“It’s just nearby. Come with me.”

As Lü Qinyi spoke, she led Chen Cheng around to the side.

After passing the building where they had just handled the paperwork, the view suddenly opened up.

A Martial Arts Arena paved with gray and white stone slabs stretched out before them. Right next to the building was the General Affairs Hall.

Many young disciples were coming and going, some with books tucked under their arms, others carrying wooden boxes, all hurrying along.

When they saw Lü Qinyi, they all stopped immediately, cupping their fists in a respectful salute.

Some called out, “Senior Sister Lü,” while others just moved their lips silently.

With a single glance, Chen Cheng could read their lips. They were also saying, “Greetings, Senior Sister Lü.”

Lü Qinyi glanced over and saw that Chen Cheng’s expression was calm, showing no curiosity or confusion about the lip-reading.

“Junior Brother, you know lip-reading too?” Lü Qinyi asked.

“I know a thing or two,” Chen Cheng nodded.

Lü Qinyi was taken aback for a moment, then her smile widened. She sized up Chen Cheng, a hint of admiration in her eyes.

“That’s good. In the future, when you encounter fellow disciples from the Sea Courtyard underwater, you can just communicate through lip-reading.”

She paused, her lips moving without making a sound:

‘I see you’re still young, Junior Brother. To learn a Skill like lip-reading, which has nothing to do with Martial Arts, on top of your training is truly impressive.’

Chen Cheng understood what she was saying at a glance.

Chen Cheng understood perfectly. ‘She’s testing my lip-reading ability. If I can only understand simple greetings, I’m still just an amateur.’

‘If it were an ordinary person testing me, I wouldn’t care at all and would just give a perfunctory reply.’

‘But it’s obvious Lü Qinyi’s status in the Fishing Pavilion is not low.’

Chen Cheng decided to show off a little. ‘Even if it only earns me a bit of appreciation, it’s better than being seen as a complete rookie.’

‘You flatter me, Senior Sister. I haven’t been learning lip-reading for long. I hope you’ll guide me more in the future, and please bear with me if I make any mistakes.’

Chen Cheng’s lips moved slightly. Not only were his mouth shapes as precise as a textbook example, but his speed was also extremely fast.

“Excellent, excellent. So Junior Brother is already an expert at lip-reading. It seems I’ve underestimated you.”

Lü Qinyi said with a smile,

“Every year, many newcomers to the Fishing Pavilion get stuck on lip-reading and waste a lot of time. Some can’t learn it no matter what and eventually have to give up on the Fishing Pavilion and transfer to the Hunting Pavilion.”

“Senior Sister Lü! The Pavilion Master wants to see you.”

Just then, a young man hurried over from a distance and cupped his fist in a salute to Lü Qinyi.

“Alright, I’ll go right now.”

Lü Qinyi nodded, then turned back to Chen Cheng and said,

“Junior Brother Chen, you can go into the General Affairs Hall on your own. We’ll see each other again when we have the chance.”

Chen Cheng cupped his fist and watched Lü Qinyi leave.

“Kid, you’re new, aren’t you?”

The young disciple hadn’t left. He looked Chen Cheng up and down with a cold gaze and said indifferently,

“You’re lucky, kid. You ran into Senior Sister Lü as soon as you arrived. If it were any other Core Disciple, they would never be so patient as to help you or even bother with you.”

After speaking, the young man didn’t wait for Chen Cheng’s reply and immediately turned to follow Lü Qinyi.

‘Core Disciple?’

Chen Cheng’s heart skipped a beat.

In his eyes, Lü Qinyi was like the friendly girl next door. She spoke softly, treated others with warmth and courtesy, had an exceptionally warm smile, and didn’t put on any airs at all.

He never expected she would be a Core Disciple of the Fishing Pavilion.

Within a Sect, the hierarchy was strict and the order of seniority was absolute. A single rank of superiority was enough to crush someone.

Core, Elite, Ordinary.

The difference of a single level was a massive chasm. Status and treatment were completely different; one could even say they weren’t the same kind of people at all.

Among them, the number of Inner Sect Core Disciples was extremely small. Every single one of them possessed unfathomable strength, and their status was naturally extremely high.

This was made clear the other day when they faced off; Zhou Wansen wasn’t even qualified to sit in Gu Qianqian’s presence.

This also showed that Lü Qinyi was truly a very good-natured person.

Afterwards, Chen Cheng entered the General Affairs Hall, found a quiet corner, and silently flipped through the resource catalog.

The resources available for exchange in the Fishing Pavilion were largely similar to those in the Outer Sect.

The only difference was the addition of many special fishing tools available for exchange.

Such as…

A Silk-Wrapped Fishing Rod capable of withstanding a thousand pounds of force.

A Profound Silk Net woven from a mix of Ice Silkworm Silk and Profound Iron Wire, with an adjustable mesh size.

A Fluorescent Lamp that could provide light underwater.

A secret-formula groundbait that had a chance of attracting Treasure Fish, and so on…

However, all of these items were expensive. One thousand taels of silver was basically the starting price.

Of course, there was a reason for the high price. As the saying goes, “a sharp ax is half the work.” Buying the right equipment would save time and effort when catching Treasure Fish, making one’s efforts doubly effective.

Among them, Chen Cheng had already spotted several special fishing tools he wanted to buy.

Unfortunately, his funds were limited, so he had to carefully calculate and weigh his options to choose the most cost-effective ones.

The rest could only be put in his ‘shopping cart’ for now, to be cleared out at a later date.

…

「On the shores of the Sea Marsh.」

A massive reef jutted out into the water, its surface constantly washed by the tide. Dried snail shells and mottled moss were embedded in its crevices.

Atop the reef, the Pavilion Master of the Fishing Pavilion, Feng Baishi, sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, fishing.

He held an old bamboo fishing rod. A plain, unremarkable hemp line dangled from its tip, but there was no hook at the end.

His pale hair and beard were tousled by the wind. His shoulders were slightly hunched and his head was bowed, as if he were dozing off, yet he gave off a bleak impression of a man in his twilight years, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Lü Qinyi strode quickly onto the massive rock. After cupping her fist in a salute, she asked softly,

“Pavilion Master, you were looking for me?”

“…Ah, you’re here?”

Feng Baishi slowly raised his head and asked casually,

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