Sun Yuan swung the prow upriver, joining the rest of the ship’s as they fled the battle. Cultivators didn’t reach an old age without being able to read which way the wind blew, and they knew when to cut their losses.

  Some of the pirate vessels pursued them as they sailed away, but most of them returned to their bombardment of the Auction Ship, firing salvo after salvo until the shield covering it finally broke apart, cracking like an egg under the pressure of the repeated blows.

  The Auction Ship didn’t go down without a fight. Attacks flew out of the ship, blasting apart the reaver vessels as they approached and taking cultivators out of the sky, but the last thing Yu Chen saw as the battle disappeared into the distance was the sight of the reavers swarming over the massive ship like hyenas on top of a dying elephant.

  He turned to say something to Sun Yuan, who was focused on getting them as far away as possible, when a sudden roar filled his ears as a cannon blast erupted from behind. A wave of heat washed over him. Looking up he watched as a great ball of fiery qi flew overhead, landing in the river nearby as it missed them.

  He turned, casting a baleful gaze towards the black-hulled ship that was tailing them. Yu Chen frowned, almost giving the order to turn around and engage, but he knew it would be foolish. There were still too many enemies lurking nearby.

  Then a dense aura fell over their ship, sending the hairs on the back of his arms rising up.

  He could faintly make out a cultivator flying towards them in the distance, catching up to land on the black frigate that was chasing after them, a still smoking cannon at its prow. Yu Chen’s brows tightened as he considered this new problem. He’d hoped the Golden Core cultivators would be too preoccupied with the enemies that matched their strength. The foe he’d been fighting must have fled or died, allowing him to turn his attention towards other prey.

  “We need to move faster!” urgency filled Yu Chen’s voice as he gripped Sun Yuan’s shoulder in a hard hand.

  “What do you think I’m doing?!” The other boy snapped, shooting him a look of outrage. “I’m pressing her as fast as I can.”

  “Unfurl the sails.” Yu Chen said.

  “It’ll burn more energy than it’s worth,” Sun Yuan refuted, holding onto the wheel in a white-knuckled grip.

  “So, what, we just keep them in range?” Yu Chen asked, wincing as another cannon shot roared overhead. “We have the spirit stones and they’re no good if we’re dead.”

  “Unfurl the sails!” He yelled, and this time he commanded.

  Sun Yuan muttered something under his breath, but moments later the sails unfurled, and the inscriptions across them lit up, blazing to life. An invisible wind manifested, snapping the sails taunt as a sudden burst of energy filled them, pushing them across the river.

  With a burst of speed, the Lady began to pull away from the reavers chasing after her. The cannons erupted, sending forth another fiery blast of energy, but this time it landed well clear of the rear of the ship.

  “Thank you.” Yu Chen said, squeezing Sun Yuan’s shoulder as he began to cross the deck, checking in with the others.

  For too long he’d held himself back, moving too passively on his journey through life. It was becoming untenable. The men knew what needed to be done, but someone had to take charge if they were ever going to get anywhere.

  He approached Yan Ziqi first. The older boy had turned his attention towards the ship after Xue Lan had taken over the cannons, and the sound of a hammer rang out from where he hung over the edge of the prow.

  He was an artificer after all, and that was his natural role.

  “How is everything?” He asked, leaning over the side.

  “Fine.” Yan Ziqi said with a frown as he looked up from his work. “We took a bit of damage to the hull when we rammed that ship earlier, but she’s still riverworthy.” He cast a glance over his shoulder at the ship in the distance. “At least for now.”

  Yu Chen gave him a nod. “Good. Just keep her on the river.” He said, looking across empty waters around them. They appeared dark and peculiar on this moonless night. “Check her out thoroughly once we escape from all this.”

  “Of course.” Yan Ziqi said, giving him a firm nod before turning back to his work.

  “What’s your name?” Yu Chen asked suddenly, looking towards the swordsman who was standing nearby, pretending not to listen in.

  “Xiao Jian.” The young man said, speaking slowly as he looked at Yu Chen. His gaze was weighing, and he seemed surprised by what he found.

  “Do you have any skills that are useful on a spirit vessel?” Yu Chen asked, raising a single brow.

  “None.” Xiao Jian said, shaking his head. “I know how to swing a sword, and that’s about it.”

  “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.” Yu Chen replied, staring behind them. The enemy ship had disappeared into the distance, but he could still feel the presence of the Golden Core cultivator chasing after them.

  “Stay out of the way for now. Keep your blades sharp though, you might still need them before the night’s over.”

  He put the swordsman out of his mind, looking around the ship as he observed the others. Serbo au Serbo stood at the stern of the ship, arms crossed as he watched the river behind them.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Yu Chen nodded to himself. The barbarian was one who would always do what needed doing. Instead, he turned his attention towards Xue Lan who sat beside the mast.

  “How are you doing?” He said, squatting down beside her.

  “I’m fine.” She replied, looking up at him. Her eyes were clear and curious, although he saw the hint of a question, or perhaps a challenge, lurking within them.

  “I have to say, I’m surprised to see you.” She said. He noticed the slight shake in her hands before she stilled them, grasping her knees. “I thought you were dead.”

  He shook his head, kneeling down on one knee.

  “I thought you might be too.” He admitted, staring off the side of the ship at the waves that had begun to pick up. “I ended up… stuck in the secret realm, and I only managed to leave after everyone else was already gone.”

  He paused, considering his words before speaking. “I came across the aftermath of the battle.”

  She nodded, but she didn’t lift her head back up. It hung there, and the hair covering her face kept him from being able to tell what she was thinking.

  “It was a bloodbath.” She finally said, and when she spoke, he could barely hear the words. “The Sect leader held them off while we fled with some of the elders."

  “I saw.” He said with a sigh. “But at least you managed to escape. Not everyone did, they began their slaughter within the Secret Realm.”

  She raised her head up, staring at him with a frown.

  “What,” She began, but he cut her off.

  “Later.” He said, looking around with a frown. “We’ll have time to catch up later, but we still have some pirates to deal with for now.”

  She nodded in agreement. “What do you need me to do?”

  “You’re pretty handy with the artillery. Have you familiarized yourself with the formations already?”

  She gave an unladylike snort, some of her old self shining through the trauma.

  “No, not at all. Whoever inscribed this vessel must have been a master. I can do a passable job for now, but it’ll take a while before I can bring out their full potential.”

  The corner of Yu Chen’s lip rose as he took in this new information.

  “Really? You’re already handling them better than he was.” He said, pointing towards Yan Ziqi at the prow.

  She glowered at him, insulted. “Better than him? A hamfisted monkey could have channeled them better than him. All he knew how to do was flood them with energy, kapow, kapow!”

  Yu Chen swallowed a laugh at her words, the first bit of levity he’d felt this night. The aura behind them remained, however, and he quickly swallowed his cheer.

  “Do what you can, Xue Lan, I’m trusting you.” He said, meeting her eyes.

  She stared back, hesitating for half a second as something complicated flashed in her eyes. “Of course. You can trust me, Yu Chen.”

  He stood up as she turned away, her eyes closing in concentration as she pressed a hand against the mast. Leaving, he returned to stand beside Sun Yuan as the sound of Yan Ziqi’s hammer rang out across the deck, barely audible over the sound of the small waves breaking around them.

  They sailed through the blackness of night as they traveled the river, one step ahead of the cultivator trailing after them in the sky. He’d expected the river to be calmer now they’d escaped the battle, but it was still agitated, making Yu Chen wonder if a storm was brewing.

  His thoughts were interrupted as a sudden attack fell from the heavens, smashing against the shield that sprung up, surrounding the ship. The shield flexed and shimmered, rippling with a prismatic light as it dissipated the bloody attack. It soon began to strain, however, as another attack came, followed by another, the cultivator in the sky above raining down blow after blow.

  Yu Chen looked up as a brief flash of lightning streaked across the heavens, lighting up the cultivator’s outline against the clouds above.

  “Serbo!” He yelled, pointing up above, but he needn’t have bothered the other boy had seen him as well, and he was already on it, his hornbow creaking as he pulled the string taunt against his cheek. The arrow whistled through the air as he let out a breath, blasting through the sky towards the cultivator above.

  “Foolish!” The pirate boomed, sneering as he used a quick burst of energy to slap the arrow out of the sky, but his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the one’s following it. He let out a snort as he danced back, dodging the bolts.

  It was the first time Serbo au Serbo’s arrows had missed their mark, disappearing uselessly in the distance, but it had bought the ship some much needed time.

  The barbarian didn’t let up. He continued to fire, and it was a credit to him that his arrows never veered off course as he peppered their foe, even as the wind began to pick up, turning into a stiff breeze that blew across the deck and pressed their robes tight against their body.

  The Golden Core cultivator chasing them avoided the attacks when he could and blasted them out of the air when he couldn’t. He was far stronger than Serbo of course, but that didn’t mean he was immortal. The largest advantage he had was in the size and depth of his qi reserves, and he needed to conserve those if he was going to remain in the sky. Expending too much qi to block the archer’s attacks would only tire him out and force him to land sooner.

  Instead, he chose to retreat, trailing them from a distance outside of his range. More streaks of lightning crossed the sky as the river began to grow choppy, rising up in large waves that slowed down their pace.

  They pressed on though, the cultivator remaining close behind as the storm began to pick up in earnest.

  However, it seemed he could take it no more. A growl of frustration sounded out from behind as a massive crescent of bloody energy bore down on the ship, far more powerful than any before. It crashed against the shield which flickered but held firm, although doing so drained a sizable amount of energy from the mast.

  And then the presence was gone, disappearing with a snort as though it had never been.

  Yu Chen felt a wave of relief run through him at the sudden retreat, but it quickly disappeared as another wave rose up ahead, far larger than any before. The wind blowing around them rose another notch as well, howling as it tore across the deck with all the fury of nature herself.

  Then, a momentary lull appeared, a slight pause for reflection before the sluice gates of heaven opened up, unleashing a sudden downpour. The wind continued to rise, whipping the droplets about with a fury and sending them pelting against the ship and everyone on board.

  Yu Chen felt a small jolt of fear as the fury of nature was unleashed in the middle of the river, feeling more helpless than he had in many a fight. He turned, looking towards Sun Yuan whose shoulder he was holding in a tight knuckled grip. To his surprise there was a wild expression of glee on the boy’s face, a manic grin peeking out between the strands of hair that were pressed against his face, slick with rain.

  “The sails!” Yu Chen shouted, pointing upwards.

  Sun Yuan opened his mouth to reply, but he never spoke. It took all of his concentration to hold the vessel steady as the riverstorm swept down upon them. A small jolt of qi and the ship furled the sails as Yan Ziqi and the others rushed around to fasten the hatches.

  It was just in time, as another wave came, filling the horizon. Everyone grabbed onto something, hanging on as the ship titled, riding it upwards. They crested the wave, for a brief moment riding high above the world.

  “What’s that?” He asked Sun Yuan, yelling to be heard over the storm as he pointed a finger towards a misty light glowing in the distance.

  A frown crossed the boy’s face as he fumbled into his pocket, pulling out the fine spyglass his father had gifted him. He raised it to his eye, pausing before speaking.

  “I don’t know, but it’s coming this way.”