exactly did the other party draw their sword?

"Gurgle..."

Bubbles gushed from the leader's mouth and nose as he sank into the grey-blue sea, never to receive another answer.

The other pirates on the deck also fell to the ground, and dark red ripples spread across the sea.

Lilith crouched down by the boat, peering down, then pulled back, turning to look at Ji Tian with confusion in her purple eyes.

"Master, when did you draw your sword? I didn't see you draw it!"

"That is sword intent."

"What do you mean?"

"It means the sword is already attacking even before it's drawn. It's a technique that requires comprehension to master; you'll understand it naturally when your cultivation level increases."

Lilith clearly didn't believe it after hearing this, and turned to look at Elena, who also shook her head blankly.

She then turned to Ophelia and asked, "Second Senior Sister, did you see Master draw his sword?"

Ophelia smiled but did not answer.

Lilith wasn't annoyed. She muttered to herself, "Fine, you're all experts, and I'm the idiot."

The group boarded one of the pirates' small boats and rowed toward the three-masted sailing ship.

The pirate ship's deck was brightly lit, and a dozen pirates were sitting around several wooden barrels, sharing drinks.

The small boats sent out earlier did not respond for a long time, but no one paid too much attention to it, since such things are common at sea.

Perhaps it was just that the "fishermen" on that small boat were resisting too fiercely, and it would inevitably take more effort to pass the level without taking any damage.

Upstairs, the leader was leaning back in his chair, slowly sipping the stolen wine from a silver goblet.

He squinted at the small boat approaching in the fog and lazily asked, "How's it going? Did everyone who got on that boat sink?"

"They've all sunk into the sea."

"Well done, you'll be rewarded tonight..."

As the leader was speaking, he suddenly realized that the other person's voice was a bit off; he seemed to have never heard it before.

He sat bolt upright and leaned out of the ship to look—

The young man in white was standing at the front of the small boat, the holy sword at his waist already drawn from its sheath, its blade gleaming with a pale golden light, making it particularly conspicuous in the mist. He was accompanied by three young girls.

The leader's face turned deathly pale the moment he saw the other's sword.

In his youthful arrogance, he climbed the sacred mountain and tried to pull out the sword that symbolized all good things, but he failed. Later, he gradually forgot his youthful spirit, became a pirate, and after several battles, became the pirate leader.

But he could never forget that holy sword.

The sword of order, the sword of justice, the sword of judgment.

"Brave, Hero! What are you doing here? It must be a misunderstanding!"

He sprang from his chair, his wine glass slipping from his hand and shattering on the deck. His voice trembled, and it took him a long time to come up with a clumsy explanation:

"Hero, I'm actually an adventurer!"

...We're actually just passing adventurers! We just reclaimed this ship from pirates! We're doing a good deed anonymously, and we're about to—"

"That's perfect," Ji Tian said, slowly climbing the wooden stairs to the deck. His holy sword was drawn, drawing an arc of light in the mist. "I'll hand you over to the merchant ship sailors to identify you and see if you're really an adventurer."

The leader's smile finally vanished completely. He abruptly drew his sword and shouted at the still-stunned pirates behind him:

"Brothers! Let's fight! Killing one is no loss! Killing two is a bonus!"

As he spoke, he swung his knife toward Ji Tian's neck.

However, before the blade could fall, his movements froze in mid-air, as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat.

He looked down and saw a thin, hair-like sword wound on his chest, which was slowly bleeding.

Looking up again, I vaguely saw my younger self holding a holy sword, killing my sinful self without hesitation.

With a thud, the pirate leader fell to the ground.

The pirates who tried to draw their swords behind him were knocked down one after another, collapsing onto the deck. Only a few pirates, seeing that things were not going well, threw their swords to the ground, covered their heads, and squatted on the side of the ship, too scared to even breathe.

Ji Tian flicked his sword, brushing off the blood, then cut the ropes binding the terrified merchant sailors in the center of the deck before sheathing the holy sword.

"You can deal with those who are still alive yourselves. I will take all the artillery and ammunition with me. You can divide the rest of the ship among yourselves."

The merchant ship captain, clutching the wound on his forehead, stared blankly at the mess before him. It took him a long time to react before he immediately knelt down and offered his gratitude.

"Hero, we will never forget your immense kindness!"

If the pirate ship and all the pirates were handed over to the police station in exchange for a bounty upon their return voyage, the merchant ship could be completely refurbished after providing compensation to the families of the fallen sailors.

"No need to repay any favors, just remember to be careful on your way back."

The merchant ship's sailors hurriedly tied the captured pirates together and put them back on their original ship, where they raised the mainsail together to prepare for the return journey.

After unloading the cannons and ammunition, Ji Tian and the others returned to their small boat and looked at Ophelia, asking, "Where's our next stop?"

The girl gestured with her chin towards the northeast: "Over there, about fifty li."

The small boat turned in the night, its bow cutting through layers of fine waves as it sailed into the distance, with sporadic cheers coming from the merchant ships behind it.