The water churned, thick with killing intent.
Leng Fei stood upon the water’s surface. His chest, already roiling with tumultuous Qi and Blood, now felt as if it had been plunged into an icy abyss. He stared at the crowd closing in, his heart a storm of shock and fury.
He never imagined that Su Yu would actually manage to catch the Black Dragon Fish! And he certainly never expected the man to just toss it to him!
For a moment, he hesitated.
’Throw it away?’
’No!’
’A treasure that has fallen into my, Young Master Leng’s, hands will not be given up so easily!’
’I’ll fight for it first!’
"Old Hunchback, go!"
With a sharp cry, a dark light flashed from the Storage Ring on Leng Fei’s finger, swallowing the Black Dragon Fish. The water beneath his feet then exploded as he turned to flee.
"You bastard, leave the Black Dragon Fish behind!"
Xue Kuang roared in fury, his heavy halberd whistling through the air with a frenzied, protective aura as it came crashing down!
The strike carved a trench of white waves tens of feet long into the water’s surface.
Sensing the attack from behind, Leng Fei could only grit his teeth, turn, and face it head-on.
CLANG! The deafening sound was ear-splitting.
Leng Fei’s face instantly turned deathly pale. He spat out another mouthful of blood, this time mixed with bits of his internal organs, and used the terrifying rebound force to frantically escape toward the perimeter.
Meanwhile, the Old Hunchback, desperate to protect his master, was hopelessly entangled by Sun Rui and Yan Gulin. Their deadly attacks sealed off all his escape routes, making any hope of retreat an extravagance.
「 」
Far away, Su Yu took a new gold-threaded net from his Storage Ring. Activating his Listening Wave Positioning, he continued his pursuit.
Qian Qinghong followed close behind, her figure as light as a swallow. A hint of confusion showed in her beautiful eyes. "Brother Su, was there something wrong with that Black Dragon Fish? You went to so much trouble to catch it, only to hand it over to that Leng Fei for free?"
A faint smile touched Su Yu’s lips as if he had sensed something. "Qian Qinghong, the fish is fine. But when you’re surrounded by a pack of wolves and don’t have the strength to dominate them all, holding on to it is a death sentence."
"So you threw it to Leng Fei on purpose, to divert the disaster?"
"That’s only one reason," Su Yu said, a sharp glint in his eyes. "The second is that the Black Dragon Fish are twins! There’s another one!"
"What?" Qian Qinghong’s pupils constricted as understanding dawned. "You’re saying the one from before was a decoy, that it revealed itself on purpose?"
"All living things have a spirit. That fish exposed itself to buy its twin time to escape. But..." Su Yu abruptly pushed off, the water’s surface exploding in a ring of spray with a BANG. He shot forward a hundred feet like an arrow released from a bow. "It stopped! It seems it couldn’t bear to leave its companion and is lingering nearby!"
"It’s right below! Qian Qinghong, get in the water and drive it up!"
"Leave it to me!"
Before her voice faded, Qian Qinghong’s graceful figure had already transformed into a streak of black light. She was clad in a black flood-dragon-skin water-jerkin. Pushing her [Azure Wave Fish Dragon] Body Technique to its absolute limit, she entered the water without so much as a splash, like a true fish.
Just a few breaths later, a dull roar came from beneath the calm surface. The undercurrents churned violently, and then, with a tremendous SPLASH, a sleek, streamlined Black Dragon Fish was forced out of the water!
Although this Black Dragon Fish was a size smaller than the first, its snow-white belly and ink-black spine were a striking contrast. As it leaped into the air, its whiskers trailed behind it, giving it the majestic aura of a creature ascending to become a dragon!
"Perfect chance!"
Su Yu’s eyes sharpened. The muscles in his arms bulged as he forcefully cast the fishing net in his hands!
The dark gold mesh unfurled in mid-air, forming a perfect circle before falling into the water with a PLOP.
Surprisingly, the net landed a good ten feet away from where the Black Dragon Fish had re-entered the water!
But in the next instant...
Underwater, Qian Qinghong clapped her palms together, sending two waterspouts to block the Black Dragon Fish’s retreat. Panicked, the fish thrashed its tail and changed direction, only to swim straight into the dark gold net as if throwing itself into a trap, just as it sank to the perfect depth!
"Got it!"
Feeling the terrifying pull on the net’s rope, Su Yu wasn’t alarmed but overjoyed. He dug in, his arms straining as he began a tug-of-war with the fish-dragon.
Deep beneath the water, Qian Qinghong watched this scene unfold, her heart pounding in shock.
’What terrifying foresight and skill!’
’No wonder he was able to catch the Silver Dragon Shuttle last time. Su Yu’s Casting Net Skill has reached a level of profound mastery; it’s perfectly calculated! If it were anyone else, no matter how high their Cultivation, they would never have been able to trap this treasure fish in the blink of an eye!’
Admiration and gratitude swelled in Qian Qinghong’s heart. If she hadn’t asked Su Yu for help last time, it was clear she never would have caught that Silver Dragon Shuttle.
After a brief moment of awe, she immediately activated her Body Technique and swam toward the net.
With her helping to corral it from underwater, the Black Dragon Fish’s struggles were futile. Soon, the two of them managed to haul it out of the water.
"SPLASH!"
Water flew everywhere. The Black Dragon Fish, tightly bound by the dark gold net, thrashed wildly, its tail smacking the surface with a thunderous noise. But once out of the water, it lost most of its strength. Su Yu took a step forward, his fist wreathed in a protective aura, and struck a precise and vicious blow to an acupoint on the fish’s belly.
"THUD!"
The Black Dragon Fish’s white belly immediately turned upward as it was knocked unconscious.
"Haha! Done!" Su Yu ran his hand along its streamlined spine. Feeling the incredibly elastic Dragon Tendon beneath the flesh, his eyes filled with delight.
’With this Dragon Tendon, Senior Sister will have a much higher chance of breaking through to the Muscle Forging Realm! This trip was worth it!’
He immediately activated his Divine Sense and forced the Black Dragon Fish into his Storage Ring. Although living creatures would surely die inside, the area was fraught with danger. Securing his prize was the only safe bet.
"Brother Su, we’ve got the fish. What’s our plan now?" Qian Qinghong leaped out of the water, her chest rising and falling slightly. Water droplets slid down her flood-dragon-skin jerkin, tracing a breathtaking curve.
Thinking back on all the twists and turns along the Gold Waterway, she knew that if not for Su Yu’s powerful methods and deep reserves of skill, they never would have captured this Black Dragon Fish.
Su Yu gazed back in the direction they came from, his eyes profound. "We’re going back to play the part of the fisherman. Leng Fei took the heat for us for so long; we should at least go see how he’s doing."
Qian Qinghong smiled slightly. That suited her just fine!
’Those people who attacked me earlier must pay the price!’
「 」
"Young Master... I can’t hold on! We have to give up the fish-dragon, throw it away!"
The old hunchback was a gruesome sight. His left arm was severed at the shoulder, with white bone gleaming from the stump. A section of his chest was caved in, and every breath he took was accompanied by a spray of thick, bloody foam.
Leng Fei wasn’t much better off. His luxurious brocade robes were torn to shreds, and his hair was disheveled. He looked like a beaten dog.
The strength of Xue Kuang, Yan Gulin, and the others was simply too terrifying. In just a dozen exchanges, the master and servant were already on the verge of death!
"Damn it! Damn it all!!!"
Leng Fei’s eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman. Gritting his teeth, his heart filled with unwillingness, he summoned the Black Dragon Fish from his Storage Ring and hurled it viciously toward the group!
"Get lost! This fish-dragon is mine!"
Xue Kuang let out a wild laugh. His heavy halberd abruptly changed direction, this time swinging directly at Yan Gulin and Xu Hesui, who were trying to snatch the fish.
"Hmph! Xue Kuang, do you really think I’m afraid of you?" Yan Gulin pushed out with both palms, the force of the blow like a furious tidal wave.
Xu Hesui remained silent as his longsword shot from its sheath. The flash of the blade was like a silver dragon emerging from the water, illuminating the night with a blinding light.
Sun Rui, meanwhile, circled the edge of the battlefield, looking for an opportunity to support Xue Kuang.
While the experts were busy fighting fiercely over the Black Dragon Fish, Leng Fei and his servant finally managed to escape the slaughterhouse.
On the moonlit water, several li out, Leng Fei violently coughed up a mouthful of black blood. His gaze was so venomous it seemed it could drip poison. "Old Hunchback... find Su Yu! That damn little bastard dared to plot against me. I’ll flay him alive and grind his bones to dust!"
"COUGH, COUGH... Young Master, you mustn’t!" The Old Hunchback fumbled to swallow a few life-saving Pills, his face ashen as he tried to dissuade him. "We are both gravely injured, our Qi and Blood depleted. The priority right now is to find a place to heal!"
"Bullshit! If I don’t kill him, this hatred in my heart will never be appeased!" Leng Fei’s face twisted as he gnashed his teeth. "That brat is just a piece of trash from the Flesh Refining Realm! Even severely injured, killing him would be as easy as crushing an ant! As for his wife, you just need to keep her occupied for a bit, Old Hunchback!"
The Old Hunchback still hesitated. Although his young master had a point, on this Gold Waterway, any small accident could cost them their lives.
"Brother Leng!"
Just then, a clear voice called out from the thick fog in the darkness ahead.
Leng Fei froze for a second, then his heart exploded with wild joy. Even his breathing grew heavy.
’Hahahaha! You had a path to heaven but chose to knock on hell’s door!’
’The idiot actually came back? Does he really think we’re allies?’
Leng Fei forcibly suppressed the almost perverse, bloodthirsty excitement in his heart, his greedy gaze sweeping over Qian Qinghong’s magnificent figure, tightly wrapped in her water-jerkin.
’Top quality! Truly top quality!’
’Even after losing the Black Dragon Fish, getting my hands on a top-quality woman like this would make it all worth it!’
"Ah, Brother Leng, it’s great to see you’re alright! Haha, were you able to secure the Black Dragon Fish?" Su Yu’s figure swept closer. His eyes quickly scanned their miserable injuries, and his heart was put at ease, but his words were full of concern.
Hearing the words "Black Dragon Fish," Leng Fei almost failed to conceal the killing intent in his eyes. ’If it weren’t for you, you little bastard, diverting the disaster onto me, would I have ended up like this?’
He took a deep breath and put on a bitter expression. "Younger Brother Su, I am ashamed. Those villains were too strong. The Old Hunchback and I fought with our lives on the line but were no match for them. In the end, the Black Dragon Fish was stolen."
As he spoke, he secretly gestured to the Old Hunchback, covertly circulating his Qi and Blood, preparing to strike a fatal blow.
However, Su Yu’s next action made Leng Fei freeze on the spot.
"Alas, Brother Leng, don’t sigh! I rushed back because I have some incredible news for you!"
Su Yu smiled with utter sincerity. With a flick of his wrist, a slightly smaller, but undeniably real, Black Dragon Fish appeared in his hand!
"I was on the outskirts just now and actually found another Black Dragon Fish, which I was lucky enough to capture. Brother Leng, you did us a great service by drawing away those powerful enemies, and I feel truly indebted. So I was thinking... why don’t I give this Black Dragon Fish to you, Brother Leng, to help soothe your nerves!"
Saying this, Su Yu actually held out the priceless Black Dragon Fish, right in front of Leng Fei.
Leng Fei was dumbfounded.
A salty sea breeze blew past. He stared blankly at the Black Dragon Fish before him, his brain shutting down for a moment.
’What is going on?’
’There’s... another one?’
After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, an uncontrollable wave of ecstatic joy and absurdity washed over him!
’Good! Good! Good!’
’This Su guy is a one-in-a-million idiot! Not only did he catch a new Black Dragon Fish, but he’s actually going to hand it over to me?’
Afraid that Su Yu would go back on his word, Leng Fei couldn’t even be bothered to maintain the composure of an expert. He shot out a blood-soaked hand and snatched at the Black Dragon Fish...