Absolute Reversal

The kitchen hand versus the fishing expert? The news drew quite a few Star Masters to watch.

Huang Li was utterly disappointed in Chen Fusheng. Even if he and Liu Bai were friends, who was she? How could she keep favoring outsiders like this?

"I bet Liu Bai will lose even his pants."

"He's panicking and grasping at straws. Just wait and see. After this bet, Liu Bai will be the biggest sucker of them all."

"Hahaha..."

Everyone burst out laughing. Wang Lie's legs went weak, while Liu Bai began to regret it. But the bow had already been drawn, and there was no turning back. All he could do was frantically pray that the Goddess of Luck would favor him.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command, the two men held up their Golden Silk Nets and infused them with qi-sea energy. Blinding golden radiance erupted through the black mist.

Because the Flood Dragon Ship carrying the Ten Thousand Fish Banquet moved unusually slowly, the vast river churned with raging waves. The hazy outlines of distant islands could faintly be seen.

Chen Fusheng did not activate the Purple Python Crossing River Diagram. With his current Physical Roots, the Spirit Snake Diagram's enhancement was enough to probe the distant waters.

What surprised him was that Fire Monkey had already cast his net. Could this kid really be an expert?

Chen Fusheng steadied himself and carefully analyzed the information from the river. The scale of the fish was absolutely beyond comparison with the Black River within a few hundred li.

"Fire Monkey's control of the Golden Silk Net is incredibly precise. He's using overwhelming force to guide the net through the water."

"Look, there's movement in his net! What's wrong with this cook? Why is he still standing there? Does he really think he can use spiritual perception to detect the traces of spirit fish?"

In the eyes of the world, this wager was purely a contest of luck. Fire Monkey's Golden Silk Net moved through the water like a swimming dragon, trapping quite a number of fish.

Chen Fusheng silently probed the waters. Relying on his powerful physical perception, he sensed the fluctuations of a small school of fish.

His eyes widened. He cast the Golden Silk Net, transforming it into ten thousand streams of golden light that spread across the area he sensed.

"Hm?"

Yet the instant the Golden Silk Net touched the surface, Chen Fusheng discovered that the school of fish darted away at an astonishing speed, as though they had foreseen it.

Chen Fusheng frowned. Just as he was about to draw back the net and cast a second one to intercept them, something strange happened—the school of fish actually dove into Fire Monkey's net!

"Splash!"

The sound of boiling river water rang out. Everyone cried in surprise as Fire Monkey hauled up his Golden Silk Net, bringing more than a hundred fish bursting out of the water.

"My heavens, Fire Monkey's luck is far too good! Damn, look, there's a spirit fish!"

A spirit fish?!

Liu Bai's vision went black. If Wang Lie had not caught him, he would probably have collapsed on the spot.

"It's over. I'm finished!" Liu Bai felt like his brain was about to bleed.

"Can't you keep your cool?" The more Wang Lie thought about it, the angrier he became. Even if they really lost, they could not humiliate themselves like this.

Ling Yao swept her gaze across the scene and laughed loudly. "If you ask me, one spirit fish is enough to guarantee a complete victory. And you, little cook, are you still going to waste everyone's time here?"

Ling Chen was even more pleased. He raised the nine-jin spirit fish high and shouted, "A nine-jin Silver Spear Fish! Hahaha, little cook, are you still refusing to admit defeat?"

Fire Monkey glanced at Chen Fusheng's empty net and sneered. "In fact, competing with a cook makes me feel as if I've already lost!"

"Who are you insulting?"

Chen Fusheng's indifferent voice rang out. Immediately afterward, he shook the Golden Silk Net!

"Do you think you're worthy of my insulting you?" Fire Monkey swiftly followed, casting his net while releasing medicinal Scented Bait powder to snatch the fish. But Chen Fusheng was faster. His net-shaped aura enveloped the school.

As he hauled it up with all his strength, the people who had been mocking the cook were stunned.

There was only one fish!

More precisely, it was a strange fish weighing a hundred jin. Green light radiated from its entire body, making it resemble emerald jade beneath the night sky and filling the onlookers with boundless vitality.

Everyone crowded around to look. What kind of fish was this?

"Ah, this is!"

Liu Bai shouted excitedly, "It's a Longevity Fish! A Longevity Fish, a Longevity Fish!"

"Wow!"

The entire scene erupted. The Longevity Fish was not a spirit fish, but it was extremely valuable. Its body contained a rich store of vital energy that could be extracted to refine Longevity Pills!

Even the most ordinary Longevity Pill could extend one's life by five to ten years, making it an absolute hot commodity on the market.

Legend had it that in the distant past, a Longevity Fish weighing ten thousand jin had once appeared in the Black River. It had been refined into dozens of pills capable of extending one's life by a hundred years, each worth several million starstones!

After all, a Divine Wandering Star Master lived for more than three hundred years. The value of such life-extending pills was astonishing beyond measure.

Ling Yao's expression shifted between dark and light. Did Chen Fusheng really possess a talent for fishing?

What angered her even more was that Chen Fusheng had gotten lucky and exploited the opening just now. Otherwise, the Longevity Fish would have belonged to Fire Monkey.

"Look, he's caught something again!"

The atmosphere grew feverish. Fire Monkey used the Scented Bait to haul up a second net. Though it contained no spirit fish, his total catch had already surpassed Chen Fusheng's.

"Kid, I'll make sure you don't catch a single fish." Fire Monkey's face turned sinister. "That Longevity Fish is mine too!"

"Wait until you win before you start boasting."

Chen Fusheng thought of Old Han, who had been fishing for Flood Dragons. So the nine-jin spirit fish had suddenly darted into his net because of this? It seemed Fire Monkey had mastered a Scented Bait that attracted the fish.

"There are less than thirty breaths left!"

The referee's voice suddenly rang out. Liu Bai's heart leaped into his throat, and the scene fell utterly silent.

Chen Fusheng abruptly pulled up the Golden Silk Net. Everyone stared in astonishment at its emptiness, but he moved with incredible speed, rushing toward the distant fishing spot.

Fire Monkey's expression turned cold. He seized the Golden Silk Net and followed ruthlessly.

Everyone was puzzled. What were they doing? Had they both discovered some enormous fish at the same time?

"Cook, I told you already. You won't catch a single fish. Admit defeat and get lost." Fire Monkey appeared beside Chen Fusheng and cast his net.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, Chen Fusheng stamped his foot into the ground. With a backflip, he sprang onto the spot where Fire Monkey had originally been fishing.

"Whoosh!"

Power surged through Chen Fusheng's arms as he swung the Golden Silk Net. The instant it shot into the water, the river churned into towering waves.

A blinding burst of light rose from the riverbed, as though ink had been splashed across the water.

"What?"

"That is!"

Under the successive horrified gazes of the crowd, the rumbling from the riverbed grew increasingly deafening. A huge silhouette could vaguely be seen twisting and struggling within the Golden Silk Net!

"That's an Alligator Horned Beast!"

The Alligator Horned Beast possessed part of the bloodline of an ancient giant crocodile. Its hardest part was the horn on its forehead, which could be carved out and forged into a Sound Wave Horn.

Compared to other wondrous weapons, if an Alligator Horned Beast matured to a sufficiently terrifying level, its horn could even be crafted into a star artifact. When blown, its sound could travel ten thousand li and shatter a Three Realms Star Master at close range!

Wang Lie and the others worked together to haul the Alligator Horned Beast up. The sight caused an uproar, and Fire Monkey roared furiously, "You tricked me just now, you bastard! You stole the Alligator Horned Beast I lured out with my Scented Bait!"

"What? Scented Bait?"

Liu Bai glared with eyes wide open. "You son of a—no wonder you kept catching spirit fish! Believe me, I'll beat you to death!"

In his fury, a massive shield of armor rose behind Liu Bai and crashed toward Fire Monkey with overwhelming force.

Fire Monkey was terrified. He was not skilled at fighting. Fortunately, the referee stopped Liu Bai at the critical moment and warned him, "If you fight on the Flood Dragon, do you all want to be thrown into the Black River to feed the fish?"

Liu Bai was still furious, but then he realized that everything he had lost had come back to him. He burst into wild laughter. "Hahaha, I won! Now that's what you call an Absolute Reversal! Ling Chen, hurry up and hand over my starstones, and my Star Bow Crossbow too!"

With that, he strode forward and snatched Huang Li's Star Bow Crossbow away.

Huang Li's heart nearly wept. Was her nominal younger brother born specifically to torment her?

Ling Yao said coldly, "A loss is a loss. I can give you the Star Bow Crossbow, but why should I give you the starstones you won just now?"

"Those were Ling Chen's exact words just now. Everyone can testify!" Liu Bai shouted.

"Oh? Who can testify?" Ling Yao's icy gaze swept across the surroundings.

The entire scene fell into ghostly silence. Ling Yao was about to reach the Divine Wandering level and would become one of the Ten Great Disciples in the future. Who would dare stand up for Liu Bai?

"You..." Liu Bai looked in all directions. No one said a word?

"I say, Liu Bai, how can you take a child's words seriously?"

"Exactly, Liu Bai. Ling Chen was just talking offhandedly. Besides, winning this round was pure luck."

"Heh, who couldn't tell that the cook deliberately stole Fire Monkey's Alligator Horned Beast? I say, little cook, take your gains and quit while you're ahead."

The disciples who were close to Ling Yao spoke one after another. Chen Fusheng swept his cold gaze over them. "So what if I'm a cook? Fire Monkey used Scented Bait to rig the game—why didn't you say anything about that? Instead, by your logic, I've become the villain who kicked someone while they were down?"

"How dare you! As a kitchen hand in the Dining Hall, you actually have no regard for status or seniority. Do you have any respect for the law?"

Ling Yao seized the opportunity to rebuke him. "Letting you step forward to compete was already showing you respect. How dare you question a disciple of the Inner Courtyard? You should at least look at what kind of status you have."

"Exactly. Besides, the rules never said Scented Bait couldn't be used."

Fire Monkey was unwilling to accept his loss. He sneered viciously. "A cook who doesn't understand respect or hierarchy. No matter what, I'm an alchemist. Yet you, a mere cook, have not the slightest reverence."

Mu Zhen could not stand listening any longer and was just about to step forward. But considering her sensitive identity, she feared causing trouble for Chen Fusheng.

Suddenly, Wang Lie came striding over with three huge, fierce-looking fat men, followed by dozens of cooks carrying butcher knives.