Shi Yang

Guan Yunwu's forehead twitched with dark lines as he said in a low voice, "Young Master, I didn't bring much money on this trip.

We don't know how many days the mission will take. I don't want us sleeping on the streets when the time comes."

Shi Yang did not care in the slightest. He waved a hand. "What are you afraid of? Isn't this Lu Family territory? We came here to help them, so shouldn't they put us up for a few days?"

When Wang Yu looked over, Guan Yunwu had no choice but to gloomily pull out a Star Ticket and hand it over.

It was worth fifty thousand Crystal Coins.

This was Wang Yu's first time seeing a Star Ticket with such a large denomination.

Anyone who could bring such a high-denomination Star Ticket when traveling was most likely either wealthy or noble.

The deal was concluded just that smoothly, without any haggling.

Shi Yang was overjoyed, and Wang Yu seemed much more pleasing to his eye now.

"I think highly of you. My name is Shi Yang, and he's Guan Yunwu. We just came from the capital of Island 701," Shi Yang said with a hearty laugh, acting as though they had long been acquainted.

"Wang Yu, a disciple of the local Shadowless Fist Gym," Wang Yu replied.

"Shadowless Fist Gym?" Shi Yang raised a brow, then shook his head. "Never heard of it."

Guan Yunwu stepped forward and looked at Wang Yu. "The fist techniques you used earlier—were they from the Hong Family?"

Since he had been recognized, Wang Yu did not conceal anything and answered frankly.

"It was indeed Hong Family Fist, but I only happened to acquire a fragmentary Body Tempering Methods manual. I don't know its origins. I merely used it as a reference and practiced it alongside my other methods for a while. Is there some problem with this fist art?"

The items sold at the Night Sleep Gathering had no known origins, nor was there any way to trace them.

Thus, Wang Yu only knew the contents of the fist art itself and had no idea where Hong Family Fist had come from.

"A fragmentary manual you practiced alongside your main method?" Guan Yunwu was half-convinced, half-doubtful. "It's not exactly a major problem. It's just that if you run into members of the Hong Family in the future, you'll inevitably be questioned."

"The Hong Family?" Wang Yu's expression tightened.

Seeing Wang Yu's concern, Shi Yang explained, "This sort of foundational fist art isn't anything precious. Every member of their family learns it; even their household guards and servants can come into contact with it. It's inevitable that it would spread beyond the family. Every great military family has this sort of situation.

As long as outsiders do not touch the core cultivation methods that truly concern a family's inheritance and continuation, the elders of the family will not bother with such trivial branches and leaves.

In fact, if you manage to make something of Hong Family Fist, they may even offer you terms and recruit you as a household guard for training."

Only then did Wang Yu relax somewhat.

He had truly worried that the Hong Family Fist he practiced would bring trouble from the family that owned the art.

After all, these great families did not sound like people to be trifled with. The influence they wielded within the country was likely immense, far beyond what a disciple of a small fist gym like him could withstand.

Now it seemed that, in the eyes of the upper echelons of those great families, if some low-tier family Body Tempering Methods occasionally leaked out, then so be it. It was no great taboo.

After all, low-tier Body Tempering Methods had limited value to begin with and were not worth their attention.

Still, to be safe, Wang Yu would remain cautious. If he used Hong Family Fist in the future, he would be more discreet.

In truth, he had not expected Shi Yang and Guan Yunwu to recognize it at a glance today just from a few movements.

It could only be said that the fierce, forceful style of Hong Family Fist was highly recognizable.

"Young Master, we've got the crab. We should leave now, shouldn't we?" After this delay, Guan Yunwu remembered the mission again and immediately urged him on.

At the same time, his gaze swept across the shore, searching for the Garrison Commander.

"If you're looking for the Garrison Commander, he's over there." Wang Yu pointed in a direction.

"Thank you." Guan Yunwu immediately nodded in thanks.

"Until we meet again," Shi Yang said with a smile, hoisting the crab onto his shoulder as he left.

Guan Yunwu held up his umbrella and hurried after him, heading toward the Garrison Commander.

Wang Yu put away the fifty-thousand Crystal Coin Star Ticket. Including the profits from the Purple Coal Ore last time, he now had more than ninety thousand in his possession.

That was no small sum.

He had not expected one crab to be worth so much.

If it were merely treasure meat beneficial to cultivation, it certainly would not have been this expensive. After removing the shell and other inedible parts, the actual amount of nourishing crab meat was not all that great.

It could only be said that, as a rare premium seafood ingredient, it was worth this price in the eyes of wealthy people who spent money like water.

Beneath this sea truly lies a vast, boundless treasure vault. Wang Yu felt those words more deeply than ever.

At noon on the second day after the sea tide struck.

After simply eating some prepared high-calorie rations, Wang Yu continued wandering outside the town.

He could not say for certain that his total gains surpassed Sun Chengshan's, but they were at least far greater than those of the other disciples.

After all, he had already made a huge profit from that Red Rhinoceros Crab alone, eclipsing every other disciple.

Bang!

Wang Yu threw several consecutive punches, killing a slightly smaller sea beast.

+19, +13, +11

Watching the large proficiency values flicker above his fist, Wang Yu felt deeply satisfied.

The increase in Body Tempering Methods proficiency gained through actual combat was extraordinarily efficient, far surpassing punching iron stakes in daily training.

It was the same even if his opponent was not human, but merely a sea beast.

Unfortunately, real combat meant life and death. It was impossible to keep practicing one's fists endlessly under such circumstances.

It was nowhere near as safe as ordinary self-training, so fist practice was only incidental.

He picked up the purple sea beast, which resembled both a scorpion and a centipede, and headed back.

Sun Chengshan was also there tallying the haul, calling Song Hezheng and several disciples over to transport another filled cargo crate back to the fist gym.

This was already the second trip of the day.

Just then, a fierce heat wave suddenly rose from the sea and swept violently toward Island Town.

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes. His hair stood on end in the blast, and his entire body felt scorching hot.

The raindrops falling on him felt like boiling water.

"What's going on?!"

Everyone was shocked. Some Martial Artists with weaker cultivation felt as though the air itself had been sucked away, leaving them with an intense sense of suffocation.

The searing heat wave lasted nearly a minute before passing.

Only then were many disciples able to gulp in air, their faces filled with terror.

"That was close. I nearly got cooked," Zhang Erdan muttered, feeling that his experiences over the past two days had been far too thrilling.

"This scorching heat came without the slightest warning. Just what is happening with this sea tide?" Even Sun Chengshan could not make sense of the conditions around the island for the moment, his face as dark as water.

Wang Yu looked toward the sea. Vast quantities of water vapor were rising everywhere across its surface, making it impossible to see into the distance.

At the same time, at the Garrison Commander's location.

Several people likewise watched the sea with grave expressions.

"Where could such violent thermal fluctuations have come from?" Garrison Commander Lu Pan asked with a furrowed brow and a stern expression.

Recently, he had grown increasingly uneasy.

As the sea tide continued, this year's circumstances had become especially severe, surpassing every previous occurrence since the town had been founded!

Guan Yunwu, standing nearby, frowned deeply as well. "We cannot rule out the possibility that an undersea volcano has awakened."