Chapter 428: Chapter 198: Qi Sea Perfection, Second Layer of Wind and Waves
Chu Lingguang tried to control the power of the strong, surging headwind with his paddle.
In his perception, it was as if the strong wind was being torn apart before him. All of its power split automatically and converged on the paddle. Chu Lingguang gently rocked the paddle, and a white wake, extremely conspicuous in the dim night, appeared behind the small fishing boat.
With the strong wind no longer blocking him, the Wind and Wave Power on his paddle continued to climb. The small boat finally shot upstream like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Whoa!"
"How did it suddenly fly away?"
"He’s no simple fisherman."
"He seems to be a powerful Martial Arts expert."
...
On the Song Boat, the scholars and beauties watched, stunned, as Chu Lingguang steered his small fishing boat, shooting upstream like an arrow from a bow.
Master Yan’s home had an inner river connected to the Canal, but there were several checkpoints. Chu Lingguang passed through them and moored his small fishing boat on the inner river.
Then, he walked toward Master Yan’s house.
He could now use his Spear Technique in a formless manner and control the Wind and Wave Power more perfectly. But to combine the Wind and Wave Power with his Zhenyuan Technique, he still needed to work harder.
’If I can make the Wind and Wave Power independent of my Spear Technique, to the point where I can control it at will, or even with a thought, maybe I can easily merge it with the Zhenyuan Technique. Then I can quickly fill my Dantian Qi Sea!’
Chu Lingguang muttered to himself.
Back at Master Yan’s house, Chu Lingguang told Guo Wei about his new mastery of the Spear Technique. Guo Wei was very pleased and encouraged him to keep working hard, also warning him to stay away from the Song Boats to avoid having his mind swayed.
Chu Lingguang silently took note. That evening, he saw Guo Wei and Master Yan board a Song Boat. The two martial brothers seemed to have something to discuss and didn’t allow him or Hei Hu to follow.
「The next morning.」
The small fishing boat sailed out from the inner river and onto the Canal. Chu Lingguang once again used his paddle to stir up the Wind and Wave Power, sending the small boat traveling against the current.
A gentle breeze blew across the Canal today. The Wind and Wave Power Chu Lingguang could stir up wasn’t as intense as it had been yesterday between the large ships. But thanks to his epiphany, Chu Lingguang could not only better manipulate every gust of the Wind and Wave Power, but he could also summon the wind silently, stirring up immense power from the smallest details.
As a result, the small boat moved across the river’s surface at an incredible speed, passing one merchant ship after another. Boats came and went on the Canal, and many of the merchant ships were escorted by guardian Martial Artists.
Chu Lingguang stirred the Potential Power to propel his boat forward. Some people noticed what was happening; some offered praise, while others frowned.
Suddenly, from a tributary up ahead, dozens of fishing boats filed out, entering the Canal together and rushing upstream.
Chu Lingguang stirred the Wind and Wave Power. His boat moved at high speed, and the fishing boats fell behind him. Among them, a few young, sturdy men rapidly worked their paddles, using brute force to make their boats rush toward Chu Lingguang at top speed.
Chu Lingguang frowned.
He was on the Canal, trying to make the Wind and Wave Power independent of his Spear Technique’s control, so he could command this power with ease at any time.
Seeing dozens of fishing boats suddenly file out from the tributary, he wondered, ’Could these people be chasing someone?’
’I have no quarrel with them, and I’ve never even seen them before.’
’They can’t be after me.’
Unfortunately, though the Canal was wide, with dozens of fishing boats pouring out and merchant ships in the way, Chu Lingguang couldn’t stop. He could only stir the Wind and Wave Power to quickly catch up to a merchant ship and move behind it, letting the fishing boats whistle past him.
He wanted to avoid blocking their path.
At the same time, he remained on high alert. If these people came for him, he would leap onto the merchant ship at once. Otherwise, fighting on a fishing boat, he would be no match for so many people swarming him all at once.
Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.
Although those people noticed him, they just rushed past without paying him any mind. However, a few of the burly men did take note of him, giving him a deep look.
After all the fishing boats had rushed upstream together, Chu Lingguang overheard some voices from the merchant ship.
"It’s the guys from the Shuiyu Gang."
"I wonder which unlucky merchant ship they’ve targeted now."
"This stretch of water is Shuiyu Gang territory. Let’s not provoke them. We should leave quickly!"
...
’The Shuiyu Gang?’
Chu Lingguang frowned.
’Wherever there are people, there is the Jianghu.’ So they were gang members. Chu Lingguang knew that the factions in South City were complex and tangled. On the side of the law, there were the City Guard Soldiers and the County Yamen constables. In the underworld, the gangs were countless.
Even though he was ranked first in South City, Chu Lingguang had no reason to provoke those people on their own turf.
He turned his boat around and headed downstream, wanting to avoid getting entangled in gang disputes.
After training on the Canal for another full day, Chu Lingguang returned and told Guo Wei about the Shuiyu Gang.
"The Shuiyu Gang is the largest gang in South City. Its leader is Qu Qingcheng. Tired of the Court’s struggles, he founded the Shuiyu Gang here over a decade ago. Initially, the gang members made a living by protecting passing merchant ships.
"Later, as their numbers grew, the Shuiyu Gang built a large shipyard. For safety, many merchant caravans chose to buy their ships from the Shuiyu Gang.
"Because the ships they built were of good quality and river pirates along the routes didn’t dare to cause trouble, the Shuiyu Gang made a fortune in recent years. This lasted until recently, when Turkic merchant caravans entered the Canal. These caravans have diplomatic privileges and are protected by the Court, giving them free passage. They harassed many other merchant caravans, which led to several conflicts with the Shuiyu Gang. It’s said that the gang leader, Qu Qingcheng, was severely injured by a Turkic Martial Artist. The gang members have been looking for that Turkic Martial Artist, wanting to avenge their leader."
