Chapter Twenty-Two: Autumn Fades, Winter Arrives, Strength Grows Tremendously

In the small courtyard.

After coming ashore and returning home, Bai Xuan first took the few salted fish from before, stewed them together with radish in a pot, then filled a bowl with this year’s newly harvested rice—the grains sparkling and translucent—and ate three full bowls before stopping.

“I’ll go catch some loaches and make a pot of soft stew.”

Naturally, there were no loaches in the sea, but the island’s fields had fresh water. Bai Xuan went to the field behind the house and caught more than ten loaches, treating himself to another hearty meal that evening.

“A life like this—even immortals would not trade for it.”

At dusk, Bai Xuan lay back in a rocking chair in the courtyard, rubbing his round belly, swaying gently.

In the past few days, he’d noticed a whaling boat from the Yang family returning to the port with a shattered deck and broken mast. Word had it they’d been attacked at sea by the Star Hunters and, after a desperate battle, had suffered heavy losses.

It was said that two first mates were killed, and dozens of men lost!

This year, the Star Hunters had risen up as a new force at sea, their strength astonishing, causing people on the surrounding islands to live in constant fear.

“What a pity. If one wishes to protect this ancient way of life from being destroyed, one must possess the skills to defend oneself.”

Bai Xuan patted his belly.

It was strange—ever since his blood and energy had broken through for the second time, a constant hunger lingered, never sated for long, no matter how much he ate or drank.

“Perhaps something is still missing…”

“Best get up and train.”

With a nimble flip, Bai Xuan sprang to his feet. He fetched the iron pot from the wall, heated a batch of iron sand until it glowed red, and began to pound the sand with thunderous palms, sending it swirling in a vortex, grinding and polishing the skin of his hands with a piercing screech.

Though “Iron Sand Palm” was a common hard-style technique, as he progressed in his cultivation, the deep blue-black, iron-like hue of his hands began to fade, returning to slender, white, jade-like palms. This was a sign of returning to purity—at this stage, with a burst of force, even a stone wall five or six meters thick would shatter and fly apart, reduced to dust.

Bang!

A palm strike from Bai Xuan sent a wave of iron color across his hand. The force burst forth, scattering the iron sand with a resonant hum!

Time flew by.

Each morning, Bai Xuan arose early, spent two hours fishing, and after noon, practiced underwater, tempering himself beneath the waves. By dusk, it was time for his hard-style training.

On the Longevity Tree, copper skin and iron bones stretched ever further, leaves luxuriant and thick.

Bai Xuan never slacked in his daily underwater cultivation, but he no longer felt the subtlety of that spear technique. Yet one day, during his usual underwater practice, with his mind utterly still, his hand thrust forward with the spear—and suddenly, at the tip, a faint vortex appeared once more!

“Good.”

This time Bai Xuan was prepared; his heart remained calm, untouched by excitement.

Having grasped the secret again, he truly set foot on the path of the Vortex Spear. Even if interrupted again, his mastery would not be shaken.

“Continue.”

With a peaceful mind, Bai Xuan kept wielding the cold-iron fishing spear, stirring the water with each movement, sending ripples spreading outward in circles.

…

Back in the courtyard.

With a flick of his finger, Bai Xuan sent a spiral of water spinning from his palm—a bead of water shot out, striking a wooden stake with a crisp sound, making it tremble for a long while before it stilled.

“This force is indeed mysterious.”

Now well-versed in hard-style training, Bai Xuan understood that such training tempered the body, making it stronger, faster, and more formidable—energy and blood burst forth in direct attacks. But now, with the ability to channel force, there were subtle, ingenious changes.

In his perception, this true spear art differed from the outward surge of energy and blood; when executed, a spiraling motion was added to the force unleashed by fingers and palms.

However, the power was still far from rivaling his hard-style techniques—it could only launch a spiral water ball, not even strong enough to break a wooden stake.

“No need to rush.”

Bai Xuan was patient.

The vortex force belonged to the inner school of spear techniques; without a weapon in hand, little power could be manifested. Besides, this was a skill honed by slow, steady effort—no use in being impatient.

He sensed that atop his Longevity Dao Tree, a new bud was forming; when the time came, a new path would emerge.

“Longevity Tree, come forth!”

Bai Xuan summoned the Longevity Tree.

Upon the bronze Dao Tree, two vigorous branches now flourished. One held six leaves: Trawling, Aquatic Skill, Shark Combat, Sea Watching, Celestial Phenomena, and Helmsmanship, with a bud at the tip, faintly exuding an aura of mystery.

“Over these days, I’ve slowly accumulated two more points of Fisherman’s Insight. Let’s add them to ‘Shark Combat.’”

As Bai Xuan infused the points, the Shark Combat leaf rapidly sprouted, extending outward.

Shark Combat (Proficient 57%).

Shark Combat governed underwater fighting skills, a pure combat technique. Instantly, Bai Xuan felt a new transformation in his mastery of the thrust.

With a feint, he could lure the giant shark aside, then his fishing spear became a blur—piercing straight through the shark’s skull!

“Though Shark Combat lacks formal moves, the subtlety of power manipulation rivals any martial art.”

Bai Xuan reflected deeply, lifting the cold-iron fishing spear to practice once more.

In the end, all techniques were but applications of force. The vortex spear, though an inner-school legacy, was exquisite in its force manipulation, while Shark Combat, honed by countless battles, was a pure fighting art. Fusing the two made them even more fierce and terrifying.

Without Shark Combat… it would not have been easy to comprehend the “Vortex Force.”

Time slipped swiftly by.

The first light snow fell, drifting and swirling, melting instantly upon the sea, where the waves rolled beneath a somber, gray sky.

“Winter has come.”

Bai Xuan still wore but a single thin garment, yet snowflakes within three feet of him evaporated in midair, turned to invisible mist by the heat radiating from his body.

With the cold-iron fishing spear in hand, he gave a gentle wave, and three shadows appeared in the air, forming a lingering vortex.

Shark Combat (Minor Achievement 61%)!

“It is time.”

Expectation filled Bai Xuan’s gaze.

“Into the water.”

He strode forward into the sea. Today, the wind and waves were fierce, the undercurrents wild, but with his hard-style training, Bai Xuan moved steadily downward, unaffected by the turmoil.

Drawing the cold-iron fishing spear, he repeated move after move. This time, each thrust of the spear unleashed tremendous force, and, after a quarter of an hour, the swirling currents around him were so sharp that even passing fish had their scales sliced open, fleeing in panic.

“Open for me!”

In an instant, Bai Xuan’s body shot downward like an arrow. At that moment, the pressure around him surged wildly, crashing down with such force that, but for his copper skin and iron bones, even rock would be crushed to powder.

Under this enormous pressure, his blood and energy fell silent. In that instant, the spear in his hand spun at high speed, suddenly supporting a vast vortex that held the water’s crushing force at bay, shielding him from harm!

Boom!

Moments later, Bai Xuan stowed the spear and pressed his palm outward—currents whirled madly around him, forming a sea vortex beneath his hand!

Vortex Force, first level—achieved!

…

Back in the courtyard.

“Hoo…”

With the cold-iron spear in hand, Bai Xuan pointed skyward. His energy and blood were deeply concealed, but as the snowflakes fell, they were swept up, coalescing at the spear tip into a tiny vortex that would not disperse.

“At last, I have mastered the Vortex Force.”

His physical cultivation was now utterly stable and fully under his control. With two more points added to Shark Combat, its power increased further, nearly reaching the stage of mastery. His strength, now hidden deep within, had become unfathomable.

Once, all the muscles and sinews of his body were like a pack of undisciplined tigers and wolves. Now, with the Vortex Force mastered, they were united—a disciplined, responsive force, seamlessly linked from head to tail.

With this inner-school spear technique accomplished, the cold-iron fishing spear in his grip, Bai Xuan could not even estimate the extent of his own strength. If he faced his former self, a single thrust would likely kill instantly, leaving not even a chance to resist!