Chapter 57: The Evolution of General Fish

Wang Liang produced the blood sacrifice offering table he had bought from the pawnshop last time. After handing it to General Fish, he said under the other man’s puzzled gaze:

“You probably aren’t used to eating ordinary incense offerings. Take this and use it as a dining table.”

Hearing Wang Liang’s commanding tone, General Fish felt there must be some deeper meaning in the words. He nodded firmly and withdrew.

By then, the players had gathered around them. The player who got along best with Wang Liang, Ghost Who Would Not Die, asked, “Boss, what did that fish general give you?”

“Some primal heavy water. A consumable magical tool.”

Wang Liang replied casually.

At that, one of the players seemed to remember something and called out loudly, “Wait, let me see... primal, primal... found it. Primal heavy water! Boss, can you sell me some of that?”

Not only Wang Liang, but the other players were also surprised. They asked him what was so special about this primal heavy water that it had excited him so much.

Facing the crowd, the player hurriedly said, “Look at this book. It says here that primal heavy water can cleanse and refine the attributes of magical treasures. Do you know what that means? It means if you’re unhappy with an item’s attributes, you can erase them and roll again.”

At those words, every player’s eyes lit up. They all understood exactly what a tool like this could do.

So they all turned to Wang Liang.

Wang Liang did not rush to sell the primal heavy water. Instead, he asked that player, “Does the book say how much heavy water is needed for one cleansing?”

The player hastily flipped through the pages, and finally said, “Depending on the quality of the treasure and the attributes on it, it takes at least one liter, and at most nine.”

“Mm. I have three hundred liters of primal heavy water here. I’m definitely keeping one hundred liters as backup.

“I remember attribute-point items on the market go for five hundred yuan per point. As for cleansing magical treasure attributes, I’ll halve that. Two hundred and fifty yuan per liter. You can also trade magical treasures, items, or equipment of equivalent value.”

Wang Liang had no intention of asking an exorbitant price, but he also knew he couldn’t simply give it away.

The players exchanged glances. Each of them had some need for it, one way or another. So aside from the one hundred liters Wang Liang kept for himself, the rest were bought up by the players.

However, the players were shrewd enough. They paid cash; none of them offered their own magical treasures in trade.

This also made it clear enough that, among players at present, magical treasures were in fact the dominant market.

Just as Wang Liang and the others were dividing up the primal heavy water, a furious roar suddenly came from the water-tribe ghost soldiers’ camp.

Wang Liang looked over with some curiosity and saw the fish general from earlier transform into a grotesque black dragon, tumbling and rolling through the sky.

The strange sight lasted less than three minutes. After that, the fish general, his face alight with excitement, ran over toward Wang Liang.

“Your Majesty, thank you for lending me your aid and helping me break through the heavenly barrier of dragon transformation.”

At this point, the fish general had returned to human form, but Wang Liang could tell his face had changed greatly.

Before, the fish general’s face had resembled that of a catfish. Now it looked far more normal, at least human in shape, though the only discordant feature was that his eyes bulged outward, making him seem quite ferocious.

Wang Liang did not know what had happened, but he still said very calmly, “That was your own accumulation becoming sufficient. It was not my doing.”

With that, Wang Liang dismissed the fish general and ignored the players who came crowding over to question him, instead finding a place underground to wait for dinner.

The fish general, however, did not let Wang Liang’s departure lead to any neglect. He escorted Wang Liang off with utmost respect before returning to the water-tribe ghost soldiers’ camp.

By then, Lord Lu and the Daoist Master of Far Mountain had already gathered around him. The Daoist Master of Far Mountain was the first to ask, “General Fish, what is going on here?”

“You don’t know? This is my fortune. I only meant to build some ties with the divine one and pave a road for the future, but I never expected him to see through my condition at a glance. He knew I was raised in the Dragon Palace from childhood and fed on incense offerings, and that in doing so I had lost my true nature. Though I had reached this point with ease, my path ahead had already been cut off.

“So he took out a magical treasure to awaken me, turning incense offerings into blood-feast, yet without the baleful qi that usually comes with such sustenance. It perfectly stirred my original nature and let me take the first step in dragon transformation. So long as I continue to grow like this, one day I will succeed in becoming a dragon and join the dragon race.”

The fish general spoke proudly of his gains this time and took out the blood sacrifice offering table Wang Liang had given him.

“This is truly a fine thing. Do you see? Put incense on it, and it turns directly into blood-feast. Do you know how much that benefits us meat-eaters? Don’t tell me that incense alone is enough to become a god.

“All things have their innate nature. Take the mountain demon tiger, for example. If it followed the divine path, it would still need to eat meat. It cannot be that once it becomes a god, it suddenly switches to eating grass. I never understood this before, and could only make it this far by relying on incense offerings. Now things are different. With blood and flesh free of baleful qi, my path ahead is much brighter.”

Lord Lu and the Daoist Master of Far Mountain were the two highest in cultivation among those present. They looked at each other, and shock filled both their eyes.

After a moment, Lord Lu said, “No wonder the guardian at Fellow Daoist Multitalent’s side is so fierce. It seems he is also a great dragon whose ferocity has yet to be tempered.”

“Indeed, our understanding of the divine path is still too shallow. I never thought there could be such a road,” the Daoist Master of Far Mountain said with a nod.

“It seems Fellow Daoist Multitalent truly came from the Dragon Palace. Even if he is not the Dragon King, he must at least have the status of a dragon prince. For tomorrow’s battle, we should adjust our tactics, cooperate more with Fellow Daoist Multitalent, and let him display his prowess properly.”

“Exactly. General Fish was the first to submit, and being of the same water-tribe, he may have gained much already. But if we do this well, benefits will naturally come to us as well.”

Hearing the Daoist Master of Far Mountain say this, Lord Lu nodded too. Still, he did not sink to such shamelessness himself, and instead said, “We all came to deal with the demon stronghold of Jingyang Ridge in the Monster Mountains. Whoever takes the lead is actually the same. After we storm Jingyang Ridge tomorrow, we can proceed step by step, consolidating our footing and drawing out the remaining great demons to deal with them slowly.”

As soon as General Fish heard this, he understood Lord Lu’s intention and said with certainty, “Good. Let’s lure them out one by one. When we fight the old black bear, I want to join the battle too. I want those monsters in the mountains to see the strength of our water-tribe.”

“Of course. I will also join the battle tomorrow. I contributed too little today, so tomorrow I must put on a proper display...”