Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Inside the old hag's main cabin, a strong smell of perfume mixed with the fishy smell of the sea was so strong it gave one a headache.

Xu Hao stood alone in front of a carved mahogany bed and tapped on the bed board.

The sound was muffled, as if there were hidden layers inside.

Logically, at this point, he should have carefully investigated the mechanism, but Xu Hao found it troublesome, so he used his "Overturning River Force" and slapped Xu Hao across the face.

"boom!"

The precious mahogany bed board was shattered into pieces, and amidst the flying wood chips, a hidden compartment made of cast black iron was revealed.

"Yeah, having a lot of strength is really useful."

Xu Hao blew the dust off his hands and reached into the hidden compartment, pulling out all the contents at once.

The first thing I got was a heavy deerskin bag. When I opened it, the red light almost blinded me.

The six blood crystals, each the size of a fingernail, were a lustrous, translucent red. Compared to the impurities in the dye shop they had previously snatched, the dye shop's items were mere scraps.

"That old hag has amassed quite a fortune." Xu Hao grinned, picked up a pill, and felt the surging energy within it, his smile stretching to his ears.

With these, breaking through to the Yi Jin Jing realm is just a matter of the next day or two.

Next came a yellowed sheepskin map – the "Shengzhou Sea Chart".

nice one!

The map is densely marked with the hydrographic reefs in the Shengzhou sea area, and the territories of the "Three Alliances and Twelve Bandits" are circled with cinnabar. Even several black market supply points known only to veteran sea wolves are clearly marked.

Beneath the scroll was a plaque that was neither gold nor wood, engraved with "Blood-stained Clothes, Yellow No. 7".

Xu Hao raised an eyebrow. Blood-Clad Tower?

There was also a portrait under the token. The painting was quite good, capturing Chen Yuanzhi's previous scholarly air perfectly.

The annotation beside it, written in vermilion ink, reads: "A reward of five thousand taels of gold."

"Tsk, the second-in-command is quite valuable." Xu Hao turned around, kicked open the door, and shouted towards the deck, "Second brother, come in and divide the spoils."

When Chen Yuanzhi came in, there were still a few drops of seawater on his face, clearly he was getting used to his new identity as "Zhenhai's Second-in-Command".

"Take a look at this." Xu Hao tossed him the token and the portrait.

Upon receiving the portrait, he saw that it depicted his fair and clean face before he suffered.

"Five thousand taels..." Chen Yuanzhi rubbed his temples.

"This is a big problem."

"How big? Big enough to sink a ship?" Xu Hao asked casually.

"The Blood-Clad Tower is divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Although the Yellow rank is the outermost spies, on this sea, wherever there are ships, there are messages." Chen Yuanzhi slammed the iron plaque on the table, making a crisp sound. "People like the Ghost Granny are the Blood-Clad Tower's eyes and ears scattered across the sea. Once the eyes and ears are broken, it won't be long before the higher-ups send people to investigate."

Upon hearing this, Xu Hao tossed the ledger from his arms to him, saying, "Let me add some more to the stakes. Look, we're in deep trouble now."

Chen Yuanzhi flipped through several pages of the account book, his expression growing increasingly grim.

This old hag turned out to be a fence-sitter.

Every transaction in the ledger was recorded clearly: on the fifth of each month, 30% of the passage fee was paid to the patrol yaksha of the "Blood Corpse Alliance"; on the tenth of each month, the intelligence on passing merchant ships and the list of easy targets were sent to the branch of the Blood Robe Tower via carrier pigeon.

"This ship is registered." Chen Yuanzhi closed the ledger, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. "With the death of the old hag, the monthly payments stopped, and the intelligence disappeared. In the eyes of the Blood Corpse Alliance, we are unregistered debtors; in the eyes of the Blood Robe Tower, we are the murderers who killed their informants."

"So we've offended both sides now?" Xu Hao sat on the pile of wood scraps, tapping his knee with his fingers.

"Pretty much. The Three Alliances and Twelve Bandits have this sea completely under their control. Wild pirates like us are either swallowed up or fed to the fish." Chen Yuanzhi spread out the sea chart and traced a few lines on it with his finger. "If you want to survive, there's only one way."

His finger traced a winding red line on the nautical chart, avoiding the Bone Bay of the Blood Corpse Alliance and the trade routes controlled by the Carefree Alliance.

"This is our destination, Ice Harbor." Chen Yuanzhi pointed to a point in the southeast corner of Mingzhou. "We have to pass through the territory of the Zhenhai Alliance. The Zhenhai Alliance follows the rules; as long as you don't cause trouble, you can usually pass by paying a toll. Once we reach Ice Harbor, we won't be far from the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion."

Xu Hao stared at the nautical chart for a long time: "Okay, but this road is difficult to navigate, and we lack a good helmsman. Among the people outside, who has that skill?"

"I'll go ask."

Before long, a group of people gathered on the deck.

Xu Hao stood on high ground, his gaze sweeping over the newly recruited ragtag army.

"Who can steer a boat? Someone who can navigate through a group of reefs with their eyes closed without crashing."

A commotion arose in the crowd as a burly man with calloused hands pushed through the throng and stepped forward.

He was shirtless, with a wild bull riding the waves tattooed on his back, making him look nothing like an ordinary sailor.

"I will." The man's voice was loud, but his eyes were somewhat evasive.

Xu Hao sized him up: "What's your name? Show me what you've got."

Without wasting words, the man walked to the side of the ship, listened to the sound of the wind and waves, then leaned over the deck to listen to the underwater sounds. He stood up and said, "There is an undercurrent three miles ahead. Turn left three quarters of an hour. The draft is deep, so we must avoid it."

Xu Hao looked at Chen Yuanzhi, who nodded in surprise as he looked at the nautical chart. The chart did indeed indicate that there were undercurrents and whirlpools ahead.

"You've got some skills." Xu Hao became interested. "What's your name?"

"Luo Meng." The man hesitated for a moment, then suddenly knelt on one knee. "Boss, I have something I want to say to you privately."

Xu Hao waved his hand, signaling the others to disperse.

Luo Meng gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "I am the vice leader of the Mad Wave Gang, which ranks ninth among the Twelve Bandits. I have long since mastered the skill of discerning the wind and waves."

"The vice-leader of the Wild Waves Gang has run off to this black ship to be a slave?" Xu Hao asked with a half-smile. "Did he get into trouble?"

"Lang Fantian is a beast. He wanted to give my sister to Ao Zheng of the Blood Corpse Alliance as a concubine in exchange for the alliance's membership." Veins bulged on Luo Meng's forehead, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "I ran away with my sister, but we were caught halfway. To distract the pursuers, my sister separated from me. She knows how to disguise herself, and we agreed to meet on Red Snail Island."

He kowtowed sharply: "Boss, if you're willing to protect me and help me find my sister, my life is yours! There's no wave in this sea that I, Luo Meng, can't overcome!"

Xu Hao stroked his chin, weighing the pros and cons. The Wild Waves Gang was one of the Twelve Outlaws; if Luo Meng truly possessed the abilities of a vice-gang leader, they had really struck gold.

As for offending people? Well, we're already so used to it that we're not bothered by the many lice we have.

"I'm going to Ice Harbor, it's on my way." Xu Hao took out a low-grade blood crystal from his pocket and casually tossed it over. "Eat this to restore your strength. Now that you're on my ship, as long as your sister isn't dead, I'll take you to find her."

Luo Meng caught the blood crystal, his hands trembling.

This thing is a rare item even in the Wild Waves Gang. Only those who have made great contributions can get one, but the new leader just casually gave one away.

"Thank you, Boss!" Luo Meng swallowed the blood crystal in one gulp, his eyes red-rimmed.

Xu Hao turned around, his voice rising several octaves: "From now on, Luo Meng is the helmsman of this ship. Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be thrown overboard to feed the sharks!"

The bandits in the distance stared wide-eyed at Luo Meng's radiant face.

Following this guy, not only will we get to eat meat, but we'll also get blood crystals? This isn't just a pirate captain, he's practically a living bodhisattva!

"Zhenyuan, weigh anchor!"

Luo Meng roared and took the helm himself.

The huge black sails were filled with wind, and the ship suddenly jolted, as if it had come to life. It skillfully avoided the undercurrents ahead and sailed smoothly through the waves.

Xu Hao stood at the bow of the ship, his clothes fluttering in the sea breeze. He touched the blood-stained token in his arms, a cold smile playing on his lips.