It was Bai Chuan's third day searching for electric eels.
At dawn, dense white mist shrouded the forest, as if draping it in a sheer veil.
A black serpent slithered along the riverbank, appearing and disappearing in the mist.
It was none other than Bai Chuan, who had been searching all night.
Unfortunately, although he had learned about electric eels' habits in his previous life, theory sometimes fell far behind practice.
And so, after searching for days and expending countless amounts of energy, Bai Chuan had found absolutely nothing.
Thankfully, Heaven rewarded the diligent. On the morning of the third day, he had finally found one.
"This wasn't easy. At last, I've found you."
Bai Chuan gazed into the murky water, where the electric eel was barely visible, and sighed to himself.
This was no longer the great river he had started searching in, but one of its tributaries.
He glanced at the rippling water but didn't go in. Instead, he turned to look into the forest.
Before long, he spotted a monkey in a tree. Lowering his head, he began to climb toward it in silence.
Drawing on his greatly enhanced speed, which far surpassed that of an ordinary snake, Bai Chuan once again caught the monkey before it could react. He bit down and then clamped it firmly in his Sharp Claws.
To be honest, ever since Bai Chuan had evolved various abilities that snakes weren't supposed to have, hunting all kinds of animals had become much easier.
Most animals, after all, weren't exactly intelligent. They relied on instinct and a handful of experiences.
Their past encounters with snakes had taught them how snakes hunted, how fast they were, and at what distance they needed to flee to avoid danger.
But those experiences often left them unable to react in time when facing Bai Chuan, and they ended up bitten.
This time, he wasn't hunting for food. Relying on his greatly increased strength, Bai Chuan carried the monkey to the riverbank, holding it in his Sharp Claws.
The next moment, he heaved it up and flung it toward the electric eel in the water.
The monkey hit the water with a huge splash and began flailing desperately.
But while struggling wouldn't have helped, it was the very thing that sealed its death.
Startled by the strange creature thrashing and flailing beside it, the electric eel released an Electric Current in fright.
In an instant, a powerful current spread out in every direction, centered on the eel.
With a piercing scream from the monkey, its body began to convulse violently.
By then, Bai Chuan had already left the riverbank again and was preparing to catch another monkey.
Unfortunately, the other monkeys in the trees had witnessed the horrifying scene. They scattered in panic, fleeing with their families amid a chorus of cries.
Bai Chuan could only sigh helplessly and turn his attention to the other animals.
Unfortunately, the other animals were too small. They wouldn't have been nearly as effective as a monkey, and now they'd been frightened away, too.
Looks like I'll have to do it myself, Bai Chuan sighed inwardly. Even so, he grabbed a snake that hadn't managed to escape in time before leaving.
Back at the riverbank, Bai Chuan didn't even glance at the monkey, which was already stone dead. He simply flung the snake from his claws into the water.
Once again, a powerful current burst forth. Within seconds, the snake was dead.
That was enough, though. The electric eel should have used up some of its strength.
After all, it took the eel a great deal of energy to electrocute a monkey.
The electric eel he had chosen was only a little over one meter long, too.
If it had been over two meters, Bai Chuan could say with confidence that he would have turned around and run without a second thought.
An electric eel over two meters long was practically a Limit specimen. Its stamina, not just the strength of its Electric Current, was in a class of its own compared with an ordinary one.
First, he chose a spot some distance away. Then he quietly entered the water and made his way along the bottom.
After all, most electric eels had very poor eyesight.
Before long, he had reached the eel.
He studied it for a moment, adjusted his position, then suddenly burst forward.
The next instant, he raised his serpent's head and lifted his fearsome claws high before bringing them crashing down on the eel's head.
His plan was to knock it unconscious in a single blow.
It was a good idea, but the water's resistance was too great. Even with all his strength behind it, his claw couldn't move very fast.
The electric eel, which constantly kept a faint magnetic field around itself to sense its surroundings, detected him at once.
Its thick, round body lashed sideways. Its head dodged Bai Chuan's claw, causing the blow to land on its body instead.
The electric eel was sent flying a long way. The next moment, a powerful current burst from its body.
Though Bai Chuan had struck from a distance, he suddenly felt a tingling numbness all over. His body went limp, and he began to sink.
Yet at that moment, Bai Chuan was cheering inwardly.
It worked! His plan had worked.
Once he had grown claws, he had begun thinking about how to avoid close combat and keep from being shocked by the eel's Electric Current.
After all, water had very little electrical resistance. The farther away he was, the less damage the current would do to him.
And as long as the current wasn't too strong, his physique should let him withstand it for a while. During that time, he could wear down the eel's strength.
Generating electricity with biological energy wasn't easy; it inevitably consumed a great deal of energy.
So he could simply wear the eel down. And if he got lucky and managed to knock it unconscious along the way, even better.
Even if things went as badly as possible, he could now breathe underwater. He didn't need to fear being knocked unconscious and drowning; he could just wait until he slowly came to.
His defenses would protect him from being attacked while he was vulnerable, at least for a short while. And surely the intense pain would wake him faster.
That was Bai Chuan's plan!
Five minutes later.
At last, the violently churning water settled. A thread of dark red blood spread through it, and a long black shadow slowly rose to the surface, revealing a terrifying serpent's head.
Soon, the Great Serpent left the water and climbed back onto the riverbank. Water dripped from its black scales, drop by drop.
In front of him lay a thick, round fish over a meter long, limp in his fearsome claws. Its head and body, which had been unmarked before, were now bruised and swollen in patches, leaving it a pitiful sight.
The Great Serpent's sharp claws had even accidentally scratched a series of bloody gashes across its body. Blood dripped slowly from them.
"That wasn't easy!"
Bai Chuan looked at the electric eel in his claws and sighed. Feeling the lingering numbness in his body, he felt both relieved and strangely proud, a sense of satisfaction rising within him.
He had defeated the electric eel!
After studying the hard-won eel for a while, Bai Chuan decided not to let trouble brew. He immediately used his Sharp Claws to gut it, then swallowed it whole in a flash.
Only then did he relax and survey his surroundings.
Before you continue