The Pirate Fleet and the Purple Pearl

Seeing the ship suddenly emerge from beneath the water, Li Jiuchuan blinked in disbelief.

She hesitantly looked at Ye Tian beside her, asking, "Is this...?"

"A submarine," Ye Tian said calmly. "You can think of it as a ship that sails underwater."

As they spoke, the submarine's hatch opened.

Several soldiers from the Heavenly Strategy Army, dressed in civilian clothes, lowered an inflatable boat from the submarine's deck and rowed toward the shore.

Li Jiuchuan glanced at Ye Tian, then at the submarine.

Her family was in the ship business, so she was familiar with all sorts of vessels.

But it was her first time seeing a ship that could travel underwater.

It was truly astonishing.

She had never imagined that ships could sail beneath the water.

Secretly, she marveled at Ye Tian's power.

Even a ship like this was within his possession.

Hu Liena, who stood nearby, was equally shocked.

Gazing at the submarine from afar, she muttered, "It looks like a chunk of iron. How can iron float on water?"

The material of the submarine was beyond Hu Liena's imagination.

Iron normally sinks when placed on the ocean surface, right?

Ye Tian chuckled lightly, resting his hand on Hu Liena's shoulder as he explained:

"When the overall density of an object is greater than its buoyancy, it sinks. The submarine is mostly empty inside, with only the exterior made of iron. So its relative density is low, and it doesn't sink."

Hu Liena scratched her head, full of confusion.

What was Ye Tian talking about?

She recognized every word, but she didn't understand a thing.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Ye Tian couldn't help but laugh.

With her knowledge of physics, she was probably worse than an elementary school student.

It seemed like this world's math, science, and chemistry needed him to step in and save the day.

Cultivation may have made people foolish, unaware that science and technology were the true driving forces of productivity.

This reminded Ye Tian of a phrase:

...Cultivation won't save the Douluo Continent.

With a calm smile, Ye Tian stepped onto the inflatable boat.

"Stop thinking about it and come aboard."

Hu Liena scratched her head but quickly followed.

Li Jiuchuan paused before asking, "Do you need my family's ship to follow behind?"

"No need," Ye Tian said, a bit speechless.

The whole point of taking the submarine was to avoid exposing his whereabouts and use Li's family ship as a decoy.

If they followed behind, what secrecy would there be left?

"Tell the captain to leave later and take a different route to Golden Turtle Island," Ye Tian instructed.

Li Jiuchuan immediately understood Ye Tian's intentions.

She nodded lightly. "Got it."

...

Zhou Long was the last to enter the submarine.

After the hatch was sealed, the submarine's pump began filling the ballast tanks with seawater, and the submarine slowly started to submerge.

This submarine was mainly used for observing fish.

So there was a glass observation window.

Seeing it, the two women couldn't help but press against the glass to look outside.

By now, night had fallen, and visibility outside was poor.

But they could faintly see schools of fish swimming around the submarine.

There were also some bioluminescent jellyfish, glowing softly.

"How beautiful," Hu Liena couldn't help but exclaim.

Li Jiuchuan nodded gently beside her. "Even though my family lives on an island, this is my first time seeing the underwater world."

Ye Tian wasn't interested, and he walked alone to the cockpit.

Two soldiers were diligently piloting the submarine.

Submarines made on the Douluo Continent were not like real submarines.

They had no radar and relied almost entirely on visual navigation, so the pace was slow.

However, since they wouldn't be detected by ships on the surface, it was a safer mode of travel.

That was one reason why Ye Tian chose the submarine.

There was another advantage to traveling underwater:

No need to endure the rough seas.

It was as smooth as walking on solid ground.

In the dark environment, it was easy to feel sleepy.

Staring at the dark seawater outside, Ye Tian's eyelids began to droop.

However, Hu Liena and Li Jiuchuan were far from restful.

They came into the cockpit and curiously inspected Ye Tian.

"Wow, Brother Ye Tian has fallen asleep," Hu Liena said, feigning surprise after watching his profile for a while.

Ye Tian, just about to doze off, was startled awake by her voice. He glanced at Hu Liena and said helplessly:

"With you here, how could I possibly sleep?"

Seeing him awake, Hu Liena looked expectant.

"Brother, Jiuchuan and I are both curious. How does the submarine move? I walked around inside and didn't see anyone rowing."

Ye Tian felt a headache coming on at the question.

Goodness, she really asks about everything.

There was no way he could reveal this secret.

He glanced at Hu Liena and shook his head. "It's a secret."

"Okay," Hu Liena sighed, looking somewhat disappointed.

But inwardly, she resolved to figure it out someday.

...

After two days of sailing, they finally reached the vicinity of Golden Turtle Island.

The three of them were playing a game of Dou Dizhu (Fight the Landlord).

"King Bomb, I've only got one card left."

"You've lost again."

As the landlord, Ye Tian expressionlessly slapped his last card—a 3—onto the table.

"What...?" Hu Liena, her forehead covered in sticky notes, stared wide-eyed.

Li Jiuchuan's fair face was also plastered with sticky notes.

The two women exchanged glances and sighed.

"Sigh, there's no fun in this game," Hu Liena said, slightly disgruntled.

"Then let's stop playing," Ye Tian said, delighted.

Since teaching them Dou Dizhu the previous day, he hadn't slept a wink.

He was starting to regret ever introducing the game.

"No way," Hu Liena said, pressing down on Ye Tian's hand with a determined look.

"Next time, I'm definitely going to win."

Li Jiuchuan smiled, putting down her cards. "Nana, you've already lost 17 times."

One had to admit, Dou Dizhu was really fun.

With just a few simple cards, there were endless possibilities.

"Next time, for sure."

Hu Liena was full of confidence as she reached to shuffle the cards, refusing to give up.

She, Hu Liena, had never lost this badly before.

This time, she was determined to turn things around.

"Alright then."

Ye Tian, looking relaxed, picked up two sticky notes and stuck them on the women's faces.

Hu Liena pouted in defiance.

Li Jiuchuan, feeling Ye Tian's warm hand touch her face, suddenly froze.

Her eyes quickly lowered, avoiding his gaze.

At that moment, Zhou Long approached and whispered in Ye Tian's ear, "Young Master, there's a fleet of warships above us."

Warships?

Hearing this, Ye Tian narrowed his eyes. It seemed there was something going on.

"What's wrong?" Hu Liena asked curiously.

"We've encountered a fleet of warships," Ye Tian replied casually.

He got up and left the cabin, heading to the observation room.

The soldiers in the observation room immediately saluted when they saw Ye Tian and made way for him to use the periscope.

Ye Tian nodded slightly to them, stepping up to the periscope and looking through it.

Dozens of ships of various sizes appeared clearly in the periscope.

The ships were linked by gangways, indicating they were all part of the same group.

"Jiuchuan," Ye Tian called, gesturing to Li Jiuchuan, who had followed him.

"Come take a look. Do you recognize any of these ships?"

As a member of the Li family, who frequently sailed the seas, Li Jiuchuan was more likely to recognize the vessels.

"Alright."

With a worried expression, Li Jiuchuan nodded.

At this time, the only people she could think of being in the waters around Golden Turtle Island were pirates.

After observing for a while, her expression grew more serious.

"Did you recognize any?" Ye Tian asked.

Li Jiuchuan nodded lightly, her face tense.

"I don't know most of them, but I recognize two ships very clearly."

"The largest warship on the surface is called the Coral. It belongs to a notorious pirate group, and its captain is said to be a Titled Douluo."

"The long, sleek ship in the middle of the fleet is called the Purple Pearl. They're known for robbing the rich to help the poor, and their captain, Purple Pearl, has the highest bounty in the Heaven Dou Empire."

"Purple Pearl?" Ye Tian repeated the name in his mind. He knew this person quite well.

(End of chapter)