"At your service, Brother Qi."

Qi Yan was overjoyed. He and his junior brother Lv Nan had been sailing the boat all morning. Apart from an unexpected harvest of a single stalk of Jade Dewy Lotus, they mostly awaited the blazing sun to condense Bing Fire.

The Black Water River was exceptionally wide, stretching eight hundred miles long, and would surely nurture a strand of Mysterious Marsh Strange Red Qi. With Bai Qi, who was skilled in water, assisting, success was almost guaranteed.

"I'll now teach you the Qi Observation Skill, Brother Bai."

Qi Yan immediately instructed his junior brother Lv Nan to fetch brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, then wrote a long passage in secret script. Bai Qi glanced at it, his mastery of deciphering texts was sufficient to recognize:

"Primordial Qi within the boundless, outside the netherworld, born from emptiness. Within emptiness, born from the great nothingness. Great nothingness transforms into three distinct qi. The three qi, chaotic, born in the great void, establishing emptiness, from emptiness the nothing, from nothing the being, from being the emptiness..."

Bai Qi's lips moved wordlessly, the intangible essence of the secret text floated in his heart, sketching a stunningly strange scene.

It seemed as if within heaven and earth, among the mountains and rivers, all were filled with variously sized and colored qi clusters, sometimes converging, sometimes separating, drifting, rising and falling, with a clear distinction between purity and impurity.

As Bai Qi finished reciting, mastering the Qi Observation Skill, the ink talisman continuously flickered, revealing lines of text—

"You have memorized more secret texts, deepening your understanding of the world, seemingly gaining some insight."

"You glimpsed the floating primordial qi of the cosmos, your mind silently roared, and your comprehension significantly improved."

"Your perfected text deciphering skill saw great progress, capable of condensing a divine seed."

Bai Qi was slightly startled, the ink talisman rooted in his mind transformed into a celestial curtain, beneath which towered two giant trees, once again nurturing a divine seed fruit burning with golden light.

"Dragon Strategy Tiger Tactics (Divine Seed Level One)"

"Progress: 1/800"

"Effect: Extraordinary insight, exceptional talent, literary strategy like a dragon, martial tactics like a tiger"

Bai Qi furrowed his brows slightly, somewhat unclear of the divine seed's function. Would it enhance his own comprehension, making future cultivation technique learning unobstructed?

"Strategy is concealment, tactics akin to plundering. Dragon Strategy Tiger Tactics, could it mean mastering both literary and martial arts?"

He raised his head in puzzlement, just meeting Qi Yan's gaze, who smiled and said:

"Brother Bai, though Qi Observation Skill is basic, it still requires a few hours to fully grasp..."

The voice reaching Bai Qi's ears suddenly blurred. He blinked lightly, and the scene in his eyes turned black and white, like a spread-out ink painting.

Qi Yan's body abruptly vanished, transforming into a mass of chaotic lines, which then reformed.

Only it lost color, resembling a blob of thick ink!

Bai Qi looked down at himself and seemed to be the only one dyed in rich colors amid heaven and earth!

"So Dragon Strategy Tiger Tactics means this? Formulate a heart image, contend with it... It resembles the Ancestor Hall somewhat, but the difference lies in that if I overcome the heart image, there's a chance of gleaning something from the opponent."

This thought had just emerged when the inky Qi Yan performed a spell with one hand, commanding the Peach Wood Sword, which spun swiftly and rushed in, its sharp edge at Bai Qi's face in less than half a breath.

"Barehanded White Blade Catch..."

Bai Qi's five fingers hooked fiercely, reaching for the flying sword, as Qi and Blood Power poured into it, as hard as Hundred-Forged Steel, clashing in a screeching metal sound.

Clang, clang, clang!

Then, Qi Yan flicked his sleeve, a few talisman papers drifting out, while his other hand flicked rapid fingers, fixing them around, muttering low and hurried syllables, casting a Daoist Skill.

A wave of golden light undulated, shielding Qi Yan. At the same time, the piercing force of the flying sword abruptly increased by three parts, like a jade dragon's roar struggling to shake off Bai Qi's grip.

"So the methods of Cultivators in magical duels emphasize defense first, attack later, maintaining distance. Hence, flying swords and talisman methods gain popularity."

Bai Qi, having exchanged blood eight times, also possessed the aid of keen hearing. Unless Qi Yan made a breakthrough in Sword Control Skill, reaching Sword Control Skill level, roaring like thunder, it would be hard to suppress him.

His right arm's muscles bulged and creaked, like a strong bow drawn tight, and no matter how much the Peach Wood Sword quivered, it couldn't escape his grasp.

Boom, boom, boom!

Every step Bai Qi took was like rumbling thunder, akin to a wooden mallet pounding a drum, creating a mighty sound.

In an instant, he crossed a hundred paces, left hand clenched into a fist, swung back like a hammer striking the hardened golden light, solid as copper walls and iron fortifications.

Boom!

The atmosphere exploded, stirring within a ten-foot radius, making the talisman papers shake violently, tearing with a rustling sound, inside which Qi Yan was struck by lightning, blood gushing from nose and mouth in an instant.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

Bai Qi unleashed several continuous punches, like Thunder God's hammer shaking the sky, unparalleled force winding like pythons, turned into a mighty dragon rearing its head, crashing fiercely!

In just moments, the golden light shattered, flesh and blood churned to mud!

A halo leapt out, floating before Bai Qi's eyes. Concentrating, he saw:

"Sword Control Skill? Pity, it's not the Talisman Sutra."

Compared to flying sword piercing, he preferred the literary legacy capable of drawing and crafting talismans.

Maybe stacking a hundred thousand Three Yang Fire Talismans could explosively kill a Four Cultivation Grandmaster.

"Dragon Strategy Tiger Tactics divine seed! Not much inferior to Nine Oxen and Two Tigers.

One merely consumes spirit, the other depletes the body."

Bai Qi's experience was quite satisfactory. He grasped the "Deadly" Sword Control Skill that Qi Yan had unleashed, and countless realizations flooded into his mind.

"Brother Bai..."

Qi Yan called softly.

"I was a bit lost just now."

Bai Qi blinked, withdrawing from that ink and water world and returning to the outside realm.

"I've learned the Qi Observation Skill."

Qi Yan was taken aback, inexplicably feeling that this Bai Qilang's eyes resembled deep ancient wells, making his heart feel chilled.

"Why does my neck feel a shiver of cold..."

Beside him, Lv Nan exclaimed in surprise:

"In less than ten breaths, Brother Bai, you've mastered the Qi Observation Skill?"

Bai Qi nodded lightly. For him, whose comprehension had increased multiple times, such rudimentary methods were as simple and clear as a primer for children.

He glanced back at Qi Yan, realizing he could no longer pull him into the ink and water world of the Dragon's Strategy and Tiger's Prowess mystical seed, pondering:

"Can one only do it once? The expectation of repetitively practicing cultivation techniques fell through."

Thus, Bai Qi turned to look at Lv Nan, whose face was filled with admiration.

"Try again! See what you can unleash!"

...

...

Bai Ming finished calculating the accounts sent from Bai's Fish Stall and stepped out of the old house by Erxian Bridge, as per habit, strolled around the East Market Pier.

Fishermen, laborers, and assistants were busily engaged in their work. Whenever they saw him, they would greet him with "Young Boss," their smiles genuinely heartfelt.

Now that there were no fishery stall fees being collected, the Fisherman of the Black Water River were living much better, most of them grateful for Bai Qilang's generosity.

"Young Boss, we caught two more Silver Sand Carp and just delivered them to Elder Liang."

Uncle Changshun spoke familiarly.

"Alright, got it."

Bai Ming nodded; Elder Brother had instructed that any Silver Sand Carp caught by Bai's Fish Stall should be sent to Liang Sanshui's East Market Shop without charging a penny, and the price would be fully compensated by him.

"Uncle Changshun, was the catch of treasure fish easier today than usual?"

He raised his small face, squinting his eyes, staring at the blazing sun hanging high in the sky. It was unmistakably late spring, yet the weather seemed as hot as mid-summer.

"Indeed! It's like the Dragon King showed mercy. We often find precious fish that were hard to see before; each net haul catches a few, Silver Sand Carp, Horned Pompano...with full weight! Today's harvest is estimated to be sixty percent more than usual!"

Uncle Changshun said contentedly.

"It should be the Celestial Fiend Day that Elder Brother mentioned before, some phenomenon."

Bai Ming speculated.

"The air is dry, remind the mates to pay attention to the storage of oil on the boat."

He specially instructed.

"Alright, I check every time."

Uncle Changshun always handled affairs stably and maturely, making the Bai Brothers very at ease. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Have you seen Elder Brother?"

Bai Ming asked.

"Seems the boss took two strangers of Daoists, and went downriver on a large black canopy boat."

Uncle Changshun answered.

"Hmm, got it."

After chatting, Bai Ming imitated Elder Brother's usual actions, carried two bags of flower cakes from a nearby shop, and took a look at the East Market Shop. Elder Liang was absent, only Brother Sanshui was directing the mates to weigh the fish.

He placed down the gifts, exchanged a few pleasantries, and quietly left.

He was of a rather cold temperament, difficult to get close to anyone, receiving and sending off people, emulating Elder Brother's deeds closely.

"The stationery is out too, it's time to replenish some."

Bai Ming bought a few blades of good paper, along with a small goat-hair brush and an ink stone on his way.

Thinking of the past when he lived in the mud house with Elder Brother, where clothing and daily needs were constrained, he couldn't help but smile.

While walking on the long street, he suddenly saw a yellow-robed scholar riding a donkey.

The latter seemed to sense something too, his gaze flickered slightly, falling upon Bai Ming, then approached to ask:

"Hey...young brother, would you like a fortune telling? Very accurate, if it's not, won't charge you money."