Three days after the captivating storm, Li Yuan continued his journey in a sea tranquility that had been enriched. The water around him still carried traces of fresh rain, creating layers with different tastes and textures. He swam at a depth of fifteen meters, deep enough to feel stability yet shallow enough to witness the play of sunlight from above.
Through the passive, Universal effect of his Wenjing Realm within a one-kilometer radius, Li Yuan heard the symphony of marine life returning to normal after the storm's upheaval. The intentions of the sea creatures had returned to their familiar rhythms—hunting, playing, resting—but with a slightly different nuance, as if they had all been enriched by the experience of facing nature's immense power.
The storm didn't just pass, Li Yuan reflected, sensing the subtle differences in the way the fish moved. It left every creature with something new—be it strength, wisdom, or simply a deeper understanding of self-resilience.
As he flowed with the current that was carrying him northeast, something in his passive Wenjing effect began to pick up a different vibration. Not from marine creatures—this was something more... organized. More... human.
Li Yuan stopped flowing for a moment, focusing his attention on the edge of his perceptive radius. There, faintly but clearly, he heard intentions that were very different from what he usually heard in the ocean.
Fatigue. Worry. Determination. Longing.
Human intentions.
They are close, Li Yuan thought with a feeling that was hard to describe—a mixture of anticipation, nostalgia, and something resembling... warmth. How long had it been since he had heard genuine human intentions?
He decided to rise slowly to a shallower depth, about five meters from the surface, where his vision could reach further. The water at this depth was still calm enough, but bright enough to allow him to see for several hundred meters.
And there, on the edge of the horizon, he saw it.
A ship.
It wasn't a large or luxurious vessel—on the contrary, it looked like a small fishing or merchant boat, with a somewhat worn sail and a wooden hull showing signs of a long journey. The ship moved slowly against the wind, its sail straining.
Through his Wenjing Realm, Li Yuan began to hear the individual intentions of those on the ship. There were about six or seven people, each with a unique inner "voice."
The first he heard was the intention of what appeared to be the captain—an intention full of responsibility and worry about the weather, about the right direction, about the safety of his crew. There was the heavy burden of leadership in that intention, but also pride and a love for the sea.
Then there were the intentions of the crew members—mostly a mix of physical and mental fatigue after the recent storm, a longing for home and family, but also solidarity with their fellow crew. There was a strong bond among them, a bond forged through facing danger together.
What most caught Li Yuan's attention was the intention of someone who appeared to be younger than the others—perhaps a child or teenager. This intention was full of curiosity and excitement, though shadowed by a lingering fear from the storm. There was something fresh and uncontaminated in this intention, something that reminded Li Yuan of his own youth.
A child, Li Yuan thought with a gentle smile. In the midst of all the adult worries about survival and responsibility, there is one soul who can still find wonder in this journey.
Li Yuan floated in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the symphony of human intentions he hadn't heard in a long time. There was something very different between the intentions of sea creatures and human intentions. Sea creatures moved with simple and direct intentions—to hunt, to avoid, to play. But human intentions... were complicated. Layered. Full of memories of the past, worries about the future, and internal conflicts.
This is what makes humans so... fascinating, Li Yuan reflected. They don't just live in the present like sea creatures. They carry their entire life history in every decision, every emotion, every intention.
He began to catch more specific fragments of their intentions. The captain of the ship seemed worried about their dwindling freshwater supply. One of the crew members missed his pregnant wife. Another was concerned about the price of their goods at the destination port.
But the most interesting was the young person. Their intention was full of questions: How deep is this sea? What kind of creatures live down there? What would it feel like to swim with big fish?
Genuine curiosity, Li Yuan thought with a sense of nostalgia. Just like me long ago, sitting by the river's edge wondering about the essence of water.
For a moment, Li Yuan was tempted to approach. It had been so long since he had interacted with humans—five years on Narau Island, not to mention thousands of years before that in cultivation and meditation. A part of him longed for the complexity of human conversation, the warmth of social connection, even just to see a human face again.
But then he remembered the lesson he had learned. He was still in the process of learning from the sea itself. Still on a journey to fully understand his new abilities in the Wenjing Realm. Rushing back into the human world might cut this important learning process short.
Not yet, he decided with wisdom born from thousands of years of experience. I will meet with humans again, but let that meeting happen naturally, at the right time.
However, he couldn't resist doing something small.
Through his individual Understanding of Water within the one-meter radius—different from the Universal effect which only listens—Li Yuan began to communicate with the seawater around him. He sent a simple intention through the water: calmness, safety, a smooth journey.
The water received that intention and began to spread it through the small currents heading toward the ship. It wasn't direct manipulation—Li Yuan wasn't trying to change the weather or control the sea. He was just... sharing a little of the peace he possessed.
A few minutes later, he saw a subtle change in the ship's movement. The wind seemed a little friendlier, the waves a little calmer around the ship's hull. More importantly, through his Wenjing Realm, he heard a change in the intentions of the crew.
The captain's worry lessened a bit. The crew member's longing for his wife turned into a stronger hope of seeing her soon. And the young person... their intention turned into pure joy as they felt the beauty of the sea that suddenly felt friendlier.
That is enough, Li Yuan thought with satisfaction. A little kindness without revealing oneself. A little help without creating dependency.
Li Yuan watched the ship until it disappeared on the horizon, taking with it its passengers who would probably never know that they had been touched by the kindness of a cultivator who was almost sixteen thousand years old.
After the ship was gone from sight, Li Yuan felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: the satisfaction born from helping others selflessly. Not a dramatic satisfaction or one filled with recognition, but a quiet and deep satisfaction—a satisfaction born from sharing a little light without expecting anything in return.
This is also a part of cultivation, Li Yuan reflected as he began to flow with the current again. It's not just the understanding or the power that we develop, but also the ability to give kindness in a wise and unobtrusive way.
The brief encounter with the ship had reminded him of something important: he wasn't a cultivator living separate from the world, but a part of a larger network of life. His every action, no matter how small, had an impact. And with power comes responsibility—the responsibility to use that ability wisely, with compassion, and with a deep understanding of its consequences.
Through his passive Wenjing Realm effect, Li Yuan could still hear the faint echoes of the crew's intentions until they reached the limit of his perceptive radius. And even after they had completely disappeared from his hearing range, he carried in his heart the warmth of that brief connection.
Humans, he thought with a sincere smile. Complex creatures, full of contradictions, but also full of the potential for good. I miss them. And someday, when the time is right, I will walk among them again.
But for now, the sea still had many lessons to teach. And Li Yuan, with a heart a little warmer from the brief encounter with civilization, continued his journey toward the endless horizon, ready for the next lesson that awaited.