Once on shore, the first thing to do was to investigate the information about Transcendent Occupation Cards and cracks.
Immediately afterward, Chen Qi pulled out the second item he had obtained from the treasure chest, the Skill Card 'Fishing in the Storm'.
The use of the Skill Card was very simple: once the conditions were met, one just had to hold it in hand and use it with a single thought.
"Use."
The azure Occupation Card turned into ink-like water at the fingertips, then transformed into bubbles and disappeared without a trace.
At this moment, the skill Transcendent Fishing Lv1 also appeared on his panel.
His Deep Sea Affinity couldn't level up, so Transcendent Fishing was the only skill he could use by spending Spiritual Points right now.
Chen Qi used the 50 Spiritual Points he had farmed in the crack within the sea beast cave to level up from Lv1 to Lv2.
Chen Qi looked at this skill, slightly surprised. Such a common life skill could actually be leveled up three times, and now he didn't have enough Spiritual Points left.
With the use of the Skill Card, he suddenly felt an inexplicable confidence!
That was, even if he lay down to fish, he could catch fish amidst a storm!
"Why not... give it a try?"
Chen Qi picked up the fishing rod, gave it a light toss, and the hook landed in the sea.
What he was learning was not ordinary fishing but Transcendent Fishing!
The biggest difference lay in the bait.
The bait for ordinary fishing was all food.
Whereas for Transcendent Fishing, one transferred their own Spiritual Power to the hook, creating bait with the essence of their Spiritual Power.
His current Spiritual Power capacity was a bit higher than an ordinary person's.
Having mastered this skill, from now on, he would become an enviable Fisherman who would 'never' return empty-handed.
The fish from this place, to casually fish one out,
Chen Qi created bait at the hook, which resembled a spiraling orb.
In an instant, he felt a significant amount of Spiritual Power being drained from his body.
This skill has such a high consumption… Chen Qi gripped the fishing rod, waiting for a fish to bite.
Fishing while sailing in this manner shouldn't pose a problem, right...
"..."
Five minutes later, Chen Qi blinked and began to doubt, could he really catch fish this way?
However, before he could catch a fish, something even more terrifying happened!
In the next moment, fierce sea winds blew, and a huge shadow began to engulf the area.
Accompanied by a loud rumble of thunder, raindrops started hitting him!
The harbinger of a tempest!
Though the steamboat was a great means to escape, its ability to resist the waves was mediocre.
It had been clear skies just a moment ago...
"What on earth is..."
Suddenly, the sound of the wind passed by his ears, and within this fleeting moment, he thought he heard the roar of monsters.
Out of the blue, Chen Qi suddenly recalled the promotional video for Witch Sea.
On a sunny day, the sky suddenly darkened, clouds closed in, and fierce winds howled.
The foreign girl onboard the ship, her flower crown knocked into the sea by a wave, reached out to retrieve it when suddenly, a gigantic shadow surfaced slowly from the ocean depths, like a dark mountain, engulfing the entire ship...
As the camera continued to pan up, the entire Witch Sea was enveloped by a colossal storm!
This was a far-reaching storm, also marking the first appearance of the main character of the Witch Sea main storyline, the foreign girl known as the Flower Witch.
This abnormal weather, by causing a large number of cracks to form, was also known as the Crack Tide.
Following this storm, cracks would sprout across Witch Sea like bamboo after the rain, thus signaling the onset of the great era of cracks in Witch Sea.
Previously, Chen Qi could only tentatively determine the timeline through a little raven.
And now, he was certain that the storm he was facing could very likely mark the beginning of the Crack Tide!
As cracks revived and great whales exhaled, the once calm seas were now incessantly tumultuous, and the monsters dwelling in the deep sea would also emerge to the surface.
It would be a frightful day without sleep.
"Crack Tide, huh, troublesome..."
If it were normal circumstances, he'd had popped a bottle of champagne for this storm!
After all, more cracks meant more opportunities to increase his strength, which was undoubtedly a good thing!
But the problem was, he was now on a small steamboat.
"May the Sea Goddess show some restraint and not stir up too great a storm," Chen Qi thought to himself.
However, his swimming skills were quite decent, and with the effects of the Yellow Needle still active, coupled with the knowledge of the Hunter Yu Huo, he had some ability to contend with the storm.
As the storm approached, Chen Qi decisively took out the bandage from his backpack and secured items such as his black knife and his backpack itself to prevent them from falling into the sea.
Next, he secured the fishing rod to the boat with the bandage as well.
His fishing skill was named "Fishing in the Storm."
That is, even in the midst of a storm, there was a chance to catch fish!
In the ocean, fishing skills were quite useful.
Fish, take the bait!
"That should do it..."
After arranging some things, Chen Qi rubbed his palms together and then looked into the distance.
In less than three minutes, the entire sea was shrouded under a dark sky.
Suddenly, Chen Qi's pupils constricted slightly.
At the end of the grey sea horizon, a faint light appeared out of nowhere.
Light? Ship lights? A boat?
At this time, he encountered a boat?
Chen Qi gripped the black knife.
And the light grew brighter, surging toward his direction!
Chen Qi's eyes widened as he saw from afar that it was a small, pitch-black boat with a ship light.
On the open sea, many horrifying legends are told.
Among them, there are many about pitch-black boats.
If one encounters a small, pitch-black boat under a cloud-covered sky or at night, and the boat has a lantern lit,
Do not attempt to approach it, and don't hesitate.
Escape immediately, for that boat will take people to another world.
Chen Qi stared fixedly at the approaching boat.
He didn't run away, for the speed of the black boat far surpassed that of the steamboat.
That is, he simply couldn't outrun it.
Moreover, it was undoubtedly heading straight for him.
Upon closer inspection, one would realize that the 'pitch-black hull' was less like a boat and more like sharp, pitch-black scales, and that the ship light was more of a lantern.
Was this a deep-sea monster!?
"Wait!"
Chen Qi suddenly realized something.
The creature was not just heading for him, but also for his bait!
Chen Qi quickly picked up the fishing rod, then forcefully flicked it upwards!
With his flick of the rod, the pitch-black boat began to reveal its true form.
Boom!
Among the giant waves, a sea beast akin to a Jiaolong leapt violently from beneath the sea, opening its three rows of bloody fangs, and ferociously bit at the bait in mid-air.
Its serpentine body leapt over Chen Qi.
It was not any pitch-black boat, but rather a deep-sea monster showing only half of its head!
Boom!
"Ha, ha, ha—"
The serpent-like monster bit down on the bait and plunged back into the sea, shaking its sharp, steel-like giant tail vigorously, exhaling heavily.
Chen Qi turned his head back, touched his chin thoughtfully, and watched the sea beast's odd movements.
"What on earth did I catch?"