Chapter 97

"The superior do not pity the inferior, and peers hate those who try to rise."

"In a world where classes are solidified and no opportunity for advancement can be seen,"

"creatures with pursuit and ambition are the ones who live the most painfully."

Ze looked at the fish in the Spirit Pool swimming against the current, falling back into their original pools after failure, and then being eaten by their former companions until not even bones remained.

He let out a long, leisurely sigh.

"The path of advancement is stolen by the incompetent, and companions are all bullies who fear the strong and fawn over the powerful; as soon as one shows a flaw, they are eaten until not even bones remain."

"I think that any creature with a bit of spirit and pursuit could not possibly refuse a chance to turn things around, right?"

Ze's voice was calm yet carried a kind of power.

"Even if the price they pay is unknown, potentially fatal, or perhaps even worse."

"But,"

"so what?"

"For them, what else is there that cannot be lost?"

Spirit rhyme is leisurely, fish leap over the Dragon Gate.

Under the sunlight, golden scales set off the warm sun, rippling in the clear spirit spring.

It should have been a scene of great aesthetic beauty, but it made one's hair stand on end.

When the essence of the matter was understood bit by bit, the beautiful Dragon Pool in front of them seemed to change its face completely.

Tragic, oppressive, crazy, and with an incomparably rich hatred hidden within.

It looked just like a purgatory standing between heaven and earth.

"This is the bait I used to fish for Yuan."

Ze smiled indifferently, then continued to point his finger at the fish-dragons in the fourth layer.

"However, the fish in the lower three layers are not delicious; if their spirit isn't too high, their meat is too tough, and it doesn't taste like anything."

"Otherwise, they are muddle-headed, their meat is too soft, and eating it is like turning one's stomach."

"I like to eat the batch of fish-dragons in the middle three layers; they are fat and big, lazy and stupid, and eating them is fragrant and makes one's mouth water."

"It's a pity that the dragon-fish in the upper three layers are protected by the Dragon Gate and are extremely difficult to encounter on ordinary days; otherwise, I imagine eating them would surely be the world's ultimate delicacy."

"On ordinary days, when I fish here, for every ten fish I catch, I release nine, and I even give a little opportunity to six of them."

"As time goes by, these big fat fish in the middle have developed bad intentions, not knowing that it just happens to suit my intentions."

Plop~

The fishing rod swayed gently, constantly sinking and floating in the water.

Hey, a fish is on the hook!

Looking along the fishing rod.

A big fat fish covered in golden scales was climbing up bit by bit along Ze's rod, its eyes full of fawning emotion.

"Daoist friend, our main course for today is settled."

Ze sat in place, laughing happily.

"Look at this fish; although it is covered in golden scales, its aura is unstable, and it is full of fat, with a big belly."

"The look in its eyes toward you and me is also mostly greed."

"This fish is not a good thing; it didn't swim up from the very bottom on its own, but was born and stayed in the fourth layer of the Spirit Pool. It grew golden scales in vain, has the blood of a dragon, but no spirit of a dragon!"

"For a fish like this, full of fat, it will never be able to jump to the next layer on its own in this life; even if I kill and eat it, the Dragon Gate won't blame me."

"It is most appropriate to be our main course today."

As he spoke, Ze waved his hand at the two attendants beside him.

"Go, go, prepare some scallions and ginger; this fat fish has a heavy fishy smell, so we must remove the fishiness for it to be delicious."

The two attendants nodded and ran off busily to tidy up.

Li Xiang was a bit curious.

"These two attendants of yours also seem to be fish from the water."

"How is it that they are helping you kill their own kind?"

Upon hearing this, Ze suddenly laughed.

"Daoist friend."

"I have heard that among your Human Race, people are divided into three, six, and nine grades; the superior are royalty and nobles, and the inferior are poor commoners."

"I also want to ask."

"You say, are these poor commoners and royalty and nobles really considered the same clan?"

"If they are the same clan, naturally one cannot bring oneself to act."

"If they are not the same clan, what harm is there in killing them?"

Ze swung his fishing rod leisurely, and before long, he saw a big-bellied fat fish being caught up.

The fish climbed up along the white line, and as soon as it reached the pavilion, it fell to the ground, bowing its head repeatedly to Ze and Li Xiang, its eyes extremely fawning.

It was just that it was covered in fat, and moving made it look like a maggot, which made one feel irritable.

Its mouth moved slightly, and it began to speak.

It knew that Mr. Ze liked to eat fish, and it could offer ten fragrant fish with half-golden scales to Mr. Ze next year, only begging Mr. Ze to send it to the third layer.

In the future, if it could transform into a dragon, there would be other great rewards.

Ze heard this and gave a mocking laugh, not responding, just looking at it coldly.

Its mouth gurgled, and it wanted to continue saying something, but suddenly it couldn't make a sound, which made it feel very strange.

It looked up at Ze and Li Xiang, just about to continue expressing something, when it felt a sharp pain in the back of its head.

The whole fish passed out directly.

Behind it, an attendant holding a mallet bowed to Li Xiang and Ze, then picked up the big fat fish with one hand and went down to process it.

The movement was smooth and flowing, without the slightest hesitation.

I imagine it won't be long before

one can taste this extremely delicious fish-dragon meat.

Before long, a fragrance wafted from the building.

The two attendants came out holding the prepared fish meat.

One fish served three ways: raw slices, fish soup, and steamed.

Eating its freshness, eating its fat, and eating the sweetness of the True Dragon blood within it.

"Daoist friend, please!"

Ze reached out slightly, signaling Li Xiang to taste this fat, fresh, and sweet fish-dragon meat.

"Daoist friend, you may not know, but this Dragon Gate has its rules."

"In the upper three layers, I can only catch one fish every hundred years; that dragon-fish meat is hard to come by."

"In the middle three layers, I can only catch one fish every ten years; in a hundred years, I have only caught three fish-dragons."

"You came just at the right time today; tasting this fat fish-dragon with me and chatting about the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers is truly a happy event in life!"

Li Xiang sat quietly, not saying a word.

He seemed to have other thoughts.

Today's fish-dragon feast, Ze seemed to be pointing at something else, vaguely hinting at the reason for the Human Race's weakness.

There is no dragon at the Dragon Gate—is it because among the schools of fish, there is no one with a firm Dao heart, no one willing to pursue the Dao with their life?

No.

It is because those fish who hold positions without doing their jobs, those big-bellied fish, occupy the positions and refuse to let latecomers climb.

Then the Human Race has no Saint...

Li Xiang looked up at Ze, a trace of doubt in his eyes.

If he hadn't seen it wrong, this guy should be a Demon.

How is it that he seems to want to wake himself up?

Ze felt his gaze, as if he saw through Li Xiang's worries.

"Daoist friend, why bother thinking so much?"

"If this fish-dragon gets cold, it won't be delicious."

"As for what you are thinking in your heart,"

Ze raised his wine cup with one hand and clinked it remotely toward the distance.

It seemed he was paying tribute to an old friend.

"A long, long time ago, I had a friend from the Human Race who entrusted me to look after the Human Race a little."

"You might not know him; that was already a matter from the previous epoch."

His eyes were stained with a bit of vicissitudes, as if time were flowing.

"His name is Xuanyuan."

(End of chapter)