Rayleigh's Composure

"What are you trying to do?"

Saint Rosward cried out in horror, his gun-holding wrist trembling nonstop. Yet in the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had vanished before him, leaving only a dark blur. Saint Rosward looked around in terrified confusion, trying to find Ye Chen's shadow.

Suddenly, a surging chill descended from above. Saint Rosward had only just raised his head when Ye Chen merged with his sword, using the momentum of his rapid descent as Oto flashed with icy light and cleaved toward his head.

"Ah..."

Saint Rosward was terrified. Just as Ye Chen's sword was about to strike him, a black shadow suddenly shot out from the side. The newcomer was even faster than Ye Chen. Before Oto could hit Saint Rosward, Ye Chen had already been blocked by that shadow. "Stop right now."

Shakky stretched out a hand to block Ye Chen and whispered something in his ear. She moved so quickly that even Ye Chen was startled. With Oto blocked by Shakky, Ye Chen glanced at Saint Rosward's disgusting face and gritted his teeth. Kogarashi suddenly left its sheath, bypassing Shakky as it stabbed toward Saint Rosward's right eye. By the time Shakky tried to stop him again, it was too late. She had not expected Ghost to strike so viciously.

Kogarashi moved like a spark, piercing Saint Rosward's right eye. Saint Rosward immediately toppled onto the ground and screamed in agony. Before Shakky even landed, she fled with Ye Chen. The street instantly descended into chaos. After running more than a hundred meters, Shakky turned back and coldly glared at Ye Chen. Without another word, she swung her hand and slapped him across the backside. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you know who that was?"

"Wasn't he just one of the Dragon People?" Ye Chen muttered unhappily.

"You really have some nerve. Aren't you afraid of punching a hole in the sky? I'll deal with you when we get back."

The street grew increasingly chaotic. Pedestrians ran everywhere, and some cried out, "This is bad! A Dragon Person was attacked! An Admiral is coming!"

Saint Rosward rolled about on the ground. His eyeball had been stabbed blind, and the pain nearly killed him. Gritting his teeth, he ordered the guards beside him, "Notify Marine Headquarters immediately. Have an Admiral come here."

The butler was scared senseless. Looking at Saint Rosward's bloody eye, he nearly fainted from fright. He knew he would certainly be beaten badly when he returned, and he might even lose his life. After all, if something happened to a Dragon Person, none of the attendants accompanying him could escape responsibility.

Quite a few pirates by the roadside stared incredulously at the Dragon Person lying on the ground and screaming in pain. A burly pirate shook his head. "It's truly unbelievable. Ghost actually dared to attack a Dragon Person."

Someone beside him replied, "But aren't the Dragon People making too big a deal out of this? They notified Marine Headquarters over just Ghost. Would the Marines really send an Admiral?"

"Hehe... Why not? Admirals may stand high above the rest in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of the Dragon People, they're merely servants to be ordered around at will." An elderly man sneered disdainfully. In truth, if he had put it more bluntly, then to the Dragon People, not only Admirals but every Marine was nothing more than a dog they could command as they pleased.

The words were harsh, but they were indisputable fact. Even if the most ordinary Dragon Person was attacked, the Marines had to mobilize in force, perhaps even dispatching an Admiral personally. But if it were someone else, even if an entire nation were destroyed, the World Government could not be bothered to care.

Shakky angrily dragged Ye Chen back to the bar. The moment they entered, she threw him to the floor with a bang, then shut the door behind her. Seeing Shakky's face turn livid as she rolled up her sleeves to punish him, Ye Chen shot up onto the ceiling. Rayleigh looked up, and a strange glint flashed across his bright lenses.

"Shakky, what happened?" Rayleigh still smiled as he looked at Ye Chen, who clung tightly to the ceiling like a gecko.

Even Rayleigh, the Pirate King's right-hand man, found this technique novel. The ceiling was so smooth, yet Ye Chen could hang from it effortlessly. It was truly unbelievable.

"You brat, get down here." Shakky pointed at Ye Chen and cursed. She jumped up to grab him, but Ye Chen quickly crawled across the ceiling to the side. Shakky tried several times in succession, yet Ye Chen easily evaded her every time. Rayleigh even noticed that Ye Chen could hang from the ceiling with one hand on several occasions. Looking closely, Rayleigh was astonished to find that Ye Chen's fingers were like steel claws and iron hooks—no, even more extraordinary than that. He had not damaged the ceiling at all; it remained completely unmarked. Rayleigh found it increasingly interesting. Rising to his feet, he watched curiously for a while. Ye Chen's fingers resembled eagle claws, yet he could freely control their strength. Rather than hanging from the ceiling, it was more accurate to say that he was adhering to it.

"Rayleigh, this brat caused a huge disaster. He sneaked out and nearly killed a Dragon Person. Luckily, I intervened in time, but he still stabbed Saint Rosward blind in one eye."

"Hehe... What a troublesome Ghost." As Rayleigh spoke, his figure flashed like a gust of wind. Ye Chen was not so lucky this time and was yanked down by Rayleigh in an instant.

"Ghost, what kind of technique is this?" Rayleigh asked curiously.

Shakky glanced at Rayleigh and gently shook her head. "You really don't care at all? An Admiral is coming, you know?"

As she spoke, Shakky rummaged through boxes and cabinets. Before long, she was hammering away at the doors and windows. She feared Ye Chen would run out again. If he were caught by an Admiral, things would be troublesome.

Rayleigh smiled unconcernedly. "What's so surprising about something like this?" Then he actually began asking Ye Chen for instruction. "Ghost, you don't mind teaching me this Gecko Technique, do you?"

"What do you want to learn that for?" Knowing how strong Rayleigh was, Ye Chen asked in confusion.

"Hehe... This technique is pretty good. It's handy for climbing walls and crossing rooftops. Heh heh... What do you say?" Rayleigh wore a lecherous grin, and even his laughter became increasingly sleazy.

"Don't tell me you want to climb over walls and rooftops to peek at young women?" Ye Chen bluntly exposed him. Rayleigh was about to wheedle and plead when Shakky suddenly let out a lion's roar. "Ye Chen, ignore him! If he learns it, who knows how many girls he'll ruin!"

Shakky nailed the doors and windows shut tightly. Ye Chen wandered around once, then finally settled down. Rayleigh followed behind him the entire time. Seeing Ye Chen rummage through the room and find some grains of sand, which he placed into an iron pot, Rayleigh watched as he assumed a horse stance and repeatedly drove his palms into the pot.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Ye Chen did not stop, thrusting again and again. It was painful to watch. Rayleigh stood quietly behind him. Looking closely, he realized Ye Chen's fingers were already covered in thick calluses. Before long, the slightly coarse sand was crushed into powder beneath Ye Chen's repeated strikes, while Ye Chen's fingers gleamed with a cold light like sharp hooks.

When he had first begun practicing this technique, Ye Chen's fingers had been ground bloody every day. Olvia knew that better than anyone. But after several months in Freezing Hell, Ye Chen's fingers had already been tempered until they were harder than iron bars.