Li Yang reached a depth of thirteen meters.
'The pressure is starting to build at this depth!'
Li Yang thought to himself. He had assumed he could move about the seafloor without any restrictions, but it turned out there were limits after all.
'The ocean has pressure, and it increases with depth. At the very deepest points, anything could be crushed instantly. My cultivation and physical conditioning allow me to walk freely underwater, but not if I exceed my limits.'
Even with the combined efforts of every country on Earth, humanity has explored less than five percent of the ocean. The main problem is that the deepest parts are simply unreachable.
To this day, the deepest trenches of the ocean remain a profound mystery to everyone.
A few days ago, during his first trip into the sea, Li Yang had tested his limits. He started feeling the pressure at ten meters, and by the time he reached thirteen, he couldn't go any further. Forcing himself would have put immense strain on his body.
But now, he only started feeling that pressure at thirteen meters.
'The stronger I get, the deeper I'll be able to explore the ocean!' Li Yang thought.
He tested his new limit and found he couldn't proceed once he reached a depth of sixteen meters.
'This is deep enough for now. This area is large enough for me to explore for a good while!'
Knowing his limit, Li Yang didn't push it. He began to swiftly explore the surrounding area.
Deep beneath the waves, Li Yang strolled alone underwater, his skin seemingly breathing. The silence was broken only by the gentle sound of the current.
He was only a little over ten meters from the surface, but it felt like another world entirely.
His gaze was met with a brilliant, shimmering gradient of blue. Small fish swam by his side, watching him with curiosity, and some even circled around him.
Colorful coral swayed with soft, gentle movements, and various shellfish crept slowly by his feet.
Li Yang also spotted several sea turtles.
On land, sea turtles are slow, but in the ocean, they are remarkably agile.
One turtle, which looked quite old, stared at Li Yang with what seemed like a hint of confusion. Perhaps in its memory, it had only ever seen creatures called "humans" on shore. Why was one in the sea?
After a glance, the large sea turtle swam over to Li Yang's side.
Looking at the large turtle, Li Yang guessed from the patterns on its shell that it was at least fifty years old. Barnacles were growing on those patterns, and from its demeanor, the turtle seemed to be asking for help.
Li Yang casually used his small knife to scrape off the barnacles. Though he could walk on the seafloor now, he still maintained a necessary level of caution.
The bottom of the sea wasn't necessarily safe. There were ferocious creatures like great sharks, which was why he had brought a small knife.
While exploring the area, Li Yang took a moment to help the sea turtle by cleaning off its barnacles.
People who grow up by the sea know that turtles represent longevity and good fortune, symbolizing a safe return from the ocean. That's why even if fishing boats catch a turtle, they will always release it.
After he finished, the sea turtle nuzzled against him in a very human-like way before swimming back to its previous spot to rest.
Li Yang continued his search. As he went deeper, the amount of marine life noticeably increased.
He occasionally came across crabs and lobsters, but they were all too small to be worthwhile. Li Yang paid them no mind.
Besides, he only had two hands and couldn't carry much anyway.
After searching for several hours, Li Yang still had nothing to show for it.
'I should head back to shore first, get some cultivation in, and then come back.'
A few hours had passed, and his body had fully recovered, so he could continue cultivating and tempering his physique.
As he was heading back, something suddenly caught his attention.
It was a large sea turtle—the very same one he had encountered earlier. It was currently staring intently at a crevice in the rocks, as if there was something there.
Curious, Li Yang walked over. There were several reefs with a series of crevices between them.
As he was looking, the sea turtle suddenly retracted its head, and two giant pincers shot out.
Whoa. Those two massive pincers were thicker than a grown man's thigh and were a deep black color.
'Is that... a giant lobster?'
Seeing it, Li Yang froze for a moment.
'My luck... I was just thinking about a giant lobster, and I actually found one!'
He took a closer look. The giant lobster, nestled in the crack between two reefs, was definitely over ninety centimeters long, though probably not quite a full meter.
Its overall color was black, with some other hues mixed in. Its entire body looked as if it were encased in a suit of armor, so hard and formidable that most people wouldn't even dare to approach it.
Looking at its thick, enormous pincers, he knew it could probably snap a person in two if it got a hold of them.
The large sea turtle saw Li Yang arrive and gave up on the lobster, swimming over to circle around him instead.
"You really are my lucky star," Li Yang said with a smile as he patted the large turtle.
If it hadn't been for this turtle, he really wouldn't have noticed the giant lobster hidden in the rock crevice.
After all, his exploration wasn't thorough enough to check every single nook and cranny. Besides, marine creatures were constantly moving, so finding one required a bit of luck.
'One this big... it must be worth at least a hundred thousand, right?' Li Yang thought with anticipation.
In his few days in the ocean, this was the most valuable piece of seafood he had encountered.
Forcibly suppressing his excitement, Li Yang approached with extreme caution.
Finding it was just the first step. The crucial part was figuring out how to catch this nearly meter-long giant lobster.
The seafloor was the home turf of these marine creatures. Even though Li Yang's physical abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary person, he didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless.
He pinpointed the lobster's position within the reef, cautiously drew near, and then reached out to grab it.
These creatures weren't actually very quick to react. If you moved slowly enough, they often wouldn't notice in time.
However, when Li Yang's hand was less than half a meter away, the giant lobster seemed to sense he was trouble. It shot backward, instantly zipping out of the crevice and reappearing several meters away.
Its powerful tail muscles contracted rapidly, pushing water forward. With each contraction, its body shot backward with incredible speed.
After a few quick retreats, it darted into another reef crevice.
'Figures it wouldn't be easy to catch.' Li Yang shook his head and slowly approached again, resuming the hunt.
He was no expert lobster catcher, so he had to play a game of cat and mouse with it. Finally, the giant lobster retreated to a massive reef and hid. This reef was huge, and it had no escape route.
Seeing this, Li Yang's eyes lit up.
Since there was no way out, all he had to do was block the exit, and it would be in the bag.
'Come to papa!'
A smile on his face, Li Yang slowly extended both his hands toward the opening of the crevice.
At the same time, he was on high alert. Even though his body was several times tougher than an ordinary person's, Li Yang had no desire to get pinched by this giant lobster.
After retreating a bit, the giant lobster seemed to realize it was trapped. Facing this detestable intruder, it couldn't help but wave its massive pincers and snap viciously at Li Yang.