Chapter Five: The Sea-Scattering Medicinal Feast, Breakthrough in the Azure Scale Technique!

Evening.

“Hiss…”

Old Li gazed at the small fish swimming in the clay jar, drawing in a sharp breath.

“Your first time at sea, and you caught a white-scaled fish?”

“It was just luck,” Bai Xuan replied.

“Luck?” Old Li shot Bai Xuan a look and shook his head.

As an old sailor, he knew this couldn’t be chalked up to luck. The white-scaled fish was swift and powerful—no ordinary person could catch it on their first try. Doing so showed a certainty and skill that went far beyond mere fortune.

“I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle Li, to cook this fish into a soup for me,” Bai Xuan said.

With a quick motion, he handed over a hundred coins. “Consider this a token of my respect.”

Though they were on good terms, Bai Xuan was no greenhorn. Relationships had to be maintained, and Old Li had no obligation to run errands for him. If Bai Xuan needed help, he had to give something in return.

“Heh! Don’t mention it!” Old Li pocketed the money, quite satisfied.

Turning the white-scaled fish into a proper soup required a good deal of firewood. Everything taken from the sea was cheap aboard the ship; anything from the mainland was expensive. Without these hundred coins, he’d have felt a pang of resentment.

“Don’t worry—I'll make sure it’s the finest fish soup you’ve ever tasted,” Old Li promised, thumping his chest.

As night fell, he carried a clay pot to Bai Xuan’s quarters.

“Have a taste!”

Bai Xuan opened the pot, and at once an extraordinary aroma filled the air—fresh and fragrant, making his muscles twitch with yearning.

He took a mouthful, and first tasted freshness, then sweetness, and finally a lingering, clean bitterness that left a long aftertaste. Bite after bite, he emptied the pot, feeling a strange heat surging ever more clearly through his body.

“What a remarkable soup!” Bai Xuan exclaimed, delighted.

The medicinal strength of this fish soup far exceeded his expectations! Now, even sitting still, he could feel his Blue Scale Technique improving, his fascia naturally growing tougher.

“This soup isn’t just white-scaled fish—I added a few medicinal herbs as well. That’s what makes it complete,” Old Li said, in excellent spirits. “This dish is called ‘Scattered Sea Medicated Fare.’ It’s not exactly unique in the world, but it’s considered top-notch for enhancing the Blue Scale Technique. Your Bai family may have better recipes, but those aren’t for you just yet. However…” He chuckled. “This one will cost you two hundred coins. Are you willing to pay?”

“My thanks,” Bai Xuan said, counting out two hundred coins and passing them to Old Li.

With this medicinal fare, his confidence in mastering the Blue Scale Technique soared—he could almost say it was guaranteed.

“You get what you pay for,” Old Li declared, patting his chest. If Bai Xuan hadn’t paid him that first hundred coins, he might have been less careful. But now, with mutual benefit, he could earn a little extra.

In the cabin, Bai Xuan practiced alone, his energy and blood surging. With each punch, the wind howled, and his muscles pulsed, sending wisps of white vapor into the air.

Thud, thud, thud!

After a few moments, Bai Xuan stood in place, satisfaction on his face.

“Soon—at this rate, it won’t be long before I reach the first threshold,” he thought, anticipation burning in his eyes.

Several days passed.

Every day, Bai Xuan spent a hundred coins to rent a swallow boat, heading out to sea to catch white-scaled fish, trading them for Scattered Sea Medicated Fare.

With his growing experience, his efficiency improved greatly. One evening, he even netted three white-scaled fish tearing apart a larger fish, still biting and devouring its flesh as he hauled them and their prey aboard.

“Greed knows no bounds—even fish can overreach and suffer for it,” Bai Xuan mused, carefully stowing the three white-scaled fish in a porcelain bottle he kept close.

But when he returned to the ship, his eyes narrowed.

Not far away, several old sailors—including Zhou Yuan—stood at the rail, chatting.

As Bai Xuan passed, Zhou Yuan glanced at him but said nothing.

“I’ll have to be careful,” Bai Xuan thought warily. He didn’t believe Zhou Yuan’s presence was a coincidence. Renting a boat for a hundred coins every day was bound to draw attention. Other youths used the swallow boats now and then, but only Bai Xuan did so every day. It was as good as announcing to everyone that he was reaping great rewards at sea.

From that day, he stopped going out daily. After all, the Scattered Sea Medicated Fare was too potent for daily consumption; he only went to sea for more when he’d finished what he had, never taking more than needed.

His salary just barely covered the cost; if it fell short, he’d catch another white-scaled fish or two and offer them to Old Li at half price in exchange.

Old Li was happy with the arrangement, reselling the fish to other youths at eight hundred coins apiece.

That had nothing to do with Bai Xuan.

With the medicinal fare, Bai Xuan’s Blue Scale Technique progressed swiftly. In just a week, his strength increased noticeably. Beneath his skin, he felt a resilient power forming, able to resist outside force.

No one but himself knew how fast he was advancing.

A week passed in a flash.

During these weeks at sea, the whaling ship still hadn’t found the great whale. The captain was furious—rumor had it this was extremely rare, and that the wounded whale might have gained intelligence, becoming more cunning and deliberately evading the whalers.

No one paid much attention to the newcomers, nor to the young men’s progress in the Blue Scale Technique.

In his cabin, Bai Xuan moved with precision, like a machine, cycling through nineteen stances. Each stance made his muscles contract to the limit, heat rising in almost visible white plumes.

This was only possible after taking the Scattered Sea Medicated Fare, but it meant his vital energy was condensing, reaching a new threshold.

Thud!

He threw a punch—a deep, muffled crash echoed, as if the air itself was shaking. His feet planted firmly, strength burst forth, and a faint blue shimmer flickered across his fingers and palms.

In that instant, some invisible barrier shattered. Heat radiated from his body, the air warping from its intensity.

Crack!

Bai Xuan flexed and closed his hand. A trace of blue flared in his palm and vanished.

The Blue Scale Technique—at last, he had broken through.

“At last, I’ve reached the first stage.”

White vapor slowly faded from his body, his vital energy now hidden but ready to erupt at a step, his flesh prepared to surge with power at will.

“The Blue Scale Technique has three layers. The first is the initial breakthrough of vital energy… It’s said that even Bai Tian Nian, with all his strength, is only at the peak of the second layer, still short of the third.”

Bai Xuan lowered his fists, his spirits high.

When he first arrived in this world, he’d been pale and lifeless, but now, with his energy fully awakened, his bearing had changed completely.

Beneath his joy, there simmered a bestial vigor.