"Black Blade Cloud Pirates..."
Listening to the words of the people on the deck, Li Xuan's expression was confused as he asked a man beside him. Under the man's trembling explanation, Li Xuan finally understood.
Cloud pirates were a group that roamed between the two regions, specializing in plundering resources from cloud ships. Each group of cloud pirates had its own insignia, and Black Blade was one of them. The Central Region was at the center of the Five Regions, and many cloud ships traveled back and forth between the Central Region and the surrounding four regions. Thus, the profession of cloud pirates emerged.
These cloud pirates were almost all composed of rogue cultivators. The number of cloud pirates in each group varied, generally between eight and twenty. Although not numerous, each cloud pirate was extremely powerful. The weakest among them were at the Martial King realm, and there were not a few who reached the Martial Emperor realm.
After hearing the man's words, Li Xuan's expression also became somewhat solemn. A dozen Martial Kings were manageable, but if there were a dozen Martial Emperors among the cloud pirates, how could they fight?
Boom!
At this moment, a booming sound echoed. The cloud ship beneath Li Xuan's feet trembled violently again. However, Li Xuan soon saw a spiritual barrier appear around the cloud ship, and the attacks launched by the three cloud pirate ships were instantly blocked.
"Everyone, please remain calm. Treasure Pavilion will surely protect everyone's safety!" a voice rang out, and over ten figures quickly appeared above the deck.
Li Xuan looked towards the sound. These over ten people were all spiritual masters at the Martial King realm. However, Li Xuan shook his head. While this might be a formidable force in the Southern Region, Li Xuan had sensed three hidden auras when he saw the three cloud ships. Clearly, each of these three cloud ships had a strong expert stationed on board.
However, Li Xuan was unsure whether these three auras were at the peak of the Martial King realm or the Martial Emperor realm, as the three had not yet appeared or made a move.
"If they are below the Martial Emperor realm, I can lend a hand," Li Xuan thought to himself. After all, Qiu Zhen had personally received him when he boarded and waived all fees. Li Xuan had inquired, and traveling from Tianyun City to the Central Region would cost five hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones. Qiu Zhen's kindness made Li Xuan feel a sense of indebtedness.
As for the Martial Emperor realm, Li Xuan admitted that he did not yet have the strength to fight three of them alone. His own safety was the most important thing.
"I am Xiao Ran, an elder of Treasure Pavilion. I request that someone capable of speaking on your behalf please come forward," an old man walked to the front of the deck and said, looking towards the three cloud ships.
"Treasure Pavilion, what is that?" a burly middle-aged man scoffed at the sound. Li Xuan glanced up. This man had a curved saber at his waist, and his face was full of flesh, looking like he wasn't a good person. However, Li Xuan quickly averted his gaze. This man was only at the intermediate Martial King realm, how could he be in charge?
"Young Master Li Xuan, I am Yan Qi of Treasure Pavilion. If a battle breaks out later, I request that Young Master Li Xuan board an escape pod and depart." At this moment, an old man approached Li Xuan, bowed respectfully, and whispered.
"You recognize me?" Li Xuan asked in surprise. He seemed not to have revealed his identity to anyone when he boarded.
"Young Master Li Xuan, please do not misunderstand. I am also acting on the orders of Manager Qiu Zhen. I had originally thought the journey would be peaceful, but I did not expect to encounter these Black Blade Cloud Pirates. Young Master Li Xuan, rest assured, as long as you board an escape pod, the Black Blade Cloud Pirates will not be able to catch up even with their full pursuit. However, the landing location will be beyond our control." Yan Qi replied.
A hint of realization flashed in Li Xuan's eyes. So this was all Qiu Zhen's arrangement.
"How many people can an escape pod carry?" Li Xuan asked after some thought.
"An escape pod can carry ten people, and each cloud ship is equipped with three." Yan Qi replied.
Li Xuan's brow furrowed slightly. The number of people on the deck now exceeded two hundred, and he did not know if there were any others who had not emerged. However, if they were to rely on three escape pods, it meant that if a full-scale battle broke out, over one hundred and seventy people would perish here.
"Young Master Li Xuan, I must go and notify others, so I will take my leave now." Yan Qi finished speaking and his figure moved instantly to stand before a richly dressed old man. After the old man nodded slightly, Yan Qi's figure departed again.
Seeing this, Li Xuan understood. Treasure Pavilion likely had similar experiences before. Or rather, all merchant guilds were like this, and the people being notified were, as Li Xuan could see, either wealthy or noble. Clearly, before a crisis, the merchant guilds chose to protect these individuals first.
As for the passengers without power or influence, they were essentially doomed to be abandoned the moment the cloud pirates appeared.
"This is reality." Li Xuan sighed helplessly. If it weren't for Qiu Zhen's instructions, would he have been abandoned like those people?
Li Xuan did not blame Treasure Pavilion, or rather, although he did not approve of the actions of the various merchant guilds, he could not do anything about it. Prioritizing the rescue of the powerful and noble officials would allow the merchant guilds to reduce their losses through compensation afterward. From the perspective of a merchant guild, this was understandable. But from a human perspective, it was discrimination against life.
"Everyone has the right to live, regardless of whether their strength is great or not. They should be treated fairly. If the weak are abandoned to protect the strong, I cannot do that. Even if I am to die, I would rather choose to fight side by side until the very last moment!"
Li Xuan's eyes grew brighter and brighter. No one noticed that after mumbling, Li Xuan slowly closed his eyes. A faint spiritual light surged, and Li Xuan surprisingly entered a state of meditation.
If a powerful expert were present, they would be shocked to discover that Li Xuan had entered a state of profound enlightenment.
"Why so much nonsense? Just attack!" As if impatient, a voice came from deep within the Black Blade cloud pirate ship. The cloud pirates' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this, and the next moment, they fully propelled their cloud ship to attack.
"Everyone, attack together, otherwise, once the defensive barrier is broken, we will surely die!" As the three cloud pirate ships launched their attacks, Xiao Ran's expression also changed. He had originally hoped to resolve the issue with money, but it was clear that the Black Blade Cloud Pirates before them did not want wealth.
As Xiao Ran's words fell, the people on deck immediately circulated their spiritual energy and poured it towards the barrier. For a time, a stalemate was reached.
"Delay will lead to trouble. You two should not hold back," after three minutes had passed, the strong expert who had spoken earlier appeared on one of the cloud ships. As the man's words fell, two more figures appeared above the other two cloud pirate ships.
"Ignorant ants, do you really think you can resist just because you have more people?"
As one of the men spoke, a terrifying aura surged from his body. Xiao Ran and the others' pupils contracted sharply, and the spiritual seals they had formed in their hands slowed down instantly.
"Martial Emperor realm experts!"
Xiao Ran muttered dazedly, then looked towards the other man and woman. If the former was a Martial Emperor realm expert, then these two would naturally not be weak.
Three Martial Emperor realm experts!
How could they resist!
Not only Xiao Ran was filled with unease, but the people on deck also realized this. If they were Martial Kings, they believed they could still hold on, as there were quite a few Martial King realm experts present. But Martial Emperors, and three of them at that, everyone felt despair just thinking about it.
"Break!"
As the man pointed a finger, a giant axe formed from spiritual energy suddenly split towards the cloud ship where Li Xuan was located.
Crack!
With one axe blow, the barrier on the cloud ship instantly developed a crack. The next moment, this crack spread outwards in all directions at a visible speed.
"Yan Qi, take action!" Xiao Ran's pupils contracted sharply upon seeing this, and he immediately turned and roared at Yan Qi not far away.
"Everyone, I apologize." A hint of helplessness flashed across Yan Qi's face upon hearing this. He then bowed respectfully and quickly ran towards the rear of the deck. The faces of several people who had been informed by Yan Qi earlier showed a trace of guilt, but they quickly moved and followed Yan Qi.
"Young Master Li Xuan, hurry and go!" Yan Qi arrived before Li Xuan and shouted loudly upon finding Li Xuan with his eyes closed.
Perhaps it was Yan Qi's shout, or perhaps it was the shaking of the cloud ship, but Li Xuan's slightly closed eyes slowly opened at this moment.