Growth

19.9%!

This was Wang Wu's overall Growth Rate at this moment.

Basking in the sunlight, he suddenly felt the urge to break free of his cocoon and become a butterfly. There was no need for precise measurements now—he really had grown a little.

He was not sure about his weight, but his height had probably increased by two centimeters, and his body length by around two centimeters as well. He could tell from the jagged stone protrusions in the rock crevice.

He could also clearly feel his strength increasing. He ran and jumped with more power, and his claws had become harder and sharper.

Yet none of this was reflected in his attributes. He figured he needed that final 0.1% of Growth Rate.

Wang Wu was not in a hurry. It was dusk now. With the incessant rain gone and the mist dispersed, the valley had regained its usual bustle and vitality.

The swathes of shrubs seemed even lusher. Over the past few days, they had grown taller and denser, while wild grass everywhere flaunted itself and swayed in the wind.

More interestingly, the shrubs had actually bloomed with little white flowers. Their faint fragrance drifted on the breeze, utterly intoxicating.

And where there were flowers, naturally there would be flower thieves!

A buzzing sound approached. A squad of Armed Wild Bees was gathering nectar. They were as large as human thumbs, with golden fuzz, powerful wings, and deliberately exposed venom stingers that gleamed with icy menace. Even the flocks of Little Red Birds pretended not to see them.

In fact, all the Sprites in the valley treated this squad of Armed Wild Bees as though they were thin air, even though they were not native residents of the valley.

Mm, Good Neighborly Relations, peaceful coexistence—we were all Sprites who loved peace!

Hiding in the rock crevice, Wang Wu watched them enviously. His instincts told him this squad of Armed Wild Bees was formidable and not to be provoked. One misstep, and he might draw an enormous army of Armed Wild Bees...

He could only hope they were just passing through.

The afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded. A few white clouds drifted lazily across the pale blue canopy of the sky, and the faint outlines of several stars could already be seen.

The shadow cast by the towering Snow Mountain to the west was like the Great Devil King's cloak, whooshing down to cover everything...

"Now!"

Wang Wu suddenly shot out of the rock crevice like an arrow loosed from its bow. Never had he felt himself run so fast. The wind howled, whispering tenderly around his ears, like the Sprites he had subdued...

Mm, he had come out to snatch Gray Rat corpses.

During the day, intimidated by the Flame Scorpion King's might, no Sprite had dared come here to scavenge. But now that night had fallen, that was another matter.

"Whoosh!"

A gust swept over his head, accompanied by the sound of beating wings. A corpse Wang Wu had been just about to seize was snatched a step ahead of him by a large bat.

Damn it!

He immediately changed direction, only to find that heroes really did think alike. There were so damn many Sprites with their eyes on the corpses.

Wang Wu even spotted several Grass-top Flyer spiders, bouncing about with astonishing agility!

At least a hundred Sprites of every color and kind had rushed out at this moment.

They really had no respect for the name of the Gray Rat Knights.

Still, Wang Wu ultimately seized two corpses. Along the way, he smacked to death two Wandering Mantis Swordsmen who did not know their own limits. Damn it, your shadows were everywhere.

After the scramble, the valley resumed its fresh slaughter and rhythm. Many Sprites cried themselves hoarse, busy breeding offspring. After several days of unbroken rain, there was more food, better weather, a better environment, and more exuberant life.

But there were far fewer sounds of Gray Rat Knights pattering about on patrol tonight. Sigh, he rather missed them.

After dinner, Wang Wu swiftly entered Level 5 Stealth and soon drifted into dreamland.

Sleeping did not conflict with his Level 5 Stealth. He did not know how he managed it, but perhaps it was simply an innate talent.

Yet tonight, Wang Wu unexpectedly had a dream. In it, he punched White-Haired Rats and kicked the Scorpion King, successfully climbing to the cliff-top throne. For a time, his splendor was unmatched. But he became too smug, accidentally fell off the cliff, and jolted awake in an instant, covered in cold sweat.

But after waking, he suddenly discovered that his Growth Rate had successfully surpassed 20%, and even his attribute panel had been fully refreshed.

When he examined it closely, he was overjoyed.

He had never imagined that once his Growth Rate reached 20%, all his basic attributes would rise by one level across the board.

His Health Points had increased from 100 to 110.

His Stamina Points had also risen from 100 to 110.

His Strength had changed from 5 to 6.

His Agility had changed from 2 to 3.

His Defense had risen from 8 not long ago to 9.

Even the upper limit of his Satiety had increased to 350.

Everything else remained unchanged. In particular, the Bloodline Evolution at the bottom of his attribute panel was still at 10%, grayed out in an inactive state. He had no idea what conditions were needed to trigger it.

"So, if I can raise my Growth Rate to 100%, that means I can gain another 40 Health Points, 40 Stamina Points, 4 Strength, 4 Agility, and 4 Defense."

Wang Wu pondered it. At first glance, it seemed rather exaggerated, but on closer thought, it was perfectly reasonable.

He was currently equivalent to a human infant. The next stage would be equivalent to a human toddler.

Especially since he himself was a cub of an Ancient Giant Bear.

When a human infant grew into a toddler, the changes were earth-shaking.

Let alone a bear.

But then, a problem arose.

Because the laws governing the development of all things had their own logic. Even in the Cultivation World, this law had to be followed.

That was, this bear could not possibly have unlimited opportunities to grow.

For him to grow from infancy into childhood and naturally become stronger was only right.

But then he would grow from childhood into adolescence, from adolescence into youth, then adulthood, and finally old age.

Counting it all up, there could be at most six stages of growth.

If he merely grew step by step, then even if he ultimately became a qualified adult Ancient Giant Bear, what meaning would that have?

Standing still was basically the same as falling behind.

At that thought, Wang Wu looked once more at a special attribute in his panel: Extra Growth Rate.

He had obtained it after collecting Normal Snake Venom Resistance (5/5).

"So this Extra Growth Rate should be the key to my surpassing the limits of growth. It may also be the key to activating Bloodline Evolution."

"Whether that's true or not will depend on what happens after I collect both Ice Resistance and Fire Resistance."

Wang Wu fell into thought, then made a somewhat aggressive decision. He could not farm Ice Resistance for the time being, but Fire Resistance was right at hand—the moon was the first to shine on a terrace nearest the water.

Especially now that the Flame Scorpion King was all alone. If he did not take this chance to tug the tiger's whiskers, then when would he?

Added to that, after the fierce battles of the past few days, the Scorpion King could not possibly be at peak condition. With one side waning and the other waxing, it was worth taking the risk to farm some Fire Resistance.

Dawn was approaching outside. He did not try to rest again, instead running from the rock crevice and beginning to climb the cliff. Unlike his usual cautiousness, he moved swiftly this time. Before long, he reached the first ledge of the cliff, ten meters above the ground.

But before he could look around from this height and enjoy the valley's scenery from above, a fireball clearly much weaker than before—only half the size of a human head—came raging toward him.

Wang Wu did not even dodge. He took it head-on.

"Boom!"

The sound was like thunder. Wang Wu instantly turned into a fireball and rolled straight down the cliff.

What bliss!