Chapter 1254: Ryukyu Lovers Compose Heartfelt Melodies, Chivalrous Heroes Fall Drunk Beneath Moonlight

Three months after the wedding, the heat in Ryukyu grew even more intense.

Shi Feiyang stood on the high platform of the newly built Heroic Sakura Association branch, accompanied by Sub-Branch Leader Bai Zhi and the two branch elders Shi Xiong and Shan Zhi, gazing at the merchant ships busily moving through the port and the practicing disciples, his gaze deep as an abyss. The branch covered a hundred acres, with the atmosphere of Jianghu subtly visible between the flying eaves and painted beams.

On the Martial Arts Arena, the disciples practiced the improved version of the Hundred Victories Saber Technique, the whistling wind of their blades startling a flock of seabirds.

The heat of Ryukyu, wrapped in the salty sea breeze, made the port scorchingly hot.

Under the flying eaves of the newly built branch of the Heroic Sakura Association, Shi Feiyang gazed at the fleet of merchant ships ranked like a forest of masts in the distance, his dark martial outfit producing deep sweat stains under the scorching sun.

Suddenly hearing the sound of wood splintering from afar, a disciple staggered forward, with half a harpoon embedded in his shoulder: “Grand Squad Leader! The Liusa Gang has severed our anchor chains, and… set fire in the hold!”

Bai Zhi tightly clutched the Golden Silkworm Gu Pouch at her waist, the green gu insects within restless and agitated: “These filthy scoundrels really have a death wish.”

Shi Xiong’s White Rainbow Treasure Sword had already been drawn three inches, the sword reflecting the blood-red sunset, while Shan Zhi’s plum blossom darts emitted a chilling light as they spun between his fingers.

However, Shi Feiyang raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down, as a white mist slowly rose from his palm—the Bright Jade Technique initiated its “Supreme Forgetting Emotions Ice Soul Cold Prison,” making the skin beneath his dark attire glow with a glazed sheen.

At the dock, over nine hundred members of the Liusa Gang, like vicious dogs, blocked the merchant ships. Master Hou San held a pipe at an angle in his mouth, leaning on a rusty steel knife, the blade still smudged with not-yet-dried blood: “Shi Feiyang! The seas of Ryukyu belong to the Hou name!”

As he grinned fiercely, revealing half a gold tooth, “I heard your Hundred Victories Saber Technique can split mountains and seas? I really want to see it!” Shi Feiyang stepped through the “Dragon’s Seven Steps,” his figure ghostly as he darted across the scorching stone-paved road. With each step he took, the ground formed web-like ice patterns. “Does Master Hou know,” his voice cold as an icy lake, “the first rule of Jianghu is—”

Before he could finish, three gang members suddenly charged, thrusting their harpoons in a trident formation. “Annoying!” Shi Feiyang’s palms moved like blades, displaying the “Golden Dragon Claw” from the Hundred Victories Saber Technique. Golden saber energy, wrapped in icy cold, carved a three-zhang long arc of light through the air.

The leading man was split in half, harpoon and all, with blood splattering onto the scorching deck, churning up a burst of white mist.

Before the harpoons of the remaining two could make contact, they were pulled back by a suction force, crashing heavily into cargo boxes, the sound of breaking ribs vividly audible.

Hou San’s pupils shrank suddenly, as he harshly flung his pipe towards Shi Feiyang’s face, while shouting, “Release the poisonous smoke!” Over a dozen gang members pulled bamboo tubes from their bosoms, and yellow mist instantly seeped through the port. Bai Zhi shouted sharply, her jade hands flickered as nine Golden Silkworm Gu insects turned into green light, surging into the mist. Where the insects ventured, screams rang out in succession—these insects specifically targeted the major joints of people, causing the afflicted to kneel and clutch their legs, the cracking of dislocated bones echoing continuously.

Shi Feiyang moved through the poisonous mist as if in an uninhabited realm, turning the Bright Jade Technique, his body transparent like an ice sculpture.

He casually waved out two palms, the saber energy of “Heaven and Earth Share Longevity” cutting a path through the toxic mist, the Divine Skill “Shock Eye Tribulation” scanned across like a scanner, causing over nine hundred disciples of the Liusa Gang to leap up, bodies encased in ice, disintegrating and shattering into ice drippings scattered across the ground.

Seeing the situation taking a turn for the worse, Hou San turned to jump into the sea to escape, only to feel a powerful force grab his ankle.

The True Qi vortex from Shi Feiyang’s Bright Jade Technique raised him upside-down, his voice icy: “Where is Master Hou planning to go?”

Hou San struggled desperately mid-air, waving his steel knife aimlessly, “You… you dare to kill me? My master is…”

His voice abruptly stopped, as Shi Feiyang’s fingertip lightly tapped on his Chest Acupoint, with the cold icy qi spreading through his meridians.

In an instant, Hou San’s legs froze solid, the chill climbing upward from his Dantian.

“Within three breaths,” Shi Feiyang’s tone was void of any emotion, “if you don’t reveal the mastermind behind all this, I will let you experience the taste of being an ice sculpture alive. In the Central Earth, I’ve already killed over a hundred thousand people; I’m not afraid of killing a few dozen more in Ryukyu.”

“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” Hou San’s teeth chattered, snot and tears mixed with foamy blood, “It’s… it’s the Fusang Chamber of Commerce that gave us three thousand taels of silver to let us…”

Before he could finish, Shi Feiyang suddenly slammed him onto the deck. The path of the icy cold left Hou San’s legs severed on cue, the fracture lined with ice crystals, the blood congealed into a bizarre purplish-red.

The port was awash with the stench of blood and gu venom, with the surviving Liusa Gang members kneeling, begging for mercy.

Shi Feiyang looked at the flames churned by the sea, his clothes flapping against the wind: “Send down my order, rebuild the merchant ships within three days. Should someone with no regard come again…” He crushed the ice shards underfoot, “let them accompany these ice fragments to the sea!”

With this battle, the esteem of the Heroic Sakura Association soared in Ryukyu.

Shi Feiyang began building his naval force, recruiting artisans, refining vessels, forging a formidable merchant fleet.

Simultaneously, he selected elite disciples from the martial school, training them into a guard team for the sea, equipped with specialized weapons, from the Central Plains crossbows to Ryukyu harpoons and spears. The three princesses also each demonstrated their skills.

The Eldest Princess Liu Yue leveraged royal connections to establish trade routes with neighboring islands for the Heroic Sakura Association; the Second Princess Liu Xing, highly intelligent, assisted with managing shop accounts, kept the business well-organized; the Third Princess Liu Ying merged with the disciples, attracting more Ryukyu youth to join the Heroic Sakura Association under her influence.

The dusk of the Northern Desert Grassland seemed soaked with blood, the setting sun like a bleeding giant eye, coldly overlooking the Black Wind Gorge.

Xie Zhichuan clutched the lackluster poison vial of Liuli, his knuckles whitening from excessive force, a beast-like growl escaping his throat.