The First Showcase of Abilities

With his arrival, countless small animals on the creek bank scurried away in a panic; it was clear that in their eyes, Bai Chuan was a terrifying predator.

The facts supported this. As an Eye King, excluding a few natural enemies, he was invincible in his ecological niche, save for the rare few creatures that could rival him or hold a slight edge.

Seriously, am I that scary?

Watching the panicked animals flee, Bai Chuan, who had never intended to harm them, shook his snake head with a wry smile.

As they departed, the world in his eyes grew quiet once more, turning deathly still, with only the creek continuing its murmuring flow.

Perhaps this is the price of being a king?

With a self-deprecating chuckle, Bai Chuan drank his fill at a leisurely pace before setting off again.

His three-meter-long body slithered in an S-shape, his Scales shifting in overlapping layers, creating an indescribable, fluid beauty. His tongue flickered constantly, searching for the scent of his prey: other snakes.

Soon, he stopped, raised his upper body to scan his surroundings, and then climbed up a tall tree trunk.

The area was covered in tall, dense forest, and as long as he was careful to hide his tracks, he could easily conceal himself among the branches to wait for other snakes to appear.

Following techniques from his memory, Bai Chuan quickly found an excellent spot and coiled quietly on a branch, waiting like a hunter for his prey.

Time passed slowly; he did not know how long it had been.

During this time, he witnessed a green Vine Snake attempt to eat a bird egg, only to be eaten like a spicy snack by the returning Hornbill, but he did not move.

Because that snake was too small, and as for the Hornbill—honestly, going head-to-head now would likely result in mutual destruction. It wasn't worth it.

In this cruel nature where the strong prey on the weak, an injury meant instability. Once a wound became infected, or if there were days of continuous rain, having no source of food would be a dead end.

Suddenly, Bai Chuan's spirit jolted. He raised his head slightly, his tongue flickering rapidly to capture various scent molecules. The prey had arrived.

In the distance below, a long snake over two meters in length with yellowish Scales appeared.

Seeing this, Bai Chuan immediately recognized it as a Python, though he didn't know the specific name.

Either way, it was his snack.

He raised his head slightly and began to stretch out his body. He stared at the Python, but he couldn't move recklessly yet to avoid being discovered; he estimated he couldn't catch it from this distance.

Down below, the Python was flicking its tongue, moving forward with purpose through the fallen leaves. Its slithering body produced a faint "hissing" sound—the noise of its weight pressing against the leaves.

It was very slight, becoming even less noticeable amidst the sound of the wind.

Soon, it was close.

What caught its eye was a Rat hiding in a pile of leaves, clutching a plant fruit and eating it.

The snake's body drew closer, now well within the Python's strike range, yet the Rat hadn't noticed—or perhaps it couldn't bear to abandon the fruit?

At the same time, Bai Chuan descended from the branch, following closely behind the Python. This gave him a sudden sense of déjà vu, like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

He just wondered if there was a hunter following him, too.

The next moment, accompanied by a "whoosh" of air, the Rat's shrill cry rang out, sounding particularly abrupt in the quiet forest.

Seeing this, Bai Chuan crawled over unhurriedly, ignoring the Python, which was now releasing its prey and retreating while hissing in alarm.

As for why?

Naturally, because in his eyes, this Python was already a creature that couldn't escape.

The facts were as such: snakes were not fast crawlers, and as a King Cobra, he was not a snake known for waiting in ambush.

His style of predation was grand and imposing; he appeared openly before his prey, never minding how they postured or stayed alert, as if telling them: You, I have already decided to eat! Even Jesus couldn't save you!

For him, all he needed to do was distinguish whether the prey was venomous or not, then bite down hard and inject a massive dose of venom, waiting for the prey to die.

After all, among venomous snakes, those more venomous than him weren't as large, and those larger than him weren't as venomous. Plus, his high resistance to toxins meant most poisons were useless against him.

He was the perfect creature among snakes!

He didn't need any flashy attack methods; he only needed to bite and inject!

The next moment, he raised his upper body, coiled to build momentum, and lunged forward with lightning speed, diving down to bite the Python's body.

His sharp fangs easily pierced the yellowish Scales, sinking deep into the muscle, and then—injection!

Golden, mixed venom was injected into the Python's body with extreme speed. To be safe, Bai Chuan chose to inject three hundred milligrams of venom.

The Python first looked blankly at Bai Chuan, who had ignored its warnings and lunged at it. Then, a sharp pain struck, followed by a wave of warmth surging into its body, causing it to subconsciously open its mouth.

It didn't understand what was happening, staring blankly at it all.

One minute... two minutes...

Finally, the venom began to take effect.

An intense, agonizing pain accompanied by a strong sense of suffocation gripped the Python's heart. At this moment, it finally understood what had happened: it was going to die!

Only then did it know to resist, emitting a faint "hiss" from its mouth before striking at Bai Chuan's neck.

But was it useful?

It was useless!

He was the king of venomous snakes! How could the hardness of his Scales be something a mere Python could bite through?

If it were truly that fragile, the Eye King wouldn't have earned such a formidable reputation.

As the saying goes, a great reputation is never without merit; soon enough, the Python lay limp and gasping on the ground.

The agonizing pain radiating from its heart, the thickening of its blood, and the suffocating inability to breathe were far more than a mere Python could withstand.

Seeing this, Bai Chuan released his grip with satisfaction, eyeing his "spicy strip" for the day with contentment.

Just as he was about to begin his meal.

Suddenly, at that very moment, a slight but unmistakably sharp sting flared about four inches down his body, and alarm bells rang out in his mind.

In an instant, he reacted, understanding with instinctual clarity that this was his newly strengthened ability from yesterday—Danger Sense—warning him of an impending threat!

He flared his neck and whipped his head around, opening his jaws in a threatening display of vigilance as his eyes darted left and right.

Then, the next moment.

A massive maw, revealing sharp, hooked fangs, lunged into his field of vision from below, aiming straight for the base of his neck.

With no time to think, he tensed the muscles of his upper body, driving his spine to jerk sharply to the right, narrowly dodging the ferocious strike.

He then used the momentum to coil his body like a coiled dragon.

Such a fluid and flexible method of evasion was something only a snake could achieve.

Only then did Bai Chuan have the chance to examine his attacker.

A triangular head, a small, slightly bizarre horn atop its skull, and a short, thick body covered in strange diamond-shaped patterns that blended almost perfectly with the fallen leaves.

It seemed to be retracting its body, having missed its mark.

Seeing this, Bai Chuan immediately recognized the assailant: a Five-Step Snake!