Fishing in the ocean of learning has similarities to ordinary fishing, but there are also great differences.
Fang Yun held the dragon scale fishing rod in his hand and looked carefully ahead. Soon, a three-and-a-half-foot-long Wenxin fish appeared in front of him. The dragon boat was sailing at a very fast speed and would soon hit it.
Fang Yun's eyes focused, he gripped the fishing rod tightly, and swung it forward suddenly. He saw the white fishing line flying out at an extremely fast speed and continuously extending. Nine shiny fish hooks flashed with cold light, drew a graceful arc, and fell into the water.
Nine fish hooks arrived near the Chinese herring, with each hook being one foot apart. As long as any one of the fish hooks could hook the Chinese herring, it would leave a wound on the fish's body and slow it down. However, in order to actually catch the Chinese herring, the fish hook must hook the fish's mouth.
This was Fang Yun's first time learning how to fish in the sea. He had no idea about the speed of the boat, the speed of the Wenxin fish, the resistance of the sea surface water, the speed of the fishing rod, etc. Even with nine fish hooks, he did not hit the Wenxin fish. The nearest fish hook was two feet away from the Wenxin fish.
Fang Yun pulled it up suddenly with force, and the fishing line shortened rapidly, returning to its original shape in a moment, with less than ten feet of exposed fishing line left.
At this time, the fish had been frightened and turned back, but the dragon boat was still sailing at high speed, which changed the position of the Wenxin fish and placed it on the right side of the dragon boat.
Fang Yun stood on the dragon head and turned quickly, swinging the fishing rod with all his strength again.
The fishing line flew out at an incredible speed and continued to lengthen. When the hook fell into the water, the fishing line was already twenty feet long.
The second time I cast the rod, it still failed.
Fang Yun quickly retracted it and then threw it out again. This third time, the flying fishing line and the hook flew in the air for a long time before reaching the water surface. In the end, the hook was a full ten feet away from the Wenxin fish.
Fang Yun estimated that the fishing line was already a hundred feet long!
At this distance, it is impossible for anyone to control it precisely.
Fang Yun retracted the hook. He closed his eyes and replayed the three times of fishing in his mind, remembering every detail and summarizing some rules. Then, Fang Yun began to do two things at once, observing the sea while recalling the books he had read about fishing and fishing in Xuehai before entering Xuehai.
Fang Yun failed to cast the rod three times. Instead of being disappointed, the people in his fleet were shocked by the length of Fang Yun's fishing line, because even the fishing line of the captain of a four-story ship was only fifty feet long. Fang Yun completely surpassed them.
The captains of Zong Lei's fleet in the distance breathed a sigh of relief after seeing this scene.
"Haha! Uncle Chengbing is right. Xuehai requires too many skills, and being good at poetry is just one of the advantages! We, the disciples of the Saints' Family, have entered the literary world of the ancient saints since childhood, and created a new world by imitating Xuehai. For us to learn fishing in Xuehai, it takes at least ten years to barely pass. Even for us, it is difficult to adapt to the new fishing rod. Let alone him!" Zong Shibing laughed.
"With this level, even if he goes to Haixin, he will return empty-handed. If he were to meet Shanshan Wenxin, he would definitely be missed!"
"I feel more and more that it is a mistake to compete with him. If we lose, our Wenxin fish will belong to him, and if we win, we will get nothing!"
The Zong and Lei families were full of sarcasm and ridicule.
Fang Yun, however, turned a deaf ear to them and was not affected by them at all.
After studying for a while, Fang Yun began to practice empty swings, imagining that a mullet suddenly appeared somewhere, and then swinging the rod to fish.
As time went by, Fang Yun seemed to have completely forgotten everything in the outside world. He kept casting his rod and fishing, practicing his fishing skills. If he encountered a Wenxin fish on the way, he would still go fishing, but because the dragon boat was sailing at high speed, it would move away if it missed three times, resulting in Fang Yun not catching a single Wenxin fish.
Not only Fang Yun, but all boat owners who sail at high speeds cannot catch Wenxin fish.
After a full hour, everyone saw that darker sea water appeared in the distance, which contrasted sharply with the coastal area, leaving a clear color difference line.
“I can see the open sea!”
"The wind and waves there are very strong, with three-foot-high waves everywhere."
"Look, there are obviously a lot more Wenxin fish here. I can see two or three at a glance!"
“Let’s fish right here!”
Many people were in high spirits, especially the owners of bamboo rafts, canoes or small boats, who were the most sober, because they knew that they could only fish at the edge of the open sea and could not go deep. The wind and waves would become stronger as they went further ahead, and their small boats would be easily washed away and overturned.
The water in the sea of learning is not ordinary sea water. Once you enter the water, you will fail and will be sent back to the seaside.
An invisible force descended, all the ships began to slow down, and then the previous voice sounded again.
"Now you can create a second poem. Based on the content of the poem, you can strengthen the poem boat. This second round requires writing a poem about 'cherishing learning'."
As soon as the words fell, many people fell into deep thought.
Some ship owners did not keep up with the two fleets and did not complete one-tenth of the coastal area, but they were the most excited. If the next poems can be written well and the poetry ships can be strengthened, it is very likely that they will enter the open sea and attract more Wenxin fish.
"Hahaha… "
Fang Yun was thinking when he suddenly heard Lei Longkuo laughing.
"Take a good look at my clan uncle Lei Mo's ship!"
Like everyone else, Fang Yun turned his head and saw that the shape of Lei Mo's ship had changed. The three sails had become larger and there were more oars on both sides.
"Before entering the sea of learning, this old man was lucky enough to get a good poem called 'Cherish Learning', which I officially composed in the sea of learning. I never expected that there would be such a big change in the building ship." Lei Mo stroked his beard with a smile on his face, but did not show too much happiness.
Lei Longkuo asked hurriedly: "Uncle, can you show me the new changes?"
"Then give it a try."
After Lei Mo finished speaking, his three-story ship shook violently, and suddenly accelerated like an arrow from a bow, rushing forward at a speed five times faster than Fang Yunlong's ship, leaving rolling waves behind it, and it charged for a full twenty breaths before stopping.
Everyone was shocked. Everyone knew that the boat would change after the second round of poems, but it was rare to see a boat change so much.
This ability to accelerate in a short period of time is not only suitable for long-distance travel, but also plays a huge role when chasing Chinese catfish. As long as the speed is fast, you can always get close to the Chinese catfish, which means that the number of times you cast the rod will increase and the chance of catching the Chinese catfish will be greatly increased.
More importantly, when encountering big waves or typhoons in the deep sea, it can quickly avoid or rush through them. This function alone is enough to make up for the speed gap with the dragon boat.
"Uncle, how often can this sudden acceleration be used?"
"It can be used once every two hundred breaths."
"Congratulations, uncle! We have won the academic competition!"
Everyone in Zong Lei’s fleet cheered loudly.
The Fangyun fleet was completely silent. Lei Mo's new ship was too powerful. Although it was not as good as the dragon ship in appearance, it was completely superior in other aspects.
(To be continued…)