Second Day of the Second Month of the Great Xuan Calendar

The Great Fortune passenger ship remained anchored at Mist Island for a day. After taking on its final group of passengers, it hoisted its sails and departed the harbor, pushed by a powerful westerly wind as it cut through the waves toward its destination: Ruiguang, the capital of the Eastern Protectorate.

In a single-occupancy detention cell on the middle deck of the ship, a figure sat cross-legged, cloaked and hooded. The face visible beneath the shadows of the hood revealed him to be a young man.

A narrow flap at the bottom of the detention cell door opened, and several newspapers were shoved inside.

Zhang Yu listened to the footsteps fade away before reaching out to pick up the papers. Years of breathing technique training had granted him a physique far superior to that of an ordinary person, so the dim lighting did not hinder his reading.

He first glanced at the date.

"Second day of the second month of the Great Xuan Calendar."

His gaze lingered on the date for a moment before he continued reading.

Compared to the Fragrant Island News from three days ago, this paper only differed in a few commodity price fluctuations; the rest was nearly identical, consisting of news from ten days or half a month prior.

This was understandable. Although the islands of the Soaring Sea traded frequently, they were limited by relatively backward transportation and communication methods, which could hardly compare to the Sky Net that had once enveloped everything in his previous life.

Yet, compared to that dead, silent world of his past, where everyone relied on nutrient pods to sustain life and only their consciousnesses remained active, everything before him was at least vibrant and alive.

He folded the newspaper neatly, set it aside, and resumed his breathing exercises.

During these days of restricted movement, the long periods of stillness had brought him an unexpected harvest.

He could sense that somewhere on the ship, an object was radiating a strange energy, and as he guided it with his breath, he was able to absorb it bit by bit.

Before this, he would have needed direct physical contact to achieve such a feat.

No wonder my teacher often said, "Store the spirit within, and the void shall come," he thought with a pleasant mood. It truly holds wisdom. It seems I will be able to absorb all this source energy before reaching the capital.

He did not perform this continuously, but rather paused at intervals. This was a trick he had discovered during this time, as it proved to be more efficient.

Just as he stopped once more, the loud voices of many children drifted in from outside, likely from one of the lower-deck cabins. He listened carefully and realized they were reciting a poem.

Though the voices were childish, they were uniform, clear, and spirited, and the content was one he was familiar with.

It was "Summer Wind."

As a citizen of Celestial Xia in this world, he had heard it countless times.

"The Great Dao of Mystic Chaos carries the heavens and earth, a million Sky Cities tear through the clouds to arrive."

"Brilliant divine light illuminates the Han firmament, magnificent Xia colors build the glorious stage!"

"The proud sun burns to steam the Azure Sea, the dawn awakens the morning star in the east."

"Now inheriting the human path to carry the yellow earth, ten thousand generations sing of this prosperous age!"

This world had experienced the succession of several epochs, suffering both invasions from outsiders and the awakening of ancient powers. Each time, a new civilization would rise from the ruins, only to move from prosperity to destruction, leaving the land littered with ancient relics from various eras and teeming with all manner of monsters and gods.

All of this changed on a certain day three hundred and seventy-three years ago.

Celestial Xia descended!

It was said that when Celestial Xia first arrived, sky-piercing floating cities hung at the zenith of the high heavens, visible from every corner of the known world.

This poem was written to praise that very sight.

After Celestial Xia entered the world, it inevitably clashed violently with those gods, monsters, and natives in order to re-establish order upon the shattered and chaotic world.

Possessing numerous cultivators, Celestial Xia did not encounter any worthy opponents at first. However, as the wars dragged on and their territory expanded, more and more problems emerged.

To adapt to the changing situation, the upper echelons of Celestial Xia improved the original cultivation methods, but divisions and contradictions followed.

From then on, Celestial Xia's cultivators split into two groups.

Cultivators who embraced the new methods were called "Mystic Cultivators," while those who continued to use the original cultivation methods were called "Old Cultivators."

And his former teacher had been an Old Cultivator!

Five years ago, when he was twelve, his foster father had hired a teacher to instruct him in the old ways.

But life was unpredictable; for various reasons, he had not been able to go very far on that path, and instead, he had eventually embarked on the path of the new methods.

However, he had only just barely entered the threshold, and this trip to the capital of the Protectorate was intended to help him learn higher-level techniques of the new methods.

Just as he was immersed in his memories, a series of musket blasts rang out from outside. Immediately following, a long, dull echo drifted over, accompanied by the sound of waves being shattered, and it was rapidly drawing closer.

After a brief silence, the ship beneath him lurched violently, as if it had been struck by something massive. Fortunately, he had stabilized his center of gravity in advance and did not fall.

Scattered wails and shouts erupted outside.

He thought for a moment, reached out to grip the door panel, and exerted a bit of force. With a snap, the bolt broke. He hooked his hand around the door frame and stepped out of the detention cell.

Standing in the doorway, he tightened the crimson gloves on his hands before walking quickly through the long cabin and climbing the stairs to the outside.

The deck was in chaos. People were everywhere, crying out in pain, and the mangled corpses of monsters were scattered about, the deck slick with foul-smelling blood. The ship's guards were running to and fro, and the occasional sound of a stray musket shot rang out.

He looked at the monster corpses and recognized them as Water Infants, known colloquially as "Water Monkeys," the most common water monsters in the open sea and inland rivers.

He walked a few steps to the ship's railing and looked into the distance. There, a massive spine was exposed above the surface of the sea, covered in a layer of shimmering, colorful light.

This was the culprit that had nearly capsized the Great Fortune: a sea monster possessing extraordinary power and immense size.

A spiritual creature.

He pondered for a moment, then headed toward the uppermost deck of the Great Fortune. The guard unit was busy assisting the wounded under the command of a captain, and for the moment, no one paid him any mind.

Reaching the upper deck, he caught sight of the captain, Shi Dongliang, speaking with a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit. They appeared to be arguing, while five or six elegantly dressed women nearby were sobbing softly.

"Captain Shi, there are cannons on this ship. Why aren't you firing?"

"Mr. Helian, that is a Yao Salamander, a rare spiritual monster. Its surface is covered in a spiritual mantle; guns and cannons are useless against it and will only enrage it. What we need to do now is not fight it, but find out why it is attacking us!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu spoke up: "Captain Shi, perhaps I know the reason."

The middle-aged man turned his head, surprised. "Who are you?"

A guard looked Zhang Yu over, his expression tightening as he pointed at him. "He—he looks like the man who was locked in the detention room!"

"The man from the detention room?" The middle-aged man panicked and shouted, "Guard! Guards!"

The guard captain below heard the call and reacted quickly, rushing up with a squad of men to surround Zhang Yu, their muskets leveled at him.

Facing the dark muzzles, Zhang Yu stood calmly.

Shi Dongliang patted the guard captain's shoulder, signaling him to stand down. He looked at Zhang Yu and said, "Are you the Young Master Zhang who was detained for trading contraband with the Other God Cult?"

Zhang Yu replied, "I am."

The middle-aged man remained extremely nervous. "Contraband? What kind of contraband? He isn't a wanted criminal from the Protectorate Office, is he? You—take off your hood."

Zhang Yu glanced at him, took hold of the brim of his hat with both hands, and flipped it back.

"Oh..."

Everyone present, regardless of gender, felt a gasp of wonder rise from the depths of their hearts the moment they saw his face.

They could hardly imagine that such a beautiful person existed in the world, and they stared at him, unable to look away.

Facing their gazes, Zhang Yu remained natural, showing no signs of unease.

His teacher had described him as having "a clear spirit and elegant features, the appearance of an exiled immortal." This was due not only to his natural looks but also to the significant shift in his temperament after five years of practicing breathing techniques.

Shi Dongliang couldn't help but study him for a few moments, but he quickly composed himself and said sternly, "Young Master Zhang, you said you know why this monster is targeting us?"

Zhang Yu nodded. "When I walked over just now, I saw quite a few Water Infant corpses on the ship..."

Before he could finish, the middle-aged man cried out, "Right, the Water Infants! It must be because of them!" He shouted at the guards, "Why didn't you drive them away? You brought this monster upon us!"

The guard captain suppressed the anger in his chest and said, "Mr. Helian, Water Infants are man-eating monsters. Our ship guard has a duty to eliminate anything that threatens the lives of our passengers!"

Shi Dongliang gestured to stop their argument and said in a low voice, "Let Young Master Zhang finish."

Zhang Yu said, "My specialty is ancient natural history, and I understand the habits of many monsters. Once a Yao Salamander gains spirituality, it consciously trains its young. It drives the Water Infants it commands to a specific location to let its offspring hunt them. In this process, the Water Infants serve as both guards for the young and as food should the young fall into distress."

Shi Dongliang looked up sharply at Zhang Yu. "Young Master Zhang, are you saying that this monster might have chosen the Great Fortune as the hunting ground for its young?"

Zhang Yu nodded. "That is the most likely scenario. The Yao Salamander does not naturally feed on humans. This monster must have heard the musket fire and, fearing for the safety of its young, began ramming the Great Fortune. If we can find the young one in time and return it safely to the sea, we may be able to avoid a direct conflict with the monster."

"Find it, quickly!"

Shi Dongliang immediately issued the order.

The guard captain said, "Father, I'll go!" Before the words had even left his lips, he was already rushing down the stairs.

After ramming the Great Fortune once, the Yao Salamander did not repeat the action, but it did not leave either. It continued to circle the ship, though it was clear it was becoming increasingly agitated.

The crowd waited in fear, terrified that the monster would strike again and wondering if the Great Fortune could withstand another blow.

About half a quarter of an hour later, hurried footsteps echoed as the guard captain returned with a crew member, the latter holding something wrapped in cloth.

The middle-aged man rushed forward, asking anxiously, "How is it? Did you find it? Is it that thing in your hands?"

The crew member nervously opened the cloth, revealing a small, purplish creature with a lizard-like tail and slick, scaleless skin, which was currently struggling violently.

The guard captain said, "We found this little thing in the storage room."

The middle-aged man was overjoyed. He waved his hands and urged, "Excellent! Quick, throw it into the sea!"

But just then, the young creature suddenly convulsed, its long, thrashing tail snapping taut. After a few short breaths, it went limp, its head drooping downward, motionless.

The crew member's body stiffened. He swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "It—it seems to be dead."

New book uploaded (a gift for Children's Day, haha~ ヾ(▽'))

Still a xianxia theme, but this is a brand-new version. I hope everyone likes it.

By the way, I'm asking for collections and recommendations.