Fisherman Zhang Yuan

Late at night, in the small courtyard.

Zhang Yuan let out a long breath of stale air, then suddenly shook both arms. Fine crackling sounds immediately rang out from the joints throughout his body.

Moonlight flowed over his bare upper body like water, making beads of sweat glisten.

Compared to when he had first begun martial training, Zhang Yuan had grown nearly two inches taller. The muscles across his chest, abdomen, arms, back, and thighs knotted like coiled dragons beneath his skin, containing tremendous explosive power.

Persistent training in the Boulder Foundation Skill, daily nourishment from fish and meat, and indispensable soaks in Medicinal Soup.

Zhang Yuan's physique was growing stronger by the day.

Even without activating Black Giant Ant Power, his own strength had now surpassed seven hundred jin!

That was roughly the level of the middle stage of Bright Force.

More importantly, with the growth of his qi and blood, Zhang Yuan was now fully capable of bearing the enhancement of Fourfold Strength.

This meant that, at full eruption, he could unleash three thousand jin of force.

If such a palm strike came down, who among those of the same rank could stand against it?

Yet Zhang Yuan was not complacent. He even felt that he was still far from strong enough.

Host: Zhang Yuan

Realm: First Order (Bright Force)

Divine Nest: Level 1 (82%)

Host Body: Level 2 Black Giant Ant (18%) / Fourfold Strength

Host Body: Level 2 Jade Mantis (5%) / Intermediate Blade Technique Proficiency

Host Body: Level 2 Golden Grasshopper (3%) / Fourfold Agility

Qi and Blood: 116/147

Source Essence: 0

Over this period of time, Zhang Yuan had invested all the Source Essence he obtained into the Divine Nest itself.

The Divine Nest was only eighteen percent away from evolving to the next level!

But it was too slow.

The reason still lay in Source Essence.

If there were an unending stream of Source Essence to invest, then whether it was the Divine Nest itself or the host bodies, their evolution and advancement would speed up dramatically, granting Zhang Yuan even greater abilities.

The problem was that Source Essence was hard to come by!

Recently, Zhang Yuan had rowed out every morning to fish. Most of his catch went to Sun Bo, while he kept one or two fish for himself to eat. There was barely anything left to sacrifice.

It truly was not even enough to fill the Divine Nest's teeth!

There was another problem—his silver was nearly gone as well.

Over the past month, all the money Zhang Yuan had spent on medicine had come from his winnings in the bet with Xu Zhengyang.

But a mountain of food would eventually be eaten away.

A hundred taels of silver looked like a lot, but once spent on costly medicinal herbs, it quickly ran dry.

He definitely could not stop taking the medicine, so he still had to find a way to increase his income!

Early the next morning, Zhang Yuan once again arrived at the dock outside the city.

As always, Sun Bo was waiting for him beside the fishing boat berths.

"Little Brother Zhang..."

At the sight of Zhang Yuan, the old fisherman broke into a broad smile and said respectfully, "Starting today, this old man will no longer accompany you down the river."

He had already taught Zhang Yuan all of his lifetime's fishing experience, holding nothing back—not even the secret techniques he had kept at the bottom of his chest.

Now that Zhang Yuan could fully go down the river on his own, he naturally felt embarrassed to keep tagging along and freeloading off the catch.

"Alright."

Zhang Yuan was not surprised.

Sun Bo had mentioned this two days ago.

Moreover, the old fisherman intended to retire for good and no longer earn his living amid wind and waves.

As he spoke, Sun Bo took a shiny copper whistle from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Yuan. "Little Brother Zhang, this is a Lure Whistle I just made myself. Please accept it!"

Zhang Yuan took it. "Thank you."

The copper whistle looked very simple, and its workmanship was rather crude.

But its purpose was to lure soft-shelled turtles in the river to surface and show their heads. It was an essential tool for Sun Bo's unique skill, Flying Hook Turtle Fishing.

Zhang Yuan had seen Sun Bo use this kind of Lure Whistle many times from the boat to lure turtles.

Though he had succeeded only once.

Wild soft-shelled turtles were not fish or shrimp from the river. Their numbers had always been extremely small.

The vast majority of fishermen could only catch one or two by stumbling upon extraordinary luck, which was why they fetched such high prices!

If Sun Bo had not wanted to retire, and if not for his son, he truly would have been reluctant to pass it on to Zhang Yuan.

"Don't say that."

In response to Zhang Yuan's thanks, the old fisherman repeatedly waved his hands. "This old man should be the one thanking you, Little Brother. My son is doing very well now."

Sun Bo had fathered seven children in his lifetime.

Aside from his four daughters.

Of his three sons, two had died young.

Only the youngest remained.

The son he doted on most, and who also caused him the greatest headaches.

He had worried himself sick over him.

Three days earlier, Chen Zhize had arranged for Sun Bo's youngest son to take a job as a foreman.

Moreover, the incense master had promised that as long as he worked hard, becoming an outer member of the gang in the future would not be a problem!

In just these few days, several matchmakers had come to Sun Bo's home.

They wanted to arrange a marriage for his youngest son!

Sun Bo felt that Zhang Yuan had helped greatly in this matter, and his gratitude overflowed beyond words.

Filled with beautiful hopes for his future life, the old fisherman offered profuse thanks before leaving.

After seeing Sun Bo off, Zhang Yuan boarded his own Black Awning Boat.

He deftly untied the mooring rope, controlled the oar with one hand, and with three sways and two turns, steered away from the berth.

He headed upstream along the Celestial Steed River.

Though it was his first time handling a boat alone, Zhang Yuan performed no differently from many fishermen.

The river was long and wide.

But there were hundreds upon thousands of fishermen making their living on its waters, so the competition between them was naturally fierce.

Without some special skill or ability, it truly was not easy to get by.

After a month of learning, Zhang Yuan had gained a basic grasp of the nearby waters and fish conditions.

Rather than competing with other fishermen for a few fishing grounds, he continued upstream and once again came to the river bend before Whale Fortress.

This was a treasure trove blessed by wind and water.

The waters in the bend were broad, the banks were thick with reeds, and the surface was calm with few undercurrents. As a result, it had become a gathering place for countless fish, shrimp, turtles, and crabs.

By rights, such a place should have been packed with fishing boats and become the focus of fishermen's scramble.

Yet the Raging Whale Gang had long since set rules forbidding ordinary fishermen from entering this river bend to fish.

But Zhang Yuan was a disciple of the Raging Whale Gang. Even though he was currently only a probationary member of the Battle Hall.

He was not restricted by this rule.

Of course, he was far from the only one who could enjoy this "benefit."

However, Zhang Yuan had arrived very early today. There were not many fishing boats in the tranquil river bend, and a faint mist veiled the water, making the distant scenery hazy and indistinct.

Zhang Yuan released the oar and stepped to the bow. He picked up the fishing net and casually cast it out.

The result was only a few small miscellaneous fish in the net.

It really was not easy!

Zhang Yuan shook his head, gave the net in his hand a flick, and shook the little fish back into the river.

After looking around, he took out the Lure Whistle Sun Bo had given him earlier.

He raised it to his lips and blew.

Beep—

The slightly shrill whistle swept over the river's surface, spreading in every direction.

Zhang Yuan pricked up his ears, quietly listening for any movement from the water while his gaze swept all around.

Suddenly, over a hundred paces to his right, shallow ripples spread across the water.

Zhang Yuan's gaze sharpened at once. Without a second thought, he grabbed the hook rope hanging from the boat canopy.

He swung the rope's flying hook around twice, then hurled it toward that spot.

The instant the flying hook entered the water, Zhang Yuan fiercely yanked the rope.

His hand suddenly sank!