After chasing the Five Thunder Spirit for a month, it turned out to be a trap set by someone else in advance. This made Jun Changxiao furious.

The sect disciples were his treasures, and the resources he worked so hard to earn were the same.

So.

For the sake of those burning first-grade fire stones.

Jun Changxiao didn’t hesitate to transform into a demon, wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade to slice a main battleship apart like peeling an apple.

“To put it bluntly.”

The system complained: “Host has taken being stingy to the level of a realm, to the level of an art form. Even if you hadn’t fallen into the trap, flying from the Canghai System to the Cangyun System would still consume energy.”

“My… battleship…”

Watching his battleship—purchased at great expense—being dissected into a pile of skeletal framework, Duanmu Hai’s yin-yang face twisted in anguish, tears streaming down like strings of pearls.

Each tear contained memories of the past.

“Little one.”

“What is your dream?”

“To be a free and unfettered pirate, galloping across the vast cosmic starry sky, making everyone remember the name Duanmu Hai!”

These were words Duanmu Hai had once spoken. For this, he trained diligently, lived frugally, and finally purchased his first battleship after coming of age, beginning his pirate career.

Who could have imagined.

Just after recruiting subordinates, just after setting sail, just after completing his first robbery job, he actually… encountered Jun Changxiao.

Who was this guy?

A fellow who specialized in destroying others’ dreams, not a bandit yet skilled at robbery.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Inside the spatial prison, Zi Lin Demon King and the others punched through one paper-thin battleship after another, crushing various parts and wreckage into powder.

They were like a group of strong men, tearing apart dreams with their bare hands, ravaging hearts and souls.

“Ahhh—”

Duanmu Hai roared furiously through his tears, a powerful force surging through his entire body. Raising his twin hammers, he bellowed: “Those who destroy my ships will die!”

“Boom!”

Jun Changxiao appeared before him, the butt end of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade’s shaft ruthlessly thrusting into his abdomen. Powerful energy erupted, causing his entire body to shoot like a cannonball from the north side of the starry sky to the south side.

“So much nonsense.”

…

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

In the dark environment, lights suddenly flickered. Er Ya, Zhao Doudou, and Dai Lü walked over, their faces displaying harmless smiles.

Before them, Duanmu Hai lay unconscious with a collapsed expression, his internal meridians completely destroyed from the fierce impact to his chest.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Let’s begin.”

“Clatter clatter!”

Zhao Doudou and Dai Lü busied themselves for a while, quickly using chains to hang Duanmu Hai up.

From their movements, they were clearly a bit rusty.

No helping it—the Primordial Prison Tower hadn’t received any prisoners in a long time. The three of them had been playing cards every day and forgotten many routine operations.

“Wake him.”

“Splash!”

Cold water poured over Duanmu Hai’s head, making him shiver involuntarily, then slowly open his eyes.

Suddenly! Three grinning faces appeared in his field of vision, scaring him so badly his scalp nearly split open.

“Whip.”

Er Ya extended her hand.

Zhao Doudou hurriedly passed the Soul-Suppressing Whip over, even disinfecting it with disinfectant water along the way, looking exactly like medical personnel assisting the lead surgeon in an operating room.

“Crack!”

Er Ya swung the whip once in the void.

The sound it transmitted seemed capable of piercing through souls, making one’s blood run cold.

“What… what are you going to do…” Duanmu Hai said weakly, a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Master sent you here.”

Er Ya walked before him, smiling innocently: “Naturally we must give you a proper welcome.”

It must be said.

As the artifact spirit within the Primordial Prison Tower, her appearance hadn’t changed at all with time, but rather had become increasingly adorable.

“Young man.”

Zhao Doudou said: “The Sect Master asked me to relay a message. As long as you hand over the Five Thunder Spirit, he guarantees you a lifetime of wealth and prosperity.”

The pirate crew had been dealt with, many subordinates also imprisoned in the Primordial Prison Tower, but the Five Thunder Spirit was nowhere to be found. So Jun Changxiao had to find it, otherwise, given his earlier fury, he would definitely cut this guy down with one slash.

“Hmph…”

Duanmu Hai said coldly: “Dream on!”

He seemed quite cowardly just now, but now as a prisoner, he’d actually become tough.

“Old brother.”

Dai Lü walked over, placing one hand on his shoulder, saying meaningfully: “I used to have more backbone than you, but the result… ah… the past is too painful to recall, so you’d better confess honestly.”

“Sorry… I was raised on being scared…” Duanmu Hai forced a cold laugh with difficulty, then was viciously whipped across the chest by the Soul-Suppressing Whip. The intense pain seemed to fuse into the depths of his soul, and he immediately howled: “I’ll hand it over! I’ll hand it over!”

“Ptooey!”

“Ptooey!”

Zhao Doudou and Dai Lü spat: “Coward!”

…

Er Ya had only tested him with one whip strike, and Duanmu Hai couldn’t withstand the soul erosion, immediately compromising. He could be said to have shown cowardice with attitude, with artistry.

A Half-step Heavenly Mystery Realm level cultivator could be handled by the Soul-Suppressing Tower—was this treasure’s level that high?

Not quite.

The main issue was that he’d been injured by Jun Changxiao.

Forget Duanmu Hai—even if it were someone at Gu Tianxing’s level of strength, they could still be tormented to the point of wishing for death.

Conversely, if in full health, it definitely couldn’t subdue them.

“This seat is very curious.”

Inside the cell, Jun Changxiao held the miniaturized Five Thunder Spirit in his palm, saying: “How could this masterless spirit entity obey your commands?”

Duanmu Hai originally wanted to defend his dignity with silence, but seeing Er Ya standing beside him with wide round eyes, he hurriedly said: “Because I can hear its inner voice, know its weaknesses and vulnerabilities, so it can only obediently submit to me.”

“I see.”

Jun Changxiao asked again: “You really disdain fusing with the Five Thunder Spirit?”

Duanmu Hai said with a bitter face: “Spirit seeds nurtured and born in the vast universe are truly rare opportunities that can be encountered but not sought. I naturally hope to fuse with it, but unfortunately…”

“Didn’t succeed?”

“…”

“So it’s not that it isn’t qualified to fuse with you, but that you aren’t qualified to fuse with it.” Jun Changxiao teased.

“Er Ya.”

Standing up, he said: “Take good care of this fellow, don’t let him get too thin from hunger. He might be useful in the future.”

He didn’t plan to kill Duanmu Hai, but rather imprison him first. After all, someone who could hear spirit entities’ inner voices might prove useful later.

“Okay!”

After Jun Changxiao left, Er Ya, Zhao Doudou, and the third person surrounded him, frightening smiles appearing on their faces.

“You… what are you going to do…”

“Be good, be obedient.”

…

“Sect Master.”

Li Qingyang was summoned to the study and said: “You called this disciple—is there something?”

Jun Changxiao gestured for him to sit down, then opened his palm to reveal the Five Thunder Spirit, saying: “This is a Five Thunder Spirit entity nurtured in the universe. You have a Thunder Punishment Body, and also have a thunder-element contract beast. You should be able to fuse with it.”

“This…”

Li Qingyang was dumbfounded.

He’d known about the Five Thunder Spirit for a long time, but never imagined the Sect Master would give it to him. After all, there were only thirty-two of them in the entire Canghai System—truly rare opportunities that could be encountered but not sought.

“Sect Master!”

“This disciple is foolish!”

“This kind of spirit entity should be given to excellent fellow disciples instead!”

If it were Su Xiaomo, Jun Changxiao would definitely think he was deliberately acting modest. But he completely trusted his Second Disciple, because since taking him as a disciple, he’d always had a non-competitive, non-grasping personality.

“There will be many more spirit entities in the future.” Jun Changxiao casually tossed the Five Thunder Spirit over, saying: “This one is yours.”

Li Qingyang hurriedly caught it, and after a moment’s consideration, said: “Thank you, Sect Master!”

“Go on.”

Jun Changxiao said: “This seat awaits your good news.”

“Yes!”

Li Qingyang left carrying the Five Thunder Spirit, his gaze flashing with resolute light: “I definitely won’t let the Sect Master down!”

“Sigh.”

Jun Changxiao, standing by the window, shook his head and said: “I wasn’t able to successfully fuse with the Five Thunder Spirit. I hope Qingyang has this fate.”

—