Chapter Thirty-Nine: Return to Qianshan Island, Initiation into the Golden Viscera!

At sea.

"Qian Yuan has been killed?"

Li Qicheng frowned.

He had only just personally appointed this man as the eighth seat, sent word to all members of the Starhunters, making his name famous across the sea. And now, he was so easily dead?

If word got out, many onlookers would think the Starhunters were weak, that this was a ridiculous farce, and it would incite the Black Pirates to mock them—what a disgrace!

"Useless fool!"

Li Qicheng was utterly displeased. His eyes flashed coldly, and he spoke with a ruthless tone, "Issue a bounty—hunt down the murderer. Two thousand taels, an ocean-going warship, and two hundred slaves!"

He was enraged and determined to pursue the killer!

Soon after, the fate of Boss Qian spread through the Eastern Sea and became common knowledge... On the very day he was made the eighth seat of the Starhunters, he was slaughtered—one man and one spear, his warship washed in blood, his head severed and whereabouts unknown!

Yet, despite the considerable bounty, there was no name, no face, no one had seen the killer. The sea was vast and endless—who could know where to find their prey?

...

Qianshan Island, the docks.

"We're finally back!"

"This voyage was no easy feat. We fought a battle with the Starhunters and returned victorious!"

Many sailors gazed at the distant land, hearts pounding with excitement. This had truly been a fight for their lives—a clash with the Starhunters was a mortal crisis for most.

Now, all they wanted was to rush home and embrace their wives and children.

For this journey, they each received a reward of fifty taels of silver—a huge windfall, enough that they wouldn’t need to go to sea for another year!

Elsewhere.

"Qian Yuan is dead?"

In the captain’s cabin, Bai Xuanji’s color had returned, but he was astonished. He’d already heard that this notorious pirate, whom he knew well, had been slain—one man, one spear, wiping out an entire warship in a river of blood.

"Originally, he was supposed to catch up and fight me. If someone hadn't intercepted him midway, even if I won, it would have been a pyrrhic victory—few would have survived aboard."

A cold sweat prickled Bai Xuanji’s back. He had no idea it was Bai Xuan himself who struck in the rain-filled night, his murderous intent surging as he slaughtered Qian Yuan and his men, ending the battle before it began.

"Luckily, fortune favored us. I brought back the Dragon Serpent Diagram and won’t shortchange my second and third brothers, as well as Bai Xuan."

"Though I must win it all, I must never walk the tyrant’s path like our eldest—isolated, forsaken by all... What meaning is there in such a life?"

The cold sweat dissipated. Bai Xuanji glanced at the Thousand Currents, the shadow in his heart gone, and strode away!

Not far off, Bai Xuan carried two enormous fishing baskets, a bamboo hat shielding his eyes, slipping quietly off the ship like a common fisherman just returning from the sea—utterly grounded in his manner.

...

A short while later.

In the tavern.

"Come, Brother Xuan, a toast to you!"

Bai Xiaozhen’s eyes sparkled as he raised his cup. "Tell us, what really happened in that battle with the Starhunters at sea?"

"It sounds interesting, but in truth it was brutal," Bai Xuan answered coolly.

He had profited greatly from this voyage—not only breaking through his third blood and qi limit, but also, through that bloody battle, honing himself and emerging reborn.

There is no substitute for the crucible of real combat.

Even his previously awkward Whirling Spear Technique had been tempered by the ordeal, finally reaching a state of proficiency and ease.

"On board, Brother Bai Xuanji held off two formidable foes who had broken through their third limit..."

Bai Xuan recounted what he had witnessed in the thick of the fight.

At the table, several other young nobles listened, each displaying a different expression. Some were enthralled, tension evident; others frowned, uncomfortable.

Wang Liuxin was among the displeased. As a direct scion of the Wang family, son of a semi-master, his father’s power was staggering. Hearing Bai Xuan take center stage, stealing the group’s attention, left him sour.

"Brother Xuan, you speak so vividly—what role did you play in the battle?"

He abruptly interjected.

"Brother Bai Xuan is still young; even making a charge is impressive..."

Some, sensing Wang Liuxin’s challenge, tried to smooth things over, startled by his provocative tone.

Bai Xiaozhen’s face darkened, anger simmering.

"Me? I served as chief boatswain, though I regret I couldn’t safeguard all my crew—some were still hurt," Bai Xuan replied evenly.

He said no more. Though he’d known these illustrious heirs for some time, his connection was limited to Bai Xiaozhen.

Their polite table banter contrasted sharply with the reality at sea, where sailors and fishermen gambled with blood and life.

After killing in battle, Bai Xuan’s heart was calm as still water—he had no desire to argue with these people.

"Chief boatswain?" Wang Liuxin wanted to press further, to belittle him, but found himself at a loss.

Even in the great families, every heir had to serve at sea in their teens. Could he, Wang Liuxin, have become chief boatswain in a year?

The meal ended quickly. Bai Xuan stood, slung the great fish basket over his shoulder, and said unhurriedly,

"I’ll take my leave. Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen."

He came and went freely, never constrained by the etiquette of their table.

...

In the small courtyard.

Bang!

Bai Xuan set down the two fish baskets and lifted one of the lids.

Inside were over a hundred catties of dried snakebone fish. Though already sun-dried and cured, the flesh shone translucent, exuding a faint, tantalizing aroma that stirred hunger in the bones.

"More than a hundred catties of snakebone fish—this should suffice for a while in my cultivation."

On the return journey, Bai Xuan had again invested two points in his Ocean Gaze skill, raising it to a minor achievement. Amid the currents, he’d caught seven or eight giant snakebone fish, then processed their flesh into triple-refined jerky.

The essence sealed within, none lost—enough to last two months of training.

"Though we won this battle at sea, I still found many shortcomings in myself."

...

A moment later, Bai Xuan sat at his desk, writing and sketching, beginning his review.

After every fight, he reflected deeply—because blades and swords know no mercy. No matter how strong, injury or death could come at any time.

Only by advancing, step by step, could he avoid death, climb higher, and grow stronger.

"First, my footwork is still clumsy. I’ve learned the Shark-Dodging Lateral Step, but compared to Boss Qian’s mysterious movements, I’m far inferior—he simply overwhelmed me."

"In all martial arts, speed is the ultimate defense!"

"Footwork and agility are crucial in combat, for offense and defense alike... If Boss Qian hadn’t been foolish and jumped into the sea, he wouldn’t have died by my hand."

"Second, my Iron Skin and Steel Bones are still lacking. Triple blood and qi surge, layered with internal force and secret blade technique, can injure me. Facing a true master, I would be easy prey."

Bai Xuan assessed himself.

Though Boss Qian was formidable, the gap between him and a true master was vast.

"There’s still a wide gulf between me and a grandmaster—I must grow even stronger!"

He set aside his brush and ink, flipped over his hand, and drew out the tome Internal Breathing Cultivation.

"I’ll start with cultivating internal breath."

He did so because internal breathing was a fundamental branch of blood and qi martial arts, capable of multiplying one’s power.

Speed, destructive strength, defensive arts—everything improved with internal breath.

Thus, a genuine internal art could cost two thousand taels of silver—more than an ocean-going ship.

As for that bottle of pills...

Though they looked precious, Bai Xuan was cautious. Not knowing their contents, he would never swallow them lightly. No matter how rare a pill, a single coin’s worth of deadly poison inside—unless one had the antidote—would kill at once. How could one save themselves then?

After a while, Bai Xuan breathed calmly, his tongue and lips moving with each inhalation and exhalation. His lungs expanded and contracted, sending white mist five or six meters away.

This was proof of powerful internal organs, of immense value in internal breathing cultivation.

Ten days passed in a flash.

Bai Xuan had now grasped the basics of Internal Breathing Cultivation, understanding that it was a method of mobilizing the five viscera and six bowels, circulating blood and qi within to support the whole body.

He now had a clear sense of his progress.

"In these days, I haven’t slacked off on Iron Sand Palm or Blue Scale Technique. My horizontal training has accumulated another point—time to invest it!"

"Tree of Longevity!"

The bronze Dao Tree appeared. Instantly, a new branch sprouted on the horizontal training limb, and a new leaf unfurled, its golden glow contained, appearing indestructible, with two archaic seal characters: Golden Viscera.

Golden Viscera.

Gold is everlasting.

The five viscera and six bowels are the most perishable parts of the human body—after death, to preserve the corpse, one must remove the organs and fill the cavity with spices.

Golden Viscera was the core technique of horizontal martial arts—it tempered the organs, unleashing boundless vitality and rendering them undying and incorruptible, so that even after death, the organs would not rot.

At that moment,

Bai Xuan felt his internal organs writhe, his stomach twisting in agony, pain nearly unbearable!