Golden-Thread Spirit Trout School

Wang Mengde circulated his spiritual power.

Spirit Eye Technique.

In an instant, the scene beneath the sea appeared clearly before his eyes.

Everything within a radius of five hundred and thirty meters was revealed down to the finest detail.

Jagged reefs, swaying seaweed, schools of swimming fish...

Even the crabs hiding in the cracks between reefs and the sea shrimp crawling through the seaweed were visible with perfect clarity.

The corners of Wang Mengde's mouth lifted slightly.

After a year and a half of grueling cultivation, his Spirit Eye Technique had long surpassed major mastery and reached the proficient level. Moreover, it had reached the peak of proficiency.

He swept his gaze across the seafloor.

There were many ordinary sea fish, swimming in school after school, with no fewer than a hundred in each.

And there was one more...

Wang Mengde's gaze sharpened.

More than four hundred meters away to the southwest, a huge crimson fish was lurking amid the reefs.

The fish was about a meter long, its scales blood-red and especially conspicuous in the dim seawater.

Its eyes were pale gold, coldly watching a school of small fish swimming past ahead of it.

An unranked demon fish.

A Bloodscale Fish.

Joy rose in Wang Mengde's heart.

Among unranked demon fish, Bloodscale Fish were relatively valuable. Their flesh was delicious, and they contained more demon aura essence as well.

Such a large one could sell for at least twenty-some spirit sand grains.

Just then, a line of small golden words surfaced in his mind.

"Spirit Eye Technique +1"

It had increased by another point.

A familiar insight quietly emerged in his heart.

After digesting the insight, the viewing range of his Spirit Eye Technique expanded by another half meter.

He examined himself with his divine sense.

[Host: Wang Mengde]

[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence (Success Is Certain)]

[Qi Cultivation: Qi Refinement Level 2 (185/200)]

[Physical Cultivation: Body Tempering Level 1 (72/100)]

[Cultivation Art: Minor Five-Element Breathing Art Level 2 (185/200)]

[Spells: Spirit Eye Technique (Proficient) 785/800; Fishing Technique (Proficient) 780/800; Entwining Silk Technique (Proficient) 790/800]

As Wang Mengde looked at the string of numbers, a trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.

Over the past year and a half, all three of his spells had risen by two levels, advancing from minor mastery to proficiency.

They were now at the peak of proficiency. Before long, they would reach the realm of perfection.

Beyond that, his cultivation had also reached the peak of Qi Refinement Level 2, and he would soon break through.

He gathered his thoughts and turned his gaze toward the Bloodscale Fish on the seafloor.

Fish first.

Wang Mengde took out some bait.

It was a specially made, small fish-shaped bait. Made from spirit sand powder mixed with sea fish meat, it held a powerful attraction for demon fish.

He hung the bait on the hook and cast it into the seawater.

He then used a spell.

Fishing Technique.

In an instant, an extremely faint spiritual power field spread outward from the bait, forming a field over fifty meters in diameter that enveloped all the surrounding seawater.

At the same time, drawn by spiritual power, the fish-shaped bait swam through the water.

Its tail swished and its body twisted, looking utterly lifelike.

It resembled a small fish searching for food.

Wang Mengde controlled the bait and slowly swam it toward the Bloodscale Fish.

Along the way, some sea fish noticed the little fish and lunged at it.

With a thought from Wang Mengde, the bait made a nimble dodge, evaded the sea fish, and continued swimming downward.

The Bloodscale Fish remained hidden amid the reefs, its pale golden eyes fixed ahead.

It did not move.

Wang Mengde controlled the bait, inching closer and closer to the Bloodscale Fish's territory.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters.

Ten meters.

The Bloodscale Fish moved.

Its body sprang forward like a streak of red lightning, shooting out from the reef cluster.

It was astonishingly fast.

Its gaping mouth lunged straight for the bait.

A sharp glint flashed through Wang Mengde's eyes.

The instant the Bloodscale Fish bit the hook, he used the Entwining Silk Technique.

His spiritual power instantly transformed into countless invisible threads, densely layered upon one another as they wrapped around the Bloodscale Fish.

Compared with a year and a half ago, this Entwining Silk Technique was vastly more powerful.

It was no longer the restraint field of the past, but fine strands of thread—tough as steel wire and nimble as spirit snakes.

In an instant, the Bloodscale Fish was bound tight and could not move.

It struggled madly, twisting its body as it tried to break free.

But the countless threads wound tighter and tighter, denser and denser.

Wang Mengde gently raised his fishing rod.

The Bloodscale Fish was pulled from the water.

Under the sunlight, its scales gleamed with an eerie red light. Its meter-long body writhed within the threads, its tail slapping the sea's surface and sending water spraying.

After hauling the Bloodscale Fish onto the sampan spirit boat, Wang Mengde raised his hand and brought down a club precisely on its head.

Bang.

The Bloodscale Fish's body stiffened, and it stopped moving.

Wang Mengde removed it from the hook and tossed it into the iron mesh cage at the stern, specially used for unranked demon fish.

A layer of seawater covered the bottom of the cage. The Bloodscale Fish fell in, sank to the bottom, and lay motionless.

Wang Mengde glanced at it, satisfaction flashing through his eyes.

The flesh and blood of this Bloodscale Fish had been tempered by demon aura. Its meat was exceedingly delicious, and the essence it contained was beneficial to cultivators as well.

Eating more demon fish meat could subtly strengthen the body and nourish spiritual power.

This thing was worth far more than ordinary sea fish.

One fish alone could sell for over twenty spirit sand grains.

Wang Mengde withdrew his gaze.

He used the Spirit Eye Technique again and swept the seafloor.

There were no more demon fish within his field of view.

There were only schools upon schools of ordinary sea fish.

Wang Mengde was not disappointed.

Unranked demon fish were rare. Catching one so soon after arriving meant his luck was already quite good.

Next, he hung on bait for catching ordinary sea fish.

He began catching ordinary sea fish that sold for a decent price.

Fishing Technique.

The scent of the bait spread throughout the fifty-meter spiritual power field.

A Silver-Scaled Red-Gilled Fish lunged over and bit the hook.

Wang Mengde gently lifted the rod.

The sea fish was pulled from the water.

He removed the fish and tossed it into the fish basket on the boat.

Bait down.

Continue.

Another Silver-Scaled Red-Gilled Fish.

Then another Jade-Tendon Fish.

One after another.

The speed was astonishing.

He was practically scooping fish out of the sea.

Wang Mengde remained calm, his movements practiced. From time to time, he used the Spirit Eye Technique to scan his surroundings.

This stretch of sea occasionally saw demon fish at Lesser Demon Level 1 and Lesser Demon Level 2.

There were even more formidable demon fish roaming about.

Detecting high-level demon fish in advance gave him time to activate life-saving talismans such as Concealment Breath Talismans and Protective Talismans beforehand. That was crucial.

Bait down.

Rod up.

Fish off.

All in one smooth motion.

In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, he had already caught over twenty sea fish.

Just then, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Within the sight of his Spirit Eye Technique, a school of blue sea fish appeared.

They were densely packed, numbering no fewer than four hundred.

Each was about a meter long, entirely azure blue,

With streak after streak of golden patterns covering their bodies.

Golden-Thread Spirit Trout.

Wang Mengde's heart skipped a beat.

This was good stuff.

Golden-Thread Spirit Trout contained a trace of thin gold-element spiritual power. It was said that a great alchemist from the Evergreen Sect was using them to refine pills.

Fishmongers like Liu Haiwen had always been buying this kind of fish at high prices.

At present, the purchase price per jin had reached one hundred and eighty Blood Copper Coins.

Golden-Thread Spirit Trout had firm flesh. A fish over a meter long weighed more than twenty jin.

In other words, one fish could sell for over four thousand Blood Copper Coins—more than forty spirit sand grains.

Wang Mengde suppressed the excitement in his heart, hung a large clump of bait on the hook, and cast it into the sea.

Then he poured out his spiritual power with all his might and used the Fishing Technique at full force.

A spiritual power field spanning one hundred meters formed around the bait.

The bait's scent spread throughout the spiritual power field.

On the seafloor, the school of Golden-Thread Spirit Trout moved.

Drawn by the scent of the bait, they rushed toward it at high speed.

The densely packed Golden-Thread Spirit Trout surged toward that clump of bait, each fighting to be first.