People bustled to and fro along the docks, where numerous large crates packed with cargo waited for laborers to haul them ashore. The sheer scale of the port handling trade alone provided work for thousands upon thousands of porters, showing just how prosperous the commerce of Zhanhai City truly was.
Lu Changsheng gazed at the massive ships moored by the pier. Stepping forward, he asked one of the crews, "Are you heading out to sea?"
"Aye, we're setting sail to return to the Tuo Country."
"The Tuo Country?"
Over the past few days, Lu Changsheng had learned a bit about these foreign merchants; they hailed from many distant lands.
The Tuo Country was one of them. Supposedly, it lay extraordinarily far away—well over ten thousand li. Even by sea, the voyage might take a year or two, and there was still no guarantee they would make it back safely.
That would take far too long; Lu Changsheng had no intention of going to the Tuo Country.
He continued inquiring at several other vessels, but most of the foreign merchants were returning to their native countries, all of which were exceedingly remote.
A round trip would take at least a year or two, or perhaps even three or four.
As for chartering a large vessel belonging to a foreign merchant, that was entirely out of the question. Taking a ship of that size to sea required immense manpower and resources; a few thousand taels of silver would never suffice.
"Hurry, hurry! Load all the cargo onto the ship, we're about to set sail!"
"A voyage to Fire Dragon Island will take at least ten days to half a month there and back."
"Aye, it's spice-harvest season on Fire Dragon Island right now. Bringing back a haul of their spices will fetch a handsome price—they're in huge demand."
Sailors on an adjacent pier were chatting among themselves.
Among them were both foreign merchants and locals from Zhanhai City.
Lu Changsheng's heart stirred. He had heard of Fire Dragon Island; it was a large island not far from Zhanhai City.
Though called an island, it was in fact massive and home to the Fire Dragon Country, renowned for its rich production of spices.
Ten days to half a month suited Lu Changsheng's requirements perfectly.
And so, Lu Changsheng walked straight toward the vessel, preparing to board, but someone stepped in to bar his path.
"I wish to board your ship and travel with you to the Fire Dragon Country, then return to Zhanhai City."
"You?"
The ones stopping Lu Changsheng were two foreign merchants.
They looked him up and down before shaking their heads. "No. This vessel belongs to our Ocean Commerce Guild. Idle outsiders are not permitted aboard."
"I can pay in silver."
Lu Changsheng directly produced a banknote for one hundred taels.
"This..."
The two exchanged glances, visibly tempted.
One hundred taels of silver was no small sum.
"No. Idle outsiders are not allowed on board."
Just then, a voice speaking in heavily accented official speech came from behind Lu Changsheng.
Behind him, a foreign merchant leading a cold-faced woman in black strode straight toward the ship.
"Young Master Longsha."
The two foreign merchants hastily bowed in greeting.
Longsha said coldly, "Did you two hear clearly? No idle outsiders may board."
"Beautiful Miss Yun, please, after you."
Turning toward the woman in black, Longsha instantly replaced his sternness with a flattering smile.
The two foreign merchants pulled long faces and shook their heads. "You see how it is. Young Master Longsha forbids outsiders from boarding. Even with silver, we cannot let you on."
"Longsha?"
Lu Changsheng cast a glance at Longsha and the woman in black, then turned to leave without another word.
Even without this vessel, he was sure other large ships would be bound for Fire Dragon Island.
Yet just as he turned around, he caught sight of a familiar foreign woman.
"Benefactor!"
Sophie was overjoyed. The benefactor she had spent all of last night thinking about had appeared right before her eyes again!
Lu Changsheng naturally recognized her.
Seeing that she seemed to be heading toward the ship, he asked, "Can you board this ship?"
"Board? Why, yes! This is a merchant vessel belonging to our Ocean Commerce Guild. I'm planning to go check out the Fire Dragon Country."
Sophie nodded.
"I wish to board, but that Longsha stopped me. Can you take me on board?"
"Of course you can board, Benefactor! That fool Longsha almost offended my benefactor. Don't worry, Longsha is my cousin, but I am the guild master's daughter. Whether you can board isn't up to him!"
Sophie patted her chest, speaking with total confidence.
Lu Changsheng said nothing more. As long as he could board, that was all that mattered.
He followed her up the gangplank, and the two foreign merchants dared not lift a finger to stop him.
Once aboard, Lu Changsheng learned that the foreign woman he had rescued the night before was indeed a person of considerable status. As the daughter of the guild master of the Ocean Commerce Guild, a syndicate commanding dozens of ocean-going vessels, her family held tremendous influence among the foreign merchants.
Sophie somehow even managed to make Longsha come and apologize to Lu Changsheng in person.
Before long, the great ship set sail, slowly pulling away from the docks and heading into the boundless ocean.
Lu Changsheng stood on the deck, looking out over the endless waters before him.
This was his first time traveling by ship out onto the open sea.
The vessel had seemed massive at port, yet set against the vast, boundless ocean, it was reduced to a mere drop in the sea, insignificant and small.
Lu Changsheng watched the calm waters quietly. There were no winds or billows yet, so he did not attempt to comprehend any martial conception.
Still, they were a long way from Fire Dragon Island; encountering wind and waves was only a matter of time. Lu Changsheng was in no hurry.
Just then, the woman in black who had accompanied Longsha walked out onto the deck.
Glancing at Lu Changsheng, she took the initiative to speak: "You have crossed Longsha. He is very vindictive; you had better be careful."
"You aren't one of Longsha's people?"
Lu Changsheng looked at her, mildly surprised.
Longsha had personally escorted her aboard, but from the looks of it, she and Longsha were not on the same path.
"I want to go to Fire Dragon Island, and Longsha harbors his own petty designs. I am simply playing along with them," the woman in black said casually.
Lu Changsheng understood at once.
She was not one of Longsha's subordinates.
In fact, she was merely using Longsha. She knew he coveted her, yet felt not the slightest apprehension, which meant she had either powerful backing or absolute confidence in her own ability.
"Why tell me this?" Lu Changsheng asked.
They were strangers who had met by chance, with no past interactions, yet she had come out of her way to warn him.
In the jianghu, unprompted favors were rarely a good sign.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Without explaining further, she turned and walked away.
Lu Changsheng fell into thought.
In truth, he did not care in the least whether Longsha was vindictive.
If Longsha made a move, he would simply kill him.
Such was the identity of "Dao Twelve"—free to act as he pleased, following only his true desires, unbound by anyone or any rules.
Previously, both the persona of "Zhuang Thirteen" and his true identity as "Lu Changsheng" had been constrained by layer upon layer of rules.
Zhuang Thirteen had been crafted as a great hero—righteous, noble, and hating evil like a mortal enemy. There were many things he could not do, lest they tarnish his heroic reputation.
As for "Lu Changsheng," though it was his real name, his persona was merely that of a modestly reputed physician of Miaoshou Garden who sought only to heal the sick and live peacefully.
There were many things "Lu Changsheng" could not conveniently do, or was not permitted to do at all.
Only "Dao Twelve" acted entirely at will, doing whatever he pleased, guided solely by his heart, with no taboos whatsoever!
It granted Lu Changsheng's spirit an unprecedented sense of ease and release.
Perhaps living as "Dao Twelve" was the kind of life Lu Changsheng truly sought.
The scenery of the open ocean seemed magnificent at first glance, but in truth, it was monotonous and dull.
No matter how long or how far they sailed, the seascape remained entirely unchanged, offering nothing new to look at.
Eventually even Lu Changsheng grew weary of it and simply stayed in his cabin, waiting quietly.
Sophie often came by to shower him with attention.
Lu Changsheng understood her intentions; these foreign women were quite forward when it came to romantic pursuits. However, Lu Changsheng had no interest in foreign women and rebuffed her both implicitly and explicitly.
Gradually growing discouraged, Sophie stopped coming around to court his favor.
One day, Lu Changsheng emerged from his cabin and stood on the deck once more.
He spotted the woman in black again. Over the past few days, he had learned her name: Yun Haitang.
Whether it was an alias or not, he could not tell.
Both stood on the deck without saying a word, quietly gazing at the sea.
*Rumble!*
Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared as dark clouds covered the sky.
The ship's sails began to flap violently in the wind.
"The wind is picking up! A storm might be coming—drop the sails, quick!"
Shouts immediately rang out across the ship.
Though the crew were all seasoned sailors, encountering a tempest on the open ocean was never good news.
A storm meant fierce winds and surging waves.
"The wind is rising?"
Lu Changsheng felt entirely the opposite.
Feeling the raging gale and watching the thunder and lightning tear across the sky, his heart filled with pure joy.
Where there were howling gales, there would be monstrous waves.
Had he not journeyed out to the open ocean precisely to comprehend the martial conception of Triple Waves?
To comprehend that martial conception, the best method was to personally experience the wild fury of winds and billows, feeling the ocean's most magnificent surges firsthand.
Just then, a colossal wave crashed against the ship, setting the entire vessel rocking violently.
Many people stumbled and lost their footing, scrambling in haste back into the cabins.
Yun Haitang drew a whip from who knew where and lashed it firmly around the mast, barely maintaining her balance.
Yet Lu Changsheng still stood upon the deck, utterly motionless.
No matter how violently the vessel pitched and rolled, Lu Changsheng remained rooted as a mountain, as if his feet were anchored into the deck.
*How is that possible?*
A flicker of astonishment crossed Yun Haitang's face.
Even for a martial artist, no matter how abundant their qi and blood or how solid their stance, when a ship heaved like this, it was impossible to remain unaffected; one would inevitably have to grasp or hold onto something to keep from tumbling over.
Yet Lu Changsheng found nothing surprising about it.
Almost any martial artist in the Divine Strength Realm could accomplish as much.
In the Divine Strength Realm, a martial artist's consciousness fused with every inch of their flesh and blood, allowing them to control their physical body at will.
To them, "taking root" was not difficult in the least.
It was merely a matter of firmly adhering to the deck.
Lu Changsheng had done just that. Though still wearing boots, he had already exerted force to pierce through the soles, his flesh acting like suction cups that gripped the deck securely. No matter how wild the waves, he would not fall.
In fact, even without relying on the abilities of the Divine Strength Realm, Lu Changsheng could have turned his qi and blood into silken threads, extending them like tendrils to anchor himself.
However, he was currently assuming the identity of "Dao Twelve" and did not wish to expose even the slightest ability reminiscent of Zhuang Thirteen to avoid arousing suspicion.
And so, Lu Changsheng simply stood in the middle of the deck, quietly taking in the winds and the waves.
*Rumble!*
Thunder rolled across the heavens.
Immediately following, a torrential downpour cascaded from above like sheets of water.
Such was the sea: tempests struck without warning.
Another great swell surged forward, violently jolting the ship, and whitecaps crashed directly over the deck.
The deluge of seawater crashed head-on over Lu Changsheng. His whole body shuddered, and the sensation grew ever more potent.
*Not enough! Not enough! These waves still aren't fierce enough—greater, give me greater!*
Lu Changsheng yearned for even mightier surges.
The gale howled, and mountainous billows rolled onward, each cresting higher than the last.
Lu Changsheng felt like a reef amidst the breakers, enduring the endless pounding of the tide.
Yet he was standing on the deck; most of the momentum striking him was absorbed by the ship itself, ultimately leaving him feeling unsatisfied.
Lu Changsheng gazed at the colossal swells in the open water.
That was the power of heaven and earth.
Before such majestic might of nature, man was utterly minuscule.
Even this grand ship was equally insignificant.
*Without experiencing it firsthand, how can I truly comprehend the martial conception?*
*Remaining aboard the ship keeps me separated by a barrier; I cannot truly feel the majesty of the billows.*
*If that's the case...*
Lu Changsheng made up his mind. Watching the roiling waves in the distance, his eyes blazed with intense fervor.
"Go!"
Lu Changsheng leaped.
*Whoosh!*
Soaring high off the deck in an instant, he plummeted straight into the churning sea.
"What is he doing?!"
Yun Haitang could hardly believe her eyes.
What had she just witnessed?
Dao Twelve had jumped into the ocean of his own accord!
In such monstrous winds and waves, diving into the sea was sheer suicide!
And yet, nothing about Dao Twelve suggested a man seeking death.
Yun Haitang struggled over to the railing and peered down, but saw nothing at all.
There were only surging, roaring breakers rolling forward in an endless torrent.
Dao Twelve was most likely dead.
"What a pity..."
Yun Haitang shook her head. Using her soft whip to keep tethered to the ship, she made her way step by step back toward the cabins.
If she lingered any longer, a rogue wave might sweep her into the sea as well.
At this moment, Lu Changsheng had plunged into the ocean.
However, he had not strayed far from the ship.
His hand remained pressed against the hull as wave after wave slammed into his body.
Out in the open sea, confronting the breakers directly, the concussive force crashing against him was several times more ferocious than on deck.
Moreover, the surges hit one after another without pause, leaving no room to breathe.
Had Lu Changsheng not been a martial artist of the Divine Strength Realm, he would have been swept away long ago.
*These are true ocean waves!*
*The true essence of Triple Waves... so this is what it means!*
Faintly, Lu Changsheng felt Triple Waves reach absolute perfection.
*Triple Waves perfected, comprehension +15.*
A line of small characters surfaced before Lu Changsheng's eyes.
Unfortunately, Lu Changsheng was already immersed in a wondrous state of enlightenment and failed to notice the prompt.
Originally, Lu Changsheng had traveled out to the open ocean solely to comprehend the martial conception and bring Triple Waves to perfection.
Yet now, surrounded by the raging sea, he faintly sensed that the perfection of Triple Waves was not the entirety of this martial conception.
With his comprehension sitting at a staggering 800 points, he was plunged deep into a marvelous comprehension.
This state of insight was known as sudden enlightenment!
Chapter 88