Whether Hong Ming had truly grasped the art, Wen Xin couldn't say, but she could see that he had learned a lot.
A hint of delight appeared on her pretty face as she looked at Chen Yao.
Chen Yao gave a slight nod and praised him. "Not bad. You're very capable. You've basically learned it."
"Much of the credit goes to your excellent instruction, Miss Chen," Hong Ming said gratefully.
Chen Yao's face flushed at his words. She pressed her lips together. "In that case, keep practicing for now. I'll come teach you again tomorrow."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Xin eagerly pulled her away.
Hong Ming seized the opportunity to inspect Wen Xin's Traits.
[Trait: Water Breathing] [Status: Can be solidified] [Required Fate: 36 points] [Solidification Effect: Resonates with water, rides the tides among fish, and treats rivers, lakes, and ponds as though they were nothing.] [Breathing and Exhalation (Level 2 · White)] [...] [Low-Mid Bone Quality] [...]
Wen Xin had quite a few Traits, but compared with Lin Zhen and Chen Yao, they still paled in comparison.
He looked away and continued practicing on his own.
Meanwhile,
Chen Yao and Wen Xin had already left the training grounds when Chen Yao suddenly said, "Quick, h-help me."
Her whole body went limp, like a deflated ball, and she seemed utterly drained of strength.
"Seriously? You only taught for a little while, and you're already completely worn out?" Wen Xin struggled to support Chen Yao, astonished.
"It's not from teaching boxing. It's..."
Chen Yao found it hard to say and trailed off.
How could she tell Wen Xin that she was like this because teaching someone martial arts for the first time had made her so tense?
That would be far too embarrassing!
She didn't argue. Her silence served as confirmation.
Yet, for some reason, she felt uneasy. Hong Ming wouldn't mind being taught by her, would he?
She glanced at her own bulky figure, full of worry.
A powerful wave of inferiority welled up inside her.
[Frost Sky Fist +2] [Frost Sky Fist +3] [...]
Hong Ming was a little disappointed. His progress with Frost Sky Fist couldn't compare to Coiling Dragon Stake at all.
Although he had now used up the Treasure Fish's energy inside his body, each time he practiced Coiling Dragon Stake, he still gained six to eight experience points.
Frost Sky Fist didn't come close to producing the same results.
Feeling a little helpless, he stopped to rest.
His gaze fell on the other soldiers, and he began to ponder. "I can't solidify a Level 3 Fist Technique Expert Trait. What about Level 1?"
Earlier, he'd focused only on high-level Traits. He had to admit he'd overlooked the lower-level ones.
The former were powerful, but currently beyond his reach. The latter, however, were right at his fingertips.
More importantly, he could still level them up after solidifying them!
"I'll give it a try!"
Hong Ming immediately put the idea into action and soon found the Trait he was looking for:
[Trait: Fist Technique Expert (Level 1 · White)] [Status: Can be solidified] [Required Fate: 3 points] [Solidification Effect: Slightly increases the efficiency of practicing fist-based martial arts.]
The required Fate was well within what he could afford, so Hong Ming solidified it without hesitation.
[Consumed 3 points of Fate. Successfully solidified the "Fist Technique Expert" Trait.]
As he heard the voice in his mind, Hong Ming checked his status panel:
[Fate: 1 point (89%)]
After advancing to Bright Force, his Fate was growing at a decent pace. It wouldn't be long before he could condense another point.
He withdrew his consciousness and eagerly began practicing Frost Sky Fist.
This time, the difference was obvious:
[Frost Sky Fist +4] [Frost Sky Fist +5] [...]
His progress with the fist technique now held steady at around four to five experience points per round.
Hong Ming was reasonably satisfied. He practiced until noon, and his Fate increased by another point.
As in the Training Camp, Water Soldiers at the Preparatory Camp received martial instruction in the morning and were free for the rest of the day.
After a hearty meal, Hong Ming didn't stay at the camp. Instead, he prepared to head to the Huang Family Water Field.
Now that everything else was settled, it was time to see the opportunity his Fate Grid had revealed!
The Huang Family Water Field
It was far wider and more expansive than the Chen Family Water Farm.
The Chen Family Water Farm was a cramped, narrow stretch of water, its ponds connected like a patchwork.
The Huang Family Water Field, by contrast, resembled a natural lake district. Lakes of every size lay scattered and interwoven, while waterways wound between them and connected one to another.
The whole expanse of water stretched beyond the eye's reach, taking up several miles in every direction.
At one quiet lake, mist curled over the water, and the waves faded into a vast haze.
The light of day reflected across its surface, revealing the dim depths below, seemingly bottomless.
A breeze swept past, ripples spread across the lake in countless layers, and emerald waves rolled toward the distant shore.
Then, as though cut cleanly in half, the ripples vanished where the water met the mountains.
Beneath those overlapping waves, a blurred figure emerged: Hong Ming.
He didn't dare surface. Patrols guarded the area around the Huang Family Water Field, and if he showed himself, he might be spotted.
So he floated quietly across the lake, using his Trait to swim at a snail's pace toward a secluded stretch of the far shore.
His movements carried an unmistakable air of coming in high spirits and leaving in low ones.
The excursion hadn't gone well. He had considered all sorts of possibilities and taken every factor into account, but he'd never expected to fail at the very thing he was best at.
"The precious Stone Crystal Fruit is in a place that's unfathomably deep and riddled with undercurrents. I can't make it anywhere near the bottom before I run out of strength and can't breathe, forcing me to turn back!"
Recalling his exploration, Hong Ming felt frustrated. He had made several attempts, and every one had ended in failure.
The Water Proficiency Trait seemed suppressed here, weakening his swimming ability until he was no better than usual.
He didn't know exactly how far down he'd gone, but it was certainly less than a hundred zhang.
He estimated he had managed, at most, around fifty zhang—nowhere near the hundred zhang depth.
"Stamina isn't the main issue. The real problem is my water proficiency!"
After reviewing his repeated failures, Hong Ming reached a conclusion.
His stamina ran out mainly because his underwater skills weren't good enough, forcing him to rely on them to resist the surging currents.
That made everything slower and more exhausting, until in the end the currents dragged him down and sent him back in defeat.
Having identified the crux of the problem, Hong Ming considered what to do.
It wasn't complicated. In a word, he simply needed to improve his water proficiency.
The Water Proficiency Trait couldn't be upgraded, so the next best option was to solidify a new Trait.
Hong Ming's mind turned over the Traits he'd recently discovered, and he soon had an idea. "Water Breathing might work?"
There was no need to guess. Hong Ming had a more direct way to find out.
By comparing the Fate required to solidify Water Breathing with that required for Water Proficiency, he confirmed his suspicion.
But he didn't let himself get excited too soon. Solidifying Water Breathing required thirty-six points of Fate!
With less than five points at his disposal, he had a long way to go.
The gap was substantial, but Hong Ming had no intention of giving up.
Being able to see something but not reach it was certainly frustrating.
But he couldn't give up on an opportunity so close at hand. No matter what, he had to seize it!
After resolving to accumulate Fate, Hong Ming avoided the Huang Family's watchful eyes and returned to the Navy Camp.
Along the way, he thanked Zhong Shaoying for the ten taels of support he'd sent. Then he turned his frustration into motivation, training hard at both stake work and fist techniques.
Before you continue