How the Crocodile King Was Forged

A crocodile was getting beaten. Relying on its large size, the fellow had actually tried to seize Su He's sunning rock.

How could that be allowed?

Su He had already given up on being the Turtle King. No turtle would listen to him, and since turtles could not make sounds, Su He could not understand whatever objections they had.

He was going to be the Crocodile King.

Anyone who tried to steal the Crocodile King's sunning rock was bound to get beaten.

This was a Giant crocodile fully two and a half zhang long. Su He had not been able to defeat it a few days ago, so they had kept out of each other's way. Su He had originally wanted to live in peace for another month.

But now it had come to seize his sunning rock. He could not back down.

To tame the Crocodile Pack, he first had to establish an invincible image. This Old Crocodile had touched his Bottom Line.

Su He tucked in his head and Dodged the crocodile's Tear and Bite. His four claws paddled furiously as he shot forward like an arrow, clamping down on its tail. He swam swiftly, dragging Old Crocodile out of the pack. Riding the momentum of his charge, he paddled, twisted, and swung his body.

Pia!

He used all his strength to swing Old Crocodile in a full circle and slam it onto the water's surface. Su He had never lacked food these past days, and his strength had steadily grown. With the burst of buoyancy, he could now swing a thousand-jun Old Crocodile.

The prerequisite was controlling its tail.

Old Crocodile instantly lost consciousness, floating stiffly on the water. The crocodiles watching nearby immediately retreated, Leaving Out an empty patch.

Their gazes towards Su He were all filled with terror.

Very good. The first step of taming them was to beat them into complete submission. He would blend fear into the Bottom of their Hearts, making them afraid to harbor even the slightest thought of resistance.

Even if Su He fell asleep, entered hibernation, or vanished for a long time, the shadow of that fear would remain in their hearts.

Old Crocodile remained unconscious for a full seven or eight breaths—turtle breaths—before slowly coming to. The moment it Opened its Eyes, it saw Su He's condescending gaze, wild dominance flashing in his turtle eyes.

"Get lost! The sunning rock is mine!"

Su He let out a babyish cry, sending over a thought.

Old Crocodile seemed to have truly understood, or perhaps it was simply afraid. It twisted its tail and fled, burrowing into the Crocodile Pack and never daring to emerge again.

Su He slowly climbed onto the sunning rock, sprawling over it with all four limbs spread wide.

These past few days, he had grown increasingly fond of basking in the sun. This year's climate was unusual, yet the broad trend had not changed. The temperature was beginning to fall.

Fruits of every color along the shore had begun to redden and ripen, releasing tempting fragrances.

Autumn had arrived early. In previous years, Su He would have had at most another month before needing to hunt voraciously, storing energy for hibernation.

By his calculations, he could finish digesting the Demon Transformation Fruit just before hibernation this year. By then, he could Transform into Human—probably?

Su He suddenly felt uneasy. He was no longer sure.

Over these Two Months, he could clearly sense his own evolution, yet there was not the slightest sign of demon transformation!

That Green Snake he had encountered more than twenty days ago had long mastered Demon Arts and could exhale mist. Yet Su He still showed no sign whatsoever of mastering Demon Arts.

The only benefit the Demon Transformation Fruit had brought was his body's constant evolution. His shell and skin had become Even More resilient, and his strength had grown greater and greater.

Demon Arts—he had not mastered a single one.

When I Transform into Human, could I turn out to be some iron-brained fool waving an eight-hundred-jin Drum Beating Golden Hammer? The thought stuck in Su He's Bottom of Heart like a thorn.

He even found himself seized from time to time by a bad premonition, always feeling that he would not be able to transform into a demon or take human form.

It felt like checking his National College Entrance Examination results in his previous life, watching the webpage spin as it refreshed.

Or like confessing to the goddess, in that instant before waiting for her to speak.

Caught between hope and fear.

Su He abruptly plunged his head into the water and shook it fiercely, tossing away all stray thoughts. He raised his head, pressed a crocodile beneath the surface with one claw, and stole its Water Bird.

Second step of taming: when there was food, the king ate first, no matter who had caught the prey.

Third point: quantity.

By the time that crocodile surfaced, Su He had already torn off the Water Bird's plumpest rump and thrown it three dead birds without rumps.

The crocodile was dumbfounded. Only after confirming that the birds thrown over were ones that tyrant turtle would not eat, that they had been given to it, did it cautiously swallow them, trying not to make the slightest splash.

Su He patrolled the Crocodile Pack, brutally beating up two crocodiles that could not bear being beaten and had tried to sneak away, then driving them back. He then forcibly seized the prey of every crocodile that had made a catch, tore off the fattest parts, and threw back double the amount—except for those with Quality Improvement.

After one round of patrol, Su He was stuffed again.

He was fourteen-tenths full. He could not swallow another bite.

Su He returned to the sunning rock once more and sprawled there lazily.

The day passed quietly. The Golden Crow Fell to Earth, and a new moon climbed over the cliffs.

This Time, it should have been the beginning of the lunar month. The crescent moon was a faint, shallow curve. Combined with the weather, Su He estimated it was probably early September on the lunar calendar.

Based on the climate and vegetation, Su He estimated Listening Sea Lake's location. If compared to China from his previous life, it was probably around Hubei and Hunan—if the vegetation patterns of the Profound Wilderness Realm matched those of China.

Of course, this was merely an analogy. The two worlds certainly could not be mentioned in the same breath.

According to the Slovenly Old Daoist's drunken ramblings, Azure Origin Sect's territory alone spanned a radius of ten thousand li. Yet Azure Origin Sect was not even a major sect. Sects like it might not have been as numerous as cow hairs, but there were still a hundred or so.

How vast must the entire Profound Wilderness Realm be? The laws of the two worlds were decisively different. Otherwise, in a world this large, gravity would be who knew how many tens of thousands of times Earth's. Wouldn't everyone from here become Superman upon going to Earth? Su He lay on the sunning rock, Gazing At the stars overhead, listening to the clamor of autumn insects and the Beast Roar Sounds rising and falling from the distant Mountain Forest. His hearing had grown Even More acute lately; he could hear the howls of wolves ten li away with perfect clarity.

The beasts of the Mountain Forest were busy through the night—fleeing for their lives, slaughtering one another, blood, delicacies...

Both turtles and crocodiles were nocturnal creatures, but Su He had eaten too much during the day and could not eat anymore. He only symbolically seized the crocodiles' food, ate the choicest portions, then rewarded them with double.

As this went on, nighttime became a feast for the old crocodiles. Of the hundred-plus crocodiles, not one truly went hungry; each had more or less gotten food into its belly.

Su He was stuffed beyond stuffed. At last, when dawn came, he laboriously sprawled atop the sunning rock and drifted off in a haze.

When he woke, the sky was dark and overcast.

At some point, rain had begun falling again. It was not heavy, but the Sky Color was dim, and the lowered temperature made turtles too lazy to move. Perhaps because they had overeaten last night, few crocodiles hunted today. They all stood in the water, sleeping drowsily.

Every one of them behaved properly. No crocodile dared climb onto Su He's sunning rock. Su He had no chance to display the aura of a king.

He swished his tail and swam down into the water, heading toward the stretch of water where he had encountered Green Snake that day.

A lake, a light rain, and a giant turtle paddling through the water. The giant turtle was black as ink, yet crystalline and translucent, carrying something of the flavor of a Wuxia World. If there had been an ancient bridge behind it, and someone flying past in Mid-air with Sword Control, the mood would have been even stronger.

The place where he had encountered Green Snake was not far away, and he arrived shortly. But the water's surface was tranquil, disturbed only by fine raindrops. Su He stayed still in the water, flaring his nostrils and drawing in a long breath.

Turtles had keen senses of smell.

Though they could not compare with softshell turtles, they were still far better than humans, especially since his recent evolution had improved every aspect of his bodily functions. Su He felt that his Sense of Smell had grown Even More sensitive.

That was why he had recently preferred staying underwater. Above the surface, he still found it difficult to adapt to the pungent odors and chaotic sounds.

All kinds of scents mingled in the wind and rain, but there was no trace of that snake's Demon Transformation Fruit scent.

Su He considered it, then swam in the direction Green Snake had fled that day. When startled, animals instinctively fled toward their nests. The snake den should be in this direction.

Su He wanted to find Green Snake.

Not to cause trouble, merely to see how Green Snake had mastered Demon Arts. They had both eaten Demon Transformation Fruit, so why was he being Treated with such discrimination? After swimming four or five li, a faint fishy snake smell entered his Nasal Cavity. Su He identified the direction and swam toward where the scent came from. After only another two or three li, he occasionally saw Watersnakes moving about.

Farther ahead lay the shallows. The snake den was on shore, in a secluded lakeside valley. This environment suited snakes better—though in truth, it suited turtles quite well too.

Green Snake's faint Demon Transformation Fruit scent had already drifted out on the wind. It was fainter than when they had last met. An Ordinary Wild Beast that had not eaten a Demon Transformation Fruit would probably no longer be able to distinguish it.

The snake demon was basically safe now.

Within the valley, Green Snake, coiled around the Old Willow Tree, abruptly raised her head. Her Snake Tongue flicked rapidly.

She sensed the scent of a Demon Transformation Fruit, far richer than her own. Accompanying that scent was a faint trace of water vapor.

It was that turtle! Here to seize territory? Green Snake's killing intent surged.