Fishing Tournament (II)

Chubby's expression at that moment looked like this.

Σ_("∠)

So even my own dad couldn't be relied on?

"Dad, let's get practical. I need money to buy bait for this Fishing Competition. Lots of it!"

Guo Mingzhi agreed without hesitation, sweeping his hand grandly. His son had made it into the second stage of the tournament and done him proud. If he could reach the finals and get a good result, what was this little bit of money?

Having a filthy-rich dad really made things solid. In just one night, most of the Snow Spirit Tree Leaves on the market were reportedly swept clean. The remaining stock was being held back purely to drive up prices, but as the city lord's son, Guo Dundun didn't care.

Few people at the academy knew he was the city lord's son, just as few knew Jiang Hao was from Dragonkeep. The two of them only wanted to quietly be lousy students and fulfill their proper roles.

Time flew. On the morning of the third day, Jiang Hao got up early, washed, ate breakfast, then shouldered his large backpack and headed to the relay station to assemble.

Many parents had come to see their children off at the station entrance. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought they were heading to war.

And why not? Having a son or daughter advance in the Beast Pet Tournament was every bit as glorious as going into battle and slaying enemies. Both brought honor to the Lineage.

After some effort, he found Chubby, Wen Ruxue, and the others in the crowd. A woman who still retained her mature charm stood in front of Wen Ruxue, endlessly repeating her warnings and reminders. One moment she told her to watch out for this, the next to be careful of that, leaving Wen Ruxue unsure whether to laugh or cry. The moment she spotted Jiang Hao, she ran over with a delighted expression to greet him.

"Jiang Hao, you're here!"

Before she had even finished speaking, the woman followed her over. She looked Jiang Hao up and down, then gave him a warm, kindly smile.

"You must be Jiang Hao. Seeing you once is better than hearing about you a hundred times. Xue'er mentions you all the time. Heroes really do emerge from the young!"

She showered Jiang Hao with praise, leaving him completely at a loss. He bowed in greeting while replying modestly, "You're too kind, Auntie. Wen is the real role model for the rest of us. She's beautiful and kindhearted. Everyone in our class likes her."

Standing beside them, Wen Ruxue flushed crimson at his praise.

Who didn't enjoy hearing someone praise their daughter? Jiang Hao immediately had the woman giggling. "What a sweet tongue you have, young man. With you and Qianxun looking after my Xue'er, I can rest easy."

"Don't worry, Auntie. In three months, I'll bring Wen back to you safe and sound."

How could words that offered such reassurance fail to move Wen Ruxue? The affection in her eyes was practically spilling out.

As someone who had been young herself, how could the woman not understand her daughter's feelings? She wasn't the sort to cling to old-fashioned ideas.

"That's good, then. Xue'er, I'll get going before you start thinking I'm getting in the way of you young people spending time together. Jiang Hao, come visit with Xue'er when you have time. I'll make you something delicious."

The woman left. Only then did Gongsun Qianxun, who had been waiting nearby, approach with another short-haired beauty in tow. Wen Ruxue's joy instantly turned to anxiety.

"Hey, Jiang Hao, don't just stand there talking to Xue'er. Let me introduce you. This is my older sister, Qianxue. She's amazing! She took first place in our region's First Tier rankings for the War Academy. Well? Impressive, right?"

Gongsun Qianxun lifted her head proudly, as though she were the one who had taken first place.

"Hello, senior. I'm Jiang Hao."

He had thought she would at least greet him, but she didn't even give him a proper look. Gongsun Qianxue pulled free of her sister's hand and dragged Wen Ruxue into a corner. He couldn't tell what they were saying, but their conversation gradually turned into an argument.

What was going on?

Jiang Hao stared blankly at the embarrassed Gongsun Qianxun.

Gongsun Qianxun covered her face. She knew all too well about that mess between her sister and Wen Ruxue. Her intensely controlling sister left her mentally and emotionally exhausted, too. She had been like this since childhood; Qianxun was used to it.

Before long, Wen Ruxue returned to them, fuming. Then she made a bold move, reaching straight out to take Jiang Hao's arm. "Come on, let's go inside."

Jiang Hao: ???

Was I being forced to play along?

What on earth was happening?

A wave of murderous intent swept toward him. Still utterly bewildered, Jiang Hao turned toward Gongsun Qianxue and met her furious gaze. She looked at him as though he were an enemy who had stolen her favorite toy.

"Wait for us!"

Chubby and Gongsun Qianxun hurriedly shouldered their enormous backpacks and chased after them.

Only after the four disappeared did Song Jie and Chen Xiaolin, standing in the crowd, give Gongsun Qianxue a thoughtful glance before following the team of four.

"Jie, Wen Ruxue's already holding his arm. How are you not angry at all? That's not like you."

Song Jie gestured with his lips. "Didn't you see the way that beauty over there looked at Jiang Hao? Relax. Someone will clear the obstacles away for us when the time comes. There's no need to rush."

Under the Referee Panel's direction, the two hundred contestants boarded the Windriding Birds bound for Wuji City one after another. Nearly everyone carried a large travel bag, just like Jiang Hao and his companions. None of them were fools. The Referee Panel giving them three days to prepare meant this tournament journey would be no simple affair. A wilderness survival competition lasting over three months would test more than their strength; perseverance and survival skills were equally indispensable.

Only by passing through a competition like this could they better survive after joining the army. Otherwise, why would the Shenzhou Kingdom specifically choose the Wuji Mountains as the venue and offer military posts as rewards? Anyone with a brain could figure that out.

After an eight-hour flight, they reached Wuji City and rested for a night. Entering the mountains on the fourth day would mark the start of the competition.

Chubby gathered the team and began handing out Snow Spirit Tree Leaves. "Damn it, I just went all around Wuji City. Every leaf I could buy from Primordial City to here is right here, and there are only a hundred in total. I did my best."

The Snow Spirit Tree Leaves looked like snowflakes, translucent and crystalline.

Gongsun Qianxun frowned, clearly unhappy with the result. "Why are there so few? If you didn't have enough money, you should've said so earlier. I would've given you some."

Those words truly wounded Chubby's burning heart. Looking troubled, he pulled out a bag of beast crystals. "Am I the kind of guy who puts on a brave front when he's broke? If you want to blame someone, blame those crooked merchants and crazed contestants! One leaf costs five Common Beast Crystals, and even then, you can't find any for sale. What was I supposed to do?"

Jiang Hao couldn't bear to watch any longer. How could they start fighting among themselves before the competition had even begun? He spoke up in Chubby's defense. "All right, don't blame Dundun. How about this? Split the hundred leaves between the three of you. I don't need any."

Wen Ruxue grew anxious. "How can we do that? Your points are already gone. If you don't have any Snow Spirit Tree Leaves now, how are you going to compete?"

Gongsun Qianxun said, "Sorry, that's not what I meant. I'll go look around the market again and see if anyone's still selling leaves."

With that, she made to leave the inn.

Jiang Hao stopped her and gave a mysterious smile. "I'm not blaming any of you. I'm not refusing the leaves because I want to give up on the tournament. I've found another way to catch fish. I guarantee I'll catch more than you."

Wen Ruxue asked, "Really?"

Chubby asked, "What way?"

Gongsun Qianxun's face was full of question marks.

"It's a secret!"

Gongsun Qianxun immediately rolled her eyes. "Tch. Suit yourself."

Since Jiang Hao was so confident, the three stopped standing on ceremony and divided the leaves at once. After they returned to their room, Chubby still refused to give up and kept asking Jiang Hao what his method was. "If you don't tell me, I'm not sleeping tonight."

"Sleep or don't. Your choice."

Snow Spirit Lake lay in a great canyon in the Wuji Mountains, five kilometers long and one kilometer wide. Snow Spirit Fish were highly aggressive and fiercely rejected any other creatures living alongside them in the lake. The moment they spotted another creature, they would swarm it. With the lake water remaining bitterly cold year-round as well, diving in to catch them was clearly unrealistic.

Snow Spirit Fish had delicious flesh. Not only did people enjoy eating them, but beast pets also drooled at the thought. Snow Spirit Fish had another use, too: protection against the cold.

The City of Eternity at the other end of the Wuji Mountains connected to the icebound North Sea Kingdom, where temperatures remained below freezing throughout the year. That made the cold-resistant properties of Snow Spirit Fish particularly valuable. Having the contestants fish this time not only tested them, but also helped address the City of Eternity's severe shortage of cold-resistant supplies. It killed two birds with one stone.

The Fishing Competition lasted ten days, with the first and second tiers each occupying one side. There was more than enough room for two thousand contestants to fish around Snow Spirit Lake.

By the time the team of four reached the lake, all the good spots downstream had already been taken, so they had no choice but to follow the shore upstream. Vast quantities of melted ice and snow flowed into Snow Spirit Lake, making the current stronger the farther upstream they went. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been an ideal place to fish. The advantage was that the enormous Snow Spirit Tree grew upstream. Its immense trunk was too wide for even a dozen people joining hands to encircle, and its branches were thick with leaves. Whenever the wind blew, Snow Spirit Tree Leaves would come fluttering down, attracting large numbers of Snow Spirit Fish to fight over the food. Combined with the fish's preference for flowing water, the fishing prospects were quite promising.

But actually hauling them out was no small challenge. That took real skill.

"This is all your fault! You two slept like pigs. We called for ages, and you wouldn't open the door. Now look-you've held us up!"

Jiang Hao and Chubby were utterly embarrassed. Chubby really did have a one-track mind. When he said he wouldn't sleep, he meant it. He had stayed glued to Jiang Hao's side, watching him weave a net while chattering endlessly. By the time Jiang Hao finished making a landing net, it was already deep into the night.

The farther upstream they went, the fewer people they saw. Only when they reached a spot less than two kilometers from the upstream inlet did they stop to choose their fishing positions. The current here was neither fast nor slow, but the water was very deep. Every now and then, they could even see fish leaping above the surface.

This was the spot...