1327 The Old Man
“Another beast?” Alex asked, not understanding what was happening. He, along with everyone else had released their spiritual sense, and it reached nowhere near far enough to cover anything that could’ve used its spiritual sense on them.
Then, something flew into the range of their senses. Before they knew it, it was already near them.
Elder Yao and Commander Jianyu moved at the same time, arriving outside the ship one after another to intercept the person who had come.
The man stopped a few dozen meters from the two, his hair and beard scraggly, his robes mostly torn.
“Who are you?” the commander asked.
The old man stayed quiet and simply looked around. They could see his eyes as well as sense his spiritual sense move through them, as if looking for something.
Alex frowned a little and stepped in front of the many alchemists just in case they needed to be protected.
“Let me into your ship,” the man said with a hoarse voice.
“That’s not happening until you introduce yourself,” the commander said. Even if he knew he was weak, he wouldn’t do something to jeopardize the safety of his guests.
“Fellow Daoist, we are guests from the Southern Continent on our way to the Eastern Continent,” Yao Ning said. “Would you please tell us why you have come here?”
She could tell that the man in front of her was as strong as her, if not more. She couldn’t afford to start a fight here.
The old man finally turned his head towards the woman, away from whatever else he was looking at. His eyes narrowed with a slight hint of confusion to them. “The Southern Continent? What is someone like that doing here?” he asked.
“We are part of the Alchemy Exchange that His Majesty of the Southern Continent and the Emperor of the Eastern Continent set up,” Yao Ning said.
The old man seemed to be thinking something for a few seconds before he spoke again. “So this boat is coming from the Southern Continent?”
“Yes,” Yao Ning said.
“Then move and let me into your ship,” the man said.
Yao Ning frowned. “I’m sorry, Fellow Daoist, but I cannot agree to that. I have to keep in mind the safety of everyone on the ship,” she said. “If you continue insisting, I will have to force you away.”
She got ready to fight, and so did Long Jianyu.
The old man noticed that and sighed. “Let me into the boat and I promise to not hurt a single soul in there. If I even so much as hurt someone, let the heaven strike me dead,” he said.
Everyone felt turbulence in the air as the oath made by the man was instantly accepted. Yao Ning frowned as she didn’t know what to do. Long Jianyu was following her in this instance, so he was stupefied as well.
“Let him in,” Alex said, walking up to the edge of the ship.
“But your Majesty—”
“Do it,” Alex said, nodding towards Yao Ning.
The old woman thought for a moment and quickly nodded. “Fellow Daoist, please come in,” she said, moving back into the ship.
Long Jianyu stood confused for a moment, but it didn’t take him too long to see what was happening. He went back onto the ship as well and waited for the old man to walk in.
The old man could barely see the image of the ship with his eyes. He had to use his spiritual sense to look at the rest.
He slowly flew into the ship, the barriers doing little to keep him outside. When he entered, he finally saw everyone inside, most of who weren’t present on the deck yet.
“How can we help you, senior?” Alex asked.
The old man looked at him. “Who are you?” he asked.
“This is His Majesty Alex, King of the Southern Continent,” Yao Ning quickly introduced him.
“King of the Southern Continent?” the man’s eyes widened in surprise. “I apologize for the scene I’ve caused, your Majesty.”
The old man was surprisingly respectful for the disrespect he had shown during most of his interaction here. However, that was most likely to be expected from someone so high in cultivation that nothing else mattered to them.
“As long as I and my subjects are unharmed, I don’t mind what is happening,” Alex said. “May I know what you want to do here? Do you want us to take you along?”
“No,” the old man said. He turned towards the commander. “Lower your ship’s defenses, all of them.”
“What? No, I won’t do that,” the commander quickly said.
“Do it or I’ll destroy this ship to make it happen myself,” the old man said.
Everyone frowned at the threat. He had made an oath not to hurt anyone, but he had said nothing about the ship.
The reason Alex had even brought him onto the ship was because he had said the oath to not hurt anyone if he was let in. Alex wanted to put the oath into effect as soon as he could so that he could protect everyone.
However, if the ship were to be destroyed, would the oath still work? He wasn’t sure. Logic said that they would still be safe, but his heart feared something else.
“Can you tell us what you wish to do with the ship’s defenses lowered?” Alex asked. “I’m afraid we might put ourselves in danger if we do so.”
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Alex still frowned, but he couldn’t see another way out of this situation. He could have Yao Ning fight him on the ship since he couldn’t attack her back now, but that would still leave him free to destroy the ship.
And with the strength he had, there was no chance the ship could survive at all.
“Commander, do as he says,” Alex said. The man could destroy the ship after the defenses were lowered too, but that would lead to the same result, so there wasn’t much merit in worrying too much.
The commander hated that he had to do this, but he saw no other choice as well. “Fine,” he said and pulled out something.
A moment passed, and suddenly all formation started lowering. In fact, the commander had to start using his Qi to keep the boat afloat even.
The man spread his spiritual sense, looking for something. “Are all of the defenses down?” he asked the Commander.
“Yes,” the commander said.
“I need a definite answer,” the old man said. “Swear that to the heavens.”
The commander grumbled a bit under his breath and did something else. It seemed he hadn’t lowered all formations. “I did it,” he said. “I swear to the heavens that all the defenses are down.”
The old man wasted no time and sent his spiritual sense into the boat. He could see the many people who were scared and terrified of his senses. However, the man didn’t seem to care for them.
He looked thoroughly for another minute or so before withdrawing his spiritual sense. “Thank you for your time,” he said. “Please be safe on your journey.”
Then, the man left the ship and flew away, leaving everyone in a daze.