Divine Might

This era had no concept of anti-air warfare.

Aerial strike capabilities were still in their infancy, with no one even considering air defense.

Naturally, the dreadnoughts had no anti-air measures. When the Fierce Phoenix Dragon Sparrow, bathed in lightning, swooped in to attack, their idea of "anti-air" was simply to elevate their ship cannons as much as possible, hoping the roaring cannons could reach the rampaging beast and, by some miracle, shoot it down.

These ignorant white-skins didn't even realize.

What they saw as a mythical descent was the illusion mentioned in intelligence reports, caused by the Martial Artists. The blurry image of the Thunder Phoenix rapidly sharpened as it flashed across the sky. Their bodies trembled, strands of hair floated upwards uncontrollably, and their hearts instinctively turned to their faith in prayer.

Whether it was God or Satan.

If they could manifest and protect them this time, they would be the most devout lambs for the rest of their lives!

Their prayers went unanswered.

The raptor, with its multi-layered halo and lightning feathers, appeared immense. In the sky, it seemed to rival the dreadnoughts in size, presenting a massive target. Logically, with so many ship cannons firing, at least one should have hit. Indeed, through the telescopes of many officers, they saw the ship cannons striking their target.

However, it was not real.

It was merely the Kyōka Suigetsu reflected in the hearts of men through mindscapes and Daoist Arts.

The ship cannons that whistled and struck the Thunder Phoenix's body seemed to have no effect from the perspective of ordinary people. They merely caused slight ripples as they passed through, inflicting no damage whatsoever! They didn't even manage to slow its assault!

The French flag people could only watch helplessly as it flashed and swooped overhead.

Then it plunged down.

BOOM!

The thunderous roar that exploded directly in their minds left all soldiers and officers disoriented, their limbs paralyzed. In their despairing sight, they witnessed sheer, unadulterated lightning directly penetrating, ignoring the steel plating! Leaping, crackling arcs of electricity mercilessly licked and pierced every single flesh and blood body!

Subsequently, the French flag people closed their eyes amidst the searing pain and numbness.

From the perspective of the Star Han ironclad ships.

Immortal Master Lan Yi had transformed into a Thunder Phoenix.

The Thunder Phoenix flapped its wings, soaring upwards, charging directly into the foreign fleet's cannon fire. It ignored the ship cannons and flew above the enemy, then abruptly dove straight down!

Immediately after, the Thunder Phoenix vanished.

The ship cannons, which had been firing in vain, fell silent the moment the Thunder Phoenix descended. Although they were not sunk, they had completely lost their vitality, exuding an indescribable sense of dread. It was as if the ships were alive one moment and had become ghost ships the next.

From a certain perspective.

Seen from afar, the instantaneous annihilation of the ant-sized humans on the ships, akin to an insecticide's effect, was far more terrifying than violently sinking an ironclad ship.

Because it was unknown, because it was inconceivable.

Immortal Master Lan Yi's methods had completely surpassed their understanding.

"Hurry up and get over there!"

Zhao Sikong, having recovered from the terrifying mental and Daoist Arts assault from Lan Yi, immediately urged the ships to hurry over and see the exact situation.

Zhao Sikong didn't need to urge them.

The ship officers and soldiers, eager to avenge their previous defeat, had already pushed their engines to full throttle.

They were both excited and trembling, impatient to see the condition of the foreign ships. If they could truly achieve this revenge, they would wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to Martial Artists and Immortal Master Lan Yi for the rest of their lives!

Not long after.

Within about ten minutes, the powerless Flower Flag ironclad ships were spinning in place, completely unresponsive to the rapid approach of the Star Han ironclad ships. The lifeless ironclad ships exuded a sinister and terrifying aura, and the air in this sea area was filled with a strange metallic and fishy odor.

Lan Yi had vanished.

But his masterpiece was presented before them.

When the Thunder Phoenix descended, it landed directly on the battleship beneath it.

It had been sliced into two segments horizontally!

The cut was not smooth, with molten iron and ignited wood mixed together in a particularly twisted and ugly fashion, but it had undeniably been cut. It was like slicing a gourd, revealing its complex interior. The severed ship bobbed with the waves, and from time to time, people could be seen being flung into the sea from the broken edges as they swayed!

"This...!"

"My God!"

"Immortal Master's divine might!!"

Everyone exclaimed in shock. Those with less resolute wills were already prostrating in worship, while reporters scrambled to take photos.

'The Demon Subduing Rope... not just this immortal art, but also Gengjin Sword Qi, and Lightning Pool Downpour. Is this the scene of the Immortal Master unleashing his full power? Even Daoist Arts that seem merely for killing can be used to... sever ships!'

Zhao Sikong was Lan Yi's shadow.

In front of Martial Artists, Lan Yi did not hide his knowledge, even explaining the principles behind his Daoist Arts.

He was not unfamiliar with Daoist Arts like Gengjin Sword Qi and the Demon Subduing Rope.

What was unfamiliar was Lan Yi's restraint during demonstrations and the grandeur of his full power.

A casual remark Lan Yi had made while teaching martial arts suddenly popped into Zhao Sikong's mind.

'Even throwing a stone, when you can magnify it a million times, it becomes a means to break armies and destroy nations.'

The Immortal Master truly did not deceive me.

Aside from the ironclad ship that Lan Yi had severed, the other ironclad ships were basically intact. However, everyone on board had lost consciousness.

To be more precise, they had all suffered brain death.

The Qi Cultivation Practitioners who boarded to seize the ships discovered with surprise that the French flag soldiers, slumped in various states, were all motionless. They were like corpses, allowing themselves to be manipulated. Forget a slap, even shooting them directly in the thigh would elicit no reaction from these white-skinned individuals. If not for the slight rise and fall of their chests, they would have suspected these people were all completely dead.

As it stood now.

Even if they weren't completely dead, they were not far from it.

In fact, even if they were left alone, their organs would fail and they would completely die physically within about ten minutes. Furthermore, having been consumed by the Thunder Phoenix's Mindscape, they all bore traces of electrical damage, with both internal and external injuries on a shocking scale!

The Qi Cultivation Practitioners marveled.

They weren't unfamiliar with the human-form Mindscapes released during the mental attacks of several Heavenly Generals, but the exaggeration to this extent made it difficult to distinguish whether this was Daoist Arts or Martial Arts.

When the news reached Zhao Sikong, his mouth twitched.

Nearly two thousand people.

All killed by Immortal Master Lan Yi in one move.

Not a single survivor.

So where did Lan Yi go after that?

This question was soon answered.

On the deck of one of the vessels, there was a line of text left by Lan Yi, burned with electricity.

He stated that he was going ahead to loosen his muscles, instructing Zhao Sikong to send people to take over these warships and for the rest to follow as quickly as possible. If they were too slow, they might miss seeing Immortal Master Lan Yi display his might further.

It was a minor regret not to witness firsthand the Immortal Master's thunderous methods in eradicating the white-skinned foreigners, but it would be a greater loss to hinder the Immortal Master's momentum for the world to see!