The boatman hefted the silver in his hand, his face breaking into a delighted smile, then turned his boat around and headed back. Those two silver ingots were enough to spare him half a year of work. Having spent most of his life making a living on the Lancang River, a place where tigers crouched and dragons coiled, he knew full well not to ask questions he should not ask.
Zhao Feng traveled underwater the entire way. His Jasper Wave True Water Technique had recently reached minor mastery, greatly improving his ability in the water along with it. He could move underwater for a time and control the currents.
Of course, he was not particularly fast yet.
Before long, he swam to the junction of the Lancang River and Thousand Leaf Marsh. The two branching waterways were as distinct in color as the Jing and Wei Rivers. One was a broad, surging river, while the other was Thousand Leaf Marsh, stretching six hundred li through countless twists and turns of complex terrain, with sandbars, shoals, and small islands scattered like stars across a chessboard, all covered in dense reed beds.
Zhao Feng swam onto a sandbar at the entrance to Thousand Leaf Marsh and concealed himself in its thick reeds. He circulated his Yang Qi True Qi, instantly drying himself with its heat.
Then he began visualizing his cultivation method, quietly waiting on his own.
An hour passed.
Boom! A thunderous blast came from the distant horizon.
It was in the direction of Flying Fish Island. Immediately afterward, a blaze shot into the sky.
"It's begun." Zhao Feng opened his eyes and looked toward the soaring flames, murmuring softly to himself.
Seen from high above, Flying Fish Island looked exactly like a flying fish spreading its fins and skimming the