The wind was picking up, and the sky gradually turned gloomy.

Chen Qi lay alone on the small boat, blankly staring at the sky.

There are two most exciting moments in sailing—one is setting out, the other is returning.

He had just been thinking about the Tier 1 Transcendent professions of the Witch Sea when suddenly, an ominous feeling swept over him.

The wind howled... Chen Qi sat up decisively and looked out over the vast ocean.

There wasn’t a single trace of human presence—only the occasional bird flying overhead or a school of fish leaping out of the water.

The phrase “The sky lets birds fly high, and the sea lets fish leap free” must’ve been written for scenes like this.

There was an unprecedented sense of vastness, and also a subtle feeling of solitude…

Even though he had escaped from the Sawshark, getting to land alone wasn’t going to be easy.

If the steam boat had even the slightest issue, he’d have to stage “Chen Qi’s Bizarre Ocean Drift” and go insane on this cursed sea.

Chen Qi pulled out the sea chart he had snatched from the galley and used some of his knowledge to analyze his current location.

The Witch Sea can be divided into three zones. Near the cities is the coastal area.

Beyond the coastal zone lies the Crack Sea, home to numerous crack dungeons and strange terrain.

In the Crack Sea, the skies and waters are filled with unspeakable terrifying monsters.

At the edge of the Crack Sea lies the Fog Sea, where thick mist and dim light obscure vision.

Beyond the Fog Sea is the Lightless Sea, untouched by the glow of day. That place no longer belongs to the “New Sun World” and is off-limits to humankind.

He should be within the coastal zone for now.

Of course, “coastal” didn’t mean “safe.” A lot of merchant ships pass through here, which also makes it the most active zone for pirates.

In the Kingdom of Shells, sailing depends heavily on connections and reputation. For someone like him in a flagless dinghy, encountering a merchant ship might get him extorted.

If he ran into pirates who were stronger than him, all he could do was pray.

Luckily, the Yellow Needle’s effect hadn’t worn off yet, and he still had a gun. He had at least a sliver of self-defense.

“At this pace, I might reach Damarro Town on Moonstone Archipelago by tonight.”

Damarro Town was the original host’s birthplace—a coastal island town in a prime location. It was basically a solid starter village.

Considering geography and his registered residence, his next destination had to be Damarro.

Chen Qi packed away the sea chart, took a bite of bread, and gazed out at the distant ocean.

Coming from a city of concrete and steel to this vast ocean had indeed been quite the experience.

In this boundless world, he could shout his embarrassing history or do things he wouldn’t dare admit—and besides the Sea Goddess, no one would ever know.

The Sea Goddess hears and accepts all.

It was time to use those two items.

Chen Qi took out the Transcendent Fishing skill card and the Hunter’s Ember from his backpack.

Both were Transcendent items that could be used directly!

Let’s do it now…

The Hunter’s Ember required fusion with blood to activate.

Chen Qi looked around, then used a sharp edge on the steam boat to slice his index finger before touching the Hunter’s Ember again.

“Burn, Ember...”

He murmured in his heart.

As his blood touched the amber-like Hunter’s Ember, it instantly ignited.

Flames danced at his fingertip, and a scorching Transcendent aura poured into his blood, spreading through his limbs, flowing into his heart, and finally into something deeper—his soul!

It felt like molten lava was being force-fed down his throat and setting his whole body on fire.

And then, in his vision, countless indescribable deep-sea monsters surged toward him!

In his mind, it was as if he wielded a massive blade, his body cloaked in terrifying blue fire, slaying the monsters one by one!

This was the Deep Sea Hunter’s knowledge within the Hunter’s Ember.

A prompt popped up before his eyes.

【You have digested the Hunter’s Ember.】

“Huff… huff…”

Chen Qi panted heavily. This was nothing like in a game—using high-grade Transcendent items was insanely intense.

Soul-forging through Ember... this was that legendary item...

Thankfully, the searing pain didn’t last long.

Chen Qi closed his eyes and felt a strengthening force deep in his soul.

At the same time, he gained knowledge of many deep-sea monsters and how to fight those colossal creatures.

As the heat faded and the prompt appeared, it signaled he had fully digested the Ember.

Now, if he had a Transcendent profession, it would’ve been strengthened.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t officially stepped onto the Transcendent path yet and couldn’t enjoy the boost from the Ember.

“Becoming a Transcendent, huh...”

Chen Qi already had some plans forming in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, getting a Transcendent profession card wasn’t easy.

Most newbie players with bad starting luck had to wait a long time after spiritual awakening.

Even a Tier 1 Transcendent profession card required a fair amount of effort.

The cards circulating on the market would be bought up first by noble families and big merchants. If an average person wanted one, they’d have to pay a premium—and usually end up with a trash profession.

But according to the timeline, the Crack Tide that would affect the entire Witch Sea was about to arrive.

A huge surge in cracks would dramatically increase the number of Transcendent profession cards!

So, as long as he had enough intel, he might even get to pick and choose his Tier 1 Transcendent class.

Once he got on land, the first thing to do was gather information on profession cards and the cracks.

Next, Chen Qi took out the second item from the treasure chest—the skill card “Fishing in the Storm.”

Skill cards were simple to use. Once the condition was met, you just held it and triggered it with a thought.

“Use.”

The azure-blue skill card turned to ink at his fingertips, then became a water bubble and vanished.

At that moment, the skill Transcendent Fishing Lv1 appeared in his status panel.

His Deep Sea Affinity couldn’t be upgraded, so Transcendent Fishing was the only skill he could currently spend Spirituality Points on.

Chen Qi used the 50 Spirituality Points he earned from farming the crack in the Sea Beast Cavern to upgrade it to Lv2.

He looked at the skill and was slightly surprised—this seemingly ordinary life skill could be upgraded to Level 3. But now he had no more points left.

With the skill activated, he suddenly felt an odd confidence!

Like—even lying down in a storm, he could still catch fish!

“Wanna... give it a shot?”

Chen Qi picked up the fishing rod and gave it a gentle flick, casting the hook into the sea.

What he had learned wasn’t regular fishing—it was Transcendent Fishing!

The biggest difference? The bait.

Normal fishing used food for bait.

But Transcendent Fishing infused the hook with one’s own spiritual power, using the essence of one’s spirit as bait.

His current spiritual capacity was just a bit higher than an average person’s.

After mastering this skill, from now on, he’d become the envy of all — a fisherman who never blanks.

The fish here? Just grab any one of them!

Chen Qi condensed bait at the hook like a swirling Rasengan.

Instantly, he felt a chunk of his spiritual energy get drained.

This skill uses up that much!? Chen Qi gripped the rod and waited for a bite.

Fishing while sailing — that should be fine, right...?

“……”

Five minutes later, Chen Qi blinked, starting to doubt — could he really catch a fish like this?

However, before any fish bit, something far more terrifying happened!

In the next instant, a fierce ocean wind blasted through, and a massive shadow began to blanket the sea.

With a deafening crack of thunder, raindrops started pelting down on him!

A storm was coming!

Although the steam boat was perfect for escaping, it didn’t fare well against heavy waves.

Just moments ago, the skies had been clear...

“What the h*ll is this...”

Suddenly, the wind howled past his ears, and in that brief second, he thought he heard a monster’s roar.

All at once, Chen Qi recalled the promo video for the Witch Sea expansion.

On a sunny day, the sky suddenly darkened, clouds rolled in, and a storm howled.

An exotic girl aboard a ship, her flower crown swept into the sea — and as she reached out to grab it, a massive black shadow slowly rose from beneath the waves, like a dark mountain, engulfing the entire ship...

The camera zoomed out — the entire Witch Sea was swallowed by an enormous storm!

That was the legendary storm — the debut of the Witch of Flowers, the main heroine of the Witch Sea storyline.

This abnormal weather, which caused cracks to appear in droves, was known as the Crack Tide.

After this storm, cracks across the Witch Sea would erupt like spring bamboo shoots — ushering in the Age of Great Cracks.

Up till now, Chen Qi had only been able to vaguely piece together the timeline through Little Crow.

But now, he could confirm — the storm before him was very likely the beginning of the Crack Tide!

Crack resurgence, great whale’s breath — the once-peaceful sea would now be ravaged by storms, and monsters dwelling in the deep would rise to the surface.

This would be a terrifying, sleepless day.

“Crack Tide, huh. What a pain…”

Under normal circumstances, he’d be popping champagne for this storm!

More cracks meant more opportunities to get stronger — that was undoubtedly a good thing!

But the issue was... he was on a d*mn steam boat.

May the Sea Goddess be merciful and not stir up too fierce a storm... Chen Qi prayed silently.

Fortunately, he could swim fairly well, still had the Yellow Needle’s buff active, and had the Deep Sea Hunter’s knowledge from the Hunter’s Ember. He had at least some chance against the storm.

As the storm loomed, Chen Qi quickly took out some bandages from his backpack and strapped down his Black Blade bag and other belongings to keep them from falling overboard.

Next, he strapped the fishing rod itself to the boat using bandages.

His fishing skill was called Fishing in the Storm.

Meaning — even during a storm, he still had a chance of catching fish!

In the open sea, that was a seriously useful skill.

Let the fish come to me!

“This should do the trick...”

After sorting his gear, Chen Qi rubbed his palms together and looked out toward the distance.

In under three minutes, the entire sea had been swallowed by a dark sky.

Suddenly, Chen Qi’s pupils narrowed slightly.

At the far end of the gray sea horizon, a faint glimmer of light appeared.

Light? A ship’s lantern? Could there be a vessel out there?

And now of all times, he was running into a ship?

Chen Qi gripped the Black Blade tightly.

What’s more — the light was getting brighter, racing straight toward him!

Chen Qi’s eyes widened. From a distance, it looked like a small black boat with a lantern hanging on it.

There were many terrifying legends on the high seas.

One told of small, black boats appearing under cloudy skies or at night — boats with a single lit lantern.

If you see one, don’t approach it. Don’t hesitate.

Run immediately. That kind of boat was said to ferry people to another world.

Chen Qi stared without blinking at the boat.

He didn’t run — the black boat was way faster than his steam boat.

In other words, he had zero chance of outrunning it.

And judging by its path, it was definitely headed straight for him.

On closer inspection, the so-called "black hull"... didn’t look like wood. It looked more like razor-sharp black scales. And the “lantern” — it was just a glowing orb.

This was a deep sea monster!?

“Wait a sec!”

Chen Qi suddenly realized something.

It wasn’t just coming for him — it was coming for his bait!

Chen Qi snatched up the fishing rod and with a fierce motion, yanked it high into the air!

As the rod whipped upward, the black boat finally revealed its true form.

Boom!

From the towering waves, a deep sea monster surged up like a sea dragon, baring three rows of bloody fangs as it lunged toward the bait midair.

Its serpent-like body soared over Chen Qi’s head.

That was no black boat — it was just the monster’s half-revealed skull!

Boom!

“Hah… hah… hah—”

The snake-like creature snapped up the bait, then crashed back into the ocean, thrashing its razor-sharp metallic tail and letting out thunderous breaths.

Chen Qi turned around, rubbed his chin, and stared at the sea beast’s strange behavior, deep in thought.

“What the h*ll did I just catch?”