Although Chen Chuan couldn’t see it, he could sense from the changes in the current that it was a large, torpedo-shaped object.

He twisted at the waist, turning his body in an instant. Raising a hand, he parried, deflecting an incredibly hard and fast-moving object.

But this was underwater, after all, and he had no footing. The force of the impact carried him along, forcing him to roll his body to disperse the momentum.

From the sensation in his hand, he realized he had encountered the same kind of hard-headed carp he had eaten earlier, only this one was much larger. He estimated it was at least a meter long.

This wasn’t surprising. Chang Ba had been fishing in this very area, which meant these fish were abundant in this part of the water.

In fact, there seemed to be a few too many.

He soon detected from the shifting currents that more and more hard-headed carp were approaching in a steady stream. Each one charged with immense power, like a volley of blunt arrows. If their heads were any sharper, they would be comparable to actual Crossbow Arrows.

At this point, he could no longer block them all with his hands; it was simply impossible. He could only shield his head and face, using the Mutated Organization within his muscles to contract upon impact and then spring back, flinging them away. Alternatively, he could twist his body to deflect them, letting them slide off.

However, this meant some of his Mutated Organization couldn’t participate in his internal respiration. Compounded by his strenuous movements, this undoubtedly increased his stamina consumption. In just a short while, he felt more exhausted than he had after swimming a full lap earlier.

But the fish weren’t intentionally attacking him; he just happened to be in their path. The first one he encountered was likely the leader, with the school behind it simply following.

Therefore, if he could find a way to leave this area, he should be able to avoid the school.

He carefully sensed the changes in the external current, trying his best to move toward an area where the water felt less turbulent.

He proceeded with caution. Chang Ba had mentioned that a few of the carp had exceptionally sharp heads and tended to hide within the school. An unexpected strike from one of those could easily pierce a target straight through.

By making the right choices, he managed to move out of the school’s path. He didn’t move right away, instead taking the opportunity to regulate his internal respiration and recover slightly.

Only when he sensed the water had completely calmed did he start swimming again.

But he hadn’t gone far before new trouble arrived.

He encountered another type of fish he’d eaten, the kind Chang Ba called "Cannibal Fish." They were a nuisance. Though generally small, they were exceptionally agile, periodically darting in from his sides or back to take a bite.

Fortunately, his diving suit, a testament to Central City’s technology, wasn’t bitten through. Every time he felt a bite, the muscles in that area would ripple, sending the fish flying.

At first, he thought he could evade this school just as he had the hard-headed carp, but he quickly realized he was being naive. It seemed they had locked onto him. Not only were they not stopping, but more and more were gathering around him.

He acted decisively, immediately expelling the unmetabolized toxins from his body through his skin. This proved effective. Although a few still occasionally approached, the majority actively avoided him.

This discovery made him consider eating more of this type of fish before his next descent.

While the toxins were still being expelled, he quickened his pace and swam out of the area.

Actually, now that he understood their attack patterns, he was confident he could kill them with his bare hands. But that would just be a waste of stamina with no real benefit. Besides, they weren’t the only fish in the water. Avoidance was the most prudent course of action.

Given the complexity of the situation here, he slowed his pace slightly. But that very hesitation led to a problem.

While swimming through a stretch of water, he suddenly felt something entangle him. It was incredibly stealthy, blocking his path and blending in perfectly with the current. He didn’t sense it at all until it was already on him.

He could feel that it was something like seaweed—long, tough, and with serrated edges. If he struggled forcefully, it would likely slice open his flesh.

After wrapping around him, it began to slowly tighten, and more strands were steadily closing in.

The situation was now critical. If he couldn’t break free soon, there would be no escape.

Brute force was useless. It was too resilient; even if he stretched his limbs to their absolute limit, he probably couldn’t snap it. Moreover, being underwater, his ability to exert force was limited.

He faced the crisis calmly. Aided by his internal respiration, his body slowly swelled. The muscles in his legs, waist, and arms also tensed and expanded bit by bit under the influence of his Mutated Organization.

When he had expanded to his limit, he abruptly exhaled. His body simultaneously contracted inward. In that instant, the muscles all over his body shrank violently, reducing his circumference!

In that same moment, a sliver of a gap appeared between him and the entangling weeds. He seized the opportunity, swiftly pulling his limbs free from their coils. At the same time, he grabbed the weed around his waist, tightened his abs, and thrust his body upward, finally breaking free from the entanglement.

Immediately, he kicked off with both legs and shot forward, leaving a trail of displaced water in his wake. The entangling strands constricted again, but they closed on empty water. After a moment, they swayed and retracted.

Chen Chuan now understood that he could neither swim too fast nor too slow here. From then on, while maintaining a steady speed, he also did his utmost to remain aware of his surroundings, becoming extremely cautious.

Along the way, he encountered various other types of fish, but he managed to dodge or shake them all off in time. After swimming for a long while, he finally found the first marker plate.

’It’s much worse than before, but the situation is different. I can’t compare the two.’

He could feel that this stage of training was more of a test of his ability to handle complex environments. All the skills and abilities he had previously mastered could be put to use here.

After swimming a bit further, a narrow pit appeared to his side. He instinctively became vigilant. Sure enough, as soon as he got a little closer, a powerful current rushed out from ahead.

Since he was already on guard, he tried to press himself against the nearby wall of the pit. But just as he got there, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. His internal Mutated Organization flared, and he executed a barrel roll in the water. The instant he dodged, something seemed to snap shut violently. The resulting water pressure was strong enough to push him a fair distance away, a testament to its immense power.

He waited for a moment. Seeing that the thing was motionless again, he concluded that although he couldn’t see it, it must be something like a giant clam, lying open and waiting for prey to fall in. It was nearly impossible to guard against.

He paused there for a moment. By his own estimation, it must be close to an Hour now. It was time to find the way out.

’Should I keep going forward, or should I just turn back to where I started? The path ahead is unknown, while the way back is the route I just took. That seems easier. But I came here to get stronger. If I take the easy way out, there was no point in coming down in the first place.’ In an instant, he decided to press forward.

’Even if I run into something particularly dangerous, with the Second Self, I should be able to handle most threats.’

About ten minutes later, while searching for an exit, he found a second marker plate. However, the rope on its back was gone, clearly severed by something.

He didn’t need to hold onto it; just touching it and knowing the number on it was enough. Even if he didn’t know the number, it was fine. The number of plates he touched was what it was. He was doing this to improve himself, not to report to anyone. There was no point in deceiving himself.

He judged the direction of the current and swam that way. Before long, after rounding a narrow passage, he saw a glimmer of light shining down from above his head. He swam faster toward it.

Just then, he saw many Cannibal Fish swimming around. Before they could get close, he slapped the water repeatedly with his hands. As he charged forward, he swatted more than a dozen of them up to the surface. Finally, with a powerful leap, he launched himself out of the water. As he broke the surface, he heard Chang Ba’s voice: "Brother Chen is out."

The pit Chen Chuan emerged into was quite large. He swam to the edge and climbed out. Wiping his face, he looked up at the dazzling sun and Involuntarily let out a long breath. Although the dive hadn’t been long, he had encountered no shortage of dangers, all of them new to him.

Moreover, the area he swam through today was only a small part of the whole. He likely hadn’t even encountered the more complex situations yet.

As soon as he was out, Chang Ba went to collect the fish that had been slapped onto the bank, placing them one by one into a lead bucket. He clicked his tongue in approval. "Nice and fat." He stood up and gave Chen Chuan a thumbs-up. "Brother Chen, you’re really something else, lasting almost an Hour down there."

Even though Chen Chuan hadn’t touched many marker plates, being able to swim in this subterranean body of water for an Hour and successfully get out was already an incredible feat.

It wasn’t that no young Fighters he knew had tried it before, but they had all gone down with safety ropes attached. Even so, they couldn’t stay long, and they all came out badly shaken, unwilling to ever try again.

He Xiaoxing spoke up then. "For this stage, I won’t set any limits for you. You set your own goals. How far you can go is entirely up to you."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. Before going down, he had believed that based on his previous achievements, he should be able to navigate the waters below smoothly. But after one trip down there, he felt he was still lacking.

’I got out safely this time, but there’s no guarantee I’ll be so lucky every time. While using the Second Self greatly increases my chances of survival, that would defeat my original purpose of strengthening myself. It would be better to solidify my foundations first and come back to test the results later.’

He looked up and said, "Teacher He, I want to continue with the previous training and strengthen myself further." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He Xiaoxing said, "It’s easy to build upon a solid foundation. Since this is your choice, then do as you see fit."

Chen Chuan grunted in agreement. He turned to look at Chang Ba, who was happily carrying the fish, and said, "Brother Xiaochang, looks like I’ll have to trouble you for a while longer."

Chang Ba said, "No problem. If you come back here next time, just catch a few more fish for me as thanks. Besides, I’m doing this for you for free. An offer like this doesn’t come around every day, you know!"

Chen Chuan smiled. "It shouldn’t be too long, then."

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