Dried Meat

"A third-year student in the Martial Arts Department at Eighth High School..."

"He called the police the very first moment he reached safety after escaping the danger..."

"Knowing full well there were Ferocious Rats in the alley, he still risked staying nearby to warn off two pedestrians who were about to enter..."

Liang Wenbin looked up at Chen Mochuan, a look of approval appearing on his tense face as he clapped a hand firmly onto his shoulder:

"Good lad! You kept your cool in a crisis, showing both courage and wit. You did a fantastic job!"

He paused, seemingly feeling that verbal praise wasn't enough, and reached into a pocket close to his chest to pull something out.

"Thanks to your alertness and proper handling today, we avoided much more serious consequences... Take this. Consider it a small token of my personal gratitude."

Before Chen Mochuan could react, a cool, hard object was pressed into his hand. He instinctively wanted to decline: "Captain Liang, this is..."

But when he turned his head, Liang Wenbin's figure had already vanished into the flashing police lights.

Clutching the object in his hand, Chen Mochuan realized the man's mind was made up, so he could only tuck it away carefully.

Given that Chen Mochuan was a busy third-year student who had already given his statement and was no longer needed for the follow-up, an officer drove him back to the entrance of the Star Lake Residential District.

However, before he got out of the car, the officer specifically cautioned Chen Mochuan not to disclose what had happened that night to anyone else.

Chen Mochuan understood this; if the public knew there was still a Ferocious Beast on the loose, even if it were only a low-level Ferocious Rat, it would cause unnecessary panic.

At eight-thirty the next morning, Chen Mochuan woke up slowly.

Today was his day off. He hadn't returned home until nearly midnight the night before, and after a high-intensity training session followed by a life-or-death crisis, his body was depleted and in need of full recovery. Thus, he enjoyed a rare sleep-in without an alarm.

Just as he was putting on his clothes to head to the Mingxin Martial Arts Hall for training, he suddenly noticed a hard object in his pocket. He then remembered that he had been so exhausted upon returning the night before that he had shoved Liang Wenbin's gift into his pocket without taking a closer look.

Chen Mochuan pulled out the object; it was a metal box about half the size of his palm, cool to the touch.

Opening it, he found a square, crimson-red thin slice about three centimeters wide.

"Is this... dried meat?"

Chen Mochuan had expected some sort of martial arts resource like a Blood Qi Supplement, medicine, or a plaster, but he hadn't expected a piece of jerky.

However, a gift from a Martial Artist in the Inner Scene Realm couldn't possibly be anything ordinary, no matter how humble it appeared.

He focused his gaze and noticed a faint, reddish shimmer on the surface of the meat, which would have been impossible to spot without close inspection.

"It's Ferocious Beast meat... and of very high quality!"

Chen Mochuan's heart skipped a beat. As far as he knew, only the meat of a third-tier Ferocious Beast or higher contained enough Spirit Power to exhibit such a characteristic shimmer.

Ordinary Ferocious Rats were just the lowest-level, unranked Ferocious Beasts, while a third-tier Ferocious Beast possessed strength equivalent to a Martial Artist in the Inner Scene Realm.

Even though it was just a thin slice of jerky, it was an incredibly rare item for Chen Mochuan.

Ferocious Beast meat was extremely expensive; his parents only splurged on a piece of the lowest-grade, unranked meat during the Lunar New Year to celebrate.

This tiny slice of high-tier Ferocious Beast jerky was likely worth over ten thousand.

Most importantly, high-quality Ferocious Beast meat was an excellent supplement.

Suppressing his excitement, Chen Mochuan decided to skip his outing. He returned to his bedroom and took the jerky out of the box.

A faint, savory aroma drifted into his nostrils, instantly invigorating his spirit.

"In a novel, this would probably count as a heavenly treasure."

After carefully inspecting the jerky and feeling that there was nothing wrong with it, Chen Mochuan popped it into his mouth.

To his surprise, the texture wasn't dry or tough; it melted easily upon chewing and was soon swallowed.

Not long after, he felt a surge of warmth in his abdomen, slowly flowing toward his limbs and bones.

As this warmth spread throughout his body, the blood qi within him began to churn, his body temperature rose rapidly, his skin flushed red, and he felt an intense, feverish heat.

"It seems I overdid it..."

Chen Mochuan fought through the discomfort and immediately assumed the stance for the sixteenth form of the Root-Solidifying Stance, attempting to soothe the churning blood qi through his stance work.

But soon, Chen Mochuan realized that the impact of this tiny slice of jerky was even greater than the ten Blood Qi Supplements he had taken during his awakening.

His current mastery of the Root-Solidifying Stance was unable to properly channel the blood qi.

Under the impact of the restless blood qi, Chen Mochuan felt his body swelling—a sign that the blood qi was beginning to stagnate.

The continuous, pounding pressure of the blood qi made him extremely uncomfortable, and he nearly lost his stance.

He had never anticipated that such a thin slice of Ferocious Beast jerky could place such a burden on him. Ultimately, it was because his own strength was too weak to digest the energy contained within the meat.

However, he knew clearly that if his stance collapsed and the blood qi wasn't channeled, the situation would only get worse. He steeled his resolve, steadied his lower body, and struggled to maintain the Root-Solidifying Stance.

In this predicament, he suddenly remembered the terrifying devouring power that had appeared within his body on the night of his awakening.

Perhaps it was because this bodily memory was being triggered, but a thought suddenly surfaced clearly in his mind: "Spirit Devourer" was requesting to be unleashed!

Because of the unpleasant experience during his awakening where he was nearly drained dry, Chen Mochuan had strictly resisted using the power of "Spirit Devourer" on himself ever since, aside from absorbing martial arts spirit.

But at this moment, it was exactly the time for that terrifying devouring power to play its part.

Chen Mochuan hesitated no longer and immediately activated the ability of "Spirit Devourer," and the long-absent devouring force emerged once again within his body.

Spirit Devourer certainly did not disappoint him; acting like a highly efficient internal furnace, it began to gradually consume the stagnant Qi and blood, and the swelling pain and burning sensation throughout his body were easing bit by bit.

Fortunately, unlike when he first awakened, perhaps because the Ferocious Beast jerky contained enough energy to satisfy the needs of Spirit Devourer, that intense hunger stemming from primal survival instinct did not emerge.

This made Chen Mochuan breathe a sigh of relief, and he felt quite gratified as well.

As Spirit Devourer continued to exert its power, relevant information popped up on the golden light screen panel.

[You are fully immersed in your cultivation, gaining a deeper understanding of Root-Solidifying Stance.]

[Root-Solidifying Stance: Great Success (30%) → Great Success (31%)]

[You activated Spirit Devourer, efficiently absorbing the energy from the Boiling Blood Beast jerky; your Qi and blood have been stimulated, and your physical fitness has improved.]

[Qi and blood value: 3.71 → 3.72]

[Qi and blood value: 3.72 → 3.73]

Watching the lines of information regarding his stance technique and Qi and blood value constantly refreshing on the light screen, Chen Mochuan also noted the mention of the Boiling Blood Beast, knowing his guess was correct—the jerky indeed came from a Tier 3 Ferocious Beast.