Chapter 54: Repeat It Once More

At this moment, it was as if the heavens and earth had come to a standstill.

Under that fleeting blade of light, drawing nearer from afar, everything plunged into a deathly silence.

But in the next instant—

A harsh, grating sound rang out, like iron scraping against iron.

On the surface of the sea, every battleship that the blade had passed through suddenly split apart, cleaving directly to either side.

That single slash had split the ships in two!

No—
Not just the ships.

Even the dark clouds above were severed, cut cleanly in half. Golden sunlight poured through the fissure, casting a ribbon of gold across the sea!

The once calm surface of the water, after a brief moment of silence, surged violently to either side.

A single slash parted the clouds.

A single slash parted the sea.

The entire world seemed divided in two by that dazzling blade of light!

The officer from the Free State, standing atop a warship with his finger hovering over the button, stared in shock at the scene before him, instinctively trying to press the button.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn't bring his finger down!

It was as though his hand now weighed a thousand pounds, unable to move even an inch forward no matter how hard he tried!

"What... what's happening..." The officer's face was filled with disbelief; he tried to speak, but no words came out.

In the next instant, a pain like his body was being torn apart surged through him.

As though suddenly understanding, his face flashed with horror. A crimson line appeared at the center of his brow, rapidly widening—spreading from forehead to chin, then to his neck, and finally down the length of his entire body.

With a sharp crack, the officer from the Free State, along with the very warship beneath his feet, was split cleanly in two!

The cut was smooth as glass.

With a thunderous crash, the sundered warships fell apart and sank into the sea.

The soldiers from the various nations who had survived stood dumbstruck on their ships, staring at the scene before them.

It was beyond all comprehension.

Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it!

It was as if a god had descended from the heavens, bringing down a sword that split the sky, the ocean, and the very warships themselves in twain!

"Wait, is that... a person?" A surviving soldier suddenly shouted in terror.

They turned their heads.

There, at the very end of the blade's path—

A young man stood upon the sea, a single sword in hand, his back to them.

The blade still shimmered with that same chilling brilliance as the slash itself.

Clearly, it was this young man who had unleashed that strike!

"That’s... a person..."

"A man from the Xia Dominion... he swung that sword."

"One slash split the clouds, the sea, and the warships... How is that possible!"

"He's standing on the sea... standing on the sea!"

The surviving soldiers murmured in a daze, their eyes vacant.

This scene was simply beyond the limits of their understanding.

Was this man even human?

Before they could recover, the youth standing on the water slowly turned, expressionless, to face the soldiers and warships that remained.

The sea breeze tousled the hair upon his brow; Lin Fan's eyes glinted with a blood-red light.

With a sudden flash, Lin Fan raised his short sword, the tip pointing at the surviving soldiers.

"This is our first meeting—pardon my rudeness," he said, his voice cold as ice yet echoing with a strange power that carried clearly to every ear. "After all, in our Xia Dominion, there is a saying: 'Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?'"

"But there's another saying in Xia as well," he continued. "'Those who offend Xia, no matter how far, shall be punished!'"

"If you point your cannons at Xia, if you seek to invade Xia, for every one of you who comes—I will kill one!"

In that moment, even the waves dared not stir.

A matchless, icy aura radiated from the youth.

His blade’s aura surged mightily, piercing the clouds themselves.

Under that blade’s pressure, the clouds above were swept away.

The sea beneath Lin Fan’s feet churned and roared.

Beyond that—silence.

Only the youth's voice, accompanied by the humming of his blade, resounded across the water.

Staring at the lone youth standing upon the sea, the surviving soldiers swallowed hard.

Mechanical noises echoed.

Without hesitation, the cannons that had been aimed at the borders of Xia, and the massive missiles as well, all swung around in the opposite direction.

With a roar, the engines thundered—the surviving soldiers, drained of all will to fight, turned their ships around and fled!

No one gave the order.

Not only because the officer who might have ordered them was now dead—slain in a single stroke.

But because that youth seemed a god sent by Xia.

That single slash from Xia had utterly shattered their will to fight!

Those who offend Xia, no matter how far, shall be punished!

The youth was like a divine guardian at the frontier of Xia, leaving them without even the courage to glance toward its borders.

As the warships retreated in panic, Lin Fan slowly turned to face the merchant ship floating nearby, in these international waters.

Inside the merchant vessel, the air was frozen.

Jill, the ambassadors of all nations, and their armed soldiers stood petrified, staring in disbelief at the sea outside the window.

Just moments before, they had threatened Shang Weitian with their warships, speaking of destroying several Xia cities for amusement.

But before their words were finished, a blade of light had swept through.

The clouds, the sea, the supposedly invincible warships—all had been split in two!

Their minds went utterly blank.

"Who... who is that..." Jill stared in shock at the youth standing alone upon the sea.

“Hahaha, that’s a man of my Xia!” Bloody and battered, Shang Weitian rose with a fierce grin and spat out blood. “You’re finished!”

“Commander-in-Chief, you finally arrived!”

“Now I’d like to see how you intend to threaten me—or threaten Xia again!”

For a moment, even the places Shang Weitian had been struck no longer seemed to hurt.

Jill watched the fleeing warships and clenched his teeth, grabbing the radio as if possessed and screaming, “Why are you running? Get back here! Get back here! Bomb Xia now!!”

Jill’s shouts did nothing to stop the retreat of the surviving ships.

But in the next moment, Jill’s voice cut off abruptly.

Though the distance was great and the figure blurred, Jill could feel the youth standing on the sea turn his cold gaze upon him!

That gaze was colder than the blade itself, sharper than any sword!

With just a glance, Jill’s body began to tremble, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, and he instinctively tried to turn away from the window.

But in the next heartbeat—

A chill wind swept through.

The cold edge of a blade pressed against Jill’s neck; Lin Fan appeared behind him like a wraith, his voice icy cold: “Repeat what you just said.”

It was as if a demon from hell was whispering in his ear.