As if to show off, Chen Feng lifted the stone lock in front of him, but before he could raise it to his chest, White let out an excited roar.

"A genius, an absolute genius! Right, how old are you this year?"

"...Seventeen," Chen Feng replied.

"A fourth-rank Copper Armament at seventeen... Hahahaha, what a genius!" White was visibly thrilled.

Chen Feng looked at White's excited expression and shook his head in annoyance. This was too exaggerated. He had only displayed a thousandth of his true strength, and this fellow was already this ecstatic. If he revealed everything, would the man faint? A fourth-rank Fighter at seventeen shouldn't be considered an uncommon figure!

"It seems this Tiger Pool Village is truly backward; otherwise, he wouldn't be so utterly unsophisticated!" Chen Feng sighed inwardly.

"Come with me to the training grounds tomorrow morning. I'll introduce you to those little brats and show them what a real genius looks like!" White said with a grin.

"To reach such an age and still know how to restrain oneself, yet be so smug!" A hoarse, aged voice drifted from inside the room, and an old man slowly walked out. It was Xiao Rou's grandfather.

Chen Feng’s expression became somewhat peculiar as the elder emerged. His monstrous mental perception had failed to detect anyone else in the house! In unfamiliar environments, Chen Feng always maintained a high degree of vigilance. He had just scanned the entire room with his mental power moments ago; it was empty. The elder's sudden appearance naturally shocked him immensely.

"Nether Scholar?" The term popped into his mind. The only explanation for someone evading his mental perception was this. After all, Nether Scholars studied the Way of Nature, integrating themselves completely into the natural world!

"Hmm, you can actually discern that I am a Nether Scholar?" the old man said with a chuckle.

"Just guessing wildly!" Chen Feng bowed slightly and asked, "Elder, may I ask what rank Nether Scholar you are?" The ability to slip past his mental scan, this level of integration with nature, unnerved him. He needed to ascertain the elder's strength so he could prepare defenses if they clashed again.

"I took the Nether Scholar ranking examination before the New Year; I was a third rank. I haven't truly cultivated much over the years; I mostly just enjoy fishing," the old man said with a smile.

"A third-rank Nether Scholar from before the New Year?" Hearing this, Chen Feng felt it was even harder to judge the situation.

"Stop thinking about it. Eat, eat!" the old man said cheerfully.

..................................................

Through conversation, Chen Feng grasped some basic facts about this world. This world was indeed not the one he had inhabited previously. There were no empires here, only religious Papacies—a religion that called itself the God of Justice.

The entire continent was divided into eight major Papacies. Tiger Pool Village was an insignificant speck, falling under the jurisdiction of the Kejia Papacy! The head of the Kejia Papacy was Cardinal Archbishop Dima, a powerhouse at the Saint Nether Venerable realm—the level of the Sacred Domain. Beneath him were twelve Bishop-level powerhouses, the so-called Twelve Cardinals, all possessing the Saint Nether Venerable strength. Further down were the Priest-level masters, composed entirely of Nether Venerables, while the Church’s Deacons were all Nether Master strength. The Papacy's greatest military strength wasn't the Bishops, Priests, or Deacons, but the Church's Guard Armaments, which included masters like Gold Armaments and Silver Armaments. Each unit boasted a standing force numbering in the tens of thousands, possessing formidable strength. Below the Papacy were numerous Churches, places usually reserved for prayer and blessings.

Tiger Pool Village lay in the farthest reaches of the Kejia Papacy’s control. Being close to the mountains and forests, it had almost become an abandoned area for the Papacy, making it a frequent target for plunder by bandits and brigands. The Village Chief, hoping to strengthen the community, had asked White to help train these children.

"Brother Chen Feng, eat more fish. This is the Warm Fish Grandpa caught in the Cold Pool; it’s very nourishing for the body. Since you were unconscious, you should eat more!" Xiao Rou said with a smile, transferring food into Chen Feng's bowl.

Chen Feng hadn't used a fake name this time. Surely, no one in this world would recognize him.

"Ahem, Xiao Rou, why are you so diligent today?" White teased deliberately.

"Did Brother Chen Feng get hurt? If he's hurt, naturally, he should eat more!" Directly called out by her father, Xiao Rou lowered her head, her face burning hot.

"Yes, Chen Feng isn't old, and his strength is almost catching up to mine. He is indeed a fine young man!" White said, deliberately bringing up what Xiao Rou had said that morning, causing her face to redden further.

Chen Feng was unaware of the unspoken exchange between father and daughter. He focused only on eating. This Warm Fish did indeed have a unique flavor, and thus, the meal was quite savory.

After eating, the old man prepared to go fishing again. There were four people in their household: White, his wife, Xiao Rou, and the elder. Farming sustained their livelihood; fishing provided supplemental income.

"I want to go fishing too!" Chen Feng told the elder, declining White's invitation for sparring practice.

Fishing was excellent for tempering one's state of mind. Chen Feng had learned much from the incident with the Golden Profound Tiger. If he were still acting solely for himself, acting rashly would be fine. But Senior Flame Dragon had left behind the entire Dragon Domain, and he carried a heavy mission; he could no longer afford to be impulsive. Although he didn't know which world he was in now, once he cultivated to the Divine level, he would naturally ascend to the Divine Realm, and returning to the original Dragon Clan from the Divine Realm should be quite straightforward. The reason he wanted to accompany the elder fishing was to temper the impulsive nature within him. Naturally, he could also inquire about how Nether Scholars cultivated and whether he had a chance to practice their methods.

"That’s fine!" The elder agreed, retrieved another fishing rod from the house, and handed it to Chen Feng.

The two left the courtyard and walked along the field path. The elder walked effortlessly, seeming perfectly merged with nature. With a gentle stride, he could cover four or five meters, and strangely, he moved quickly without disturbing the surrounding air at all! Chen Feng could also move swiftly, but achieving that complete silence was impossible for him.

"This must be the secret of merging with nature. The Nether Scholars truly live up to their reputation!" Chen Feng mused internally.

The elder continued walking forward while nodding subtly. He was surprised that this young man could keep pace with him given his age.

They walked for nearly half an hour, venturing deep into the mountain forest. Chen Feng estimated they had covered almost fifty li (about 25 km) in that time. The elder showed no sign of fatigue; instead, his spirit grew more vigorous. After walking a short while longer, they saw a massive pool in the distance, shimmering with a crystalline glow under the sunlight.

Approaching the pool, Chen Feng felt a piercing cold, a chill that seemed to penetrate to the bone.

"Why is this pool so cold?" Chen Feng asked curiously.

The elder chuckled, "Since it's called the Cold Pool, it naturally has to be cold!" He then found a large rock, sat down, and gently cast his hook into the water.

"Young man, Xiao Rou said you have amnesia, and I, an old man, don't entirely believe it. Tell me your real purpose here," the elder suddenly spoke. Xiao Rou had mentioned Chen Feng’s memory loss, so he had gone along with it; it would be too strange if a local resident knew nothing. However, Chen Feng knew he couldn't hide things from this meticulous old man.

"I don't know how I ended up here either, but you can rest assured, I mean no harm!" Chen Feng first stated his position clearly.

The elder smiled. "I know that much, but I can sense a strong killing intent emanating from you. How can a seventeen-year-old possess such murderous aura? Are you a Copper Armament of the Papacy?" Although Chen Feng had tried his best to conceal his killing intent, it could not escape the eyes of the elder who cultivated the Way of Nature.

"I fled home to seek refuge because I killed someone," Chen Feng stated casually. He didn't expect the elder to believe him; saying this was merely a demonstration of attitude—that he wasn't there to cause trouble.

As expected, the elder understood his implication and stopped pressing, flicking his wrist. A large, fiery red fish was hooked. Seeing the elder catch a fish, Chen Feng baited his hook and cast it into the water.

"Hoo..."

The water surface rippled slightly. Chen Feng kept his arm still but flicked his wrist, causing the entire fishing rod to spring up.

"What precise muscle control!" the elder remarked with a smile. "But too bad, you didn't catch anything!" The bait on his hook was indeed gone, but the fish had vanished. Chen Feng felt a wave of embarrassment. He had always focused on cultivation; using martial arts techniques while fishing was bound to fail.

"I got another one..." The elder cast his line again, and sure enough, another fiery red fish was hooked.

Chen Feng exhaled his frustration, re-baited his hook, and cast it again. This time, he concentrated his mental energy. He saw the float tremble for a long time before lifting again, yet he still failed to hook anything.

After seven or eight attempts, the elder had caught over a dozen fish, while Chen Feng, sweating profusely in anxiety, couldn't catch a single one. Seeing his clumsy efforts, the elder explained, "This is the Cold Pool. Because the water temperature is too low, only this type of fiery red Warm Fish can survive here. And these fish are extremely cunning; give them even a fraction of a second, and they can swallow the bait and escape!"

"A fraction of a second?" Chen Feng blinked. The time between the fish taking the bait and the rod shaking seemed much longer than a split second! "Do you know the fish is about to bite before the hook even sets?" Chen Feng couldn't help but ask. If he waited until the fish actually took the bait, this kind of Warm Fish would already be gone.

"Actually, fishing is like cultivation. If you use your heart and mind, you can perceive it," the elder said. "Everything in nature has emotions, including this Cold Pool. If you are attentive, you can always discover its mysteries!"

"Nature has emotions?" This was the first time Chen Feng had heard someone say that.

"All things in the world follow patterns. The Warm Fish, though cunning, cannot resist the temptation of the bait. Unable to resist nature, they are caught. Earlier, when you were fishing, you focused only on the fish, so you caught nothing."

"You noticed the fish approaching the bait, but you failed to grasp the fish’s true intention. Perhaps it was only testing you, and it would only truly strike next time!"

"Therefore, focusing only on the fish means you will never catch one," the elder said, smiling.

"If I shouldn't focus on the fish when fishing, what should I focus on? Should I watch the pool water?" Chen Feng asked.

"Precisely. You must observe the relationship between the pool water and the fish! The fish lives in the pool; they depend on each other. No one understands the fish's motivation better than the pool water. As soon as it intends to eat the bait, the water will clearly tell you!"

"The pool water? The fish?" Chen Feng was slightly confused, but having lived two lives, he recalled studying Marxist philosophy in his previous life. He understood that what the elder said, though strange, represented a state of mind—a state of merging with nature. Indeed, if a fish intended to eat the bait, how could it hide this from the pool water? As the fish swims, how could it fail to cause a disturbance in the water flow? By the same token, in combat, if one causes fluctuations in the surrounding air currents, how can one prevent others from anticipating the target of the attack? The Way of Merging with Nature is indeed profound and mystical!

"The pool water will tell you the fish's movements..." Muttering this phrase, Chen Feng slightly closed his eyes. His vast mental perception permeated the water's surface, spreading downward. Every ripple, every swirling current, even the subtle temperature variations in the pool, simultaneously appeared in his mind like a three-dimensional image, allowing him to grasp every minor change in the water.

"The pool water also has joys, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Focus your mind and you will understand!" Seeing Chen Feng close his eyes, the elder nodded secretly. He had comprehended this principle after fishing for years, and though he had explained it to many, no one had ever understood. He had once told White similar things, but his son paid no heed.

"No wonder he possesses considerable cultivation at such a young age. This level of comprehension and intellect is truly admirable!" the elder praised inwardly, sinking back into his own meditative state of fishing.

A one-foot-long Warm Fish stared intently at the bait before it, seemingly coveting it for a long time. However, it wasn't in a hurry, as if competing in endurance with the fisherman on the bank. It suddenly darted forward, brushed against the hook, and then retreated without swallowing the bait. Its vigorous movement caused the water flow in the pool to churn constantly. Finally, unable to resist any longer, it charged toward the hook, opening its mouth to seize the bait while rapidly backing away. But the moment it retreated, it felt a sharp pain in the corner of its mouth, and in the next instant, it was yanked out of the water!

"I got it! I caught a fish!" Chen Feng shouted excitedly. Even facing the kneeling deference of a hundred thousand Dragon Domain disciples, or fighting the Divine-level expert Golden Profound Tiger, he hadn't been this agitated. Yet, catching a single fish sent him into such an excited state. If the Dragon Clan disciples saw this, they would never believe that this was the ever-composed Dragon God himself!

Chen Feng placed the fish into the bucket and realized a new gateway was slowly opening before him!

ps: 9,000 characters completed today... I only gained 6 monthly tickets over three days... Sigh, I feel too awkward to ask again... Just give more recommendation tickets, please... (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log onto www**com for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

First release