Golden Belly Ink Carp

Poof!

Poof!

Poof!

The faint gunshots of the Desert Eagle 1.0 occasionally rang out in rapid succession beneath the shade of the trees beside Little River Bay, then stopped for a while before starting up again.

The surrounding trees and passing birds all became the Desert Eagle's imaginary enemies.

Duke had been practicing his marksmanship under the blazing sun by the undeveloped farm. To conceal what he was doing, he had simply bought a fishing rod and started fishing in Little River Bay.

"It's unbearably hot. It's already four in the afternoon, and without any wind, I'd roast to death."

The fish were probably hiding from the summer heat too. After half an hour of fishing, not a single one had bitten the hook.

Duke wiped the sweat from his head, not particularly bothered.

He wasn't fishing to catch anything. He only wanted his marksmanship to improve day by day.

Practicing with a gun in the scorching August heat gave him the hazy feeling of training through winter's deepest cold and summer's fiercest heat. Watching his increasingly precise marksmanship filled him with a sense of accomplishment every day.

Suddenly.

The float was dragged underwater. A fish had bitten the hook.

Duke waited for the float to steady, then immediately raised the rod. But perhaps his fishing skills were lacking. He had only just pulled a small, pitch-black fish out of the water when a splash erupted, and the fish actually slipped off the hook.

"Damn it!" Duke lifted the hook. The earthworm on it had already been eaten.

He threaded on another half of an earthworm and lowered the hook again.

Before long, the float was pulled underwater once more. When Duke raised the rod again, the small fish broke free yet again. In the space of an hour, Duke had hauled up nothing seven or eight times in a row.

Even though he wasn't truly invested in fishing, his anger was roused.

He set the bait beside the river, stared fixedly at the water, and held the Desert Eagle 1.0 in one hand while quietly waiting for the float to sink again. After only a few minutes, the float began to sink. The dark silhouette of a small fish drifted near the surface, occasionally bumping the hook, yet it never actually bit.

It was as if it already knew someone was fishing from the bank and had come merely to tease him.

"I've been indulging you too much!"

Duke slightly furrowed his brows. The Desert Eagle's sights were already trained on the fish's dark shadow. When the fish neared the surface, his battle qi poured into his hand. Powerful strength kept the Desert Eagle steady, and at the critical instant, he pulled the trigger.

Poof!

The bullet tore through the water's surface in an instant, followed by a huge bubble surging up from beneath the water.

When everything had settled, several chunks of flesh covered in black scales were slowly floating on the surface. The corners of Duke's mouth curled into a faint smile as he took out his landing net and scooped up the chunks.

"I'll fry them when I get back."

After dealing with the little fish that had teased him, Duke's mood recovered. He threaded on another earthworm and began fishing and practicing his marksmanship once more.

The blazing sun began to sink westward, and the scorching heat weakened somewhat. After firing nine bullets in a row, Duke smoothly reloaded, put the Desert Eagle away, and recovered from the expenditure caused by shooting.

The energy line was unbroken, and the Desert Eagle's bullets were infinite.

He closed his eyes and looked inward at his spirit sea. Beside Nine-Ring Xiao Yi, a light screen resembling a fluorescent display appeared in the sea of starlight.

This was a process table Duke had specifically asked Xiao Yi to create.

It outlined in words the processes Xiao Yi was currently running.

"Process One: Field Meditation, idle consumption at 50% power. Current spirit sea level: 0-Ring, Two-Star Spiritual Apprentice (Condensing Liquid into Line). Estimated advancement progress: 8.7%. Time budget: 221 days."

"Process Two: Rainfall Breathing Technique, idle consumption at 25% power. Current Qi Sea level: 0-Ring Spiritual Plant Servant. Estimated advancement progress: 2.1%. Time budget: 1,052 days."

"Process Three: Desert Eagle 1.1 muzzle compensator version, development consuming 20% power. Current development progress: 42.3%. Time budget: 21 days."

"Process Four: Chat Dialogue Program, reserving 5% power."

The Rainfall Breathing Technique did not run continuously for all twenty-four hours, so the number of days required to advance to a 0-Ring Spirit Plant Master was far greater than the displayed 1,052 days.

Duke only left the Rainfall Breathing Technique running continuously when he needed to stay alert while outside.

In his spare time, he occasionally cultivated the 0-Ring Spiritual Plant—Earth Orchid. It was the chive-like weed he had discovered while hunting the Black Jade Snake. He hoped to cultivate it into bloom soon; perhaps it would be able to regulate spiritual energy by then.

As for the rest of the time, he was too lazy to cultivate.

The reason was simple. Qi Sea Cultivation, like Blood Sea Cultivation, had extremely limited potential. After opening their Qi Seas, most people remained at the 0-Ring Spirit Plant Master level for decades, while only a tiny minority could advance to become 1-ring Great Spirit Plant Masters. As for the subsequent 2-Ring Spirit Envoy level, it was practically impossible.

In the entire Chen Jiao City, the people who could advance to become 2-Ring Spirit Envoys could be counted on one hand.

After all.

A 2-Ring Spirit Envoy needed to form a contract with an elf, and elves were born from spiritual plants. Their birth rate was far lower than the rate at which spirit beasts evolved into phantom beasts.

Thus.

When the Rainfall Breathing Technique was not running, Xiao Yi devoted all her idle power to the Desert Eagle development series. At Duke's instruction, she was currently improving the silencer.

When he discovered that the silencer could eliminate sound almost one hundred percent, Duke realized that he couldn't use data from real guns to limit this First-Ring Arcane Artifact.

A silencer attachment could completely suppress sound, stabilize bullets, increase range, and perform various other functions.

All it needed was a properly constructed spell model.

That was how the Desert Eagle 1.1 muzzle compensator version came about. Building on the silencer, it added the effect of a compensator, allowing the bullets to fly more steadily and farther, and even increasing their power.

"Xiao Yi's computing power still isn't strong enough!"

After sighing for a while, Duke opened his eyes and continued practicing with his gun and fishing.

Poof, poof, poof!

He raised his hand and fired three shots. A bird that had just flown past was struck precisely by one of the bullets and exploded into a mist of blood on the spot.

The Desert Eagle 1.0's bullets were far too vicious against ordinary small animals.

As a result, Duke couldn't even shoot a few birds for a snack. The moment a bullet grazed a bird, it would explode into a mass of bloody scraps.

Just then.

The float was pulled underwater once again. Another fish had bitten the hook.

Duke took a close look and saw another pitch-black little fish beneath the water. It bit the hook, then spat it out, teasing him back and forth.

"You want to see what it feels like to be blown apart too?"

Duke repeated his old trick. He pulled the hook up to the surface, aimed the Desert Eagle at the water, and waited until the little fish came to bite the hook again before abruptly firing a bullet.

Poof!

A string of bubbles floated up from beneath the water, but no shattered fish chunks rose to the surface. Instead, a small fish with a black back and yellowish belly could be seen floating on the water.

A bullet hole pierced the area around its tail, blasting away half its caudal fin.

"Hm?" Duke picked up the landing net with a brilliant smile. "That shot was pretty good. It even left the whole body intact. I can steam the little fish when I get back tonight... It looks a bit like a crucian carp, but also a little like a carp. Its colors are quite attractive."

The moment the landing net scooped up the little fish, it gave a sudden leap. It was actually still alive.

Blood was still flowing from the bullet hole near its tail.

"That's one tough little thing." Delighted, Duke tipped the fish into a bucket of water. "It's rare for small prey to retain its whole body under the Desert Eagle's muzzle. This little fish actually survived!"

Xiao Yi suddenly reminded him, "Master, this little fish may be the 0-Ring Spirit Beast—Golden Belly Ink Carp."

"A spirit beast? Golden Belly Ink Carp?"

Duke gazed happily at the little fish leaping in the bucket. It was about thirty centimeters long, so it wasn't actually small, but its body was somewhat flat. When he sensed it carefully, he could clearly detect a faint spiritual aura emanating from the fish.

It really was a 0-Ring Spirit Beast, the Golden Belly Ink Carp.