Chapter 232 - 126: Riding the Jiao’s Head, a Youth Soars Over the Vast Sea, Drawing a Bow and Felling the Fishing Trade’s Sacrificial Banner with One Arrow

Chapter 232: Chapter 126: Riding the Jiao’s Head, a Youth Soars Over the Vast Sea, Drawing a Bow and Felling the Fishing Trade’s Sacrificial Banner with One Arrow

Otherwise, among those of a similar age, it was no exaggeration to say that no one in the prefecture could outshine him.

Perhaps if one looked across all of Beicang, to Cangdu—the capital of the vassal state governing several prefectures—one might find a match.

But in Jiangyin Prefecture... it would be difficult.

The news that Duan Chenzhou had become a Grandmaster sent ripples of panic through Jiangyin Prefecture. Some were already on edge, terrified that with his Superior Qi Sea and a Secret Inheritance, in ten or twenty years he would cultivate another "Wang Xuanyang."

But now, things were even more unbelievable. Not only had he achieved a Superior Qi Sea, but he had also found an even more outrageously talented disciple in some forgotten corner of the world!

Jiangyin Prefecture’s hundred years of Water Fortune had produced but one Duan Chenzhou, a Fisherman’s Son.

And yet, from the poor, remote backwater of Anning County...

...had emerged a Qilin-like talent, the kind Beicang hadn’t seen in centuries, one with the potential to contend for the Juvenile Dragon Stele and ascend to the White Jade Capital!

An entire lineage of three—Ancestral Master, master, and disciple—all possessing the potential to strive for a Title!

How astonishing...

...

「The next day.」

The sky was dim at dawn over the Ferry Port of Jiangyin Prefecture.

Even though it was just dawn, the sky still caught between night and day.

A dense fleet of merchant vessels, carrying goods like tea, salt, iron, and grain, already swarmed the river’s surface, which churned like an angry dragon. Along the docks, secured with iron chains, they bustled back and forth, mooring and unloading their cargo.

Beyond the Ferry Port, street vendors hawked their wares. Teahouses, shops, and breakfast stalls of every kind lined the streets in a dazzling display. In the biting winter air, plumes of smoke and steam rose dozens of feet before finally dissipating.

Compared to Anning County, which relied on its Three Major Professions just to get by, this was like heaven and earth.

Jiangyin Prefecture was known as the "Great Xuan Water Control Mansion" and was arguably the foremost Prefecture City under the vassal state of Cangzhou.

The docks alone were incredibly sturdy and spacious, dozens of feet wide and long. Even a Three-refined Martial Artist who could walk like the wind couldn’t stomp a hole through them!

And this was just one of the Eight Docks...

No wonder Anning County could support a hundred thousand households, while Jiangyin Prefecture had several million registered!

Making a living in the prefecture, no matter how difficult,

was still countless times better than being stuck in a rural county.

If a single prefecture was like this,

what about a state... or the capital!?

’No wonder everyone wants to climb higher.’

On the river’s surface,

Ji Xiu, riding on the head of the Flood Dragon, sighed at the sight. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Duan Chenzhou, watching as the Jiangyin Pier, which resembled a torrential beast, drew ever closer...

Just then, Ji Xiu noticed two giant poles on either side of the port, from which a Great Sacrificial Banner dozens of feet high was hoisted. It fluttered high in the sky, and he asked curiously:

"Master, what is that flag...?"

"It’s a custom of the Fishing Trade. To ensure smooth sailing and favorable winds, they make animal sacrifices and raise this great banner year-round."

"Over time, it became both a ’rule’ and the ’face’ of the Fishing Trade."

"Do you see the words ’Fishery Chen Family’ on the flag?"

"Because the authority to perform these rituals is monopolized by the Fishing Trade, it’s a form of prestige."

"Eventually, everyone came to understand who owns the Eight Docks... the Chens!"

Facing the Jiangyin Prefecture he hadn’t seen in over a decade, Duan Chenzhou stood with his hands behind his back, a touch of nostalgia in his voice as he answered his disciple’s question with intimate familiarity.

"I see..."

Ji Xiu’s eyes lit up, and his hands began to itch for action.

"Isn’t this the Chen Family that tried every trick in the book to scheme against you, Master?"

"So, what would happen if I shot that flagpole down?"

He gripped his Broken Jade Great Bow.

Upon hearing this, Duan Chenzhou chuckled.

"In the sixty years since the Fishery Chen Family was established, no one has ever dared to do such a thing."

Ji Xiu raised an eyebrow.

"In that case,"

"I’ll just have to be the first!"

"Aren’t we here to collect a debt? If we don’t make a scene, how are we supposed to draw them out?"

As he spoke, the great bow in his hands snapped taut like a dragon’s sinew. In an instant, an arrow shot forth, piercing the pale dawn sky!

With a single CRACK...

The Fishermen’s Great Sacrificial Banner!

...snapped in two!

This day also marked

the first time Ji Xiu revealed himself in Jiangyin Prefecture, leaving his mark on this great water-bound city!