Food Arrives

Walking and stopping.

Stopping and walking.

From yesterday evening until noon today, Li Jinshui and the other two had lost track of how long they had been walking.

They only knew their legs were growing heavier, their stomachs emptier, and the path ahead blurrier.

"Jinshui..." Monkey leaned against a tree, gasping for air, his face as pale as paper. "You... you slow down... I can't keep up..."

Li Jinshui looked back at him, then glanced at Er Gou, who was sprawled on the ground behind them, and frowned.

"You two, why are you so slow?"

Monkey nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Slow? We ran out of the forest and haven't stopped once, running for nearly a day and a night! My damn legs are about to snap!"

Er Gou chimed in weakly from behind: "Yeah, Brother Jinshui... I... I really can't walk anymore..."

Li Jinshui stopped, leaned against a tree, and looked down at them from his position.

"Do you know why you're this exhausted?"

Monkey blinked, stunned: "Because we ran for a day and a night?"

Li Jinshui shook his head.

"Because you don't work hard enough at your cultivation."

Monkey: "..."

Er Gou: "..."

Li Jinshui continued: "Look at me. I'm in the late stage of the Inner Strength Realm, and after running for a day and a night, I'm still full of energy. Now look at you two—one at the ninth level of Body Forging, the other at the seventh—how far have you even run to be this tired?"

He extended a finger and pointed at Monkey: "You, if you had practiced more, you'd at least be at the peak of the ninth level of Body Forging by now. Would you be panting after just a few steps?"

He then pointed at Er Gou: "And you, don't even get me started. Seventh level of Body Forging, and this little bit of stamina? Aren't you ashamed?"

Monkey opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but found he had no argument.

Because what Li Jinshui said... actually seemed correct?

But he clearly remembered that before Li Jinshui reached the Inner Strength Realm, he had also come up through the ninth level of Body Forging.

Why wasn't he so talkative back then?

"Jinshui, back then you..."

"Back then?" Li Jinshui cut him off. "Back then, I woke up before dawn every day to train and didn't sleep until midnight. And you? Sleeping in at the camp, eating and drinking to your heart's content—how dare you compare yourselves to me?"

Monkey was completely speechless.

Er Gou muttered softly from the side: "Wasn't that... wasn't that the brothel you took us to..."

Li Jinshui pretended not to hear.

He turned and continued walking, looking back as he went:

"So, you must remember, there are no shortcuts on the path of martial arts. It all depends on effort and sweat. Just like me—everything I have today, I earned by training step by step."

Monkey and Er Gou followed behind him, exchanging a look that clearly said, "Do you believe him?" and "I don't."

But they didn't dare say it out loud.

They walked for another hour.

The sun moved from directly overhead to the west, and the light in the forest began to dim.

Monkey finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Jinshui... when... when can we find something to eat? I'm so hungry my stomach is sticking to my spine..."

Li Jinshui didn't look back: "Soon."

"How long is 'soon'?"

"See that mountain forest ahead?" Li Jinshui pointed to a lush hillside in the distance. "Once we cross that, there should be some wild fruit, and maybe we can even catch some game."

Monkey's eyes lit up, and his pace quickened slightly.

Er Gou followed behind, panting, and suddenly added gloomily:

"Brother Jinshui, you've said that five times already. Every time you say it's soon, that there's food just ahead. But we've been walking for so long, where is the mountain forest?"

Li Jinshui paused his steps and turned to glare at him.

"You talk too much."

Er Gou shrank his neck, not daring to make another sound.

Monkey also wilted, dragging his legs and moving forward mechanically.

He really couldn't hold on much longer.

Since running out of North-Rejecting City, he had only gnawed on a few bites of dry rations and sipped a little stream water.

His stomach had long been growling, and black spots were dancing before his eyes.

Just as he was about to give up, Li Jinshui in front suddenly stopped.

He raised a hand, signaling the two of them to halt.

Monkey and Er Gou tensed up instantly, holding their breath as they shrank behind a tree.

Li Jinshui crouched down, peering through the bushes ahead.

Before them lay a gentle slope with a clearing, where over a dozen Di soldiers were sitting in a circle, wolfing down dried meat and drinking from waterskins.

Seven or eight corpses lay on the ground, dressed in the tattered uniforms of Great Zhou soldiers, motionless.

The Di soldiers laughed as they ate, speaking in the Di language and pointing at the corpses from time to time with boisterous guffaws.

"Damn them..." Monkey hissed through gritted teeth, his voice low. "Those animals..."

Er Gou's eyes turned red again, his knuckles white as he gripped his sword hilt tightly.

Li Jinshui stared at the squad of Di soldiers, narrowing his eyes to count them.

Twelve.

Two at the early stage of the Inner Strength Realm, one at the middle stage, and the remaining nine at the Body Forging realm.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

Monkey leaned in, whispering, "Jinshui, what do we do? Should we go around?"

Li Jinshui turned to look at him, a meaningful smile on his face.

"Go around? Why would we go around?"

Monkey blinked, bewildered. "But... there are so many of them..."

Li Jinshui patted his shoulder and stood up.

"Monkey, what did I just say?"

Monkey looked blank. "What did you say?"

Li Jinshui pointed at the group of Di soldiers on the slope, then pointed at himself, his smile growing even brighter.

"I said, isn't dinner served?"

Before the words had even faded, he had already charged out!

Inch Step!

A blur of motion swept past; before the Di soldiers could react, the one on the outermost edge had already been cut down!

"Enemy attack!!!"

Someone screamed!

But Li Jinshui's blade was faster!

He unleashed the White Tiger Blade Technique with full force, the blade light like snow, claiming a life with every strike!

The two Di soldiers at the early stage of the Inner Strength Realm had barely stood up before he cut them down, one by one!

The one at the middle stage roared and charged forward, his scimitar slashing down!

Li Jinshui did not dodge or evade, meeting the strike head-on!

"Clang!"

The middle-stage soldier's scimitar flew from his hand, and he was sent stumbling back several steps by the impact. Before he could steady himself, Li Jinshui's second strike had already arrived!

"Pfft!"

The blade sliced across his throat, and blood sprayed wildly!

From the moment Li Jinshui charged out until the last Di soldier fell, it had taken no more than thirty breaths.

Twelve corpses lay scattered across the ground.

When Monkey and Er Gou rushed out of the woods, the battle was already over.

They stood rooted to the spot, staring at the field of corpses, watching Li Jinshui sheath his blade, and looking at the dried meat and waterskins scattered on the ground—

Then, both of their eyes lit up simultaneously.

"Food!"

"There's water!"

They lunged forward, grabbing the dried meat to stuff into their mouths and snatching up the waterskins to gulp down the contents.

"Wuwuwu... so good... it's so delicious..." Monkey chewed the dried meat, tears streaming down his face.

Er Gou was even more dramatic, crying as he ate, shouting incoherently, "I'm alive... I'm actually alive..."

Li Jinshui walked over to them, picked up a piece of dried meat, and chewed it unhurriedly.

He watched the two of them devouring the food like starving wolves, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

"Eat slowly, no one is going to take it from you."

Monkey nodded desperately, though his chewing didn't slow down in the slightest.

Er Gou gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, finally catching his breath as he looked at Li Jinshui, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Brother Jinshui... you're too amazing... I thought... I thought we were going to starve to death today..."

Li Jinshui patted his head, uncharacteristically refraining from lecturing him.

"Eat. Once you're full, we continue on our way."

Monkey and Er Gou nodded heavily and buried their heads back into their food, eating ravenously.

Li Jinshui leaned against a tree, chewing on some dried meat, and pulled up his interface to take a look.

[Northern Di soldiers killed ×9, points +47]

[Northern Di squad leaders (Early Inner Strength Realm) killed ×2, points +20]

[Northern Di squad leader (Mid Inner Strength Realm) killed ×1, points +15]

[Current points: 803]

The smile at the corners of his mouth deepened.

This wasn't a search party; it was clearly a delivery service.

They delivered food, and they delivered points.

He stared at the number, silent for a heartbeat.

Ever since his Evergreen Art reached Great Success, he had been hoarding points, wanting to see if he could push it to Perfection in one go.

Now, he had enough points.

He took a deep breath and recited silently in his heart:

Add points, Evergreen Art.

[Consumed 788 points, Evergreen Art proficiency +788]

[Evergreen Art: Great Success (12/800) → Perfection]

Boom—

The warm current within his body suddenly exploded!

It wasn't a violent surge, but a qualitative transformation!

The internal energy that had previously rushed like a river now seemed to condense into a tangible substance, flowing slowly through his meridians.

Everywhere it passed, his flesh, bones, and organs were scoured, strengthened, and transformed over and over again!

His heartbeat—thump, thump, thump—was slow yet powerful, each beat sounding like a war drum.

His breathing became faint and ethereal; with a single inhalation, it felt as if he could draw in the spiritual energy of the entire world.

His internal organs were nourished repeatedly by that internal energy, becoming tougher and more powerful!

Evergreen Art, Perfection!

He opened his eyes and clenched his fists.

Power.

Strength more than double what he had before surged through his body.

Peak Inner Strength Realm.

He was only one step away from the Pulse-Opening Realm.

He took a deep breath and pulled the Green Emperor Indestructible Scripture (Pulse-Opening Realm) from his bosom.

He flipped it open, reading through it page by page.

In his mind, that cold, mechanical voice rang out:

[High-tier cultivation technique detected... recording...]

[Recording successful: Green Emperor Indestructible Scripture (Pulse-Opening Realm)]

[Cultivation requirement: Evergreen Art at Perfection]

[Not yet started → Entry-level points required: 500]

Li Jinshui stared at the number, his mouth twitching slightly.

Five hundred points.

Just for entry-level?

He recalled what the Seventh Prince had said—"This technique is extremely difficult to cultivate and has incredibly high requirements for talent," "The Imperial Family has obtained many copies over the years, but those who can actually master it are few and far between."

Now he understood.

It wasn't that no one wanted to practice it; it was that they couldn't afford to.

Five hundred points just to get started, and who knew how many more would be needed afterward.

With this thing, what could an ordinary person possibly use to cultivate it?

He silently tucked away the panel, muttering to himself:

"No wonder nobody learns this; is this even meant for humans?"

Monkey, his mouth stuffed with dried meat, asked vaguely, "Jinshui, what did you say?"

Li Jinshui shook his head and stood up.

"Nothing. Are you finished eating?"

Monkey and Er Gou nodded frantically.

Li Jinshui glanced at the remaining dried meat and water skins on the ground, bent down to pick them up, and stuffed everything he could carry into his pack.

"Let's go, take all of this with us."

Monkey and Er Gou hurried to help, and before long, all three of them were draped in spoils of war.

Li Jinshui shouldered the pack and headed deeper into the woods.

"We'll find a spot up ahead to rest for the night."

Monkey and Er Gou followed, their steps much lighter than before.

"What about tomorrow?"

"We keep moving tomorrow."

"How much longer do we have to walk?"

"I don't know."

Monkey fell silent.

Er Gou fell silent as well.

But they didn't complain anymore.

Because in the pack, there was dried meat, water, and Li Jinshui, who could take on dozens of men single-handedly.

That was enough.

The three of them vanished into the darkness.

Behind them, the corpses scattered across the hillside were gradually swallowed by the night.

He took a bite of dried meat and gazed toward the south.

The sky grew dim, and the mountains stretched out in the distance.

North Plain City was still a thousand miles away.

But he was in no rush.

On this road, there was plenty of "food."