The New Energy Fishing Rod

High in the sky, the milky-white sun unleashed terrifying heat. It was just past noon, and in an ancient valley, two rows of youths marched forward in neat formation.

"Second Brother, are you really that scary to these guys?" Xiao Yan glanced at his pitiful followers.

The formerly loose, unruly group had actually snapped to attention and stood at ease once they saw Xiao Li leading them. Then they had lined up and marched in perfectly orderly rows.

"Maybe I'm too strict when I teach them." Xiao Li smiled and scratched his head.

Outside, he always wore a cold, domineering air, but in front of his younger brother, he seemed rather goofy.

Clack, clack. The two rows of youths passed in formation through the valley's dense woods, finally arriving beside a small lake.

The lake was not large, but its scenery was lovely. Fragrant grass flourished, fallen blossoms danced through the air, and faint ripples across the surface refracted flecks of golden light.

On an old tree some distance away, a palm-sized Tier 2 Magical Beast, a Wolf Demon Spider, was weaving a web on a branch above the lake.

Splash! A patch of the formerly calm, unruffled lake suddenly burst open.

A glittering golden fish over a meter long shot out of the water. Before the Wolf Demon Spider could react, the fish swallowed it whole.

"That's the one." Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together excitedly, and anticipation shone in Xiao Yu's eyes as well.

"Brother Yan, Heavenly Dragon Fish are Fourth-Order Magical Beasts, and they're incredibly hard to catch in the water. If they swarm you, even a Dou Wang expert could be in danger. How are we supposed to catch them?" one youth asked.

The strongest among these youths was only a Five-Star Dou Ling. There was no way they could enter the water.

Otherwise, they would not be catching fish-they would be chumming the water.

"No problem. My second brother will handle it!" Xiao Yan waved a hand, and two bags of gold coins appeared in his grasp.

"Little Yanzi, what are you planning?" Xiao Li asked in confusion.

"Hehe, just wait and see." A mass of green flame suddenly rose from Xiao Yan's hand, releasing terrifying heat.

It was the Green Lion Demon Flame, the beast flame of an Eighth-Rank Magical Beast, the Azure-Winged Heavenly Demon Lion. He had obtained this beast flame mainly because Xiao Lin's mount was an Azure-Winged Heavenly Demon Lion.

Under the youths' envious gazes, Xiao Yan quickly melted the two bags of gold coins into two long, thin golden rods.

"Brother Yan, are those fishing spears you made?" Xiao Ning asked curiously.

"No." Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. "This is a new fish-catching tool I invented. It's called the New Energy Fishing Rod."

"A fishing rod?" They exchanged puzzled looks. Why did this fishing rod have no line?

"Second Brother, take these two golden rods and stick them into the water. Then use your lightning attribute dou qi to generate lightning and channel it into them."

Xiao Yan handed the two golden rods to Xiao Li.

"Okay." Xiao Li was a little confused, but he still chose to trust Xiao Yan without question.

Holding the two golden rods, he plunged them into the water, then mobilized the vast lightning attribute dou qi within his body.

Bzzzt. Several arcs of electricity traveled out through his hands.

A moment later, the stretch of water near Xiao Li began churning violently. They could clearly see numerous Heavenly Dragon Fish swimming about in agitation.

As a lightning-attribute Dou Zong expert, Xiao Li seemed to have figured something out.

Bzzzt, bzzzt. Stronger currents poured from his hands.

Splash, splash! In an instant, the small lake seemed to boil. The Sky Dragon Golden-Scaled Fish inside leaped upward as though they had gone mad, some even jumping a hundred meters into the air.

Bzzzt, bzzzt. Before long, more than twenty Sky Dragon Golden-Scaled Fish floated in the water nearest Xiao Li, their white bellies exposed.

"Second Brother, that's enough! You can stop!" Xiao Yan called, but Xiao Li turned a deaf ear, immersed in the joy of electrofishing.

Just then, the space behind Xiao Li silently rippled, and an old man in a brocade robe appeared without a sound.

"Holy shit, the Grand Elder!" Everyone's expression changed. Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu hurriedly found a patch of bushes to hide in.

Sensing the spatial disturbance behind him, the battle-seasoned Xiao Li finally paled and spun around, only to see the Grand Elder's aged face, as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Xiao Li, you're having quite a good time electrofishing, aren't you?" the Grand Elder said ominously.

"Grand Elder, I..." Xiao Li gave an awkward smile, but simply could not come up with a decent excuse.

The captain of the enforcement squad had joined a bunch of youths to steal fish and been caught red-handed. If word got out, he would be utterly humiliated.

"Grand Elder, this was all my idea. If you're upset, just give me a beating." At that moment, Xiao Yan stepped forward.

To become a team's leader, having great strength was not enough. Knowing how to mobilize the team to perfection and shoulder greater responsibility was an art in its own right.

"Hmph, don't think I won't beat you just because you're talented, brat." The Grand Elder snorted coldly.

Xiao Yan said nothing and merely flashed an ingratiating grin.

"Still, you did well today." The Grand Elder suddenly changed tack, patting Xiao Yan's shoulder with a smile. "Next time you run into trash like that, break his third leg too."

"Uh, well..." Xiao Yan froze at first, then realized what the Grand Elder meant.

"If you encounter garbage like that again, stomp him into the dirt. Don't worry about how many stars his Dou Zun grandfather has. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

The Grand Elder said earnestly, "But if his grandfather is a Dou Sheng, go find your own grandfather."

Xiao Yan: "..."

"Since you all performed well today, I won't pursue tonight's incident. Take these fish and get lost."

The Grand Elder waved a hand, and more than twenty Heavenly Dragon Fish that had been electrocuted belly-up were swept out of the lake onto the shore.

"Thank you, Grand Elder! You're the best!" Xiao Yan once again unleashed his Heaven-tier Dou Technique.

Grinning and Fawning!

"Get lost, get lost! Stop buttering me up." The Grand Elder waved him away.

"Without your selfless dedication, how could we enjoy the fruits of today? A hundred and twenty thousand thanks to you, Grand Elder!"

While pouring on the flattery, Xiao Yan waved for his followers to carry away the fish.

Amid his endless stream of compliments, the group gradually departed.

"Wait, Xiao Li!" The Grand Elder's voice stopped Xiao Li, who had been about to slip away last.

"Grand Elder, is there anything else you need?" Xiao Li put on a smile he considered very polite.

"Leave those two golden rods in your hands." The Grand Elder glanced at them.

"Okie-dokie." Xiao Li obediently set down the golden rods and asked meekly, "May I leave now?"

"Get lost." The Grand Elder had barely waved his hand when only Xiao Li's afterimage remained. His real body had already turned into an arc of lightning and fled.

"That Xiao Yan." The Grand Elder shook his head helplessly.

Xiao Yan was excellent in every way-talented and clever-but he always liked getting up to petty, sneaky mischief.

Today he stole fish from his own family, tomorrow he stole chickens from the Second Elder's home, and the day after he chopped down trees at the Third Elder's home. He never gave those old men a moment's peace.

Yet a moment later, the Grand Elder smiled again.

He dared to dream and act, had the resolve to shoulder responsibility, and could stir his followers' enthusiasm. Most importantly, he possessed tremendous strength. Someone like him was simply a born leader.

If their descendants could unite as one and achieve even greater things, what did it matter if a few old men like them had to put up with some aggravation?

Shaking his head with a smile, the Grand Elder finally turned his gaze to the two golden rods.

He inserted the golden rods back into the water, then raised a finger with curiosity in his eyes. Wisps of electricity emerged from his fingertip.

Bzzzt, bzzzt! The small lake, which had only just settled down, began boiling again.