The Junlin Sword with its icy blue, magnificent hilt continuously tore through the surrounding space, even slicing through light, with its blade seemingly half-submerged in an Otherworldly Netherworld, cleaving time and space as if freshly forged.

Wherever it existed, an invisible wind that pierced the soul surged around it, and the icy killing intent of death lingered like an indelible curse.

Liszt's hand touched it, firmly grasping the hilt.

Nashano's years of research were all in anticipation of such a person, causing his heart to pound in his throat.

However...

Much like how this sword had once cursed and killed the Radiant Knight, the blade immediately sank into Liszt's palm.

There were already three swords within his body.

With an unusual resistance, he did not faint as he had the first time.

But...

Liszt suddenly disappeared from the spot, and Nashano couldn't detect what had happened, as if the world had been cut away frame by frame.

It was as if he had never been there.

Nashano sweated profusely. What happened? Was he instantly killed? But the sword also vanished with him.

It had failed...

His throat gulped, affirming that no one could wield this cursed artifact that had lasted nearly two thousand years.

Overly excited, he had ignored many consequences. The tycoon of Heaven Port, East Sea Brother One, died on his own turf.

"Liszt... is dead."

Nashano stumbled back two steps, overwhelmed by regret for failure and fear of revenge. How could he defend against those lawless desperadoes?

Thankfully, it was only about four or five seconds after...

Liszt reappeared, surrounded by multiple tendrils of strange cursed smoke that seemed to come from the Netherworld. These smoke tendrils twisted, forming ghostly apparitions that wrapped around and clung to his back.

Nashano vaguely recognized those ghostly figures, bearing characteristics similar to those in the records.

The blackened remnants of cursed power were named Abyss Armor, the strongest shield of Emperor Engma.

The dark red ones were called Morag, the valiant berserker who expanded the Emperor's territories, also known as the Hammer of Destruction.

There was another shadowy figure Nashano was unfamiliar with; not all records of the Radiant Knights were detailed, and the events from seven hundred years ago were too obscure, possibly referring to the Legendary Demon Swordsman named Omega.

But Nashano knew this particular sword in his collection very well. Emperor Engma showed no distinction between men and women, nobles or commoners. Among the unparalleled Radiant Knights, there were also several women.

Given the rarity of women, the worth of this sword was much higher than others, having cost Nashano an astronomical sum of over twenty thousand Golden Dragons, and he even mortgaged two family estates to acquire it.

This sword was a gift from Emperor Engma to the Empire's Supreme Commander of the Sea, Lanshika Tye, a peerless martial artist.

Liszt was still in a daze.

Yes.

From the first time he encountered the Junlin Sword, or the one Mr. Sefer had taken.

It was always the same, disappearing suddenly, going to some unknown realm.

It felt like a blurry dream, a figure's silhouette in the midst of infinite colored chaos, her whispers extremely profound and penetrating, calling to him from an unfathomably distant place.

Previously, Liszt had no clues, but now he roughly guessed who she was - the savior from eighteen hundred years ago.

Yet he still didn't know what she wanted to tell him.

It was still too vague.

He feared he would need to reforge thirty-three swords to understand her will.

Liszt's right palm oozed blood, and as the crimson liquid poured out, the icy blue hilt of the Junlin Sword reappeared in his hand.

Just as before.

The terrifying icy blue cursed smoke formed into a semi-transparent slender skeletal hand, grasping his fingers tightly, making him hold onto the Junlin Sword firmly.

Nashano laughed foolishly, tears streaming. Indeed, there truly existed someone who met all three stringent conditions. Without a doubt, this man was... the Junlin Sword Master.

At this moment.

On the distant other side of Aran.

In the Cast Province Capital, Duguli.

In a high-end hotel...

"Is it a letter from that naval officer? He's had his meal and his girl, accepted the gift, and still hasn't appointed us. We should go to the Royal Court and file a complaint against him."

Yisu Girl Jin Mier looked at the silent Zahak, furious. In the past, she wouldn't bother to even glance at such a low-level official.

What are Constitutional Soldiers? They're the army's army. These people have such hideous faces.

"His influence... has reached Aran?"

Zahak tore up the letter, feeling nothing but immense terror inside.

He calculated the time. Since receiving the task to go to the Beima Duchy, it had only been eleven months, less than a year.

This man, Liszt, was a pure mad dog, betting heavily each time. His influence had expanded exponentially through continuous gambling.

Besides that, they had a top-tier mage wanted by many factions. The Pedan Magic Energy Industrial Committee hadn't killed Fen because he still held power domestically after leaving Pedan, with someone shielding him.

Recently, Cicero himself had demanded severe punishment for the train robbers, but due to the Astalia Family's interference, it had been delayed.

Those with the right mindset, after some investigation, found that the pirate was once one of the tutors for a young lady of the Astalia Family.

Now with Mulong's upheaval, the sanctions against East Sea Pirates were back on the agenda.

Plus, in the underworld, there were rumors that Black Sail and the Thief Guild were mortal enemies. The Thief Guild's establishments along the coast had all been overturned by pirates from the East Sea. And also because of the Thief Guild, no merchant dared to invest in the Iron Soul Island, fearing they'd anger Diaz.

So, Black Sail has started their own assassination business.

"The naval officer is dead. The military hospital's report stated he died from a chronic neurotoxin, presumably poisoned on the night we went to the Sky Inn, the Cloud Palace, around 2 a.m."

Zahak contemplated that the admiral's gift was in vain.

"What?" Jin Mier's ears perked up in disbelief, "So you're saying, that night we had dinner, there were Black Sail people present?"

Jin Mier shuddered at the thought.

Last year, she borrowed troops from the Londen City Admiral, first finding the gravely injured Zahak in the woods of Xunyi Town, then heading to the secret port in Londen City.

That port was hell on earth, with the heavily armed cans of the Eternal Sect's Judgement Court dismembered, over thirty pirates' bodies, and hundreds of local fanatics from Beima.

There was even the corpse of that blind cultist.

She had a deep-seated fear of Black Sail.

"Indeed, that's how it is. We've got a job to do. Now let's go to the Cloud Palace, investigate who boarded the ship that day, exclude the merchants and some nobles, and what's left are the clues."

Zahak urgently needed reinstatement, wielding power to challenge the Black Sword Netherflame in the Royal Court Imperial Palace.

"I hate that place."

Jin Mier muttered, the roast chicken inside made even someone like Zahak stare.

And in the ordinary district far from Duguli's central business area.

In a modest mid-tier hotel.

"Liszt hasn't returned yet."

Rein sat with his legs crossed, reading the newspaper while smoking a cigarette.

Ben, the Joker, was now Black Sail's trade representative in Duguli, negotiating with the local underworld Heavenly Eye Society and selling Iron Soul Island artifacts. Soon, the folks who came to extort money at the year's start, Fisher's group, and the recruited Violet and Nishi, would arrive.

"Hurry up and let Brother Li bring me some big money, damn it!"

Chuan Che paced around the room. He had spent lavishly at the Cloud Palace for three days, and even a Hall-level Adventurer's wallet couldn't withstand such expenditure.

"Today, you better avoid that place, or you'll die terribly."

Swan said suddenly from the corner.

"You question my manhood, that's not a big deal. Go further, and it'd be a disaster. I'll have someone from the Heart Garden come and teach you about the Connection Emperor. I knew from childhood that I'm the top in the connection world. Bring it on!"

Rein had never felt as ecstatic as he had in the past few nights. He had gotten the pianist's email address; naturally, the pianist wouldn't refuse a wealthy client who came three days in a row, knowing that their time of youth had an endpoint, needing a fallback.

"It's irrelevant. That night, I killed an Aran Navy officer. If their military doctors are competent, the autopsy should be complete by now. Going back there would be walking into a trap. We should be cautious and wait for Liszt to return."

Swan casually mentioned.

Rein blew up; he was thrown from the lavish life of an Aran Noble back to street pirate, "Are you fucking kidding me? Play with life, kill as you please?"

Swan explained he had acted to forestall the Aran Court's actions against Black Sail.

Rein and Chuan Che were dumbfounded. Such a significant matter, why not say so earlier?

Just then, Galen returned.

"Brother Li's awaited letter arrived, sent from the Eternal Sect."

Galen said flatly. Once Liszt returned, they would head to the Imperial City, but he was unaware of the letter's contents.

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