Ice and Fire, Two Worlds

Skywater Academy, the pool on the mountain behind the campus.

Shui Bing'er stood on the bank with a fishing rod in her hands. She held it as stiffly as a sword. The line hung over the water, and the float leaned crookedly to one side.

Lin Yuan watched from behind her for a while, then sighed.

"Grip the bottom with your right hand and support the middle with your left. Don't force it. Relax."

Shui Bing'er adjusted her grip. The rod wobbled twice and nearly slipped from her hands.

"Your hands are steady enough when you hold a sword," Lin Yuan said.

Shui Bing'er blushed. "My sword is my innate Martial Soul. A rod isn't."

"Then treat the rod like a sword."

Shui Bing'er froze. "What do you mean?"

"A sword is a weapon. So is a rod." Lin Yuan stepped beside her. "What does it feel like when you hold your sword?"

"Like... part of me."

"Exactly." Lin Yuan pressed her hands more firmly against the rod. "The rod isn't something separate from you. It's an extension of your hand. If you can't feel it, it can't feel the fish."

Shui Bing'er closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The rod trembled slightly.

She opened her eyes. "Something's moving."

"Lift."

Shui Bing'er flicked her wrist. An ice-blue carp two feet long burst from the water, its scales gleaming coldly. In the sunlight, it looked like an ice sculpture.

Shui Bing'er stared wide-eyed. "I caught one?"

Lin Yuan glanced at the fish. "A Hundred-Year Ice Soul Carp. Not bad."

Shui Bing'er looked at the fish in her hands, the corners of her mouth rising without her noticing. She placed it in a bucket, then suddenly asked, "Why did you teach me to use a rod?"

Lin Yuan thought for a moment. "That day, you asked why I let the little fish go. I said I wanted it to grow."

"Mm."

"The same goes for you."

Shui Bing'er froze, her face turning redder. She lowered her head and pretended to look at the fish in the bucket. Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's. "You... always say only half of what you mean."

"What's wrong with that?"

"It makes people wonder about the other half."

Lin Yuan smiled but said nothing.

Shui Bing'er held out the rod to him. "Again. I want to catch another one."

"Are you hooked?"

"Mm." Shui Bing'er looked up at him, her eyes bright. "Fishing is more fun than sword practice."

A system notification sounded in Lin Yuan's mind:

[Ding! Shui Bing'er's affection +30. Current relationship: More than friends. Assessment: The Ice Phoenix has begun to melt.]

Lin Yuan's mouth twitched. He turned toward the woods across the pool. Half a green sleeve showed behind an old locust tree.

Xiao Ruoxue stood behind the tree, holding her sword. She watched without expression for a while, then turned and left.

Lin Yuan looked away and handed the rod back to Shui Bing'er. "That's enough for today."

"Why?"

"I have something to do tonight."

"What?"

"Men's business."

Shui Bing'er glanced at him and asked no more.

That night, in an inn room.

Xiao Ruoxue spread out a map marked with three Spirit Hall outposts. The one at Soto Lake had already been crossed out.

"The one at Soto Lake is finished," Xiao Ruoxue said. "Two remain: one on the Star Luo Empire border and one outside Heaven Dou City."

Lin Yuan sat on the windowsill, wiping down his fishing rod. "How long have you been investigating?"

"Since the Elite Tournament ended."

"Why?"

Xiao Ruoxue was silent for a moment. "Someone at East City Academy was in contact with Spirit Hall. They killed my master."

Lin Yuan stopped wiping the rod.

Xiao Ruoxue looked up at him. "So I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Will you help me or not?"

Lin Yuan rested the rod on his shoulder. "You've been investigating for two months whether I help or not, haven't you?"

The corner of Xiao Ruoxue's mouth moved. "Then are you coming tonight?"

"Yes." Lin Yuan jumped down from the windowsill. "But on one condition."

"What condition?"

"Don't tell Shui Bing'er. She doesn't know about Spirit Hall."

Xiao Ruoxue studied him, her expression hard to read. "Are you protecting her?"

Lin Yuan headed for the door. "I'm protecting my fishing buddy. If I lose one, who'll save me a fishing spot?"

Xiao Ruoxue followed, muttering, "Fishing buddy..."

The Star Luo Empire border, an abandoned mine.

Two Soul Masters guarded the entrance, both around level thirty-five. Lin Yuan crouched in the shadows, using the Turtle-Breathing Technique to suppress his and Xiao Ruoxue's auras as much as possible.

Xiao Ruoxue lowered her voice. "How do we get in?"

Lin Yuan drew a fishing line from his sleeve. Its hook flashed in the moonlight.

"Watch closely."

The line slid soundlessly along the ground, curved around a piece of rubble, and wrapped around the left guard's ankle.

Lin Yuan gave it a gentle tug. The guard pitched forward into the other one, and both fell.

Xiao Ruoxue drew her sword and started forward.

Lin Yuan caught her arm. "Wait. There's another guard hidden nearby."

"Where?"

Lin Yuan pointed to a crack in the rock above the mine entrance. A Soul Master was concealed inside, peering down.

"How did you spot him?"

"The puddle." Lin Yuan pointed to one by the entrance. "I saw his reflection. Half his face was showing."

He cast his rod. The hook caught the hidden guard's collar precisely, and Lin Yuan yanked him down. The guard tumbled out of the crack and passed out with a muffled groan.

Xiao Ruoxue glanced at Lin Yuan. "When did you learn to spot people in reflections?"

"Last time, at the Mirror Image River."

They slipped into the mine. Deep inside was a pool, and the Black-Scaled Flood Dragon Snake in it was a size larger than the one at Soto Lake.

The snake lay coiled at the bottom. Its scales glowed dark red, and the two horns on its head had grown longer.

Xiao Ruoxue gripped her sword. "What do we do this time?"

Lin Yuan cast his rod. "Fish."

The flood dragon snake bit the hook. Its strength was three times what it had been before.

Lin Yuan braced his feet against the ground, but the pull dragged him two steps forward.

Xiao Ruoxue wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, and together they hauled back.

They dragged the snake out of the water. It writhed in midair, and a Soul Power shockwave erupted from its dark-red scales. Blood spilled from the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth, but he held on.

[Ding! Black-Scaled Flood Dragon Snake (subadult) caught. Release it?]

"Release," Lin Yuan said.

The snake fell back into the pool. Before sinking to the bottom, it looked back at Lin Yuan. There was a little less fear in its slit-pupiled eyes now, and a little more confusion.

[Release successful. Black-Scaled Flood Dragon Snake affection +20. Current Soul Power: Level 35. New Soul Skill unlocked: Flood Serpent's Breath (area-wide pressure).]

Xiao Ruoxue let go of him, breathing hard. "You... it nearly pulled you in."

Lin Yuan wiped the blood from his mouth. "It's fine. It recognizes me now."

"As what?"

"As someone who catches fish, not someone who kills them."

They destroyed the Soul-Nurturing Array in the mine. Once outside, Xiao Ruoxue walked ahead, then suddenly stopped.

"Lin Yuan."

"Mm."

"If you catch me one day, will you let me go too?"

Lin Yuan stopped and turned to her. In the moonlight, Xiao Ruoxue looked far too serious to be joking.

After two seconds of silence, Lin Yuan said, "You're different."

"How?"

"You're not a fish."

Xiao Ruoxue looked at him, her lips parting. She stepped closer, closing the distance between them. Lin Yuan caught the faint scent of her perfume.

"Then what am I to you?" she asked.

Lin Yuan met her gaze without stepping back.

"You're my..." He thought for a moment. "Fishing buddy."

Xiao Ruoxue's eyes dimmed for an instant. She stepped back, turned, and kept walking, her pace quicker than before.

"Fishing buddy it is, then." Her voice drifted back to him. "We continue tomorrow. The outpost outside Heaven Dou City."

Lin Yuan stood where he was, watching her back. Then he called, "Xiao Ruoxue."

She stopped but did not turn around.

"When you stop asking me that question, I'll tell you."

Xiao Ruoxue faltered for a moment before walking on, though her steps had slowed.

"You... always say only half of what you mean."

"I learned it from Shui Bing'er."

Xiao Ruoxue spun around. "Shui Bing'er asked you too?"

Lin Yuan smiled and caught up with her. "Come on. Let's get back and sleep. We have another outpost to take down tomorrow."

Xiao Ruoxue glared at him but did not press him further. Still, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

A system notification appeared:

[Ding! Xiao Ruoxue's affection +30. Current relationship: More than friends, not yet lovers. Assessment: Both fish are in the fishing hole. Host, take care not to scare them off.]

Lin Yuan said, "...Stop talking."

On the way back to the inn, Lin Yuan suddenly asked, "System, with that Soul-Nurturing Array at the bottom of the lake, how many flood dragon snakes is Spirit Hall raising?"

[Answer: Based on current intelligence, Spirit Hall has set up at least six Soul-Nurturing Arrays across the continent. The arrays at Soto Lake and on the Star Luo Empire border have been destroyed. The remaining four are outside Heaven Dou City, near Sea God Island, beneath Star Luo Imperial City, and at Spirit Hall headquarters.]

Lin Yuan stopped. "There's one at Sea God Island too?"

[Notice: Sea Soul Beasts destroyed the Soul-Nurturing Array near Sea God Island themselves, causing Spirit Hall heavy losses. The array at Spirit Hall headquarters, however, is the largest.]

Lin Yuan tightened his grip on the fishing rod.

"What are they trying to raise?"

The system was silent for a long time.

[Answer: Based on the array's scale and Soul Power concentration, Spirit Hall headquarters may be raising a Million-Year Soul Beast.]

Lin Yuan stood still.

A million years. No Million-Year Soul Beast had ever appeared on the Douluo Continent.

Xiao Ruoxue walked a few steps farther, then looked back. "What's wrong?"

Lin Yuan hoisted the rod onto his shoulder and kept walking.

"Nothing."

"Your face changed."

"It's the wind."

Xiao Ruoxue glanced at him but did not call him out.

Lin Yuan suddenly said, "Xiao Ruoxue."

"Mm?"

"When I've dealt with all this mess, I'll take you somewhere."

"Where?"

"My hometown. Nuoding City. There's a little river by the village entrance." Lin Yuan looked ahead. "No rare fish there, but it's full of grass carp. Steam one after you catch it, and nothing smells better."

Xiao Ruoxue walked several steps in silence.

"All right."

A system notification appeared:

[Ding! First week of dual-track cultivation complete.]

[Assessment: Host, two fish are leading you around at once. Be careful your line doesn't snap.]