On the riverbank, the moonlight was cold and desolate.
Chu Bai slumped beside the reeking corpse of the strange fish, gasping for breath.
After regaining some strength, he struggled to push himself up. His entire body ached.
His arms and the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers were especially sore. They burned with a fiery pain from the desperate bludgeoning, and the muscles twitched uncontrollably.
"Sss..."
Chu Bai sucked in a sharp breath. Just as he was about to check his injuries, the familiar panel in his mind suddenly appeared, vibrating faintly.
Below the activated line for [Nourishing and Exquisite], a third line of text slowly materialized.
The characters flickered, clearly not yet set in place.
[Acquired Fate Chart: Seven Kills Fate (Inactive)]
(Note: Seeks victory through peril, decisive and ruthless in slaughter. Wreathed in Evil Qi, combat intuition and explosive power are greatly enhanced. You will grow stronger after every battle.)
"Seven Kills Fate?"
Chu Bai’s heart stirred.
In Astrology, the Seven Kills is a star of misfortune, ruling over slaughter, conquest, peril, and volatility. But this wasn’t entirely a bad thing. If one could master the Seven Kills, it would be "tamed," making it a sign of great nobility and granting the wielder power over life and death.
’It seems this was triggered by the life-or-death struggle just now.’
Looking at the mangled fish corpse, Chu Bai came to a realization.
This was his first true life-or-death battle. Faced with a vicious creature far stronger than himself, he hadn’t crumbled under the pressure. Instead, he had erupted with unprecedented ferocity to turn the tables and kill it. That mindset and experience were the very definition of the "Seven Kills."
’Although it’s not activated yet, this suggests that... I’ll have a special talent for combat from now on.’
This was undoubtedly good news.
However, a wave of fear washed over Chu Bai as he recalled the fight.
If that strange fish had been any stronger, or if his reaction had been a split-second slower, he would be the one lying dead on the riverbank.
’When it comes down to it, I just have too few techniques.’
Chu Bai laughed bitterly. If he had even a single offensive Magic Technique, like the basic Spirit Blade Technique or Fire Bomb Technique, would he have needed to fight for his life by bludgeoning it with a rock like some Barbarian?
’I have to break through to the Qi Cultivation stage and learn some Magic Techniques as soon as possible!’
His mind made up, Chu Bai wasted no more time. He found a reasonably sturdy rope on the boat, threaded it through the strange fish’s gills, and tied a tight knot.
The strange fish weighed dozens of pounds. The old Chu Bai would never have been able to drag it. But now, with his enhanced physique, he could just barely manage the strenuous task.
Under the cover of darkness, Chu Bai avoided the main road, following the narrow paths between the fields as he slowly dragged his prize home.
It was late in the night by the time he got home.
His parents were already asleep, and the house was pitch-black.
Chu Bai tiptoed to the backyard, dragging the strange fish with him. He hid it in the cellar used for storing sweet potatoes and covered it with a thick layer of hay to mask the smell. Only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Back in his room, he tended to his scrapes by moonlight before collapsing into bed. He had been utterly exhausted.
「The next morning.」
Chu Bai woke up just as the sky was beginning to brighten.
Although he had slept soundly, the deep, aching soreness in his body—as if he’d been taken apart and put back together—was a stark reminder of the previous night’s events.
To keep his parents from worrying, he deliberately changed into a long-sleeved robe with a high collar, carefully covering the scrapes on his neck and wrists.
When he went to the cellar in the backyard, he found that although the strange fish had been dead overnight, its bluish-black scales still held a cold luster. It hadn’t started to rot or stink; instead, it emitted a faint, bloody Spiritual Qi.
Chu Bai took out a Bone-Carving Saber and, with great effort, pried off a few of the hardest scales from its back. He also cut off its two wire-like whiskers and wrapped everything in a cloth.
’I need to go ask Master what exactly this thing is.’
’If it’s a Demon Beast, this thing could be worth a fortune.’
After a quick breakfast and a brief word with his parents, Chu Bai hurried out the door, heading straight for the Zhang Mansion in the city.
「Zhang Mansion, study.」
Daoist Zhang was sipping tea when he saw Chu Bai arrive so early to request an audience. Noticing his disciple’s slightly stiff posture and the faint trace of lingering Blood Evil Qi about him, the Daoist couldn’t help but frown.
"What’s wrong? Did you run into some trouble?"
"Your eyes are sharp, Master."
Chu Bai didn’t hide anything, recounting the entire story from the previous night: renting a boat to cultivate in the middle of the river, being attacked by the strange fish, and managing to kill it. Of course, he conveniently left out any mention of his new Fate Chart.
After listening to Chu Bai’s account, a flicker of surprise flashed in Daoist Zhang’s eyes, quickly replaced by deep admiration.
"Good lad! You’ve got guts!"
"You’re just a Beginner, and you haven’t even learned any Magic Techniques yet. To dare fight such a vicious creature in the water and come out alive... That calm in the face of danger is a trait more valuable than any natural talent."
Chu Bai took the cloth bundle from his robes, opened it, and placed it on the table. "Master, these are from the strange fish. I don’t know what it is and was hoping you could enlighten me."
Daoist Zhang picked up one of the bluish-black scales. It was heavy in his hand and as hard as iron. He then pinched a whisker, sensing the residual Spiritual Qi fluctuations within.
After a moment, Daoist Zhang set the items down, shaking his head with a smile. "This is not a Demon Beast."
"Not a Demon Beast?" Chu Bai asked, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"A true Demon Beast, even one of the lowest Tier One Low-Grade, possesses awakened intelligence. It knows how to absorb the essence of the sun and moon and can even use its own Lifebound Demon Technique."
Daoist Zhang explained, "If you had encountered a true Demon Beast last night, you’d already be a corpse. Even if it had only spat a single Water Arrow, how could you possibly have smashed it to death with a rock?"
A chill went down Chu Bai’s spine. His master was right. If the strange fish had known any Magic—even a half-baked Fire Bomb Technique like Zhao Xing’s—he would have had no room to dodge on the boat. Death would have been certain.
The creature was just beginning to show its vicious nature but had no real intelligence. It only knew how to attack mindlessly, which was the only reason Chu Bai had been able to slip through the cracks.
"Then what is it...?"
Daoist Zhang pointed to the scale. "It lived for a long time in a place rich with Spiritual Qi—the center of the river cove you mentioned. Nourished by that Qi, its body grew far stronger than others of its kind, and its Scale Armor became as hard as iron."
"At the same time, the Spiritual Qi in the wild is mixed with Evil Qi. It was corrupted by this Evil Qi, which made it ferocious, bloodthirsty, and extremely aggressive. But since it never gained true intelligence, it cannot be considered a demon."
At this, Daoist Zhang glanced at Chu Bai. "It’s no surprise that you ran into it. Since it had claimed that Spiritual Qi-rich cove, that cluster of Purifying Spirit Flow was its private hoard. When you barged into its territory to steal that Spiritual Qi, it naturally fought you to the death."
"I see," Chu Bai said, finally understanding.
"However..." Daoist Zhang’s tone shifted, a faint smile gracing his lips. "Though it’s not a Demon Beast, this creature is a rare opportunity for you."
"An opportunity?"

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