William was learning how to fish. Not that he had never fished before… but it was effectively like that. He thought he had done a tiny bit of fishing in his previous life. As for his first life, it was so long before that it was irrelevant, regardless of the fact that he didn’t have the same kind of equipment. Perhaps if he had cared enough about fishing to bring up those memories they might have helped, but unlike his memories of the various sciences he hadn’t considered knowing how to fish important.

The Order didn’t have any fishermen, at least that William knew about, but they did have contacts among almost everyone. Thus, it had not been hard to get introduced to a fisherman and learn the basics. Of course, William also knew the general idea of putting bait on a hook and waiting for fish to bite, but the true basics covered a bit more than that. Time of day, seasons, weather, location, and of course what bait you were using determined what kind of fish you could catch, if any.

There were already many fishermen in Qinshan, but one more or less wouldn’t really affect how many fish each person caught. Of course, William couldn’t expect to catch enough fish to get rich, but he could at least have some to eat and a few more to make a profit. Most importantly, it would be enough to make him fit into the community.

Of course, to those trained in martial arts, he couldn’t really hide that he did so as well. However, because his cultivation technique was solely Rotational Soul pressure, he didn’t have any of the feeling of making major breakthroughs. This made him seem like a failure… or at least someone who was a bit slower or less talented, considering he was still rather young. Only if they took a closer look could they tell how powerful he actually was, and he could somewhat conceal that.

It wasn’t strange for him to be fishing either. In Liaoyang, almost everyone who got a chance to train in ki cultivation tried their luck. Not that William thought it was mostly luck based, but rather based on talent and effort. He couldn’t deny that luck could help some, but there was only so much it could do without the other aspects. There were some medicines that could help with cultivation, but those were generally raised in gardens and fields. It was unlikely to find such out in the forests or mountains, especially not with as many people as there were for a relatively small amount of wilderness. It also wasn’t likely that they would be of better or even similar quality than those specifically and caringly raised. William supposed that if one didn’t have any money, then luck would be more helpful, finding something that might not otherwise be obtainable at all. Even being born into a family with money could be considered luck.

-----

After a few weeks, William had settled into a comfortable life. He hadn’t found anyone who practiced demonic cultivation techniques, but that was to be expected. He was taking a more passive role in his investigation. For one thing, he tried to only used the information that came to his senses instead of actively seeking, because that could be suspicious, or at the very least rude. He did make sure to spend some of his time looking at various clans, dojos, and sects. There hadn’t been anything yet, but it wasn’t likely to be so easy unless they were careless. However, there were tournaments upcoming, and William planned to watch. Participating might have better results, but it would also involve more risk of both injury and suspicion.

-----

William found that fishing was beneficial to his cultivation. Not that he gained any sudden enlightenment from the ocean or anything like that. However, instead of just being a waste of time, he could still practice some skills. His perception abilities were good for finding where fish gathered, and even somewhat seeing how different kinds of fish reacted to his bait. As the fish got deeper, it became harder to clearly picture each individual fish, but William could still tell when there were many of them.

This led William to places with many fish, but deeper than people normally would catch them. Quite simply, their lines were usually not long enough, and nets might not catch them. William knew he wasn’t the only one with some skill in ki who fished, but he also doubted there were many who were as well trained as himself. His overall ability was somewhere around those who had passed the third major breakthrough. Such power of course varied by individual and technique, and of course how it was used greatly changed effectiveness. Still, it was good to have some kind of approximate.

Though William was young for his power, he knew that was because he was reincarnated. Counting his previous life as well as this one, he was almost seventy. Of course, in his previous life he had only really been flopping about on the shores of cultivation. That image was brought about by his current location, but regardless of the image of him flailing on a beach, he hadn’t really progressed much in ki in his life in Ostana. Still, that and his strong soul had made it easier to properly cultivate in this life, as well as giving him an early start. Because he had started when he was about six instead of ten or twelve, William’s training was better compared to those who were at least thirty. In that case, while he was still quite good, it was nothing unheard of, at least in terms of general power. In terms of soul techniques, he knew he was quite talented, but also still had much to learn.

William thought about the upcoming tournament. If he was lucky, maybe he would see something interesting. Perhaps it could help with his training, or perhaps he would notice someone unleashing demonic ki signatures. He was almost tempted to compete himself, but had to remember that subtlety was more important here. If people knew he was investigating them, even if they didn’t practice demonic cultivation methods, they wouldn’t want him around. There was only one of him, and though he was confident in his abilities, he wasn’t invincible. He certainly couldn’t stand up against a clan alone, even a weaker one. Though he could likely escape, that was only if he got a chance to react at all. William didn’t have any allies in Qinshan, so it was best if he avoided making enemies.