After slaughtering everyone aboard the ship, Zhao Xuan wasted no time and leapt back onto his small sailboat.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Several punches slammed out in succession, smashing the White Emperor Pirates' ship apart. He watched with his own eyes as the vessel sank into the depths of the sea. Only then did he let out a breath.
Just as he was about to continue hunting down the next group of escaping pirates—
Suddenly!
The golden rat pointed at a patch of sea not far away and let out a sharp chirp.
Hearing this, Zhao Xuan's gaze instantly turned cold.
"What? You're saying there's still someone alive in the sea?"
Following the direction indicated by the rat's paw, he stared at the surging waves and asked in a low voice.
"Chirp! (Yes!)"
The golden rat nodded without hesitation.
"Well done."
After praising it, Zhao Xuan's eyes grew even colder.
"Hah… impressive. Truly impressive. Jumping into the sea in advance to escape—if it weren't for your warning, I really might have missed you."
Muttering to himself, Zhao Xuan suddenly threw a barrage of punches at that section of the ocean.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Terrifying shockwaves roared out, churning the sea into chaos. Violent undercurrents surged.
Moments later—
A streak of crimson spread across the surface of the water.
"Now?" Zhao Xuan turned to look at the golden rat.
"Chirp! (Dead!)"
"Good."
A faint smile appeared on Zhao Xuan's face.
Then, the small boat set off once more.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
With fists tearing through the air, the boat sped toward another direction.
About twenty minutes later, Zhao Xuan caught up to the second group of White Emperor Pirates who had fled from the deserted island.
To be fair—
These pirates were extremely cautious.
The moment they escaped the island, they immediately scattered across the vast sea, clearly hoping to avoid being wiped out all at once.
But—
As always.
Unfortunately for them, they ran into Zhao Xuan.
And Zhao Xuan had the golden rat.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Same routine as before.
After catching up, Zhao Xuan showed absolutely no mercy despite their desperate pleas.
One word—
Kill!
This time, however, there was a slight difference.
After dealing with everyone on the ship, Zhao Xuan did not immediately return to his own boat. Instead, he used Observation Haki on the spot to scan the surrounding sea.
Only after confirming that no one had jumped overboard to escape did he return to his sailboat.
From a distance, he launched several punches.
After personally watching the White Emperor Pirates' ship sink beneath the waves, Zhao Xuan finally left in satisfaction.
He set off again.
Guided by the golden rat, he pursued the final target.
From dusk—
All the way into the night.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
As Zhao Xuan jumped back onto his sailboat, the golden rat suddenly cried out.
"What? You're saying there's only one last group left?"
Zhao Xuan asked.
"Chirp! (Yes!)"
The golden rat nodded.
"Huff…"
Zhao Xuan let out a long breath.
He was exhausted.
Truly exhausted.
If he hadn't been constantly consuming large quantities of spiritual herbs and medicines, his stamina would have been completely drained by now.
"Hold on… just hold on a little longer. Once this is over, I can finally rest."
He was utterly spent.
But he couldn't stop.
He knew very well—
He still couldn't afford to rest.
If he paused now and that final group of pirates encountered another faction and leaked information about his strength, then everything he had done this afternoon—the chase, the slaughter, all of it—would be meaningless.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After taking a deep breath, Zhao Xuan pulled out a spiritual herb worth several million and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he once again began punching the sail.
The small boat tore through the sea at high speed.
Because so much time had passed since the pirates fled the island, they had already traveled a great distance.
This time—
Zhao Xuan chased them for nearly half an hour before finally drawing close.
But before he could approach—
The golden rat suddenly chirped urgently.
"What? You're saying the people I'm tracking are now with two other unfamiliar presences?"
Zhao Xuan frowned.
"Chirp! (Yes!)"
"Damn it… am I still too late?"
His brow creased tightly.
"Chirp, chirp!"
The golden rat cried out again.
"You mean the other group isn't large—only two people?"
Zhao Xuan asked.
"Chirp! (Yes!)"
Zhao Xuan fell silent.
After a few breaths, his eyes flashed sharply and his fists clenched.
"Enough thinking. Let's go see what's going on."
With that, he set off again.
This time, however—
The speed of his punches against the sail noticeably slowed.
The purpose was obvious: to reduce the vigilance of the two unexpected newcomers.
About ten minutes later, Zhao Xuan could already see a Black Shark Pirates ship in the distance through his spyglass.
After observing for a moment, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Good…"
The reason was simple.
The people moving about on the ship were still the Black Shark Pirates' lackeys.
Which meant—
The ship was still under the pirates' control.
That also meant the two unfamiliar presences the golden rat had detected were not powerful enemies.
Most likely, they were captives.
Zhao Xuan relaxed considerably.
The thought of finally eliminating all remaining threats and getting proper rest reignited his fighting spirit.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The sound of fists tearing through the air echoed once more.
In the quiet of the night—
Over the vast ocean—
The noise erupted suddenly.
"What—what was that sound?!"
"What's happening?!"
On the Black Shark Pirates' ship in the distance, the pirates who had been resting sprang to their feet.
They rushed out of the cabin onto the deck, raising their spyglasses toward the source of the thunderous noise.
Then—
They saw Zhao Xuan.
"D-Damn it!"
"This is bad—this is really bad!"
"It's him! It's that guy!"
"The kid who killed the boss—he's caught up to us!"
Panic and dread instantly engulfed the entire ship.
"Run! Hurry, run!"
They scrambled desperately to maneuver the ship.
But their efforts were utterly futile.
Before long, Zhao Xuan had caught up.
"Tap! Tap! Tap!"
In the next instant, he leapt onto their deck.
"Boom! Boom!"
Before the pirates could react, the slaughter began.
Every punch claimed at least one life.
The deck erupted into screams.
"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"
"We surrender! We surrender!"
"Ahhh—!"
Zhao Xuan showed no mercy.
At that moment, he was like an emotionless killing machine.
Punch after punch—
Relentless slaughter.
Just as he was about to storm into the cabin to kill the remaining pirates hiding inside—
Suddenly!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three pirates were violently blasted out of the cabin.
Two of them landed at Zhao Xuan's feet.
He stepped down twice, ending them instantly.
As Zhao Xuan moved to kill the last pirate—
Two figures burst out of the cabin, charging straight at that pirate and launching a frenzied assault.
They were two young women.
About Zhao Xuan's age—around twenty.
Black hair, black eyes.
Both were fifth-rank.
Yet the power they unleashed rivaled sixth-rank peak experts.
Before Zhao Xuan arrived, it was obvious they had suffered inhuman torment.
Their clothes were torn and ragged, their bodies covered in bruises and welts.
Zhao Xuan had been single both before and after transmigrating—
But even so, he didn't need an explanation to understand what they had endured.
Sigh… two pitiful souls.
Ten full minutes.
For ten whole minutes, the two women attacked the Black Shark Pirates' squad leader without pause.
In truth, the man had already died four or five minutes earlier.
But rage had consumed them completely.
They continued striking the corpse again and again.
Only after ten minutes did they finally come to their senses.
Disheveled and trembling, they staggered upright and looked toward Zhao Xuan.
"Z-Zhao Xuan?!"
One of them cried out in disbelief.
The other stared at him in shock.
"You know me?" Zhao Xuan frowned.
"Well… you're the national exam champion of Jiuzhou. And you killed so many people during the exam… how could we not recognize you?"
Her voice was weak, confusion suddenly appearing on her face.
"Zhao Xuan… why are you here? Don't you know that the families of those geniuses you killed have placed a bounty of nearly one hundred billion on you in the Tianxing Island black market?"
"One hundred billion…"
Zhao Xuan's mouth twitched.
They really think highly of me…
At the same time, relief washed over him.
He was glad he hadn't spared anyone earlier.
If information about him had leaked—
With a bounty that high, surviving in the Endless Sea would have been nearly impossible.
"I ended up in the Endless Sea because of an accident," Zhao Xuan said, then glanced over the two women. "Enough about me. What happened to you?"
At his words, sorrow filled their faces.
"There were seven of us originally," one said, clenching her fists. "We had just left Tianxing Island, preparing to return to Jiuzhou…"
"And then… we ran into these pirates."
"They killed five of our companions."
"And because we were women… they kept us alive…"
Her voice broke. Her face went pale, her body trembling.
Zhao Xuan didn't know how to comfort her.
"Li-jie, don't worry. I already contacted my father using the emergency communicator. He's coming from Tianxing Island. Once he arrives, I'll have him wipe out these pirates completely!"
The shorter girl spoke fiercely.
Zhao Xuan sighed.
"They won't be needing punishment anymore," he said quietly. "The Black Shark Pirates have already been completely wiped out by me."
The two women looked up at him at once.
"R-Really…?"
"Yes. Absolutely."
Tears streamed down their faces.
Zhao Xuan felt a deep sense of guilt.
If not for him, the Black Shark Pirates wouldn't have appeared in this region.
If they hadn't appeared, these two wouldn't have suffered such horror.
"These are some spiritual herbs and medicines. You're very weak right now—take some and recover."
"I'll clean up the bodies, then stay with you until your father arrives."
He placed a pile of herbs in front of them and began clearing the corpses.
They sat there silently, crying.
After finishing, Zhao Xuan returned to his small sailboat, paid the golden rat its promised reward, then came back aboard the Black Shark Pirates' ship.
The two women stopped talking when they saw him return and stepped forward.
"Zhao Xuan… thank you. Truly."
"There's no need," he waved it off.
The more they thanked him, the worse he felt.
"When will your father arrive?" Zhao Xuan asked, changing the subject.
"About five hours."
"I see… then you'll have to sleep here tonight. My boat's too small and unstable."
"And you?" the taller girl asked.
"I'll cultivate on my boat. Don't worry—I'll stay nearby until he arrives."
Tears welled up again as they thanked him.
After reassuring them, Zhao Xuan returned to his boat.
The moment he turned his back—
His expression turned icy cold.
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