He respects me one foot, I repay him ten feet!

Heavy snow filled the sky, a cold wind howling.

Inside the dilapidated houses of Shuanglin Village.

Su Mo lit a fire and began to cook meat. Perhaps because his body had been strengthened by the Beast Talent Trait, he was hungry again. He cut three jin of pure meat from the Green Wolf, skinned two wild rabbits, and threw everything into the pot to stew, sprinkling in a small amount of dry salt.

Once the meat was cooked, Su Mo began to feast. In just a short while, the three jin of Green Wolf Meat and the two wild rabbits were completely devoured. His appetite was so enormous that even he found it astonishing.

"After eating all this meat, that familiar warm sensation seems to have appeared again."

What surprised Su Mo was that after finishing the meat, a warm current surged inside his body once more. Although it wasn't as intense as the warmth he felt when acquiring the Beast Talent Trait, his physique was still subtly improving and strengthening.

At this moment, his strength was already enough to easily draw the Beast Hide Great Bow to three-fifths of its full pull. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could fully draw the bow, and the arrow he loosed then would be incredibly formidable.

This was because it was a Three Stone Great Bow. To pull it completely, one needed at least three hundred jin of physical strength.

As Su Mo's physical power increased, his appetite naturally grew as well.

He cut off the entire hind right leg of the Green Wolf, a good ten-plus jin of meat, and took the remaining wild rabbit out of the house. He planned to give this meat to Uncle Chen Shan.

Uncle Chen Shan's family of five—two children, two adults, and an elderly person—was struggling. With hunting poor in the mountains these days, they weren't getting by well.

Just as he reached Uncle Chen Shan's door, he heard arguing from inside.

"Chen Shan, you're something else! After half a month, you finally managed to catch a wild rabbit in the mountains, and you still want to give a leg to Su Mo? All the meat is on the leg! What are the people in this family supposed to eat?"

"Cui Hua, Su Mo's prey was robbed by the Black Wind Stockade a few days ago, and he was beaten up too. If he doesn't eat something, he'll starve to death in this freezing weather."

"I know, I know Su Mo is a good kid. His father was your good brother back then. I don't complain about you helping him. I'm just angry! Our two kids are growing up, and you go hunting every day without even a scrap of meat. Can your body take it?"

"It's fine, I can handle it. If the kids have no meat, I'll go hunting again tomorrow..."

Su Mo stood at Uncle Chen Shan's door, hearing Aunt Zhang Cuihua's complaints. She was arguing with Uncle Chen Shan, all because he had secretly brought a rabbit leg to Su Mo earlier.

Looking at the Green Wolf meat and wild rabbit in his hands, Su Mo couldn't help but sigh. Life was hard in this world!

He raised his hand and knocked on the door. The arguing inside stopped, and then Aunt Zhang Cuihua opened it. Seeing Su Mo standing outside, she froze, clearly realizing he must have heard what she said inside.

But before she could react, Su Mo spoke softly, "Aunt, take this meat and eat it."

After handing all the meat to the stunned Zhang Cuihua, Su Mo turned to leave.

"Husband, something's wrong! Su Mo came to bring us meat!"

Only then did Aunt Zhang Cuihua snap out of it. Staring at the ten-plus jin of Green Wolf hind leg and rabbit meat in her hands, she hurriedly shouted for Chen Shan to come out.

Chen Shan, unaware that Su Mo had arrived, heard his wife's loud voice and rushed out. Seeing so much meat in her hands, he was startled at first, then his expression turned serious as he said:

"Take all this meat back. I won't have it!"

As he spoke, he pulled Su Mo into the house. It was too cold outside—snow and ice, with a biting wind. Inside, Zhang Cuihua, still holding the meat, quickly tried to return it to Su Mo.

With this meat, plus Chen Shan's hunting, if they rationed carefully, it would be enough to last through the winter. But she didn't hesitate, intending to make Su Mo take it all back.

However, Su Mo just shook his head slightly, urging Aunt Zhang Cuihua to keep the meat and cook it for the children.

This gesture made Zhang Cuihua, who had been complaining moments before, feel a bit ashamed.

"Uncle Chen Shan, Aunt, I got lucky when I went into the mountains earlier. I caught an injured Green Wolf with an Animal Trap. Don't worry, I still have meat at home—enough to eat."

Seeing that Uncle Chen Shan and his wife absolutely refused, Su Mo explained half-truthfully, telling them not to worry, that he had plenty of meat. At the same time, he glanced inside the house, where two little ones were being looked after by an elderly woman. Meeting Su Mo's gaze, the old woman smiled kindly—this was Uncle Chen Shan's mother.

The two little ones were Uncle Chen Shan's sons, both young—one six, the other eight. Seeing Su Mo, they both called out, "Brother Su Mo."

Su Mo smiled too, patting the two kids on the head.

Chen Shan watched Su Mo, a hint of emotion in his eyes. This kid had grown up.

Actually, Su Mo wasn't old. He was only eighteen this year.

"Su Mo, have you ever heard of Martial Artists?"

After a while, during their chat, Chen Shan seemed to recall something and asked.

Martial Artists?

Su Mo shook his head. He didn't know. From his memories, he had never left Qingliang Mountain in over a decade. The farthest he'd been was Qingshan Town, twenty-some li from the village, so naturally, he knew nothing about Martial Artists in this world.

Chen Shan continued, "It's not strange that you don't know about Martial Artists. They're incredibly strong—one punch can kill a Fierce Beast. They have power and strength far beyond ordinary people, standing high above. Grandma Li next door has a grandson named Li Xian, about your age. A few years ago, he followed some relatives out of our Shuanglin Village to a town outside. You know about that, right? Word is, Li Xian is now a Martial Artist."

"Villagers say that Grandma Li's grandson, Li Xian, will be returning to Shuanglin Village soon."

Su Mo was surprised. He had guessed Martial Artists were strong, but he hadn't expected them to be this powerful. Fierce Beasts were far beyond ordinary wild animals.

Grandma Li next door had often helped him out with food in the past. Her grandson Li Xian—they had been playmates as kids, so of course he knew him.

He just hadn't expected that the other had now become a renowned Martial Artist.

The reason Chen Shan brought this up was simple: he wanted Su Mo to be sharp. When Li Xian returned, maybe he could get a chance to go outside and train to become a Martial Artist. Even if he couldn't become one, learning a few moves would still be remarkable.

Because Shuanglin Village was right next to Qingliang Mountain, and in Qingliang Mountain lurked the Black Wind Stockade—a band of vicious bandits and mountain thieves. Even though the villagers were hunters, they were no match for the Black Wind Stockade.

Every year, the Black Wind Stockade came down the mountain to collect taxes and steal food. If they didn't get it, they'd beat people up, or even kidnap the women and children and take them up the mountain. The people in the surrounding villages hated the Black Wind Stockade to the bone, but they were also terrified of them.

Because it was said there were Martial Artists inside the Black Wind Stockade.

That was the reason they could run rampant and unchecked around Qingliang Mountain.

After chatting a bit more with Uncle Chen Shan, Su Mo left.

After leaving Uncle Chen Shan's place, Su Mo prepared to head home. But just as he turned a corner on the snowy village path, he ran into an elderly woman dressed plainly, her face lined with kind wrinkles.

"Su Mo, heading home?"

"Yes, Grandma Li."

"Here, I just steamed these corn cakes. Take them home and eat."

In the old woman's bowl were two steaming corn cakes, clearly fresh from the pot. This was Grandma Li from next door, and her grandson was the Martial Artist Li Xian.

Grandma Li knew that Su Mo had run into the Black Wind Stockade people on Qingliang Mountain, had his prey stolen, and had been beaten. The village was short on food now, and all she could offer were these freshly steamed corn cakes.

Su Mo tried to refuse, but Grandma Li insisted he take them. In the end, he had no choice but to eat the two corn cakes.

But afterward, he went straight home, cut off three jin of meat, and brought it to Grandma Li.

If others respected him an inch, he would return a yard!

Over the next few days, Su Mo didn't go into the mountains to hunt. Instead, he ate the Green Wolf Meat, quietly tempering his body while honing his archery.

His archery had now reached Minor Success. With his increased strength, he handled the Beast Hide Great Bow more and more naturally, and his skill advanced by leaps and bounds. Before long, he would even reach Proficiency.

[Sword Skill Archery: Entry Level, Minor Success, Proficiency, Major Success, Perfection!]

Su Mo could now draw the Beast Hide Great Bow four-fifths of the way. With his Minor Success archery, he could precisely shoot any prey within twenty meters with a single arrow. His mastery of the bow was no worse than that of veteran hunters with decades of experience.

Whether it was because of the Ancient Profound Pearl inside him or because he had crossed over, his comprehension was terrifyingly sharp.

But whether he had the bone talent to become a Martial Artist—that, he had no way of knowing.

"There's not much Green Wolf Meat left at home. Looks like I'll have to go back into the mountains to hunt!"

After several days of consumption, Su Mo's physical strength had increased again, but the Green Wolf Meat was running low. He ate at least five or six jin of pure meat every day—that was also the obvious reason for his rapid strength gains.