He got right to it, immediately changing his gear. He put away the cool and impressive Black Mountain Profound Armor, swapping it for the somewhat effeminate Purple Mirage Armor.

This Purple Mirage Armor was surprisingly form-fitting, clinging to his body and outlining its curves. It was also rather thin and light.

Unlike the Black Mountain Profound Armor, which was also close-fitting but not form-fitting, featuring cool external decorations that made the wearer look imposing and formidable.

He leaped, plunging into the sea like a stone and slowly sinking to the bottom. He had to admit, the underwater world was magnificent and beautiful, filled with endless coral, rocks, sand, fish, and seaweed...

’This must be a sea urchin, right?’ Li Xiang discovered huge patches of them all around and joyfully began to pick them up, storing them in his system warehouse. It was like they were free for the taking.

Sea urchins were, of course, delicious. They could be eaten raw, used in steamed eggs or fried rice, grilled, or even cooked into a porridge.

He then found some crabs and greenish-blue lobsters, picking them all up and tossing them into his system warehouse.

He found a few particularly large spiny lobsters, about thirty to forty centimeters long and weighing at least a few pounds each. ’Looks like I won’t have to buy special food for the New Year’s feast.’

Although they died the moment they entered the system warehouse, it had a preservation feature. They came out in the exact same condition they went in, so when it was time to cook, it was as if they had just been killed. He didn’t have to worry about them not being fresh.

’This fish looks pretty good, too. It probably tastes delicious. I’ll bring some back for the little kitties to try.’ Li Xiang reached out to grab it, but to his surprise, he missed.

The fish was incredibly slippery and agile, escaping with a single flick of its tail.

After that, Li Xiang learned his lesson. The next time he saw a fish, he would sneak up on it and then fire off a blast of Cold Ice Sword Qi, piercing it instantly. The fish would flip belly-up, and he would grab it and successfully store it in his warehouse.

In the coral reefs, he found sea bream, red-spotted groupers, and squid. The sea bream and groupers were particularly valuable—prized for their delicious flavor and high nutritional value, they were staples on the menus of high-end restaurants.

There were also some fish and shrimp he didn’t recognize. He didn’t dare catch the brightly colored ones, fearing they might be poisonous.

Fish are like mushrooms: the more vibrant their colors, the more cautious you have to be.

’If I’m going to keep foraging in the sea,’ he thought, ’I should probably buy some books on the subject to avoid catching anything poisonous. Jiang Cai’Er is probably an expert on this, but she’s too busy. Besides, she’s not good at underwater combat.’

Li Xiang wasn’t skilled in underwater combat either. In the seawater, the range of his Cold Ice Sword Qi was extremely limited; its power dropped off significantly beyond a meter.

Using his Profound Iron Mountain-Removal Rod was even less effective; the water resistance was too great. ’Looks like I’ll have to buy a proper speargun.’

He tried to use the Divine Movement Technique, only to discover that it didn’t work well underwater. ’It’s probably limited to land,’ he mused. ’Or perhaps, once I reach Saint Tier and learn to fly, I’ll be able to use it in the air. The Divine Movement Technique has a higher form that’s supposed to naturally evolve into a flight method at Saint Tier.’

Fortunately, Li Xiang was very strong, so his swimming speed wasn’t slow by any means—he could cover more than ten meters per second. However, as he swam on, he found that the deeper he went, the more strenuous it became, and his speed dropped accordingly.

Before he knew it, he estimated he was at least three to four hundred meters below the surface. The water pressure was immense. And though he could still breathe freely, he could barely swim, managing only five or six meters per second. This was, of course, much faster than an ordinary diver, but for Li Xiang, who was used to moving at several Mach, it felt incredibly awkward.

’If I go any deeper, say, several thousand meters, I probably won’t be able to move at all.’

A large fish, a full two to three meters long, appeared. It ignored Li Xiang’s presence completely, swimming past him about seven or eight meters away.

System: "Detected Tier Six Mutated Creature: Bluefin Tuna."

Li Xiang practically started drooling. He decided to use his old trick again, slowly approaching with the intent to get within one meter and land a decisive blow. ’This fish is insanely expensive. At this size, it must be three or four hundred kilograms, worth at least ten million.’

He recalled a news report from 2019 about a tuna auction at Japan’s Toyosu Market, where a 278-kilogram bluefin tuna had been sold for the astronomical price of 207 million yen, equivalent to over nine million RMB.

In the eyes of many connoisseurs, bluefin tuna was the "Hermes" of the fish world—the absolute pinnacle of fine dining.

And the fish right in front of him was even larger than the one sold at that auction.

If he caught it, Li Xiang had no intention of selling it. He planned to take it home to eat. Tuna sashimi was, after all, an unparalleled delicacy.

But just as he got within three meters, the bluefin tuna gave a flick of its body and shot away like an arrow.

Tuna are one of the fastest fish in the world, with an average swimming speed of around 80 kilometers per hour. Bluefin tuna were built for speed, with incredible propulsive power. Li Xiang gave chase with all his might... and then gave up. Underwater, he really couldn’t outswim these native sea creatures.

Besides, the fish didn’t swim in a straight line. It darted left and right, up and down, turning on a dime. For a human with four limbs, the simple acts of turning around, ascending, and descending were in a different league entirely compared to a fish’s fluid movements.

’Are there any Cultivation Techniques suitable for underwater use?’

Li Xiang returned to the shore and lay on the beach to rest. He pulled up his system interface and began searching for a suitable Secret Technique.

There were certainly Cultivation Techniques and Secret Techniques available, but aside from one called the Wave-Treading Technique, which had a low entry barrier, the rest were either too expensive or had restrictive Cultivation requirements. Some, for example, required the user to have a Water Attribute affinity.

Li Xiang figured his Cold Ice Sword Qi should have some connection to water. He purchased the Wave-Treading Technique for 10,000 Achievement Points and then a Water Escape Technique for another 80,000 Achievement Points.

His Achievement Point balance dropped to just around 210,000.

The Wave-Treading Technique was indeed simple. Li Xiang got the hang of it almost immediately and mastered it in less than an hour.

The Wave-Treading Technique was different from the Divine Movement Technique.

While the Divine Movement Technique also allowed him to run across the waves, it relied purely on speed. He had to keep moving, and fast, or he would sink into the water.

With the Wave-Treading Technique, however, he could stand perfectly still and directly manipulate the waves to propel him forward. He could even sit or lie on top of a wave. Of course, this method was much slower; it was more of a skill for leisurely enjoying the water.

Li Xiang gave it a try. Deep underwater, the Wave-Treading Technique could also manipulate currents, making travel far more effortless than swimming. However, it still wasn’t fast enough, and his turns lacked the fluid grace of a fish. He figured he still wouldn’t be able to catch the bluefin tuna.

He returned to the shore again to practice the Water Escape Technique. But... it seemed his constitutional Attributes really weren’t a match for it. He couldn’t learn it.

It wasn’t a matter of being stupid or failing to understand the theory; he was simply unable to practice it successfully.

Seeing that dawn was about to break, Li Xiang stopped messing around. He switched back into his Black Mountain Profound Armor and, with a flash and a faint sonic boom, sped off toward the Malacca Strait.