「Four years later.」

Near the coast of Donglong Island.

An old, decrepit Spiritual Boat with peeling paint was being propelled at full speed. Its hull creaked and groaned, sounding as if it were about to break apart.

Aboard the Spiritual Boat, an old man and a young man, their faces pale with terror, were paddling with all their might.

"Faster, Mr. Zhang! Paddle faster!"

"Once we reach the Donglong Island Marketplace, we’ll be safe!"

The old man, his hair and beard completely white, gasped for breath as he paddled furiously.

His cultivation robe was covered in patches and, upon closer inspection, stained with grease.

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Fu..." Mr. Zhang’s face was ashen, and he was panting like an ox.

Just then, a Spiritual Boat closed in from behind, carrying several cultivators who radiated killing intent!

"Hurry, don’t let them get away!"

’So unlucky...’ Glancing back, Mr. Zhang cursed his rotten luck.

’Isn’t the Donglong Island Marketplace supposed to be prosperous and full of opportunities? How did we run into robber cultivators the moment we arrived...?’

To save his own skin, he could only put every last ounce of his strength into paddling!

But...

How could their old Spiritual Boat possibly match the speed of the robber cultivators?

The distance between them was shrinking fast!

"Don’t even think about running!"

"Fellow Daoist, stop running! It’s just your life; it’s not worth all this trouble!"

Hearing the robber cultivators’ standard cackle, a chill ran down Mr. Zhang’s spine.

"Quick... Don’t give up! We’ve already reached the marketplace’s waters!"

Mr. Fu’s face was flushed red.

Mr. Zhang looked up. Not far away was the Donglong Island Marketplace.

But...

Mr. Zhang’s heart sank!

The Law Enforcement Team he had expected to see was nowhere in sight!

There was only a handsome young man in a black robe, fishing calmly by the docks.

’It’s over...’ Despair filled Mr. Zhang’s face.

However...

Mr. Fu, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He laughed heartily, filled with the joyous relief of someone who had just survived a disaster. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Mr. Zhang, it seems fate has decreed that we shall not die today!"

"Old man, have you... lost your mind?" Mr. Zhang’s mouth twitched.

The robber cultivators chasing them numbered at least seven or eight.

With the Law Enforcement Team nowhere to be found, how were the two of them—one old, one young—supposed to survive?

"What do you know? ...Quick, get down!"

Mr. Fu was about to say something more when his expression suddenly turned to one of shock. He quickly pushed Mr. Zhang down, and they both flattened themselves against the Spiritual Boat.

"Old man, you..." Mr. Zhang was stunned.

And at that moment...

SHHIIING!

A sharp, ear-piercing sound of something tearing through the air suddenly rang out!

A brilliant silver spear, trailing an immense wake of air, shot out like a spiraling vortex!

The silver light streaked across the sky!

BOOM!

The robber cultivators chasing them, along with their Spiritual Boat, were blown to smithereens, torn to pieces by the blast wave!

Thick, dark blood spread across the surface of the sea!

Then.

The silver spear returned, landing in the hand of the black-robed young man by the docks.

His expression remained indifferent as he resumed fishing, as if he had merely brushed off a few specks of dust.

"Hiss... Who is that...?" Mr. Zhang was aghast.

"The Guardian Envoy of Donglong Marketplace—Su Ye!" Mr. Fu’s eyes were filled with reverence.

"That man, Mr. Su, was originally an outsider to the Luo Family. He distinguished himself with his exceptional combat talent and ended up marrying the Luo Family’s eldest daughter!"

"It’s said that back when he was only in the Mid-stage of Qi Refining, he had already killed a Late-stage cultivator!"

"Mid-stage Qi Refining... killing a Late-stage cultivator?! How is that possible..."

Mr. Zhang’s eyes were wide, his jaw hanging open in astonishment!

"Heh heh, do you even know what true combat talent is?"

"Mr. Su is a true prodigy of combat. Fighting and killing those at a higher stage is nothing more than routine for him!"

Mr. Fu stroked his beard, shaking his head with an air of knowingness.

"And after Mr. Su used a breakthrough pill to advance to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, his achievements became even more remarkable..."

"In the past three years, he has slain nearly a handful of Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators who dared to cause trouble in the Donglong Island Marketplace!"

"Even though a massive influx of outside cultivators has made the sea region unpredictable these past few years..."

"With Mr. Su here, the Donglong Island Marketplace has remained as stable as a mountain, and its prosperity has grown several times over!"

...

By the docks.

’These cultivators from out of town really don’t know the rules...’

’Don’t they know that fighting is forbidden near the marketplace? You’ve ruined my mood. I’ll punish you by having you help chum the waters...’

Su Ye calmly retrieved his Frost Thorn Spear. He glanced at the puddle of remains that had been the robber cultivators and muttered to himself.

’That old man is quite the flatterer, though...’

Hearing Mr. Fu’s boasting, Su Ye couldn’t help but chuckle.

After advancing to Late-stage Qi Refining, his spiritual senses and perception had become increasingly sharp.

Naturally, not a single word of Mr. Fu’s praise had escaped his ears.

But no matter how much Mr. Fu bragged on his behalf,

the Su Ye he knew was still just the tip of the iceberg!

In these past four years, having completed his plans, Su Ye had grown at a speed that could only be described as meteoric!

’I, Su Ye, am twenty-three years old...’

’Eighth layer of Qi Refining! Fourth level of Body Refining! [Tide Hunter LV.7]!’

That’s right!

The eighth layer of Qi Refining!

That was Su Ye’s true cultivation level.

It was a full layer higher than the seventh layer of Qi Refining he publicly displayed!

After the grand auction, Su Ye had taken only one year to smoothly break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining!

Then.

Over the next three years, Su Ye accumulated enough Magical Power and effortlessly reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining!

’Normally, for the minor realms of Late-stage Qi Refining, a cultivator with a high-grade Spiritual Root would take three to five years to advance a single layer...’

’But my cultivation speed has already surpassed that of most cultivators with high-grade Spiritual Roots!’

The reason was simple: the Spiritual Boat’s [Harmony] ability. The Golden Sword Orchid shared its rank, allowing him to ignore bottlenecks!

’Ignoring bottlenecks...’

’The further one progresses, the more terrifying this ability becomes...’ Su Ye murmured.

After all, the higher a cultivator’s realm, the longer it took to grind through a bottleneck!

For Core Formation and Golden Core cultivators, spending decades on a single bottleneck was considered normal!

’Although building a high-tier spiritual boat is by no means easy...’

’It’s still much better than ordinary cultivators painstakingly accumulating their Magical Power!’

Besides his Qi Refining realm,

in these four years, Su Ye’s Body Refining realm had reached the fourth level.

This was equivalent to the Qi Refining Perfection stage!

It had come from behind, surpassing his Qi Refining realm in one fell swoop!

As for the reason...

’It seems my talent for Body Cultivating gets a slight boost every time my class level increases and that cool aura infuses my body?’

Of course, even so, Su Ye had no intention of switching to become a Body Cultivator.

Compared to Qi cultivators, with their vast and diverse array of techniques, the glorious era of Body Cultivators had long since ended...

At least, within the Yaoguang Islands, Su Ye had never heard of any famous pure Body Cultivators.

Most of the so-called cultivators with ’powerful physical bodies’ were like him, focusing on Qi Refining while practicing Body Refining on the side.

Under these circumstances, Su Ye naturally wouldn’t abandon the root for the branch.

Furthermore, during his four years guarding the marketplace, Su Ye had patrolled the coastal waters of Donglong Island aboard the Golden Sword Orchid.

He had accumulated enough experience to raise his [Tide Hunter] class to LV.7.

Su Ye’s status panel now read:

[Class: Tide Hunter LV.7 (1432/3500)]

[Class Attribute Bonus: Damage +24, Protection +10]

[Exclusive Skill: Whale-Hunting Spear]

[Traits: Pierce (max), Soul Suppressing (max)]

’With this much power... could I even slay a BOSS-level creature from the Dongning Sea Region?’

’No... I should play it safe and wait for my supreme-grade spiritual boat to be built!’