Chapter 41: Landing a 330-Pound Grass Carp, Earning the Title of Fishing King

Master Luo and Master Zheng were completely stunned. What on earth was happening? There was no reason for their high-tech bait to be inferior to this kid’s!

"Splash!"

Jiang Fan had already dragged the massive creature to the water’s surface. A thunderous commotion erupted, drawing the attention of every other contestant.

"Look over there! One of the contestants hooked a monster!"
"Judging by its size, it must weigh several hundred pounds!"
"There are giants in a commercial fishery like this?"
"Of course! Didn't you read the reward rules? Rumor has it every pond has a 'super prize' fish. Anyone who catches it gets points equal to its weight multiplied by five!"
"Multiplied by five?!"
"Oh my god, what kind of incredible luck is that?"
"That kid is damn lucky! I’ve barely caught a single fish all day, and he just landed the super bounty of the entire pond!"
"But it’s hundreds of pounds—can he even pull that in?"
"Wait... I just realized why he brought that rebar fishing rod and a two-meter landing net. He came here specifically to hunt giants!"

"Holy crap! Look, he’s pulling out a two-meter diameter landing net again!"

All of a sudden, every contestant leaned back in tactical shock. Jiang Fan was playing the fish with one hand on his rebar rod while wielding the massive net with the other.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for using a two-meter diameter landing net. Emotional value -50!]

"Damn! Why is all of his fishing gear so outrageously exaggerated?"
"A master of the angling arts—truly terrifying!"
"Does anyone else think he looks familiar? I feel like I've seen him somewhere, but I can't quite place it..."
"Wait! It’s 'Handsome Xia'! He’s that famous angler who went viral on TikTok!"
"Handsome Xia?"
"Don't you guys know? He's the one who single-handedly played a 132-pound catfish, landed a 358-pound black carp all by himself, and founded the 'Shaolin Temple Style' landing net technique. Those videos are huge on TikTok!"
"The scariest part is that because he’s so handsome, he’s attracted countless women to our fishing circle! I even added several girls on WeChat just by bragging online that I knew him!"
"Now that you mention it... looking at his striking features... I think I remember him too..."
"It really is him!"

Soon, Jiang Fan’s name spread throughout the third fishing grounds. Whether they knew him before or not, everyone knew him now. Because he had hooked the pond's super prize, even some of the event organizers' staff came over to watch. The competition was being live-streamed, but the main cameras had been focused on the masters with millions of followers. Once Jiang Fan hooked the prize, the feed immediately locked onto him.

: What’s going on? Did that kid hook the Earth? Why are so many people crowding around???
: I heard he hooked the super prize of the third pond—it’s several hundred pounds!
: No way, I thought those super prizes basically never bite?
: Who knows! You’re not a fish, how would you know if they bite or not?
: You’re not me, how do you know that I don’t know if they bite or not?
: Doesn't that handsome guy look a bit familiar to you guys...
: Handsome Xia?!
: Yes, yes, yes! That's him! I'm his fan!
: It really is him! He actually came to compete!
: Huh? I've never heard of this guy. How does he compare to masters like Liu Gang, Deng Zhiqiang, or the Great Emperor He Qiang?
: If you don't know him, get out of here!
: I only started following him because of the "Shaolin Temple Landing Net Founder" title, just a few days ago.
: Hahaha, you shouldn't have brought that up, now I can't stop laughing. The way he pulls the fish up and gives it a solid whack—it almost killed me with laughter!
: Ah! It's Handsome Xia! Mwah!
: Handsome Xia is the best!
: Handsome Xia is the best!

Suddenly, the live stream was flooded with female fans!

: ???
: ...
: This guy really brought the fishing scene into the spotlight all by himself. Even girls are paying attention now!
: I was wondering why there were so many "borderline" female anglers lately. So that’s why...
: Damn! Those women don't even like fishing; they just wear those tiny outfits like they're out to sell themselves!
: To the guy above, I agree with your statement, but remember to close your DMs!
: Anyway, can he actually pull in a fish that big?
: Yeah, that’s gotta be tough, right? Won't the rod snap?
: Take a closer look at what his rod is made of...
: Holy cow!!! Rebar?!!!
: He got it! The handsome guy actually pulled the giant fish in!

"Thwack!"

As the giant fish was pulled up, it thrashed violently against the water! Jiang Fan pulled out a wooden club, intending to give it a knock, but the event staff quickly intervened.

"Contestant 100, you... you can't use the net like that, it's against the rules..."

: Hahahahahahaha!!!
: Hahaha!
: I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts!
: This guy is pure entertainment!
: Did you organizers invite him here just to make me laugh so hard I die and leave you my fifty cents?
: Haha, I just took a bite of rice and spat it all out laughing!

Jiang Fan tucked his club away, frustrated, and was forced to use the two-meter net to scoop the fish up instead.

[Ding! Ding! Ding! Congratulations to the host for catching a 330-pound grass carp. The system has triggered a 660x cash multiplier!]
[Commercial Pond Grass Carp: 330 lbs. Market price: 8 yuan per pound.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for earning 330 × 8 × 660 = 1,742,400 RMB!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for earning 3,500 emotional value points!]

Is commercial pond grass carp really only 8 yuan a pound? That’s nearly half the price. But Jiang Fan couldn't complain—catching a 330-pound grass carp was truly defying the laws of nature. When the staff brought out the scales to weigh the fish, they all wore expressions of sheer disbelief.

"I remember when this grass carp was stocked a few years ago, it was only about a hundred pounds. It grew to 330 pounds in just a few years?!"
"This is the biggest grass carp I’ve ever seen. Is this a new century record?"
"I don't know about records, but this kid just caught a 330-pound monster, beating the 320-pound record set by Master Deng Zhiqiang this year!"

Jiang Fan didn't think too much about it and continued to cast his line. At the same time, the system chimed again.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for reaching 25,000 emotional value points. You have earned the title "Angling King"!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring the ability: "Listen to the Voices of All Things"!]

Jiang Fan frowned. "Listen to the voices of all things? What the hell is that? Why isn't it a quota for an apprentice angler?"

["Listen to the Voices of All Things," Note: You can hear the voices of other living creatures, for example, you can understand the language of fish.]

"..."

This was even more surreal than the sunglasses detector. As he thought about it, Jiang Fan looked at the 330-pound grass carp the staff was weighing and suddenly heard a voice:

: Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. You better throw me back in the water, or see if I don't drag you down with me!