No More Recruits

"Bearded Pirates? The Crouching Dragon Crew?"

At Mu Qingshuang's words,

the Xia Country martial artists present instantly fell silent.

They looked at one another.

Online, rumors and theories about the Bearded Pirate Crew had been hotly debated.

Some said Shi Yuehan, the former principal of Tianhuang Martial Arts University, had founded it to move the university's assets.

Others said the Old Silver Coins among the Xia Country Authorities were pulling the strings.

They wanted a second blade to work in the shadows alongside the Evil Ghost Squad.

But now,

when the truth finally hit them in the face,

everyone felt a little lost.

Mu Qingshuang was Shi Yuehan's grandmother.

She was also the highest-ranking commander the Xia Country Authorities had stationed in Skyvault Desert.

She was the only expert in the Fourth Saint Ascension Realm and at Sequence Tier 6.

Taken together, those two identities

made her decision to bring Crouching Dragon Base into the Bearded Pirate Crew unmistakable.

...The rumors online had all been right.

Just then,

a gaunt,

gray-haired old man stepped forward. He looked at Mu Qingshuang and snapped, "Mu Qingshuang, have you lost your mind?"

"You want the martial artists of Crouching Dragon Base to become pirates?"

"Don't forget, those pirates are still wanted by Xia Country!"

"Are you declaring yourself an enemy of Xia Country?"

As his words fell,

several others stepped forward.

"That's right! We martial artists stand tall and proud. We'd rather die than become pirates!"

Mu Qingshuang glanced over the crowd.

Her gaze finally settled on the gray-bearded old man.

Ling Hai.

He was the younger brother of Ling Feng, the Ling Family's previous head.

He was in the Third Saint Ascension Realm, at Sequence Tier 5.

Like Mu Qingshuang,

he had come here seventy years ago, when Crouching Dragon Base was