Chapter 49: Ancient Golden Scales! A Integration-Stage Mighty Figure Doubts His Life

Dark clouds gathered abruptly, only to dissipate just as quickly.

Beneath the clear blue sky, the old man glared fiercely at Wang Chu, his tone carrying a hint of grievance:

"Kid, do you even know what kind of fish that was?"

Wang Chu replied with casual indifference:

"I know. Just some flashy little goldfish."

This response left the old man with very complicated emotions. He took a deep breath and then said:

"If I told you that fish could defy the heavens and rewrite your destiny—that you will never catch a fish that precious again in your entire life—would you regret it?"

Wang Chu curled his lips:

"Hah, impossible! That fish tasted so awful, I used to catch them all the time."

The old man felt a strong urge to slap Wang Chu a couple of times just to snap him back to reality:

"Utter nonsense! Aren't you afraid the wind will flash your tongue?"

Wang Chu flicked his fishing rod, casting the hook back into the sea:

"Senior, that's just how the world is. You have to accept reality."

The old man laughed in exasperation:

"Fine, fine, fine! You mean to say that this old man is jealous of you, right? Alright! If you've got the guts, catch another fish like that for me to see!"

Wang Chu remained completely calm:

"Wait. The time it takes for one incense stick to burn."

The old man stared at the spot where the fishing line met the water:

"I'll wait!"

Although the baited waters were now practically ready for casting, Hong Zhongyuan could no longer care about that; his head was getting a bit hot.

Nearby, Chuxue looked at the two of them and shook her head with a smile, feeling that one was an old urchin and the other a young urchin.

Afterwards, she withdrew her gaze and went back to reading her book.

The plot of *Flirting Scholar* was entering a cliffhanger phase, and she was eagerly anticipating how the story would develop.

Half an incense stick's time later, the fishing line moved again.

The old man's heart stirred as well.

He gazed at the sea with some apprehension, thinking to himself:

"No way, no way, no way? Could he really catch a second one!? No..."

The old man comforted himself:

"Impossible! Even if he really catches a fish, it definitely won't be the same Seven-Colored Divine Fish as before! At most, it's just an ordinary sea fish. Right! Just the most ordinary sea fish!"

As the end of the fishing line moved away from the surface of the water, the old man's guess seemed to be confirmed.

The fish Wang Chu caught this time was indeed not the Seven-Colored Divine Fish.

The corners of the old man's mouth twitched upward slightly, but they were quickly smoothed out again.

Because he saw that the fish Wang Chu had pulled up was radiating a brilliant golden light all over...

It was indeed not the Seven-Colored Divine Fish.

Instead, it was something far more precious than the Seven-Colored Divine Fish... the Primordial Golden Scale.

Though he was unwilling to admit it, after careful identification, the old man—who possessed extensive knowledge of fish—was forced to accept this reality.

In books, there was also a story related to this fish.

No, not a story.

To be precise, it should be a legend.

According to legend, the Golden Scale Emperor, who once terrorized the continent, had risen from humble beginnings precisely because he ate this fish, ultimately achieving enlightenment and ascending to become a legendary figure...

"Senior, look, isn't it caught just like that?"

Wang Chu pulled on the rod while speaking to the old man beside him, his tone relaxed and effortless.

With complicated and excited feelings, the old man lowered his head, swallowed hard, and did not reply, feeling a sudden dryness in his throat.

He seemed to see a golden highway appearing right before him...

Pride or ascension—which one was more important?

The old man decisively chose ascension.

He decided to swallow his pride and ask Wang Chu if he was willing to sell this fish.

If he was selling it, he would definitely buy it at any cost!

As for seizing it by force...

The old man had not entirely lacked such a thought.

However, the teachings of his sect's elders and the moral principles he firmly upheld within his heart made it impossible for him to do such a thing.

Ascension was indeed important, but if his state of mind were clouded, the old man would rather forego ascension altogether.

After gathering his emotions slightly, the old man raised his head, intending to ask about the price.

However, before he could speak,

Chuxue, who was sitting next to Wang Chu, closed her book, covered her eyes with her hands, and spoke first:

"What kind of fish is this? It's so blinding, it's making it hard for me to see the words clearly."

Chuxue had just reached the climax of the story when the dazzling golden light suddenly intruded into her eyes, forcing her back from the fantasy world into reality.

That frustrating, scratching-at-the-walls urge to know how the story continued left Chuxue with a very poor impression of this golden-light fish.

Therefore, when she asked Wang Chu that question, her tone carried a hint of disgust and aversion.

Wang Chu grabbed the tail of the Primordial Golden Scale with matching disdain:

"This fish is called the Blinding Little Goldfish. Its texture is slightly better than the previous one, but only slightly. Since you find it blinding, I'll just throw it away."

Chuxue nodded eagerly:

"Yeah, throw it away, throw it away."

Wang Chu raised his hand toward the sea. Before he could toss the fish out, an anxious voice rang out in his ear:

"Wait!"

By the time the words fell, the fish had already plunged into the sea with a splash.

Wang Chu looked at the old man who had shouted and said playfully:

"Senior, you don't want it again, do you?"

The old man did not know how to describe his current state of mind.

Unable to answer Wang Chu, he immediately executed a mountain-moving and ocean-filling technique, lifting the seawater from a vast area ahead entirely into mid-air.

Then, his spiritual sense swept across the floating seawater, intending to find that glowing fish.

However, what filled Hong Zhongyuan with despair was—

Aside from some ordinary, very common fish,

He found nothing at all!

The more precious a fish was, the stronger its escape methods naturally were.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be crowned with the word "precious"...

"No!"

The seawater poured down, crashing back into the sea.

The old man knelt on the beach, roaring toward the sky.

This was the second time. Today was the second time.

He had let an opportunity that was hard to come by in tens of millions of years slip right through his fingers!

Seeing the old man churn up the sea to search for the fish, fail to find it, and then display such incomparable regret, Chuxue finally realized that the fish Wang Chu had thrown away seemed truly extraordinarily precious.

So, when she had just expressed such disgust and agreed to let Wang Chu throw it away, was she perhaps acting a bit too pretentious?

Chuxue lightly pressed her lips together, and an answer quickly formed in her heart.

Cultivation no longer mattered in her eyes.

Whether the fish was precious or not held no significance for her anymore either.

Reading books, on the other hand, was one of the things she valued most right now.

That fish had just delayed her reading, so she wanted Wang Chu to throw it away—that was entirely reasonable and not pretentious at all.

"Senior, turns out you really wanted that glowing little goldfish?"

Wang Chu started making sarcastic remarks from the side again:

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

Hong Zhongyuan stood up and roared:

"Did you give me a chance to speak?"

Wang Chu shrugged and retorted:

"Didn't I?"

The old man fell silent, plunging into a heavy hush.

Strictly speaking, Wang Chu had indeed left him plenty of opportunities to ask for the fish.

If he could have overcome his pride a little sooner, he surely could have obtained that Primordial Golden Scale, or even the Seven-Colored Divine Fish.

Regrettably, because of a moment of hesitation and delay, he had missed them all.

Opportunities in life are often fleeting.

The turning point for a breakthrough is likewise instantaneous.

If one harbors reservations and fails to firmly grasp that turning point,

Then failure is only natural.

The old man shook his head and sighed helplessly:

"Timing! Destiny! It was entirely this old man's own fault."

His attitude changed abruptly as he bowed deeply to Wang Chu, displaying the utmost respect:

"This humble old man was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai earlier, committing many offenses. I hope the young master will forgive me."

The old man, having witnessed a heaven-defying fortune, had been somewhat blinded by it and lost his rationality.

Now that he had suddenly calmed down, he realized a crucial problem.

Was the young man before him, utterly devoid of any spiritual fluctuations, truly just an ordinary junior?

The answer was no.

Catching the Seven-Colored Divine Fish on the first try without using any bait—

The old man might have explained that away as sheer good luck.

But catching a legendary fish a second time made attributing it to good luck a bit too far-fetched.

This seemingly unremarkable young man was definitely not an ordinary person!

In truth, the greatest opportunity placed before him—

Was neither the Seven-Colored Divine Fish nor the Primordial Golden Scale.

It was the person standing right in front of him!