As for Brian Carter, when Jessica Scott first encountered him by the lake, she thought he was trying to approach her by using fishing as an excuse.

It wasn’t that she was arrogant, but as one of the Four Geniuses of Hundred Peaks, the number one prodigy of Vermilion Bird Peak, and the “fairy” in others’ eyes, this was something she had encountered frequently in recent years. In the entire Hundred Peaks Sect, there were at least eighty, if not a hundred, people who had tried this method.

So, Jessica Scott initially ignored Brian Carter's existence altogether.

It wasn’t until one time, when Brian Carter answered a question from the disciple Andrew Morris who was with him, that she truly took notice of this unfamiliar fellow sect member for the first time.

That day, the ten-year-old Andrew Morris was asking about the old man fishing nearby.

‘Master, the old man’s hook is straight. Should I tell him that the hook needs to be curved to catch fish?’

The bored Brian Carter casually replied, ‘The old man is fishing for dragons, don’t disturb him.’

Jessica Scott had only heard about this old man, who had sat motionless like a stone statue by Meteorfall Lake for fifty years, “fishing for dragons,” from her master.

According to the Vermilion Bird Peak Lord, one of the five great peaks of the Hundred Peaks Sect, there were no more than ten people in the entire sect who knew the old man was fishing for dragons.

Jessica Scott knew all ten people her master had mentioned, and this stranger before her was definitely not one of them, so she made a point to inquire about him.

The result of her inquiries left her utterly astonished.

Brian Carter, Lord of Four Treasures Peak, the “tail-end” peak lord of the Hundred Peaks Sect, was said to have little talent, poor strength, a pedantic personality, and only managed to scrape by on the monthly allowance from the sect, barely making ends meet with his disciples.

Two months ago, he had a dispute with Starshine Peak, ranked ninety-fifth, and they agreed to a duel in three months. Starshine Peak wagered a third-grade Magma Ganoderma, while this Four Treasures Peak Lord staked his peak’s treasure, a third-grade Spiritual Field.

Anyone could see that Starshine Peak, constrained by sect rules, was deliberately picking a fight to win that third-grade Spiritual Field, so they could plant their newly acquired Magma Ganoderma, for which they had no suitable field.

Yet Brian Carter failed to see through this, and instead went into seclusion to cultivate. Half a month later, he suffered a qi deviation and was unconscious for two days. After waking, he seemed to have seen through the vanity of the world and no longer cared about winning or losing—or perhaps he had resigned himself to fate—and began coming to Meteorfall Lake every day to fish.

Jessica Scott even considered whether Brian Carter was trying to get close to the old man by the lake, who had sat motionless in a fishing pose for fifty years like a stone statue.

But after spending time together, she realized that Brian Carter had no such intention at all—he was simply fishing.

After more than two months of silent companionship, even knowing that Brian Carter had no chance of winning the bet, Jessica Scott still went to the peak’s market casino and bet five hundred spirit stones on Brian Carter to win.

Now, seeing Brian Carter still so unhurried, his pace of life resembling that of a retired official among mortals, she began to wonder if her five hundred spirit stones had gone down the drain.

Jessica Scott arrived at her usual fishing spot by the lake, took out her special little fishing stool from her bracelet, and then took out her fishing rod, preparing to cast her line.

“Don’t cast yet, wait for me a moment.”

Brian Carter, wearing a rain cape and a bamboo hat and holding a fishing rod, lazily yawned, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he stared at the bobber floating on the water, raising his hand to stop her.

Jessica Scott hadn’t expected that after two months of silent, tacit companionship, the first words Brian Carter would say to her would be these.

According to their usual unspoken agreement, whenever Jessica Scott started fishing, Brian Carter would always put his rod away in advance.

Today, that tacit understanding was actually broken...

“Miss, wait, just wait a moment.” Brian Carter focused on the bobber, explaining casually to Jessica Scott beside him, “The fish I want to catch is about to bite. If there’s a second hook in the same area, the Rainbow Phoenix Tail won’t bite. Please wait for me. If the fish gets scared off this time, I’ll have to wait another two months...”

Before Brian Carter finished speaking, the bobber dipped gently several times, then suddenly plunged straight down into the water!

Brian Carter's usually listless eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly lifted his rod, and a fish about a foot long, covered in golden scales with a tail shimmering in rainbow colors, was pulled from the water.

‘Rainbow Phoenix Tail?’

Watching Brian Carter busily celebrating, Jessica Scott grew even more doubtful of her own judgment. Was he really just after the Rainbow Phoenix Tail? Her five hundred spirit stones were probably lost for sure...

The Rainbow Phoenix Tail was indeed rare! But its only use was to remove the fishy taste and enhance flavor when cooked with other fish.

Jessica Scott was certain that Brian Carter's two months of fishing had been for this Rainbow Phoenix Tail.

But the more certain she was of Brian Carter's goal, the less she could understand him. At such a critical moment before the duel, was he really just satisfying his appetite?

As the Rainbow Phoenix Tail broke the surface, the fishing line on the old man’s rod—who sat by the lake like a stone statue—stirred a faint ripple in the water, barely noticeable to the ordinary eye.

Brian Carter paid no attention to the questioning look Jessica Scott gave him. After two months of baiting the spot every day, he had been waiting for this very moment!

Happily packing up his fishing gear, Brian Carter was ready to go back and refine pills and take medicine to greatly boost his cultivation, only to find his path blocked by a large black cat.