Chapter 163 - Golden-armored Fish
“It’s only around two years old.” Ye Chen was slightly disappointed. Generally, when Master Li named the fish, Ye Chen would know what the fish was for, what its value was, and what pills it could be refined into.
Li Xu wanted to vomit blood at Ye Chen’s words. This was a Black Sturgeon! Even if it was only one to two years old, it was worth thousands of Chi-amassing Pills. They needed a few days to refine a batch of Chi-amassing Pills! Besides, the value of the Black Sturgeon could not be completely measured by Chi-amassing Pills. To masters, high-grade medicinal pills would not be used to exchange for rubbish products like Chi-amassing Pills!
Ye Chen had already caught four fishes including a rare Black Sturgeon. Even Master Apothecary Xuanyi was speechless. Could it be that Ye Chen was really gifted in fishing? Or perhaps Ye Chen’s luck was just world-shakingly good?
Before Little Wingsy got his fishing gear, Ye Chen caught another five or six fishes. They were Red-winged Tadpole Fishes or Rainbow Fishes, and the longest one was around the length of a finger and a half.
Ye Chen glanced at the black barrel and watched as the fish jumped around. It was already getting a little crowded. The corrosive lake water on the fishes had to be washed out with the Heavenly Pure Water in the black barrel before they could be placed in the Heaven-Earth Pouch. They had to swim in the barrel for another half an hour.
‘Hehe, not bad at all.’
At this time, Little Wingsy had also put on his hat and sat by the lake, imitating Ye Chen. Even after throwing out the hook, the float remained unmoving for a long time.
Ye Chen caught fish after fish and Little Wingsy watched on with envy. He looked at Ye Chen gloomily and said, “Brother Ye Chen is still the best.”
“You need to be patient when fishing. Stay cool!” Ye Chen rubbed Little Wingsy’s head and taught sincerely.
Hearing Ye Chen’s words, Li Xu almost staggered into the lake. What patience did Ye Chen need when he was fishing? He caught all the fish almost immediately after throwing the bait!
Just as they were talking, Little Wingsy suddenly said excitedly, “Brother Ye Chen, my float is moving!”
Little Wingsy excitedly pulled the fishing rod. Li Xu wanted to stop Little Wingsy and let him wait awhile longer but Little Wingsy had already started tugging on the rod. Li Xu glanced over at the lake and saw that the hook was still underwater. However, the Flameshadow black gold fishing rod was already bent into an arch.
“Little Wingsy, be careful! Ye Chen, hold on to Little Wingsy!” Li Xu’s face paled as he cried urgently. To be able to bend the Flameshadow black gold fishing rod to this degree, it would take more than five hundred catties of force. Little Wingsy was just a young child and would be pulled underwater. The lake would completely corrode a vast majority of creatures!
However, when Li Xu saw the other end of the fishing rod, he could no longer say a word. His eyes fell into a dull state again. Little Wingsy’s hands held the fishing rod firmly without any difficulty. He jumped around excitedly and said, “Brother Ye Chen, it’s a big one!” Before Ye Chen came over to help him, he childishly ordered, “Fishy, come to me!”
With a “splash”, a huge golden fish was pulled out of the water by Little Wingsy. It was tens of centimeters long and kept jumping after landing on the stone behind Little Wingsy as if it wanted to jump back into the water.
“Catch it!” Ye Chen hurriedly rushed at the fish. A large fish like this weighed at least five to six hundred catties but he did not know what kind of fish this was. It was completely covered in gold and its head seemed to have a thick layer of armor.
Seeing Little Wingsy catching such a big fish, even Master Apothecary Xuanyi could no longer sit still. He quickly stood up but a figure had pounced on the fish faster than Ye Chen and Master Apothecary Xuanyi could.
“Freeze. Stay still or I’ll whack you!” Little Wingsy gripped the golden fish but the fish did not listen to Little Wingsy’s orders and continued to struggle. Little Wingsy raised his little fist and pounded the top of the fish’s head and it immediately weakened and quietened down. Its tail shook feebly a few times. Little Wingsy huffed. “Let’s see if you still dare to move. If you do, I’ll hit you again!”
At the side, Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu stood stupefied, looking at the fish in a daze. In the distance, Lei Yi, Hao Feng, and Yan Cheng looked at Little Wingsy with eyes tinged with fear. By the degree of how the fishing rod bent earlier, they could see that it would most likely take a Tenth Level combatant to be able to pull the fish out with such ease. However, the one who pulled up the fish was just a five-year-old child!
Ye Chen approached and patted Little Wingsy’s head excitedly. He laughed. “Little Wingsy, you’re amazing. This fish is even heavier than the dozens your Brother Ye Chen caught!”
The two of them lifted the fish together. It was five to six hundred catties heavy and was gold in color. It looked like a koi but strangely, its head was covered in a thick layer of armor. This fish was already dead as the armor on its head was smashed with a blow from Little Wingsy. Only the tail of the fish still flopped back and forth reflexively.
“Senior Brother Li, Master, what fish is this?” Ye Chen grinned at Li Xu and Master Apothecary Xuanyi. It was such a large fish. Could it have been alive for hundreds of years?
“This is a Golden-armored Fish, also known as the Hercules Fish. This one seems like it’s a few decades old,” Li Xu replied almost mechanically as he stared blankly at the head of the Golden-armored Fish. The armor-like layer on the head of the Golden-armored Fish was its skull, which even Tenth Level combatants might not be able to break with a punch. One had to be at least Earthly Venerable Rank or above to do that. However, this Golden-armored Fish’s skull was indeed broken and it was broken with a single punch by a five-year-old child!
Li Xu glanced at Master Apothecary Xuanyi. The latter’s eyes also revealed great shock.
“It’s only a few decades old.” Ye Chen was slightly disappointed. He thought that it would be several centuries old judging by how large it was. Wait, Golden-armored Fish? Hercules Fish? Ye Chen suddenly remembered the history of the Golden-armored Fish. It was a major supplement that was greatly beneficial to both Celestial Chi and the Astral Body. Even if it was only two to three years old, the effect was no less than a Millennial Fetal Ginseng. A huge fish like this was a super treasure! The Golden-armored Fish was extremely fierce and could swim incredibly fast. Not even fishing boats using nets could catch them. The boats might even end up capsizing. In addition, this fish was extremely rare and was said to live far out at sea and was much more precious than the Millennial Fetal Ginseng. He never thought that there would be one here. This place really was a sea in the past.
“It’s enough that this Golden-armored Fish has lived for a few decades. If it had lived for hundreds of years, it would have grown as big as this lake!” Li Xu was speechless. Ye Chen was too greedy.
“Hehe.” Ye Chen laughed in embarrassment. He was very excited. He did not expect Little Wingsy to catch such a huge treasure.
Squeak squeak. Little Tanuki said something that made Little Wingsy’s face flush in happiness. Perhaps Little Tanuki praised him.
“Ye Chen, use Heavenly Pure Water to wash this Golden-armored Fish first before keeping it well. If others find out about this, they may covet it,” Master Apothecary Xuanyi instructed Ye Chen. In the face of such treasures, Master Apothecary Xuanyi was still able to maintain his calm but others may not.
“Yes, Master.” Ye Chen and Little Wingsy cleaned the Golden-armored Fish with Heavenly Pure Water and moved it into the armguard space. The Golden-armored Fish was a good material for alchemy and had moderate characteristics. No matter what pills were being refined, as long as it was mixed with some flesh from the Golden-armored Fish, it would become a Tier Eight or Tier Nine super pill.
Lei Yi, Hao Feng, Yan Cheng, and the others had seen Ye Chen keeping the Golden-armored Fish, and their eyes were filled with deep jealousy. They knew very well how precious the Golden-armored Fish was. If they ate just a bit of it, even people with bad aptitude like them could reach the Earthly Venerable Rank in ten years. However, although they coveted Ye Chen’s treasure, the show of strength displayed by Little Wingsy earlier had forced them to press down their greedy thoughts. Little Wingsy had shattered the skull of the Golden-armored Fish with one blow. That strength was too terrifying. Furthermore, Ye Chen was protected by Master Apothecary Xuanyi now, so they could not make any moves.
After keeping the Golden-armored Fish, they continued to fish.
Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu looked at their motionless floats and back at Ye Chen and Little Wingsy. They could not help but smile bitterly. Their fishing skills were no match for even a five-year-old child. They were ashamed.
Ye Chen looked at his black barrel. He had only caught a few small fishes that were no match for the Golden-armored Fish caught by Little Wingsy. No, he could not fall behind.
Ye Chen lowered his head and thought. The bait used by everyone was the same, so why were Little Wingsy and he so lucky to catch fishes but others did not? Of course! Apart from the bait, attaching a trace of Celestial Chi on the hook was critical. The Celestial Chi in his body was very different than that of ordinary people, so perhaps that Celestial Chi was attractive to the fishes in the lake, causing them to take the bait one after another. Furthermore, Little Wingsy was an ancient species. Although Little Wingsy did not have Celestial Chi in his body, there was definitely a unique way to attract the attention of the fishes, which allowed him to catch the fierce Golden-armored Fish.
“Ye Chen, is Little Wingsy an Earthly-Venerable One? Why can’t I sense the Celestial Chi fluctuations on Little Wingsy’s body?” To the side, Li Xu could no longer resist and asked.
“Little Wingsy isn’t an Earthly Venerable One. He has extraordinary talent and was born with incredible strength. That’s why he could smash the skull of the Golden-armored Fish with one blow.” Ye Chen shook his head. The fact that Little Wingsy was an ancient mystical Winged Serpent could not be revealed to anyone.
“I see.” Li Xu nodded. That natural-born strength was too powerful. Li Xu said, “It’s better not to tell others about his natural strength.”
“Yes.” Ye Chen nodded. He could see that Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu treated him well. They truly thought of him and were trustworthy.
A group of registered apprentices sat a distance away and did not notice what had happened.