Chapter 350 - 265: Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill Breakthrough

Chapter 350: Chapter 265: Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill Breakthrough

The words had barely left his lips when a stunning scene unfolded.

An arrow suddenly plummeted from the sky at incredible speed, landing several hundred meters away. It plunged straight into the water and vanished from sight.

The sea was calm for a moment, then it began to churn violently.

The churning spray was tinged with red—clearly the blood of an injured creature.

The sheer commotion alone suggested the creature was immense.

Just then, a sea shark nearly eight meters long breached the surface. An arrow was lodged squarely in the center of its head.

It thrashed in agony, but its struggles were futile, only serving to rapidly deplete its energy.

But its suffering soon came to an end.

Wu Liangchen had fired another arrow. This one struck its head from a different angle, silencing it for good.

"Nice bow," Wu Liangchen said with a smile, handing it back to Chen Baimei.

Chen Baimei, however, was in a daze.

The sea shark had been hundreds of meters away from where they stood, yet Wu Liangchen had finished it with just two arrows.

’Is this the terrifying power of master-level archery?’

A look of awe and excitement began to shine in her eyes.

She had long been frustrated by her own plateau, uncertain of how to advance on her path.

Now, Wu Liangchen’s shot was like a beacon, instantly illuminating the fog of confusion in her heart.

That night, they dined on delicious shark meat.

The sea sharks of this world had meat that was surprisingly delectable.

After a hearty meal, Wu Liangchen summoned Yan Feng.

Wu Liangchen had brought Yan Feng on this expedition, leaving Wen Yunlong behind.

The two had different personalities. Yan Feng was sharper and better at gathering intelligence and handling emergencies than the more staid Wen Yunlong.

"Brother Xiaowu, you were looking for me?" Yan Feng asked respectfully, a hint of pride in his voice.

After all, this form of address was a unique privilege for those who came from Flower Square.

"Come take a look. If there are no issues, we’ll proceed according to this plan," Wu Liangchen said.

Yan Feng stepped forward and lowered his head to read carefully. His expression immediately turned serious. After reading it through, word by word, he contemplated for a moment before nodding.

"No problem. I guarantee there won’t be any mistakes."

"Good." Wu Liangchen had complete faith in Yan Feng and entrusted the mission to him without hesitation.

And so the great ship sailed on, drawing ever closer to the East Sea Nation.

Then one day, after Wu Liangchen had been practicing his techniques late into the night, the screen of light before his eyes suddenly changed.

[Name: Wu Liangchen][Age: 19]

[Life Fire: 1760 Wisps]

[Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill: Initiate (97/100)]

[Hundred Beasts Heaven-Facing Stance (Mastery 33/1000)]

[Eight-Step Wind-Chasing Fist (Mastery 149/1000)]

[Sun-Chasing Archery Skill (Mastery 402/1000)]

[Jingzhe Saber Technique (Mastery 184/500)]

[Golden Body Cross Training Skill (Mastery 201/500)]

[Opening Veins (14%)]

Setting aside the changes to his Martial Arts Attributes, Wu Liangchen stared at the age column—19 years old—and felt a jolt of realization.

’Ah, so the New Year has passed.’

The last New Year felt like an entirely different life.

Back then, Wu Liangchen had just broken through an encirclement with Yang Lian’Er and his younger sister, and they were on their way to the Huangpu Guard.

He hadn’t expected a whole year to pass in the blink of an eye.

Many things had happened over the year, but the greatest change had been to Wu Liangchen’s martial path.

In just one year, Wu Liangchen had traveled a distance on his martial path that other Martial Artists couldn’t cover in a lifetime.

And this was only the beginning.

Because the Ten Thousand Laws Tripod ignored all bottlenecks, Wu Liangchen’s advantage would only grow greater the further he progressed.

This was why he was so eager to venture to the secret realms overseas.

He needed to get stronger, fast.

No matter the world, only by becoming powerful enough could he guarantee his own safety and the safety of those around him.

Furthermore, the influx of these firearms proved that contact between the overseas secret realms and this world was becoming more frequent.

’Who knows, one day the people from the overseas secret realms might launch a full-scale invasion.’

’When that happens, what good would it do even if I’ve become the number one Martial Artist in this world?’

Wu Liangchen had always been one to plan ahead, preparing for any and all eventualities.

That was why he hadn’t even stopped to celebrate the New Year, instead finishing his business at the Huangpu Guard and immediately embarking on this journey.

After all, if word got back and the Folangji merchants in the East Sea Nation fled after realizing the situation had turned against them, it would be a major problem.

The only person he felt he had let down was Erya.

He had, after all, promised to spend the New Year with her.

But he still hadn’t been able to keep that promise.

HUUU...

Wu Liangchen took a deep breath, suppressing the faint emotion that had surfaced in his heart. He then shifted his focus back to his Martial Arts Attributes.

His fist, saber, and archery techniques had already reached the Mastery level, so a breakthrough in the short term was impossible.

The most noteworthy was the Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill, which was about to reach the Skilled level.

This was actually the longest Wu Liangchen had ever remained at the Initiate level for any Cultivation Technique.

It wasn’t due to a lack of effort or a bottleneck. He had simply discovered that the stellar power in this world was pitifully sparse.

A full day of effort often yielded very little absorption, making the prospect of lighting up his meridians and acupoints a distant one.

However, after setting out to sea, Wu Liangchen found that his absorption speed had increased significantly.

This was likely due to fewer disturbances over the open ocean, as well as the sea’s surface reflecting the starlight.

Wu Liangchen went to the bow of the ship and stood still, looking up at the sky.

The sky was like black velvet, dotted with countless stars. As it was the first day of the new moon, there was no moonlight to interfere, and the stars blazed with a brilliant light, like scattered diamonds that captivated the soul.

Moreover, as one gazed into the distance, the sea’s surface was like a vast mirror, reflecting the heavens and stretching out to the far horizon.

With the sea and sky mirroring each other, the great ship gliding between them created the illusion of flying through the heavens rather than sailing on the ocean.

Wu Liangchen’s heart gradually grew calm. He silently regulated his Qi and Blood, then began to circulate his Cultivation Technique.

Wisps of starlight entered his body with each of Wu Liangchen’s long, slow breaths, flowing into his meridians and acupoints.

The process was slow, but Wu Liangchen was already quite satisfied.

On land, there were times he couldn’t even feel the absorption process at all.

He stood there for an unknown amount of time—perhaps two hours, perhaps only thirty minutes.

Once the starlight had concentrated to a certain point, Wu Liangchen’s entire body trembled. Then, from the giant painting within his sea of consciousness, a celestial star fell and merged into his meridians and acupoints.

[Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill has leveled up. Current Level: Skilled]

Wu Liangchen’s heart filled with joy upon seeing the notification.

Not only had his Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill broken through to the Skilled level, but his martial path had also advanced considerably.

The fall of another celestial star and the illumination of more meridians and acupoints was an exhilarating development.

Especially at such a critical time, every bit of progress was invaluable.

The next few days were calm and uneventful.

By now, they were more than halfway through their voyage. At most, it would be another three or four days before they reached the East Sea Nation.

However, because Wu Liangchen had decided to land at Bobin Port, the ship had to take a significant detour, so there was no use in being impatient.

As they drew nearer to the East Sea Nation, the sea became less desolate. From time to time, they would encounter fishing boats that had ventured into the deep sea to fish.

However, upon spotting the massive ship and the flag it flew, all of these fishing boats would veer away in fear from a great distance.

Wu Liangchen couldn’t be bothered with them and simply ordered the ship to press on.

After another day’s travel, pearl-diving boats began to appear.

This particular sea region of the East Sea Nation was rich in high-quality pearls. Although slightly inferior to the famed Eastern Pearls, they were still rare treasures.

And as the Great Yan Empire’s most devout imitators, the East Sea Nation naturally had its own population of Dan people.

These pearl-diving boats belonged to them.

Just like in Great Yan, the East Sea Nation severely discriminated against the Dan people, decreeing that they were forbidden from setting foot on land for their entire lives without permission.

This was a measure to force them into pearl diving.

After all, the work was incredibly dangerous. The slightest mistake could mean a watery grave, and no one would willingly do it if they had any other choice.

Unlike the fishermen, upon seeing the great ship, the Dan people on the pearl-diving boats all fell to their knees on the bows of their vessels and began to kowtow incessantly.

Standing at the bow, Wu Liangchen watched the scantily clad Dan people, and his heart grew heavy.

’Oppression truly exists everywhere.’

The plight of the Dan people was particularly tragic. Because pearl diving required descending deep into the sea, slender women were the preferred choice for the job.

From a young age, these female divers were forced to practice holding their breath underwater. The constant trips to the seafloor caused them all to develop eye diseases, leading to early blindness.

And once they lost their sight completely, an even more miserable fate awaited them.

The lucky ones might survive for another two years. The unlucky ones would likely be abandoned by their parents or husbands.

After all, the Dan people had access to very limited resources. While fish from the sea could fill their bellies, daily necessities still had to be purchased on land.

In such conditions, falling ill was a death sentence.

As if sensing Wu Liangchen’s anger, Ota Masayuki, who stood behind him, sighed.

"I actually once petitioned the Monarch, asking if he could treat these Dan people with more kindness, but I never received a reply."

Wu Liangchen said nothing. He simply ordered the ship to steer clear of the pearl-diving boats and increase speed toward Bobin Port.

Finally, three days later, a port appeared in the distance.

"Is that Bobin Port?" Wu Liangchen asked.

"Correct. This is Bobin Port, known as the finest port in the East Sea Nation," Ota Masayuki said, his voice tinged with pride.

But Wu Liangchen’s next words made him freeze on the spot.

"Why is it so small?" Wu Liangchen remarked blandly.

Fortunately, just then, a sea patrol boat approached their great ship and nervously sent a message with signal flags.

"They’re asking us to halt temporarily. The harbormaster of Bobin Port is on his way!" Ichida Keizai immediately translated.