1: Chapter 1 Yunmeng Marshland, Heaven Rewards Diligence

The mist of Yunmeng Marsh never disperses throughout the year.

At dawn, the cold air over the river is heavy.

This was no ordinary cold air, but the "profound water spiritual mist" mixed with the frigid power from the depths of the water veins.

If a Mortal were to take a single breath of it, they would die from Cold Poison attacking their heart within three days.

Even for Cultivators, if their cultivation was insufficient, staying in such an environment for too long would gradually freeze their Meridians.

A small black-awning boat drifted on the lake's surface.

At the bow stood a thin youth.

The youth's name was Lin Ze, and he had just turned sixteen this year.

At this moment, he was holding his breath and concentrating, his hands tightly gripping a fishing net.

This was no ordinary fishing net, but a "Tier 1 Low Grade Magical Artifact" issued by the Lin Family's Artifact Refining workshop... the Spirit-Binding Net.

"Whoosh..."

Lin Ze suddenly gathered his Qi, and the meager amount of mana in his body surged through his Meridians into his arms.

He exerted power from his waist, and the Spirit-Binding Net spread out with a roar over the lake before quickly sinking into the water.

After completing this set of movements, Lin Ze took a slight breath.

"The Aptitude of this body is truly too poor."

Lin Ze sighed inwardly.

It had been sixteen years since he was reincarnated into this Immortal Realm.

No prominent background, no world-shaking natural phenomena at birth.

He was born into a small Family in Yunmeng Marsh that had just been promoted to the Foundation Establishment Stage... the Linghu Lin Clan.

Even worse was his Aptitude.

Gold, water, wood, and earth—a four-element mixed Spiritual Root.

In the Immortal Realm, this was known as a "Pseudo-Spiritual Root."

This meant that the speed at which he absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was practically slower than a turtle's crawl.

Sixteen years old, and only at the second level of Qi Refinement.

In those great Sects, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to be an outer Sect sweeper.

In the Lin Family, if it weren't for the "precociousness" and stability he had shown since childhood, he probably would have been sent to a Mortal town long ago to spread the Family line.

But Lin Ze was not discouraged.

His eyelids lowered slightly as his consciousness sank into his mind.

A translucent panel that only he could see slowly emerged within his Sea of Consciousness.

[Name: Lin Ze]

[Lifespan: 16/85]

[Cultivation: Qi Refinement Level 2]

[Spiritual Root: Gold, Water, Wood, Earth (Inferior)]

[Cultivation Technique: Azure Wave Art (Major Achievement)]

[Progress: (990/1000)]

[Effect: Long-lasting Mana, Accelerated Qi Recovery]

[Spell: Water Arrow Technique (Perfection)]

[Progress: (Max)]

[Effect: Instant Cast, Penetration]

[Hundred Arts: Spirit Net Technique (Minor Achievement)]

[Progress: (499/500)]

[Effect: Interwoven Net]

Looking at the numbers on the panel that were about to break through, Lin Ze smiled slightly.

Heaven Rewards Diligence.

This was his only trump card for making a living in this cruel Immortal Realm.

No flashy missions, and no need for any Heaven-Defying epiphanies.

As long as he practiced over and over again.

His Cultivation Techniques, Spells, and arts could ignore the shackles of his Spiritual Root and stack up proficiency!

In the common knowledge of the Immortal Realm, a basic Cultivation Technique like the "Azure Wave Art," even for a Genius with a dual Spiritual Root, would at most reach "Minor Achievement." Who would waste time on low-level techniques?

But Lin Ze was different.

His Spiritual Qi absorption was slow?

It didn't matter.

He operated the "Azure Wave Art" day and night, forcefully grinding it to the "Major Achievement" Realm!

A "Major Achievement" level "Azure Wave Art" made the mana in his Dantian a full fifty percent thicker than that of Cultivators of the same level!

Combined with the effect of [Accelerated Qi Recovery], his current endurance was comparable to a Cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refinement.

As for that most basic offensive Spell, the "Water Arrow Technique," he had insanely ground it to "Perfection."

A Perfection-level Spell required no hand seals; it could be cast instantly with a single thought!

"Almost there, just one last time."

Lin Ze took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the towline beneath the water's surface.

Spirit fish in the Immortal Realm were not dead things from mundane rivers.

They breathed Spiritual Qi and possessed immense strength; some naturally fierce spirit fish could even easily smash a Mortal's boat.

To capture them, one had to rely on the exquisite control of the [Spirit Net Technique].

Suddenly, a pulling force came from beneath the water!

"Buzz!"

The towline of the Spirit-Binding Net instantly pulled taut, making a friction sound.

The small black-awning boat jerked violently, and the bow was even pulled down slightly.

"Good heavens, it's a big one!"

A sharp light flashed in Lin Ze's eyes. Not only did he not panic, but he also lowered his waist and settled into a horse stance, his feet nailed to the deck like they had grown roots.

"Pull!"

He gave a low shout, and the Major Achievement level "Azure Wave Art" within him operated frantically.

Mana, like a trickling stream, poured into his arms.

His fingers flew as he cast one seal after another onto the towline.

[Spirit Net Technique] activated!

To an outsider, he just seemed to be pulling and dragging.

But in reality, under the control of his mana, the Spirit-Binding Net beneath the water seemed to have come to life, neutralizing the incredible explosive power of the prey in the net.

Pulling, letting out the line, then pulling again...

Lin Ze engaged in a tug-of-war with the unknown spirit creature underwater.

Cold sweat soaked his inner clothes, but the hands holding the rope did not tremble in the slightest.

Steady as a rock.

After a stalemate that lasted for half an incense stick's time, the power underwater finally showed a hint of decline.

A sharp look flashed in Lin Ze's eyes, and he suddenly exerted force.

"Splash..."

The lake water broke, and a giant net was dragged out of the water.

In the center of the giant net, a spirit fish half the length of a person was struggling desperately.

Every flick of its tail made the Spirit-Binding Net's spiritual light flash wildly.

"Moon Shadow Silver Shuttle!"

Lin Ze's pupils constricted, and his heart couldn't help but thud.

This was an extremely rare Tier 1 Medium Grade spirit fish from the outskirts of Yunmeng Marsh!

Its meat was incredibly delicious, and most importantly, its fish bones were excellent auxiliary materials for refining water-attribute Flying Swords.

This one fish, if brought back alive to the Family market, could be exchanged for at least five Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

The moment the big fish left the water, a buzzing sound came from Lin Ze's mind.

[Ding!]

[Spirit Net Technique Experience +1]

[Hundred Arts: Spirit Net Technique (Minor Achievement) → Breakthrough to (Major Achievement)!]

[Effect Update: Interwoven Net, Toughness, Water Wave Perception (New)]

Boom!

A surge of enlightenment instantly flooded Lin Ze's mind.

His hands, holding the towline, seemed to extend along the Spirit-Binding Net into the lake water.

Within a radius of ten zhang, the movement of the currents and the direction of the undercurrents...

Even every opening and closing of the Moon Shadow Silver Shuttle's gills was outlined in his mind.

Major Achievement level Spirit Net Technique, derived trait: Water Wave Perception.

"What a special trait."

"This is practically equivalent to a small-range Divine Sense probe."

Lin Ze was ecstatic.

In the Immortal Realm, only upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage can a Cultivator give birth to Divine Sense and perform external probing.

Yet, simply by grinding a mundane art to Major Achievement, he had mastered a similar life-saving divine skill in advance.

This feeling of satisfaction was like drinking a large gulp of iced spirit spring water on a scorching summer day, refreshing him from the top of his head to his heels.

So what if his Spiritual Root was poor?

As long as he was given time, this Heavenly Dao panel could forcefully smash out a path to immortality for him.

Lin Ze took a deep breath, suppressing the wild joy in his heart.

He pointed his fingers like a sword, and a small water-blue arrow instantly condensed at his fingertips.

Perfection-level Water Arrow Technique, instant cast!

"Go."

No dazzling light, no startling momentum.

Under the cover of the night, the transparent water arrow shot into the Moon Shadow Silver Shuttle's nervous system with a "puff."

The spirit fish, which had been struggling frantically a second ago, suddenly stiffened and instantly lost its ability to resist, though it still remained alive.

Lin Ze withdrew the Spirit-Binding Net and placed the priceless Moon Shadow Silver Shuttle into the specially made Spirit-Gathering water tank in the cabin.

Looking at the silver body swimming slowly in the water tank, Lin Ze exhaled a breath of turbid air, his tense nerves finally relaxing slightly.

"With this Moon Shadow Silver Shuttle and the Spirit Stones I've saved over these past few months, it should be enough to go to the Family Merit Pavilion and exchange for that 'Spirit Accumulation Pill'."

"As long as I break through to the third level of Qi Refinement, I'll have at least a bit of self-preservation power here on the outskirts of Yunmeng Marsh."

Lin Ze calculated while cleaning the deck.

In this Immortal Realm, "playing it safe" was the primary principle of survival.

A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; especially before his wings were fully grown, he absolutely could not reveal the secret of his Spells reaching Major Achievement.

foreign，He was just a diligent，precocious，But the mediocre fisherman。

Just as Lin Ze was preparing to sail back, taking advantage of the mist to secretly return to the island...

Suddenly!

"Whiz..."

A sharp sound tore through the heavy mist over Yunmeng Marsh.

Lin Ze looked up abruptly.

He saw a flash of fire explode in the clouds, turning into a red lotus!

Even across dozens of miles of water, that surge of spiritual energy still reached Lin Ze's perception.

Red Lotus Shining in the Sky!

This was the highest-level "Family Emergency Summoning Order" of the Linghu Lin Clan!

Any Lin Family member who saw this order, no matter where they were or what they were doing, had to return to the Ancestral Hall Discussion Hall on the Family's main island, "Feiyun Island," within one hour.

Those who disobeyed would be treated as traitors, their souls extracted and refined!

The joy on Lin Ze's face instantly vanished, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"Red Lotus Summoning Order... what major event has happened in the Family?"

The Lin Family's Old Patriarch had only recently risked his life to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Logically, it should be a time when the Family's prestige was soaring and its territory was being stabilized. Why would such an emergency summoning order be suddenly issued?

Thinking of the increasing number of strange Cultivators appearing on the outskirts of Yunmeng Marsh lately...

And the faint roars of great demons coming from the depths of the waters, a premonition of disaster couldn't help but rise in Lin Ze's heart.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

He was still a part of the Lin Family, after all, and enjoyed its protection.

Once the big tree of the Family fell, a small Cultivator like him at the second level of Qi Refinement would definitely not survive more than three days in this man-eating Immortal Realm.

"It seems that the days of peacefully farming and fishing are coming to a temporary end."

Lin Ze's gaze darkened as he quickly used several Talismans to seal the water tank, masking the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Moon Shadow Silver Shuttle.

Then, he gripped the oars with both hands, and his Major Achievement level "Azure Wave Art" mana poured into them.

"Swoosh..."

The small black-awning boat sped toward the Family's main island, leaving a white wake on the river's surface.