Chapter 313.2: So Eager to Improve
A moment later, the surface of the sea heaved.
Crimson light flashed, and the long sword returned to the deck, carrying a crystal roughly one meter in size. Within, the corpse of a bizarre fish lay preserved. It had three legs, two fins, and three eyes. Its eyes were still open, filled with human-like fury and defiance.
[King of the Molisha Fish(Sealed). Martial-Ying-tier creature. Possesses a terrifying bloodline. Once devoured two thousand people from a small coastal town.]
He took in the information all at once. Qi Yuan swallowed hard as sudden hunger washed over him. He was dying to crack open the crystal and drink the creature's blood.
Princess Huansha stared somewhat fearfully at the creature. "Isn’t that a mutated sea monster? How revolting."
The old saying, “Even if you've never eaten pork, you've seen a pig run,” had become somewhat outdated. After all, the princess had never seen a mutated sea monster, but she had eaten one.
Qi Yuan’s gaze gleamed with satisfaction. "It is a good haul and furthermore, it's the perfect bait."
Greedily, he produced a fishing line and began wrapping it around the crystal. The mutated sea monster would probably be enough to push him beyond the martial peak. But he'd come all the way out to sea, shouldn't he make the most of it? The path of Martial Dao required a continuous supply of bloodline.
He drilled a tiny hole through the crystal with his sword, then threaded the line through it, piercing straight through the creature. The monster didn’t budge. It seemed to remain in an unconscious state, as though asleep.
"Perfect. Time to fish." Qi Yuan cheerfully plunged the crystal back into the sea. "With your ancestor as bait, surely the rest of you will take the hook?"
The path of Martial Dao was one of consumption. With a dormant elder ancestor dangling as bait, the other mutated sea monsters would come flocking. After all, they were eager to improve.
With the bait set, Qi Yuan began cultivating, waiting for sea monsters to come to him. He murmured, "What a hollow world. A dull, little casual game. Killing is still the most satisfying thing."
The current phase was all daily-life content. Nevertheless, after meeting Yu Xiu, he had a feeling he would soon enter a new realm and return to the slaughter.
About an hour later, Qi Yuan's eyes curved into a smile. "Finally."
With a sharp snap of his hand, a fish-like sea monster was flung out of the water and landed on the deck.
Qi Yuan smiled with quiet satisfaction. "In recognition of how eagerly you wished to improve, I will scatter your ashes back into the sea when you're gone. Let you return to where you came from."
He was increasingly convinced he was a good person. Toward those who strove for self-improvement, he was nothing but generous.
Thus, he reached out and squeezed, exploding the eager-to-improve monster. He extracted a single drop of blood and reduced the rest into a mangled paste of flesh. Lastly, he flicked his fingers, conjuring a ball of flame that burned the remains into ash.
"I keep my word. I never lie to sea monsters." Qi Yuan cast the ash into the sea, and swallowed the blood droplet. "Hmm... My Martial Dao aptitude has risen slightly, but the bottleneck is still a fair way off."
Everything would be so much more convenient if he had a status window. If he could see his own progress at any moment, he was sure his cultivation speed would increase dramatically.
In the hours that followed, more and more mutated sea monsters came. On the first day, there were eighteen catches. On the second day, the number surged to one hundred and thirty.
Qi Yuan couldn't help but remark, "Countless people long to improve themselves."
As time passed, the sea monsters came faster and faster.
Then, another large yacht appeared in the distance. Its owners were a pair of siblings, and on board were roughly a dozen young heirs from wealthy families. A black-robed man leaned against the railing, staring out at the sea, as though turning something over in his mind.
One of the yacht’s owners, a woman named Liu Yu, walked over. She stared at the black-robed man with undisguised curiosity.
They had found the man afloat at sea. According to him, he'd been swimming when something had gone wrong. The siblings had pulled him aboard, and he'd recovered after that.
Liu Yu studied the handsome face beneath the black robe. "Why are you frowning, Chen Fan? Is something bothering you?"
In spite of his youthful appearance, he carried an air of deep weariness that went beyond his years. Liu Yu had always had a weakness for that particular quality in men.
Chen Fan's gaze seemed to pierce straight through the sea's surface. "Well, I have to... Miss Liu, can you steer the yacht the way I said? I’ll compensate you after."
In fact, he had spotted a mutated sea monster. Over the past few days, he had watched several of them converging toward the same point. It gave him nothing but an ominous feeling.
Liu Yu hesitated slightly. "Well..."
They had a planned route for this trip. Changing course on Chen Fan's say-so was not exactly in the itinerary.
Still, looking at his face, Liu Yu smiled pleasantly. "No problem at all."
Chen Fan bowed with clasped fists. "Thank you."
He was formal and upright, clearly a man with old-fashioned manners.
***
About three hours passed, Qi Yuan sat on his deck with a quietly satisfied expression. He'd caught another two hundred sea monsters today. The blood was accumulating steadily.
He sighed contentedly. "The sea monsters work so hard, pushing themselves so relentlessly. What right do I have to be lazy?"
Just then, Princess Huansha came over. "Mr. Qi, a yacht not far off is signaling us. They want to come aboard. They say it's urgent."
Looking up, Qi Yuan immediately spotted the yacht in the distance. "Oh?"
When his gaze fell on the black-robed man, he immediately caught a faint trace of death qi. Someone like Yu Xiu...?
His curiosity was piqued. Otherwise, he would’ve simply turned them away.
"Let them come."
"Yes."
About ten minutes later, Liu Yu and her brother accompanied Chen Fan onto Princess Huansha's yacht. Liu Yu kept a hand near the pistol at her hip just in case. When she saw that the yacht held only one man and one woman, her wariness dissolved. They were probably a wealthy young couple on a honeymoon cruise.
Chen Fan looked at Qi Yuan, then at the sea, his eyes sharp and cold. "Are you fishing?"
Qi Yuan smiled. "If I answer your question, will you answer one of mine? That seems only fair."
Chen Fan blinked. He had met all kinds of people. This was the first time he'd ever encountered someone who spoke in such a manner.
He was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
Qi Yuan casually stretched his back. "Yes, I'm fishing. Now it's my turn. How does one get into your world?"
Chen Fan's expression shifted slightly. The others were all baffled. None of them had any idea what Qi Yuan was talking about.
Chen Fan gave Qi Yuan a long stare. "You wouldn't want to go in, because you’d have to die."
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