James Carter couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy. He ran over in big strides, heading toward the pile of shipwrecks.

He remembered that the cabins of the sea vessels had many large wooden barrels filled with rice, flour, cured meat, pickled vegetables, wine, vinegar, and other seasonings—food for the martial artists to eat during their long voyages at sea.

James Carter rummaged through the broken wood of the shipwrecks and found several shattered large barrels. But when he opened the lids, they were all empty—not even a trace of soaked rice or flour remained.

He looked utterly helpless.

Aside from some fragments of the ships, there were only a few empty wooden barrels. There wasn’t even a scrap of food, let alone a packet of rations.

At that moment, a flock of seabirds flew overhead above James Carter.

“Seabirds?”

James Carter was taken aback. “Since there are seabirds here, there should be seabird eggs among the beach grass! Heaven never seals off all exits!”

He snapped to attention and immediately began searching carefully through the grass near the beach.

Seabirds usually lay eggs where the water plants are thick.

After a while—

James Carter held a nest of seven or eight brightly colored seabird eggs in both hands, nearly moved to tears.

“Finally, something delicious to eat! Eating them raw isn’t great—let’s have some fragrant roasted seabird eggs!”

Before long, James Carter gathered some deadwood, dry moss, and fallen leaves from the edge of the dense forest.

On the beach, he buried the seabird eggs under the sand and piled wood and branches on top.

He dug a small hole in the deadwood and placed the dry moss he’d collected inside.

Then, using a very hard branch, he rapidly spun and rubbed it against the tree trunk. With his mid-level martial artist strength and speed, sparks quickly appeared at the junction of the branch and trunk.

The dry moss caught fire.

Immediately, James Carter placed the pile of dead branches and leaves on top. The fire gradually grew, and soon a campfire was blazing.

James Carter took a branch and used the opportunity to dry his damp martial artist’s tunic.

Before long, the seabird eggs buried in the sand were cooked.

He quickly dug out the eggs, cracked the shells, and was instantly greeted by a wave of hot, fragrant aroma.

He wolfed them down, swallowing half the seabird eggs in just a few bites.

“So good!”

James Carter licked his lips and wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

He resisted eating the remaining half of the seabird eggs.

Seeing that night was falling, James Carter went to the edge of the forest and used the Qingfeng Sword to cut some branches. He leaned them against a large tree on the beach to make a tent, covering it with dry grass.

Half an hour later, he had fashioned a very simple “tent.”

Night had fully fallen.

The tent was only a few yards from the campfire—not far at all. He added more dead branches and firewood to keep the fire burning, to prevent wild beasts on the island from approaching.

After finishing, James Carter crawled into the tent to sleep.

At night, the sky was filled with stars.

“Even on a deserted island, I can still keep training my martial arts and make myself stronger.”

“There are plenty of trees on the island—I can definitely build a big raft. I’ll train my martial arts while building the raft. Once I’ve prepared enough dried meat, I’ll set out to sea and continue searching for the immortals of Donghai Immortal Village.”

“As long as I don’t die, I’ll find Donghai Immortal Village one day! My dreams, my future—I won’t give up!”

James Carter lay in the tent, gazing at the gently burning campfire, holding the Qingfeng Sword in his arms. Though stranded on the island, his desire to seek immortals hadn’t diminished in the slightest—instead, it had grown even stronger.

Chapter 2: Wave-Splitting Technique

Deserted island.

Dawn.

The sky was still dark, everything shrouded in mist.

“Time to get up and practice!”

James Carter woke up early, crawled out of the tent, and dug out the few roasted seabird eggs left under the campfire from last night to fill his stomach.

Then, he strode into the seawater near the beach, letting the water submerge most of his body.

This was his habit for martial arts training—every day before sunrise, he would start practicing in the water.

James Carter gripped the Qingfeng Sword, planting his feet firmly in the sea, facing the oncoming waves head-on.

The force of the waves was immense, easily enough to knock a person over. If a huge wave crashed into you, it would feel like being struck by an iron plate—painful and intense.

A wave was about to engulf him.

At that instant, James Carter moved the Qingfeng Sword in his hand.

“‘Wave-Splitting Technique’—First Move: ‘Breaking Wave Slash’—Break!”

James Carter shouted, his arm suddenly exerting force as the Qingfeng Sword slashed toward the crest of the oncoming wave. A powerful force burst forth from his arm muscles, transferring into the sharp blade.

“Hiss—!”

A wave, half a man’s height, was perfectly split in two, surging past his sides without a single drop splashing onto him.

The “Wave-Splitting Technique” was a low-level martial art.

James Carter had been practicing the “Wave-Splitting Technique” sword art since he was eight years old—for a full ten years.

He had earned the money for it as a child, working odd jobs for half a year at an inn in the royal city of Wuguo. He bought this lowest-grade martial art from a small street stall at the local market. The “Wave-Splitting Technique” was even lower in grade than other street martial arts manuals like “Tiger Fist,” “Eagle Claw,” or “Mantis Fist.”