Setting Sail
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Yueming merely smiled faintly and said nothing more. The limitations of the sea? For him, perhaps they weren't so absolute.
Meanwhile, inside that massive, mountain-like ship, in a lavishly decorated room...
Xi Zhenyue suddenly opened his eyes, and a powerful aura far exceeding the Blood Replacement Realm erupted! After this period of seclusion, and with the resources provided by Gao Long, he finally broke through the bottleneck and stepped into the Qi Refining Qi Refining Realm he had longed for!
"Hahaha! Is this the power of the Qi Refining Realm? Truly extraordinary!" Xi Zhenyue felt the surging true qi within his body and the mysterious sensation of being able to initially Heaven Reaching and earth, and couldn't help but burst into laughter!
"Although I've only just entered the realm of Qi perception, and the Qi Refining method I'm practicing is only of intermediate grade, I've still taken this crucial step!"
He walked out of the room in high spirits, just in time to run into Gao Long.
"Congratulations, General Xi, oh no, I should call you Senior Xi now!" Gao Long offered his congratulations with a perfectly timed smile and clasped his hands in greeting.
Xi Zhenyue quickly suppressed his aura and put on a humble smile, "How dare I call myself a senior before Young Master Gao! If it weren't for your guidance, I'm afraid I would never have had a chance to reach this level in my entire life!"
"Senior Xi, you're too kind." Gao Long waved his hand, then changed the subject, "Now that you've broken through, you should know what to do when you get back, right?"
"Rest assured, young master!" A ruthless glint flashed in Xi Zhenyue's eyes. "I will certainly create an image of a 'full harvest' for you, so that those fellows will believe it without a doubt and willingly follow you to the ' Central Continent '!"
The two exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.
Just then, a middle-aged man who also exuded the aura of the Qi Refining Realm walked over. He was none other than Jiao Xiaotian, a Qi Refining expert from the Jiao Clan of Cold Wind City.
"Young Master Gao," Jiao Xiaotian greeted with a cupped-hand salute.
The two responded politely.
"What are you two going to do...?"
"I plan to return to the Great Xia Dynasty and 'invite' some fellow practitioners to come along," Gao Long said with a smile.
Jiao Xiaotian nodded, asking no further questions, and watched the two leave. He thought to himself, "This Gao Long is a member of an organization called the ' Heaven-Surging Alliance ' in the Central Continent. He's ruthless and unscrupulous. I wonder how many people he'll harm this time..."
Meanwhile, Dongfang Yueming was searching for a small boat at the port that could take him out to sea, planning to hunt down Mortal Beast in exchange for a ticket.
"Young man, looking to rent a boat for a sea trip?" A dark-skinned boatman approached and struck up a conversation.
Just as Dongfang Yueming was about to inquire about the price, a commotion arose not far away. A woman in red with a seductive figure and beautiful face was surrounded by a group of martial artists. Beside her stood a tall young man with a strong aura, who seemed to be her guard or partner.
The woman in red extended her slender finger and casually pointed to several seemingly strong and powerful martial artists. "You, you, and you... come with me on a sea voyage."
The martial artist who was chosen immediately showed a look of joy.
Dongfang Yueming glanced at it with some curiosity.
Seeing this, the boatman beside them whispered an explanation, "That's Jiao Yu'er, the eldest daughter of the Jiao Clan. She's incredibly spoiled and willful. It looks like she's heading to nearby Jade Fire Island. That island has plenty of resources, but it's also dangerous. Anyone she's chosen is lucky; they'll get a piece of the action. Young man, if you manage to catch her eye..."
Before Dongfang Yueming could react, Jiao Yu'er's gaze had already swept over. When she saw Dongfang Yueming, her eyes lit up, and she said imperiously, "Hey! You in black, come here too!"
Dongfang Yueming was taken aback.
"Hey! Young man! Why aren't you going? Miss Jiao has taken a liking to you!" the boatman urged hurriedly.
Dongfang Yueming rubbed his nose, thinking to himself, "Oh well, this saves me the money for renting a boat, and I can also learn about the situation in the surrounding waters." He strode over.
Jiao Yu'er nodded in satisfaction. The young man beside her saw this and a hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes, but he remained silent.
"Oh, Brother Li, what do you think of the person they chose?" Jiao Yu'er said coquettishly to the young man.
The young man, referred to as "Brother Li," immediately smiled and said, "Yu'er's taste is naturally excellent."
Soon, the chosen individuals, along with Dongfang Yueming, boarded one of the Jiao Clan's medium-sized ships. The ship set sail, braving the wind and waves, heading towards the vast blue sea.
On the ship, the chosen warriors chatted excitedly.
"What great luck! I heard it's the spawning season for the ' Jade Fire Fish,' a specialty of Jade Fire Island. We're sure to pick up lots of good stuff with Miss!"
"Yeah, yeah! If we could get a few fish eggs, we'd be rich!"
Dongfang Yueming listened quietly from the side, and, feeling a little curious about the "Jade Fire Fish," asked, "Is this Jade Fire Fish very rare?"
Upon hearing this, the ship fell silent for a moment, and everyone looked at him with astonishment.
"Brother..." a burly man with a thick beard couldn't help but speak up, "You wouldn't happen to be... here for the first time in these waters, would you?"
Dongfang Yueming nodded frankly. "Indeed, I'm new here."
"Hiss..." Upon hearing this, everyone gasped, and their gazes toward Dongfang Yueming changed instantly. There was regret, there was sympathy, but more than anything, there was an understanding of "I knew it," and a hint of barely perceptible disdain.
"Damn it, looks like we've got another liability this time." Someone muttered to themselves. "Fighting in the sea, without specialized training in underwater movement techniques, your strength will be reduced by at least half, or even more! This guy looks strong, but it's a shame he can't swim!"
Upon hearing this, Jiao Yu'er's delicate brows furrowed, a hint of anxiety and impatience appearing on her face. "Why didn't you say so earlier! You can't even go into the sea, what was the point of me bringing you here?"
Dongfang Yueming was somewhat speechless, thinking to himself, "When you were selecting people, you didn't ask me if I could swim."
Seeing this, "Brother Li" quickly stepped forward to comfort Jiao Yu'er: "Yu'er, don't worry, perhaps this young man is exceptionally talented?" Although he said this, a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes. He was obviously happy to see Jiao Yu'er suffer a setback and could take this opportunity to suppress the pretty boy that Jiao Yu'er had "chosen".
Jiao Yu'er glared at Dongfang Yueming, then tossed a thin booklet at him impatiently. "Here! This is a basic aquatic movement technique called ' Swimming Fish Movement Technique.' Take it and read it! Familiarize yourself with it first, so you don't hold me back later!"
Seeing this, the surrounding martial artists sneered inwardly, "What's the use of teaching him movement techniques now? Is this last-minute cramming? It's good enough if he can even get the basics Entry before going into the water, let alone expect him to be of any use?"
"Thank you, Miss Jiao." Dongfang Yueming didn't stand on ceremony, took the manual, and casually flipped through a few pages.
The panel immediately refreshed: [Swimming Fish Movement Technique (0/2, Entry)].
At this point, after several days of accumulation, his points had reached [405 points].
The burly man with the thick beard spoke again, his tone tinged with warning. "Young brother, this ' Swimming Fish Movement Technique ' is just the basics, but mastering it in the water isn't something you can do overnight. Just stay on the boat and watch, and don't be reckless and go into the water, lest you lose your life. Of course, you probably won't get any of the profits from this trip." The others nodded in agreement.
Dongfang Yueming seemed not to hear their well-intentioned reminder, and simply nodded, calmly saying, "Okay."
He thought to himself, "My purpose in coming here is to hunt down high-level sea Mortal Beast in exchange for a ticket. As for this Jade Fire Fish... I'm really not interested."