Chapter 107: The Shandians

[Late at night, I find myself thinking of my wife again.]

Shu Mingyuan walked across the clouds, his feet treading upon the waves of the sea of clouds. Upper Yard was not far from Angel Island; at his speed, he would arrive in no time.

Looking at the massive landmass before him, Shu Mingyuan still struggled to fathom how immense the Great Knock-Up Stream must have been 400 years ago to launch such a vast island ten thousand meters into the sky.

As he set foot on this lost island, feeling the solid, heavy earth beneath his feet instead of the soft island clouds, he finally felt a long-lost sense of stability.

Every living thing here had grown to enormous proportions due to the unique environment of the Sky Island. Countless towering trees shrouded the forest, and even the roots exposed on the surface were several meters thick.

Shu Mingyuan walked through the dense, primeval jungle, where the very air felt ancient and eternal. He made no attempt to conceal his presence. Enel and the four priests could cover the entire God's Island with their Mantra; if they wished, they would have likely discovered his tracks by now.

But what of it?

A composed smile remained on his face. The four priests, or even Enel—it mattered little. As long as they didn't provoke him, everything was negotiable.

But if they did provoke him, then whatever "god" they claimed to be, he would simply cut them down.

According to Mont Blanc Noland's diary: "I saw gold in the right eye." Geographically speaking, the City of Gold should be in the heart of God's Island!

...

"Has that Blue Sea dweller already trespassed onto God's Island? Now I have a reason to deliver divine judgment upon him!"

Enel's self-muttering echoed within the shrine on God's Island. As his fingertips tapped lightly, a massive bolt of lightning descended from the high heavens at that very moment, striking fiercely toward Shu Mingyuan!

Countless dense branches were obliterated by the sheer force of the lightning, which continued its trajectory downward from above Shu Mingyuan's head. With Enel's Mantra, his lightning strikes could achieve pinpoint precision anywhere on the Sky Island!

It was as if eyes had grown on top of Shu Mingyuan's head. With a flicker of his figure, he easily dodged the bolt, leaving a crater several meters wide blasted into the earth.

"Heh, has my trial begun? Enel, you really are petty."

He chuckled softly. He had long known that, given Enel's personality, all outsiders were enemies, though the "god" strictly adhered to the laws he himself had enacted.

However, when Shu Mingyuan first entered the Gate of Heaven, he had provided enough tribute to be treated as a VIP guest touring the Sky Island. For the past three days, he hadn't caused any trouble, so Enel had not yet taken action against him.

But now, the moment Shu Mingyuan officially stepped into the forbidden grounds of God, he had violated the law, making him a bona fide sinner. Enel now had ample justification to exterminate him!

Simultaneously, throughout the entire Sky Island kingdom, an indifferent and grand voice resonated within the hearts of every inhabitant.

"The Blue Sea dweller from three days ago has trespassed into the forbidden grounds of God without permission. I swear in the name of God that I shall subject him to the supreme penalty of divine judgment! Furthermore, Conis has harbored a criminal and concealed a demonic object; her crime is doubled, and she shall be sentenced to the supreme penalty of live sacrifice!"

Enel's voice faded in an instant. Panic swept through the people, and everyone immediately drew a line between themselves and Conis, fearing that any association with her would lead to them being implicated as accomplices.

Once the divine decree was issued, it didn't take long for a squad of God's Guards to break into Conis's home. They ransacked the place, and when they discovered the strange-looking Devil Fruit in a chest, they finally let out a sigh of relief.

"No... Captain McKinley, you cannot take this fruit away! Mr. Shu Mingyuan entrusted it to me!" Conis cried out.

"That Blue Sea dweller has already incurred the wrath of God and is now unable to save himself. Instead of distancing yourself from him, you defend him—how foolish, Conis! The Almighty God has passed judgment upon you. Take her away and offer her as a sacrifice to the great Sky Lord!"

Captain McKinley wore a cold, cruel smile. He was a loyal supporter of God; Enel's will was the direction his musket pointed!

Conis was tightly bound and sent onto the back of a Super-Express Shrimp. Starting from the White-White Sea coast of Angel Island, it raced along the Cloud River toward the sacrificial altar in the southwest.

She was to be offered there to the serpent deity, the Sky Lord, to atone for her sins!

Shu Mingyuan's brow furrowed. He had heard Enel's voice as well. If those so-called supreme penalties were aimed only at him, he would have nothing to fear. But now that Conis was being implicated because of his own stubborn actions, he felt truly, incredibly annoyed!

"Heh, concealing a demonic object? They are just coveting the Devil Fruit."

Shu Mingyuan's expression grew cold. At the same time, he felt a pang of regret; had he not given the artificial Devil Fruit to Conis, she might not have faced this calamity.

The power of Mantra was likely even greater than he had imagined. Now that he thought about it, perhaps everything he had done was known to Enel.

"Enel, since you have provoked me, don't blame me for dragging you down from your pedestal."

Initially, his plans were simple. He didn't want to make an enemy of Enel; he intended to treat this trip to the Sky Island as a vacation. As long as Enel didn't destroy the island in the end, he would just watch from the sidelines. If he wanted to go to the moon, let him go; if he wanted to play god, that was his business.

But once they stood in opposition, even a god would be cut down by his blade!

"The priority now is to rescue Conis."

Having made up his mind and identifying the direction, he raced toward the sacrificial altar in the northwest of the map.

"BOOM!"

A cannonball flew in from an unknown corner without warning, hurtling toward Shu Mingyuan. Relying on his sharp senses, the moment the shell descended, Shu Mingyuan swung his sword in a backhand strike. A lightning-imbued sword gleam erupted, cleaving the shell in two.

The debris of the shell exploded on either side of him, blasting two ten-meter-deep craters into the ground with billowing smoke.

Shu Mingyuan watched as two figures emerged from the smoke. They wore ferocious masks, their bare chests were tattooed, and they were draped in animal skins and straw—a quintessential tribal look. On their backs, each sported a pair of small, snow-white wings, the symbol of Sky Islanders.

"Shandia guerrillas?"

Shu Mingyuan narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected to run into this group. The so-called Shandians were descendants of the natives of Jaya who had been launched into the sky by the Great Knock-Up Stream. They had been driven from their homes by the Sky Islanders and had engaged in a 400-year-long guerrilla war ever since.

They were a bunch of war-crazed lunatics determined to reclaim their homeland! In their eyes, anyone coveting Upper Yard was an enemy!

"Don't try to stop me. I have no interest in this land whatsoever. If you have the ability, go take it back from Enel yourself!"