Chapter 2: Dominion Over Water and Marshes!_1
Ze Cauldron!
The supreme Water Ze Cauldron that governs all the world's marshlands!
A flood of unknown information poured in, shocking Liang Qu deeply—had his golden finger finally made its appearance?
The cauldron's design was simple and ancient, with a greenish-black hue, and it was very square and upright.
As the Ze Cauldron existed within his mind and had no point of reference, it was impossible to tell how large it was, but it felt very impactful just from the sensation.
There were many patterns carved on the surface of the cauldron; the most noticeable were a giant ape, a Coiled Body Celestial Dragon, followed by anthropomorphic birds, dragon-headed humanoid creatures, and many other patterns.
On another side was a black-robed emperor, a figure almost taking up half of the cauldron's surface, followed by a divine general holding a spear with equally significant prominence, and beside him were also many patterns, mostly human in form.
One side with beasts, the other with humans?
Just as Liang Qu was about to ponder, his attention was caught by something else.
[Cauldron Master: Liang Qu]
[Available Ze Spirit: Water Monkey (White)]
[Acquiring...]
[Acquisition successful, do you wish to refine it?]
[Ze Spirit: The spirit of the Water Ze, refining a Ze Spirit grants its life pattern, bloodline, talents.]
It really fucking was a golden finger!
But why a Water Monkey?
Because he himself had drowned?
A popular phrase emerged in Liang Qu's mind...
Old man, subway, mobile phone.
No, that must have nothing to do with it, Liang Qu shook his head vigorously, refocusing his attention.
Refine the Ze Spirit... to refine or not to refine?
He looked around the walls and touched his full belly—did he truly have a choice?
After such an ordeal, how could he be content with being an ordinary person?
Despite everyone having two eyes and a mouth, some are of noble blood, others of lowly blood; some are rebuking others while sipping meat soup, while some have to endure hunger and scoldings.
He couldn't forget that martial master who had punched through a human-height boulder with one fist.
What exactly was a martial master!?
Refine!!
Following Liang Qu's decision, a half-ethereal, half-tangible white spirit monkey flew out from the Ze Cauldron as if swimming through the air, merging into his body.
A warm current spread from Liang Qu's spine, flowing to the limbs and bones.
If his life had been a flickering candle in the wind before, now the warm current was like adding a big chunk of wax to it, no longer on the brink of extinguishing.
But before he could truly understand the sensation, the warm current vanished without a trace, leaving a sense of longing.
[Refinement successful!]
[Cauldron Master: Liang Qu]
[Refined Ze Spirit: Water Monkey (White) (Fusion: 5%)]
[Water Ze Essence: None]
[River's Favor: None]
[Rating: Water Monkey Ze Spirit originates from the great Lord Huaiwo and can stimulate the insufficient, the small, and the weak. ]
"Consuming Water Ze Essence can improve the fusion level and the quality of the Ze Spirit. Who is Lord Huaiwo? Sounds very familiar. And where do I get Water Ze Essence from..."
Liang Qu still had many questions remaining in his mind, but he wasn't in a hurry. He decided to take things one step at a time and first check out what exactly the Water Monkey was.
[Water Monkey (White): An aquatic spirit monkey, cherished by rivers, capable of controlling water.]
[With the current low level of fusion, it can reduce exhaustion in water, control the force of thirty pounds of water flow with physical exertion, clearly sense within three meters and vaguely sense within five meters underwater, and diminish one's presence in water.]
[Consuming Water Ze Essence may upgrade it to Ze Rong (Green), Riding the Waves, and Water King Ape (Purple), Stirring Seas and Rivers.]
Liang Qu was overjoyed—the name of the Ze Spirit might be ordinary, but its abilities were anything but! It was a natural talent for underwater activities!
The Jiang Huai river system stretches for thousands of miles, nourishing a rich land that sustains countless creatures, with Jianghuai Zeye being a massive lake sprawling across three counties, home to various Spirit Plants, Treasure Fish, minerals, and more.
However, treasures in water were extremely difficult to obtain. Firstly, because there are large demons in the deep waters that human Martial Artists cannot contend with, and secondly, because the bottom of the water is chaotic and hard to navigate, making it difficult to find treasures with only the occasional fisherman lucking out in shallow waters.
Just last month at the neighboring wharf, someone caught a Tiger Head Spotted Fish and sold it for the princely sum of three and a half silver taels!
If Liang Qu truly possessed such abilities, wouldn't he monopolize an unexploited treasure trove?
Moreover, with only five percent fusion, he could control thirty pounds of water flow. With one hundred percent fusion, wouldn't that be at least six hundred pounds?
To an ordinary person, it might as well be a water god incarnate.
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And there were other Ze Spirits to be acquired! To level up!
If the white Ze Spirit was already so fierce, what would it be like to level up to the green and purple Ze Spirits?
The so-called overturning rivers and seas was truly a captivating thought.
White, green, purple... What about beyond that? Was there anything more?
Liang Qu momentarily coveted the so-called Water Ze Essence, a pity there was no way to acquire it for now; he could only plan on getting it later.
As for why the artifact had chosen him, Liang Qu believed it was surely heaven's reward for his righteous courage.
After all, what else could it be? Out of pity for his malnutrition, his inability to afford food, his lack of parents? With just that bit of forced capability, why bother thinking so much?
Having received this golden opportunity, Liang Qu could no longer just sleep in peace.
Originally, he hadn't known how to fish and even suffered from issues related to making a living, shunned by the people around him; but now, with just five percent of the Water Monkey's ability, there weren't many fishermen in Yixing City who could beat him.
Good days were coming!
To the wharf!
The moon was dark and the wind was high; the buildings along the street were neatly spaced.
Liang Qu looked around, sizing up this strange world.
In the whole of Yixing City, there was only this one street that truly mattered, leading straight from the center to the only Shangrao Wharf. The road was paved with neat bluestone slabs, the rest mere dirt paths trodden yellow by feet, with most of the residential houses built along this street.
A genuine small place.
As far as Liang Qu knew, next to Yixing City was a bustling large town, and further up were the county, the prefecture, and beyond.
He didn't find it strange; this world was clearly an ancient one, where a city was not bigger than a county but more like a market that slowly gathered into a residential area, similar to "Zengtou City" in the Water Margin tales—called a city, but actually a small village that depended on the river.
Once he had the capability, he would definitely go out and see the world!
Arriving at the wharf, a panting Liang Qu scanned the water surface along the riverbank. When he approached a shallow shore, a bright idea suddenly flashed in his mind, and his gaze locked onto a spot.
A small fish, the size of a thumb, suddenly surfaced to breathe.
Fortune favors the prepared, and Liang Qu stretched out his hand, attempting to catch the small fish.
The fish was quick to react, turning to flee in fright, but in an instant, a strange water pressure closed in from all directions, and by the time it subsided, the fish, seeking escape, was already in Liang Qu's palm.
Indeed powerful!
Liang Qu scooped up some clear water, and the small fish swam around pleadingly in his hand.
Licking his lips, he reached his palm into the water, and the instant the water mingled with the lake, the fish flicked its tail and tried to escape. However, it was quickly constrained by the surrounding water pressure and captured again in his hand.
After four or five tries and gaining some insights, Liang Qu finally stood up.
The fish was thumb-sized, and it took very little water flow to control it, with an acceptable drain on his energy. However, using a large amount of water flow in a short time was draining.
"What a pity the fusion with the Ze Spirit is too low, the method of controlling the water flow is quite crude, only able to squeeze, unable to turn into a water blade, let alone control blood. It should be possible to do so in the future," he thought.
Stripping off his clothes among the reeds, Liang Qu slowly waded into the water.
Once in the water, he felt the difference—it wasn't cold!
In the deep autumn midnight, the marshland's water was bone-chilling; his "father" had died from catching a cold after getting out of the water.
Was this the benefit of affinity with water? Liang Qu tied his hair and dove determinedly into the river.
The ripples spread, shattering the moonlight.
Completely submerged in the water, an indescribable sense of closeness spread, almost giving him the illusion of being back in his original world.
Thinking of how taking a one-dollar bus could get him to the city park to watch the sunset, and then returning home to curl up on a couch with a bowl of noodles brought Liang Qu a sense of happiness; it was a long time before he regained his composure.
For the sake of living a better life!
He reined in his thoughts and focused on finding fish.
The water was deep and pitch-black; with his sensing ability, he could detect living creatures from five meters away, but for fish to notice him, they needed to be within one and a half meters.
After swimming around, Liang Qu "saw" many fish but didn't bother catching them as they wouldn't bring a good price.
A bun cost two or three coins, a meat pancake of eight coins was quite large and filling, and the physical weakness was built up over time; he couldn't become plump with just a single meal.
Circling a few times, the emerging Liang Qu finally found a suitable target.
A large yellow croaker, about the length of an adult's forearm, weighing around three pounds.
The yellow croaker was a fish unique to Jiang Huai, with average nourishing effects but known for its delicious meat. Many gourmets were willing to pay a high price, and this one could probably fetch between seventy to ninety coins.
As they say, a pound of fish brings ten pounds of energy; this was exactly the limit of Liang Qu's water control ability.
Especially since the yellow croaker had fine scales, unlike ordinary fish that were slippery and hard to catch.
With this in mind, Liang Qu cautiously approached, swimming within a meter and a half, the limit of his stealth distance, then suddenly burst forward.
The startled yellow croaker attempted to escape, but Liang Qu's fingers conjured a virtual grip, and the surrounding water pressure instantly restrained it in place, rendering it unable to move.
He glided forward, his fingers hooked, capturing the scaleless yellow croaker. Emerging from the water, he drew a reed through the fish's gill slits.
Eighty coins secured!
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