Jing Qian raced through the deep sea three thousand li in half a day!
During his voyage, he suddenly spotted a target. At once, he slipped into the void, and when he reappeared, he was already inside the gut of a giant orca.
Gripping two Crocodile Dragon fangs, he pierced the heart, shredded the stomach, carved the bones, and drained the blood. In just a few swift moves, he had claimed yet another White Fang trophy.
With a flash, he entered the Fate Stele's inner space. There, he pounded the orca's spirit into submission, harvesting a Tiger Whale Life Pattern, bits of maritime knowledge, and a small boost of Life Essence.
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, as effortless as a seasoned butcher gutting fish.
Jing Qian's mastery over his three Life Patterns was rising rapidly, his combat strength soaring without pause!
After carving the orca for materials, Jing Qian wasted no time. With a thrust of the dragon fangs, he once more darted forth.
Where the blade pointed, new prey awaited!
So far, no ninth-rank sea fiend had been able to withstand his gut-ripping chain of attacks.
Calculating the time, he figured that at his current speed, he should be able to elevate his Tidal Wave Life Pattern to the Azure Wing rank before the ship arrived.
The only pity was for the sea demons of this vast region.
Within ten thousand li, every ninth-rank creature might well be slaughtered into extinction by him alone.
Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
In the depths of the endless ocean, a massive undersea volcano churned with venomous magma, boiling the surrounding waters.
In this forbidden zone where no life could dwell, a strange figure lounged in the lava as though it were a hot spring bath.
Its upper body was human, its lower body a fish tail, standing a full zhang tall, soaking contentedly in the molten rock.
Suddenly, it received a message, a subtle ripple from the deep seabed, like the ocean's whisper, or the volcano's murmur.
The figure stirred, surprise flickering in its eyes before giving way to irritation at having its leisure disturbed.
It waved a hand, summoning from the volcano's edge a long, multicolored sea serpent. Opening its mouth, it said:
"The Crocodile Dragon is dead. Someone has taken advantage of its absence, wantonly butchering my sea clan's offspring in its territory."
"Go. Take the Crocodile Dragon's place and guard its waters. And the one who has slaughtered my kin grind him to dust, scatter his bones, and let it serve as a warning!"
The sea serpent bowed in acknowledgment and immediately streaked away in a flash of color.
Though the Crocodile Dragon's territory lay near human domains, less stable than the inner seas, it was fertile for that very reason, rich with prey from the human race.
This seventh-rank serpent, stronger than the Crocodile Dragon by more than a margin, felt no dissatisfaction with the assignment and eagerly took up the post.
Leaving the volcano's shadow, it surged north without pause, covering nearly a hundred thousand li in just five days.
Following its memory, it entered the Crocodile Dragon's former domain.
It was expected to find a low-ranked White Fang sea demon to guide it through the lay of the land.
But to its surprise, after traveling thousands of li, it encountered not a single one!
"What are the people of Hunzhou playing at? How dare they break the rules so brazenly!"
The serpent's fury rose.
The seas off Hunzhou had always been the spawning grounds for low-ranked sea demons, a place where countless species thrived.
Yet now this vast domain seemed swept clean, not even a shadow remaining.
Refusing to believe it, the serpent pressed on until, within its sight, appeared a sizeable human fleet.
Leading the formation was a warship the serpent recognized: a seventh-rank main vessel of the Hunzhou Navy.
That very ship, followed by a cluster of small boats, was dragging a sunken warship's wreckage up from the seabed.
The serpent needed no more thought; its conclusion was instant: These humans slaughtered my sea clan's children!
Resisting impulse, it suppressed its aura, cloaked its light, and charged toward the fleet.
In the blink of an eye, the Blue Blood sea demon's radiance surged upon the ships. Its mana churned the ocean, raising waves that towered to the heavens.
"Clang!"
A bell-like chime rang out from the Hunyi warship, and a pale-blue light shield unfurled from its hull, expanding outward to cover the entire fleet.
The very next moment, a booming voice roared from the warship:
"A Great Demon attacks! We will hold it off. All other ships, waste no time, return to the island at once!"
The warship shot forward like a cannonball, charging straight at the sea serpent.
The smaller boats, all manned by seasoned sailors who had long roamed the seas, immediately scattered like frightened birds, fleeing in every direction.
This was a race against death; no one dared to hesitate.
On the endless blue ocean, without the protection of the Hunyi, who knew how many of those ships would ever make it back to Hunzhou Island?
Among the many vessels fleeing the scene, on one particular ship, Jing Qian's figure suddenly appeared inside a sealed cabin.
The door to this cabin was locked from the outside, but he had slipped through the crack with the power of his Sumeru Life Pattern.
After an entire month of surfing the seas, Jing Qian's appearance and aura had changed completely.
Tens of thousands of li traveled beneath the waves, and dozens of life-and-death battles had tempered both his spirit and his body.
This single month had given him more depth of life than twenty years of his past life combined.
At the moment, he wore whale-hide shorts, a giant blackfish scale strapped across his chest, and wooden clogs made from shrimp pincers on his feet, a truly bizarre getup.
Yet beneath that strange outfit was a youth's body lean, balanced, and perfectly proportioned.
With the nourishment of vast amounts of Life Essence, his height had once again grown, now surpassing four and a half feet.
Every material on his body came from White Fang–rank treasures of entry-level quality, each piece worth a fortune.
Though he looked like walking performance art, in truth, he was practically a walking string of gold coins.
The cabin itself was cluttered with odds and ends, seemingly without even space to stand.
But to Jing Qian, this was a rare secluded haven.
With the door shut, the chaos of the outside world could not reach him, and at last, he could loosen his taut nerves.
Now that he had boarded a ship, there was no need for further effort; someone else would carry him back to the human world.
As for the battle between the seventh-rank sea serpent and the Hunyi, he left it completely behind him.
What he truly lacked were knowledge and resources. To gain them, he needed to reach a human settlement.
He could hardly wait.
Finding a corner in the cabin, Jing Qian lay down, finally allowing himself some rest.
The coming voyage was a rare chance to recover.
Yet even while resting, he did not slacken. Within his Sea of Consciousness, knowledge of the Yuan Drawing Art was surging.
He was only a step away from fully comprehending the Soul-Weaving Symbol Arts tied to his Soul-Weaving Life Pattern.
Before he disembarked, he was determined to master this secret technique!
Thinking of his harvest over the past month, he glanced once more at the inscriptions on his Fate Stele:
[Host: Jing Qian]
[Lifespan: 150 years]
[Life Essence: 9.97 (White Fang)]
[Life Patterns: Sumeru (Golden Root), Tidal Wave (Blue Blood 1.3/10), Soul-Weaving (Azure Wing)]
[Fate Arts: Dragon Swimming Technique]
[Life-Casting Opportunity: 0]
Even he hadn't expected that in just a single month, he would have reforged the Tidal Wave pattern thirteen times.
Not only had he elevated it to the Azure Wing tier, but he had even opened the road toward the Blue Blood rank.
Now, he needed eighty-seven more reforgings to complete the Blue Blood advancement.
It was a daunting challenge, but nothing could dampen Jing Qian's fervor.
The only ones to suffer were the countless sea tribe offspring, who would have to yield up their flesh and souls to fuel his path.
After roaming for tens of thousands of li, he had finally brought the Dragon Swimming Technique to the entry level, and it was now etched onto his Fate Stele.
With the promotion of his Tidal Wave Life Pattern, its power had skyrocketed. Combined with the Dragon Swimming Technique, Jing Qian could now swim at speeds almost equal to a Scarlet-Scaled Dragon Carp.
None of the ninth-rank sea fiends he encountered could even compare.
But that wasn't all the Azure Wing–tier Tidal Wave had also awakened a new ability.
Closing his eyes, he felt the surging force of the waves within him.
With a single thought, he extended that power outward, and to his surprise, it connected with the ship beneath his feet.
He realized he could seep into every corner of the vessel, resonating with it as if it were an extension of his body.
At his command, the ship itself could be blessed by the Tidal Wave's power, speeding across the sea with ease.
The Azure Wing Tidal Wave could effortlessly steer ships, no wind required, smooth as if carried by wings.
To avoid drawing attention, Jing Qian withdrew the power, leaving the ship undisturbed.
Once again, he entered meditation, digesting the knowledge and memories he had seized.
Thus, the first day of the journey passed in calm.
But just when Jing Qian thought he could ride in peace to his destination, sudden upheaval struck the ship!
A violent surge of mana burst from outside, instantly pricking his senses.
Jing Qian snapped out of meditation, slipped into the dimensional layer, and silently advanced toward the source of the disturbance.
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