Zhou Yi slipped into the jungle with practiced ease.
With Jungle Survival Experience, Zhou Yi was like a fish in water once he entered the jungle, moving with effortless ease.
With a tap of his foot, he grabbed a vine, swung through the air, and landed far away on the branch of another towering tree.
"Ha! I'm practically Ape Mount Tai!"
Feeling incomparably exhilarated, Zhou Yi kicked off with force, shot forward, and grabbed a branch ahead of him. The immense impact bent the branch down, but its powerful elasticity snapped it back, hurling Zhou Yi far into the distance.
"Yahoo!"
With a strange cry, Zhou Yi flipped several times and landed atop another distant tree.
"Jungle Survival Experience is insanely powerful. Entering the forest feels just like coming home. This is awesome."
Zhou Yi laughed heartily and sprang away again.
A short while later, Zhou Yi stopped at the foot of a cliff.
"According to jungle survival experience, Chizhu Fruit should grow around here."
After searching beneath the cliff for a while, Zhou Yi found Chizhu Fruit in the shade behind a massive boulder.
The bright red spirit fruit was shaped like a slender little pillar.
"That's it."
He bent down and plucked the Chizhu Fruit. Then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, making his entire body tremble as his face went blank.
"Eating Chizhu Fruit makes shedding skin faster? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm not a snake, so why would I shed skin? Where did that thought come from?"
Zhou Yi stared at the Chizhu Fruit in his hand, blinking helplessly.
"How could I possibly think something like that? How would I know Chizhu Fruit could help with shedding skin? How could I... Damn it! Could it be..."
Zhou Yi's expression changed. He hurriedly asked the Heavenly Book Spirit, "Heavenly Book Spirit, where did the Jungle Survival Experience I exchanged come from? Is this some kind of side effect? System exchanges can have side effects?"
The Heavenly Book Spirit had no way to answer this question. It could only pass it on to Li Yu, while it itself froze up again as if it had crashed.
"Hey, hey! Why aren't you talking? Did you crash again?"
Zhou Yi suddenly felt that the Supreme Heavenly Book system seemed rather unreliable.
"Hm?"
Li Yu was holding a bowl of soy milk and biting into a fried dough stick when he suddenly received the question relayed by the Heavenly Book Spirit through the System connection. He froze for a moment.
"System, why did the experience you extracted from ferocious beasts and Demonic Beasts still contain traces of their consciousness? Didn't you remove them completely?"
"The user did not specify detailed requirements. By default, all beneficial experience falls within the extraction range."
"Damn, do you have to be this shady?"
Li Yu stared wide-eyed. By that explanation, so-called Jungle Survival Experience, along with skills like lurking and evasion, made no distinction between humans and beasts. What kind of experience was this? It was a massive trap!
When faced with a ferocious beast, experience said he should fly into the sky? But he didn't have wings! Or scare his opponent away with a roar? There was even something about urinating to mark out a hunting territory?
This kind of experience... It couldn't possibly be more of a rip-off.
"Don't let that kid Zhou Yi get himself killed. Hurry up and find a way to fix this."
Well, as a novice System Supplier, Li Yu had to admit that he lacked experience! A screw-up like this, a product quality issue, would directly damage his reputation!
Hadn't those grenade phones all been recalled? Products with quality problems had to be rectified. Li Yu felt that he ought to be a conscientious merchant, a moral merchant, a...
Roar...
Before Li Yu could adjust the product and improve its quality, trouble had already found Zhou Yi.
A gigantic python as thick as a water barrel and over thirty meters long came roaring toward him. The enormous crimson crest atop its head looked like blazing fire.
"A Crested Fire Python? This thing can spray Poisonous Liquid, and the crest on its head can release flames too."
When Zhou Yi saw the Crested Fire Python charging at him, his heart tightened, yet countless possible responses surfaced in his mind.
"Fly up and pounce from midair? Tear apart the crest on its head with claws? Leap straight at it and bite its vital spot? Grab its tail and smash it into the ground until it dies? What the hell are these ideas?"
The various thoughts flooding his mind instead disrupted Zhou Yi's own reactions. Only when the Crested Fire Python's fang-filled maw bit down at him did Zhou Yi let out a strange cry and roll aside to dodge the attack.
"Damn it!"
Frightened, furious, and anxious, Zhou Yi quickly drew the short sword Li Yu had given him and slashed at the Crested Fire Python.
A streak of silver light howled through the air.
Ding!
The spirit weapon of the Wheel and Sea Realm struck the giant python's neck, scattering sparks across its azure scales, but failed to harm the Crested Fire Python in the slightest.
"It can't even cut through its scales? Just how strong is this thing?"
Countless thoughts surfaced in his mind again. Some told him that the Crested Fire Python was easy prey, that he should catch it and eat it because it tasted pretty good. Others told him that it was not to be provoked and that he should run for his life.
"Fuck! What the hell is all this?"
Zhou Yi could not help cursing as he turned and ran.
Through the System connection, Li Yu clearly saw everything and clearly heard Zhou Yi's angry curses. Even with a face as thick as a wall, Li Yu felt a little embarrassed.
"Kid Zhou Yi, it's not that I'm trying to screw you over. The problem is, the system screwed me over too."
Li Yu shook his head and muttered, "This product had a problem, so I'll upgrade it for you free of charge. Mm, and... I'll give you a discount on your next exchange?"
Zhou Yi, fleeing for his life, had no idea that Li Yu was involved. If he found out, Li Yu's standing as Ancestor would probably...
"System, extract the experience again. From a human perspective, using Zhou Yi as the baseline, reconstruct all kinds of experience and skills."
The system instantly completed the extraction and reconstruction.
Looking at the newly refined experience skills in the system, Li Yu shook his head slightly. "This time, I was careless and didn't make the necessary improvements. Kid Zhou Yi, I'll help you solve the immediate problem first."
"System, connect to the Supreme Heavenly Book and update the exchange options for all experience skills."
"Heavenly Book Spirit, have Zhou Yi exchange for the one-time Six-Syllable Mantra skill. System, draw out a trace of the soul-destroying sound from the Soul-Shaking Bell and release it through this skill. Kill that snake."
Li Yu's string of commands was carried out instantly.
"Your Majesty, you may use your remaining Energy Points to exchange for the one-time 'Ba' Mantra from the Six-Syllable Mantra. It can kill this snake."
"Hm? Heavenly Book Spirit? You've booted up again?"
Zhou Yi scrambled and rolled away from a stream of fire shooting from the crest atop the Crested Fire Python's head. Part of his clothes had even been burned away. Hearing the Heavenly Book Spirit's voice suddenly, Zhou Yi froze for a moment.
"Exchange it! Exchange it!"
Although the Heavenly Book Spirit had tricked him once, now was clearly not the time to settle accounts. Zhou Yi knew what mattered and hurriedly told the Heavenly Book Spirit to begin the exchange.
"Exchange initiated."
An immense force surged into Zhou Yi's body, making him open his mouth and roar involuntarily.
Ba!
The tremendous sound shook the surrounding lands. An invisible wave swept out, and the fearsome Crested Fire Python shuddered all over before collapsing headfirst onto the ground.
"Whew! It's finally dead."
Zhou Yi patted his chest, felt his wildly pounding heart, and took a deep breath.
"Stay calm! Stay calm! I'm a man destined to become a Great Emperor. What does a little danger like this amount to?"
I'd like to recommend a friend's book, an urban novel called "Protagonist Chat Group." It's still new, but it's quite good. Anyone interested can check it out.