A Will Eternal

In the very instant in which Preceptor Seadeep’s eyes flickered with derision, Bai Xiaochun’s fishing hook hit the water. Before it could even sink down, and even as the sound of the splashing water was still echoing out, a 3-meter-long heavenly dragonfish appeared and bit down on the hook….

It clamped its jaws down very vicious fashion. Apparently worried that the hook might get away, it actually swallowed it down into its belly. Delighted, Bai Xiaochun yanked back on his fishing pole, pulling the entire 3-meter-long fish out of the water. Water droplets sprayed around in all directions, and the fish’s golden scales glistened dazzlingly.

The entire scene was quite eye-catching. As the heavenly dragonfish flew through the air, Bai Xiaochun reached out and grabbed it with ease. Eyebrows dancing up and down with joy, he quickly put the heavenly dragonfish into his bag of holding.

It happened so quickly that some people who were watching wondered if they had been seeing things. Preceptor Seadeep’s mind began to spin, and he almost didn’t want to believe that what he had just seen was true. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the spot where the fish had flown out of the water, and then back at the excited Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but marvel at how much of a genius he was. The heavenly dragonfish had dared to glare at him with contempt, and with almost no effort, he had put them in their place. Even as he contemplated such things, he remembered that Preceptor Seadeep had been about to say something further.

“Eee? What were you just saying?”

Preceptor Seadeep’s heart was already racing, and his mind was spinning so hard he could barely speak. After taking a few breaths to recover, Bai Xiaochun’s question registered. Rubbing his nose, he said said, “I… um… I guess you got pretty lucky, Duke Heavenspan.”

With that, he tossed his own line back out, hitting almost exactly the same spot Bai Xiaochun had just hit.

Considering how many heavenly dragonfish had gathered in the area, he couldn’t help but look at the spot nervously, wondering if he would get any bites….

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with Preceptor Seadeep’s response. Clearing his throat, he cast his own line out again, but in a different direction. This time, his hook landed right in front of Preceptor Seadeep.

The instant his hook hit the water, Preceptor Seadeep looked over at that spot, whereupon his eyes went wide.

It was with seeming madness that the heavenly dragonfish rushed toward the hook. Waves began to roll out over the water as they struggled with all their might to get to the hook. It only took the blink of an eye for one of them to bite down on it. The excitement in its eyes was completely evident….

Preceptor Seadeep felt like he was being struck by lightning. Nearly dropping his fishing pole, he jumped up and shouted, “Impossible!!”

Never before had he witnessed events as shocking as this. It was so unimaginable that he felt like he was about to collapse mentally.

He had been fishing in this same spot for more than a hundred years, and although he had seen people successfully hook a dragonfish before, it was usually a situation in which a particularly picky fish took the bait on purpose. It was more like the fish intentionally wanted to switch homes and owners….

But what he was witnessing now had him feeling completely bowled over. This wasn’t fishing… this was the fish fawning over Bai Xiaochun, seemingly worried they might not have the chance to bite down on the hook he cast….

Completely dazed, Preceptor Seadeep looked at the water, and then at Bai Xiaochun, and opened his mouth as if to speak. However, no words came out.

Meanwhile, the people off in the distance who had been watching were all clearly shaken. Initially they were too stunned to say anything, but before long, cries of shock could be heard.

“I can’t believe he actually caught a heavenly dragonfish!!”

“Heavens! He didn’t just catch one. He actually caught two in a row!!”

“How lucky can this guy be? It’s heaven-defying!!”

“It’s not luck! He’s connected by destiny to those dragonfish!!” Normally speaking, such a commotion would have scared all the dragonfish away. But right now, the exact opposite was happening, leading to even more shocked cries.

“Hey, look over there everyone…. Heavens! Look at how many dragonfish there are! Why… why are they all coming over?!?!”

Everyone looked over at what was a completely shocking scene. Waves rolled across the surface of the heavenly pond as one heavenly dragonfish after another rushed over from all directions….

At a single glance, it appeared as if there were several thousand of them, creating a spectacle that left everyone gasping.

Preceptor Seadeep looked on, gobsmacked at the sight of Bai Xiaochun tossing the second heavenly dragonfish into his bag of holding.

Bai Xiaochun was also feeling a bit taken aback. Considering how crazy the heavenly dragonfish were acting, it seemed like his Fantasy Pills were actually working much better than he had imagined they would.

It was probably made worse by the fact that, after days of feeding the fish Fantasy Pills on a daily basis, he had suddenly stopped for several days. When the withdrawal symptoms hit, the fish felt like they were completely starving. Therefore, even the scrap of the Fantasy Pill aura on the hook was enough to drive them crazy.

“This is big….” he thought nervously. Thankfully, his Fantasy Pills were colorless and odorless, and would not leave traces behind that could be detected.

Besides, medicinal pills from the Heavenspan Realm were different than those in the Eternal Immortal Domains. Their structure was different on a fundamental level.

Most importantly, he couldn’t ignore all of these fishes that were clearly connected to him by destiny. Considering that they apparently wanted to leap right into the fire and be devoured by him, he gritted his teeth and cast his line a third time.

Everyone looked on nervously. Preceptor Seadeep even stopped breathing.

This time, the result was even more dramatic than the first two times. In fact, it was so climactic that it instantly led to a huge commotion among the crowd, and caused Preceptor Seadeep to stagger backward as if he had been struck by lightning from the heavens!

This time, the fishhook never even reached the water. Dozens of dragonfish leaped up into the air to try to get it.

Water splashed out everywhere as the fish writhed and fought to try to be the first to reach the hook.

More and more dragonfish began to erupt from the water, causing the crowd to cry out in shock. Eventually one of them succeeded. It was with great excitement and pride that the fish bit the hook, and allowed Bai Xiaochun to reel it in. It was only with great effort that Bai Xiaochun managed to get the hook out of its mouth before putting it into his bag of holding.

In fact, the only reason he succeeded in getting the hook at all was because, in the struggle, the aura of the Fantasy Pill had been rubbed off it.

The crowd, of course, couldn’t keep quiet.

“Is… is this even fishing?”

“I've never seen anyone connected by destiny to so many heavenly dragonfish….”

“Something strange is going on here. Something very strange!!” After hearing what people were saying, Bai Xiaochun started to feel a bit guilty. He also felt bad by how profoundly shocked Preceptor Seadeep seemed. After putting away his third heavenly dragonfish, he decided that now was a good time to stop fishing.

“They… were actually fighting over the hook?!” Preceptor Seadeep muttered to himself, staring at Bai Xiaochun in dumbfounded shock. Then he thought back to his own hook, which not a single fish had ever even nibbled at…. All of a sudden, he realized that his over one hundred years of fishing experience seemed like nothing compared to Bai Xiaochun’s skills….

Seeing that Bai Xiaochun was about to leave, he suddenly lunged to block his path. As Bai Xiaochun looked at him warily, the man’s gaze slowly came to rest… on Bai Xiaochun's fishing pole.

“Fellow Daoist Bai, is that fishing pole for sale?!”