Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 561: Battle of Sea and Land

Lady Three kept a calm expression but her teeth clenched slightly.

This guy knows far too much. The problem isn’t just that there are undercover Sea Tribe members among Lai Qi’s men, it’s that the Sea Emperor seems to have directly passed on information to him. Only the Sea Emperor’s most trusted would have access to all this information, right? Most importantly, he knows I’m Black Tortoise!

Who cares if Zhao Changhe’s reputation as a womanizer has spread across the seas? Everyone knows how incorrigible he is, so who cares? But if word gets out that Black Tortoise and her little pig were holed up in a ship’s cabin for days, I can’t even imagine how the world would react—let alone how Tang Wanzhuang and the others would respond.

And then there’s Vermillion Bird, and Chichi...

If word spread that both of them had also been caught in some scandal with the same pig, what would the world think of that?

The Four Idols Cult isn’t some... joke!

A surge of anger overcame her. Ignoring the fact that her injuries had not fully healed, Lady Three pulled a snake-like whip from her ring, lashing out at the water figure in a furious rage. “Just die already!”

The water figure looked bewildered at her sudden outburst. “?”

As expected, water constructs could not understand human emotions.

It’s clearly someone else who provoked her, yet now she’s venting on me—what for?

Zhao Changhe turned his head to see Lady Three engaged in fierce combat with the water figure. He raised his saber but found himself at a loss for words, his fighting spirit somewhat deflated by the whole exchange. It was as though Lady Three had drained the fighting spirit out of him.

He glanced at Hai Changkong, who was watching Lady Three fight with a faint, amused expression. Zhao Changhe spoke, his voice flat. “The way you’re acting as if you have everything under control is really getting on my nerves.”

Hai Changkong shifted his gaze back to Zhao Changhe, smiling slightly. “Then why don’t you show me otherwise, King of Man?”

Zhao Changhe raised his saber and, in the next instant, suddenly plunged it downward, piercing the ship’s hull. Seawater rushed in, and the ship began to sway violently.

The water figure roared in fury, “You scoundrel!”

Whoosh!

Lady Three’s whip lashed out, wrapping around the water figure and completely containing its attempt to retaliate against Zhao Changhe, not a single strike getting through.

“You—” Hai Changkong’s expression changed, his gaze turning serious as he looked at Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe smiled. “After watching for a while, I might not know everything, but I’ve figured out one thing—you can’t trust a word the marshal says. No one knows which of his statements are true, and which are lies. Like that bit about the array sinking into the sea making things worse... I just don’t buy it.”

The ship creaked and groaned as it began to sink rapidly. Hai Changkong’s face darkened. “Why?”

Zhao Changhe said, “It’s simple. If sinking the array into the water would make it more powerful, that dim-witted water figure wouldn’t be here trying to protect it. The fact that it’s guarding it suggests that the array loses its power underwater. Its runes need to be carved into something solid, and water isn’t exactly that. If I’m right, it also can’t be placed on solid ground, which is why it’s not on the island. It needs to be suspended on wood, afloat on water—that’s the best setup.”

Hah, my little pig is clever as always! Lady Three immediately realized the perfect sense in Zhao Changhe’s analysis. Her anger turned into joy, and with a crash, she smashed through the cabin wall, darting away. “Hey, water boy! Come fight me on land!”

Zhao Changhe, understanding her intentions as if by instinct, moved at the same moment. He crashed through the cabin wall and made his escape. The water figure, enraged and newly freed from the whip, swung at him but did not even graze a strand of hair. Instead, it obliterated another part of the ship.

As the ship began to sink, the water figure turned furiously to Hai Changkong. “Why didn’t you stop them? Is talking all you’re good for now?”

Hai Changkong sighed. “I couldn’t find any openings—neither in his spirit nor in his demeanor.”

The water figure fell silent.

At their level, a battle was no longer just about swinging blades. Oftentimes, the conversation itself was a part of probing for weaknesses and undermining the opponent’s morale. Hai Changkong’s confidence, his sense of having everything under control, had been completely shattered by Zhao Changhe’s seemingly casual move.

It was not Hai Changkong’s fault either. Zhao Changhe’s astuteness and decisiveness had even surpassed the water figure’s expectations.

“What’s done is done. Let it sink.” Hai Changkong did not seem too troubled. “No plan ever goes perfectly. We have to accept the unexpected. The Sea God has already gained a considerable amount of the faith it needs. This outcome is acceptable.”

The water figure cut him off angrily. “But it’s the Sea Tribe that’s suffered the most losses! If it weren’t for our members leading the charge, how could these nations’ fleets have been thrown into chaos? Now, most of our vanguard is dead, and we haven’t even begun to reap the real rewards before everything’s become such a huge mess!”

“What’s the point of yelling at me?” Hai Changkong replied coolly. “Did you really think I could take them on alone? Now that you’re free from the array core, let’s join forces and take them down. Once we’ve dealt with them, we can restore the sacrificial array. I’ll order our men to switch from killing to capturing. Sacrificing prisoners alive will serve just as well.”

With this fallback plan in place, the water figure calmed down and said no more, rushing off in pursuit.

Not far away, on the shore of Dongan Island, Zhao Changhe and Lady Three stood side by side, watching coldly as it approached. Switching from killing to capturing seemed like the most direct consequence of disrupting the array... If they could kill the water figure here, would that not conclude this battle perfectly?

There were still Penglai soldiers watching them from afar, but none dared approach.

Many veteran soldiers kept their units in check, looking at Lady Three with expressions of complexity that no outsider could understand. Yet, in the end, none of them spoke a word.

Lady Three looked back briefly and spoke just one sentence, “Have everyone retreat.”

Boom!

Before she even finished speaking, a massive wave surged forth. The water figure, now unleashing its full power, appeared on a completely different level compared to when they were merely engaged in a skirmish earlier.

It cared nothing for the lives of the soldiers here.

Without even looking back, Lady Three threw a punch. The giant wave reversed course, and a nearby lifeboat, caught between her punch and the waves, was instantly reduced to splinters.

Boom!

The wave crashed onto the shore, sending a chaotic explosion of water and shattered wood flying everywhere.

The Penglai soldiers on the shore quickly retreated to the center of the island.

If Lady Three and the water figure fought without restraint, no one nearby would survive. Such was the might of those at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries, the might of those at the very peak of power in this era—power bordering the divine.

“She’s already far stronger than her mother ever was...” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Even His Majesty at his peak wasn’t this strong.”

“And now?”

“No one knows. They’re beyond our understanding...” one of the old generals murmured. “What I really want to see is how Marshal Hai fares against the one ranked first on the Ranking of Man.”

That was a level that ordinary people could still aspire to reach.

Almost all the veterans of Penglai dreamed of returning to see their homeland, to see how they now compared to the martial artists of the Great Xia.

Sure, they all said they did not want everything they did to be recorded in the Tome of Troubled Times... but on the other hand, what martial artist wanted to sail the seas all their life, weathering countless storms and battles, only to remain unknown and unacknowledged?

Penglai had even attempted an official maritime version of the Tome of Troubled Times, but how could it possibly compare to the divine prestige of an actual page from the Heavenly Tome? In the end, it felt empty, and it became a joke that no one paid any attention to.

Whatever anyone thought of Hai Changkong, whatever schemes lay behind this battle or what would come after—none of that mattered to anyone right now.

Hai Changkong was essentially Penglai’s strongest, aside from Dragon King Hai Pinglan. Everyone wanted to know—could he defeat the number one in the Ranking of Man, who represented the pinnacle of mortal martial arts in the Central Plains, and prove that the heroes of the sea were not inferior to those of the land?

Hai Changkong soared high into the air like a goshawk, his long saber flashing like a rainbow as he slashed at Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe stood still; only his wrist flicked as he drew Dragon Bird, striking Hai Changkong’s saber with perfect timing.

Clang!

As their weapons collided, massive columns of seawater erupted from beneath Hai Changkong, spiraling upward.

As the water reached high in the sky, it suddenly sparked with lightning, thunder cracking as rain poured down.

This was not some special technique belonging to Hai Changkong. It was simply the result of their clash, stirring up the surrounding wind and sea, colliding and altering the weather itself.

Everyone watching from afar was left dumbfounded.

They had thought Lady Three’s battle was a fight between gods, and this was a fight between men.

But now, they realized that neither of these two was comparable to ordinary mortals either!

Further out at sea, Hai Qianfan and Hua Zhenming leaped over countless warships, rushing toward the island. No one could stop them.

Maybe they felt an intense desire to join in, drawn by the peak battle happening here. Or maybe they were worried for Lady Three and had come to lend their support.

Zhao Changhe and Hai Changkong seemed to sense them at the same time. They glanced in their direction, then looked back at each other, both smiling.

Hai Changkong said, “Shall we conclude this battle before they arrive?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “Then I’ll only use three moves.”