Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Xu Hao lay prone in the shadows of the roof ridge, squinting as he gazed into the distance.

On the sea, the giant ships of the Astronomical Bureau lined up in a row, with iron chains across the river, blocking the entire outlet to the sea for Luoxia Town.

"With this kind of situation, even a fish with eggs would be squeezed out of the water if it tried to swim out." Xu Hao spat, turned around, jumped off the roof, pressed down on Chen Yuanzhi's head, and pushed him back into the dry well in the yard that reeked of decay and stench.

"Not leaving?" Chen Yuanzhi was about to peek out when Xu Hao kicked him down.

"There are eyes everywhere outside, go down." Xu Hao casually closed the door to the secret room, and darkness instantly enveloped it.

The most dangerous place is often the safest.

The officials of the Observatory were so angry they wanted to scrape the ground three feet deep, never imagining that two wanted criminals would be hiding at the scene of a crime where a courtyard had just been emptied, and even huddled in a dry well.

The well was a sealed chamber, filled with a musty smell.

The image in my mind trembled slightly.

[Currently in a blessed land: Sunset Fish Market (Dilapidated)]

[Gain temporary buffs: Aura Concealment (weak), Comprehension Enhancement (weak)]

"So what if it's weak? Even a mosquito is still meat." Xu Hao muttered, taking out a dark red blood crystal he had stolen from the Canal Gang from his pocket. He didn't care about the cost and just held it in his palm.

As the blood crystals entered the body, a scalding heat instantly washed over the limbs and bones.

Instead of practicing his boxing, Xu Hao stepped on a few broken wooden planks thrown down from above and began practicing the newly acquired "Surging Waves Step" in this cramped space.

This footwork emphasizes "using the momentum of the waves." It's awkward to practice on flat ground, but Xu Hao has the blessing of the blessed land in his mind. When the wooden board under his feet wobbles, his body tilts to the side. It seems like he's about to fall, but just before he falls, he uses the momentum to dodge and move.

Chen Yuanzhi huddled in the corner, staring intently at the nautical chart in his hand and the "Turtle Breathing Technique" that Xu Hao had thrown to him, by the light of the lit oil lamp.

This young master was also forced into a corner. He knew that if he dragged Xu Hao down at this moment, Xu Hao would definitely throw him out to take the blow without hesitation.

After an unknown amount of time, a dull thud of footsteps suddenly came from above.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The sound of the armored vehicle hitting the ground stopped right next to the wellhead.

Chen Yuanzhi turned his head and blew out the oil lamp. Xu Hao reacted quickly, poking a finger into a major acupoint on his chest. The two of them simultaneously activated the "Turtle Breathing Technique," instantly suppressing their heart rate and breathing to the extreme, looking like two dried corpses stuck to the wall.

"Has this well been checked?" came the captain's rough voice from above.

"It smells like rotten salted fish, it's giving me a headache," another voice cursed. "I threw a stone in just now, and nothing happened."

"Better safe than sorry."

With a loud "clang".

A streak of fire shot down through the crack, only to be extinguished mid-air, leaving behind a burnt smell.

"Alright, if anyone were hiding down there, they'd be suffocated by the stench. Let's go to the next one!"

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Only then did Chen Yuanzhi dare to breathe heavily, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

Xu Hao opened his eyes, his gaze sharp yet restrained.

After a night of arduous practice, I've finally grasped the basics of "Wave Steps." While I can't actually walk on the waves, it's enough to keep me alive in the water.

"It's almost dawn, the time when people are most sleepy." Xu Hao stood up, dusted off his backside, and said, "Young Master, it's time to get going."

The two climbed out of the dry well. Xu Hao pulled out a few relatively clean clothes from the pile of corpses and changed into them. He then grabbed a kerosene can from the corner of the wall and poured it over the pile of corpses and rotten wood.

"You're going to burn this down?" Chen Yuanzhi asked in astonishment.

"How can we attract the attention of the Observatory if we don't burn it?" Xu Hao lit a tinderbox and tossed it aside casually. "This is called a 'farewell fire'."

boom--!

The flames shot up three zhang high, and with a gust of dry sea wind, the entire fish market instantly turned into a giant torch.

"Fire! Fire!"

The town's night watchman banged on his broken gong and shouted wildly. The soldiers from the Observatory who were originally guarding the dock were startled by the towering flames and rushed over.

Taking advantage of the thick smoke, Xu Hao dragged Chen Yuanzhi along the opposite path, crouching low and disappearing into the shadows of the cargo piled up at the dock.

The dock was empty at this time, with only the loud sound of waves crashing against the shore.

Xu Hao took out a broken "water-repelling bead" and put it in his mouth, a cool sensation rushing straight to his lungs.

He turned to look at Chen Yuanzhi, holding a familiar bone nail in his hand.

Chen Yuanzhi gave a wry smile, skillfully turned around, and exposed his neck: "Be gentle."

"Bear with it."

puff.

The bone nail pierced his flesh, and Chen Yuanzhi's body went limp, instantly losing his breath.

Xu Hao used a rope to firmly tie the "corpse" to his back.

"If Wei the eunuch knew that I was treating you like a dead pig, he'd probably be so angry he'd vomit blood."

Xu Hao grinned, then leaped into the icy seawater like a big fish.

puff.

There was no resistance as expected upon entering the water.

The water-repelling bead in its mouth emits a cool breeze, filtering out the oxygen from the seawater.

Xu Hao's legs moved in the water as if they had grown webbed feet. With each kick, his body shot out several meters away like an arrow.

This is the beauty of "Walking on the Waves": on land, it's about using the opponent's force against them; in water, it's about turning resistance into propulsion.

The underwater world was pitch black, with only the firelight overhead flickering in the seawater like fiery serpents ready to devour anyone who might approach.

Xu Hao dared not be careless, and the listening talisman on his chest felt slightly warm.

Ten feet ahead, the water flow was unusually turbulent.

someone!

It belongs to the Bureau of Astronomy.

Xu Hao froze, then sank down onto the barnacle-covered rocks like a stone.

Several dark figures dressed in fish-skin aquatic suits and wielding water-splitting darts swam over his head, stirring up the seaweed with the water they created.

After the others had swum far away, Xu Hao, like a slippery fish, clung to the silt on the seabed, dragging the "corpse" on his back, and silently swam towards the darkness of the deep sea.

However, after swimming less than two miles, a huge iron net stretched out in front of them, completely blocking the bay's exit. The net was covered with copper bells; the slightest touch would turn anyone into a sitting duck.

Xu Hao stopped behind the reef, his brows furrowed.

Just then, the Listening Talisman suddenly became scalding hot, and a dull, low-frequency vibration came from the deep sea, making my eardrums ache.

This is……?

Xu Hao recalled the description in "The Customs of the Nine Provinces"—that the seas of Shengzhou were home to many strange beasts, who were bloodthirsty as they were.

A lot of people were killed in town just now, and the blood flowed into the sea through the ditches, attracting this thing.

A hint of madness flashed in Xu Hao's eyes.

Instead of dodging, he drew a boning knife from his waist and slashed his left arm.

Blood gushed out instantly, spreading into a red mist in the seawater.

Xu Hao activated the "Overturning River Force," unleashing a spiraling force from his palm to send the thick, pungent smell of blood towards the deep sea. He then quickly pulled Chen Yuanzhi into the deepest crevice of the seabed.

One breath, two breaths...

boom!

A massive black shadow, like a ghost from the deep sea, burst through the darkness with terrifying water pressure.

It was a giant ironback shark, over ten zhang long, with scales like iron armor all over its body. Driven mad by the smell of blood, it didn't take the iron net in front of it seriously at all, and crashed into it like a runaway chariot.

collapse!

The iron chain snapped like noodles under the immense force, and the copper bell hanging on it was smashed into a disc before it could even ring.

The two warships carrying the trawl nets were pulled violently to one side by the force, almost capsizing, and the officers and soldiers of the Astronomical Bureau fell into the water like dumplings.

The sea surface instantly descended into chaos, with screams and cries for help rising and falling.

Ironback sharks charged into the crowd, turning the buffet into a free-for-all.

Thanks.

Xu Hao silently recited a phrase in his mind, and taking advantage of the chaos, he carried Chen Yuanzhi on his back and slipped out through the hole torn in the iron net like an eel.