The Invictus groaned, a sound like a dying god as the pirates swarmed its decks. Captain Iron Hand, clutching his blood-soaked chest where Xuan Ni had wounded him, watched as his men tore into the ship's secret compartments.

"Trophies! Bring me the high-grade stones! Bring me the Sect relics!" he barked, his voice rasping.

But the reports coming back were a chorus of disappointment.

"Captain, the vault is empty!"

"The secondary engine room is stripped—they burned the runic fuel!"

"Nothing but ash in the treasury, sir. They used everything to keep the shields up!"

Iron Hand's face contorted with fury. He had lost half his fleet and nearly his life for a hollow shell. He kicked a pile of smoldering debris, his metallic hand sparking. "Thousands of years of Crimson Sect accumulation... and they burned it all just to stay afloat? I'll pull the gold from their teeth if I have to!"

"Boss! You need to see this!" a pirate shouted from the hatch leading to the high-security brig. "Deep in the hold. It's... it's gruesome, even for the Crimson bastards."

Iron Hand descended into the dark, damp bowels of the ship. The smell of blood was thick here. In the center of the lead-lined cell, he found the prisoner. Ethan hung like a macabre ornament, the jagged hooks through his shoulders and the horrific Iron Mask fused to his skull.

The Captain's single eye widened. He had seen torture, but this was a attempt to erase a man's soul while keeping his heart beating.

"So this is the 'Package,'" Iron Hand whispered, walking in a slow circle around the suspended warrior. "Xuan Ni was terrified of this boy. He wasn't just a prisoner; he was the reason they were running. If he caused this much damage to a Crimson expedition, he's worth more than any pile of stones."

He reached out his metallic hand toward the Iron Mask. "Bring the cutters. I want him awake. I want to know where the rest of the treasure is hidden, and what he did to make the Elders go mad with—"

BOOM.

The entire ten-kilometer ship lurched violently. A massive shockwave rippled through the hull, throwing the pirates against the walls. The Invictus hadn't just tilted; it had lost its final buoyancy runes.

"Captain! The sky!" a voice screamed over the comms, distorted by panic. "It's not the pirates! It's the Soaring Dragon Royal Navy! They've surrounded the sector!"

Through the hull, the muffled roar of draconic trumpets echoed—the sound of the Hegemon of the Seas.

"Cowards!" Iron Hand roared. "They waited for us to do the dirty work!"

The Invictus gave a final, agonizing shriek as its structural integrity failed completely. The massive warship began to plummet like a mountain made of lead.

Abort! Everyone back to the ships!" Iron Hand scrambled toward the exit, glancing one last time at the prisoner. "Leave him! The ocean will take him!"

The impact was cataclysmic. The Invictus slammed into the ocean's surface with the force of a falling moon. A wall of water hundreds of meters high erupted into the sky, swallowing the black ships and the dying titan alike.

As the ship began its rapid descent into the crushing depths, the water rushed into the brig, cold and unforgiving. Ethan, still hooked to the ceiling, felt the icy pressure against his skin.

------------

Captain Iron Hand's fleet attempted to scatter like roaches in the light, but the horizon was already occupied. From the mist emerged the specialized hunters of the Soaring Dragon Royal Navy.

Dozens of White-Raptor Class vessels—the swiftest interceptors in the southern seas—closed the distance with terrifying speed. These one-kilometer-long ships were built for the chase, each equipped with a spiritual bow-cannon capable of delivering strikes with the concentrated power of a Mid-Stage Spiritual Sea expert.

Behind them loomed ten White-Hunter Class juggernauts. Five kilometers of reinforced white alloy, these ships were floating fortresses. They moved slower, but their three primary cannons hummed with the destructive output of a Peak-Stage Spiritual Sea warrior, enough to erase a small island in a single volley.

At the center of this crushing blockade sat the flagship: the White-Rhino. It was a massive, boxy behemoth, slower even than a crippled Invictus, but its hull was plated in Golden-Core grade spirit-alloy. It was a literal wall of metal designed to withstand the fury of a Golden Core expert, and its main turret—the "Dragon's Breath"—was the exact same model as the Invictus's missing cannon.

On the bridge of the White-Rhino, Commander Malphas adjusted his high-collared white uniform, his eyes cold as he watched the carnage through a tactical projection.

"Sir," an officer reported, saluting sharply. "The Invictus has suffered total structural failure. It is officially submerged and sinking rapidly. The pirates are attempting to break the perimeter at Sector 4."

Malphas let out a cold, thin smile. "The Crimson Sect were fools to bring such a prize into our waters without an escort. Now, clear the trash. Pursue the pirates. I have wanted to end that pest Iron Hand for years."

He tapped his fingers on the command console. "Bring me his head and that scrap-metal arm of his. I'll present them to Prince Charles as a trophy. With this victory and the salvage of a Crimson dreadnought, I will finally be promoted to Rear Admiral."

"Orders confirmed! All White-Raptors, initiate the 'Net' formation! Fire at will!"

The ocean sky turned white as hundreds of spiritual cannons fired simultaneously. The black ships of the pirate fleet were caught in a crossfire of divine proportions. One by one, the dark vessels were punched through by the Raptor-class beams, exploding in blossoms of dark fire before being sucked down by the wake of the sinking Invictus.

Iron Hand's flagship screamed as a White-Hunter's volley sheared off its port side. The "vengeance" the pirate captain had dreamed of was turning into a watery grave.

-------------------

From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.

Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Body Refinement Realm

Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement

Spiritual Gathering Realm

Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation

Spiritual Core Realm

Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)

Spiritual Soul Realm

Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion

Golden Core Realm

Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction

Spiritual Sea Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??