Chapter 16：Young Black Thorned Turtle

[System Notification: Congratulations, you have caught a Red Carp.] 

[System Notification: Congratulations, you have caught a Green Carp.] 

[System Notification: Congratulations, you have caught a Yellow Croaker.] 

[System Notification: Congratulations, you have caught a Young Black Thorned Turtle.] 

What made Li Hanqiang glad was that other than the system notifications about his character, there were 15 regarding his fishing at the Blue Ripple Pond. 

He quickly opened his Fish Basket to check out his haul. 

This Fish Basket was no ordinary Fish Basket, it had a "Shop Template". Li Hanqiang had a thought and before his eyes appeared a ten by nine board, with a total of 90 cells. 

On this board the first 5 cells were already occupied with a picture. Respectively, there was Red Carp x1, Green Carp x9, Yellow Croaker x2, Young Yellow Croaker x1, Young Goldfish x1, and Young Black Thorned Turtle x1. 

[Red Carp: A common fish, worth 1 silver coin if sold at any store, you may choose to release this fish.] 

[Green Carp: A common fish…] 

Red Carp, Green Carp, Yellow Croaker, Young Yellow Croaker, and Young Goldfish were all common fish, the descriptions were all the same. When Li Hanyang saw all these low-quality fish, their value was only in being sold. 

However, the Young Black Thorned Turtle was a different story. 

[Young Black Thorned Turtle: Level 1, can be mounted, amphibious, ranged attack. As it levels up, it can grow into a Black Thorned Turtle and Giant Black Thorned Turtle. An Elite Monster template, level limit 60. Sell value at any store is 1 gold coin, you may choose to release this fish!] 

One could obtain a mount through fishing and it was already tame! 

Li Hanqiang felt like he had made a great profit. This Young Black Thorned Turtle could be sold for 1 gold coin, but only a fool would sell it. This was a tame mount, and it was also a strong Elite Monster template mount. 

In Endless World, monsters could be categorized into Common Monsters, Elite Monsters, Boss Monsters… 

Common Monsters were useless, and very rarely had skills. They were equivalent to a player with no equipment. 

Elite Monsters were much stronger. Not only did they have higher stats, but generally they also had special skills. They were equivalent to a player who was well equipped. 

Bosses were even more powerful, with extremely high stats and powerful skills. They were equivalent to a player with Legendary Equipment. 

A mount with an Elite Monster template was definitely a rare item, and in the context of the current game's lifetime, it was even more valuable. It could be said to be the holy grail of all Mounted Professions. 

Mounted Professions could combine their stats with that of their mount and share their skills, and could use their mount in combat. Non-Mounted Professions could only use their mounts to travel, and could not take their mount with them into combat. 

Li Hanqiang was not of the Mounted Profession, but he did not hesitate and put the Young Black Thorned Turtle into his inventory before equipping it. 

"It seems that Heaven is watching over me, and I can leave Africa to enter Europe!"

With an Elite Mount in his inventory, would he still be Li Hanqiang if he did not ride it around to show off?

With a plop, the Level 1 Young Black Thorned Turtle dropped into the water beside the boat, causing a splash that created foam. 

Li Hanqiang took a look. The Young Black Thorned Turtle was slightly larger than a washbowl, and its entire body was black. It had 100 HP and two active skills, Water Spout and Black Thorn Armor. 

[Water Spout: The Young Black Thorn Turtle shoots a jet of water out of its mouth at a target 30 meters away. Water Spout can attack once and deals 50% of its physical damage to an enemy in one direction from the original target.] 

[Black Thorn Armor: Black Thorn Armor has an extremely high physical defense value and gains two points of physical defense for every level Young Black Thorn Turtle gains. Any enemies that make a melee attack on Young Black Thorned Turtle suffers 10 points of reflection damage per second.] 

The Young Black Thorned Turtle was still a baby turtle, and the sides of its shell were lumpy and malformed as it had yet to grow its spikes. However it already looked very vicious, and growing out of the corner of its mouth were fangs like that of a werewolf. Its eyes conveyed an aura of hate, and it gave anyone who looked at it the creeps. 

"My majestic mount!" 

Li Hanqiang no longer had any intention of fishing. 

Endless World's official website had once released the stats of all adventurer professions. Within it clearly stated that Knights and other such melee Tank professions, when unaugmented by any equipment, would gain 100 HP at every level they gained. Every second level they gained would increase their physical defense by 1 point. 

Looking at Young Black Thorned Turtle's active skills, every level it gained gave it an extra 2 points of physical defense. What was the player's stat gains compared to that? 

Li Hanqiang stood and roared in laughter. He climbed onto the back of Young Black Thorned Turtle like a maniac. The scene looked like an adult trying to get onto a child's tricycle. Even though it seemed awkward, the Young Black Thorned Turtle did not tip over. Under Li Hanqiang's control, it swam around on the surface of the pond. 

The only problem was that the speed was rather terrible. The Young Black Thorned Turtle looked like it was giving its all, and yet its speed was comparable to a Little Black Pig. 

However, Li Hanqiang was extremely satisfied as he rode his Young Black Thorned Turtle slowly to the bank and back to The Chaotic City. 

The little rowboat automatically moved itself back to the bank. 

After selling the Red Carp, Green Carp, and other such useless fish in the Mysterious Shop, Li Hanqiang received 14 silver coins. He was in a good mood, and he rode around on his mount while communicating with the system to choose his City Lord Passive Skill. 

It was just as Gorgeous Banyue said, Li Hanqiang could choose between Money Maker, Stone Slab Mastery, and Awakened Ability. 

To be honest, these three Passive Skills were all good. Li Hanqiang did not wish to let even a single one go. However, he could only choose one… 

"Gorgeous Banyue is only a streamer, what does she know about being a Chaotic City Lord! These three Passive Skills are all common Passive Skills. I, Li Hanqiang, am the king of my own fate. Will I choose one? No!" 

Li Hanqiang currently had 175 gold coins, and he could not help but decide to go for a random Passive Skill. 

Gorgeous Banyue had already said that the random Passive Skills were mostly useless. Even if that were the case, didn't he have a small chance to get a great Passive Skill? 

There was no such thing as playing safe! 

It was also not in Li Hanqiang's character to do that! 

Headwinds could turn into tailwinds. If he did not try now, when would he? 

Would he dare to give it a try? 

Why not! 

Li Hanqiang made his choice and immediately heard the system notification. 

[You have spent 100 gold coins to choose a random Passive Skill. Generating the Passive Skill now…] 

[Ding, congratulations! You have received the Change Tower Passive Skill.] 

—

Change Tower: Special Passive Skill, One of A Kind.

1: Chaotic City Lord can expend a Level 10 Defensive tower to cause it to change. The change is random. The Passive Skill will assign a 50% failure chance to the change. If it fails, the Defensive Tower will be demolished. 

2: Chaotic City Lord may expend ten Chaotic Energy to combine multiple Defensive Towers to form one Tower of Change. There is a 50% chance of failure during this combination. If it fails, one random Defensive Tower will be demolished.] 

—

"Tower Change? One of A Kind Passive Skill? What kind of Passive Skill is this!" Li Hanqiang looked at the description and was perturbed. 

One Passive Skill with two ways to use it, but with a 50% failure chance. Losing a Defensive Tower was also very troubling. 

Li Hanqiang did not know if this One of A Kind 'Change Tower' was a super Passive Skill, but he knew for sure it was a bad one! 

If one was lucky, the change or combination would be successful. If one was unlucky, they would be losing one Defensive Tower. What a great loss! 

"Another chance-based Passive Skill!" Li Hanqiang sighed. "It looks like I can only rely on my luck to get by!" 

An author typo that refers to Li Hanqiang.The translator's hypothesis is that the Author is making reference to the development of the human species, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, which is generally believed to have its roots in the African continent before migrating to the European continent, and then onwards to the Asian and American continents over the course of time. In this context, Li Hanqiang is hinting that he can now advance further.