Twenty days after Gao Nian of the Golden Dragon Gang met his death.
Morning light had just risen, and the heavy fog was gradually dispersing.
Shen Xiuhan stood alone at the stern of a black-canopied boat, poling across the lake's surface.
Counting it up, this was already his fourth day standing solitary night patrol.
Having figured out the routine, he had found it quite manageable.
The island's rules were lax. Aside from the fixed two shichen each day that had to be spent patrolling the water, most of his time was his to use as he pleased.
These past few days, Shen Xiuhan had not bothered drinking or making idle conversation with the others on the island.
Most often, he found a secluded, quiet bamboo grove and silently trained his stance art, tempering his qi and blood.
Since obtaining the "Jadeblood Pill," he had swallowed three in succession.
The pill's effects were obvious. Now, with just a slight circulation of his stance art, the qi and blood within him churned relentlessly like fierce flames boiling oil, like scalding water rolling in a cauldron.
This was precisely the sign of Blood Tempering reaching great completion!
In a few days, once the effects of the Jadeblood Pill he had taken the day before yesterday had been fully refined, he could take another and attempt a breakthrough into Bone Tempering.
But before that, he had something even more pressing to do.
He set down the oar and let the black-canopied boat drift with the waves.
Standing tall at the prow, Shen Xiuhan warily swept his gaze over the surroundings. After confirming that no one stood within several li, he drew a deep breath.
[Detected martial art available for deduction: "Remnant of the Creekside Old Man's Divine Ability." Deduce?]
"...Yes!"
In an