184: Chapter 184 Celebrating the Promotion

The news spread faster than the lake breeze.

By the time Lin Tian walked out of the bamboo building, the news of his promotion to Elder had already spread throughout the entire Yunhai Fishery.

Several team members mending fishing nets on the shore gathered around him, calling out "Elder Lin" in a clamor of voices.

Their attitudes were incredibly respectful, and their expressions carried a hint of sycophancy.

After all, an Elder was an existence that stood above them as Disciples, and such a young Elder had an immeasurably bright future, so naturally, they wanted to curry favor with him as much as possible.

Lin Tian nodded with a smile, said nothing more, and walked along the gravel path by the lake toward No. 7 Fish Pond.

Along the way, people kept poking their heads out of the bamboo houses; some called out "Elder Lin," some cupped their fists at him, and others gave him a thumbs-up from afar.

When these people looked at Lin Tian, their eyes were filled with boundless envy.

In the Yunhai Fishery, the step from Captain to Elder seemed to be only one level apart, but countless Captains had toiled in the fishery for over a decade without ever being able to cross it, because this threshold did not look at seniority, only at cultivation.

The Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm was a hard requirement; if you couldn't reach it, you just couldn't.

Yet a newcomer who had joined less than three years ago had actually crossed it just like that.

It was truly inconceivable; one had to know that the step from the Dark Realm to the Transcendent was something that had stumped quite a few people, with some unable to achieve a Breakthrough even after decades.

For Lin Tian to be able to achieve a Breakthrough in such a short time was truly Heaven-Defying.

Ma Gang from Team 6 was the first to rush over.

He used his rough, thick hand to heavily pat Lin Tian on the shoulder, using so much force that it almost made Lin Tian stumble.

"Good lad! I knew Wind Master wouldn't misjudge a person—oh, wait, no. Wind Master did misjudge someone back then. That's called a late bloomer! Elder Lin, don't forget your brothers in Team 6 in the future."

Chen Lang followed behind Ma Gang, his face beaming with a smile even brighter than if he himself had been promoted.

The members of Team 7 also swarmed over, clamoring, "Captain, you're not playing fair! You didn't even give us a heads-up about something as big as being promoted to Elder."

The captains of the other teams—Captain Jiang He, Captain Liu Yun, Captain Meng Ping, and several veteran captains who had gone into the mountains to investigate the Demonic Sect with Lin Tian—also arrived upon hearing the news.

Captain Jiang He cupped his fists and laughed, "Junior Brother Lin, oh, no, Elder Lin. I still remember that arrow of yours in the mountains last time. If you need any help in the future, just say the word."

Captain Liu Yun chimed in from the side, "Elder Lin, we captains have discussed it. Tonight, we'll set up a table in the clearing by the lake to celebrate for you. It's nothing fancy, just some fish from the kitchen and a few jars of wine, so the brothers can get together and have some fun."

Looking at these fellow Disciples with whom he had fought side-by-side, Lin Tian nodded and smiled, saying it was fine.

That night, a bonfire was set up in the clearing by the lake. Several large fish obtained from the kitchen were roasting over the fire, sizzling with oil, while several jars of rice wine brewed by the Yunhai Fishery were passed around among the crowd.

Ma Gang, his face flushed red from drinking, grabbed Lin Tian's arm and boasted to those nearby about how Lin Tian couldn't even steady a bamboo raft when he first came to Team 6, yet now he was a Transcendent Elder.

Everyone laughed, and the bonfire cast a golden-red glow over the surface of the lake.

After the celebration, Lin Tian moved out of the Captain's bamboo house at No. 7 Fish Pond.

Although it was called a bamboo house, it was actually just two small rooms built from bamboo on the shore. When he was a Captain, he had one more room than the regular members, but it was still made with bamboo walls and a thatched roof, and whenever the lake breeze picked up, the whole house would creak.

Now, it was different. The Elder's residence was on a gentle slope behind the bamboo building, half-hidden by a bamboo forest; it was a self-contained courtyard house.

The courtyard walls were built of bluestone. Pushing open the gate, one entered a small courtyard paved with blue bricks, where two osmanthus trees were planted, with a stone well and a stone table beneath them.

There were three main rooms: a bedroom, a study, and a training room, with a kitchen and a utility room in the side quarters.

The study window faced the lake directly; pushing it open allowed one to see the sparkling water and the shadows of water birds skimming past the willow trees.

His residence had changed, and his duties had changed as well.

Captains had to patrol the ponds, but Elders did not; this alone freed up at least two hours of his official duty time every day.

However, an Elder couldn't just collect a salary without doing any work.

He went to the main hall of the bamboo building to find Fishery Master Zhou and ask about his specific duties.

Fishery Master Zhou sat behind a long desk with a thick manual of fishery duties spread out before him. As he flipped through it, he said, "The rules of the fishery are that different Elders manage different areas. Some manage procurement, some manage records, some manage defense and security, and others manage the cultivation of Treasure Fish."

"Among these positions, Old Sun, who manages procurement, has the most seniority. Old Wu, who manages defense, is that Fifth-Grade Elder who took you into the mountains last time; you know him. Elder Meng, who managed records, just retired last month, and I haven't had time to assign someone to fill the vacancy yet."

He flipped another page and tapped his finger on it. "The position currently vacant is the Elder in charge of cultivating Treasure Fish. Elder Liu, who was previously in charge of cultivation, has been transferred to Bixia Peak, and this position has been vacant ever since. Elder Lin, if you don't mind, you can take charge of cultivating Treasure Fish for now."

When Lin Tian heard the words "cultivating Treasure Fish," he froze slightly.

That pristine lake, the water origin tree at the bottom of the lake, those two male and female Treasure Fish slowly growing in the water grass—he had the Beast Taming Technique and could make the Treasure Fish obediently listen to him, but Treasure Fish were different from ordinary fish. How they laid eggs, how they hatched, and how to increase the survival rate of the fry—he knew none of this.

The Beast Taming Technique could control fish, but it couldn't teach him how to breed them. He had been worrying about where to learn these techniques, and now Fishery Master Zhou had handed the Elder position for cultivating Treasure Fish right to him.

Fishery Master Zhou saw Lin Tian standing there stunned for a long time without speaking and sighed inwardly.

He was an experienced Jianghu veteran and knew very well what these young people were thinking; there was a huge difference between one Elder and another.

The Elder in charge of procurement handled the procurement of supplies worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver for the fishery every year; just skimming a little off the top would be more than his salary.

The Elder in charge of records held the documents and ledgers of correspondence between the fishery and the Sect, and the masters of every peak had to be polite to him.

The Elder in charge of defense managed dozens of guards and held real power.

Only the Elder in charge of cultivating Treasure Fish, while it sounded nice, was actually the most arduous, tiring, and least lucrative of all the Elder positions.

Thinking Lin Tian was dissatisfied, he coughed lightly and added a tone of negotiation to his voice, "Elder Lin, the other Elder positions are indeed all filled. Please bear with it for now and take charge of the cultivation side of things. When other positions open up in the future, I will definitely prioritize arranging them for you."

Lin Tian came back to his senses, cupped his fists, and said earnestly, "Fishery Master, you have misunderstood. This Disciple has no dissatisfaction whatsoever with the position of cultivating Treasure Fish; I am very willing to accept this task."

Fishery Master Zhou looked at him carefully and, seeing that his expression did not seem feigned, nodded, "That's good. Go find Elder Wang. He is the most senior cultivation Elder in the fishery; you can just learn from him in the future."