On the turbulent sea, several fishing boats were speeding forward, breaking through the waves.
Leading the charge was Jiang Ming's eternal ark.
To maximize speed, he simultaneously utilized both of the boat's propulsion methods:
The sails were fully taut with wind, while he himself was hunched over, rapidly alternating his arms to paddle the wooden oars.
The Sword Shadow Fish he had just eaten provided an endless supply of strength, and with the added boost of the Giant Strength Technique, the wooden oars became two blurry black afterimages in his hands, the "thump thump" of water breaking into a continuous sound.
Under the dual propulsion of sails and oars, the boat shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
In a short while, it had distanced itself from the pursuing boats behind.
The pursuers behind watched in astonishment as Jiang Ming wielded the wooden oars until only afterimages remained, unable to comprehend where this person found such immense strength.
However, good times did not last.
Just as Jiang Ming thought he could successfully shake off his pursuers, a tall sailboat appeared directly in front of him without any warning!
Jiang Ming's heart pounded; this boat had appeared out of thin air!
"Kid! Hand over the fishing boat obediently, and we can spare your life!"
A rough, fierce male voice came from inside the sailboat.
The eternal ark was Jiang Ming's lifeline, so naturally, he could not hand it over.
He pressed his lips together, saying nothing, and abruptly turned the bow, attempting to bypass the sailboat.
But as soon as he turned, the sailboat also moved, consistently blocking the only path to Iron Sand Island.
And this delay allowed the pursuers behind to close the distance significantly.
Jiang Ming knew something was wrong: if he continued to be entangled by the sailboat, he would eventually be surrounded!
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he decided to stop evading, charging directly towards the tall sailboat!
"Hahaha! Kid, trying to hit a rock with an egg?"
The rough voice sounded again, this time with a more menacing tone:
"Stop the fishing boat immediately! Otherwise, I'll make your Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!"
Jiang Ming ignored him, his paddling motion becoming even faster and more urgent.
Although the opponent's sailboat was more than twice the size of his fishing boat, this was merely the eternal ark's disguised form.
Its true body was actually even larger than that sailboat!
In a narrow encounter, the brave one wins!
Crashing directly, while potentially resulting in mutual destruction, was the only chance to seize a sliver of survival.
Stopping the boat and entrusting his life to others was not his character!
Inside the sailboat, a tall middle-aged man watched the small fishing boat charging fearlessly with a grim expression.
He had expected the other party to comply obediently, but he never thought he would be so reckless!
Although this mission required bringing back as many fishermen and their boats as possible, since the other party was seeking death, he couldn't be blamed.
As for moving aside and letting the other party leave, he hadn't even considered it!
As a Cultivator of intermediate Qi Refining, what face would he have if he were forced to retreat by a small fishing boat?
Moreover, in his opinion, if the two boats collided, his sailboat would at most suffer minor damage, which was nothing significant.
"Crack! Boom—!"
In a flash of lightning, the two boats, one large and one small, collided violently!
The sound of wood splintering and waves roaring exploded in unison!
The immense impact instantly sent miscellaneous items like the fixed stove and fishing nets on the fishing boat flying high.
Jiang Ming was prepared, gripping the side of the boat tightly, barely managing to steady himself.
After the impact, he immediately looked towards the bow.
He saw that the originally hard and thick wood there had cracked, revealing a gash several inches long.
Jiang Ming felt a sense of relief:
"Fortunately, it's just a superficial wound, not a big problem."
He then looked across, only to see a huge gap had been smashed into the bow of the sailboat.
Through the gap, one could see the chaotic interior of the ship's hull, as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast.
Seawater was madly pouring in through the gap!
In just a moment, the bow of the sailboat plunged into the sea, while its stern tilted slightly upwards.
Jiang Ming vigilantly looked around, but still saw no sign of the sailboat's owner.
He dared not linger, immediately maneuvered the eternal ark to avoid the sinking sailboat, and paddled furiously with both oars, once again speeding towards Iron Sand Island!
The cracked opening at the bow was above the waterline and did not affect navigation.
The eternal ark quickly regained full speed, its hull cutting through the sea like a blade, leaving a long and urgent white wake behind it.
Suddenly!
The bow abruptly dipped downwards!
Jiang Ming looked closely and saw a pair of bloody hands clutching the boat's edge!
Immediately after, a ferocious-looking head suddenly emerged from beneath the boat!
Jiang Ming was startled and stood up abruptly, his wooden oars also stopping.
"Kid! You dared to destroy my boat! I'll make you wish you were dead!"
The middle-aged man glared at Jiang Ming, his eyes filled with immense hatred, as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Jiang Ming forced himself to calm down and subtly observed the other party using his Spirit Eye Technique:
A Cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, around forty years old.
A broken piece of ship plank was still deeply embedded in his right shoulder, obviously caused by the collision just now.
He could fight!
Jiang Ming made an instant judgment, simultaneously beginning to focus his mind to cast the Water Arrow Technique.
As the middle-aged man struggled to climb onto the bow, he saw a stream of water rapidly converging into shape in front of Jiang Ming.
He dared not delay and immediately activated his spiritual power, casting his own Water Arrow Technique.
Although Jiang Ming cast his spell first, the middle-aged man had a higher cultivation level and was quite confident in his mastery of the Water Arrow Technique.
He believed he could strike first, despite casting later!
Jiang Ming was equally confident.
This confidence stemmed from his recent battle with the Sword Shadow Fish!
Moreover, this was his home turf.
Even if his casting speed was slightly inferior, he was confident he could dodge the opponent's attack.
After one breath, both of their Water Arrow Techniques almost simultaneously took shape!
A hint of panic flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes:
If this continued, it would likely be a mutual defeat!
But the arrow was on the string; it had to be fired!
If he hesitated even slightly, the opponent's water arrow would strike first.
Unless… he abandoned revenge and immediately jumped into the sea to escape.
But his livelihood—his sailboat—had been destroyed by the other party, and even if he escaped, he wouldn't be able to survive in the Poison Dragon Gang.
Only by risking taking the opponent's unremarkable fishing boat could he compensate for this loss.
Jiang Ming looked at the middle-aged man's thicker and more solid water arrow, yet felt no fear in his heart.
He unhesitatingly controlled his water arrow, sending it directly towards the middle-aged man's face!
At the same time, the opponent's more powerful water arrow also came whistling through the air!
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The two whooshing sounds were almost simultaneous.
Both made evasive maneuvers at the same time.
The middle-aged man suddenly crouched down, rolling to his left with all his might.
Jiang Ming, however, made no significant movement; he merely subtly stepped onto the wooden box that contained an independent space.
Just a split second before the water arrow was about to pierce his body, his figure suddenly vanished.
After one breath, he reappeared out of thin air in the same spot.
But the middle-aged man was accurately hit in the chest by Jiang Ming's water arrow, leaving a terrifying, gushing hole!
He collapsed onto the deck, looking at the reappearing Jiang Ming with disbelief:
"You… how did you know… I would dodge to the left…?"
Jiang Ming had no habit of explaining to enemies, so he once again condensed a water arrow and shot it at the big man without hesitation.
The big man was severely wounded and struggled several times to get up, but to no avail.
Finally, the water arrow accurately pierced his glabella, ending his sinful life.
Jiang Ming looked at the big man's corpse and explained in a low voice:
"Because your right shoulder was injured."
Dodging to the right requires strength from the right side of the body, and with his right shoulder injured, to protect the injured area, the body's instinctive reaction would be to choose to evade to the left.
And for the big man to dodge quickly, he would also be more inclined to the left.
Therefore, Jiang Ming's water arrow, from the very beginning, was aimed at the lower-left position of the big man's body.