Chapter 154 I Want It All

"How many have risen?"

The female Palace Master of Xinglang flickered her beautiful eyes in astonishment. On the Heavenly Monument, several names were shifting up and down, their scores jumping as entirely new and unfamiliar names appeared.

First place remained hers, with sixty-one thousand points, leading by a wide margin. In second place was the Son of Heaven, with thirty-six thousand points. After her score broke fifty thousand, this fellow who dared to use the Son of Heaven as his name was actually gaining points at a rate that slightly exceeded her own.

"Son of Heaven, Ji, Qin Taichu... Who are these people?"

The female Palace Master's gaze drifted downward. Among the top ten, six were young juniors, and several had appeared out of nowhere, their climbing speed terrifyingly fast.

This left her slightly surprised. She had expected to suppress the competition with absolute dominance, never anticipating that someone would be closely pursuing her.

"It's time to haul in the net."

Sitting cross-legged on a twenty-zhang immortal cloud for several hours, Feng Shang suddenly opened his eyes. Grasping the heavy fishing rod, his momentum surged, startling the small silver pig sleeping in Huang'er's arms into a sudden jump, making it think something had happened.

"Brother Feng Shang, did you only just now fish up a Sea-Mountain Spirit? Is it a top-tier Sea-Mountain Spirit?" Little Huang's eyes flashed with anticipation as she mentally calculated that if Feng Shang fished out a top-tier Sea-Mountain Spirit, he could jump straight into second place in one go.

"Not just that. Just watch."

Feng Shang smiled with confidence. Looking out at the calm sea surface, he uttered a single word.

"Up!"

As if hauling up a mountainous stellar body, the snow-white king-grade fishing rod bent violently, pulling taut like a crescent moon.

Feng Shang's hands moved with the speed of a hazy afterimage, swiftly slapping several reinforcement talismans onto the rod in quick succession, truly afraid that the fishing rod would snap instantly.

"Mh..."

Little Huang covered her mouth, her bright eyes widening as she stared at the taut, to-the-limit fishing rod without daring to make the slightest sound. She harbored a surging expectation—for instance, would Brother Feng Shang manage to fish up many, many Sea-Mountain Spirits all at once?

The little girl anticipated it silently, refusing to speak it aloud for fear that voicing it would prevent it from coming true.

"Splash!"

A loud crash echoed from the surface of the sea.

Attracting the attention of nearby cultivators, they saw that attached to the crystal line of Feng Shang's fishing rod was actually a crimson beast with horns on its head, its four hooves wreathed in cloudy fire, its physique majestic and robust.

What puzzled them was that the crystal line was not held in the beast's mouth; instead, it was tied into a loop midway, hanging the creature from it. Furthermore, right on the crimson beast's forehead, there was a startlingly large bump!

The eyes of this Sea-Mountain Spirit lacked all luster, looking thoroughly dazed and utterly disoriented.

"Was this crimson beast knocked unconscious by someone? A crystal line tied into loops, is there even such a fishing method?" someone asked in bewilderment.

"His fishing rod has bent into such a shape—could there be more than one loop on this crystal line? Come to think of it, this young man caught a divine mushroom on his first cast, a cheng huang on his second, and then remained completely inactive for a long time..."

Many people were shaken, as if suddenly enlightened.

Whether it was the previous divine mushroom or the cheng huang, both had caused a sensation across this sea area. Feng Shang's appearance had been memorized by many, leaving a deep impression on them.

How could it not be strange that he had remained completely motionless for hours on end?

"Pfft!"

Another section of the crystal line broke the surface.

A ling fish emerged, its skin snow-white, its eyes hollow, and its forehead similarly swollen with a large red bump, hanging limply from Feng Shang's crystal line.

The crowd watched this scene in astonishment.

Someone had actually guessed correctly.

There was more than one loop on this crystal line, and hanging from every single loop was a Sea-Mountain Spirit!

At that moment, the more they thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.

Could it be that the young man's silence over the past few hours was spent tying loops and continuously capturing Sea-Mountain Spirits? The real question was: down beneath the star sea, by what means had he managed to knock them unconscious?

"Hmm?" Ye Jiushang glanced over toward Feng Shang, happening to catch sight of the chain of Sea-Mountain Spirits dangling from the crystal line as they slowly rose out of the water.

"No movement for several hours, just to brew this single moment?" Ye Jiushang smiled and shook his head. This Brother Feng's style of doing things was truly out of the ordinary.

"Splash..."

Another Sea-Mountain Spirit broke the surface of the water.

This was a bizarre Sea-Mountain Spirit covered entirely in dense white scales, with a head resembling a flood dragon, bearing six eyes. Two long, whisker-like barbels reached a full half-zhang in length, and a hump resembling a mountain ridge rose from its back, making it grotesquely eccentric.

"A Chaoqu! That's the fifteenth one! Just how many zhang deep did this crystal line sink? Exactly how many loops are there?"

Many people found it unimaginable. Not only was this fishing method uniquely bizarre, but every single one of these Sea-Mountain Spirits had been directly knocked cold, obediently rising along with the crystal line without a single trace of resistance.

One had to know that Sea-Mountain Spirits all possessed distinct tempers. Any of them fished out would invariably struggle to the very end—unless it was a divine mushroom like the little silver pig, which was utterly ignorant and would allow itself to be sold without knowing a thing.

"Brother Feng Shang? Can you whisper it to Huang'er? Just how many Sea-Mountain Spirits are you going to fish out in one go this time?" Little Huang's eyes, black as gemstones, flickered as her breathing turned slightly rapid. Hearing the surrounding exclamations and discussions, she felt a wellspring of boundless joy.

"Just wait and see."

Feng Shang ruffled her little head.

The crystal line continued to ascend, accompanied by the endless emergence of Sea-Mountain Spirits, continually refreshing everyone's perception.

This fishing method was undoubtedly intensely eye-catching.

Before long, many people stopped fishing altogether, focusing entirely on the ascent of Feng Shang's crystal line to see just how many Sea-Mountain Spirits he could pull up with a single cast. It even drew the attention of some youths belonging to the cosmic imperial clans.

"Young Master, the crystal line belonging to that person carries the faint aura of Star-Refining Precious Qi," an old man remarked.

The youth in the black-and-gold imperial robe had fair skin, a tall and slender physique, and pupils of a pale, bloody red that held a bewitching luster. Hearing this, he said indifferently, "Seeking attention through sensationalism. Once we enter the Jian Divine Realm, I will deal with him with a flick of my hand."

"Naturally."

The old man replied with absolute certainty, supremely confident in the words of the black-and-gold robed imperial youth.

Because this youth hailed from the First Imperial Domain and possessed true imperial blood! One of his grand-uncles was currently among the Nine Saints of the Star Sea.

"Mh, come to think of it, that young girl gives me a very unique feeling. Her bloodline stirs within me a fierce craving..."

The black-and-gold robed imperial youth narrowed his eyes slightly, locking his gaze onto Little Huang beside Feng Shang. His gaze wandered continually over her undeveloped body, a captivating sharp light flashing through his eyes as he subconsciously licked his lips.

"I shall capture her for the Young Master."

The old man moved out, decisive and unhesitating. His manner of action was utterly uninhibited and had always been so—after all, no one had ever dared to stand as an adversary to the First Imperial Domain!

"Wait."

The black-and-gold robed imperial youth stopped him, closed his eyes, and said softly, "The girl I have my eyes on, I will take personally. Besides, this is the Star Sea; out of respect for my grand-uncle, I will restrain myself somewhat. Moreover..."

"Not only that young girl, but also the Emperor of Spirits' youngest daughter and the descendants of the immortal-vein families—I find all of them quite pleasing. I want all of them. Once we enter the Jian Divine Realm, I will gather them in one place to properly enjoy them."

"Understood."

Hearing this, the old man felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

The daughter of the Emperor of Spirits, the descendant of an immortal vein... the Young Master's appetite was truly growing bolder by the day...