Chapter Forty: Mastering Internal Energy, The Black List Bounty!

After a short while, Bai Xuan visited the latrine four times in succession. Only after returning to his small courtyard, bathing, and changing clothes did he feel truly refreshed, a lightness pervading his entire being, as if a multitude of impurities had been expelled from his body. He then hastily devoured a pot of stewed fish, cooked a pot of fragrant long-grain rice, and tore into two strips of the triple-refined snakebone dried fish before finally feeling sated.

After the golden viscera point was opened, his digestive abilities had soared, allowing him to eat more and rapidly increase his vital energy and blood.

“But at this rate, the snakebone dried fish will be completely consumed in less than two months,” Bai Xuan thought, troubled.

He set that aside for now and once more sat cross-legged to cultivate the Internal Breath Inhalation Technique. This time, as he practiced the art of inhalation and exhalation, he could faintly sense the emergence of qi.

This was the effect of the golden viscera: it greatly enhanced the functions of his organs, so that his vital energy and blood were no longer generated merely by the exertion of muscle and sinew, but flowed ceaselessly from within, as the sensation of qi arose naturally.

Each day, Bai Xuan trained diligently at home, simmering the dried fish into congee, which remained delicious and carried potent medicinal properties. It invigorated his inner organs and slowed the rate at which he consumed the dried fish, so he would not run out too quickly.

With this unique meat supplement, his cultivation progressed rapidly. In just ten more days, Bai Xuan could already faintly grasp his own internal breath—he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

“Golden viscera, open!”

With a thought, he infused a trace of hardening martial intent into the golden viscera.

Golden viscera (Mastery 1%)!

In an instant, it was as if his five viscera and six organs surged and ebbed. He suddenly opened his mouth and exhaled—a beam of white vapor shot obliquely outward, striking the courtyard wall seven or eight meters away with a hiss and leaving a shallow mark.

Boom!

Bai Xuan’s entire vital energy and blood condensed inward. A formidable force arose, filling his body inside and out, as if an invisible qi supported his strength. When he clenched his fist, an intangible power manifested.

Internal Breath Inhalation Technique, First Layer!

“At last, I’ve broken through. With my current strength of vital energy and blood, combined with the enhancement from the Longevity Tree, I could master any external martial art in no time,” Bai Xuan thought as he rose to his feet. His demeanor was now calm and imposing, with an air of authority about him.

A man bearing a sharp blade harbors the heart to kill; with power in his grasp, his presence is naturally commanding.

Now, with Bai Xuan’s abilities, taking up any new hardening technique would be as effortless as a top-tier fighter learning boxing from scratch—he would achieve results in the blink of an eye.

“Internal breath…”

He picked up a smooth river stone and squeezed it lightly; it crumbled into powder, trickling down like sand through an hourglass.

He could feel it: when this internal breath surged, it bestowed a force from within, augmenting his strength by nearly a third.

Such an increase was terrifying, for Bai Xuan’s strength was already formidable—now, empowered further, it soared.

No wonder. Internal breath originates from oneself; Bai Xuan’s base energy and power were already fearsome, so his progress with internal breath naturally built upon this foundation.

“Vortex Force!”

He pressed his palm down, sending his internal breath forth. With a muffled bang, the ornamental rock beneath his hand was pierced through, leaving a spiral hole from which stone dust trickled.

“As expected, with internal breath, the Vortex Force’s power has multiplied!” Bai Xuan felt elated.

The Vortex Spear was an authentic internal tradition, but without internal breath it was but a fierce, ordinary spear technique—though sharp, it still had its limits. Now, with internal breath, the Vortex Spear revealed its true might; even wielded bare-handed, it could pierce steel.

Moreover, Bai Xuan sensed latent potential within the Vortex Force—as if, with further exertion, he could unleash a double vortex, stacking tidal layers for an exponential surge in power.

“The ornamental rocks are nearly all destroyed,” Bai Xuan remarked, glancing around his courtyard.

Almost all the garden rocks had been shattered in his casual experimentation, leaving the courtyard in a dilapidated state. He spent a moment hauling new boulders in, rearranging the space.

“I nearly forgot… It’s time to claim my reward.”

He checked the sky, then fetched another fish basket from the courtyard, this one filled with lime. After removing its contents, he left the courtyard.

…

The Magistrate’s Office, Bladecatch Division.

Qianshan Island was not a lawless place; the Great Song Dynasty’s officials held sway here, and soldiers were stationed as well. However, because the seafaring folk were notoriously fierce, most officers here were martial artists. Among them, the Bladecatch Division was the mightiest, managing all the bladecatchers, hunting down criminals, and pursuing the most notorious pirates—whose names adorned the wanted list!

Bang.

“I’m here to claim a reward.”

Bai Xuan, his face hidden behind a battered shark mask, spoke coldly in a hoarse, lowered voice.

“This…”

A constable in the Bladecatch Division untied the bundle Bai Xuan placed on the table and recoiled in shock—for within was a shriveled head, encased in lime, its expression fierce and terrifying.

“Whose head is this?”

“Qian Yuan,” Bai Xuan replied tersely.

At the utterance of those two words, several constables sucked in a sharp breath, their hearts nearly skipping a beat.

Qian Yuan?

The Black Pirates and the Star Hunters had battled for dominance in these seas, a conflict known far and wide. Everyone on Qianshan Island knew the story; these constables were well aware of Qian Yuan’s background and fate.

A mysterious master of the sea, who alone and with a single spear, had slaughtered Qian Yuan’s entire warship. Having just ascended to the position of eighth leader among the Star Hunters and basked in triumph, Qian Yuan was butchered that very night!

The Star Hunters had offered a staggering bounty: two thousand taels of silver and a deep-sea ship for the mysterious killer’s head.

But everyone knew…

Only a peerless expert—at least a half-step grandmaster—could possibly accomplish such a feat!

“You are…” one asked.

“Indeed. I’m the one who killed Qian Yuan. You may call me the ‘Whale Hunter,’” Bai Xuan replied in a gravelly tone.

Previously, having suffered a great loss due to ignorance of the bounty list, he had visited the Bladecatch Division, memorized the wanted posters, and, after slaying Qian Yuan, took his head as proof.

Now he had come to claim his reward.

These constables could not make the decision themselves. They hurried to the back, and soon, an elderly white-haired man emerged in haste.

“Hmm?” Bai Xuan’s eyes narrowed.

He recognized this elder—it was the very one who had taken the head of Yu Lie in the ruined temple the other day.

Zhao Yuancheng!

“Ah… This truly is Qian Yuan’s head. You there, go take down the bounty notice and bring me the Black List,” Zhao Yuancheng ordered after closely examining the lime-dried head. He drew a sharp breath, shocked by the reality.

To slay Qian Yuan and massacre his warship—a man capable of such feats could surely kill him with a mere flick of the wrist!

“Terrifying… When did such a formidable figure appear on Qianshan Island?” Zhao Yuancheng mused.

He brought forth the Black List and swiftly crossed out the seventy-third name.

This Black List was the official register kept by the Bladecatch Division, recording the most heinous murderers, pirates, bandits, and the like. Those who had broken through the triple vital energy stage were ranked, so that bladecatchers of lesser strength would not foolishly challenge them and lose their lives in vain.

Those who had broken through the double vital energy stage were cataloged in a separate booklet at the back.

Every name on the list was accompanied by a likeness and details; after a kill, the head could be traded in for the reward.

Qian Yuan ranked seventy-third on the Black List—a position among the foremost, a notorious pirate famed throughout the Eastern Sea.

“Here is your reward of one thousand taels of silver. Please accept it,” Zhao Yuancheng said respectfully, handing over a banknote woven with silver threads, thick as cowhide, impervious to water—the very thousand-tael note issued by the Four Seas Trade Company.

“By the way, I’d like to ask—can your Bladecatch Division exchange for step techniques of the true tradition?” Bai Xuan inquired in his gravelly, hoarse voice.