Chapter 2 First Attempt at the Art of Seizing Fortune! (Please Collect, Please Recommend)
Time rewinds to when Huo Yuhao had just arrived at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"We're not far from the Star Dou Great Forest now; we can already see it." Huo Yuhao gazed at the distant Star Dou Great Forest.
Then, golden light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
This was the Buddhist Qi Observation Technique from Pudu Cihang's memories, originally used in conjunction with the Qi Luck Technique.
It could not only observe the fortune of a person but also the changes in the Qi of a place.
During the seven days of travel, Huo Yuhao, with the help of Pudu Cihang's experience, quickly mastered this technique.
The ease with which he mastered it was also related to Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eye Martial Soul. When practicing techniques requiring the eyes, the Spirit Eye Martial Soul's assistance made the process twice as effective.
Furthermore, the Spirit Eye Martial Soul would grow while practicing the technique. After
learning the Qi Observation Technique, Huo Yuhao was like a child who had received a new toy, always taking it out to use it from time to time.
Now that they had arrived near the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao naturally wanted to examine the distribution of its fortune.
At this moment, in Huo Yuhao's eyes, the sky above the Star Dou Great Forest was shrouded in golden light, which became increasingly dazzling towards the center.
Within this golden light were the phantoms of numerous soul beasts.
At the very top were the phantoms of two soul beasts.
One phantom resembled a lion, with claws like a dragon and three eyes on its head.
The other phantom was dragon-shaped, with a graceful form, like a king. However, this phantom was even more ethereal; if it weren't for the sharpness of Huo Yuhao's spiritual eyes, he might have overlooked it.
"If I'm not mistaken, those are the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the Silver Dragon King."
Below their phantoms were the phantoms of various ferocious beasts.
Then came the phantoms of hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts scattered throughout.
Below that were some soul beasts of noble bloodlines or ancient species.
The figures of ordinary soul beasts were not qualified to be projected into the fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest.
However, there were a few discordant points.
For example, a certain golden aura was being devoured by a black, evil aura, within which lurked a peculiar tiger-like soul beast.
This proved that the opponent was disrupting the Star Dou Great Forest's fortune, and had not yet been discovered.
There was also an area of icy white power, which appeared substantial, but was being constantly eroded by the ferocious beast phantoms within the golden aura, giving it a weak but ultimately fragile appearance, and it seemed unlikely to hold out much longer.
"Could that be the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?"
Huo Yuhao pondered, then stopped observing, withdrew his Qi-observation technique, and rubbed his temples to relieve eye fatigue.
He had already seen what he needed.
In the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, in an area without soul beast phantoms, the golden aura was overflowing, proving that the fortune was unclaimed. Huo Yuhao could use the Fortune-Stealing Dragon Transformation Technique to absorb the fortune there.
The Qi Observation Technique is designed to work in conjunction with the Qi Luck Technique. Along his journey, Huo Yuhao had already attempted to cultivate the Qi Luck Stealing and Dragon Transformation Technique to absorb unclaimed Qi Luck. The
Qi Luck Stealing and Dragon Transformation Technique wasn't difficult to cultivate, thanks to the experience of Pudu Cihang, and the fact that this method had no cultivation level restrictions—as long as one had Qi Luck, one could cultivate it. Therefore, Huo Yuhao successfully entered the beginner stage.
Qi Luck, like resources, can be regenerated, but the total amount of Qi Luck in a given period is limited. It is divided among the major powers and figures of the world and also flows freely. This
freely flowing Qi Luck is what is known as unclaimed Qi Luck.
Normally, powerful forces would use powerful treasures to suppress their Qi Luck to prevent its outflow. At the very least, they would have strong individuals to suppress it.
Unfortunately, the Douluo Continent lacked such means.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was an auspicious beast and could indeed suppress the Qi Luck of the Star Dou Great Forest to a certain extent, preventing its outflow. However, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still too weak to completely suppress the Qi Luck of the entire Star Dou Great Forest.
Huo Yuhao's target was the unclaimed fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest; he was only fit to scavenge what no one was watching.
As for why Huo Yuhao could see the division of fortune in the Star Dou Great Forest so clearly… it was because the strong on the Douluo Continent truly lacked the means to conceal their fortune.
Only the Silver Dragon King concealed his fortune, but his methods weren't sophisticated; he merely used the environment to hide his fortune, and Huo Yuhao still managed to see a faint phantom.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to undermine the Star Dou Great Forest.
Because Huo Yuhao was hungry.
He planned to find a stream, like in the original story, and roast a couple of fish.
"Look, those two fish are drowning! Let me save them!"
Huo Yuhao took his sharpened stick, aimed at the fish in the river, and thrust it in forcefully.
He missed.
The fish even turned back and swam around the stick once, blowing a bubble.
"That fish is flirting with me! It dares to flirt with me!" Huo Yuhao roared, took off his clothes, and jumped into the river, holding the White Tiger Dagger in his hand.
After ten rounds, Huo Yuhao climbed ashore carrying a fish with its gills removed.
The White Tiger Dagger in Huo Yuhao's hand was his initial equipment, and surprisingly, it was quite handy to use.
Next up was grilling the fish.
With the seasonings Huo Yuhao carried and the assistance of his Spirit Eye, the grilled fish tasted absolutely fantastic.
It could easily be the subject of an episode of
"A Bite of China." But just as the fish was grilled, a voice called out from afar, "It smells so good!"
This almost startled Huo Yuhao so much that he dropped the fish.
The last time Huo Yuhao heard this phrase was in Pudu Cihang's memories, when Pudu Cihang was a demon and was hunting wild passersby.
Then, a female demon… cough cough, a human, appeared ahead.
Two people
walked along the stream. The one in front was a girl, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail and hung down her back. A light blue outfit accentuated her youthful figure. She had large
, bright eyes, a straight nose, and a near-perfect oval face. Her beautiful face held a hint of surprise as she stared intently at Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.
Following behind the girl was a boy who looked to be about her age. He was tall and slender, with short, dark blue hair that shimmered like jewels in the sunlight. Although young, he exuded a refined air. A lazy, gentle smile graced his handsome face. He held his hands behind his head, also looking at Huo Yuhao with interest—but he was looking at the person, not the grilled fish. Huo Yuhao
: "..."
Such a distinctive boy and girl appearing here at this time...it must be Tang Ya and Bei Bei, right?
But why did they run into them by such a coincidence?
Was it really a coincidence? Or was it some kind of scheme by an adult?
Whatever.
Tang Ya skipped over to Huo Yuhao and asked about the grilled fish, "Little brother, do you sell this grilled fish?"
"No." Huo Yuhao answered decisively.
Tang Ya's smile froze on her face.
Seeing Tang Ya bump her nose, Bei Bei couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Tang Ya turned her head, embarrassed and indignant, and glared at Bei Bei.
Bei Bei quickly shut his mouth, suppressing his laughter.
"Little brother, just sell me one." Tang Ya feigned cuteness, maliciously trying to be adorable.
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes inwardly, but still smiled and said, "Then one silver soul coin per fish, two silver soul coins for both of these grilled fish."
"Huh?!" Tang Ya was dumbfounded and stuck out her tongue. "So expensive?"
Bei Bei was also a little surprised and blurted out what was on her mind, "Are your grilled fish made of gold, or are the wooden sticks made of gold? How can they be so expensive?"
"You think it's expensive? I think it's expensive too. Look around, where can you find wild grilled fish this season?"
"It seems so~" Tang Ya actually agreed with Huo Yuhao's words without much wisdom.
Bei Bei rubbed his forehead speechlessly before reminding her, "Xiao Ya, wild fish are fish, not grilled fish. There's no wild grilled fish in any season."
"..." Tang Ya's face flushed red visibly, and she turned and elbowed Bei Bei, "Mind your own business! And what did you call me?"
Tang Ya's elbow didn't hurt Bei Bei, but he still pretended to be in pain, clutching his stomach, and then begged for forgiveness, "It was my fault, I should have called you Teacher Xiao Ya, please forgive me, dear Teacher Xiao Ya!"
"Hmph, that's more like it."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Are you guys playing some weird game behind my back?
Just when Huo Yuhao thought the two would leave, Bei Bei actually stepped forward, handed over two silver soul coins, and smiled, "Little brother, we'll take these two grilled fish. Here are two silver soul coins."
He actually bought them?
Huo Yuhao naturally had no reason to refuse, quickly taking two silver soul coins and then handing the two grilled fish to the two of them. "Boss, keep this, may you prosper."
"Thank you." Bei Bei was amused by Huo Yuhao and smiled as she took the two grilled fish, handing them both to Tang Ya. "Teacher Xiao Ya, try this wild grilled fish."
"You rascal, you're so bad!" Tang Ya scolded shyly, taking only one grilled fish. "Hmph, one is enough for me."
Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that the two silver soul coins in his hand weren't so appealing anymore.
Bei Bei was quite skilled at flirting.
But were they just bold and daring? They weren't even afraid of him poisoning them.
Then, Tang Ya and Bei Bei didn't stand on ceremony and sat around the fire with Huo Yuhao.
Tang Ya ate the grilled fish shyly, clearly having just been flirted with by Bei Bei.
Bei Bei smiled gently, but didn't eat the grilled fish. Instead, she started chatting with Huo Yuhao, "My name is Bei Bei, and her name is Tang Ya. Little brother, what's your name?"
Huo Yuhao glanced at the grilled fish in Bei Bei's hand, unsure if she was wary of him or saving it for Tang Ya.
"My name is Huo Yuhao," Huo Yuhao replied without hiding anything, but he didn't elaborate further.
Then, Huo Yuhao went down into the stream and caught two more fish, grilling them again.
This time, it was finally Huo Yuhao's turn to eat the grilled fish.
While eating, Huo Yuhao looked towards the Star Dou Great Forest and silently activated the Dragon Transformation Technique of Seizing Fortune.
This technique didn't produce any light effects during its activation.
Even if it did, it would require a method to detect fortune.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao wasn't worried about being discovered by Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
"Without a needle prick, while eating grilled fish, I've dug up a corner of the Star Dou Great Forest~ Without a needle prick~~~"
The golden, unclaimed fortune belonging to the Star Dou Great Forest slowly flowed towards Huo Yuhao.
However, before receiving the fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest, two strange fortunes intruded into Huo Yuhao's field of vision.
One was dragon-shaped, and the other was grass-shaped.
Huo Yuhao stared at the two fortunes that had an overwhelming sense of familiarity, some even nine-tenths of the original's, and fell silent. (
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(End of Chapter)