The Legend of the Golden Fish

"It didn't follow us, did it?" "N-no, I don't think so? It doesn't know how to swim, does it?" "What kind of route did you guide us through? You almost got us killed!" "I told you before we set off that it was a bit dangerous! Who was the one acting like a student with a cheat sheet, confidently claiming there'd be no problem?" "You call that just a bit dangerous?!" In the white mist of the Sea of Knowledge, Yaxiu and Sonia lay panting aboard the small boat. Their forms were as faint and faded as the surrounding mist, looking as though they might disperse at any moment, and even their bickering sounded weak and drained. Just moments earlier, after nearly an hour of sailing without any gains, Yaxiu could not help but suggest venturing into a zone marked "Better Not Go" on the map. Sonia, newly arrived in the Void Realm and swelling with confidence, had agreed. So the two had pierced through the white mist into the danger zone. Yet far from discovering an inheritance islet, they encountered a giant winged fish. It rammed straight into Yaxiu's boat, flipping it over, and unleashed blasts of water that sent geysers tens of meters into the air. Merely being grazed by the water blasts had peeled away their forms like paint scrubbed hundreds of times by sandpaper. Fortunately, the boat was remarkably sturdy. Even upside down, it stubbornly remained afloat. The two scrambled back aboard and paddled the water with their bare hands, desperate to escape the danger zone. To their dismay, the giant fish actually gave chase, even launching into the air to swoop down at the boat. In a flash of wit, Yaxiu used "Void Realm Exploration" to accelerate the craft, narrowly evading the charging head of the fish and preventing them from giving up their Void Realm first blood. Catching her breath, Sonia looked at the soaked Yaxiu, a trace of doubt flickering in her beautiful eyes. Feigning nonchalance, she asked, "You had no way to kill that mudfish dragon?" Yaxiu, suspecting nothing, panted, "Even you couldn't do anything about it. How could I?" *Was the Watcher really this weak?* Countless thoughts flashed through Sonia's mind, but in the end, they all settled into silence. Even if the End Watcher was weak, there was nothing she could do about it. She had no means of killing him, nor could she find any way to resist his control over her; even Professor Trozan had failed to detect his existence. Moreover, after the End Watcher demonstrated his ability to navigate the Void Realm, Sonia's mindset had subtly shifted. Even though she had only recently become a Void-Wing Sorcerer, Sonia understood how vital the Void Realm was to sorcerers, and she recognized just how shocking and unprecedented the End Watcher's ability to peer through the realm's mist truly was. It was common knowledge that no one could see through the Void Realm's mist. This was also why all sorcerers were equal: before the unknown balance of risk and reward, everyone stood on equal footing. The strong could fall, and the weak had the chance to soar to the heavens in a single step! This was the so-called equality of opportunity! Yet now, an entity capable of seeing through unknown risks had appeared, standing above all sorcerers! A being exalted above other sorcerers—the End Watcher! If obeying the Watcher's commands before had been driven largely by helpless resignation to his whims, Sonia's perspective had now subtly shifted. Won over by his power, she had even begun looking forward to a splendid life carried along by him—hardly different from falling to temptation. Originally, Sonia had wanted to ask why the Watcher chose her and what made her special, but on second thought, what if he suddenly came to his senses and thought, *Oh, right, what do I need you for?* and abandoned her on the spot? Wouldn't she be throwing away a chance to rise above the rest? Besides, without formidable strength, how could the Watcher control her actions, see through the Void Realm's mist, and pull her into dream trials? *I must stay on guard against him playing the weakling card!* If she fell for it, he might use it as an excuse to impose harsher punishments and mistreat her! "By the way, what kind of creature was that fish just now?" *Here he goes again. Asking me about common knowledge like this. Keep putting on your act; go right ahead and play dumb!* Sonia played along with his performance. "A mudfish dragon, one of the most common knowledge creatures in the Void Realm. Killing it yields various sorcery spirits from factions like the water sorcery faction and earth sorcery faction. If that mudfish dragon had killed other sorcerers before, it might even harbor their sorcery spirits inside its body." There were only two types of intelligent beings in the Void Realm: sorcerers and knowledge creatures. True to their name, whenever a sorcerer slew a knowledge creature, they could obtain the condensed knowledge within them—a sorcery spirit. Unlike inheritances left behind by sorcerers, the sorcery spirits dropped by knowledge creatures were not fixed. Although they generally belonged to the creature's native factions—a mudfish dragon would never drop a fire sorcery faction spirit—there were many distinct spirits even within the same faction. What was more, the spoils dropped by knowledge creatures updated alongside the world itself. For instance, if a sorcerer in reality invented a new system of knowledge and summoned a brand-new kind of sorcery spirit, other sorcerers slaying knowledge creatures in the Void Realm might directly loot the newly invented spirit from that latest version. If a new system of knowledge was sufficiently novel and wild, it might even spawn entirely new species of knowledge creatures, enriching the Void Realm's biodiversity. Much like 'equality of opportunity,' this was another essential premise of sorcerer equality: 'equality of knowledge.' No one could monopolize knowledge forever. No matter how tightly you guarded your newly invented knowledge, other sorcerers could obtain your achievements in the Void Realm just the same. To maintain an advantage, you had to keep innovating. Those who clung to the past, hoping a single invention would grant them a permanent lead, were no different from fools who loitered in one spot in the Void Realm for too long. If you took no risks, the Void Realm would swallow you; if you failed to innovate, reality would beat you down. Having finished explaining knowledge creatures, Sonia could not resist probing, "Since you knew there was danger in the mist, couldn't you detect what kind of creature it was?" "No. I only know the level of danger the mist poses to us, not what the specific danger is." Sonia felt a flicker of disappointment. "Then you definitely won't be able to find the Golden Fish either." "The Golden Fish?" Yaxiu asked blankly. "What's that?" As if hearing someone ask what one plus one equaled, Sonia's lips twitched. A thought suddenly crossed her mind: *Is he asking me moronic questions to train my obedience? If I push back, will he think my loyalty is lacking and subject me to harsh punishments?* With that thought, Sonia raised her guard and answered the foolish question in earnest: "The Golden Fish is a fish floating upon the Sea of Knowledge. Upon its back lies the Time Continent, and the Time Continent is where Two-Winged Sorcerers go..." "Wait, a continent?" Yaxiu interrupted. "How big is this fish?" "Immense. No one has ever seen the full form of the Golden Fish. It's said that even its smallest scale is equivalent to a metropolis capable of housing a million people." "If it's that big, shouldn't it be easy to find?" "On the contrary, only an exceedingly fortunate few have ever found the Golden Fish in the Sea of Knowledge. Without exception, every one of those lucky individuals went on to become a renowned Legendary Sorcerer." Yaxiu let out an understanding sound. "What's the benefit of finding the Golden Fish?" "You set foot on the Time Continent and directly become a Two-Winged Sorcerer." "What?" "You directly become a Two-Winged Sorcerer." Sonia fought back her impatience, thinking that even the children she had tutored were never this obtuse. "The biggest difference between a One-Wing Sorcerer and a Two-Winged Sorcerer is that One-Wing Sorcerers are all in the Sea of Knowledge, while Two-Winged Sorcerers are all on the Time Continent. "When a One-Wing Sorcerer condenses their sorcery power in the Sea of Knowledge to its absolute limit, unfolding it into Silver Wings, they can no longer gain more sorcery power from sailing. If they wish to climb to a higher realm, they must advance to two wings. "The standard method of advancement is for a sorcerer to study knowledge, summon a two-winged sorcery spirit, and find the Gate of Truth within that spirit to traverse the Void Realm. That brings them to the second tier of the Void Realm—the Time Continent. Only on the Time Continent can a sorcerer absorb more sorcery power and condense a second void wing: Golden Wings." One-Wing Sorcerers sailed the Sea of Knowledge to condense Silver Wings, while Two-Winged Sorcerers walked the Time Continent to condense Golden Wings... Yaxiu gained a preliminary understanding of the sorcerers' power system, but a question arose: "Can't a One-Wing Sorcerer just obtain a two-winged sorcery spirit from someone else and go straight to the Time Continent?" "Absolutely impossible." Sonia shook her head. "Unless a sorcerer summoned the spirit with their own hands, they cannot locate the Gate of Truth within it. In fact, merely probing inside the spirit is exceedingly difficult—sorcery spirits are made of knowledge, and if you don't understand the spirit's composition, how could you unlock its secrets?" Now Yaxiu understood the path of advancement for sorcerers: summon higher-tier sorcery spirits, use them to cross into higher levels of the Void Realm, and keep summoning even higher-tier spirits as they grew stronger, repeating the cycle. Because of the twin premises of 'equality of opportunity' and 'equality of knowledge,' adventure and research ran through a sorcerer's entire life from beginning to end. No one could comfortably retire; as long as you refused to surrender your existing advantages, you were forced to keep taking risks and creating value. This process not only ensured the healthy development of the sorcerer system, but also continuously weeded out complacent, unproductive veteran sorcerers who stopped striving... That sounded remarkably like a KPI performance review system! Add in a bottom-tier elimination policy, and it would be complete! Realizing that sorcerers were just another breed of wage slave, Yaxiu instantly felt a surge of confidence. When it came to grinding and cutthroat rat races, he had never lost to anyone! "Wait, if we can find the Golden Fish in the Sea of Knowledge and step onto the Time Continent, wouldn't that be a backdoor shortcut to advancing?" "We prefer to call them 'stowaways'—stowaways sneaking from the bottom tier to the higher tier... That's why every sorcerer dreams of finding the Golden Fish." Sonia shrugged. "Who can resist the temptation of getting something for nothing?... So, can you find the Golden Fish?" "I'd like to, too." "Then why ask me so much? Keep sailing." Sonia glanced at her slightly translucent hands. "Steer clear of anywhere a fight might break out. I'm exhausted. After one or two more zones, I'll probably be forced to leave the Void Realm." Yaxiu nodded; he felt the fatigue as well. Sailing the Void Realm did not come without a price. While piercing through the white mist condensed their sorcery power, it also tempered their spirits and drained their soul energy. Once their soul energy fell below a certain threshold, they had to exit the Void Realm to rest. Every mundane voyage held countless precious miracles. Yaxiu opened "Void Realm Exploration." As expected, he saw a sea of tiles marked "Waste of Effort" and "Better Not Go." Yet this time, a zone in the bottom-right corner of the map was glowing with golden light! The prompt beneath that zone read plainly: "Welcome!"