Gradually, James Carter’s spinning speed grew faster and faster. Where the Azure Edge Sword touched the seawater, a white fissure began to appear. As James Carter’s rotation accelerated, the fissure widened, as if it no longer touched the seawater, the sword’s force carving out a true vacuum.

At the bottom of the sea, a vortex centered on James Carter gradually formed, spinning faster and faster. The seawater within dozens of zhang around him spun along, surging toward James Carter, all sucked beneath his feet by the vortex.

Cultivating the “Vortex Slash” was extremely difficult; the key was maintaining perfect balance while spinning out the sword.

When James Carter first began practicing this move, he could barely spin a few times before feeling dizzy and disoriented, his steps faltering, forcing him to stop.

Just practicing the balance required for spinning out the sword took James Carter nearly three months.

It took him five years to master this second move to the point of perfection.

James Carter remained at the bottom of the sea, repeatedly unleashing the Vortex Slash.

For a full half a stick of incense, James Carter performed the Vortex Slash dozens of times in one breath. When his internal energy was depleted, he pushed off the seabed with his toes and leapt up suddenly—“Splash!”—breaking free from the vortex’s powerful pull, bursting through the surface of the sea, gasping for breath.

The longer the vortex created by the “Vortex Slash” lasted, the more powerful it became.

Now, every time he finished practicing the Vortex Slash, the great vortex formed in the water would last for a full stick of incense before gradually dissipating.

Another hour passed.

“The first move of the initial stage of the ‘Wave-Splitting Art,’ ‘Wave-Cleaving Slash,’ and the second move of the intermediate stage, ‘Vortex Slash’—I’ve already mastered both to their peak. But the third move of the advanced stage, ‘Stacked Wave Slash,’ I still haven’t managed to master!”

James Carter pondered in his heart.

The third move, “Stacked Wave Slash,” as the name suggests, was like the surging waves of a great river, each wave higher than the last.

This third move was actually an upgraded version of the first move, Wave-Cleaving Slash, combining two or even three Wave-Cleaving Slashes into one. So, in name it was the third move, but in reality, it was still a continuous attack based on the first move.

When the “Stacked Wave Slash” was performed at its strongest, it could unleash a double or triple slash in an instant, each slash stronger than the last, extremely fierce—if it struck an opponent, it would mean certain death or serious injury.

However, very few martial artists could master the Stacked Wave Slash. Those who reached the highest level of the triple slash were even rarer.

James Carter had trained hard for ten years, yet still hadn’t managed to master the double Stacked Wave Slash.

James Carter vaguely remembered what the street vendor had said to him when he bought this martial arts manual years ago.

“The secret of martial arts can be summed up in four words—‘practice makes perfect.’”

“The simplest martial arts move, practiced ten thousand times, is ‘too crude,’ something you see everywhere. Practiced a hundred thousand times, it becomes ‘proficient,’ a minor achievement. Practiced a million times, it’s ‘masterful,’ considered first-rate. Practiced five million times, it’s ‘perfection,’ top-tier. Practiced ten million times, it reaches the realm of ‘turning decay into magic’—a grandmaster is nothing more than this.”

“This ‘Wave-Splitting Art’ may be a low-level martial technique, but it eliminates all flashy moves, leaving only the most concise and practical two forms. Any move, if practiced over a million times, can reach a level of consummate skill, its power surpassing even high-level martial techniques.”

“Unfortunately, many martial artists dislike the ‘Wave-Splitting Art’ for being too simple and the training too monotonous. With no early advantages, they simply lack the patience to train it to the highest level.”

James Carter didn’t think too much about it; he took the manual and trained diligently.

He spent a full ten years cultivating the “Wave-Splitting Art,” practicing day after day. He practiced the first move, Wave-Cleaving Slash, ten million times, and the second move, Vortex Slash, five million times—far surpassing the level of mastery.

“Splash!”

James Carter swung the Azure Edge Sword in his hand, sending out two streaks of cold light in succession, meeting a wave head-on, appearing especially dazzling under the sunlight.

The two streaks of cold light split the waves one after the other.

Watching the spray of water scatter through the air,

James Carter knew he had failed once again.

His sixth-level body refinement strength and blood energy were still insufficient, resulting in an explosive speed that was not fast enough—he still couldn’t master the Stacked Wave Slash.

For a martial artist, strength is the foundation of everything. Without strength, one cannot unleash enough speed.

The “Stacked Wave Slash” required extremely high speed—at least a double strike in a single instant—to deliver double the force and speed to the enemy in one attack. Otherwise, it was just a simple “Wave-Cleaving Slash,” not a “double” or “triple” Stacked Wave Slash.

James Carter was naturally unwilling to give up. He pressed his lips together, preparing for another attempt at the Stacked Wave Slash.

Another hour passed. He had already completed his daily quota of martial arts practice, but still hadn’t managed to master the third move, Stacked Wave Slash—he could only continue to perfect the first two moves.

James Carter carried the Azure Edge Sword, his body exhausted as he left the sea.

Although practicing the “Wave-Splitting Art” could improve his physique, after all, it was an external martial art. Practicing for two or three hours a day was already the limit his body could endure.

“The few seabird eggs I roasted last night are already gone. Looks like I’ll have to go find some more.”

James Carter rubbed his growling stomach.

Cultivating martial arts is never something that can be accomplished overnight. Filling his stomach on this island was a daunting task in itself. He also needed to search the island for a stream to find some fresh water to drink.