The First Day's Rankings

A boundless expanse of ocean stretched in all directions. Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao each appeared aboard a small boat, separated by roughly ten thousand meters. Their boats were stocked with an assortment of fishing gear, along with drinking water, food, and a card detailing the competition's rules. Yu Xian picked up the rule card and read through it carefully. All participating players were randomly distributed across small boats scattered throughout the ocean, where they would spend the next seven days. Furthermore, fishing would allow them to upgrade their boats. Currently, everyone possessed a Level 1 boat. Catching ten jin of fish would upgrade it to a Level 2 boat. Not only was a Level 2 boat larger and more comfortable, but it also rewarded the player with a new fishing rod. In short, the faster a player upgraded, the more luxurious their vessel would become, increasing both the number and the size of the fish they could catch. The rules also specified that the daily evaluation would be based solely on the weight of each player's single heaviest catch that day, rather than total weight. Therefore, while players needed to reel in as many fish as possible to upgrade their boats, they also had to strive for larger catches—the bigger, the better. However, on the final day, the grand champion of the Fishing Competition would be determined by a combined score: total catch weight plus the weight of their single heaviest fish. Total weight mattered, but landing a behemoth remained just as critical. Having finished reading the rules, Yu Xian set the card aside, picked up a lure rod, and began making preparations. On the other side of the waters, roughly fifty thousand meters away, Gong Yinhu finished reading the rules with a confident smile. During his days peddling mystic charlatanry, he had associated with numerous wealthy moguls, many of whom were avid anglers. On one memorable occasion, several of them had chartered a yacht out to sea with a gaggle of female models. While the moguls were busy indulging in absurd debauchery, he had been the only one genuinely absorbed in fishing. He truly loved the sport and had learned extensively from seasoned masters. The conditions of this ocean were currently an enigma, and none of them had any means of surveying what lay beneath the waves. Consequently, he opted for a spoon lure—a versatile choice suitable for all water columns. With a flick of his wrist, he cast the lure smoothly into the water, then began working the line with rhythmic twitches, making the artificial bait dance seductively through the current. A few minutes later, he felt a sudden tug on the line. He struck hard to set the hook and reeled in rapidly. There truly was a bite! …… Night fell swiftly on the first day of the Fishing Competition. Yu Xian switched to a luminous lure, his expression dark as coal as he continued to fish. Throughout the entire daylight hours, he had been completely skunked. He was already plotting ways to make Chi Feihong's life miserable later—such as dispatching the boy to a bone-dry, fishless sea with orders that he couldn't leave until he caught something. Fishing hours were from nine in the morning until nine at night, leaving barely two hours before the cutoff. Yu Xian muttered darkly under his breath, "I'll make Chi Feihong eat nothing but fish for a million years... I'll turn Chi Feihong into a fish and let him get hooked a million times... I'll curse Chi Feihong to get skunked for a hundred million years..." Inside the Administrator Space, Chi Feihong watched Yu Xian's light screen, cold sweat beading thicker and thicker across his forehead. "..." Beside him, Feng Mingge smiled without a word. He had known all along that if Yu Xian came up empty-handed, Chi Feihong would be in for sheer agony. Moreover, Chi Feihong had repeatedly insisted on giving Yu Xian no unfair advantages, claiming he wanted a fair, clean competition. "Maybe... maybe we should let Master land at least one tiny fish?" Chi Feihong suggested weakly. Feng Mingge replied sternly, "Out of the question. We are administrators now. How can we blatantly cheat? Even for Yu Xian, the balance of the game cannot be compromised." "Brother, please don't hang me out to dry here," Chi Feihong pleaded with a miserable grimace. Yu Xian was notoriously willful. Chi Feihong was certain that while his master might forget these petty grudges by tomorrow, the next time something reminded him of it, his retribution would undoubtedly double. And the triggers to jog Yu Xian's memory were endless. Seeing a stray fish might remind him. Catching sight of a fishing rod might remind him. In short, the moment Yu Xian remembered, Chi Feihong was finished. Today's muttered curses would almost certainly become reality. "Direct cheating is out of the question, but we could herd a few more fish under his boat. After all, fish have the freedom to swim wherever they please," Feng Mingge conceded helplessly, seeing Chi Feihong on the verge of tears. It wasn't as though they could sneak down and physically hook a fish onto Yu Xian's line—that would be crossing the line entirely. "Now that works!" Chi Feihong's eyes lit up. He immediately invoked his administrator privileges to subtly manipulate the ocean currents, naturally guiding the surrounding fish toward Yu Xian's position. In their minds, as long as the water beneath Yu Xian was teeming with fish, he was bound to catch something. Yet neither had accounted for the sheer depth of Yu Xian's curse as an incurable blanker. No matter how densely packed the fish were below, not a single one would strike his lure. Chi Feihong's expression grew increasingly despairing, while Feng Mingge fell into an awkward silence. Before long, nine o'clock arrived. As expected, Yu Xian had spent the entire day thoroughly skunked, having failed to catch a single fish. He was so incensed he nearly hurled his rod into the sea. Chi Feihong turned completely ashen, feeling as though his doom had arrived. "Forget it. What's done is done. Announce the leaderboard," Feng Mingge sighed with a look of pity. Chi Feihong nodded and numbly entered the commands, broadcasting the first day's rankings to all players across the Zhen Realm. The next instant, shimmering light screens materialized before every participant, displaying the top ten players of the event: [Daily Behemoth Leaderboard] [1st Place: Gong Yinhu — 50 jin, Mangrove Snapper] [2nd Place: Andrew Bourbon — 36 jin, Cod] [3rd Place: Zhou Dagang — 33 jin, Grouper] [4th Place: Ximen Wangcai — 30 jin, Large Yellow Croaker] [5th Place: Tetsuya Murata — 27 jin, Grouper] [6th Place: Tom — 26 jin, Spanish Mackerel] [7th Place: Zhang Buyao — 23 jin, Spanish Mackerel] [8th Place: Mark Barrett — 20 jin, Largemouth Bass] [9th Place: Niu Bo — 18 jin, Yellowtail Amberjack] [10th Place: Fang Qinghao — 17 jin, Flounder] [This leaderboard is announced once daily. Players who place will receive generous rewards.] [This leaderboard does not affect the final championship awards.] …… Yu Xian had initially lacked any interest in the standings. After all, having caught nothing all day, what did the rankings have to do with him? Yet when his gaze fell upon Zhang Buyao in seventh place, his eyes widened in surprise. She had actually made the board! Glancing further down the list, he recognized quite a few familiar names. Gong Yinhu had managed to take first place even in fishing—what kind of ungodly luck was that? It was one thing for the man to lead in player level, but this was a fishing contest. Could Gong Yinhu secretly be an angling master in his own right? Could a coincidence really run that deep? Furthermore, Ximen Wangcai had also landed on the board. Yu Xian had never heard of him knowing how to fish; the man truly was a dark horse. Yu Xian sighed. Although he knew how to fish as well, his luck was clearly abysmal. This event looked set to be a complete waste of time for him. At this point, his only hope was that Zhang Buyao could climb even higher in the ranks.