Chapter 165: 158 Fishing Rod

"Isn't that going too far?"

It wasn't Tang Zhao or Jiang Shenyi who shouted, but both of their expressions were unpleasant.

The seating chart was hung high, with the crowd below watching; the sound of uproar was endless.

The Spring Rune Ranking records the outstanding Disciples of the younger generation. There aren't many people on it, and they are all representatives of the major powers. A Talisman Sword Master is not a Martial Artist; they don't often fight to a finish to determine a winner, so it was never easy to rank them. The Rune Assembly does have some sparring events, but every session brings a new batch of newcomers, and the results of the previous session become void. If the ranking could have a basis after the Rune Assembly, the current ranking is basically just based on the power one comes from.

Currently, the person ranked first on the list is a young master of the Ouye Clan. There is nothing to say about this; the Ouye Clan is the ancestor of Sword Casting in the world. Since the era of the Ancient Sword, they have forged countless Treasure Swords, and no one can surpass them.

The second place is Ju Tianxuan of Long Yuan, the standout of their younger generation. Long Yuan is not at all polite when ranking; after politely placing the Ouye young master, the rest are their own people.

The third place is Wu Yunfei of Yitian Pavilion, the fourth is Chu Shanxia of Mogan Peak, the fifth is the Xiao Guangwang of the Northern Sea Yuanji Palace... Tang Zhao and the others have heard of these various titles. They are all the proud children of their respective sects and schools. Regardless of whether they are true or false, the list is just these famous Disciples ranking each other, and they don't use other minor Disciples as padding, so let them rank as they please.

But the seating chart behind that was not fun at all.

According to the display above, the banquet is divided into three areas: one main and two secondary. The main area is Heaven, the left area is Earth, and the right area is Human. There is a world of difference between each area. The Heaven District is spacious and magnificent, with one seat per person; the Human District is incomparably shabby, as narrow as a warehouse, and as crowded as a jar of pickled vegetables.

The Heaven District is naturally those major powers, only seven of them; the Earth District is over ten first and second-rate powers; everyone else is stuffed into the Human District. The names are listed so densely that one cannot even see them clearly.

Tang Zhao hadn't looked yet, but he knew his own side must be in the Human District, and he felt it was acceptable. However, in the Human District, the name of Zhuoyu Villa was also listed in the last few rows, and the position was even in the furthest corner, far away from others, almost like an added table.

One Hundred and Eight Springs... needless to say, it was newly established anyway, and no one knew it at all, so he looked for it in the last row.

Tang Zhao squeezed into the crowd and heard people constantly shouting: "Unfair, unfair! This is looking down on people too much. Our Hongyan Academy has hundreds of years of heritage, can't we even make it into the Earth District?"

Jiang Shenyi also chimed in: "Unfair, isn't this bullying people?"

Tang Zhao advised from the side: "I think there is still room for change. Long Yuan is so high-profile, stirring up the atmosphere; they must have the intention to hold a successful assembly, and they are certainly not aiming to bully small powers... I spit on that, this is too unfair!"

In the crowd, everyone thought about it and got angrier, shouting all sorts of things. Tang Zhao joined in the commotion for a few sentences, but ultimately felt it wasn't right. He pulled Jiang Shenyi and the others out, suppressed the feeling of displeasure, and said: "Let's enter the city first and see what arrangements they have."

If the seating chart posted at the city gate was just a starting point, a path-clearing move for a series of subsequent setups, then there must be other arrangements in the city.

Jiang Shenyi gritted his teeth and said: "I know, this is very likely a strategy of Long Yuan: to take, one must first give. First, they stir up our anger, then propose other methods to stimulate us to strive for the top. But... it's so damn annoying! If he were the old Emperor with the power of life and death, and could promote everyone and make them rich, everyone would endure it. He is just a Host, and just by arranging seats, he acts as if his chicken feather is a command arrow. It's so annoying!"

Che Sha said with concern: "What if there are no arrangements, and Long Yuan just wants to use this assembly to divide everyone into tiers?"

Tang Zhao said: "Then that would truly be acting as if a chicken feather is a command arrow. Is the matter of dividing tiers something a single sect or family can decide? If Long Yuan is that stupid, everyone will naturally tell them that the times have changed and they are no longer anything special."

Inside White City, the atmosphere was very lively. Colorful flags fluttered on the streets and rooftops, but the various flags no longer bore the names of the powers; instead, they were painted with dragon patterns—not full dragons, but patterns like dragon horns, dragon claws, or dragon tails. White City was already covered in the marks of Long Yuan.

Besides the dragon marks, the most common things in the city were the specialties of the Lotus Pond. Shops mostly sold lotus seeds, lotus roots, and river delicacies. The signs were painted with lotus patterns, high buildings hung lotus lamps, and on the road, one could see young girls holding lotus flowers and old fishermen carrying fish baskets and fishing rods.

The four of them took a rough tour and split up to look for clues. There were many young people like them on the road. Clearly, there were plenty of smart people among the Talisman Sword Masters.

Only Disciples with sharp minds would consciously come to look for clues; the dull ones would at most shout "unfair" outside.

"Brother, may I ask where you got this fishing rod?" After observing on the street for a while, Tang Zhao finally made a move and stopped a tall young man carrying a fishing rod.

The young man was not surprised when he heard this and asked calmly: "Why? Does my brother also like fishing?"

Tang Zhao said: "I have never fished. However, I have a bright pearl that accidentally fell into a pond. If I don't fish it out early and let it be confused with fish eyes in the mud, wouldn't that make the pearl gather dust?"

The young man smiled and said: "There are also fishing rods for sale in the surrounding shops; why don't you go buy one, but instead come to ask me?"

Tang Zhao thought: Because you have walked back and forth on the street three times carrying a fishing rod; it's hard not to notice you. But he smiled and stroked the fishing line dangling outside, saying: "Your fishhook is straight; isn't it a case of 'the willing jump into the net'?"

The young man laughed out loud.

Tang Zhao was about to call his companions, but Jiang Shenyi had already run over and said: "I have a clue!"

It turned out he had also made a discovery. After all, White City is a small city, and there were too many strange people on the street. Just relying on the clue-finding stage, I'm afraid not many people would be filtered out.

Moreover, if the threshold is too high, the subsequent game won't be very exciting.

The clues found by several people pointed to the same place: an entrance to the city gate tower. There was a small pavilion in front of the entrance.

A sign hung in front of the pavilion; seen from the front, it was seven stars, and seen from the side, it was seven intersecting Treasure Swords.

Seven Star Long Yuan!

Entering the pavilion, there was a staircase leading up. Following this up, the view suddenly opened up, and they were already standing on the city tower.

A cool breeze blew on the city tower, and the faint scent of lotus flowers hit their faces. It turned out that this section of the city wall faced the Lotus Pond. Looking out, lotus leaves were lush and lotus flowers were elegant, as if they were in the water towns of Jiangnan.

Several bamboo chairs were placed on the city tower, and a person sat in the middle. He stood up and said: "Brother, you have finally come, making me wait so long."

It turned out this person was the tall young man Tang Zhao had encountered earlier who was fishing; he was tall and very easy to recognize. Now he had changed his clothes into the Long Yuan Disciple uniform with the Seven Stars emblem. Because it was a former dynasty's government office, the Long Yuan uniform looked a bit like an official uniform, only the symbols of the former dynasty had been erased.

Tang Zhao hurriedly saluted again, and the young man returned the salute, saying: "Please sit, everyone."

Tang Zhao and the others sat on the bamboo chairs. Looking down at the Lotus Pond from here, they could see many fishermen scattered along the bank, more than before they entered the city.

It seems many people have gotten there first?

The young man smiled and said: "I remember you were looking for fishing rods to fish? They are already prepared. Today is a good day for fishing." After saying that, he took out four fish baskets and four fishing rods from behind.

Tang Zhao took them and discovered there was something inside the fish basket: it was a square Origin Stone.

The Origin Stone is valuable, but putting it in the fish basket now is not to give money to the young Disciples.

"Is there any particular way to do this fishing?"

The young man smiled and said: "There is. The fish in the Lotus Pond are not ordinary fish, so the fishing method is not an ordinary one. Please carve your best Rune Formula on the Origin Stone. Use this as bait and lower it into the lake to fish. The Spirit Fish in the pond love Rune Formulas the most. If you can attract a Spirit Fish and follow its guidance, you can go to Jianzhou on your own, or even ascend to the sky in one step."

Tang Zhao understood; this was the first step issued by Long Yuan. First, let everyone show off a Rune Formula they are good at. Then... it seems they can get the next step of guidance?

"Got one!"

Someone below shouted, and they saw water splashing by the pond; a Talisman Sword Master had already caught a beautifully colored koi and was holding it in his hands to examine it closely.

The young man continued: "Spirit Fish are not hard to attract, but Spirit Fish differ from one another. The more miraculous the Spirit Fish, the more it likes excellent Rune Formulas. Some people can only attract small fish and shrimp, while others can catch rare aquatic creatures. That koi is not bad, but a truly powerful Talisman Page can attract a Golden Scale, which can command wind and clouds and transform into a true dragon."

Jiang Shenyi looked at the Origin Stone and found it was exactly the same as what he usually used. He asked: "Does everyone only have this one Origin Stone?"

The young man said: "Exactly, and only the one in the fish basket can resonate with the Spirit Fish. One for each person; no regrets after fishing. After all, the Spirit Fish in the lake are limited. If everyone fishes one here and one there, and after fishing one, they want a better one, ruining all the fish in the pond, wouldn't that cut off the path for others? The road to Jianzhou is long; it is better for everyone to have a few more companions."

Tang Zhao asked: "May I ask, how many Spirit Fish are in the pond?"

The young man said: "Not many, exactly ninety-nine."

Ninety-nine spots? That's quite a lot. There are over a hundred powers in total, and even if you count broadly, there are only three or four hundred people. If a hundred people can be selected, can the Heaven District hold so many people?

As if guessing their questions, the young man said: "Catching a Spirit Fish is just the beginning. Even catching a Golden Scale doesn't mean you can ascend to the sky in one step. A Golden Scale can lead to a good path, but how to walk it depends on the future. Who knows, maybe the one who walks all the way to the very front will be a small shrimp?"

Having said this, he stopped speaking. Clearly, the hint he was supposed to give at this stage was complete. Tang Zhao and the others took their fishing rods and baskets and took their leave, then went to make their Talisman Pages as quickly as possible. After all, the spots were limited, and those fishermen by the lake had already taken a step ahead of them. If they were late, no matter how fancy they made their Talisman Pages, they wouldn't be able to grab a spot.

Watching them go downstairs, the young man stood up, stood by the river with his hands behind his back, and looked down at the Lotus Pond, as if the scattered fishermen by the pond were all fish under his rod.

At this moment, two youths emerged from the side and bowed, saying, "Chief."

The young man nodded slightly, and one of them laughed, "Chief, why are you in such high spirits? First going out onto the street in person, then offering personal guidance. It truly is those people's good fortune of three lifetimes."

The young man laughed, "It is fine for you to say this in front of me, but if you were to say it outside, you would be looking down on the people of the world too much."

One of the youths asked cautiously, "Could it be that the Chief has taken a liking to someone? Is it that youngest one from just now? Does he have some unusual quality? Is his attainment in Rune Formula exceptionally high?"

The Chief nodded slightly and continued, "I don't know about the Rune Formula, but he speaks quite interestingly. Of course—it is mainly about the face." Immediately after, he laughed again, "I wonder which kind of aquatic creature he can attract? You must know that besides the Golden Scale, there are hidden choices as well."