Chapter 34: The Gang

On the vast, endless sea, a small fishing boat rose and fell with the waves as it sailed towards the New Continent.

According to the information that the fishing boat’s captain, Old Man Song, had told Zuo Zhicheng, they were already not far from the New Continent when he boarded the boat. Now, as the boat was returning, they were expected to reach Xinlu Port sometime that afternoon.

It was one of the port cities that Great Qi had built on the New Continent.

On the deck, Zuo Qingcang stood near the edge of the boat, holding a makeshift fishing rod that extended out over the water—he was actually fishing.

Nearby, Xiao Lan leaned against the boat’s railing, resting her chin in her hands, looking at Zuo Zhicheng with a face full of curiosity.

“Brother Zuo, haven’t you caught anything yet?”

“Brother Zuo, the sun is so strong today—aren’t you hot? Let me wipe your sweat for you.”

“Brother Zuo, are you thirsty? Should I bring you a bowl of water?”

The innocent girl was like a chirping little bird, chattering nonstop around Zuo Zhicheng, saying one thing after another. Her long, wheat-colored legs freely radiated youth under the sunlight, making the other crew members on deck unable to resist turning their heads to look.

But Zuo Zhicheng, the one being targeted, showed little reaction. His eyes remained fixed on the fishing rod, and each time he replied to the girl, it was only with simple sounds like “Mm,” “Oh,” or “Okay.” Watching this, the nearby crew members felt so frustrated they could pound their chests and stamp their feet, wishing they could take his place.

One sailor in his twenties stared intently at Xiao Lan’s waist and thighs, his eyes gleaming with fascination.

A heavy slap landed on the back of his head. The bearded man, Old Man Song, scolded him, “What are you staring at, you idiot? Get back to work!”

The crew members scattered in an instant, all driven away by Old Man Song. But after they left, Old Man Song looked at Xiao Lan, rubbed his beard in distress, and sighed dejectedly, “Damn it, she’s never this nice to her own father. She’s never even wiped my sweat.”

A somewhat short middle-aged man walked over and said with a low laugh, “Old Song, a grown daughter can’t be kept at home forever, you know.” This was the boat’s second-in-command, Lao Xing.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Old Man Song spat out, then stomped off toward the cabin with a displeased look. “What’s so great about a one-eyed guy anyway?”

On the other side, Zuo Zhicheng seemed completely unaware of Old Man Song’s paternal worries. From beginning to end, he remained focused only on his fishing rod.

In reality, he wasn’t fishing—he was practicing his Martial Arts. After all, the fishing boat was too small, making it hard to do anything without others noticing. So, Zuo Zhicheng had kept two secret manuals close to his body the whole time, never taking them out to study, and never displaying any Martial Arts in public.

Thus, he was only using fishing as a cover to train. The fishing rod in his hand continuously vibrated along with the trembling of his muscles and tendons. He slowly circulated his Innate Primordial Breath, using the vibrations and pushes of his muscle power inside his body to unblock his qi and blood and strengthen his physique.

As for whether he caught any fish, that was secondary to him.

While training, Zuo Zhicheng thought about his plans.

‘After changing my name, I still need to create a good identity.’ With his rich experience as a spy, he naturally understood the importance of forging an identity—it wasn’t just about changing a name.

‘This Martial Arts ability also needs some kind of background.’ If it were a Canonized Taoist, with their Spiritual Energy Vision, they could instantly see Zuo Zhicheng’s true strength. However, Canonized Taoists—or any Taoist Priests capable of using Dao Arts—were too distant from ordinary people. Just like the previous Liu Zhicheng, Dao Arts were nothing but legends to them.

In the world of ordinary people, the chance of encountering a Taoist Priest was very low.

So, Zuo Zhicheng’s consideration was simply to avoid becoming a public figure and to hide within a familiar, lower-class circle.

‘I can’t reveal all of my Martial Arts, but I can show a little. Maybe I can find a martial arts school and learn some basic fighting skills as a cover.’

‘And there’s Dao Arts. To fight against Shen Zong, Dao Arts are crucial.’ Remembering the methods Shen Zong had used in the Ancient Tomb, and that two-thousand-year-old supernatural ability that hadn’t died, Zuo Zhicheng felt a wave of pressure.

The four stages of Dao Arts cultivation were Refining Life Grove, Cultivating Heavenly Palace, Forging Star River, and Building Golden Bridge. Zuo Zhicheng only knew that Shen Zong was definitely above the Refining Life Grove stage, but he didn’t know exactly which stage beyond that, because the Old Man who had taught him about Dao Arts had only reached Refining Life Grove himself.

As for the Martial Arts stages of Qi Training, Spirit Refining, and Void Training—unless it was close combat or a sneak attack, facing Shen Zong head-on would likely require reaching the legendary Void Training stage and possessing so-called supernatural powers. Otherwise, relying solely on a flesh-and-blood body to counter the various wonders of Dao Arts was unrealistic.

‘First, I need to find a way to check if my Life Grove is still there. I also need to find a place to learn ancient script. If Night Sea is still there, practicing Dao Arts will also require a lot of money.’

Practicing Dao Arts naturally required money. Just the various Dao Arts materials, experimental tools, venues, and all sorts of equipment would cost a significant amount. After all, this world wasn’t the modernized society of his previous life—productivity was limited, and many special elements, minerals, and so on were quite expensive.

Not only Dao Arts cultivation, but now that Zuo Zhicheng no longer had any Dwarf Spirit to eat, if he wanted to train in Martial Arts, the food aspect alone would consume a lot of money.

Then there was learning ancient script. In this era in Great Qi, over seventy percent of the population was illiterate. One could imagine that hiring a tutor to teach him ancient script would also require a substantial amount of money.

‘The money also has to be accumulated in secret. I can’t expose it too early and attract the attention of Great Qi or Shen Zong.’

Just as Zuo Zhicheng was thinking about all this, the crew nearby suddenly started shouting loudly, pointing continuously at a spot on the northern sea.

Following their gaze, Zuo Zhicheng saw a dark shape on the ocean.

It was a ship twice the size of their fishing boat, flying a black dragon flag. The flag fluttered in the wind, and the black dragon on it seemed to come alive, exuding a fierce and sinister aura.

The moment they saw the flag, the atmosphere on the boat changed instantly.

One middle-aged sailor said with a worried expression, “Trouble. It’s the Sea Dragon Gang.”

Another person said, “It’s fine. We’ve paid our respects. They shouldn’t cause us any trouble.”

“Damn these hungry wolves. You can never fill them up,” a young man said angrily.

“Stop talking nonsense! Aren’t you afraid someone will repeat it to their ears?” said the short middle-aged sailor, Lao Xing, who had spoken with Old Man Song earlier. “Everyone, be smart when they come. You know the Sea Dragon Gang isn’t to be messed with, so don’t try to be a hero. Have you forgotten the floating corpse in the Yongding River last month?”

Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, the crew instantly became dejected. Although anger still flickered in their eyes, it was overshadowed by helplessness.