Slaying

The Five-Step Snake, scientifically known as the Sharp-Snouted Viper, was a venomous monotypic snake belonging to the viper subfamily of the viper family under Serpentes. People called it the Rotten Flesh King.

As for why Bai Chuan knew so much about it, aside from its venom truly being potent, it was mostly the fault of netizens from his previous life.

What was that about being unable to take five steps after getting bitten by this snake and collapsing? Then if he only took four steps and borrowed one step from everyone he met, wouldn't he make it to the hospital?

Once Bai Chuan learned who the attacker was, he first relaxed, then became furious.

Well, well. You, a chubby little snake not even a meter and a half long, a DD-tier nobody in venomous snake infighting, actually dared attack him—the dignified Eye King, known as the "King of Venomous Snakes" and the "Scourge of Venomous Snakes"?

Weren't you courting death?!

In the next instant, a fierce glint flared in Bai Chuan's eyes. He raised his upper body high, stretched out his neck, and looked every bit like a king draped in a cloak, utterly imposing.

In an instant, a massive shadow fell over the short, thick, chubby snake.

The contrast between them was like that of an adult and a child.

Seeing this, the Sharp-Snouted Viper panicked a little as well. The disparity in size was simply too great, and it helplessly began to back down.

It lowered its head submissively, not daring to raise it, while keeping its body arched and hissing warily, as though telling him, "I'm not easy to mess with, don't come any closer!" Even as it did so, it tried to retreat.

But could Bai Chuan possibly let it leave now?

Attack him and then run? Did it think Bai Chuan lived off nothing? How could there be such a good deal in this world!

His snake head arched back, then shot forward. In an instant, he dove down from above.

The Sharp-Snouted Viper, which had been watching him closely, was startled. At the same time, its ever-coiled body sprang out, its jaws opening as it lunged to bite.

In that instant, Bai Chuan felt a slight itch at his neck. Danger Perception had triggered again, warning him that this was where the enemy would strike.

Bai Chuan smiled. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for!

The next moment, halfway through his dive, his head abruptly stopped. Using the power of his Strength, he pulled himself back, successfully evading the Sharp-Snouted Viper's lunge.

Then, once its strength was spent, he flung his jaws wide open. Two sharp fangs sprang out and sank viciously into the Sharp-Snouted Viper's soft neck, never letting go again.

An enormous amount of lethal mixed venom began to pour in.

Though it sounded slow, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

The entire exchange looked as if the Sharp-Snouted Viper had extended its weakness right before Bai Chuan's mouth and let him bite down on it.

But that was not the case. Bai Chuan simply understood snake habits well—or rather, snakes could not withstand provocation. First, he had used Danger Perception.

He lightly made a feint as if he were about to attack, shaking it up and drawing the Sharp-Snouted Viper into retaliating. In truth, he had barely exerted any force throughout the process.

Then, the instant Danger Perception triggered, he—already prepared at all times—immediately exerted force and pulled his upper body back.

After the enemy's attack had run its course, he bit its vital point with lightning speed, taking down the Sharp-Snouted Viper without suffering a scratch.

This was probably the tremendous help brought by human intelligence—using preparedness against the unprepared. If you weren't the one taking the loss, then who would be?

And in nature, taking a loss meant injury and death.

Even if he had followed the normal Eye King approach of meeting force with force, he could still have easily taken down this Sharp-Snouted Viper. But whether he would be injured was another matter.

After all, no matter how thick and tough his Scales were, no matter how high his toxin resistance was, there was still a chance that he could be injured and overturn the boat—though that possibility was less than one percent.

But wasn't taking it down unscathed even better?

Even mighty beasts like Tigers knew to ambush their prey and take them out in one go, avoiding any chance of resistance.

No matter how arrogant he was, he would not abandon human intelligence.

Five minutes later, Bai Chuan looked at the two somewhat stiff snakes lying on the ground and felt conflicted.

Which one should he eat? He was only a little over three meters long now, while these two snakes were over two meters and one meter forty respectively. At most, he could only swallow one.

After considering it, he ultimately gave up on the Python. He truly could not think of any useful ability it possessed, but the Sharp-Snouted Viper had an ability he had coveted for a long time.

Heat Sensing! Also known as the Heat-Sensing Pit, the Infrared Sensor.

This was a special ability unique to the viper subfamily and the python family. Among vipers, it was called the Heat-Sensing Pit, while among pythons, it was called the Labial Pit.

It could sense heat from the outside world and form an image in one's mind, displayed as infrared thermal imaging.

It was practically a super weapon for finding food or evading enemies.

Although he had no Points at the moment and could not evolve it, the chance to obtain this ability model was right before him. Could he really bear to give it up?

Bai Chuan could not bear to abandon it. If he missed this chance, who knew when he would encounter another one?

Once he had made up his mind, Bai Chuan began to eat.

And so, he discovered another enormous weakness of snakes—a massive weakness that existed in every kind of snake!

That was, while eating, he was at his weakest. If an enemy appeared at that moment, he would be incapable of any resistance at all.

Yes, incapable of any resistance whatsoever.

Because when the heavy, massive food was only halfway swallowed, his greatest weapon—his life-sustaining mouth—was blocked shut by the food... blocked shut...

At that point, whether he wanted to spit the food back out or swallow it completely, he would need time.

And when an accident occurred, would he still have time?

When he had lacked the ability to change anything in the past, he hadn't cared much. After all, no matter how much he thought about it, it was useless; he could only endure it helplessly.

But now that he had a chance to make changes, he found this flaw increasingly unbearable!

Besides, if he caught enough food in the future and couldn't finish it all, was he really supposed to agonize over choosing only one?

And he would have to finish eating it on the spot before leaving? After all, snakes were relatively vulnerable after they had eaten their fill.

"Hiss~ The more I think about it, the more flaws I find in snakes?"

As Bai Chuan thought, he suddenly realized just how many shortcomings snakes had!

So, was there some ultimate lifeform similar to a snake, yet more perfect?

One that had a snake's incomparably agile body, but none of the weakness that came with eating; one that could carry food somewhere safer to eat instead of having to finish it where it was?

"Decided. My next step is to gradually solve the flaws of being a snake while growing stronger!"

Having discovered the shortcomings of snakes, Bai Chuan set his first small goal!

"My spicy strips!"

After eating and drinking his fill, Bai Chuan regretfully took a few more looks at the food he had left behind before finally slithering away with great reluctance.

There was no need to worry about waste. In this beautiful wilderness, nothing would ever go to waste.

What he couldn't finish and left there would probably soon be gnawed clean by a swarm of small animals—ants, birds, all kinds of insects, even Rat.

In this beautiful yet cruel wilderness, today either you ate it or it ate you. No matter how glorious you had been in life, how one roar had shaken the mountains and forests and made ten thousand beasts submit—

After death, weren't you still just a mound of yellow earth?