Chapter 593 - 591: Provocation

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three deep, resounding drumbeats, like the tolling of a great bell, echoed from the pleasure cruiser.

The drumbeats were strange. As soon as they sounded, the massive pleasure cruiser began to move, gliding toward the center of the Celestial Lake.

It wasn’t particularly fast, but its movement was exceptionally smooth!

It was like walking on solid ground.

"Hahaha, welcome, everyone, to my Celestial Secret Pavilion. Thanks to the generosity of the Master of the Pavilion, today’s Celestial Secret Banquet will be hosted by me, Wei Lihuang. I trust no one objects?" Wei Lihuang’s voice came from the back of the hall as he walked out slowly, a placid smile on his face.

Following behind Wei Lihuang were nine powerful experts.

Every single one was a master at the Human Emperor Realm Fifth Stage or higher!

The two flanking him, in particular, had reached the Seventh Stage of the Human Emperor Realm and were ranked among the top twenty on the Celestial Venerable List.

The Celestial Secret Pavilion’s foundation was truly extraordinary!

"Old Wei, we figured you’d be the one hosting!"

"When the last Celestial Secret Banquet ended, we already guessed this one would be yours, Old Wei!"

"Since you’re hosting the Celestial Secret Banquet, we’ll naturally show you respect. I’ll even bring out my most prized treasures for the auction later!"

The crowd all said with a laugh.

The reputation of the Celestial Secret Pavilion alone was enough to keep them in line. What’s more, Wei Lihuang himself was a top-ten expert on the Celestial Venerable List with an excellent reputation, so no one would dare disrespect him.

Wei Lihuang’s smile remained as he scanned the hall. "Then I thank you all for your kind words," he said with a chuckle. "As is tradition, the start of the Celestial Secret Ship marks the official beginning of our Celestial Secret Banquet. Next, I will explain the specific arrangements for this banquet. The first event is the Celestial Lake fishing contest, which is held every year. The rules are the same as always!"

"Only those under the age of fifty may participate in this event."

"As for the prizes for the Celestial Lake fishing, the Celestial Secret Pavilion will provide the grand prize, as always, and all of you are free to add to the prize pool."

Wei Lihuang glanced at the expert at the Seventh Stage of the Human Emperor Realm beside him. The man immediately produced a brocade box. Wei Lihuang continued, "Inside this box is a Saint-Tier High-Level Martial Skill, the Ten Directions Sword Manual. Our Master of the Pavilion came across it by chance while Wandering the World. Whoever takes first place in the Celestial Lake fishing contest will become the new owner of this Ten Directions Sword Manual!"

As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall was stunned.

A Saint-Tier High-Level Martial Skill!

Even among the Ten Great Dynasties, that was a top-tier Martial Skill that could serve as the foundation of a powerful legacy!

"Hahaha, the Celestial Secret Ancestor is as generous as ever!" Gai Jinlong laughed heartily. "My Luotian Dynasty isn’t quite so wealthy, so I’ll offer a Sixth-grade Spirit Fruit, a Rebirth Fruit, as a prize! Long Chan, what is your Dragon Emperor Ancient Country planning to offer?"

Gai Jinlong and Long Chan had vied for the top spot on the Celestial Venerable List for years; neither would ever pass up an opportunity to put the other down.

Long Chan snorted coldly and said indifferently, "My Dragon Emperor Ancient Country is hardly stingy. This time, I will add a stalk of True Dragon Blood Ginseng to the prize pool!"

True Dragon Blood Ginseng.

It was also a Sixth-grade Spiritual Medicine, in no way inferior to the Rebirth Fruit!

After that, Song Tiancheng and the others also added to the pot one by one.

Even the least valuable of the prizes was equivalent to a Fifth-grade Advanced Spiritual Medicine. Seeing the mountain of treasures, the eyes of every expert in the room burned with desire.

In the crowd, the Black Emperor, perched on Jiang Chen’s shoulder, whispered with gleaming eyes, "Jiang Chen, you have to win first place in this Celestial Lake fishing contest."

"Hm?"

Jiang Chen was taken aback.

Of all the treasures, he was most interested in the Ten Directions Sword Manual, but since he knew nothing about the Celestial Lake fishing contest, he hadn’t shown it.

Hearing the Black Emperor’s urgency, he realized there must be some incredible treasures in the prize pool and immediately looked at it.

The Black Emperor grinned. "That Rebirth Fruit is a Treasure Medicine that can bring the dead back to life. If you give it to Xiaoyou, her injuries will be completely healed. And that True Dragon Blood Ginseng is a Treasure Medicine for replenishing blood qi. It’s said that ginseng needs to be cultivated with Dragon Blood. If you get it and consume it, you can regain at least a hundred years of your lifespan. It will also greatly increase the speed at which you can refine the Void Realm Heart, shortening your period of weakness!"

A brilliant light flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

He was in a precarious position right now. If he could recover his strength quickly, it was worth a shot.

He immediately turned to Gai Shi and asked, "Gai Shi, what’s this Celestial Lake fishing contest all about?"

Gai Shi was surprised for a moment, then realized this was Jiang Chen’s first time attending the Celestial Secret Banquet. He quickly explained, "Two types of mystical fish live in the Celestial Lake: the Sunfish, which lives in the Yang Pool, and the Silver Moon Fish, which lives in the Yin Pool. The two species normally keep to themselves at the bottom of the lake and never interact. Only during the Celestial Secret Banquet, which happens once every ten years, do they swim to the Yin Yang Pool at the center of the Celestial Lake to breed. The fishing contest is just about catching these Sunfish and Silver Moon Fish in the middle of the lake. The winner is decided by who catches the most!"

"I see!"

Jiang Chen nodded.

Gai Jinlong overheard their conversation and smiled. "Jiang Chen, Gai Shi, you two should both give it a try! The Sunfish and Silver Moon Fish are absolutely delicious. Try to catch a few extra so I can have a good taste!"

"Don’t worry!"

Gai Shi said with a grin.

Jiang Chen nodded as well.

Just then... Wei Lihuang spoke up. "It seems the prizes for the Celestial Lake fishing contest are much better than in previous years! In that case, let’s begin. The specialized fishing rods have already been prepared on deck. You will use your own True Essence as bait. The time limit is three double-hours!"

"Hahaha, I’m definitely getting into the top ten this time!"

"I’ll be happy if I can just catch one or two so I’m not left without any fish to eat at the banquet later!"

"I’m aiming for ten this time!"

The experts under fifty years of age rushed onto the deck one after another, buzzing with excitement.

They were all geniuses from various factions, each with immense potential.

Jiang Chen and Gai Shi exchanged a glance and were about to head to the deck when an unwelcome voice cut in. "Jiang Chen, do you dare compete against me?"

"Hm?"

Jiang Chen paused. The voice was familiar; it belonged to Long Jingtian, whom he had met earlier.

Long Jingtian wore an arrogant and provocative expression.

Jiang Chen frowned. "Not interested."

Long Jingtian’s expression darkened slightly.

Bing Qianchi, who had been silent until now, suddenly smirked, a mocking curve on his lips. "Jiang Chen, aren’t you always so arrogant? What’s wrong? Scared to accept a challenge from a genius stronger than you? Or are you just some piece of trash who only knows how to bully the weak? Or perhaps, in your eyes, Long Jingtian isn’t even worthy of your attention?"

Earlier, when Bing Qianchi had seen Jiang Chen with Gai Jinlong’s party, he had obediently kept his mouth shut.

But now that Long Jingtian had stepped forward, he immediately jumped in to stir up trouble.

As expected, upon hearing his words, Long Jingtian raised an eyebrow. He stared at Jiang Chen, his voice growing cold. "Jiang Chen, I won’t make things too difficult for you. We’ll see who can catch more fish. The loser will kneel before the winner and kowtow ten times. I won’t take your life. With stakes like these, surely you’ll dare to compete, won’t you?"

Jiang Chen shot a disgusted glance at Bing Qianchi.

Then, a playful look appeared on his face as he turned to Long Jingtian. "Fine. I’ll compete with you."

"Hahaha..."

Long Jingtian laughed excitedly. "Very good! I’ll be waiting for you to kneel before me!"

He immediately turned and headed for the deck.

Jiang Chen snorted coldly as an extremely frigid glint flashed through his eyes...