The rod hummed. Echo waves burst from the end of the submerged line—sonic ripples designed to stun and provoke deep-sea creatures. A beat later, the line twitched violently.
"Hooked!" he shouted.
The Blue Lagoon burst from the sea, roaring—a high-pitched trill that shook the boat's planks. It fought, bucking wildly midair, its body twisting in unnatural arcs, trying to break the hold.
Water exploded across the deck as it landed back in the sea.
"Brace!" Fan He roared, his rod bending like it would snap in two. "She's pulling the boat!"
Mo Zhenyu dug his heels in. "Don't let go!"
The boat lurched violently as the creature dragged them at high speed. The mast groaned. The rudder snapped. The boat surged across the water, drawn by a beast more powerful than either of them had prepared for.
"She's headed for the reefs!" Zhenyu warned, eyes narrowed. "If she drags us into the rocks—!"
"I'm not letting go!" Fan He shouted, blood running from his palms where the rod's grip had cut deep.
Zhenyu swore and locked the harpoon launcher in place.
"Then we need to stop her now." He aimed and shot twice, hitting the sea creature in the same spot. He then forcibly reloaded the weapon.
The Blue Lagoon roared and twisted again and surged left.
Fan He slammed his feet into the deck and yelled: "I am not letting go!"
Astral energy from his body flowed into the rod, which shimmered with light, twisting the water ahead of the fish, forcing it to breach early.
Now.
Zhenyu didn't hesitate.
BOOM—
The harpoon launched with explosive force.
It struck, not deep into flesh, but into the hook already latched to the creature's flank, binding the astral line with a solid anchor.
The result was instant.
The feedback snapped back into Fan He's rod with bone-jarring force. He dropped to one knee, teeth gritted, but held on.
The Blue Lagoon screamed and erupted from the ocean one last time, throwing water like a stormcloud. Its tail whipped through the air like a blade, sending razor-sharp waves in all directions.
One struck the mast, shattering it in half.
The sail crashed down onto the deck.
Mo Zhenyu shielded his face with his cloak. "We lose that fish now, we die adrift!"
Fan He let out a roar. "Then I won't lose it!"
He pulled with everything he had. His veins glowed faintly, the constellation of the Twin Fish pulsing in the air behind him. The rod responded, growing heavier—denser—like it had fused with the ocean itself.
Zhenyu shot a few more harpoons into the same spot, weakening the beast.
The Blue Lagoon fought—its body twisting, aura flaring. But it was tiring. Even astral beasts had limits.
And Fan He was prepared to go beyond his own.
He pulled once more, blood spraying from his palms—and the creature slammed into the side of the boat with a final crash, splashing the entire deck with glowing water.
Silence followed.
It lay there, breathing hard. The astral line flickered between it and the rod. The harpoon still pierced its hook point, binding it tight.
Fan He dropped to his knees, chest heaving, clothes soaked and torn.
Mo Zhenyu knelt beside the beast, examining its still-glowing eyes.
"It's… still alive," he said, surprised.
The Blue Lagoon let out a soft, whimpering trill—less a protest than a surrender. Its strength was spent.
Fan He managed a shaky nod. "I didn't want to kill her. Just catch her." He said as he pulled a crystal ball the size of an apple, and with an astral energy rush, the blue lagoon was transferred into the crystal ball.
Zhenyu smiled faintly. "What is that?" He asked.
"An astral container. It is used to preserve rare star beasts." Fan He declared as he fell onto the deck. He looked up at the sky, rain falling gently now. "This… this is enough. For medicine. For food. For everyone."
Mo Zhenyu stared at him in silence for a long moment, then turned to look out over the sea. The blue haze over the horizon and the faint line where the sky and the sea met in harmony. The world was beautiful, and he couldn't wait to explore it all.
They had survived.
They had won.
And today, the stars had answered the hopes of a boy with a rod and a dream.
He pulled the rest of the harpoon ropes, still dipped in the water. At the tip of the arrows was a damaged teal scale. It was overflowing with astral energy and pure vitality.
It was the scale of the blue lagoon. He had purposefully targeted that same spot with many harpoon shots, hoping to sneak a scale of the Star beast the minute he saw it.
The teal, A shy color, it's composed of shades of blue and green. A magnificent ink addition to his storage. Furthermore, the Blue Lagoon was a High-rank Star beast, although it had no strong offensive abilities, its body was a treasure trove of material, rich in Astral energy.
It was a sea panacea, a rare beast that could increase the realm of an astral cultivator in the right hands. It was a priceless resource.
Mo Zhenyu's left eye glowed purple, and the scale vanished like it was never there.
"You are very accurate with the harpoon shooter," Fan He noted after recovering his stamina.
"I have very good vision," Mo Zhenyu declared. "How are your injuries?"
"My palms are bruised, I will not be able to hold anything for the next weeks," He replied, showing his torn palms.
"The mast is broken. We need to fix it before we are sent drifting into nothingness," Mo Zhenyu explained, looking at the fallen mast and the worn state of the ship.
"Its okay we can sail with my secret weapon" Fan He replied releasing his destiny artifact the fishing cane. He planted the fishing cane into a slot on the deck seamingly made for the occasion and the line dropped into the sea.
Two star appeared behing Fan He and the outling of a Goldfish was created by astral dust. "Lure current" he said. The line snapped forward and ripples immediately began to bend the surrounding currents moving the boat forward.
"We should be home soon." He conforted with a smile.