Chapter 001: The Divorce Certificate as Bait

"Yu Le, you've got a bite!"

Startled from his reverie, Yu Le snapped to attention at the shout of his fellow angler, gripping his Panlong fishing rod tightly.

"Wow, it’s a first-tier Bloodscale Grass Carp! Judging by the commotion, it must weigh at least a hundred pounds. Little Yu, you’ve struck gold this time!"

The other anglers nearby all turned to look, their gazes filled with envy or jealousy.

"Don’t shout, don’t shout, Brother Wang—help me with the landing net!" Yu Le’s cheeks flushed red. He’d caught Bloodscale Grass Carp before, but never one this large.

After a fierce contest of wits and strength, amid the jeers of his fellow anglers, the massive first-tier spirit fish managed to escape the hook!

With a flick of its tail, the Bloodscale Grass Carp sent waves splashing, as if mocking the incompetence of the fishermen.

"What a shame! If you’d landed such a big Bloodscale Grass Carp, you’d have enough rations for a month. Now it’s gone, and this fishing spot’s as good as ruined," Old Wang sighed, shaking his head, the landing net useless in his hands.

Among the dozen or so anglers present, some looked disappointed, but most wore expressions of schadenfreude.

It’s not scarcity but inequality that breeds resentment. Most of the anglers here rarely catch anything, but Yu Le had been fishing in this water for half a year and his catches were the envy of all.

Someone had tallied it up—Yu Le’s haul was nearly a hundred fish in six months!

Yu Le sighed and reeled in his line, re-baiting the hook.

"Little Yu, what’s been eating you these days? You look troubled all the time," asked Old Wang, a veteran of empty nets.

Yu Le forced a bitter smile, reaching into his pocket, where a divorce certificate lay hidden.

"Brother Wang, could you spare me some bait? I’ve run out."

But Old Wang, his earlier kindness evaporated, stepped back and waved him off. "Little Yu, I don’t have much bait left myself. You’ve caught so many fish and made so much money—why ask me?"

Yu Le opened his mouth, but couldn’t speak. Looking to the other anglers, he saw each deliberately avoid his gaze.

He understood. In this strange world, fishing wasn’t just a pastime—it was a means of survival. Everyone here fished to feed their families.

A good spirit fish, even a first-tier one, could provide rations for a family of three for quite some time. But bait, hooks, lines—all cost money. Some spent more than they earned, and every angler here knew the sting of a wife’s complaint.

Life was tight for them all. Friendly talk was easy, but when it came to money, even brothers kept careful accounts.

And Yu Le’s reputation among the anglers was not good.

The reason was simple: when others made a good catch and sold it to beast merchants for a profit, they’d treat their friends to a meal. In contrast, Yu Le, despite catching the most fish in half a year, had never once invited anyone out.

He was seen as miserly, a hoarder.

But Yu Le had his own silent hardships.

He wasn’t native to this world. In his previous life, he was an angler who, after saving several female university students from drowning, was left to die as they ignored him. His good deed fed the fish.

He never expected that, as his consciousness faded in the river, his soul would be transported to this world—into the body of someone with the same name, face, and age.

But the world was different.

This world belonged to the Blue Sea Realm, vast beyond measure. The domain of humanity was but a small part.

Yu Le lived in this human domain, in a city called Ember City.

After learning about this world, Yu Le was filled with despair. Unlike the previous world, where humanity dominated a planet, here countless races vied for supremacy, and humans were far from prominent.

Even within humanity, people were divided into ranks.

The most obvious distinction was between ordinary people and the Favored.

Ordinary people were at the bottom, struggling just to survive.

The Favored, as the name implied, were those blessed by heaven, awakened to their fated martial souls, granted a chance to change their destiny.

Yu Le, upon crossing over, became one of the Favored, but like the other anglers, he was at the lowest tier—their heavenly gift was only the most basic Yellow-rank Fate Weapon, which, for anglers, was simply a fishing rod.

In the original owner’s memories, Favored received all sorts of Fate Weapons, graded from Heaven, Earth, Mystic, to Yellow.

Heaven-rank was the highest, legendary and rare even across the human domain.

Yellow-rank was the lowest; most could only manage specialized labor, like fishing, mining, or herb gathering, just to make ends meet.

Survival was a challenge in this world, even for the Favored.

To gain higher status, earn more money, enjoy more pleasures...

There was only one way: cultivation.

Just like the first-tier spirit fish Yu Le failed to hook—the higher the tier, the stronger. The tiers ranged from first to ninth.

These nine were collectively called the Rock Realm, focusing on tempering the body, forging flesh and blood to stone-like strength. Mastering the strength of one stone was first-tier; nine stones, ninth-tier.

Yu Le was the best angler in these waters, not only thanks to his skill from his previous life, but also because, when blessed, he broke through directly to second-tier, with the strength of two stones, giving him a clear advantage when battling spirit fish.

His Yellow-rank Fate Weapon was called the Panlong Rod.

The name was grand, but in truth it was just a sturdy fishing rod—useful for catching first and second-tier spirit fish, nothing more.

Out of bait, Yu Le hooked what little remained, cast the Panlong Rod, and sent the hook back into the spot he’d prepared.

That spot, disturbed by the Bloodscale Grass Carp, would probably see no other spirit fish for a while. Yu Le’s heart was anxious.

Sitting down again, he took out the divorce certificate from his pocket.

Remembering his past, frustration spurred him to tear it into pieces, scattering them into the fishing spot ruined by the carp.

"Just one more fish, An An. Wait for Daddy to come save you."