Though things were chaotic, the cultivators still had their own clear reckoning of the situation. Roughly who stood behind each pirate group was no secret; everyone understood without saying it aloud.
Put plainly, the sects and powers of the various kingdoms had stripped off their regular army uniforms to bare their chests and settle who stood above whom, venting their usual pent-up frustrations. Whatever the outcome, at least it would not provoke an open war between their traditions.
The Canghai Pirates had originally been cobbled together from a band of independent pirates. Only the strength of their leader, Haibaoshen, and the ferocity of his deputies had gathered that loose sand into a whole. They were one of the relatively few pirate bands on the Lizhi Sea without deep backing.
But precisely because they had no sect or power behind them, they had fallen apart as soon as something happened to their leader. That had been many years ago.
The present Canghai Pirates were a rebuilt group. Some original members remained, but even more were newcomers. Stronger and more cohesive than the original band, they had a background that most veteran cultivators who frequented the Lizhi Sea could probably guess.
It was actually quite simple. The flying swords that occasionally appeared during their operations made it clear that the Shanmen Sword Cultivators stood behind them.
Over the years, they had appeared and vanished like ghosts on the Lizhi Sea, carrying out several major exploits. Rumor had it that these pirates had even made the astonishing move of going ashore to plunder, but there was no evidence, and the Canghai Pirates never admitted it.
The Tiger Fang Pirate Group, however, was an established band with a long history. It had existed for several hundred years, vast in scale and numerous in manpower,