"Crash—!"
At the heart of Angry River, the churning whirlpool suddenly burst apart.
A dark figure shot into the air, wrapped in a vast spray of water.
A blast of cold swept out. The droplets froze into ice pellets before they could fall, clattering against the river's surface.
Lu Chen landed on a huge outcropping of rock.
He gasped for breath, greedily drawing in the fresh air he had missed for so long.
The cold, rotten stench beneath the water had been unbearable.
Now that he was back in the world above, gazing at the gloomy yet boundless sky, Lu Chen felt completely at ease.
"That's... the boss?!"
A hoarse cry, choked with tears, came from nearby.
Lu Chen turned to look.
The large ship bearing the government lanterns was still there, dozens of yards away.
But it was in a pitiful state.
Its railings were smashed, half its mast had snapped off, and the hull listed dangerously, ready to sink at any moment.
All around the ship, black dorsal fins crowded the water.
Mutant Piranhas and a dozen or so surviving Water Ghosts were savagely attacking the lone vessel, which was on the verge of sinking.
On board, Wang Xiaoliu was covered in blood. He swung a chipped steel saber, frantically hacking at a Water Ghost that had climbed onto the ship.
Zhao Gang and the remaining constables were all wounded. They huddled back-to-back in the middle of the deck, their eyes filled with despair.
"Three days..."
Zhao Gang knocked back a Mutant Piranha with his saber, then said, "Hall Master Lu definitely isn't coming back... We're going to die here too..."
"Shut up!"
Wang Xiaoliu's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a crazed beast. "The boss isn't dead! He told us to wait, so he'll come back!"
"Get a grip!"
Zhao Gang roared, "It's been three days! Even an immortal would have suffocated underwater by now! We've run out of fresh water and rations. If we don't break through soon, we'll die of thirst before those beasts even get us!"
"I'm not leaving!"
Wang Xiaoliu kicked a Water Ghost flying. His body swayed unsteadily, but his gaze was stubborn enough to frighten anyone. "I'll see him alive or find his corpse! If I haven't seen the boss, then even if I die, I'll die here and keep vigil for him!"
The Black Water Gang brothers around him looked fearful, but when they heard Wang Xiaoliu's words, they gritted their teeth. Not one of them retreated.
That was the brotherhood of the martial world.
And it was the loyalty Lu Chen had cultivated by giving them silver and repaying their devotion.
Just then, the thunderous crash of someone bursting through the water drew everyone's attention.
They instinctively looked up.
On the rock stood a man, bare-chested and deathly pale, his back ramrod straight.
He had no wounds. Instead, a bone-deep chill radiated from him, making everyone shiver.
His eyes were especially frightening—black as pitch.
"Boss!!"
Wang Xiaoliu froze for a moment, then let out a thunderous cheer. "I knew it! I knew you weren't dead!"
"Hall... Hall Master Lu?"
The saber almost slipped from Zhao Gang's hand. His eyes bulged in disbelief.
Three days!
Three whole days!
This man had actually survived in that hellish place?
And judging by the look of him, not only had he survived, he had... grown even stronger?
"Roar—!"
The commotion had alerted the monsters as well.
A dozen Water Ghosts turned and spotted Lu Chen.
They recognized him.
He was the Baleful Intent—the man who had slain countless of their kind underwater three days ago.
When enemies met, their eyes burned with hatred.
"Wuuu—!"
The leading Water Ghost let out a piercing shriek. Abandoning the ship, it charged at Lu Chen with the remaining Water Ghosts and the swarm of Mutant Piranhas.
"Boss, watch out!"
Wang Xiaoliu cried out in alarm. "The beasts have gone berserk!"
Lu Chen watched the monsters rushing toward him, his face expressionless.
Three days ago, he might have had to struggle to deal with an attack like this.
But now...
"A school of little fry."
Lu Chen sneered.
He didn't draw his saber.
He merely raised his right hand, slowly.
The black ice crystal, no bigger than a grain of rice, trembled faintly inside him.
A surge of black energy rushed into his palm.
The temperature around him plummeted.
Moisture in the air froze, forming a thin veil of white mist.
"Xuanming... Hanging Hand."
Lu Chen murmured, then struck out with his palm.
There was no great crash.
Only an invisible wave of cold, like a river bursting through its banks, swept across the water before him.
Crack, crack, crack...
A sharp freezing sound rang out.
The Water Ghost at the front froze in midair.
Black frost instantly covered its body.
Still caught in a clawing pose, it became an ice sculpture and plunged into the water with a splash.
But that was only the beginning.
The wave of cold swept on.
The dozen Water Ghosts and the countless Mutant Piranhas on the surface froze the instant it touched them.
In the space of a single breath,
the once-boiling river fell silent.
Dozens of black ice sculptures floated on the water, radiating a bone-chilling cold.
Even the river's surface had frozen over with a layer of floating ice.
"This..."
Zhao Gang's mouth hung open wide enough to fit a duck's egg.
He stared blankly at the scene, his mind gone utterly blank.
One palm strike?
Just one palm strike?
He had wiped out the monsters that had surrounded them for three days and three nights, driving them to despair?
What kind of method was this?
What kind of martial art?
Was this even human?
"Gulp."
Wang Xiaoliu swallowed, staring at Lu Chen with something beyond admiration. He looked at him as though he were a god.
Lu Chen lowered his hand, and the blackness faded from his palm.
He pushed off with his toes, soaring through the air like a great bird before landing on the slanted deck.
"Boss..."
Wang Xiaoliu dropped to his knees with a thump, wrapped his arms around Lu Chen's leg, and burst into tears. "You finally came back... Sob... I thought I'd never see you again..."
The past three days had weighed heavily on him.
He had to face the monsters' assault, endure Zhao Gang and the others' doubts, and bear the torment of not knowing whether Lu Chen was alive or dead.
Before you continue