King of the Wilderness-Chapter 65 - 64: Record-Breaking Big Fish

After finishing a bowl of thick, white fish head soup, Lin Yu’an felt all his fatigue swept away, his body warmed and filled with satisfaction from the inside out.

He carefully moved the remaining pot of fish head soup next to the stove, planning to enjoy it again the next day.

Then, he eagerly returned to the fishing platform with his brand new Pacific Yew Fishing Rod.

Lin Yu’an confidently said to the camera, "Folks, that big Lake Trout was just an appetizer!"

"I feel like my technique has improved again! Let’s keep at it and see if we can catch anything good!"

He returned to the fishing platform, baited the hook with fresh blood bait, and with swagger cast the line into the water.

Brimming with anticipation, he waited.

However, things did not go as he expected.

He fished from the afternoon until the sun was about to set, the float remained motionless on the calm lake surface, and the fishing line showed no sign of movement.

This was very strange! Lin Yu’an frowned slightly; his fortified ’Sixth Sense’ told him there were plenty of fish underwater!

He could even sense a few large ’shadows’ hovering near where he had baited, but they just weren’t biting.

He changed the blood bait several times and tried different fishing spots, but the outcome was the same.

Finally, as it was almost completely dark, he returned to the shelter with a belly full of stubbornness.

By the fireplace, he slowly and methodically wove a larger Willow Branch fish holder, growing more irritated as he thought about it.

"Doesn’t make sense! Same spot, same blood bait, why aren’t they biting?"

He muttered to himself, the willow branches in his hand creaked as he continued to weave.

"Could it be that fishing really depends on some mysterious force? Must it be the new fishing rod?"

That night, Lin Yu’an went to sleep harboring the deep confusion shared by all fishermen.

Day fifty-four.

In the morning, Lin Yu’an woke up from his warm shelter.

He walked over to the stove and looked at the pot of fish head soup, which had cooled overnight and formed a thick layer of white fish gelatin on the surface, lapsing into thought...

The strong fishy smell, even with the addition of wild onions and deer oil, was still pervasive.

He tasted a bit of the heated fish gelatin, and the fishy smell shot straight to his Celestial Spirit.

"It’s really awful..."

Lin Yu’an grimaced as he threw the remaining fish gelatin back into the clay pot.

"When it cools, without enough seasoning, you can’t suppress this fishy smell at all."

After a fierce internal struggle, he decided to abandon this "dark cuisine" for now, letting it sit idle in the space to gather dust.

For breakfast, he opted to fry fresh fish fillets.

After eating breakfast, Lin Yu’an looked at the Pacific Yew rod in the corner, and his determination surged again.

"No, I definitely have to try again today!"

An absurd but irresistibly "mystical" thought took shape in his mind.

He decided to try another round of mystical fishing today!

Then he walked out of the shelter into the woods and casually broke off a roughly two-meter-long, seemingly ordinary willow sapling. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Using a knife, he roughly trimmed the branches, leaving the bark intact, and simply tied a length of fishing line and hook to the tip.

"If new rods have mystical power, then I’ll just make myself a new one!"

Holding the extremely crude tree sapling rod, his face showed an expression of sheer defiance.

"I refuse to believe it! My success depends on technique, not some ’new rod aura’ nonsense!"

He returned to the fishing platform, baited the same blood bait, and casually cast the hook into the water without even using bait.

The hook sank into the water with a plop, a movement devoid of any grace.

However, just as the hook sank into the water, before the line could fully tense...

"Buzz——!"

An even more wild and forceful gigantic tug came roaring from beneath the water!

The poor willow sapling rod didn’t even have a chance to bend properly before it snapped under the immense force!

Instantly torn into two pieces!

"Crack——!"

"Oh, shit!"

Lin Yu’an reacted quickly; as the rod broke, he grabbed the half about to be dragged into the water!

With his gloved hand, he tightly wound the fishing line, and quickly followed with his other hand.

A force like a mountain collapsing came straight through the fishing line, almost pulling him off the fishing platform!

"This... this new rod aura really is something mystical!"

Lin Yu’an held tightly to the fishing line while frantically complaining.

His legs braced in a sturdy stance, his body leaned back, engaging in a primal, direct "tug-of-war" with the underwater behemoth!

This time, without the elastic buffer of the Pacific Yew rod, all the power brutally transmitted through his arms and body.

Even with gloves, he could clearly feel the fierce pull of the fishing line digging into his palms.

The creature underwater was more ferocious and wild than yesterday’s Lake Trout, furiously darting, rolling, and thrashing erratically in the water like an enraged bull!

The sudden burst of force made Lin Yu’an feel like his arm joints were about to pop out of their sockets!

"Roar——!"

Lin Yu’an let out a suppressed growl from his throat, willing all his strength into his arms.

At this point, he was beyond worrying about the hook coming loose or the line breaking.

His primal desire for conquest and refusal to be defeated was utterly ignited!

His mind had only one thought left — to forcibly drag this underwater giant onto land!

Lin Yu’an stopped being passive and started to exert power actively.

Taking advantage of a brief pause when the creature was exhausted from its dash, his muscles bulged as he forcefully reeled in the line!

He wasn’t pulling it inch by inch, but yanking back half a meter in one go.

Then quickly wrapping the retrieved line around his arm before continuing to exert force!

The underwater behemoth obviously didn’t expect its opponent to be so relentless and exploded into even more frenzied struggle!

"Splash——!"

Huge splashes erupted in front of the fishing platform as an even larger, fiercer shadow than yesterday’s Lake Trout was forcibly dragged out of the water by Lin Yu’an!

It was a giant pike, incredibly thick-bodied, covered in strange yellow-green spotted patterns, its mouth full of sharp teeth!

It thrashed its massive head wildly on the water surface, attempting to bite the fishing line with its jaws full of sharp teeth.

Lin Yu’an didn’t give it any chance to dive again!

He burst out with full force, quickly pulling the fishing line back, while stepping on the platform, gradually retreating towards the shore!

He tugged the violently writhing giant pike from the water to the shore!

When the massive body was completely out of the water, being dragged onto the rocks and dirt of the shore, Lin Yu’an felt utterly drained.

"Thud," he landed heavily onto a rock on the shore.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."

His chest rose and fell heavily, gasping for breath as his arms trembled from the prolonged extreme exertion.

Looking down at the beast over a meter long, estimated to weigh at least fifty-five pounds, with its terrifying, gaping mouth still moving feebly.

Tired, but he couldn’t help grinning like a fool.

"Folks, the new rod mysticism... actually works..."