Chapter 3: No Code

Set Sail! Destination: Azurewave Port!

The wooden boat drifted away from the shore.

Wu Ye turned to look at the small island ravaged by storms, eyes tinged with melancholy.

“I’ve hidden on that island for ten whole years… Never thought I’d leave it for something this absurd…”

Turns out, being single can result in having a daughter.

You learn something new every day.

As the largest port city in Donghuang Province, Azurewave Port was the gateway between Donghuang and the world.

After the collapse of the Divine Realm shattered oceanic restrictions, and advancements in Creation Arts enhanced ship performance, the last barrier between civilizations vanished.

A flood of never-before-seen cultures, spices, handicrafts, and exotic peoples surged into Donghuang’s field of view alongside booming maritime trade.

Where there’s trade, there’s piracy.

And with it, a flourishing pirate culture.

Many foreign pirate factions openly brandished privateering licenses, brazenly “robbing under royal orders” and stripping merchant ships down to the last coin.

“Outrageous!”

On the deck, Wu Ma, Azurewave Port’s Enforcer of the Tides, was livid.

His Redbone warship was already at full combat readiness. 

Sails taut, 18 side cannons loaded and ready, torches lit beside the fuses.

The atmosphere was razor-sharp… but the attack never came.

Because the pirates, using their superior speed, danced just out of range, never committing to an actual confrontation, only baiting Wu Ma’s ship toward the reefs.

“How the hell are a bunch of ragtag pirate ships this fast?”

He was baffled.

What he thought would be a routine sweep had turned into something strange. 

The pirate ships’ speed fluctuated unnaturally.

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late to back out.

BOOM—

Before they could catch anyone, a muffled explosion echoed from beneath the ship.

 The vessel rocked violently. Wu Ma’s expression darkened.

“Milord! Bad news!”

“What is it?”

“There are hidden reefs below—we’ve lost the bulbous bow! We have to retreat!”

“This is enemy turf. If we push any further, we’ll lose more than just a bow!”

Half a day’s chase, and they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the pirates.

Wu Ma was seething.

“Milord! They’ve turned around!”

“What?”

Raising his spyglass, Wu Ma watched as the two pirate ships circled around and began charging back.

This time, dark cannons protruded from their sides.

“We’re done for.”

The deputy’s knees buckled.

“We’re stuck on the reef. We’re sitting ducks!”

With the enemy holding angle advantage, they could simply bombard the warship into oblivion.

“No matter. Tell the spirit tamers to prepare. Wait, jump ship! Everyone gets into the water!”

It was like divine wrath— an enormous meteor streaked across the sky.

Had the warship been mobile, it might’ve dodged.

But now, all Wu Ma could do was watch it crash straight into the deck.

The explosion ruptured eardrums. 

The ship split in half with a sorrowful groan, sinking into the sea.

A meteor.

The enemy had a spirit tamer too.

And not a low-ranking one.

At that moment, Wu Ma understood—

These weren’t ordinary pirates.

He’d never been a hunter.

They had been hunting him.

“Everyone off the ship! Prepare for close-quarters combat!”

A veteran of the Godslaying War, Wu Ma stayed calm under pressure.

The ship had ice-burst potions stored in its hull. 

As it sank, the potions leaked, freezing seawater into a large flood to provide temporary footing.

That had been Wu Ye’s idea back in the day.

Wu Ma wondered how the guy was doing in the afterlife.

He’d burned all kinds of yellow-paper porn to him— elf paper dolls, witch paper dolls— surely he was living it up, arms full of beauties in the underworld.

Honestly, I’m kind of jealous.

“Array masters, deploy anti-magic barriers! Everyone else, draw your swords! I don’t care who they are—attacking a Thunder Envoy has a price!”

A sunken ship didn’t mean defeat.

As long as they held the ice and won the melee, they could still capture a vessel and turn the tide.

Wu Ma’s orders rang out with righteous fury—

But no one listened.

Everyone was too busy scrambling for the lifeboats.

“Where’s my deputy?! DEPUTY?!”

Wu Ma looked around and realized the deputy had already fled, taking all the spirit tamers with him hundreds of meters away.

“Squad leaders? Swordsmen—”

All combat-capable soldiers were already gone.

No one had even said goodbye.

They’d known before the meteor hit.

They’d boarded the lifeboats in advance.

And suddenly, Wu Ma understood everything.

“You damn bastards…”

Betrayal hit like a punch to the gut.

From the start, the Azurewave Lord had deliberately reassigned Wu Ma’s trusted veterans and stuck him with loafers and rookies.

A hand of garbage cards.

Sent to confront pirates.

He hadn’t thought much of it.

Just regular pirates, he figured.

Thunder Envoy gear vs. pirate scrap?

Rookies or not, it should’ve been an easy win.

Treat it as training.

But these weren’t just slackers.

They were traitors.

This was an execution.

Now Wu Ma stood alone on the ice.

His red-tasseled spear gripped in one hand.

“Hmph. Even the gods failed to take my head. You think you can?”

“Milord Wu Ma, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

The deputy sneered from afar, raising his staff cautiously— still wary Wu Ma might try to seize a boat.

What a farce.

An entire ship of soldiers—

Not one pointing their blade at the pirates.

Every one of them is guarding against him.

Wu Ma couldn’t be bothered anymore.

The pirates had reached the ice.

Their faces painted with garish makeup, they waved curved blades as they charged.

“Ten thousand bounty on Wu Ma’s head!”

The enemy spirit tamer was spent after casting Meteor.

Now it was blades and sneak attacks.

Hundreds vs. one.

And Wu Ma was no longer the peak “Spear Saint” he once was.

Victory was certain.

“Wait!”

The pirate captain suddenly stopped his crew.

He was a decrepit old man, half machine with a prosthetic arm and leg.

Yet to Wu Ma’s shock, he bowed respectfully.

“Though we cross blades today, I still remember your deeds alongside Her Highness Wu Yi in slaying the gods. Were it not for you two, we might’ve ended as divine slaves…”

“Hah.”

Wu Ma spat coldly.

“You knew and still came here burning, looting, and pillaging? What, you want a medal for being a pirate with morals?”

“You don’t understand.”

The captain grinned.

“With the god dead, and the princess missing—this is the age of opportunity. My opportunity too… Kill him.”

Blades descended on Wu Ma’s neck.

He poured his rage into his spear.

“GET LOST!”

The flaming spear spun into a blazing wheel, instantly clearing a 10-meter radius.

Eyes red, Wu Ma counterattacked.

He and his spear became a dragon of flame, roaring straight at the pirate leader.

—If only Wu Ye were here.

He’d thought that suddenly, amidst this hopeless battle.

The last time they fought on ice, Wu Ye was still alive.

Back-to-back, the two of them had faced endless waves of enemies.

One swig of cold liquor each, bodies burning with battle-lust.

Their enemies’ blood ran down their faces, blinding their vision.

They laughed like madmen.

Wu Ma, the Spear Ace of Xilin City. 

Wu Ye, the Sword Ace of Dongshan.

In their academy days, they were hot-blooded rivals.

Dueling every other day.

But now, there was no back that was more reliable.

No duo more unstoppable than spear and frost blade.

Had he been here… even two against ten thousand, what was there to fear?!

“Wu Ma of Xilin City!”

He roared his name like in that final battle,

Charging forward with a bloody grin.

But this time, his back was empty.

No voice answered.

He felt the wind of blades behind him.

He knew the pirate leader would be skewered.

And he, in turn, would be torn to shreds.

“Hey—what are you guys doing?”

…?

At that instant of life and death,

A lazy, drawling voice rang out nearby.

Wu Ma didn’t hesitate—

Still stabbed the pirate leader through the heart.

But the blades at his back never landed.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Every single knife bounced off.

Not one hit.

Just like in the old days… when he was still alive.

Wu Ma turned around, ready to thank his savior—

“Holy shit— a ghost?!”

He screamed.

Because standing before him,

Was none other than the very man who’d just flashed through his mind.

Wu Ye.

Still alive.

Still grinning.

And carrying a little girl in his arms.