The Last Rod

"Oh, right, Eldest Senior Brother, we've been chatting for a while, but you haven't gotten to the main point yet!"

"Main point? What main point?"

Lin Yu blinked in surprise and looked at the fishing rod in his hand. Though he said nothing, his meaning was clear: wasn't accompanying Eldest Senior Brother on a fishing trip the main point?

"Eldest Senior Brother, you've traveled all the way from Yuezhou. What is the purpose of your visit?" Lu Bei reminded him.

"Oh, you mean this..."

Lin Yu frowned and thought for a moment. "Junior Disciple Brother Lu, I won't hide it from you. I'm here on a mission. The Head of the Discipline Hall has ordered me to assess your character and moral integrity."

"What if it's good, and what if it's bad?"

"Good, you're accepted. Bad, you're avoided!"

Lin Yu stated truthfully, "Uncle-Master Mo's remains have been interred in the Lingxiao Sword Sect's Immortal Mausoleum. You are his only disciple. Although you haven't been officially registered, the Lingxiao Sword Sect won't let you wander alone outside... Hmm? Junior Disciple Brother Lu, your talent is astonishing. Junior Sister Bai mentioned when she returned to the mountain that you had just achieved Opening Apertures, and now you've already reached Foundation Establishment."

Lin Yu stopped mid-sentence, realizing Bai Jin's information was outdated. He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"It was quick, I thought everyone progressed like this."

Lu Bei scratched his head. "It's mainly because Master left me a bottle of Peiyuan Pills. My cultivation advanced rapidly after taking them."

"No wonder."

Lin Yu nodded and spoke frankly, "Around noon, I sensed your presence in an underground palace outside the Feather Transformation Sect. You were using formations to hone your foundation, which I assume Uncle-Master Mo specifically left for you."

"Eldest Senior Brother saw that?"

"Just a glance. Please don't blame me, Junior Disciple Brother. I didn't intend to look at you then."

Lin Yu gave an awkward smile. The little fox guarding the gate had said Lu Bei wasn't home, so he'd planned to find a fishing spot and wait. He then detected spiritual energy fluctuations from the underground palace and couldn't help but glance over.

Out of curiosity, Sanqing Peak had very little spiritual energy, practically none. Suddenly, there was a place with dense spiritual energy fluctuations, and he couldn't resist taking a look.

"It's fine. It's not like it's a secret. Eldest Senior Brother is one of us, so it's okay if you looked."

Lu Bei rolled his eyes. He wanted to be upset, but he didn't have the ability.

However, Lin Yu had given him a reminder. Cultivators have keen senses. The Feather Transformation Sect lacked formation concealment and magic treasure protection, making it equivalent to being naked to powerful cultivators. He needed to find a solution quickly.

He didn't care about himself, but it was crucial for the little foxes, especially Hu Jiao, who was on the verge of transforming. She was a young lady; what if some pervert peeked while she was bathing?

"Junior Disciple Brother Lu, don't worry. With Eldest Senior Brother here, besides fishing, my greatest expertise is in formations. Once I finish this cast, I'll set up a Mountain Protecting Great Array for the Feather Transformation Sect."

Lin Yu patted his chest. "I won't boast about anything else, but any cultivator with a cultivation level lower than mine will have their divine sense perception blocked outside the array. Inside, their life and death will be at your command. It's an integrated offensive and defensive system, guaranteed to satisfy you, Junior Disciple Brother."

"What if the incoming cultivator's level is higher than Eldest Senior Brother's?"

"Junior Disciple Brother, why would you provoke such a person?"

"That's true."

Lu Bei nodded. He had overthought it.

Lu Bei wasn't sure of Lin Yu's cultivation level, but seeing him take out his fishing rod and folding stool without a Qiankun Bag or any encrypted spatial equipment like rings or jade pendants suggested he was at least level 60.

What did level 60 mean?

In version 1.0, the player level cap was only 50. In the Nine Bamboo Mountain lineage where Sanqing Peak was located, only three people were above level 20. The formation Lin Yu set up would be considered beyond the standard for a beginner village and would be sufficient for a long time.

"Eldest Senior Brother, you traveled so far, and I haven't even had a chance to host you properly, yet you're already..."

"It's a small matter. Junior Disciple Brother doesn't need to take it to heart. If you insist on feeling indebted, just accompany me fishing for a few days," Lin Yu said, waving his hand dismissively and interrupting him.

"Certainly. I'll make sure Eldest Senior Brother has a thoroughly enjoyable time."

Lu Bei nodded and stared into the deep pool without speaking, contemplating that there weren't enough fish here. Eldest Senior Brother was such a good person; he couldn't let him return empty-handed. He'd go down the mountain tomorrow and buy hundreds of pounds of big fish to stock the pond.

As he thought about it, Lu Bei suddenly spotted a business opportunity.

With a little arrangement for the deep pool and some shelters from wind and rain, it could become another place to earn money from players.

Why hadn't he thought of this before!

"Eldest Senior Brother, how long do you plan to stay at the Feather Transformation Sect? Give me an approximate timeframe so I can make arrangements."

"Not many days."

Lin Yu thought for a moment and replied, "My journey is slow. It will take some time to return to the sect, so I should have set off two days earlier."

Just two days?

You set off a month early!

Lu Bei knew Lin Yu would stop to fish a few more times along the way, but he didn't point it out. He said confidently, "In that case, Eldest Senior Brother should spend more time on the assessment. It would be biased for me to judge myself. Why don't you ask around at the other peaks and see what everyone thinks of me?"

"That's natural."

Seeing Lu Bei's genuine confidence in his own character, Lin Yu felt reassured and silently marked him as "good."

Lin Yu had some things he hadn't told Lu Bei. His descent this time was a mission assigned by the Head of the Discipline Hall, who was also his mother. Before leaving, the Head of the Discipline Hall had given him some instructions, mentioning how Lu Bei was alone, helpless, and isolated, and asked him to be mindful when scoring, ensuring his own people weren't wronged.

Not long after leaving the sect, he unexpectedly ran into the Sect Master, who was also his father, out for a stroll. He was given further instructions, with the Sect Master speaking of how the foundations were rotten, the father stole eggs while the son stole chickens, the father killed while the son set fires, and each generation was worse than the last. He was told to be careful when scoring, not to bring corrupt practices back to the Lingxiao Sword Sect.

Lin Yu found this rather exasperating. He had heard some gossip about the grievances between the previous generation. Since his parents were involved, he didn't offer any commentary. He treated their suggestions, heavily influenced by personal emotions, as if they were unheard.

Lin Yu had his own criteria for judgment and standards for evaluating good and bad.

First, when he first saw Lu Bei, the latter was consolidating his foundation in the underground palace. This alone was enough to prove he was a diligent and good junior disciple brother.

Second, Lu Bei likes to fish.

What bad intentions could a person who likes to fish have?

None, surely.

Excellent.

It must be excellent, no doubt about it, no changes needed.

"Eldest Senior Brother, the sun is about to set, and no fish are biting. Shall we go back?"

"Indeed, the fishing here is poor. Based on my many years of experience, I can't catch any..."

Hiss hiss hiss—

The fishing line cut through the water, the rod in Lu Bei's hand suddenly dipped, and he quickly stood up and reeled in. "I got one, Eldest Senior Brother, I've hooked a fish."

Lin Yu: "..."

He watched with a dark expression as Lu Bei awkwardly reeled the fish ashore with his rough technique. The scales in his heart suddenly tipped. He had been too hasty in judging him as excellent before and needed to re-evaluate.

"Eldest Senior Brother, what did you just say? I was too focused on reeling in the fish to hear you clearly."

Lu Bei happily reeled in the fish. It was about a pound, just the right size to cook.

"Nothing."

Lin Yu said indifferently, "This Silver-Striped Back is palm-sized, still a fry. Heaven has compassion for all living things. Let it go later!"

"Alright, when Eldest Senior Brother catches a big one, we'll have a feast tonight."

Lu Bei sat down and continued fishing. Seeing that Lin Yu always seemed to be on his last cast, he couldn't help but say, "Eldest Senior Brother, it's getting late. I have a few hungry little fox demons waiting for me at home to start cooking."

"Speaking of which, why are you keeping fox demons, Junior Disciple Brother? Don't you know that's illegal?" Lin Yu frowned.

"I'm not keeping them, I'm just taking them in."

Lu Bei answered honestly, "These little foxes live with me on Sanqing Peak, so they're practically neighbors. I saw how pitiful they were, alone and helpless, so I took them in out of compassion."

"But they've already developed sentience. Once they transform..."

"I fed them Qi Ling Pills. I want them to transform."

Lu Bei said with shame, "It's better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish. Instead of me supporting them, it's better for them to become self-reliant. It's inconvenient to travel up and down Nine Bamboo Mountain. I plan to open a shop to help out the disciples with lower cultivation levels on the surrounding peaks. If they transform, they can be of great help."

As he spoke, Lu Bei briefly explained his business plan.

"Junior Disciple Brother, your..."

Lin Yu frowned deeply. "There's no business like this. If you open a shop on Sanqing Peak, you won't even have any passersby. You'll probably lose money!"

"Eldest Senior Brother worries too much. Lu Bei has decent connections. If I really open a shop, friends from all the peaks will surely come to support me. At most, I'll lose a little, not too much."

Lu Bei smiled slightly, as if speaking casually, "Besides, it doesn't matter if I make money or not. It's enough if I can help everyone."

As the sun set, bathed in the last golden-red afterglow, his faint smile radiated with a strong conviction. His pure and kind heart shone through, dazzling Lin Yu so much that he could barely open his eyes.

He felt a solemn respect for Lu Bei's altruistic spirit and felt inferior. A scene from his youth, where Bai Jin had pinned him to the ground and beaten him, flashed before his eyes.

Look at others, then look at yourself, and then think of the high hopes your parents have for you...

Comparing yourself to others is too humiliating!

Lin Yu was inspired by Lu Bei's spiritual state. His heart stirred, and a surge of hot blood made his face turn red. He thought to himself that he couldn't be decadent anymore. It was one thing to be surpassed by a junior sister, but he absolutely couldn't be surpassed by a junior disciple brother.

He made up his mind that after this cast, he would diligently cultivate. He wouldn't touch a fishing rod again for ten years...

Forget it, ten years is too long. Seize the day. One day is enough. After this cast, he wouldn't touch a fishing rod again before sunrise tomorrow.

A true man keeps his word. If he says he won't touch it, he won't.

Lin Yu's heart was set. He raised his rod and cast. He hadn't made up his mind before, so it didn't count. This was the last cast.

"Junior Disciple Brother, this is really the last cast this time!"

"Let's make it an even three. One more cast."

"Junior Disciple Brother, don't rush. Senior Brother has a rule: after three casts, I have to reward myself with one more."

"Reward finished, now for a penalty cast!"

"Still no fish, I'm ashamed. Another penalty cast..."

"..."

It got dark, and then it got light again.

In the early morning, Lu Bei, covered in dew, gazed expectantly at the more than a dozen large fish he had caught. He thought to himself that the beginner's protection period was indeed powerful.

He then looked at Lin Yu next to him, who had caught nothing, and didn't know what to say.

It turned out that there were plenty of fish in the deep pool, but the "empty-handed" buff was too strong.

Lin Yu was speechless with embarrassment and chuckled, "Junior Disciple Brother, this pond is no good. The local fish have low morals and bully me because I'm an outsider."