257 Breaking the Realm While Cooking Fish (2/2)

Tang then shook his head and said indifferently, ”But this Tome of Arcane is ours.”

Ye Su replied, ”The Devil's Doctrine has declined, and all the other branches have disappeared. We haven't seen your master for a long time and I'm afraid he has already passed away. Now, only you and your young sister remain, but you think you can fight against the torrent of fate?”

Tang replied, ”There are firm rocks in the torrent.”

Ye Su silently looked at him, then he suddenly said, ”You don't take any action because you have your reasons.”

Tang looked at him coldly and said, ”You don't take any action because you also have your reasons.”

After a moment of silence, Ye Su said, ”I have waited 14 years for the chance to consult him. If I fight with you before the chance, I think it will be a disrespect to that chance, to myself, and to him.”

Tang coldly replied, ”That can't be called a reason because you are not qualified to fight with him at all.”

Ye Su slightly said with a smile, ”Anyway, I need to give it a try. Are you interested?”

Tang shook his head and directly said, ”I cannot beat him, and in addition, he is not my reason.”

The tip of Ye Su's eyebrows tilted up slightly and he asked, ”Have you ever seen him?”

Tang nodded.

Ye Su said, ”Now that we both have reasons to not take any action, will we really continue watching them on the cliff like this?”

Tang looked off into the far distance at somewhere in the vast mountains while asking, ”Which one do you think will be the first to break the realm?”

Following his gaze, Ye Su looked in that direction and calmly said, ”We are both Taoism believers, so I naturally believe that the Prince will win.”

Tang said, ”I believe Ning Que will win because he is the disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy.”

Ye Su said nothing further.

Tang also said nothing further.

The two of them on their respective cliffs remained silent and the bet was made.

...

...

Ning Que did not know that his realm breaking was no longer merely just a bet with Prince Long Qing, but another more important one that would directly impact two real and powerful World Wayfarers.

From his expression and behavior, one could not find a trace of anxiety or nervousness, as if he were not affected at all by this bet of breaking a state. He took the foolish fish off and waved at Mo Shanshan to have her step aside and took out from his luggage all the seasoning and animal oil that he could find. He was ready to make a fire and fry the fish.

Fish in Daming Lake were fat with fine meat and had no scales. Their bellies, in particular, were almost crystal clear. After the fish was thrown into the pan, a special fragrance accompanied the sizzling.

Holding a branch, Ning Que stood by the fire, carefully and attentively watching the color of the fish's belly. He furrowed his brows in concentration and was more careful than he was in cultivation and enlightenment. He only turned the fish over once in a while.

He did not choose firewood, but luxuriously chose talisman fire, and maintained the temperature with precision. When he was carefully frying the fish, he explained to Mo Shanshan, ”As for things like frying fish, the cooking duration and heating temperature are very important, and you should not casually turn it over. It is like governing a country and practicing cultivation: Strategically, we can look down upon it, telling ourselves it is nothing at all; but tactically, we need to pay attention to it and be careful.”

The Calligraphy Addict could not bear his begging and had given him two Fire Fus. At the thought of using Talisman Taoism to cook, she could not help feeling sad and distressed. But, she felt what Ning Que had said was somewhat reasonable now after his explanation.

The semitransparent belly of the fish gradually swelled in the moderately heated oil, and then a shining cold fishhook was revealed.

Ning Que stiffened. It took him quite a while to figure out that this fish was the exact one that had bitten the hook, and the same one that had later taken away both the hook and the bait.

A willing victim that allowed itself to be caught. Back then, you were unwilling to be caught, so why did you come back to bite the hookless branch?

Looking at the fish that was fried to a golden brown and so fragrant in the pan, he slightly tilted up the tip of his eyebrows and smiled.

He handed the willow branch to Mo Shanshan and turned back to the lakeside. When he looked at the reflection of the Snow-capped Peak in the lake, the Psyche Power in his sense of perception was released with his mental state, but he did not perceive the Qi of Heaven and Earth around him...

because his Psyche Power had integrated with the Qi of Heaven and Earth around Daming Lake.

As he slowly closed his eyes, his mental state was sent out constantly along with the Psyche Power that had integrated into heaven and earth. He saw the moss stones beside the lake, the swimming fish in the water, and the grit under the fallen leaves— he saw everything.

He did not see them with his eyes nor under the light. He did not touch the surroundings by using his Psyche Power to control the Qi of Heaven and Earth and then perceive them. Instead, it was a kind of direct and subtle perception of heaven and earth.

Then, Ning Que opened his eyes and looked up to the sky. In the azure sky, there were white clouds transformed into different shapes, such as the shape of someone from the Horse Gang, the shape of a horse, the shape of Shubi Lake, the shape of the trees on Min Mountain, the shape of the cornice of Spring Breeze Pavilion, and the shape of the old library. They were all figures that he had seen.

He reached out his trembling fingers to lightly draw something in the wind, muttering, ”Actually, there are talismans all over this world.”

Holding that willow branch, Mo Shanshan looked at the fried fish in the pan, her beautiful face full of nervousness. She did not know when she could move the fish. Gradually, the smell of burnt fish came to her, and along with that, the semitransparent belly of the fish suddenly exploded. The hook was blasted away, falling into the lake and disappearing instantly.

Listening to Ning Que's murmuring and looking at the messy fish in the pan, she said in a low voice full of shame, ”The fish broke.”

Ning Que turned back, looked at her, and earnestly said, ”I broke it as well.”

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