Chapter 25: A Day of Fishing

Su Yuan woke up early in the morning, full of energy. He greeted the small fish in the courtyard pond: "Wait for me, I'll find you some companions!" With good spirits, he headed to Xuanjue Street to find some delicious food. After picking out some unfamiliar meatballs and taking a few bites, his eyes lit up and he immediately ordered three more baskets! Once his stomach was full, he bought a set of fishing gear from a street shop and eagerly made his way to a deep pool he had discovered earlier. Su Yuan set up his small stool, prepared his fishing rod, attached the bait, and enthusiastically cast his line. "It moved! It moved!" He felt a tug almost immediately. Su Yuan quickly pulled up the hook, only to find nothing attached - no, wait, the bait was gone! "What?" He stared at the water surface for a long time, barely making out several fish swimming near where the bait had been. Among them was a fish with golden streaks on its back, currently munching on his bait. "Fine! First attempt failed, but you won't be so lucky next time!" Su Yuan cast his line again with a splash! Thump! Another bite! He hurriedly lifted the rod, only to turn grim-faced when he saw the bait was gone again with no fish caught. "I refuse to believe this! Have you fish become spirits or something? I prepared ten buckets of bait!" Unknowingly, the entire day passed like this. Su Yuan's fish bucket remained empty, and so did his bait buckets. Numb with frustration, he straightened his fishhook and cast the bare hook into the water, sitting by the pool as still as a meditating monk. If he couldn't catch fish, at least he could pretend to be profound, right? A middle-aged man wandered over to the poolside. As the head of the Discipline Hall, he often came to Jade Water Pool to fish, which over time had made it rarely visited by others. Today, unexpectedly encountering a disciple here made the man take a second look. Seeing it was just a low-level Qi Condensation disciple, he paid no further mind and began fishing at a distance. After some time, the middle-aged man gradually frowned. "What's going on? Why aren't the fish biting today?" Feeling puzzled, the cultivator glanced into the pool - the fish were swimming about normally, full of energy. After fishing fruitlessly for another hour, he grew inexplicably irritated. Had the fish already eaten their fill today? He suspected the problem might lie with that disciple. Looking over, he was shocked to discover the disciple was using a straight hook! Even more astonishingly, fish were actually swimming around that straight hook! Despite there being no bait, some fish were foolishly trying to bite the bare hook. If not for the hook being straight, these fish would certainly have been caught! This situation exceeded his expectations. After observing for a while and detecting no spiritual energy fluctuations - so it wasn't a spell? Just fishing skill? The middle-aged man, being an avid fishing enthusiast, felt his heart stir with admiration for such technique. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Su Yuan. Su Yuan had noticed the man long ago and had been secretly observing his fishing skills. Discovering the man was just as terrible at fishing as himself made him inwardly delighted - another master of empty buckets! Sensing the man's approach, Su Yuan turned his head questioningly. "Ahem, young disciple, I don't believe we've met!" "Elder Brother, I think the same of you," Su Yuan replied. The middle-aged man's mouth twitched. "My name is Wang Jian!" "Oh, I'm Zhou Wei!" Su Yuan said flatly. Seeing Su Yuan show no reaction, the man said in surprise, "You don't know me?" Su Yuan responded, "You don't know me either!" Wang Jian laughed. "You're quite an interesting disciple!" Sitting beside Su Yuan, Wang Jian pointed at his hook. "With a straight hook like that, you'll never catch anything!" Su Yuan calmly replied, "Not necessarily. As they say, the willing fish will bite!" "Oh?" Wang Jian was skeptical. Su Yuan glanced at him, scanning the pool until he spotted a familiar fish - the one with golden streaks that had eaten most of his bait! He positioned his hook right before that fish. Focusing his mind slightly, he channeled a wisp of the Wood Aspect of Heaven and Earth's power, wrapping the hook with vibrant vitality. The fish circled the hook several times, smelling the familiar bait scent while sensing the vigorous life energy. Unable to resist, it bit down on the hook. Su Yuan had anticipated this - with a sharp tug! Just as the fish bit, Su Yuan lifted it from the water. Though the fish slipped off midair, it followed the momentum in a graceful arc, landing perfectly in Su Yuan's bucket. The entire sequence flowed smoothly, executed with effortless grace. Wang Jian stared dumbfounded, his eyes nearly popping out. "This... this is impossible!" Wang Jian gazed at the Golden-Streaked Jade Wave Spirit Fish in the bucket, utterly incredulous. Jade Wave Spirit Fish were extremely sensitive to spiritual energy fluctuations, and the golden-streaked variant was the king among them, far more intelligent than ordinary spirit fish - nearly impossible to catch through skill alone! Yet Su Yuan had just demonstrated the heaven-defying feat of catching a fish king with a straight hook, truly broadening Wang Jian's horizons! Of course, Su Yuan wouldn't tell him that most of his bait had gone to this very fish king, making it unusually familiar and less cautious! Honestly, even Su Yuan was surprised he'd actually caught it - he'd just been casually trying his luck, never expecting it to work! This performance was smooth, full-bodied, and wonderfully elastic! Full marks, absolutely full marks! "Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Wang Jian exclaimed excitedly. "Heh, no big deal," Su Yuan said with a faint smile. "Ahem... Little Friend Zhou, could you teach me this fishing technique?" Wang Jian asked. Su Yuan glanced at him. "Fishing isn't something you can just learn by wanting to. It requires a mind as calm as water, and the ability to communicate with Heaven and Earth - harmony between man and earth, earth and heaven, the Dao follows nature!" An aura of a fishing grandmaster emanated from Su Yuan, giving off an unfathomably profound impression. Wang Jian found this all rather mystical - was this still fishing? Or was this enlightenment? Wait... enlightenment? Wang Jian's expression blanked momentarily as he suddenly recalled events from forty years ago. Back then, stuck at the early Golden Core peak, unable to break through to mid Golden Core, his master had told him he lacked sufficient Dao comprehension and should let things take their natural course without forcing it - then sent him to fish at Jade Wave Pool. Forty years passed in a flash, and he'd forgotten why he came here to fish, doing it merely for fishing's sake. But now, hearing Su Yuan's words, he finally understood - his master had sent him here to comprehend the Dao! A peaceful mind, communicating with Heaven and Earth, harmony between man and earth, earth and heaven, the Dao follows nature! In that moment of clarity, forty years of fishing experiences flashed through his mind. He gradually became one with Jade Water Pool, sensing the movements of the Jade Wave Spirit Fish, feeling the mountain breeze ripple across the pool's surface and his body, listening to birds' clear songs and water's gentle lapping. Four decades of accumulated realizations poured forth like a waterfall, awakened by a single phrase! Mountain, water, wind, fish, and birds interwove into a unique landscape energy! Wang Jian's ears seemed to hear an inexplicable cracking sound! The bottleneck shattered! Boom! A powerful aura erupted. Su Yuan, watching nearby, was directly blasted away by the shockwave, tumbling into the water like a drowned rat! Dripping wet, Su Yuan looked at Wang Jian in complete confusion. What just happened? Did he just... break through? No way! He'd just been casually spouting nonsense, and this guy actually had an epiphany? How does that make any sense? Golden light shot skyward as the aura intensified further! Seeing things were getting out of hand, Su Yuan immediately swam away, scrambling ashore and running for his life! Glancing back, he saw numerous streaks of light approaching from afar, forming a protective circle around Wang Jian to prevent disruptions during his breakthrough. Su Yuan inwardly sighed in relief - if people had mistaken him for trying to interrupt the breakthrough and casually crippled him, wouldn't that have been disastrous? "Sigh, was that elder brother actually some cultivation genius? He broke through from my random nonsense? Am I the transmigrator here, or is he?" "Did he cheat or something?" Su Yuan grumbled to himself. But he also thought: "Since I helped him break through, that counts as a favor, right? Next time we meet, it wouldn't be too much to ask for a thank-you gift, would he?" Considering this a fortunate encounter, Su Yuan didn't feel particularly worried. "My fish! Wait! I forgot my fish!" Su Yuan looked back toward Jade Water Pool with frustration - he couldn't possibly go home empty-handed!