Chapter 579: Fishing Season (Please Subscribe)

"Spending nearly twenty years for the Qi Refining Early Stage... and there are still the Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Great Perfection realms ahead..."

Aaron did some quick mental math: "This doesn't even account for bottleneck issues, and subsequent cultivation will inevitably consume even more time. Calculating it this way... conservatively estimated, I would need at least over a hundred years just to barely cultivate to the tenth level of the Qi Refining stage?"

This progress was clearly not right; after all, Aaron possessed Three Spirit Roots, which was considered average among Immortal Cultivators.

If those with average aptitude were this desperate, then how many could reach Foundation Establishment?

"Spirit Qi environment, medicinal pills, guidance from elders, special techniques... No wonder even Loose Cultivators must head to the Immortal Cultivation World instead of muddling through the mortal realm; they simply can't afford the time! As long as they still want to advance their Dharma Power or even reach Foundation Establishment, they must flock to the Immortal Cultivation World! They have to actively join the rat race!"

Aaron thought for a moment and realized where he was falling short.

"But it's fine... I can just be a slacker, a hundred years or so is fine... It's just a pity that the 'Hunyuan Art' only has the first six layers. In a few decades, I will still have to try to make contact with the Immortal Cultivation World!"

As for fishing, zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, these were things that slowly increased during leisure and entertainment.

"Reaching perfection in proficiency means my skill has reached Chushen Ruohua, but it doesn't mean I am the number one person in the world."

"For instance, in fishing, zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and arts, there are certainly people in the world more skilled than me... but have I reached my own limit?"

He silently gazed at the nearby Taize Lake, deep in thought: 'Above Transforming Strength... Qinglong Laoda... The Red Blood Carp King is a Spirit Fish. Perhaps, relying on the power of the Carp King, I too can touch the realm of Refining Spirit and lead the Liu Family to become the number one family in the Lin Kingdom!'

What he truly cared about were cultivation techniques and spells!

Regarding the Golden Finger he had conjured for himself, Aaron felt that although the function to add points had been a letdown, the value of displaying proficiency was quite satisfactory.

Only there would he switch to using the highly energy-consuming Iron Leaf Boat to travel from above the clouds toward Taize Prefecture City, perfectly avoiding the wharf.

【Spells: Spirit Eye Technique (77/100), Wind Control Technique (82/100), Golden Light Shield (90/100), Fireball Technique (100/100)】

He didn't even care much about martial arts anymore.

Then, a fierce flash of flame erupted, and that towering tree turned to ash...

Aaron glanced at his attribute panel:

【Skills: Fishing (100/100), Sea Gathering Residual Art (4/5), Disguise Technique (100/100), Bone Shrinking Technique (49/100), Medicine (100/100), Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting (100/100)】

【Name: Fang Yu (Aaron)】

After all, he only had this one offensive spell on hand, so naturally, he had to practice it wholeheartedly, spending more time on it than on other spells.

This day.

"This Bone Shrinking Technique... it looks truly unsightly. Unfortunately, without using medicinal baths for Bone Tempering since childhood, I've hit a bottleneck, and that's that..."

Two and a half years later, he finally cultivated the fourth layer of the 'Hunyuan Art' to perfection and proceeded to attempt a breakthrough.

Sanshui Wharf.

Aaron spent ten years, yet still hadn't reached perfection...

He rapidly recited a few notes, and with a 'Boom—', a ball of flame appeared in his palm.

"After all, the attribute panel is still based on my own cognition..."

【Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Fist Third Layer (1000/1000)】

And the cultivation of the fifth layer was even more difficult than the fourth.

Liu Tong was a genius martial artist of the Liu Family. At only thirty-something, he had already achieved Great Success in 'Iron Shirt Fist'. He was handsome, dashing, and extraordinary, looking like a young master in his twenties.

"Even if I grind the proficiency of 'Fireball Technique' to perfection, I still can't cast it instantly..."

"This rate of decay is a bit fast. I wonder how the cultivation progress of the Qi Refining Late Stage will go... The mathematical model I built earlier might have some errors; will it take nearly two hundred years to reach Qi Refining Perfection?"

The 'Crab Gang' that ruled Sanshui Wharf had also been subdued by the Liu Family and renamed the 'Hengxing Gang', their arrogance even more rampant than before.

"However, spending over twenty years of bitter cultivation on a few low-level spells... even Immortal Cultivators aren't as idle as me, right?"

The mathematical model Aaron built himself was actually quite accurate.

The leader of the Hengxing Gang, Zhao Zhangtian, served him on the side with a fawning smile: "Head of the Family, look... these are all Red Blood Carp. With fishermen catching them one after another, I'm afraid... the Carp King has emerged!"

In reality, Aaron no longer cared much about these ordinary skills.

That the Fireball Technique was the first to reach perfection was something Aaron had done intentionally.

Aaron patted his own face, which was even smoother and fairer, like fine jade, shrugged his shoulders, and looked at the other spell and skill panels.

【Realm: Qi Refining Fourth Layer】

The Transforming Strength Master of the Liu Family, 'Liu Tong', was standing in front of several fish baskets.

"... Judging from Lin Tuizhi, ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivators only have the lifespan of an ordinary person... I'm afraid they would have died of old age long ago, right?"

【Talent: Immortality】

Hmm, a new Flower Courtesan is debuting today; I can't miss it...

At this moment, a smile appeared on his face: "You've handled this matter well. Immediately control the other fishermen and their families to go into the water and catch the Carp King! This time... this Carp King must be obtained by my Liu Family!"

"As for the research on the Spirit Eye Technique, I've looked in the mirror many times and observed passersby... confirming that this type of detection spell simply cannot see through a person's age at a glance. I can be a little more at ease when meeting other Immortal Cultivators in the future."

In these few decades, Taize Prefecture City had gone through several upheavals. The Zhang and Li families, which had originally risen to power, had declined. Instead, a branch of the 'Liu Family' that had once split off produced a Transforming Strength Martial Master who successfully fought his way back, once again becoming a renowned family in Taize Prefecture!

The talent of Immortality was Aaron's greatest secret, and he had to guard it with his life.

【Age: 124】

The emergence of Immortal Cultivators, much like guns and cannons, had directly rendered the backward martial arts obsolete...

After practicing his spells, Aaron steered his small boat toward another deserted island near Taize Prefecture City.

Even if one were a Spirit Refining Martial Artist, so what? If a fireball hits, one still dies!

For example, the cultivation progress of the 'Hunyuan Art' was completely quantified.

Aaron walked out of his Cave Abode and came to a forest on the deserted island.

"Eight years to reach 312. Converting that, under the previous standards and Spirit Qi environment, I could fully complete the fourth layer in about ten and a quarter years. That is to say, it will take another two and a half years to cultivate to Qi Refining Fourth Layer Perfection!"

"So desperate... there is no hope for immortality!"

——'Fireball Technique'!

Aaron flicked his finger, and a small Fireball flew out, landing precisely upon an ancient tree.

"Compared to the Fireball Technique at the entry level, the perfected level only has a few percent more power and a slightly faster casting speed; that is all. It cannot be cast instantly, nor can the incantations be modified..."

Several months later, he successfully stepped into the realm of the fifth level of the cultivation art.

【Cultivation Art: Hunyuan Art Fourth Level (312/400)】

"Heh... what use was it for the Cao Family, which stood equal to my Liu Family a hundred years ago, to sell the Fish King? In the end, were they not still wiped out? Good things should be enjoyed by oneself!"

(End of this chapter)