Chapter 44

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《Zhuangzi: Tian Zi-fang》: "Ah", said Confucius, "there is no grief greater than the death of the mind—beside it, the death of the body is a minor matter." [1] The saddest thing that could happen to a person was a withered heart. Without hope, one could sink so deep into depression that their will would be completely shattered; thus the opinion that the death of the body was indeed much better than the death of the spirit.

Yan Tian"s will was broken. Unless he could somehow hold onto the hope that he might one day break free of the contract and regain control over himself, he would become a cripple in his mind.

Although his mind was already broken, Yan Nan was unwilling to give up on acquiring this new slave. So what if he had turned into a r.e.t.a.r.d? He would still have to listen to him! He brought the silver needle closer to the contract book to complete the soul binding.

In that moment, a silk-thin fis.h.i.+ng line descended from the sky at an absolutely shocking speed!

It seemed to have broken all the laws of physics as it shot towards the ancient burial site. Normally, it was impossible for anything to fall so quickly. For example, the law of gravity dictates that all objects fall to the ground at the same speed regardless of their weight as long as the gravity itself doesn"t change. [2]

In the blink of an eye, the fis.h.i.+ng line had already travelled a great distance through the sky and the hook on its end had latched itself onto the contract book.

"Eh? How gutsy! You still have a helper in the background?" Yan Nan burst into a fit of rage. He tightened his grip and held onto the contract book stubbornly.

From his perspective, even if Yan Tian had a helper, his cultivation should be quite low. Otherwise, there was no reason to hide his head and show the tail, employing such sneaky tricks to steal his treasure.

"Oh! I caught something!"

Excitement flashed across Bei Feng"s as he stood up and rotated the axis attached to the fis.h.i.+ng rod.

"You dare to resist!"

Yan Nan was infuriated. He felt the tugging force on the contract book increase and immediately pulled harder.

It was unclear what material the contract book was made of, but there did not seem to be even a single minute change to the thin-looking book as the two terrifying forces started a tug of war with it as the center.

To make the two opposing forces"s strength clear, a regular person would have long been torn asunder by them if they were to replace the book!

"Woah, what did I catch this time? How come it"s so heavy?"

Bei Feng frowned. All the muscles on his body also swelled in response as he pulled harder. One must understand that only a tenth of the weight of the items caught was transmitted through the fis.h.i.+ng rod to Bei Feng. it might even be a little less than that. Even so, it was not really an unfair advantage.

Take a 3,000-jin item for example. Such a heavy item would only be 300 jin on Bei Feng"s end. This could be considered one of the magical characteristics of the rod.

Bei Feng strength right now was much more than 300 jin! And yet, he was actually unable to reel in the line!

He couldn"t simply let go of the rod either. G.o.d knows whether the fis.h.i.+ng rod would just fly through the portal into another world if he so much as loosened his grip!

"AHHH! Which cowardly b.a.s.t.a.r.d is this! Will you not show your face?!"

Yan Nan similarly was in quite a wretched state. The smile on his face had disappeared and his entire neck and ears were flushed red. Huge bulging veins had also appeared on his temples. Thick waves of Yuan Qi surged through his body and infused itself into his palms as he clung desperately to the contract book.

However, no matter much he shouted, no matter how much he raged, it was all ultimately a waste of his breath. Not a single person answered his challenge at all.

More than twenty minutes pa.s.sed and Bei Feng"s forehead was covered in gigantic beads of sweat. He couldn"t even spare the effort to wipe the stinging sweat which was flowing into his eyes. With his clothes entirely drenched in sweat, he looked like a wretched stray dog caught out in the rain.

Bei Feng never thought that he would one day end up in such a wretched state while doing something as simple as fis.h.i.+ng. An acidic and lethargic feeling was already spreading out from his arms as his muscles began to cramp.

Yan Nan on the other hand, was in an even worse state. Although his Yuan Qi was bountiful, it was by no means limitless. Half an hour of an intense struggle had long reduced him to a being like an old oil lamp, its flame flickering as its fuel was nigh exhausted.

"Pu!"

Yan Nan spat out a mouthful of blood violently and his breath immediately dropped dangerously.

The Yuan Qi within his body was fully spent. Without the support of his Yuan Qi, Yan Nan was only slightly stronger than an average human. Where would he find the strength to continue holding onto the contract book?

On the other end of the line, Bei Feng stumbled backwards multiple steps as the resisting force disappeared suddenly, catching him off guard. He hurriedly regained his balance and began reeling the line in with mad fervency.

As he watched his precious contract book flying through the sky, Yan Nan, who had just stabilized his breath, immediately spat out another mouthful of blood in rage!

He had spent almost his entire fortune in order to procure all the necessary ingredients to forge this treasure. It was truly a huge loss for him!

"Tras.h.!.+ It"s all because of you! How could I have lost my Book of Spiritual Contract if not for you?!"

Yan Nan had no way to find his opponent and could only vent his anger on Yan Tian.

Without the Book of Spiritual Contract, he had no ways to control the mindless Yan Tian. In that case, he might as well end the life of this r.e.t.a.r.d.

As his thoughts travelled to this point, Yan Nan"s fingers wrapped themselves around the throat of Yan Tian, who was still staring blankly into empty s.p.a.ce. Anger flashed across Yan Nan"s pupils as he squeezed hard with his fingers, directly snapping Yan Tian"s neck. After that, he unceremoniously flung the body into the depths of the ancient burial site.

Bei Feng"s wrist was working overtime as it swivelled like a well-practiced machine. Even a shadowy afterimage appeared, accompanying the Book of Spiritual Contract"s speedy ascension across the sky.

Finally, right as the swirling vortex within the Ancient Well was about to close, the hook finally burst out of the well. Immediately after, the swirling vortex snapped shut.

"Ding! Grade 2 treasure obtained! Book of Spiritual Contract! (Collect a drop of heart essence blood and drip it onto one of the empty pages of the book to gain complete control over the blood"s owner, turning them into a spirit slave. The spirit slave will not be able to resist or betray your orders, and a single thought can decide their life and death. Currently available slots: 12!)

Binding method: Drip a drop of your blood on the first and last page of the Book of Spiritual Contract to bind it to yourself.

Note: Forcing a person with Mental Power higher than the owner of the Book of Spiritual Contract to sign the spirit contract will result in the Book of Spiritual Contract being damaged!

Experience gained: 1,200! Required experience points to reach level 2 Fisherman: 5,700!"

"Haha! This is simply akin to sending coal in the snow and delivering a pillow to the drowsy!"

Bei Feng had an odd expression on his face. He was just thinking about how to establish his strength to deter his enemies a moment ago. What he really lacked was a group of men he could completely trust. And now, he had by luck obtained this Book of Spiritual Contract which was perfect for his current plans!

"It"s the will of the heavens!"

Bei Feng"s eyes lit up in excitement. With the Book of Spiritual Contract, it would be a breeze to create a group of men loyal to the death!

A single thought could decide the life and death of his spirit slaves. There was absolutely no need to worry about things like betrayal!

Bei Feng found a needle and gently p.r.i.c.ked his middle finger and dripped his blood on the first and last page of the Book of Spiritual Contract per the instructions of the Myriad Heavens Fis.h.i.+ng System.

"Pu!"

Yan Nan, who was running in the desolate wilderness suddenly knelt down, gasping heavily for breath. His face was devoid of color and his expression somber and overcast. A moment ago, he felt that his spirit mark had been forcibly erased from the Book of Spiritual Contract, causing him to suffer a backlash.

"AHHHH! Don"t let me find out who it is! Otherwise, I will never rest until one of us is dead!"

A wretched howl echoed about in the empty, vast wilderness, startling all the birds and bugs into a frenzy.

Bei Feng watched the drop of blood sink into the Book of Spiritual Contract before disappearing without a trace. Immediately, he felt a strange connection between him and the Book of Spiritual Contract.

A light smile on his face, Bei Feng carefully put the Book of Spiritual Contract beside the Thunder Pulse Pearl.

Bei Feng took one look at his sweat-soaked clothes and heaved a heavy sigh. It might be time to buy more sets of clothes. He seemed to be running out of them all the time these days.

While waiting for Bai Xiang to return with the pig"s blood, Bei Feng took a long, slow bath before preparing lunch.

He felt that the Giant Imperial Shrimp was the ingredient most suited to his style thus far. It was easy to prepare, delicious, and could be eaten by itself! He didn"t even need to cook any rice to go with it!

To lazy people, it was simply like the gospel. He didn"t need to do anything else apart from putting the meat in the wok.

Perhaps it was because Bei Feng had expended too much energy earlier, but he felt extremely hungry. It took an entire jin of meat for him to finally feel satiated.

Bai Xiang on the other end wolfed down two jin of meat without a change in expression. Bei Feng looked at the unsatisfied look on Bai Xiang"s face and had a sudden epiphany. He had made a huge loss this time!

But from a different perspective, he could take it as a form of investment. Although Bai Xiang might seem a little stupid, he was definitely not one to repay kindness with evil. Furthermore, he seemed to have a mysterious power behind him.

Bei Feng did not believe for one moment that Bai Xiang had been born with such immense power and martial ability.

There"s a saying that goes: there is absolutely no such thing as love or hatred without any reason or cause.

He was neither kith nor kin of Bai Xiang"s. They actually only had a boss-and-subordinate relations.h.i.+p between them. Bei Feng did not have to share the Giant Imperial Shrimp with Bai Xiang at all, and it would be within his rights to treat him like a servant. However, he could instead treat this as sowing a thread of positive karma with Bai Xiang. Who knows, it might prove important in the future.

Bei Feng could not be blamed for being realistic. After all, even the heavens destroy those who don"t look out for themselves!

Kindness should be extended in consideration of one"s ability. If a man did not even have the ability to feed himself, would he still dig into his pockets to give a morsel to a beggar on the street?

When he finally finished his meal, Bei Feng tasked Bai Xiang to look after the mansion and left with a briefcase in his hand.

[1] TL/N: Idiom attributed to Confucius by Zhuangzi. Zhuang Zhou, often known as Zhuangzi ("Master Zhuang"), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States period, a period corresponding to the summit of Chinese philosophy, the Hundred Schools of Thought. He is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi, which expresses a philosophy of skepticism.

[2] ED/N: a.s.suming that other factors don"t get in the way… additional force applied to the object, for example.

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