In the days that followed, Lin Mo endured a brutal test of willpower and taste.
Training could still improve his strength, but devouring Iron-Wire Snakes was pure torture. Five every day, without fail. Their tough meat reeked of rust and earth, and every swallow felt like a challenge to his body's limits.
On the third day, when the nauseating taste of the third Iron-Wire Snake filled his mouth again, Lin Mo nearly threw up on the spot. He stared at the two twisted snake carcasses left in the bowl, torn and wavering.
Give up... Why put yourself through this? You can get stronger by devouring other beasts' meat, too. It'll just take a little longer... a voice tempted him.
But another, firmer voice immediately shot back: Shut up! You've already eaten fifteen! If you quit now, all that suffering will have been for nothing! Think about [Tough Skin]! Think about how awesome it'll be to shrug off blades and spears! Go for it!
In the end, his desire for strength and stubborn refusal to give in overpowered his physical revulsion. He closed his eyes, as if facing a mortal enemy, and bit down savagely again, frantically activating his Devour Talent as though he could devour and refine the pain itself.
Day after day.
Train, eat snakes, train, eat snakes... His life seemed trapped in a monotonous, painful cycle. Wang Keke felt sorry for him and tried several times to suggest he change things up, but whenever she saw the pain in Lin Mo's eyes alongside his unshakable resolve, she swallowed her words.
Lin Mo had lost count of how many times he'd cursed those accursed Iron-Wire Snakes. He felt he was developing a phobia of snakes. Even things that looked like ropes reminded him of their awful texture and taste.
Until the fifteenth day.
As if going through the motions, filled with misery and numbness, he tore off the last piece of flesh from his seventy-fifth Iron-Wire Snake and forced it down—
Buzz!
A wave of heat unlike any he'd felt before suddenly burst from his stomach! It didn't spread through his body. Instead, as if guided by a living will, it surged toward his fur and every inch of skin beneath it!
Then a clear stream of information flowed into his mind:
[Analysis successful! Inherited talent: Tough Skin (Beginner)!]
Success!
Lin Mo jerked his head up. His amber tiger eyes, dimmed by so long a "sentence," suddenly blazed with light! All the pain, torment, and disgust seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by overwhelming joy!
Seventy-five! He'd eaten seventy-five Iron-Wire Snakes! He'd finally done it!
He couldn't wait to test his new talent.
He ran to the testing area of the training grounds, where various targets were set up to measure attack strength. Without using his claws or fangs, he slammed his flank into a wooden target studded with sharp spikes!
Thud!
A muffled impact rang out. The pain of torn flesh he'd expected never came. Instead, he felt a resilient resistance. The sharp wooden spikes struck his skin and fur as if they'd hit a dense layer of rubber. He felt only a slight jolt and a little pain; they hadn't even broken through his fur!
He tried lightly dragging a claw across his forearm. The force should have left a pale mark, if not a cut, but now it left only a faint scratch that quickly faded.
"Roar—!"
Lin Mo let out a delighted growl! It worked even better than he'd expected! Even at the beginner level, his defenses had improved by several orders of magnitude. Ordinary attacks from a Beast Soldier Rank beast would probably struggle to cause him any real harm!
Those fifteen days of hell had been worth it!
As he basked in the joy of his new talent, that annoying voice rang out again at the worst possible moment.
"Well, little Keke, still training your 'precious' battle pet with these lumps of wood?"
Wang Xiao swaggered over with his Iron-Claw Wolf, which had grown even larger and looked more vicious than before. The wolf seemed to have made great strides, too. Its aura had reached the mid-level of the Beast Soldier Rank, and its claws gleamed with a metallic sheen as it growled disdainfully at Lin Mo.
Wang Keke frowned. "Cousin Wang Xiao, what do you want now?"
"Nothing," Wang Xiao said, folding his arms and jerking his chin toward Lin Mo. "I just think some battle pets won't amount to much if all they do is eat and train against wooden targets. The tournament's coming up, and my Iron-Claw Wolf just broke through. It needs a sparring partner. How about letting your 'Mimi' take on my pup? Don't worry, I'll tell it to go easy. Your battle pet looks so... soft and delicate."
He put special emphasis on "soft and delicate," making the mockery unmistakable.
Before, Wang Keke might have refused outright to avoid pointless conflict and injuries. But now, looking at Lin Mo beside her—his confidence bolstered by his new talent, his gaze sharp—she thought of the doubts she'd heard from the family and suddenly felt an urge to accept.
She looked down at Lin Mo and asked softly, "Mimi, do you want to give it a try?"
Lin Mo looked up. There wasn't a trace of fear in his amber eyes. Instead, they burned with eagerness for battle. He'd been looking for somewhere to test [Tough Skin] in a real fight, and now this punching bag had come along on its own!
He growled and stepped forward, steady in his stance, his gaze fixed on the Iron-Claw Wolf.
"All right!" Wang Keke said, drawing a deep breath after receiving his answer. She turned to Wang Xiao. "We can spar, but let's keep it friendly!"
"Haha, don't worry!" Delighted that she'd accepted, Wang Xiao immediately gestured for the training-ground staff to clear an open space.
Some of the Wang family's young members who had been training nearby were drawn over, curious to watch the battle pets face off.
"Begin!" the guard acting as referee called.
"Awooo!" The Iron-Claw Wolf had been itching to fight. It drove off with its hind legs and shot toward Lin Mo like a gray-black bolt of lightning, rushing forward on a gust of foul breath! Its sharp claws aimed straight for Lin Mo's throat, moving with astonishing speed. It clearly intended to end the fight quickly and claim victory in one blow!
Everyone watching held their breath. Wang Keke clenched her fists, tense with worry.
Yet Lin Mo remained remarkably calm in the face of the rapid attack. Thanks to the balance his wings gave him and his human way of thinking in battle, he judged the wolf's trajectory the moment it sprang.
He didn't try to meet the attack head-on. Instead, he bent all four legs, powered through his waist, and beat his wings hard!
Whoosh!
His body glided lightly a short distance to the side and back, as though it weighed nothing, narrowly avoiding the Iron-Claw Wolf's sure-hit strike!
"What?!" Wang Xiao's pupils contracted. He hadn't seen the movement of Lin Mo's wings; all he knew was that Lin Mo had somehow dodged in the blink of an eye.
The Iron-Claw Wolf missed its pounce but reacted quickly. The moment it landed, it twisted around and swept a claw at Lin Mo's belly! The blow carried enough force to shatter stone!
This time, Lin Mo didn't dodge completely. He wanted to test [Tough Skin]!
He adjusted his angle and met the gleaming iron claws with his white-furred flank!
Screee—
A grating sound rang out!
The expected sight of torn flesh never came! The Iron-Claw Wolf's claws scraped across him as if they'd struck a layer of incredibly tough leather. They left several clear white marks and even tore out a few tufts of fur, but they couldn't break his skin!
"How is that possible?!" Wang Xiao cried out. He knew exactly how powerful his Iron-Claw Wolf's claws were!
The Iron-Claw Wolf paused, too. Its animal instincts told it that something was wrong.
And in the instant it hesitated, Lin Mo moved!
This was the opening he'd been waiting for!
The strength of a Beast Soldier Rank beast burst through him. His body sprang forward like a compressed spring released in an instant! He didn't use his claws. Instead, he slammed into the Iron-Claw Wolf and whipped his head around at the same time, smashing the hard part of his skull into the wolf's nose like a hammer!
"Whine—!"
The Iron-Claw Wolf let out a shrill cry. The bridge of its nose was a vulnerable spot for canines, and the direct blow left it seeing stars and streaming with tears. Its attack fell apart in an instant.
Lin Mo pressed his advantage, using the force of his charge to knock the Iron-Claw Wolf to the ground. He didn't bite down to kill, but his heavy paws struck the wolf's head, neck, and ribs with tremendous force, pounding down like raindrops!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The muffled impacts came one after another. The Iron-Claw Wolf struggled desperately, its claws raking wildly over Lin Mo, but they only left more useless white marks on his [Tough Skin], unable to inflict any real damage.
Every blow from Lin Mo's paws carried the strength of a Beast Soldier Rank beast. The Iron-Claw Wolf yelped incessantly. Soon, blood seeped from its nose and mouth, and it could no longer fight back.
The fight ended in a flash.
Lin Mo rose from the Iron-Claw Wolf and shook his slightly ruffled fur with a graceful flick. The entire area fell silent.
Everyone stared at the scene, dumbfounded. The white Winged Tiger they'd dismissed as "soft and delicate" and "all looks, no substance" stood proudly, completely unharmed. The Iron-Claw Wolf, famed for its ferocity and already at the mid-level of the Beast Soldier Rank, lay on the ground in a sorry heap, able only to whimper in pain.
Wang Xiao's face turned an ashen green, as though he'd just been slapped hard. He looked utterly humiliated.
Wang Keke ran over in delighted surprise and threw her arms around Lin Mo's neck. "Mimi! You were amazing!"
Lin Mo basked in Wang Keke's embrace, his eyes passing calmly over Wang Xiao's ashen face and the defeated Iron-Claw Wolf.
Not bad as a punching bag, just can't take a hit, he thought with a snort.
After this battle, no one in the Wang Family Manor would dare look down on him again!
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