Voracious Appetite

In the dark street, Lin Ye sat down on the ground.

He breathed faintly, his gaze fixed on the paving stones in front of him.

"My combat experience is still too poor."

Although he had undergone special training in this life and could use the Soul Whale Fist skillfully, it had ultimately been nothing more than sparring without any danger to life.

But these Cat Puppets were different. They really were trying to kill him.

This was real combat. You could even call it a fight to the death.

In that kind of life-or-death struggle, adrenaline surged, his mindset shifted, and his movements went out of control, making it impossible for him to fully control his strength.

As a result, most of the time, he acted on instinct.

If he hadn't luckily discovered that the Cat-type Spider Puppet's weakness was its neck—and happened to have an iron rod—he might already have...

After a moment of silence, his heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

Looking at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand, he saw that, as expected, the number of illuminated scales had increased by another 13. It had now reached 65.

"Monument."

[Yin-Attracting Constitution (2/10)]

[Soul Whale Fist "First Layer" (30/100)]

[Potential Points: 3]

The gains were pretty good. He'd received three Potential Points, and his Soul Whale Fist experience had also increased by quite a bit.

One fight to the death was worth ten days of hard training.

It was just that the number of times he'd undergone the Yin-Attracting Constitution's baptism had also increased by one. This might make his body more attractive to certain things.

He put away the Monument and reached out to touch the wounds on his chest from the Cat Puppet's claws. A faint numbness slowly spread.

Looking at his arm, he saw four circular wounds, slightly blackened and accompanied by a numb sensation.

Lin Ye frowned slightly as he looked at the wounds.

When he saw the Cat-type Spider Puppet's eyes, which looked like a zombie's, he'd guessed those freakish things might be poisonous.

But fortunately, the poison didn't seem very potent.

Using the wall for support, he stood up and glanced back at the ancient four-legged bronze cauldron. Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

Beside the bronze cauldron lay the corpse of a Cat Puppet. It was the very one he'd torn in half with his own hands!

[Achievement Triggered: Voracious Appetite.]

[Achievement Description: You really are a greedy little thing.]

[Unlock Condition: Consume one type of "food ingredient" (Incomplete)]

[Achievement Rewards]

1. Yin-Attracting Constitution +1

2. Ability—Desire of Gluttony

Ability Description: One of the innate traits of the Yin-Attracting Constitution. Grants the ability to define "food ingredients" and gain certain improvements by consuming them.

The black words before him scattered in the wind. Lin Ye's heart tightened, and he hurriedly looked toward the Cat Puppet's corpse.

[Food Ingredient Name: Cat-type Spider Puppet]

[Food Ingredient Category: Flowing Shadow Monstrosity]

[Food Ingredient Rank: Mortal Rank]

[Edible Part: Heart]

[Consumption Effect: Slightly increases Strength, Constitution, and Agility. Temporarily improves self-healing ability.]

Seeing the words appear above the Cat-type Spider Puppet's body, Lin Ye looked excited.

This was practically an alternative kind of potion!

His gaze passed over the bronze cauldron and turned toward the depths of Dark Street. The deep darkness stretched beyond sight.

He wondered whether that giant half-human spider had this kind of "food ingredient" inside its body too.

He hurried forward, ignoring the Cat Puppet's corpse beside the bronze cauldron as he scanned the surroundings to see if he'd missed any other Cat Puppet corpses.

After looking around, he shook his head regretfully. If only he'd known, he would've dug out a few more hearts back in the Land of Flowing Shadows.

He looked at the words above the Cat Puppet's corpse.

By comparison, the Monument's explanation was more straightforward than a potion's. It directly used four-dimensional attributes to represent the effects.

And... his gaze fell on the words "Mortal Rank."

Previously, he'd only suspected the existence of the supernatural, but now he could be almost certain.

If there was a "Mortal" rank, then there had to be a "Supernatural" rank!

For no particular reason, a wave of heat rose in his chest, making his whole body feel a little flushed.

He looked at the corpse. Among the scattered organs, one heart was so red that it was almost black.

Strangely, though, there was no blood among the organs. They looked as if they'd been rinsed with clean water.

He bent over, pinched the heart, and tugged hard.

The heart came off with ease.

The next moment, black mist surged from the Cat-type Spider Puppet's corpse, and its body slowly dissolved as the mist drifted away.

Looking at the heart in his hand, he could even feel its warmth.

An indescribable hunger rose from his stomach, making him swallow involuntarily.

[Food Ingredient Name: Spider Puppet Heart]

[Food Ingredient Category: Yin-Qi Polymer]

[Food Ingredient Rank: Mortal Rank]

[Edible Part: Entire Item]

[Consumption Effect: Slightly increases Strength, Constitution, and Agility. Temporarily improves self-healing ability.]

Lin Ye smiled at the words before him.

The description had changed, but the consumption effect hadn't. That meant it was still the same thing.

The Monument was more considerate than he'd expected. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about missing "food ingredients" just because he didn't have a complete corpse.

He swallowed and looked at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand. It had 65 illuminated scales, which gave him a sense of urgency.

But after a few seconds of silence, he decided to try eating it.

This was a different way to improve himself, unlike potions.

Since taking potions and unlocking achievements increased the number of illuminated scales, he wasn't sure he could improve enough to stand against that monster before entering the Church again.

But if eating "food ingredients" didn't increase the number of illuminated scales, then perhaps he could improve his physical attributes by consuming large quantities of "food ingredients"!

This might be the key to dealing with the monster in the Church!

That monster had made him feel far too much pressure.

It wasn't psychological fear. He wasn't afraid of that monster.

But that monster really could make his body tremble with a shudder that came from the instincts of his very genes.

It was too clear, that feeling of pressure was too clear. It was almost as if something were pressing down on him, leaving his body unable to obey him.

He had no choice. He could only take the gamble!

Besides, if he didn't unlock this ability, the "Yin-Attracting Constitution" might be affected too.

Although he still didn't know exactly what this constitution did, "Desire of Gluttony" had already appeared. Who knew what other abilities might appear in the future?

He didn't hold back, and didn't bother cooking it either. He simply bit into it raw.

The heart wasn't very big, only about half the size of his fist. He finished it in two or three bites.

Immediately, a wave of heat spread from his stomach, flowing into every corner of his body.

About half a minute later, Lin Ye looked at his arm. The wounds had healed, leaving only the faintest traces of slightly lighter-colored skin.

His gaze moved slowly and settled on the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 63... 64... 65.

The number hadn't increased.

"Whew—"

He tilted his head back slightly and breathed out a hot stream of air. It felt as if a massive stone had been lifted from his shoulders.

He looked at the Monument.

[Strength: 0.65]

[Agility: 0.56]

[Constitution: 0.59]

All three attributes had increased by 0.01. The effect was a little weaker than a potion's, but this was only raw material, after all, without the complicated preparation involved in making a potion.

"I wonder if I can make a potion with these food ingredients? Would it work even better?"

He thought about it and gently shook his head.

At the moment, he was only a "Potion Apprentice" and had just a basic understanding of potions.

He couldn't even figure out the principles behind how potions were prepared. All he could do was follow the methods recorded in potion recipes.

He guessed that Elementary Potionology Notes probably only recorded some potion ingredients and recipes. It might not even include any guidelines for potion preparation.

But if he could get his hands on more advanced potion books in the future, perhaps he'd have a chance to make potions using "food ingredients."

Gathering his thoughts, he looked at the lower half of the Monument.

After a moment of silence, he decided to use one opportunity to unlock this achievement.

The ability "Desire of Gluttony" was too important. It might even become the foundation for improving his strength from now on.

"Monument, unlock the achievement."