RETURNING FROM THE IMMORTAL WORLD

Chapter 301 - Chapter 310

Chapter 301: I'm Not Into It

The door to the bathroom was in the side corner as Tang Xiu walked there. His travel to Saipan had rather worn him out, so he really needed a relaxing bath.

However, the moment he entered the bathroom, he got slightly surprised as a weird appeared in his eyes. Inside the bathroom were two beautiful girls wearing maid attire and possessing nearly identical facial features; evidently twins.

"What are you doing here?" Tang Xiu was surprised.

"Hello, Sir. We're going bath you," The beautiful twin sisters smiled and said in unison.

Awkward and embarrassed, Tang Xiu waved his hand, "No need. I'll bath myself! I don't need your service, so you two can go out!"

One of the girls smiled faintly, "Sir, we are here to bath and dress you. If you refuse our service, our Manager will think that we aren't doing our job well and will punish us, since he'll think the guests are not satisfied."

"Don't worry! I'll call your manager. Please go out!" said Tang Xiu.

The twin sisters glanced at each other. Then, both of them nodded and turned around to leave the bathroom.

Watching them leave, only then did Tang Xiu feel relieved. Though he didn't mind having a threesome in foreign places, he didn't have such a though at the moment. The Seven Goddesses Dance piqued his interest, and he was eager to know what exactly it was.

After taking off his clothes, he relaxed in the bath. After that, he then put on the already prepped nightgown and went to the hall outside. But then he came to a halt and fell into a daze.

Inside the hall were seven girls standing there in thin décolleté muslin. Each one of them was a la crème de la crème belle, with feminine charms exuding from each and every one of their gestures. Right at this moment, they stood there by the wall, quietly waiting. What made Tang Xiu crumble was that he could clearly see that these seven girls only wore a thin layer of muslin with different colors: scarlet, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet—seven colors. However, there was no other cover behind their thin muslins.

With his sharp and keen eyes, Tang Xiu could clearly see the 'mysterious and profound' areas of these seven girls.

"Hello, sir!"

Words in fluent English came out from the mouths of the seven girls.

Shortly after, a fragrant breeze arrived as the seven girls came to Tang Xiu's side. They were like orioles, swallows, and butterflies—as some of this bevy of enchanting young girls grasped Tang Xiu's arm while others gently pushed his back toward the sofa.

"Would you like to rest first and watch us dance, or go straight to the point?" a girl in white muslin with a lovely oriental look, asked Tang Xiu cheerfully.

"Cough, cough..." after dryly coughing a few times Tang Xiu said, "Let's get started."

The girl in white muslin smiled faintly as she walked to the side, picking up a remote control and pressing a button on it. Immediately after, the sofa Tang Xiu was sitting on automatically separated as the wall split open into a few openings with muslin curtains and silk-like steel ropes. The sofa itself constantly changed and soon formed a bed large enough to accommodate ten people.

"This..."

Shocked by the sight and despite the fact that he was experienced and knowledgeable, still, Tang Xiu didn't expect such a scene just now, completely changing the appearance of the room within just half a minute.

Except for the re-assembled bed, even the bedsheet and bedding had been automatically changed and neatly placed in bed. The thin muslin curtains had the seven colors of the rainbow, which all had been tied up with Tang Xiu's sitting position at the end of the bed.

Across from him, was also a large bed covered with white gauze curtains, all of which were being laid down at the moment with the seven girls all in the big bed.

On both sides of the hall, a metal sink raised as a stream of water then sprayed out from it. As the lighting in the room dimmed and was replaced with kaleidoscopic lights, the room was then decorated with dreamlike scenes.

"That is..."

Tang Xiu's vision fixated on the floating multi-colored lights and shadows all over the place. Those lights projection were all the 'fighting' postures between men and women on the bed in action.

"Ding..."

A jingle was heard, followed by an echo of melodious music. The covering thin curtains at the opposite side to the seven girls began to move as their soft and tender bodies constantly changed postures and formed extremely alluring images.

"Mr. Tang, I'm the First Goddess Scarlet Baby in need of your love."

Just as the melodious music ended, the girl in red muslin came out barefoot from the opposite thin curtain as she walked forward step by step. Her slender white fingers gently untied the thin string on her chest. Immediately, her fair white chest with its proud twin peaks and alluring clavicle were all presented in front of Tang Xiu... even the lower part...

Deeply furrowing his brows, the more Tang Xiu looked, the queerer he felt. As the girl's topless breasts appeared, he sighed inside, for he finally understood what exactly the Seven Goddesses Dance was.

Shoo!

His figure flashed and instantly appeared in front of the girl, taking the untied red string on the thin red muslin and re-tying it again. He then shook his head and said, "Let's stop here today! I suddenly remembered that I still have things left to do, so I gotta leave now."

The girl in red muslin was stunned as her limpid eyes looked at Tang Xiu without blinking, clueless as to why he was in such a hurry to leave.

From the thin curtain, the other six girls also appeared one after another, looking at Tang Xiu with puzzled expressions, also clueless as to why Tang Xiu must leave in a hurry as the program had just started.

Could he... suddenly have felt that he wasn't good in that 'aspect'?

However, they had been trained to satisfy all the guests' requests as much as possible and to treat the guests as Gods. Hence, they untied their front clothes' strings and stood stark naked before Tang Xiu.

Tang Xiu deeply frowned and growled, "All of you go back to bed."

Puzzled, the girl in white muslin asked, "Sir, could it be that our services didn't meet your satisfaction, or is it because you're not content with our appearances?"

Tang Xiu shook his head, "It has nothing to do with you. I didn't know what the program was before I came here to enjoy this Seven Goddesses Dance. Only after I saw your appearances did I finally figure it out. I don't need such a service."

After having said that, Tang Xiu strode into the bathroom and put on his clothes back, leaving the hall under the the seven girls' weird gazes.

In the corridor outside, Reval's graceful posture moved away from the wall as her slender fingers clamped a cigarette. Her expression was somewhat hard to make out distinctly as it was slightly lax. However, when the door on the opposite room was opened and Tang Xiu came out from the inside, her expression looked dull as she quickly put out the cigarette and watched Tang Xiu with a puzzled expression.

Normally, she was not supposed to smoke here, because some guests didn't like the smell of cigarette smoke. But she relaxed because she thought Tang Xiu wouldn't come out and was in the middle of enjoying the Seven Goddesses Dance at this moment.

"Mr. Tang, you..."

Tang Xiu waved his hand to interrupt her and said, "Can you tell me what nature this Seven Goddesses Dance program is?"

The nature of this program?

Reval thought for a moment and then replied, "We provide you with the best service and the best girls to satisfy any of your needs. However, any guests who dare to pick the Seven Goddesses Dance also must be very powerful in bed. Not only can he satisfy himself, he must also be able to satisfy these seven girls. We also have special rules here. If the guest can satisfy all seven girls, we will only charge for the already set fee. But if the guest is only able to satisfy one girl, he must pay six times the cost; five times for two satisfied girls; and so on... But if the guest is unable to satisfy even one girl, he must pay seven times the cost."

While looking at Reval with a tongue-tied and dumbfounded expression, Tang Xiu finally understood why did Fatty Old Li showed that weird expression upon hearing that he picked the Seven Goddesses Dance program. He also finally understood the meaning of what he said about the particular requirement of being 'strong'.

'That goddamn bastard!'

Secretly cursing inside, Tang Xiu then looked at Reval and said lightly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that the Seven Goddesses Dance was this sort of program before. I picked it because I thought it was just an ordinary dance. But now, I won't continue it. Call Jasmine and tell her that I'm not a casual man that will go for any kind of woman."

"This..." Reval was dumbfounded. Even in her dreams, never did she thought that Tang Xiu would actually speak such to her. Looking at Tang Xiu's departing back, she opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

If he was only an ordinary guest, she would have never let him leave so easily. He had picked the program, and even though he didn't play, he was supposed to pay seven times the cost due to failing to satisfy the seven girls. But Tang Xiu was not an ordinary guest. He was exempted from paying.

Reval's expression changed a few times before she hurriedly took her mobile and dialed Jasmine's cell number.

"Vice President Jasmine, Mr. Tang said that he didn't know the content of the Seven Goddesses Dance before, so he picked the program to find out what it is. But now he left after learning about it."

"He didn't play?"

"Yes. He just left."

"I see!"

As Tang Xiu came to the first floor, he suddenly frowned when his sight fell onto a foreign man who was hugging two alluring girls and entering through the front door. He was not the sort of man who visited a woman and then walked away without doing nothing, nor did he like women who had been used by others. Therefore, he just glanced at the foreign man with indifference and walked to the door.

"Mr. Tang!"

Outside the front door, driving a roadster, Jasmine stopped in front of Tang Xiu, opened the car's door and blocked Tang Xiu's path.

"You just received a call from someone inside, didn't you? I don't like the Seven Goddesses Dance program, so I'm going back."

Jasmine lightly laughed, "You're our VIP, Mr. Tang. So we will respect any of your decisions and will do our utmost to satisfy you. Since you don't want to play, please let me escort you back!"

Chapter 302: Traveling to the Sea

Tang Xiu glanced at the roadster and nodded, circling around the car and then sitting on the front seat. He then looked at Jasmine and said lightly, "This resort of yours has a casino as well as this place. Are you not afraid of the local authority's inspection?"

Looking at Tang Xiu with a strange expression, Jasmine lightly laughed, "Mr. Tang, you don't know, but the bigwig who has real power in local government also owns shares in the resort, from which he can get a lot of dividends annually."

'So that how it is!'

Nodding and secretly sighing inside, Tang Xiu himself didn't feel like saying anything about the situation where such officials held protection umbrellas over the matters. This phenomenon was, after all, so pervasive that, let alone speaking about foreign countries, it was even a normal issue domestically.

Two minutes later, the roadster had been parked in front of the beach villa Tang Xiu was staying at.

"Well, good night, Mr. Tang!" said Jasmine with a smile.

Nodding to her in reply, Tang Xiu was about to enter the courtyard entrance when he suddenly remembered something, "Ms. Jasmine, you should be paying attention to the sea meteorological news, right? Will there be a storm at sea tomorrow?"

Jasmine said, "Tonight's marine meteorological forecast reported that the sea will have calm weather tomorrow. Yet, I think this report is rather unreliable because of the rapid climate change in the ocean. Perhaps the weather is quiet for the moment, but then a big storm might occur a while after."

"Are you saying that the ocean climate is capricious?" asked Tang Xiu.

Jasmine assented with a nod, "That's exactly what I mean!"

Thinking for a moment, Tang Xiu then said in a deep tone, "Since the ocean climate is capricious, I need not stay here for long. Please tell Tom that we'll leave early tomorrow. Also, we'll be staying here after taking care of business."

"Copy that." Jasmine nodded.

The next morning, Tang Xiu and the Mo Brothers left Lao Bay Resort along with someone who was sent by Tom Reggie to escort them to the Redsand Bay. By the time they arrived there, a temporary deck had already been built, extending for dozens of meters away from the seawater with the luxurious cruise liner parked there.

There, Tom Reggie had long arrived and been waiting for Tang Xiu. Reckoning their arrival, he laughed and said, "Everything's been set up. I've sent people to sail for dozens of miles to the sea and everything is normal. Also, the crew, food, and drinks you need on your way have all been readied on the ship, enough for a week's sailing."

"Thanks!" Tang Xiu smiled.

"You're welcome," Tom Reggie grinned and accompanied the trio to board the ship. As they arrived there, Tang Xiu suddenly asked, "Tom, how much would you sell me this cruiser for if I wanted to buy it?"

Surprised for a moment and appearing reluctant, Tom Reggie then slowly said after a few seconds of silence, "I ordered this cruiser from abroad, and the ship designer is the best in the world. The total cost of the purchase was 160 million USD."

"Sell it to me for 200 million USD," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

As Tom Reggie's face flickered, he glanced at the silent Mo Awen at the side, nibbled his teeth for awhile and then finally said, "If so, it's yours."

"Then prepare the selling papers, please. I'll pay you after we come back and sign the contract," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"No problem!" Decision made, Tom Reggie immediately complied happily.

Though the price offered by Tang Xiu was rather high, he still had eaten a loss. After all, Tang Xiu won 1 billion in his casino last night. The money was in RMB, still, it was around 100 million USD approximately. In other words, Tang Xiu only spent tens of millions USD to buy his cruiser.

The ship then set sail after Tom Reggie disembarked.

The blue sky and the dark blue ocean echoed with each other as it stretched vast as far as the eyes could see. On the front deck of the ship, Tang Xiu stood, braving the wind and waves of the seascape along with a faint expectation inside. He looked forward to arriving at the Nine Dragon Island.

As of now, the island was still under the management of the seller. However, news came more than a month ago that the other party was prepared to move the people there, while it was his issue about when would he receive the island. Prior to this, Tang Xiu had no free time. Thus, there should be nobody managing the island now.

'Nine Dragon Island is located in a very particular location in the ocean where only a few people are supposed to be nearby. So I suppose there's no one there now!'

Upon thinking up to there, Tang Xiu faintly smiled.

Regardless whether there was nobody in the island at present, even if there was any, he must drive them away from there. He was the owner of the island and nobody was allowed to there without his permission.

"Boss! A call for you."

Behind him, Mo Awen arrived and handed him a satellite phone.

After Tang Xiu took it, he then spoke in a deep tone, "Tang Xiu speaking."

A voice belonging to Gu Xiaoxue then transmitted from the phone, "Grandmaster, are you on the way to Nine Dragon Island? I didn't disturb you, did I?"

Hearing Gu Xiaoxue's voice, Tang Xiu immediately let out a smile and said, "It's okay. The ship just set sail. Is there something?"

"Yes, Grandmaster! Tian Li, Hao Lei and the other two have come back and told Elder Ji about your command. Also, they came back and brought a total of 28 billion. Would you like me to transfer the money to your account, or should I wait for you to come back later?" asked Gu Xiaoxue.

Tang Xiu thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Keep 18 billion and send me 10 billion! It would probably take a huge sum of money to transform the Nine Dragon Island. Also, for the remaining 8 billion, after buying the ginseng, I'm going to keep it."

"I see. Then I'll have someone send the money to your account later. Also, Grandmaster, what do you want me to do to assist your transformation of the Nine Dragon Island?" said Gu Xiaoxue with a smile.

Tang Xiu asked, "Does the Everlasting Feast Hall have a reliable construction company in Saipan? I am talking about a very large construction company here."

"No, Master's operations were only limited to the country before. But I'll ask some people in our Everlasting Feast Hall and if anyone knows someone there, I'll have them look it for you," said Gu Xiaoxue.

"Alright!" Tang Xiu replied.

After ending the call, Tang Xiu handed the satellite phone to Mo Awen and said with a smile, "I never expected that those four Hong Kong billionaires would actually give us so much cash. I originally thought that the money would be insufficient to reconstruct Nine Dragon Island, but now it looks like the difference won't be too much."

Mo Awen's expression moved as he said, "Boss, you just said you're looking for a big construction company here in Saipan, didn't you? Tom is the local snake here. He must know about it."

"I did consider this issue, but I'm not planning to tell Tom as I'm not sure of who he is exactly as of now," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"Boss, there's no problem with Tom himself since it's impossible for him to mix with others considering his character. Unless he can learn the abilities we learnt, I think it's unnecessary to hide it from him. Besides, it's a due course that a lot of building materials would pass from Saipan once the reconstruction of Nine Dragon Island commenced. When the time comes, it's inevitable for him to know about it since he's a local snake here."

Tang Xiu was silent for a moment and then slowly said, "Let's wait and see first. We'll look for it from the Everlasting Feast Hall's people if there's anyone amongst them who knows about a large construction company here. If there's any, we don't need to bother him, if not, then I'll talk to him again!"

Mo Awen nodded and no longer said anything.

After two and half a days of voyage, the ship finally arrived on Nine Dragon Island at sunset. As the ship stopped at an extended marina port, Tang Xiu ordered Mo Awen to stay aboard while he brought Mo Awu to land on the Nine Dragon Island. They climbed all the way and quickly approached the palatial manor on the hill.

"Boss, something's not right!"

Overlooking the brightly illuminated castle, Mo Awen's brows deeply furrowed. He and Tang Xiu possessed keen eyesight and could clearly see that a lot of people were in the building a kilometer away from them. They also saw several people armed with guns in the periphery of the building along with some brawny men in camouflage attires.

Tang Xiu nodded as his face suddenly moves when he was about to reply. He then shouted, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Boss!"

Wang Dong and another man quietly appeared from a huge boulder and came to Tang Xiu's side. He quickly looked toward the castle and whispered, "Special circumstances happened here, Boss. We can't go in there temporarily."

"What happened? Who are those inside the castle?" asked Tang Xiu with a frown.

Forcing out a smile, Wang Dong said, "We arrived here a few days earlier than you did, Boss. By the time we got here, we found that a group of pirates had occupied this place and most importantly, they also kidnapped hundreds of civilians; all of them are detained here."

"How many people do these pirates have?" asked Tang Xiu.

"There are more than 200 people," Wang Dong said. "Each one of them is armed with a gun. Wolf Head has investigated the situation in the vicinity yesterday, and a pirate found him, so Wolf Head killed that pirate. He then led us to hover nearby the nine ports to wait for your arrival, Boss."

"Contact Wolf Head and the others. Tell them to come here immediately!" said Tang Xiu.

"Copy that, Boss!"

Wang Dong replied and quickly took a satellite phone.

Half an hour later, Wolf Head and the other ten arrived.

"Boss, has Wang Dong told you the situation here?" asked Wolf Head.

"He has. Have you asked clearly from where this group of pirates came from?" asked Tang Xiu.

"I have, Boss. These pirates are the ones who operate in the nearby waters and have no fixed base. They have been here for several years and are barely able to get enough food and such because there have been few ships passing through this area. This pirate group is called the Bloodfish Pirate group and is led by a man called Duffsky—a ruthless wanted international criminal. After they arrived at Nine Dragon Island a few days ago, they massacred the people who stayed behind in the castle and successfully seized it."

Chapter 303: Capture the Thieves by Capturing its Leader First

"You heard they kidnapped a group of civilians?" asked Tang Xiu.

"Yes, I squeezed it out from a pirate's mouth. Because their operations recently are very bad, they secretly infiltrated Wake Island to get some fortune there as well as kidnapping over a hundred civilians; and most are women."

A cold light flashed in Tang Xiu's eyes. He knew perfectly well what kind of treatment and suffering the women who had been kidnapped would receive. Rarely did he have urge to kill, yet he would be merciless toward these pirates who committed many imaginable evils.

"These pirates must all be decimated."

Wolf Head said solemnly, "Boss, we have no weapons. And if we do fight them we'll suffer some losses even if they are completely decimated. I think we need to devise a plan and then act accordingly."

"You've been here for so many days, what plan do you have in mind?" asked Tang Xiu.

"We scouted the situation here. All members of the Bloodfish Pirate group are in the palace and its surrounding and some pirates are guarding several places. I think we must remove these guards at maximum speed once we act, seizing guns from their hands, and then quietly sneak into the palace. It is best to find the ringleader—Duffsky first. As long as we can capture him, it will be easier for us," said Wolf Head.

"Catching a bunch of thieves by capturing their leader first- it's not a bad plan. But after seizing this Duffsky, kill as pirates as you can without being exposed. The more they die, the less danger we'll have to face later. Awu, you and Wolf Head form a team with Duffsky as your target. As for the others, wait for action according to the plan," said Tang Xiu coldly.

"Understood!"

Tang Xiu then glanced at Mo Awu and said, "Go and call Awen here. Not even one of these pirates can leave here."

"I'll go now!" said Mo Awu heavily.

Soon, a plan had been devised and after repeated simulation to ensure there were no flaws in it, Tang Xiu ordered the attack after Mo Awu and Mo Awen arrived.

Instead of joining Wolf Head, Mo Awen, and the other 12 men, Tang Xiu quietly approached the castle as though a ghost. Due to his spiritual sense ability that covered a 200 meters' radius and coupled with his keen eyesight, he soon came to the castle walls.

'It looks like these pirates are ready to settle down in Nine Dragon Island! They have installed surveillance cameras in many places of the castle.'

The coldness inside Tang Xiu's eyes was getting thicker and concentrated. He quickly hid in the groves after silently entering the wall. Right at this time, a drunk pirate carrying a gun came out of the building and walked towards his hiding spot.

'You're courting your own death!'

Tang Xiu coldly snorted inside. As the other party drew near six or seven meters away from him, took off his pants and was about to pee, a sharp dagger ripped his throat, blood splattering as his heart was stabbed.

Quickly, Tang Xiu deftly moved and pulled the body into the grove.

Near the palace.

Two pirates armed with guns were chatting and yawning. One of them took out a cigarette and lit it. After deeply inhaling and puffing it out, he muttered downcastly, "Fuck! It's so good a night, yet we brothers can only stay here on night watch while everyone else can fuck those women inside. I gotta look for Second Chief and tell him that I wanna change our shift to daytime."

Another pirate grinned, "Be content with your lot! Those chicks have been terribly tossed about by us in the daytime. Even if you don't have night duties, will your stuff still be able to charge and strike?"

"Who says I can't? Even if I already scored twice, I still can..."

He had yet to finish his words when a pair of big hands covered his mouth along with a sharp Mitsubishi army knife behind him that straightly cut his throat. As he saw his pirate brother dying, he also similarly had his mouth covered and his throat cut by the same knife, which then stabbed his heart, his consciousness then blurring.

Wang Ming sent an 'OK' signal to his comrade as they then immediately took the two rifles from the dead bodies and quickly lurked to the inside.

At the same time, six other pirates who were on the night watch in three other places were also mercilessly slain. Their dead bodies were placed in a standing position on trees or on the wall, while all their firearms were taken away.

In the grove behind the palace. Tang Xiu arrived here after circling around. With his spiritual sense, he could only cover one-fifth of the area of this magnificent palace. However, maybe due to his good luck, he had found Duffsky's location along with a stark naked woman beside him.

He was sure that this man was Duffsky because Wolf Head had secretly taken a photo of him; the appearance in the photo was the same with the man.

Whoosh!

As though an agile Spirit Ape, Tang Xiu silently climbed up to the second-floor window and then quietly entered the palace. The room was a gym with a lot of fitness equipment inside. Evidently, it was left behind by the previous owner. Inside the gym was a pirate with a body full of scars hugging a sleeping woman with tears on her face.

"Puff..."

The pirate's throat was easily ripped open by a dagger as Tang Xiu then quietly opened the door and walked out without disturbing the woman.

Soon, Tang Xiu killed the two passing pirates at the corridor and then smoothly snuck into Duffsky's room.

"Who is it?"

Vigilant as he was, the weak sound of the door opening awakened Duffsky from his sleep as his hands moved under the pillow in a flash.

"Puff..."

Tang Xiu threw the dagger in his hand and precisely hit Duffsky's hand as his figure dashed and appeared in front of him, punching his head fiercely and covering his mouth at the same time.

"Bam..."

Suddenly, Tang Xiu felt a punch hitting his back, causing him to let out a muffled hum due to the immense force. He instantly jumped out of the bed and saw that the stark naked woman had also jumped from the bed and made a fighting pose.

She was also an enemy!

Chilling light gleamed inside Tang Xiu's eyes as he dashed toward the woman. He wouldn't act and kill her if she was an ordinary woman who was taken captive, but never would he show mercy to the pirate because she was female. He shot without using his hand and knocked her down lightning fast, killing her easily.

He then looked back toward the stunned Duffsky and secretly let out a forced and wry smile. He had just neglected the woman, abruptly coming to a realization. It was not only the man who was a threat to him, even the woman was also very dangerous. It was fortunate that the woman had no weapon, otherwise, he would have been shot by now. Perhaps he wouldn't die, but being caught off guard and getting shot in such a close quarters would make him injured.

Furthermore, although getting injured was a trivial matter since bullets couldn't pierce his body easily, but as soon as the gunshot was heard, it would be very loud in the silent night and all the pirates in the entire palace would have been alerted.

After looking for a rope, Tang Xiu then tied up the fainted Duffsky and directly left the room. By now, he could sneakily attack those pirates independently. The more he killed them the less dangerous for them later.

Ten minutes later. Dozens of pirates were killed in their sleep. There were also dozens of pirates in the palace who were mercilessly killed during their farming work on women. As for these captured women who were almost all in a pitiful state, Tang Xiu and his men didn't kill them and directly knocked them out.

"Bang..."

The silent, quiet night was finally broke by a gunshot.

Immediately after, undressed pirates roared and rushed out one by one, grasping their guns and shouted loudly, asking what exactly had happened and who had shot.

During the confusion, Tang Xiu and the other 14 people struck and killed more than 20 pirates by surprise.

"Strike back!"

After Tang Xiu appeared beside Wolf Head and Mo Awu, he issued an order without hesitation.

Fierce gunfight commenced inside the castle. The coordination between Tang Xiu and his men made these pirates vulnerable, collapsing at the first blow. After they took their shots, over a hundred pirates had been killed since the beginning.

Right at this moment, Mo Awu learned from Tang Xiu about Duffsky's room and brought him over as he then woke Duffsky up.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Duffsky immediately shouted after he woke up and found himself tied up with a Mitsubishi army knife pressed on his neck.

"I'm the owner of this island. Tell your henchmen to put their guns down and go the square outside the castle. Otherwise, I'll kill you first." Tang Xiu sneered.

A glittering light suffused in Duffsky's eyes. He had been risking his life and had gone through numerous hopeless situation, but never was he in a more dangerous situation such as now. After staying silent for a moment, he then roared at the dozens of pirates who had been in the corridor, "All of you go to the square outside and drop your guns!"

The pirates looked each other in dismay. They hesitated, because they knew that they would probably be killed once they dropped their guns.

"Bang, bang ..."

A bearded pirate paced two steps forward and fired his guns twice toward Tang Xiu's direction. The target was neither Tang Xiu and the others, but the hostage Duffsky. His marksmanship was very accurate as one shot hit Duffsky's heart and another one hit his forehead, killing him instantly.

"Dodge!"

Tang Xiu's body flashed into the nearby room as the rest quickly hid in other nearby rooms, quickly opening the windows without hesitation and wenting out through the windows fast.

Chapter 304: They're Devils

A roar came from the corridor, followed by fierce gunshots immediately afterward, "DON'T LET THEM RUN! KILL THEM!"

Dozens of pirates rushed in, but after the door was kicked open, nobody was found inside and all the windows were opened.

Two minutes later.

Tang Xiu and the others gathered in the lush woods behind the castle. Apart from one man who had a bullet wound in his arm, the rest were uninjured.

Patting the injured man, Tang Xiu whispered, "How's your injury? Is it serious?"

"It's fine!" the man shook his head.

Turning his head to Wolf Head, Tang Xiu asked in a deep voice, "Who is that pirate who dared to kill Duffsky? Is he not afraid of the other pirates killing him?"

"That's the second leader of the Bloodfish Pirates. This accident is due to my poor plans since I forgot that these pirates are a ruthless and heartless bunch. The other pirates won't blame him for killing Duffsky. They are not idiots, they surely know that they will likely be killed by us after surrendering," said Wolf Head.

"Tonight's action has failed, so we'll withdraw immediately. I can't afford to lose our people to some pirates. If they have the courage, they will continue staying inside the castle. But in any case, we'll continue the attack in the early morning," assented Tang Xiu with a nod.

"Boss, your next plan is...." Said Wolf Head curiously.

"My plan is very simple," said Tang Xiu and grimly smiled. "We'll find every opportunity to sneak raid those pirates constantly. Kill them one by one and as many as we can. All in all, I will kill them and make them so terrified that they'll run away. As long as they come out from the castle, they're dead."

The rest looked at each other and assented with nods. They similarly loathed these evil pirates and had no hesitation to slay them.

Late at night.

Two kilometers away from the castle. Tang Xiu and the rest hid amidst the boulders and trees, quietly watching the castle. They heard sounds of gunfire coming from that side and the roar of the pirates.

The sounds were getting closer and closer.

"Ten men with submachine guns about 650 meters away are searching for us," standing behind the boulder, Wolf Head poked his head out to probe and whispered.

Tang Xiu motioned the Mo brothers as the two quietly slipped into nearby trees immediately. He then said, "Wolf Head, immediately attack them once they reach the vicinity. Do keep in mind to assign the task well and strive to decimate them completely."

"Yes!" Wolf Head replied in a low voice.

Seven or eight minutes later.

Ten armed pirates had caught up to them, but they didn't use flashlights because the enemies were hiding and they didn't want to be attacked in the dark.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several silhouettes silently appeared near the ten pirates. As daggers stabbed into their bodies, more ferocious attacks were launched as they screamed.

Within just five or six seconds, the ten pirates didn't even have time to shoot and were all killed, giving ten submachine guns to Wolf Head and the others.

Tang Xiu kicked the corpse of one of the pirates to the side and coldly looked toward the castle. According to Wolf Head's number count, the number of pirates in the castle should have fallen to less than 100. With ten more of them killed now, the number of pirates lessened yet again.

Soon, the two brothers—Mo Awen and Mo Awu returned with ten guns. They dropped the guns around Tang Xiu and then wiped the blood off their faces, saying, "We also found ten pirates in another direction, so we cleaned them up and also robbed their guns. Anyways, Boss. Should we rush ahead again?"

A smile appeared on the corner of Tang Xiu's mouth as he shook his head and said, "No need to hurry. We're now in the dark while the enemies are in the light. We just need to monitor the entire castle. Once some people came out, kill them. I must make those remaining bastards scared shitless, letting them know what fear is."

"How about me and Awu secretly sneak into the castle to kill some more tonight?" asked Mo Awen.

Tang Xiu laughed, "No problem. Of course, I will also sneak in to kill some of them. Wolf Head, you'll be responsible for monitoring the entire castle. Can you do it?"

Forcing out a wry smile, Wolf Head said, "This castle is rather large and there are a lot of spots we can use to sneak in. We'll try our best though."

"Don't worry, they won't dare to come out so easily either. Even if they do, they will probably come out together," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"It shouldn't be a problem then. The twelve of us will hold one spot each and seal off all the easy paths down the roads descending from the hill," said Wolf Head.

Inside the castle.

Ingelund was holding a submachine gun as he quietly sat in the palatial hall. On the floor in front of him were 78 dead bodies into a pool of blood. Those were the male civilians caught by them. He was in a dire urge to kill, for only blood could stimulate him so that he wouldn't fall into fear.

The number of pirates in the castle which numbered 242 men had been reduced to only 96 after several losses, while the other party were but only a dozen.

They were experts. And powerful ones at that!

He was also once an expert—an ace of the United States' marine corps. As a result of having a conflict with someone in the army and due to him killing the other party, he deserted and escaped the army. Years after escaping he eventually took shelter under Duffsky.

However, he had never once seen such intrepid team. Even the top-notch soldiers in the Marine Corps he was enlisted in that year perhaps couldn't be compared to the other party.

"Second Chief, the Third Chief—Hutu sent two searching teams, a total of 20 men, and they haven't come back until now. Could they gotten in an accident?" A burly, ugly and ferocious looking man strode in from the outside carrying a submachine gun and dozens of magazines on his waist.

Ingelund stared blankly before he suddenly jumped up from the sofa with eyes almost able to kill. He grabbed the big man's clothes and angrily shouted, "What did you say? Hu Tu sent 20 brothers to seek the enemies?"

"Yes!" the burly man was somewhat frenetic and quickly replied.

"How long has it been?" Ingelund roared.

"About an hour," said the burly guy.

Releasing the burly man, Ingelund paled and slightly shivered inside. He had once undergone regular army training and went to many countries to carry out secret missions. Many times had he survived through the forest of guns and hail of bullets, so he knew perfectly well... what the true strength of an elite was.

These enemies were fearsome!

Sending out 20 brothers; Hutu had just sent them to die.

Fuming with anger, Ingelund said, "Where the fuck is Hutu?"

The burly man said, "The third leader is deploying a defensive perimeter and assigning some brothers to stay hidden and some to stay visible as sentries outside. Thus, we'll be able to discover the enemies once they approach this area."

Clenching his fist, Ingelund strode out of the hall and quickly found Hutu. Without any words, he dashed toward Hutu and grabbed his ionized-scalding long hair, forcefully pulling it down and knee kicking Hutu's abdomen, directly sending him into a shrimp-like shape as his body curled up and twitched on the ground.

Following that, he ferociously kicked Hutu's body several times and angrily cursed, "You—fucking goddamn idiot, didn't you see the strength of the enemy clearly? We have more than 200 people, yet with only a dozens of men they killed more than 100 of us. Now tell me, have you seen this kind of enemy before, huh?

"Yet, you unexpectedly sent 20 brothers without my permission. You—fucking bastard just sent those brothers to die. I dare say those 20 brothers have already been killed near the castle by now.

"What a fucking stupid pig! You know nothing about tactics because you—asshole decided to send out the remaining brothers, causing us to receive great casualties yet again. You're no longer the Bloodfish Pirate's third leader henceforth.

"All of you, listen to me. Nobody is ever to listen to him again unless you want to be killed by him.

"Did you all hear me?"

The dozens of pirates nearby watched as Hutu curled up and screamed on the ground. After which, they glanced at the furious Ingelund and finally replied loudly, "Yes. We heard it!"

Ingelund took a deep breath, grabbed Hutu up and said, "If you weren't the only sniper in our Bloodfish pirates and because your loyalty to me, I would really have fucking killed you already. Do remember to stay with me from now on."

"Yes!"

Hutu knew how fearsome Ingelund's strength was, as well as his ruthlessness. Though he was somewhat resentful inside, he was still respectful toward the man.

As Ingelund dropped Hutu, he then spoke in a heavy tone, "Call all of our brothers back to the castle and pack up everything. Collect all the weapons in the castle. We can't stay here any longer or else we'll be killed by the enemies."

"S-second Chief, do you mean... we're running away?" An ordinary pirate leader asked aloud.

Ingelund said in a heavy tone, "Though speaking about 'running away' is rather humiliating to us, that's the truth. The enemies are way too powerful. I had once served in the United States' Marines Corps and fought numerous top fighters from various countries in the world, so I know very well the strength of our enemies. Small in numbers, they are only a dozen people. Yet, be it their individual capabilities or teamwork, they are of the best and the most formidable bunch I've ever seen in my life. We'll die here if we don't run. And they will continue to sneak-raid and kill us. Now tell me, do you... want to die here?"

"NO. I DON'T WANT TO DIE HERE!"

All the remaining pirates shouted loudly.

"Then run from this place since you don't wanna die! We're pirates. Encountering a powerful bunch, we immediately run; meeting weak prey, we squeeze them out of all they have! So get your asses ready to leave this island!!!"

"YES!"

Chapter 305: Constant Harassing

Dozens of pirates returned to the castle and began packing up all the weapons and ammo as well as preparing enough food for the trip. Desperate criminals they might be, but dying was never something they wanted. They were pirates. They committed the most heinous crimes and were wanted by the Interpol. Yet, looting and plundering were what they felt to be in line with their work style.

If someone could live, who the hell would want to die? For dying meant that there would be nothing left for them.

A burly man came to Ingelund and croaked, "Second Chief, what should we do with all the captives? Kill them?"

Knitting his brows, Ingelund asked in a deep voice, "How many of them are left?"

"Except for the seven you just killed, there are still 126 left. Our brothers have them locked up. We can kill them all at once as long as you issue the order," said the burly man.

"How much food is left in the castle exactly?" asked Ingelund once again.

"It should be enough for two months' provisions for our brothers," said the burly man.

A brilliant spark glinted in Ingelund's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Take ten people and keep the rest here. And do remember to take all the food in the castle. Humph... those people said that this place is theirs. I wanna fucking see how they deal with the rest of the captives."

"Huh?" the burly man was puzzled. "Second Chief, why are we leaving them here? Almost all the remaining captives are women, even our brothers have yet to farm dozens of them! Leaving them to the enemies is way too cheap, no?"

"You know nothing, idiot," Ingelund smiled grimly. "We're taking all the food and leaving the captives here, but they too have to eat. If those people don't care about the life and death of these captives, they will not give their food to these women and thus will starve them to death. But if they do give some of their provisions to these women, humph... would their provisions be able to support that?"

"You mean..." the burly was astonished, "You want to drag down the enemies with the women?"

"Exactly!" said Ingelund proudly.

The burly man hesitated for a moment and then said, "Then why don't we leave all the women behind instead of taking only ten of them?"

Ingelund slapped the burly man's head and cursed angrily, "Are you a fucking idiot? Nobody can say if we can escape safely! For now, we can only expect that they won't ignore the captives. If they do, we can use those ten as hostages to get away scot-free!"

"I see!" the burly man scratched his head as his rough face grinned hideously.

The Bloodfish pirates moved very fast, which was something they rarely did. Within a short half an hour, all the weapons and foodstuffs in the castle had been packed up. Each and every one of them now carried a large bag as they quietly left the castle from the back under the protection of 20-30 armed pirates.

As for the civilian they held captive, all of them were locked up in the hall, as even all the windows were tightly nailed with planks.

Halfway up the hillside behind the castle, Wang Ming and his comrade were hiding amid the thick patches of grass with mini binoculars in their hands, watching all the movements in the castle's surroundings.

"Someone's coming!" Wang Ming suddenly whispered.

The other man observed for several seconds and then whispered back, "It's the pirates in the castle. They are seemingly about to flee."

Wang Ming nodded, took out a satellite phone and dialed a number.

"Wolf Head, the pirates are about to flee. They're carrying a large number of arms and foodstuff and are also holding ten civilians. They are heading up toward the back hill."

"Copy that! Be careful and take cover!"

Wolf Head's voice came from the satellite phone.

In another direction.

Taking back the satellite phone, Wolf Head looked at Tang Xiu and said, "Boss, those pirates are about to run away and heading toward Wang Ming's position. They should be taking down the trails there. And I suspect that their ships are also hidden there."

"Let's catch up and find the right time to strike and kill them. Tell the rest to prioritize their safety first," said Tang Xiu with a sneer.

"Roger that!"

Wolf Head immediately used the satellite phone and typed a message to the group.

Ten minutes later, Tang Xiu led Wolf Head and the others to Wang Ming's location. Watching the leaving pirates on the curving hill road below through mini binoculars, Tang Xiu coldly smiled and said in a deep voice, "Awen, Awu. How many people can you kill without injuring the civilians if you were to ambush them?"

"At least ten," said Mo Awen after pondering for a moment.

"Then go! Also, throw them into confusion and make some trouble for them to slow down their escape." Tang Xiu approved with a nod.

"Roger that!"

Mo Awen and Mo Awu replied and soon disappeared into the nearby woods.

Turning to look at Wolf Head, Tang Xiu then said, "Take your men and cross to the side. Try to set some traps in front of them within 20 minutes, and then kill as many pirates as you can."

"Copy that!"

Licking his lips, Wolf Head replied and immediately left with the other eleven men.

Tang Xiu stepped on the boulder and quickly chased downwards. He moved fast and as smooth as usual. Within just two minutes, he had caught up hundreds of meters behind the fleeing opposite party. Without being discovered by them, he then went into hiding.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

A series of gunshots were heard as several pirates in the forefront fell to the ground one after another. Two submachine guns' licking flames were as though harvesters that claimed the lives of the pirates in the forefront as though they were wheat. As for Ingelund who was in the forefront, were it not because of his fast reaction to instantly grab a pirate near him to block the line of bullets, he would have also been shot dead.

"SCATTER AND STRIKE BACK!"

Ingelund pushed the pirate's sieved dead body and retreated into the bushes nearby like a cheetah. After rolling for several times and positioning himself there, he aimed the muzzle of his submachine gun at the direction of the shots.

"Bang, bang..."

As the dark muzzled aimed to the front and the trigger was pulled, bullets sprayed as though a torrential downpouring. Branches were sent flying and rocks were scattered around. Yet, the sound of gunshots had stopped and the two enemy men had already left that position.

Right at this moment, the other pirates who were carrying guns also began to counterattack toward the direction where the gunshots started. After half a minute of shooting, some people even had changed to their second magazine.

"STOP FIRING AND SAVE YOUR AMMO!" Ingelund growled.

Immediately, the pirates no longer fired, but they still hid in the surrounding thicket, looking for the enemies through the slit of branches and leaves. Unfortunately, no matter how they looked for them, they couldn't any of their traces.

This waiting game was exceptionally terrible!

Intense fear engulfed the heart of every pirate, for they couldn't even see a shadow of the enemies who had ruthlessly shot dozens of their brothers. Looking through the branches and leaves at those who had fallen in a pool of blood, their hearts fell into the abyss.

"S-second Chief, what should we do?"

Armed with a sniper rifle, Hutu had been observing for quite a long time through his sniper scope, yet he couldn't find even a trace of the enemies. He carefully turned back and asked Ingelund who was a few meters away from him.

With coldness suffused in his eyes, Ingelund shook his head and looked at the back. He then spoke in a heavy voice, "Tell someone to use those civilians to block the guns, making them our human shields. If those bastards hiding in the dark were to open fire, let them kill those civilians first!"

Quickly, seven or eight pirates crawled up from the thicket and quickly came in front of the ten civilians who were lying on the ground. After beating them for a while, they picked them up from the ground and pushed their backs.

"Take the lead!"

The ten civilians, six of whom were men and four were rather pretty women were forced to help the pirates to carry the food and medicines.

At this moment, they looked deathly pale with frightened expressions. Two quite timid women even had their legs trembling.

"P-please, I beg you. Don't kill us."

A tall and big man suddenly wept like a little girl out of fright. His legs were trembling, lips shivering, and there even was a watermark in his crotch.

"You fucking asshole. You got scared and peed yourself?"

The pirate behind him who just smelt his pee smashed the tall man's head fiercely, causing the badly beaten man to straightly fall to the ground.

After that, he then grabbed the man again, pushing his gun against him to make the man lead the way in front.

"Tak..."

A stone suddenly came shooting from the distant thicket and accurately hit that pirate's temple. A bloody was hole created, directly killing him.

Quickly, the leaves and branches of that thicket swayed as a man's silhouette flashed.

Down the middle of the pirates, Ingelund, who found that another man was killed, wasn't startled as he shouted loudly, "All you lot be alerted! Be careful not to be caught in a sneak attack by the enemy again. If those bastards dare to attack again and kill one of our brothers, just kill one civilian."

"Bang..."

A gunshot sounded as the badly beaten man's head was shot in the head by Ingelund and died on the spot.

Hopelessness and despair filled the hearts of the other nine civilians upon hearing Ingelund's words. They knew they were as good as dead. This place was a battlefield and not under the rule and law of the society. In this hellish place, a human could die at anytime.

Hiding amid the thicket, Tang Xiu's eyelids slanted after hearing it, the murderous intent inside him getting thicker. He just identified Ingelund. It was the man who shot and killed the Bloodfish Pirates' leader—Duffsky, the second leader of the Bloodfish Pirates... Ingelund.

'This bastard is ruthless and merciless; he must be the first one to be killed. The other pirate members will collapse at once without their leaders. However, the problem is the remaining nine civilians over there.'

Tang Xiu thought for a moment and faintly felt that the situation was somewhat tricky.

Chapter 306: Annihilated

Under the dark night's obscure moonlight, Tang Xiu quietly left as though a ghost and soon appeared at a dark secluded thicket. He took out a satellite phone and then called Wolf Head.

"The pirates are using hostages to threaten us. How can we get rid of all the pirates while ensuring the safety of the hostages?" Tang Xiu whispered.

"It's very difficult to achieve, unless we wait and retreat."

"Wait and retreat?" Tang Xiu was somewhat puzzled.

"As long as they are on the island and holding the captives, we can achieve nothing if we want to kill them as well as ensure the safety of the hostages. Unless they board the ship and set sail, only then can we sneak into their ship and assassinate them," said Wolf Head.

"What you proposed is also a solution. But if they board the ship, it will be very hard for us to slip into the ship to assassinate them without us being spotted. Also, we gotta decimate the second leader of this Bloodfish Pirates as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will still have a backbone, greatly increasing the difficulty for us to assassinate them," said Tang Xiu.

Wolf Head was silent for several seconds before he then slowly said, "Then, I'll assassinate this Ingelund."

"No. It's very easy for me to kill him, but I fear those hostages will be killed if I rashly kill him," said Tang Xiu.

"I have observed the remaining pirates. They have a total 61 people left now. If all of us were to coordinate and ambush them in a strategic terrain, shooting at them in a close distance, we should be able to kill more than half of their numbers. Also, we need to assign four of our people to stay on guard to especially observe those pirates. whoever amongst them shoots the hostages in the forefront, they must kill them in advance. However, I can't guarantee that all the hostages will survive, though," said Wolf Head.

Tang Xiu silently analyzed Wolf Head's proposal in his mind. If he let those pirates leave, the remaining nine hostages would highly likely be killed. But if he carried on the killing and rescue on Nine Dragon Island, some of the hostages would probably die.

After measuring and weighing the whole situation, Tang Xiu made up his mind and said in a heavy voice, "We'll do it according to your suggestion. Killing these pirates is a risky and dangerous act in itself and dying is but also a possibility. We'll do our best even if those hostages are in a dangerous situations."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Xiu watched the pirates' advancing direction. He circled from the flank as though a fast wind or a electrical spark. After four to five minutes, he approached Wolf Head and the others' hiding place.

"Have you informed Awen and Awu?" Tang Xiu took the binoculars handed by his man and whispered.

"They have been informed and should be here soon," said Wolf Head.

Nodding in reply, Tang Xiu then used the binoculars to observe, finding that the pirates were holding the remaining nine hostages and walking toward this direction. At this time, they looked frightened and constantly moved their guns' muzzles around.

"Boss, considering their speed, it should take about four minutes for them to arrive at our position. Are you thinking to make this spot as an ambush point?" asked Wolf Head in a whisper.

Looking at the surrounding, Tang Xiu assented with a nod, "Yes. Though we are in a disadvantageous position because of the inclination, our tracks are completely concealed. Unless they climb the boulders on both sides, they won't be able find us. Also, we mustn't open fire before they've arrived and we can't accidentally hurt the hostages in the forefront. Hence, we must wait until they passed, shooting them in the back."

"Boss, I think it's not quite right. We should put a few people here while the rest circle to the back. But the four men staying here, their main purpose is to monitor those pirates who are very close to the hostages and can freely kill them. If they find that their muzzles are aimed at the hostages, they will shoot them immediately," said Wolf Head.

"OK!" After thinking, Tang Xiu directly approved it.

He didn't have knowledge about military tactics and devising battle plans. But Wolf Head was once the top ace of the country's special forces and had undertaken numerous missions and devised numerous battle plans by himself. Thus, his opinion was worth employing.

Shortly after, the Mo brothers also quickly arrived and approved with a nod upon hearing Wolf Head's idea.

"Awen, Awu; both of you, along with Wolf Head and Wang Ming, will team up. Your main purpose is to kill those pirates who are close to the hostages. I will kill Ingelund first while the rest will slay the other pirates as fast as you can. We must be fast, ruthless and accurate. If any pirates escape, you don't need to chase them down, kill most of the pirates first instead," said Tang Xiu.

"No problem!" Everyone nodded.

Time flew by.

Quickly, those pirates holding the hostages were about a hundred meters away from Awen, Awu, and the others' ambush point. Behind them were Tang Xiu with five of his men, following along quietly. The distance was only 40-50 meters away from the pirates in the forefront.

"Keep yourselves concealed and approach them as close as you can," Tang Xiu ordered in a whisper.

A minute after, Tang Xiu climbed up a big tree and looked through the branches and leaves. The pirates were about 20-30 meters away as his vision swept at them and then finally locked on Ingelund, aiming his muzzle at him.

"Bang..."

A gunshot was sound as a bloody hole was created on the back of Ingelund's head. His eyes stared wide as he turned his head with difficulty to look at Tang Xiu's direction. His vision turned blurred as he lost his consciousness and died on the spot.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

"Rat-tat-tat..."

Intense gunfire broke out as tongues of flames burst in and out.

Bullets poured out as though raindrops, aiming toward the pirates, while submachine guns' shots also barked from both sides of the pirates.

"RUUUN! AAAAH!"

A pirate who was scared to death screamed sharply as he snowballed himself to avoid the bullets fired into the nearby thicket. Unfortunately, bad luck befell unto him as a bullet made a hole on his head and he finally dropped down on the thick patches of grass, motionless.

Of the more than 60 pirates, except for those who were shot dead, all fled to every direction. They didn't have the capacity and reaction a regular army possessed, neither they possessed the loftiness to be valiant and fearless. They were pirates, hoodlums, and thugs who would even betray their souls for money and benefits. When they were powerful, they would ruthlessly bully and massacre others, but in the face of more powerful and vicious enemies, they would fall into fear and run away.

After half a minute, except for dead bodies everywhere, only seven or eight pirates who were lucky enough to quickly flee into the bushes by the side of the road were left. The rest all died a horrible death. But four among the nine hostages were shot and killed during the counterattack of the pirates, along with two injured.

Tang Xiu strode into the middle of the dead bodies and released his spiritual sense to cover the area.

"Bang, bang..."

As his fingers pulled the trigger, he directly shot and killed four or five severely wounded pirates who were not directly killed and pretending to be dead.

Retracting his spiritual sense, Tang Xiu looked at the frightened hostages on the ground and asked in a deep voice, "Tell me who you are!"

A white-haired Caucasian man with an injured leg who sat slumped on the ground answered, "We are the residents of the Southern Bird Island who got caught and held captives by them! Who are you guys?"

"I'm the owner of this island," said Tang Xiu.

"You lie. The owner of this island is James—James Bond. I once helped him construct the buildings here. He's a good rich man," said the Caucasian man whilst shaking his head.

"Don't tell me you don't know that he's sold this island? I'm the one who bought this island! Do remember later, my Chinese name is Tang Xiu and I'm the owner of this place," said Tang Xiu lightly.

The man gulped down his saliva and said in a bit of awe, "I'll remember your name."

Tang Xiu nodded and then said to Wolf Head and his men around, "Two of you stay here and dress up their wounds. The rest will chase down and kill the rest of the pirates. Do remember to kill them completely or as many as possible. If they run too fast and you can't find them, then let them be. In short, I don't want any pirates on Nine Dragon Island before dawn."

"Roger that, Boss!"

Wolf Head motioned two men as the rest then ran toward the forested hills around. But Mo Awen and Mo Awu entered the woods to chase down the pirates.

Then, Tang Xiu looked at the Southern Bird Island's residents and calmly said, "You don't have to be afraid. I'm the owner of this place and not one of these vicious pirates. Not only will I guarantee your safety, I'll also ensure your safe departure of this island. For now, I'll have to trouble you to return to the castle with us. Then I'll send some people to escort you back to Southern Bird Island after you have a good rest tomorrow."

"Thank you. Thank you very much!"

Upon hearing it, the five people immediately looked ecstatic.

****

Inside the castle, over a hundred residents from Southern Bird Island were tied and locked up in a spacious hall. Each and every one of them had panicked expressions on their faces and were desperately struggling. Of the more than 100 of them, only six were men and the rest were women, mostly pretty young women.

These women, many of them wore clothes that were unable to cover their figures and apparently had received severe abuse.

"Mayor Oshima, you gotta find a solution fast. If we can't escape, we'll all die here!" With panic filling her eyes, a slightly fat woman quickly spoke with a tone of anxiousness and restlessness.

In front of her was the mayor of Southern Bird Island, Kawasaki Oshima.

Southern Bird Island originally had a small area, and the highest point on the ground didn't even exceed ten meters above the sea level. However, due to the earthquake a few years ago, leading to the increase of the surface level of the Southern Bird Island, the area also increased two or three times. From thereon, many immigrants had set up their home on this island.

The entire Southern Bird Island only had a small town with a total population of no more than 1,000 people. Because Kawasaki Oshima had a high status there, everyone voted him as the mayor. In actuality, he was a mayor under the jurisdiction of the Japan government. After all, several thousand kilometers around the Southern Bird Island and dozens of islands there were under Japan's jurisdiction.

He was already over his 40s and it didn't betray Kawasaki Oshima's old state. He desperately struggled in an attempt to break the ropes on his body, but his futile efforts amounted to nothing. Those pirates' skill in tying up and binding were truly excellent. He worked hard for half an hour, yet there was no sign of it loosening.

Chapter 307: Liberators

Time passed by and the over hundred people in the hall were getting more desperate. Except for a few who knew the existence of Nine Dragon Island, the rest had never even heard of this place. Such foreign environment, brutal pirates and, coupled with the burst of gunfire sounding from time to time, it were as though a Taoist voodoo spell was hastening them to their deaths and scaring them.

In the corner, Yi Lianyan had already severed the rope that tied her hands behind her back. However, she didn't get up yet and even pushed her back to the corner and maintained the same posture. But her hand tightly held a folding fruit knife.

She loved the ocean and used her summer vacation from Shanghai to visit the Southern Bird Island. Savoring the taste of the customs and visiting the beautiful environment there, even the only hotel where she stayed was facing the ocean. It was as though a warm spring with blooming flowers everywhere.

Unfortunately, after having stayed in Southern Bird Island for more than half a month, when she was about to go to the other islands near Southern Bird Island, the pirates that had snuck into the island began their plunder. Thanks to her life in Sichuan Opera family who possessed magical changing appearance techniques for generations, hence, she hastily used the cosmetics she brought to change her appearance when the pirates weren't paying attention to her.

She actually possessed a beautiful face, but as the result of her efforts, she looked extremely ugly. It was precisely because of this that she was lucky enough to escape the abuses and ravages of those pirates and was locked up with a few others.

"Everyone please think of a solution! We can escape even if only one person has untied his or her rope," Kawasaki Oshima was restless as he sweated profusely.

After half a minute, nobody responded. No one got up.

Yi Lianyan's expression constantly changed. She didn't know whether there were still pirates outside. Were they still there and learned she was the first to untie her rope, they would probably kill her.

'What should I do?'

Inside her innermost heart, a fierce battle commenced, causing her expression to constantly change.

'I gotta go ahead regardless. Even if there's only a slim chance of survival, I must get a hold of it. It's better to act rather than resign myself to death and do nothing.' A determined expression finally appeared on Yi Lianyan's eyes as she removed the ropes from her body and suddenly stood.

"Bang..."

The muffled sound of a gunshot sounded.

Yi Lianyan's face greatly changed. She instantly judged that someone had just shot the lock on the hall's door. Almost in a flash, she squatted on the floor, scrambling to grab the ropes and casually wrapped it back around her body.

In the next moment, the hall's door was trampled open as several men in casual attire with submachine guns rushed into the hall. Upon seeing the situation inside, they instantly aimed their muzzles at the people inside.

"The hostages are here, Boss!" A man turned his head and shouted toward the outside.

Tang Xiu's figure appeared at the door as his eyes swept toward the crowd in the hall with anger suffused in his eyes. The vast majority of these hostages were women, most of whom were in a very pitiful and embarrassing state and had apparently been raped and ravaged.

In the corner, Yi Lianyan's eyes instantly stared wide-eyed with an ecstatic expression in her eyes. The big man who just spoke was neither using English or Japanese. It was pure Mandarin.

'Mandarin? Are they from China?'

Her breathing turned faster. After firming her heart, she immediately stood and shouted, "Hey, I'm Chinese, and you are?"

Tang Xiu was stunned, looking at Yi Lianyan's extremely ugly changed face and found that her clothes were still intact with only some scratches on her face. He immediately approached her and said, "Yes, we're Chinese. I didn't expect that these pirates also had kidnapped one of our fellow countrymen. What's your name?"

"Yi Lianyan!"

"How did you get caught?" asked Tang Xiu.

"I was visiting this place, making use of my summer vacation after the CET. I eventually got captured and was transported with them here," said Yi Lianyan.

Tang Xiu shook his head and sighed, "You luck is not good, but it's not bad either. Congratulations. You're free now."

Several men with submachine guns put their muzzles down and began to untie the hostages. After everyone stood, Kawasaki Oshima came before Tang Xiu with a face full of excitement and then respectfully said, "Hello, I'm Kawasaki Oshima. Thank you for saving us. You're our savior and liberator, we will remember you."

Tang Xiu knitted his brows and asked lightly, "You're all Japanese?"

"Yes!" said Kawasaki Oshima.

"Take a rest first then! I'll send some people to escort you back after dawn. Also, I hope you won't spread what happened here," said Tang Xiu.

"Dear Sir, we must try our best to publicize this act of kindness. After all, you drove away those pirates and you're also our hero. It is only right if everyone all over the world knows your heroic deeds," said Kawasaki Oshima.

Tang Xiu indifferently looked at him and said lightly, "We are no heroes nor was it necessary for us to save you. It's just that I have bought this island, whereas those pirates happened to be occupying it, so it was necessary for us to drive them away. Hence, rescuing you was just a passing incident. Not to mention that once the matters here were to spread out, it would only bring us a lot of troubles."

The over hundred rescued people looked at each other. They didn't understand what Tang Xiu was saying. However, Tang Xiu was the one who rescued their lives, they didn't want to bring trouble for him. Hence, they promised not to disclose anything that happened in this place.

Certainly, the majority of them were women, to begin with. So they were naturally very satisfied with Tang Xiu's request to keep the matter confidential. After all, they were just violated by the pirates, which was severely detrimental to their reputations.

Tang Xiu then said in a deep voice, "Anyhow, it is not particularly safe outside, though. Some pirates have escaped and I can't guarantee they won't be back sneaking here again to avenge their comrades. Thus, you have to stay here until we make sure that all the remaining pirates have left."

"Alright..."

"Thank you..."

"..."

Tang Xiu shook his head and was ready to leave as Yi Lianyan quickly rushed over and grabbed his arm. She then shook her head and said, "I don't want to stay here. Can I go with you?"

"You are the only Chinese here?" asked Tang Xiu after a moment's hesitation.

"There's only me," said Yi Lianyan with a nod.

"Come then! Hopefully the scene outside won't scare you off too much," said Tang Xiu.

After leaving the hall, Tang Xiu then said to several of his men who just came out, "Pile up all the dead bodies and then wait for Wolf Head and the others to come back."

"Yes!" the several men immediately dispersed upon hearing it.

Half an hour later, Wolf Head, the Mo brothers, and the others arrived back and brought along six dead bodies. After throwing the corpses at the square outside the castle, Wolf Head respectfully said, "Boss, we only caught six, a few of them have escaped. After we caught up to them, we found that those several pirates had been long gone by ship."

Tang Xiu nodded, "Since they have escaped, just count it as their good luck. Anyways, pile up all the corpses! After burning them, we'll clean up the castle."

"Yes!" Wolf Head respectfully replied.

Tang Xiu then looked to Mo Awen and said, "After dawn, take some men and escort those civilian captives to Southern Bird Island. After you got there, warn them to keep it all confidential."

"Understood!" Mo Awen replied with a nod.

After the fierce and intense night battle, only a few of the more than 200 pirates escaped as all others were killed here, making Tang Xiu rather satisfied with the victory. None of his men died and only a few were injured.

However, the damage to the castle was not small due to the gun battle. However, since Tang Xiu had planned to rebuild the place, he didn't seriously mind it. With Mo Awu accompanying him, he visited the entire castle and strolled around for several hours before returning to the square outside the castle with satisfaction.

Yi Lianyan, who had been following Tang Xiu, tried to ask him questions many times, yet, seeing as how Tang Xiu was full of enthusiasm, she repressed her questions inside.

At this moment, she finally couldn't help asking, "Big Brother Tang, did you really buy this island?"

"Yup," Tang Xiu laughed.

Once again, she asked, "Who are you really? What are you gonna do with such an isolated island? To my knowledge, it would perhaps take 24 hours to sail from here to Southern Bird Island. Also, this place is very difficult to find if you have no precise sea route navigation."

"Have you read Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring?" Tang Xiu laughed.

Yi Lianyan's eyes stared wide, astounded, "I have. It's the lore in the textbooks of junior high school. You mean... you want to build a paradise here?"

"Yup. I want to build a paradise here," Tang Xiu laughed.

Yi Lianyan's mouth twitched a few times as she said with a strange expression, "Rich men such as you have very particular hobbies. But how would your men be so powerful? They killed those ferocious pirates without batting an eye. Also, those pirates had more than 200 people, yet only a few of them escaped, while the rest were all killed by you and your men. Isn't this rather too much?"

Tang Xiu smiled faintly, "I don't want to answer this question. But I can give you some words for free, though."

"What words?" asked Yi Lianyan, puzzled.

Letting out a smile that was yet unlike one, Tang Xiu said, "A genuinely smart person is someone who knows how to feign ignorance. But someone who knows nothing yet wants to know the bottom of the matter would be just like the saying -- 'curiosity killed the cat'."

Yi Lianyan was stupefied for a moment as she then instantly lowered her head and fell into silence.

Letting out a faint smile, Tang Xiu then turned to Wolf Head and said, "I give you ten days to investigate the whole Nine Dragon Island. I must make sure that nobody except us are in this place. Besides, I'll also draw architectural designs and decide the construction company that will cooperate with me before I return to the mainland."

"Boss, I think the constructions here are rather fine! Why do you want to rebuild it?" said Wolf Head.

Chapter 308: Heavenly Blessed Land

Tang Xiu didn't explain to Wolf Head his plan to make Nine Dragon Island into a Heavenly Blessed Land—the world's most suitable land for cultivation. Even if he told Wolf Head, the man wouldn't be able to comprehend it.

After having landed on Nine Dragon Island, Tang Xiu keenly perceived that the concentration of heaven and earth's spiritual qi here was at least five times richer than in other places. When one take a deep breath, their body would feel comfortable. Were the Nine Dragon Spitting Pearl's secret area build completely here, the concentration of spiritual qi in the island would be a dozen times richer than the outside, even possible reaching 100 times.

However, he didn't dare do it, for common people would perhaps choke to death were the concentration of spiritual qi in this place reach hundreds of times than that of the outside world.

"Don't ask so many questions. You'll understand it after this place has been rebuilt."

Waving his hand and hinting at him to busy himself with other things, Tang Xiu then turned and headed toward the edge of the square. Looking down to the land below, his eyes finally landed on a hundred of meters wide prominent area bordering the woodland and the beach.

The sun was rising.

The moment the red glowing sun rose, Tang Xiu could clearly see a mass stream of purple qi descending from the sky to the earth as it stretched out to reach the highest point of the land.

'Purple Qi of Supreme Emperor? How is it possible for a Supreme Emperor Purple Qi to appear on Earth?'

Tang Xiu's body greatly shook as a shocked expression burst out from his eyes. One must know that the Purple Qi of Supreme Emperor was the most distinct characteristic of the Purple Yang Star domain in the Immortal World. The domain only had nine regions, with each having a stream of Purple Qi descending every year, and every stream of Purple Qi would bring enormous benefits for the Immortals.

When Tang Xiu was in the Immortal World, he had once obtained two streams of Supreme Emperor Purple Qi after paying a great price. But he never imagined that it would also exist in this place.

'If I can fuse this Purple Qi of Supreme Emperor into my body, it will definitely bring me enormous benefits. Perhaps I'd be able to break through to the Flesh Strengthening stage.'

Excitement! Ecstasy!

It was rather hard to express Tang Xiu's mood at this moment. He had returned from the Immortal World for a short time and his cultivation was still progressing slowly, hence, he had to find a shortcut if he wanted to get stronger.

A few minutes later, Tang Xiu appeared at the spot where the Purple Qi of Supreme Emperor dissipated. He didn't give special attention to this place when he disembarked from the ship. At this time, he released his spiritual sense and had his star force surge in his meridians. He immediately sensed that the spiritual qi in this spot was very thin, yet he could feel a strong fluctuation of spiritual force under his foot.

"Huh?" Tang Xiu was dumbfounded and astounded, "There's a... Spirit Spring underneath?"

This discovery astounded him to the point that it was hard for him to recover. He had speculated that the entire Nine Dragon Island must have a Spiritual Vein, yet he never imagined that not only did this place possess a spiritual vein, even a Spirit Spring existed here.

A land featuring spiritual force would have an impact on a Spirit Spring, making the land accumulate a huge spiritual force. Were a cultivator to practice in such a place, not only would he be able to absorb the spiritual qi between heaven and earth, he could also draw the spiritual force within the Spirit Spring, resulting in double the result with half the effort. [1]

'Could there be other Spirit Springs?'

Recalling the other eight roads that extended to the seaport, Tang Xiu immediately flashed toward the nearest road to the seaport. Ten minutes later, he stood there, releasing his spiritual sense as his star force inside revolved crazily. Immediately after, a look of ecstasy covered his face.

It was there! He could clearly feel the Spirit Spring!

'Could it be that all the end-point of the nine roads to the seaport have a Spirit Spring?'

To confirm this marvelous thought, Tang Xiu began to survey around the entire Nine Dragons Island without stopping. The excitement on his face turned slightly thicker every time he arrived at another road. When he had completely verified all the nine roads to the seaport, his excited face couldn't be brighter.

Each endpoint of the nine roads to the seaport had a Spirit Spring.

Nine Spirit Springs!

With the existence of these Spirit Springs, Tang Xiu could foresee his training of a large number of experts in the future with ease. Even after the Nine Dragons Spitting Pearl's secret area had been built, cultivating a large number of people into Immortal Realm experts would also not be a problem.

'It's a must to make the best of the time for the reconstruction of this place.'

After pondering for a moment, Tang Xiu suddenly decided not to use overseas construction companies. He quickly took a satellite phone and dialed Long Zhengyu's cell number.

"Hello, Long Zhengyu speaking. Who am I speaking with?" a deep voice belonging to Long Zhengyu was transmitted from the phone.

"It's me, Tang Xiu!" said Tang Xiu.

Star City. At the Director's Office of the Long Group.

For a moment Long Zhengyu dazed, as a smile then immediately appeared on his face, saying, "Tang Xiu, I've been calling you these days but was unable to get through you. Where are you now?"

"Is there something you're calling me for?" asked Tang Xiu.

"It's not a big deal. I just wanna ask whether you are in need of medicinal herbs. It's also related to the list of herbs you gave Chu Yi. My dad met with his old buddy a couple days ago, and his buddy has a medicinal herbs business in Haiqing Province. That time, I was accompanying my dad and spoke to him about it, but I never thought he'd have so many good stuff there," Long Zhengyu laughed.

"I'll take it, as many as possible," said Tang Xiu immediately.

"OK. Then I'll contact him later. I promise to get you a number of good quality medicinal herbs. Ah, right. Something's up?" said Long Zhengyu with a smile.

"Yup, and it's very important. I really want to talk to you in person, though. But I'm abroad now, so I can only speak about it on the phone," said Tang Xiu in a deep voice.

"Tell me!" replied Long Zhengyu with a serious tone.

"I have bought an island overseas and want to develop it, but I need a trusted and reliable construction company for it," said Tang Xiu.

A hard to describe expression appeared on Long Zhengyu's face as he wryly smiled and said, "Brother Tang, it's not an matter to handle! We don't have a construction company abroad, and we know nothing about the specific situation overseas."

"Can you register a company here? It's better to bring all the construction team from the mainland. It's fine even if I have to spend more money," said Tang Xiu.

Forcing out a smile, Long Zhengyu said, "This is not a problem that spending more money will solve. It's rather very troublesome to register a construction company overseas if the project is small."

"Zhengyu, you're mistaken. The island development I'm talking about is definitely not a small project. The sum I'm going to invest in it is at least 20 billion," said Tang Xiu in a deep voice.

"How much?" Long Zhengyu jumped from his chair and shouted.

"20 billion. And that's the minimal estimation."

Long Zhengyu breathed faster. A big project with over 20 billion funds was something he hadn't heard many times in the country. If his Long family could undertake such a huge project, they could still make a lot of money even though they wouldn't be able to take other projects for two or three years.

"I'll take it!" Long Zhengyu shouted with slightly red eyes.

"No problem. Since you wanna do it, you'd better come to my place tomorrow. I'll send someone to Saipan to pick you up there," said Tang Xiu.

"There's a slight concern from me, though. If we can solve it, I can even begin to make arrangements for the construction team and equipment and get ready to go to your island," said Long Zhengyu quickly.

"What concern do you have?" asked Tang Xiu.

"It's about the situation in Saipan. I'm not familiar with that place as well as things related to the government, so it will be troublesome. You, on the other hand, have broad contacts. Do you have someone reliable who can help me over there?" said Long Zhengyu.

Tang Xiu was silent for a moment before slowly said, "There should be one."

"Who's the person?" asked Long Zhengyu quickly with a slightly happy expression revealed on his face.

"He's a friend of my man and seems to be someone with a quite powerful influence in Saipan. I can ask him for help if you have anything you can't handle on your end," said Tang Xiu.

"No probs. Well, I'll be going tomorrow... No, I'll rush to Saipan today. Tell me where to meet your men there," said Long Zhengyu in a deep voice.

"Lao Bay Resort," said Tang Xiu.

After hanging up the phone, Tang Xiu pondered for a moment. With that done he must leave for Saipan to have a good chat with Tom Reggie. If the man wanted to join them in this venture, then he would give him some benefits.

Not to mention that if the reconstruction in Nine Dragons Island had been completed and this place becomes his supreme headquarters, the frequency of his travels to Saipan would increase, thus it'd be necessary to have a good relationship with the man.

"Big Brother Tang!"

A hundred of meters away on the coastline, Yi Lianyan, who had removed the makeup on her face, turned into her former beautiful appearance.

Tang Xiu put the satellite phone away as he looked at Yi Lianyan in front of him. Astounded, he said, "Your face..."

Yi Lianyan laughed, "It's just a trivial means to make myself look ugly so that those pirates shut me out."

Tang Xiu suddenly realized as he secretly admired this girl's astuteness inside.

"Anyways, is there something you need from me? Didn't I tell my men to escort all of you back?"

"The others have been sent off, but I don't want to go. I think this place is good and it's rather safe to be here with you! So I want to stay here for some time," said Yi Lianyan quickly.

"It's not good for you to follow us. We're a bunch of men," said Tang Xiu with a wry smile.

"It's fine! You're a bunch of 'good' men, so I can stay here. Besides, you also need to eat, don't you? I can cook for you! My cooking is rather good as well! I can also do the laundry as well as do the cleaning. In short, you won't lose out in having me stay here," said Yi Lianyan.

Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing, "Fine. Since you wanna stay, then stay! But I'll leave Nine Dragons Island today to Saipan to take care of something. I'm afraid I'll only be back a few days later."

"What are you gonna do in Saipan?" Puzzled, Yi Lianyan asked.

"Work stuff," said Tang Xiu.

After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Can I go with you?"

Tang Xiu shook his head, "Nope. If you wanna go with me to Saipan, then you can no longer follow me back. After I bring my friend here, then you can leave with him."

Hesitating for a moment, she then said, "Then I'll stay! I just realized that this island has a great environment. Not to mention that I can stay in that luxurious castle. To be honest, I've never seen such a luxurious palace in my life! Big Brother Tang, you're really filthy rich."

Chapter 309: Breakthrough

Rich?

The thing Tang Xiu most lacked right now was exactly money. Rebuilding Nine Dragon Island itself required a terrifying sum. Yet, the amount he had in hands was not sufficient. Hence, his mind was filled with ideas where he could obtain more when he called Long Zhengyu.

However, rebuilding Nine Dragon Island was not a project that could be completed within a short time. Given some time, his Magnificent Tang Corp might possibly start making a profit. With a steady flow of financial support, maybe he wouldn't need to worry about money later.

"So, what do you need me for?" said Tang Xiu to change the topic.

"If It's not for a meal, then what?" said Yi Lianyan with a smile. "I was trying to find you to eat breakfast, but I couldn't find you anywhere. It's noon, so I tried my luck coming here. Never thought you'd really be here, though."

"Let's go back and have breakfast then," said Tang Xiu with a nod.

At this time, all the dead bodies in the castle had been gathered and burnt. Those who were captured by the pirates had been sent back while the dead were taken away. As for how those who left would resettle and what they wanted to do, it was up to them.

As Wolf Head and the rest had been cleaning up the castle the entire morning as well as dealing with the broken things, it now looked a lot neater and orderly.

After lunch, while watching Yi Lianyan who was quickly cleaning up the tableware, Tang Xiu gave Wolf Head a hand signal as the duo then headed toward the castle's gate.

"What's your order, Boss?"

"I'm about to leave Nine Dragons Island to go back to Saipan and handle some stuff there. So this place will be yours to manage," said Tang Xiu.

"Don't worry, Boss!" said Wolf Head.

"If that girl—Yi Lianyan wants to stay here, let her be and take care of her. She will also do the laundry and cooking. Also, you are to investigate the entire island while I'm away. If there are other people here, immediately apprehend them and wait for me to come back to handle it. If not, then you are to stay on guard. I believe that it will take a while before the construction project team arrives here," said Tang Xiu.

"Alright. We'll be stationed here, but it will be quite difficult to guard the entire island since we have too few personnel," said Wolf Head.

"I know, I have too few people under me," said Tang Xiu with a sigh.

Wolf Head's face flickered as he quickly said, "Boss, aren't you going back to the mainland to pick a bunch of people? If so, I know some powerful ones from the special forces who just retired in the last one or two years. Their strength can continue to improve if they are properly trained."

Tang Xiu's expression moved, "How are they compared to you?"

"A few of them are not weaker than me! And the rest are on par with those of my team," said Wolf Head.

"Good. Then, you'll take care of this issue and assign the defense task to the others. I don't mind if the people you bring here are slightly weaker, but I need them to have good characters. Also, I request absolute loyalty from my subordinates."

"I can assure you about this point. But, about the pay..."

For a moment, Tang Xiu looked distracted as he sized up Wolf Head with a strange expression. He then let out a wry smile and said, "The first time we met, I recall that we did talk about this issue? It seems like I haven't offered you a penny, right? So be it then! I'll pay the twelve of you 500 thousand each annually! As for those you will bring, each of them will be paid 300 thousand per year. If their first year's performance are good, then tell them they will have the same treatment as yours from the second year on."

"Roger that," Wolf Head chuckled.

"I'll withdraw 20 million when I'm to Saipan for you to manage. You can call me when the money runs out. And if there is equipment you need to purchase, you can also freely tell me and I'll spare no effort so long as it is necessary," said Tang Xiu.

The smile on Wolf Head's face turned thicker. He suddenly found that following Tang Xiu was a wise choice. The days after following him had been very splendid and exciting. Be it being able to kill criminals, slaughtering pirates, and living under guns and raining bullets, it let him resurrect the warm-blooded life he once had yesteryear. More so with sufficient funds available to them now.

"Don't worry, Boss. I will help you train a group of elite warriors."

Tang Xiu waved his hand, "I don't have a problem regarding the discipline according to military custom, but leave out the training of martial arts. For that, you'll be under Mo Awen's management. He's strong and smart enough, so I will assign him to manage this place."

"Understood!"

Regarding Tang Xiu's arrangement, Wolf Head himself had no objection. He had seen Mo Awen's strength and knew how fearsome he was. Hence, he was wholeheartedly convinced.

"By the way, I trekked around the island this morning but I couldn't see any pirate ships. Where are the ships left by those pirates?" asked Tang Xiu.

Wolf Head laughed, "They didn't anchor their ships in the harbor, but in a certain spot of the deep water bay. When those pirates came here, they didn't dare land here blatantly, for fear that there would be dangers on the island. We have checked it, though. There are a total of three ships, one of which is an outdated warship that we don't know where they obtained. Each ship is equipped with weapons."

Tang Xiu nodded, "As a pirate, more so for being one for many years, such a capital isn't bad. I'm afraid that it wouldn't be easy to kill them if we run into them at sea. Perhaps we'd even be wrecked and sunk by them."

"Yeah. For pirates, being able to cross unhindered into the sea showed that they do have the capital. Anyways, Boss, the cruise liner you used to sail to Nine Dragons Island is now being used to transport the residents of Southern Bird Island. So it might not be easy for you to go to Saipan since the pirate ship's log is way too obvious. If you do take it, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach Saipan due to being attacked and sunk by the patrol warships."

Tang Xiu slightly frowned. After hesitating for a moment, he then slowly said, "Can you temporarily modify those ships?"

Wolf Head shook his head, "It won't be easy. They are equipped with a lot of weapons. It will take a few days to remove them."

Forcing out a wry smile, Tang Xiu said, "Then forget it. I'll wait for two more days for the cruise liner to come back before going Saipan."

At night.

Atop the castle, Tang Xiu sat cross-legged and quietly cultivated. The star force accumulated in his body was getting stronger and he could make a breakthrough to the Flesh Strengthening stage at any time. However, no matter how hard he tried, he always failed at the last hurdle.

He was there until 4AM and then left the top of the castle to the end-point of the road leading to the harbor. There, he sat cross-legged right at the Spirit Spring position.

Yesterday he found the existence of the Supreme Emperor Purple Qi here. Hence, he wanted to try and see if it would also appear today for him to absorb it.

Time passed by. When the glowing red sunrise came and the first ray of sunshine fell into the sea, a stream of Supreme Emperor Purple Qi descended from eastern horizon and instantly fused into Tang Xiu's forehead.

"Boom..."

Sitting cross-legged and cultivating, Tang Xiu's body jolted. His sea of consciousness seemed to have been split by an invisible force. Shortly after, the Supreme Emperor Purple Qi channeled itself into his sea of consciousness and flowed downwards. Within a short dozen breaths, it had circulated within Tang Xiu's meridians for a few times.

'Give in to me!'

Tang Xiu's consciousness could hardly contain this Supreme Emperor Purple Qi within. Relying on sheer tearing effort, only then was it drawn into his dantian, the star force inside his dantian steadily approached this Supreme Emperor Purple Qi, attempting to wrap and refine it.

However, the Supreme Emperor Purple Qi gave off a very strong repulsion force as it struggled and resisted time and time again, almost breaking the enveloping star force several times. Gradually, as though adapting to the star force's presence, the struggling Supreme Emperor Purple Qi became milder. Along with the encroaching star force, the stream of Supreme Emperor Purple Qi shrunk into a thumb-sized ball.

'Fuse!'

Clenching his teeth, Tang Xiu controlled his star force and went all out to squeeze this mass of Supreme Emperor Purple Qi. After spending more than ten minutes, the star force and the Supreme Emperor Purple Qi came into contact thoroughly as its repelling force eventually dissipated and fused into his star force.

"Buzz..."

Tang Xiu felt as though his body was ignited. All the blood inside his body—from head to foot—was boiling hot while an invisible energy washed and quenched his internal organs. The energy in his skin layer turned more compact and its toughness became stronger despite becoming thinner.

With his spiritual sense, Tang Xiu then examined his body's internal state.

Much to his ecstasy, his body was in the middle of an insane transformation due to the Supreme Emperor Purple Qi. His internal organs were constantly being quenched and rejuvenated, becoming more powerful. His tendons and bones became more tenacious and solid while all his body muscles began to fission unceasingly.

Each cell split into two and then split into four. The weak cells were ruthlessly expelled from his body while the strong ones remained. Even the number of cells in the muscles layer began its increasing cell division.

Each cell became stronger and each of its layers turned thicker than before; the number of cell layers had doubled in just half an hour.

Though Tang Xiu's body didn't seem to have changed looking from his outward appearance, the intensity and strength of his body had violently increased for several times. Were someone to shoot him, perhaps it wouldn't be able to pierce his skin and could only leave mark on it at the most.

"Hahaha..."

A carefree laugh came out of Tang Xiu's mouth the moment he opened his eyes. As his body jumped, he was already stepping on the sea surface in an instant.

Churning, tapping and spraying the ocean!

Tang Xiu indulged himself for a few minutes in the joyous feeling of a breakthrough as he then returned, wet and damped, to the Spirit Spring. He found that, while cultivating, the spiritual force within the Spirit Spring would be drawn into his body continuously. Furthermore, due to the extraction of spiritual force, his absorption speed of star force was faster than before.

Chapter 310: Highest Existence

On the way back to the castle, happiness still filled Tang Xiu's mind. He had, after all, been stuck in the Skin Strengthening stage for a long time and finally had a breakthrough now with the help of the Supreme Emperor Purple Qi. His strength soared by several times as his overall strength became twice as powerful than before at the least.

Prior to this, when he first met Viviani, he felt that he wasn't her opponent. After all, she possessed an unusual terrifying aura. But now, he had the confidence to fight her even if Viviani was an expert martial artist. He might not be able to beat her, but he still could injure her if he paid a price.

'If I were able to absorb this Supreme Emperor Purple Qi every day, wouldn't I probably be able to advance to the peak level of the Flesh Strengthening stage?'

Tang Xiu then made up his mind to cultivate in this place every day before he left, striving to have an early breakthrough to the peak level of the Flesh Strengthening stage.

Three days later, just as Tang Xiu finished drawing the sketch for the reconstruction of Nine Dragons Island, the cruise liner that carried the residents of Southern Bird Island back returned.

"Awen, accompany me to Saipan. We might need Tom Reggie's help to reconstruct Nine Dragons Island," said Tang Xiu in a deep voice while taking the reconstruction drawing.

"We can trust him, Boss. I will fix him myself if he dares to mess up," said Mo Awen with a nod.

Tang Xiu smiled, "Let's go! The rest of you will stay here. I planned to look for a construction team in Saipan, but I changed my mind now. I called a friend of mine who's in the real estate business in the mainland, and he has agreed to bring his construction team here. I hope Nine Dragons Island's reconstruction can be carried out smoothly."

Two days later, the cruise liner docked at Saipan port.

After assigning the docking procedures to the crew, he and Mo Awen then headed to Lao Bay Resort.

"Hey, I'm here."

"I'm in Seaview Villa #17."

"Got it!"

After contacting Long Zhengyu, Tang Xiu immediately went to Seaview Villa #17. Tang Xiu gave Long Zhengyu a big hug after seeing him and then said in a deep voice, "Let me introduce you. He's Mo Awen, my man. Awen, this is Long Zhengyu, my friend."

The two men shook hands as Mo Awen then immediately said, "Boss, Tom in on his way. He should be here soon."

"Then I'll wait for him. Anyways, you wait for him outside, Zhengyu and I need to discuss something!"

"Alright!"

Immediately after, Tang Xiu and Long Zhengyu went inside. After taking a seat, Tang Xiu straightforwardly said, "Tom Reggie is Mo Awen's friend, a fierce and experienced character who has gone through life and death situations. He's also this Lao Bay Resort's majority shareholder and kinda has a big influence in Saipan. He can help with the reconstruction of the island I bought."

Squinting his eyes, Long Zhengyu said, "I can let him buy some shares."

"I know you will make money, but I'll be struggling and short on it. Nine Dragons Island's reconstruction is a huge project, and I have to invest a huge sum on it."

After hesitating for a moment, Long Zhengyu then seriously asked, "Tang Xiu, we're brothers nevertheless, but I still wanna know what kind of concept you have devised to reconstruct Nine Dragons Island?"

Tang Xiu handed the reconstruction design plan he brought to Long Zhengyu and said, "Nine Dragons Island already has some buildings, but I need to expand the area and build more buildings—which has a lot of special requirements. Have a look, you'll get it."

Opening the reconstruction design plan, Long Zhengyu spent a few minutes observing it as a burst of shock suffused in his eyes. After a long while, he then looked at Tang Xiu, yet the shock still hadn't left his expression, "I wanna know something. Why are you spending so many funds in this project?"

"This place is gonna be my domain later. A domain that truly belongs to me, where I'm the highest existence there," Tang Xiu laughed.

Long Zhengyu forced a smile and said, "Say, Brother Tang, you want to found a state, eh!"

Tang Xiu laughed, "Build a fart country? Bah, it's just dozens of square kilometers!"

Long Zhengyu asked, "Tang Xiu, I know you have a lot of money, though I don't know how much. But you don't have enough, right? Also, this project is rather huge, so how much do you need to invest for the initial period? First of all, us being brothers aside, business is still business. The best I can do for you is by taking only the minimal earnings in the construction project, but I can't provide the funds for the advance payment. You already know that my Long family has nearly spent all our funds in the joint cooperation project."

Stretching out a finger, Tang Xiu lightly said, "I'll give you 10 billion in advance for you to manage. Contact me again when the money runs out."

Astounded, Long Zhengyu asked in astonishment, "Where did you get so much money from?"

"I bumped into some trouble in Hong Kong but also got an unexpected fortune. I won't tell you the details, though. In short, I can transfer you the money anytime, but you must guarantee the quality of the project," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"Sure!" said Long Zhengyu solemnly.

"I won't have much time to stay and inspect the reconstruction of Nine Dragons Island. So if you also don't have much time, it's best to send your most trusted man to take the helm and stay there. Also, you don't need to worry about trouble since some of my men will be responsible for the security there," said Tang Xiu with a nod.

"Got it!" Long Zhengyu nodded.

Moments after, Tom Reggie and Mo Awen arrived.

"I'm really glad to know that you came back, Mr. Tang! By the way, this friend is..." Tom Reggie warmly shook hands with Tang Xiu as he then turned to look at Long Zhengyu.

Tang Xiu introduced, "He's a friend from my country. I especially called him here to discuss a business cooperation for a certain project. It's also exactly why I invited you to come since I'm going to ask you whether you're interested to earn some money from me."

"From you?" a puzzled expression appeared on Tom Reggie's face.

Tang Xiu explained the matter and then finally said, "You're a local tyrant here in Saipan, you can handle things more conveniently than Long Zhengyu. So if you wanna join us in this, you gotta make a decision now."

Shock suffused in Tom Reggie's eyes as he inquired, "But can you really... come up with more than 20 billion funds, Mr. Tang?"

"20 billion may be a huge sum of money, but it's not a problem for me. What I care about is the progress of the work and the quality. I can get the money as long as you have the ability," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"That's all right." Tom Reggie nodded heavily, "I'm interested in this profitable project anyway. What's more, I'm doing a business with a big boss such as you, Mr. Tang. Anyways, Mr. Long, since this is Mr. Tang's project, do you have any ideas in mind for cooperation?"

"About the earning share issues, let's have a separate negotiation later," said Long Zhengyu.

"Alright!" Tom Reggie nodded and laughed.

"I don't want to know about the issues between the two of you, so you can discuss it between yourselves," said Tang Xiu. "In short, you just need to handle the project quality and its progress for me. By the way, do you both want to see the island I bought?"

"Certainly. Besides, we don't know the current situation on the island yet. So we can arrange the specific and concrete construction project after we have finished the fieldwork survey," said Long Zhengyu.

"How about now? This matter shouldn't be delayed, right?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile.

Long Zhengyu looked at Tom Reggie.

The latter had a difficult to describe expression as he said, "Would you please wait for a while, Mr. Tang? I have some important things I have yet to deal with. Give me half a day. After I have finished handling my matters we'll leave early in the morning tomorrow. Is that fine with you?"

"Alright then. I'll be resting here today!" said Tang Xiu with a smile.

Tom Reggie immediately said, "I'll arrange accommodations right away."

Waving his hand to him, Tang Xiu said, "I'll stay here. Long Zhengyu is one of us anyway, no need for the civilities. You can go busy yourself! Let's have dinner after you're done with your things."

"If so... I'll take my leave first."

With Tom Reggie leaving, Long Zhengyu squinted his eyes and said, "This Tom Reggie is not bad, Tang Xiu. Seemingly a straightforward man to me."

"If he has no boldness and resolution, how can he do a big business? Tom Reggie has an unusual identity and used to be a very fierce man. His mind and decision making abilities are good, so get along and speak openly about whatever you have in mind with him," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"Relax! Besides, the most important thing in a cooperation is integrity and trust, which I can vouch for myself. Anyhow, have you contacted your family since you left Beijing? I heard from Ouyang Lulu that your paternal aunt was looking for you, but she couldn't contact you." Long Zhengyu laughed.

Paternal aunt?

Tang Min's face appeared in Tang Xiu's mind as he then shook his head and said, "I haven't contacted anyone. Aside from contacting several important people after I came abroad, I haven't called too many people. But, what did she contact me for?"

"I dunno," Long Zhengyu shook his head. "Call and ask Ouyang Lulu if you want to find out about it. Or you can call her directly."

Tang Xiu was silent for a moment as he nodded, "I'll contact her later. Let's go! I'll take you to a Thai massage. This place has a good one. That's right, I also made an acquaintance here, a very vigorous and heroic-spirited person as well as generous and loyal."

"Who?" asked Long Zhengyu.

"I don't know what he does since I didn't ask him." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "But he should be a Big Boss, though. He called himself Old Fatty Li, so I called him likewise."

"Old Fatty Li?" astonishment covered Long Zhengyu's face. "Are you saying he's the Northeast Steel Magnate—Li Laoshan?"

"Yea, he seems to be called Li Laoshan," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

Raising his thumb up, Long Zhengyu exclaimed with a sigh, "Damn, I really didn't expect you would meet and make acquaintances with Li Laoshan here. That fella is a terrific guy, notoriously proud and haughty in the country. Unless you can fascinate him with your skill, otherwise he would have normally ignored you."

"Eh?" Surprised, Tang Xiu said in astonishment, "You mean... he's crazy?"