Chapter 53: Jiang Fan and the Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight-Pound Mekong Giant Catfish! Not Only Deciding Superiority, But Also Life and Death!

Mekong Giant Catfish: (◞ꈍ∇ꈍ) Wow! What is this amazing smell?
Is it cow dung... horse urine... pig feed... corn... or something grilled?!
Wow! This delicacy is no less than swallowing an angler whole!
The Mekong Giant Catfish opened its massive mouth and swept up the bait before it, swallowing even the corn hooked onto the reinforced steel fishing rod and hook straight into its belly!
"Sizzle!"
Right at that moment, Jiang Fan felt a ferocious pull dragging him toward the water, and he quickly jerked his fishing rod upward!
Peering through his sunglasses detector, he finally spotted that weighing-in-at-558-pounds Mekong Giant Catfish had taken the bait!
"Hahaha, it's hooked! Let's see how you run this time!"
Mekong Giant Catfish: Huh? I bit an angler's hook?
Heh, another ant-like angler?
Don't they know the old master has already eaten two of them?
And you, the ant trying to reel me in, just who do you think you are?!
Swish! Swish!!
Suddenly, the Mekong Giant Catfish exerted its force, dragging the fishing line straight toward the bottom of the river!
Jiang Fan: "You've bitten my hook, and you still want to run!"
Last time, this 558-pound giant catfish had gotten away, leaving him—someone used to eating five meals a day—with only three, so no matter what, he was going to land it this time.
"You oversized giant catfish idiot, get ashore for your old master!"
Mekong Giant Catfish: Heh, is that really it??? Just how much do you underestimate this old master who has been practicing for two and a half years?
"Thwack! Thwack!!"
The Mekong Giant Catfish lashed its tail against the water's surface, kicking up layers of spray.
Mekong Giant Catfish: Oh? Failed to drag you into the water?
Well, well, well. You've got some skills, but not quite enough.
Let's see how this old master snaps your fishing line!
Swish! Swish!!
The Mekong Giant Catfish exerted its strength once more, but after several minutes failed to snap the line, it couldn't help feeling startled.
Mekong Giant Catfish: What kind of fishing line is this? It still won't break? Could it be... the legendary aircraft carrier arresting gear wire?!
Interesting, interesting. This angler is starting to get interesting!
Then this old master shall play along with you! Thirty percent of my power, pull!
Feeling the Mekong Giant Catfish begin to exert its true strength, Jiang Fan increased his own effort as well.
After a stalemate lasting over two minutes, Jiang Fan failed to gain the upper hand, nor did the Mekong Giant Catfish hold any advantage; the two forces clashed in a dead heat.
"Thwack! Thwack!!"
Seeing the deadlock continue, the Mekong Giant Catfish savagely thrashed the water's surface once more, sending waves crashing.

Seeing such a massive commotion, He Qiang, Zhou Hong, and the others over at Liuzhou turned their attention toward it all at once.
Liuzhou Cheng: "Kid... has he hooked a giant fish?"
He Qiang: "And it doesn't look like an ordinary giant either. Could it be that giant catfish that ate the angler?"
Zhou Hong: "Did Fan-ge just hook that exact giant catfish?!"
Ma Dongdong: "Is that the one that almost ate the two of you?"
The Blonde bolted over to start his livestream, shouting, "Quick, everyone look! My dad has hooked that mega beast! You don't believe me? I'll open your eyes today to what a four-to-five-hundred-pound giant fish really looks like!"
: Holy crap, Ah Zhen, are you playing for real?!
: Little Blonde, if that's genuinely a four-to-five-hundred-pound monster, I'll gift you a luxury sports car!
: Is it snagged on something? Don't a lot of these master anglers fake videos by snagging the bottom nowadays?
: To the one above, there's a live stream and the truth right here, what kind of faking are you talking about?!
: Oh, holy crap! I've heard this guy's strength is enough to make Douyin's wealthy sugar mamas go weak at the knees; seeing him today, he definitely has the capital to make them howl!
: Last time at the Douyin Angling Cup, I watched him reel in a 461-pound arapaima without looking this strained. This monster easily weighs over five hundred pounds!
: Over five hundred pounds? Just how massive must a fish like that be?!
: No idea, I've never even seen a fish that huge in my life!
: Ah! So manly! Ah! So handsome!
: Ah! It's Handsome Xia! So damn handsome!
: ??? It's this bunch of female fans who only care about looks and not fishing... There's no bed here, what are you all screaming for!
……
By this time, Jiang Fan and the Mekong Giant Catfish had been locked in a stalemate for over ten minutes.
Mekong Giant Catfish: Oh? Today's crop of anglers actually has some chops.
But look at what kind of fish I am, and what kind of angler you are!
Time to experience the terrifying might of eighty percent of this old master's power!
Swish! Swish!!
The Mekong Giant Catfish began to get serious, unleashing eighty percent of its strength. Instantly, it seized the upper hand, dragging Jiang Fan step by step toward the edge of the lake.
Jiang Fan: "Since you're getting serious, I'm getting serious too!"
"Eight hundred points of emotional value strength boost, fully unlocked!!!"
Mekong Giant Catfish: Heh, what on earth is an emotional boost of eight hundred points? Does the old master look like he's opening the Eighth Gate of Death from the Eight Inner Gates?!
Whoa!!
Still, that strength is no joke!
Channeling all the strength from the eight-hundred-point emotional boost, Jiang Fan forcefully hauled the Mekong Giant Catfish back to the surface of the water.
Mekong Giant Catfish: How many years has it been! I don't even know how many years it's been since I encountered an angler with strength like this!
Hahaha, every single fish cell in this old master's body is trembling with excitement!
Ant of an angler, I must say, you are the first angler to force this old master to use his full power!
Splendid! Today, you and I shall decide both superiority and life or death!
Ahhhhh!!
Thrashing its massive tail, the Mekong Giant Catfish's colossal silhouette barely broke the surface before plunging straight back down to the depths!
Jiang Fan was yanked forward several steps in succession; the sheer power of the 558-pound Mekong Giant Catfish was nothing short of terrifying!
Yet, having maxed out his Fishing King stat upgrades, he still managed to hold his ground, though he was beginning to look slightly strained.
He couldn't guarantee whether he would actually manage to land this 558-pound Mekong Giant Catfish, but what was the spirit of an angler? It was never admitting defeat—while there's a man, there's a rod; where the rod goes, the man follows!
"Three thousand spells of fatal fishing arts!! Pull!"
Bursting with overwhelming strength, Jiang Fan unleashed every ounce of his power in one breathless go!
Let's see whose stamina runs out first—his, or his opponent's!
Inside the Blonde's livestream room, countless viewers felt their blood boiling.
: It's lit! Absolutely burning up!
: Isn't this way more thrilling than boring sports?
: Watching this guy fish makes this old master feel like he's traveled right back to his hasty youth in his twenties. Back then, this old master, with a single rod, a single pack of cigarettes, would get skunked the entire day...
: This fish is simply too huge, it's definitely reached man-eating proportions. The little blonde wasn't lying!
: Even Handsome Xia is being dragged around; this fish has got to be well over five hundred pounds!
……
Meanwhile, at a hotel in Sanya City, two individuals were watching the Blonde's livestream.
One of those two men was none other than Yuan Hua, the very person who had stolen Jiang Fan's spot for the Amazon Tropical Rainforest Megabeast Tournament.
Yuan Hua sat back on the sofa, crossing his legs, casually swirling a glass of red wine with a faint, cocky smirk at the corner of his lips.
"Isn't that the penniless little nobody without power or influence? He's hooked another mega beast again?"
A middle-aged man nodded. "Looks like it."
"Tsk tsk, catching it is one thing, but streaming it live at a time like this? If the netizens blow up the scandal about the rigged Angling Cup, it's going to do serious damage to my nephew's reputation!"
Yuan Hua cursed irritably, "Then ban their livestream room already!"
The middle-aged man waved his hand, a sinister smile creeping across his face as he replied, "No need to panic, no need to panic. So what if his strength is a bit abnormal? I'll find someone for you to teach him a lesson, and this whole thing will blow over."
Yuan Hua brightened up. "Better yet, break both his hands so he can never fish again!"
Taking a sip of his red wine, Yuan Hua suddenly added, "Only, this kid has brute strength; if we send just anyone to cripple him, chances are he might end up crippling them instead!"
The middle-aged man chuckled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I know a guy. He's an angler too, and blessed with heaven-sent divine strength. If he makes a move, there shouldn't be any problem."
"Who?"
"Jiang Qi."