Chapter Four: Venturing into the Sea to Fish, The White-Scaled Fish is Caught!

Not far away, several sailors hurried past, carrying a corpse mangled beyond recognition.

“Hiss... What happened? Old Liu too?”

“Last night, another demon fish came aboard. Old Liu’s cries for help startled it, and he was gravely wounded in the attack. He didn’t make it through the morning.”

“And the demon fish?”

“It got away. By the time the second mate arrived, it was already gone without a trace. But these nocturnal demon fish rarely show themselves in daylight—otherwise, there’d be no peace at all.”

“The second mate’s ordered increased patrols and assigned skilled men to the night watch. Things should be safer now.”

The conversation drifted over from a few veteran sailors. Clearly, the attack last night had left them shaken.

“The difficulty of cultivating Azure Scale Art is even greater than I anticipated. At this pace, if I run into a demon fish, I probably won’t have any power to resist,” Bai Xuan thought, a sense of urgency pressing in on him.

These past days, though he’d felt faint signs of blood and energy coalescing during his training, it was still not enough.

“I still need to go out to sea and catch that White-Scaled Fish.”

Splash!

By the ship’s rail, Bai Xuan untied the ropes and lowered the swallow boat into the water.

His strength now far surpassed his peers—not only was his net-hauling power great, but with the practice of the Azure Scale Art, his strength was growing rapidly. Hauling the nets was like tapping into his own potential, and the art, being one that tempered the body, brought out that potential fully. In just five days, his strength had increased by another margin.

He could now lift the swallow boat with one hand, though he refrained from showing off in broad daylight.

Climbing down the rope ladder, Bai Xuan boarded the swallow boat.

With a steady breath, he stood atop the little boat and gazed around. The currents flowed, the waves danced—all within the range of his keen eyes, making it hard for anything to lurk unseen and launch an attack.

“Indeed, with Sea-Gazing Sight, it isn’t so dangerous.”

His heart settled.

The swallow boat wasn’t large, about the size of a canopy boat, with a cabin containing a fishing rod, a spear, a basket, and a small net.

At first, Bai Xuan was awkward, but after rowing for a while, he gradually got the hang of it.

“If I could unlock the ‘helmsmanship’ skill, I’d be able to control this little boat as easily as moving my own arm—a single step would suffice. Pity there aren’t any extra skill points for that yet.”

“Fortunately, piloting this little boat doesn’t require much technique. As long as I can row and keep from capsizing, that’s enough.”

The sea was calm, only gentle waves slapping monotonously against the swallow boat.

Bai Xuan peered into the water, watching the shifting currents.

Swish!

He stretched out his arms and cast the net. After a moment, he hauled it back up, strand by strand.

The net came up empty.

“So, nothing this time.”

He didn’t feel discouraged.

Just now he’d spotted traces of a school of fish beneath the water and tried casting the net to test his skills. Though he had the strength to haul nets and the sharp eyes to spot fish, he’d never fished alone before. His clumsy cast startled the school, sending them all fleeing.

“Again.”

...

The whole morning, Bai Xuan let the boat drift with the current, casting his net for hours before finally catching anything.

“This time’s better—not a total loss.”

Only two small fish flopped about in the net. Bai Xuan released them and cast his net again.

“I’ll continue this afternoon.”

After returning to the ship for lunch, Bai Xuan launched the swallow boat once more and headed out to fish.

This time, he was much more adept. In no time at all, he began to haul in the net. His arms suddenly felt a heavy weight, and the boat rocked slightly.

“Shouldn’t be a demon fish,” he thought, cautious as ever.

He could now recognize the telltale traces of demon fish in the water—they would flee even from fifty meters away.

“It must be... swallowtail fish.”

When the net broke the surface, he saw it was indeed full—hundreds of small fish writhing and struggling to escape.

“Swallowtail fish, as I thought.”

Bai Xuan spent his days sorting catches; he knew them well. These fish were neither tasty nor beautiful, and they weren’t worth much.

Still, this successful haul proved his Sea-Gazing Sight could accurately identify schools of fish even in the vast ocean.

“Back you go.”

He released the netful of swallowtail fish back into the sea.

The ship had no shortage of such fish and shrimp; what he needed was the White-Scaled Fish.

“The currents here suit seven kinds of fish, including the White-Scaled Fish. In theory, as long as I keep casting in these waters, I’ll catch one eventually.”

Bai Xuan wasn’t in a hurry and kept on fishing.

This time, he cast the net seven times in a row, each time bringing up a full catch, all of which he released. The sky gradually darkened; dusk was not far off.

Just then, another swallow boat drifted near.

“So, you didn’t manage to catch a White-Scaled Fish either.”

On the boat were two youths, peers of Bai Xuan, both wearing glum expressions.

They’d thought that knowing the secret of the swallow boats would make them rich, but after a whole day, they’d gained nothing.

To them, renting a swallow boat for fishing was a waste of coins—a hundred copper for half a day’s wages, plus weariness for nothing.

“Consider it tuition for the lesson,” Bai Xuan said.

“Easy for you to say. We’re exhausted... Let’s go.”

With that, the two boys rowed away, clearly in no mood to fish any longer, hurrying back to the main ship.

...

“No surprise there.”

Bai Xuan shook his head.

With Sea-Gazing Sight, even he found it hard to catch anything. For these youths, it was near impossible.

“It’s said demon fish only come out at night. If I can’t catch one in this cast, I’ll have to give up.”

Yet Bai Xuan wasn’t anxious.

If not today, then tomorrow. Caution, composure, patience... If you don’t have money, you make up for it with these qualities.

He kept his eyes fixed on the net, not relaxing for a moment.

As the net was nearly hauled up, Bai Xuan’s gaze sharpened.

A flash of silver darted from the net at lightning speed, weaving through a heap of black-bearded shrimp, dashing straight for the net’s opening!

Splash!

With a sudden burst of strength, Bai Xuan yanked the entire net clear of the water!

“Up!”

It wasn’t brute force alone—his “net-hauling” skill included technique as well as strength. With a single motion, he shook and rolled up the net, gathering fish and shrimp together, and in moments, everything was on the boat.

This was the first time Bai Xuan had exerted his full power, instinctively drawing on the Azure Scale Art, though he was still an apprentice; sweat streamed down his back.

He quickly unwrapped the net, releasing the black-bearded shrimp, then, with a sudden grab, caught the dart of silver as it shot out.

In his palm, a small fish with snow-white scales writhed, trying to escape.

This little fish was astonishingly strong—an ordinary person would be unable to hold it, and its scales were hard as steel, cold and gleaming as silver.

Such a strange species did not exist in his previous life, which explained why the Azure Scale Art required this fish to boost cultivation progress.

“All today’s effort has not been wasted!”

Elated, Bai Xuan carefully took a small clay jar from his breast and filled it with seawater, keeping the white-scaled fish alive inside.

He’d gotten the jar from Uncle Li; it was airtight, and a little seawater would keep the fish alive for several days.

The White-Scaled Fish was finally his!