Heavy snow fell in flurries like goose feathers, completely shrouding Nine Waves Island in a vast expanse of gray-white.
The savage cries of battle had quieted considerably. Between heaven and earth, only the mournful howling of wind and snow remained.
"My spear technique has reached perfection, and my strength has improved considerably. If I faced Tu Gang again at my current level and went all out, I could kill him within a few moves."
Chen Qing sat cross-legged inside the cabin of his brand-new Treasure Ship.
Bringing a superior martial art to perfection required constant polishing and comprehension; it could not be achieved overnight.
Although Nie Shanshan of the Guishui Institute and Yan Yaoyang of the Gengjin Institute were among the Five Heroes and Seven Beauties, their swordsmanship and fist techniques had only reached mastery, not perfection.
Just then, a burst of fierce, brief weapon clashes and wails of agony pierced through the wind and snow from behind a stretch of jagged reefs not far away.
Chen Qing frowned slightly. Without making a sound, he swept onto the bow and looked toward the noise.
On a relatively flat patch of snowy ground amid the reefs, two groups were locked in an inextricable battle.
One side appeared to be retainers employed by some minor family. There were seven or eight of them, dressed uniformly and coordinating reasonably well.
The other side was a married couple who looked to be in their thirties. The man wielded a heavy saber, his blade techniques broad and unrestrained, powerful and weighty. The woman used twin swords, moving as nimbly as a snake, her attacks crafty and vicious.
Both had early-stage Embracing Dan Strength cultivation, and their coordination was seamless. Clearly, they had fought side by side for many years.
Though the minor family's retainers outnumbered