Fight to the Death

"Alright, alright, I don't want to talk to you anymore. Carry the food inside. This is all to nourish your body. You're still young, so you need to eat more. That's the only way you'll grow tall and strong." After saying that, he found it a little strange himself. With that height, did he really still need to grow?

"Got it, Uncle Li." Qin Hao carried the food into the room on his own. Li Kang followed him inside.

Once inside, Qin Hao poured Li Kang a cup of water, while he himself started gnawing on the steamed buns Uncle Li had brought.

Seeing Qin Hao eat with such relish, Li Kang smiled as well.

As he ate, Qin Hao delightedly discovered that food could slowly increase his strength too. He began wolfing it down even more frantically.

"Little Hao, when did you become so strong? When I came to see you last month, you weren't this tall or this sturdy yet, were you?" Li Kang finally voiced his doubts.

"I don't know either. It's just that lately, I've been eating more, and my strength has grown too." Qin Hao spoke while chewing on a steamed bun.

"Could it be that you awakened some special physique? Otherwise, it would be impossible for you to change so much in just one month." Li Kang thought it over before speaking.

"Maybe." Qin Hao did not pay much attention to it. He simply kept stuffing himself, because after awakening his bloodline and cultivation technique, he had discovered that his stomach was like a bottomless pit. Even after eating several times more than usual, he did not feel the slightest bit full.

"Leave some for me, brat." He had only looked away for a moment, yet Qin Hao had nearly finished all the food he had brought. Li Kang had wanted to eat some too, but judging by Qin Hao's appetite, there was no way anything would be left for him.

He could only sit to the side and watch Qin Hao eat.

After a while, Qin Hao finally stopped. The food on the table had been swept clean. Li Kang asked, "Full?"

"Not full. My appetite has gotten bigger lately. No matter how much I eat, I can't get full." Qin Hao said helplessly.

Hearing that, Li Kang stared at him with a face full of black lines.

"You brat, it really looks like you may have awakened some kind of physique. That's why your appetite and strength have become so great."

With that, Li Kang stood up.

After thinking for a moment, he went to the door, slung Qin Hao's bow and arrows over himself, and said to Qin Hao,

"Come on. Let's go up the mountain and see if we can hunt some wild beasts to nourish you. Otherwise, I'm genuinely afraid you'll starve to death."

"Really? I'm still not full. Hehe, there'll be more to eat soon. Let's go, Uncle Li."

Hearing that Li Kang was taking him hunting, Qin Hao was delighted. Ever since awakening his bloodline, he had been constantly hungry. Right now, he needed to eat a great deal of food to fill his stomach.

Moreover, perhaps because of his awakened bloodline, eating could now increase his strength, though it was nowhere near as outrageous as advancing his cultivation technique.

Even that bit of food just now had added several pounds of strength to him. That was why Qin Hao needed to eat even more.

After thinking it over, Qin Hao followed Li Kang toward the hunting grounds used by the villagers of Mangshan Village.

On the way, Qin Hao did not idle around. He asked Li Kang roughly what level his strength was at. Body Tempering had no defined realms; it was generally judged by the amount of strength one possessed and the toughness of one's body.

"I don't know what level your strength is at either. I have over a thousand pounds of strength, but you caught it all with ease. That means your strength surpasses mine by far. At the very least, you have the strength of Qi Refining." Li Kang did not know Qin Hao's full strength. He could only analyze their earlier exchange and make a rough estimate.

"Qi Refining?"

Qin Hao thought about it. That morning, Qin Tianze had said that completing Body Tempering gave one roughly three thousand pounds of strength, while those exceptionally gifted could reach five thousand. He himself had over eight thousand three hundred pounds, which was about on par with Qi Refining.

Li Kang and Qin Hao chatted as they walked.

"You brat are truly lucky. Unable to cultivate, yet you were directly given a Body Tempering talent and easily reached a realm we could never attain in our lifetimes." Li Kang glanced at Qin Hao and said sourly. Still, he was happy for Qin Hao, after all, Qin Hao was his old friend's child.

"Hehe, Uncle Li, who are we to each other? Right? Hehe, I'll look after you from now on." Seeing that Li Kang had been struck by his strength, Qin Hao said with a grin.

Ever since Qin Hao's parents had passed away, Li Kang had always taken good care of him. Qin Hao was no ungrateful wretch; how could he not lend Li Kang a hand in the future?

Seeing Qin Hao like this, Li Kang smiled helplessly. "You brat, at least you have some conscience. Come on, or it'll be dark soon."

With that, the two hurried into the mountains at full speed.

Before long, Qin Hao and Li Kang arrived.

The two searched hard through the mountains for traces of wild beasts, but after searching for a long time, they found no large prey. They saw plenty of birds, but birds were too small—not even enough to fill the gaps between Qin Hao's teeth—so they were basically ignored.

"Ah, Uncle Li, we can't find anything. You know, these wild beasts and demon beasts are strange. When we aren't looking for them, they come running over to attack us. But when we look for them, we can't find them anywhere. Isn't that weird?" After searching for some time without results, Qin Hao sat on the ground and complained to Li Kang.

"You need patience in all things. Maybe they're waiting for a chance to ambush us too." No sooner had he spoken than Li Kang instantly fired the arrow in his hand behind them.

Qin Hao reacted swiftly as well and turned to look behind him.

A beast's roar shattered the forest's silence.

A beast covered in black fur appeared before Qin Hao. It had a horn growing from its head and resembled a big cat from his previous life. It weighed at least two hundred kilograms. The Unicorn Black Panther bared its fangs at Qin Hao, then bit out the arrow lodged in its body through the pain and glared viciously at them.

Before it could attack again, Li Kang fired another arrow. It shot straight through the Unicorn Black Panther's body.

The Unicorn Black Panther instantly lost all vitality and collapsed to the ground, its breath gone.

Li Kang stepped forward to inspect the Unicorn Black Panther. After checking for a while, he confirmed that it had already stopped breathing.

"Not bad luck. It's a Unicorn Black Panther, an ordinary wild beast. It should be enough to feed you for a while." As he spoke, he fired another arrow, finishing off the Unicorn Black Panther completely. To cultivators like Li Kang, ordinary wild beasts posed almost no danger.

Seeing the Unicorn Black Panther dead, Li Kang prepared to take the corpse with him. But at that moment, a black shadow shot toward him.

"Watch out, Uncle Li!" In the blink of an eye, Qin Hao slammed headfirst into the black shadow. It was sent flying at once, crashing through several trees before finally stopping.

Li Kang reacted quickly as well, firing an arrow at the shadow. But the arrow did not pierce through; its tough hide blocked it.

Only then did the two see clearly that it was a strange wolf-like creature with several scorpion tails.

Seeing the creature's appearance, Li Kang blurted out, "A Scorpion-tailed Wolf! And a Peak Tier 1 demon beast!"

"Run!" The moment he saw the Scorpion-tailed Wolf, Li Kang instinctively shouted.

The words had barely left his mouth when the Scorpion-tailed Wolf lunged at Li Kang. Its speed was too great; Li Kang had no choice but to raise both hands to block.

Bang! Li Kang was sent flying by a sweep of its tail. Qin Hao quickly caught him and slowly laid him on the ground, then fixed his gaze tightly on the Scorpion-tailed Wolf.

"Uncle Li, it looks like we won't be leaving so easily. Then let's see who's stronger." As he spoke, every muscle in Qin Hao's body bulged, and a terrifying aura rushed forward.

Seeing Qin Hao like that, Li Kang curled his lips into a faint smile. Looks like this brat didn't use his full strength at all when he fought me.

Li Kang simply watched quietly to see what Qin Hao would do. There was nothing else he could do; he no longer had the strength to stand. That tail strike had fractured his bones.