Upgraded Fishing

In the pre-dawn hours, Luo Can finished consolidating his strength and began carefully examining the detailed changes to the system permissions and Fate-Defying Spring after their upgrades.

He summoned the Virtual Panel, and lines of information appeared before his eyes:

[Angler: Luo Can]

[Permission: Level 2 (0/50000)]

[Highest Fishing Quality: Black]

[Daily Fishing Time: 3 hours]

[Current Points: 700]

[Only Fishing Spot: Fate-Defying Spring (Level: Spirit)]

"Holy shit!" Luo Can blurted out.

"Fifty thousand Points to upgrade to Level 3 Permission?! That's ten times as much?!"

He stared at the number for several seconds before confirming that he had not read it wrong. What frustrated him even more was that the quality cap for fished items remained "black"—meaning the upgrade had not directly unlocked higher-quality items.

"System, your upgrade system is kind of a scam..."

He muttered, but then reconsidered. Since he had paid such a massive price to upgrade, the effects had to improve somehow. As for exactly how, he would have to test it in practice.

Luo Can took out his fishing rod and sat beside the spring. After taking a deep breath, he cast the line into the water.

Fishing after the upgrade did indeed seem different.

After the line sank beneath the surface, there was no movement for a long time. A full twenty minutes passed, and just as Luo Can thought he would come up empty-handed today, the rod suddenly transmitted a heavy tug.

The force far surpassed anything from before.

Luo Can's gaze sharpened. He exerted force through his wrist and pulled upward. With a splash, a dense black ball of light burst from the water, arced through the air, and landed heavily before him.

The ball of light dispersed, revealing a crimson longsword.

The sword measured three feet and three inches long. Its blade was carved with Flame Patterns, while a crimson crystal the size of a pigeon egg was embedded in its hilt. Faint waves of heat radiated from the blade.

[Level 7 Soul Tool: Flame Sword (Black)]

[Description: A Soul Tool capable of inflicting lethal fire-attribute damage upon a Spirit Saint. Once activated with Soul Power, the blade can be covered in flames. Its might increases with the intensity of the Soul Power infused into it.]

"A Level 7 Soul Tool..."

Luo Can gripped the hilt and infused it with a thread of Soul Power. The sword hummed, and crimson flames burst to life with a whoosh, bathing the area several yards around him in red as a wave of heat rushed toward his face.

Joy flashed through his eyes, and he roughly understood.

Items fished by the Level 1 system corresponded to the Spirit King and Spirit Emperor tiers, belonging to black quality. The Level 2 system could fish up items at the Spirit Saint and Soul Douluo tiers. They were still black quality, but their grade and power had risen dramatically. Naturally, the required fishing time had increased as well.

"Trading quantity for quality is reasonable enough."

He put away the Flame Sword and cast again.

The second cast took only five minutes. This time, he caught a palm-sized jade bottle containing seven milky-white pills, each the size of a longan.

[Pills: Body Refining Pill (Purple)]

[Description: Greatly enhances the physique. Each pill can increase the Spirit Ring absorption limit of a Spirit Master by 100 years. Each person may consume a maximum of three.]

"Good stuff!"

Luo Can's eyes lit up.

These Body Refining Pills were practically tailor-made for Ye Lingling. If she took three, she could absorb Spirit Rings with an additional three hundred years of cultivation. Combined with Century Whale Rubber, her first Spirit Ring might even reach eight hundred years.

He put away the pills and continued Fishing.

The third cast brought up a piece of Ten-Thousand Year Whale Rubber, which increased the Spirit Ring absorption limit by five hundred years.

The fourth cast yielded a defensive Soul Tool capable of blocking three attacks at the Spirit Saint level.

The fifth cast produced a bottle of Soul Power Pills.

The sixth cast brought up a Soul Bone—a forty-thousand-year Shadow Leopard Left Leg Bone, with the additional skill Shadow Extreme Speed.

The three hours of Fishing soon came to an end.

Luo Can had caught only ten items in total, half as many as before the upgrade. However, every item had greatly improved in quality. The worst was Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, while the best was the Level 7 Soul Tool, the Flame Sword.

[Ding! This Fishing session has ended. Overall Rating: Excellent+. Reward: 1500 Points.]

[Points: 2200]

After putting away the fishing rod, Luo Can stretched lazily and scooped up a handful of Fate-Defying Spring Water for a taste.

The spring water flowed down his throat, and gentle life energy surged through his limbs and bones. Its effects had improved by more than thirty percent compared to before. He nodded in satisfaction, then walked to the Immortal Herb Garden to begin his routine care.

At dawn, sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell into the valley.

After tending to the Immortal Herbs, Luo Can returned to the Wooden House just as Ye Lingling sat up, rubbing her eyes. The little girl's hair was slightly messy from sleep, but there was no trace of drowsiness left in her clear black-and-white eyes.

"Lingling, come with me."

"Yes, Master."

Ye Lingling hurried out of bed and trotted after him.

The two arrived at a spacious clearing on the eastern side of the valley. The ground there was flat, with low shrubs growing around it. It was well suited for cultivation.

Luo Can took out a yellowed roll of beast hide from his Storage Soul Tool. He had obtained it through Fishing before, and it recorded a Self-Created Soul Skill called the Tiger King Mountain-Crushing Fist.

When the beast hide was unfolded, lines of ancient text came into view. This fist technique was said to have originated in ancient times and possessed immense power. Once mastered, it could rival a Spirit Emperor's Sixth Spirit Skill.

Luo Can had a clear plan for Ye Lingling.

She possessed the Nine-Heart Begonia martial soul, making her a top-tier support-type Spirit Master. Her healing ability was unmatched across the continent, but the greatest weakness of support-type Spirit Masters was their frail combat ability. Once an enemy got close, they were in grave danger.

Therefore, he intended to have Ye Lingling cultivate both mind and body.

With the Nine-Heart Begonia in one hand to heal the dying and save the wounded, and the Tiger King Mountain-Crushing Fist in the other to sweep aside opponents of the same rank, who would dare say support-type Spirit Masters were easy to bully?

"Lingling, this is the Self-Created Soul Skill, the 'Tiger King Mountain-Crushing Fist.'"

Luo Can handed the beast hide to her, his expression solemn.

"This fist technique is extremely powerful and can temper the body, but it places tremendous demands on physical strength. Are you willing to cultivate it?"

Ye Lingling froze at first, then an unbelievable delight appeared on her little face.

A Self-Created Soul Skill!

In any faction, such a thing was a treasured secret, never passed down to anyone outside the core bloodline. Yet Master had actually... actually given it to her so casually?

"I-I'm willing!"

The little girl nodded hard, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"Very good."

Luo Can crouched down until they were at eye level.

"You are still young, and your bones and meridians have not fully settled. Forcing yourself to cultivate this fist technique would cause serious damage to your body. But your master has a way to reduce the side effects to the minimum."

He pointed to the first two sections of the beast hide.

"For this month, you only need to cultivate the first two stages—the Tiger Stance and Mountain-Crushing Force. In one month, I will inspect your progress."

"I'll cultivate diligently!"

Ye Lingling accepted the beast hide, gripping it tightly in her small hands. Her eyes were filled with determination.

Luo Can took out another jade bottle containing Fate-Defying Spring Water.

"When cultivating, if you feel your body has reached its limit or you experience unbearable pain, take a small sip."

"Mm!"

Ye Lingling accepted the jade bottle solemnly and carefully tucked it into her clothes.

She sat down cross-legged and began studying the contents of the beast hide. But the longer she read, the more tightly her little brows furrowed.

The Tiger King Mountain-Crushing Fist was far more difficult to cultivate than she had imagined.

The Tiger Stance required its practitioner to imitate the posture of a fierce tiger pouncing on prey. The muscles, bones, and meridians throughout the body had to exert force in coordination, forming a special Tiger Momentum. Just the opening stance involved the circulation of Soul Power through more than thirty meridians.

Mountain-Crushing Force was even more complicated. It required compressing and erupting Soul Power in an instant, unleashing power like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting apart. The demand for Soul Power control was terrifyingly precise. The slightest mistake could injure one's own meridians.

More troublesome still, this fist technique required its practitioner to comprehend the true meaning of Tiger Form. Without Tiger Form, its power would not even reach one-tenth of its potential. For a little girl like Ye Lingling, who had been raised sheltered from childhood and had barely seen a tiger a few times, comprehending Tiger Form was simply too difficult.

Luo Can watched quietly from the side.

Seeing Ye Lingling frown in thought one moment and compare her movements against the beast hide the next, her little face full of seriousness, he felt both gratified and helpless.

This fist technique would yield twice the result with half the effort for Spirit Masters with tiger-type martial souls, but for Ye Lingling, it truly was asking too much of her.

"Looks like I need to give her some extra help."

An idea came to Luo Can's mind.

He unfurled his Golden Dragon Wings and said to Ye Lingling, who was intently studying the fist manual, "Lingling, cultivate well here. Your master is going out for a while."

"Yes, Master."

Ye Lingling raised her head and answered obediently before lowering it again to continue studying the obscure fist technique.

Luo Can smiled faintly. His wings beat, and he shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he pierced through the clouds and vanished beyond the horizon.

His destination was clear—the Star Dou Forest.

He was going to catch a suitable tiger-type Spirit Beast to serve as his disciple's sparring partner.