A Powerful Yet Pathetic Creature

Zhang Daring cast a contemptuous glance at these ignorant commoners, his expression and tone dripping with lofty arrogance, before he continued his account.

"Don't be fooled by how powerful these creatures are—due to various reasons, people have artificially created all sorts of weaknesses in them, all for the sake of easy control."

"After all, you've now seen how devastating their explosive power can be. Without some kind of leverage, who would dare claim they could subdue them easily? And even if they did, how much loss would they suffer?"

"As it happens, back when this Ice Silkworm was still weak, it nearly got eaten by a rat. Just look at the gap in its body, and you'll see."

Hearing this, everyone looked and indeed spotted a tooth-shaped notch on the Ice Silkworm's pale, tender body.

"Because it nearly died in its youth, even after becoming an Ice Blood Cold Silkworm, it still has a weakness: it's terrified of certain specific rats, and will abandon all its power to let itself be slaughtered."

"Truly a powerful yet pitiful creature."

Saying this, Zhang Daring couldn't help but sigh with some emotion.

"And as it happens, this rat is the new generation Suppressor chosen by that old bastard after the previous one died of old age."

As he spoke, the rat had already clumsily picked up the Ice Silkworm and stuffed it into a small wooden box.

Throughout the process, the Ice Silkworm lay as still as if dead.

An ordinary rat could never do this, but this one had undergone special training and developed conditioned reflexes.

Then, the rat picked up the box again and started heading back.

But at this moment, someone among those present wasn't happy.

Earlier, there was secret knowledge to be heard—the kind only those of a certain level were qualified to know—but now that the story was over, the treasure was about to slip away.

Who would be okay with that?

Snake Granny first whispered behind her: "Zhao Girl, follow your brother and leave. This is no longer something you can meddle in."

Then she launched the first attack. Though she was now old and frail, she moved with a flexibility that belied her appearance.

Faint traces of scales flickered on her face, and she slithered forward like a venomous snake, closing in on the rat in a few swift moves, reaching out to grab.

"Squeak~!"

Startled, the rat dropped the small wooden box with a thud and froze in place.

The moment the box left the rat's side, the Ice Silkworm inside began to thrash violently, the whole box shaking as if possessed.

Just as she was about to snatch the box...

But would Zhang Daring be happy about that? Did he really just blabber all that for nothing?

How could that be!

He was merely stalling for time. After all, his power came from borrowing external objects to break through.

Though it had let him leap straight to a level comparable to the peak of Six Limits, it also made it hard for him to control this immense power freely.

Now, after dragging things out this long, he had nearly fully mobilized that strength.

The muscles on his right arm, clad in the massive Golden Gauntlet, suddenly bulged. Countless fine, hard black bristles burst forth like bamboo shoots after rain, spreading up the entire arm.

In an instant, the arm was completely dyed black and thickened, transforming into an inhumanly stout limb.

The gauntlet, which had seemed slightly ill-fitting before, now perfectly merged with his thick arm, as if they had always been one.

Then he clenched his giant fist, lunged forward, and leaped, bringing the massive golden gauntlet crashing down from above onto Snake Granny.

"What?!"

The fist, like a small giant's, came smashing down from above. Snake Granny's pupils shrank instantly. She let out a low cry and hastily halted her advance, twisting her body as if boneless to barely dodge the giant fist.

Only then did she get a clear look at Zhang Daring's appearance.

He was no longer human-like. His entire body was flushed red from engorged muscles, faint white steam rising from his skin. His right arm had fully transformed into a thick limb covered in countless black hairs.

That massive black arm, paired with the golden gauntlet, complemented each other like the right hand of a giant god.

"Is this Six Limits? Manifesting the Buddha's Wrathful Vajra?"

But Snake Granny immediately denied herself: "No, that's not right. At your age, and with Master Guangshan being a poor, true cultivator, you couldn't possibly reach Six Limits. This is..."

"He swallowed the Martial Stone!"

Before Snake Granny could finish, the handsome young man who had been keeping a low profile spoke up. His expression was complicated as he looked at the bald giant, and he sighed: "You're throwing your life away!"

Hearing this, Zhang Daring didn't care what they said. He grinned: "Heh, if I hadn't swallowed the Martial Stone, the Buddhist sect would have already cleaned house on me. As long as I can swallow everyone who dies here, plus the Ice Silkworm, I can reach Seven Limits and defect to the Demon Sect."

"I see. So that was your goal all along?" The handsome young man nodded in understanding.

Snake Granny cut in: "Then you should reveal your true identity too, shouldn't you? Knowing so many secrets, I doubt you're simple."

"Mm." The young man smiled, pulling a silver token from his waist, and said: "This Humble One is from the Demon Slaying Bureau—Zhou Zhen."

"Zhang Daring, a while back, you massacred an entire village to break through. You've already caught the Demon Slaying Bureau's eye. That's why I'm here today."

"Another one after my head, huh? If that's the case, come and take it!"

Zhang Daring bared his teeth in a ferocious grin. By now, his body was covered in black stripes like tattoos, and eerily, those black lines seemed to breathe like living things.

As he spoke, the three of them clashed again.

Interesting, interesting!

Having listened to the entire exchange from atop the tall tree, Bai Chuan couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration.

In an instant, he had uncovered a trove of secrets, greatly expanding his understanding of this world—no longer stumbling around in complete ignorance.

But now, watching the few people below locked in a chaotic battle where none could spare a thought for anything else, and the sole surviving pair of siblings having left after some hesitation...

It seemed no one was paying attention to the ice silkworm down there anymore, did they?

With that thought, Bai Chuan's heart stirred with restless ambition—could he seize this golden opportunity to snatch a huge bargain?

The Demon Slaying Bureau, Martial Stone, the bald burly man with a gorilla-like black arm, and the old woman who moved like a snake.

Bai Chuan realized that the power system of this world felt utterly unfamiliar to him—there was neither flashy battle qi, nor magnificent magic, nor any trace of cultivators.

Was the "demon" the Demon Slaying Bureau hunted the kind of demon he understood? Or was it a madman with an arm like an ape's?

And what exactly was Martial Stone?

Could he obtain this power for himself?

In that moment, countless questions flooded Bai Chuan's mind.

Come to think of it, ever since he began evolving abilities derived from various animals, he found himself increasingly obsessed with understanding the reasons and principles behind each ability. He desperately wanted to expand his knowledge base.

Because only then could he make better use of the panel's power to grow stronger—

rather than sitting on a treasure mountain, only to return empty-handed.

He wondered if this ice silkworm below could shed some light on his doubts... about the true source of power in this world?

With that thought, Bai Chuan silently slid down the tree trunk.

Taking advantage of the three still locked in combat, he crept quietly near the small wooden box.

And at that moment, that foolish rat was still clutching the box dumbly, frozen in place, not thinking to flee.

The next instant, just as it was fixated on the three fighting, a massive claw suddenly reached out from behind—and in one swift motion, both rat and box were snatched away.