Hunger stirred fiercely in Shen Xiuhan's belly.
He snatched up the grilled fish and tore into it, gulping down mouthfuls without caring whether it burned his mouth.
The moment the first mouthful reached his stomach, his eyes widened, and his chewing briefly paused.
The treasure fish was tender, rich, and succulent, practically melting in his mouth. It was even more delicious than the Azure Awl Chicken spirit fowl he had eaten before.
It needed no seasonings at all. The flesh alone, nourished by spiritual energy, had him wolfing it down with ravenous delight.
In moments, he swallowed the last fragrant, charred morsel like a gale sweeping away the clouds.
Still wanting more, Shen Xiuhan patted his belly and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
His gaze sharpened slightly as he sank his awareness into his sea of consciousness.
The intelligence points he had exhausted while extrapolating "Thousand-Lake Fishing" had already risen to twenty-four.
"As expected of a second-tier treasure fish! What an enormous return of vital essence—far more than that Azure Awl Chicken gave me!"
Delight shone in Shen Xiuhan's eyes.
But after that brief surge of joy, the sudden increase in intelligence points left him feeling a little hesitant.
He sat on the ground and carefully took stock of the martial arts he currently possessed:
"Mystic Eagle Stance," perfected.
"Iron Bone Technique," also perfected.
"Thousand-Lake Fishing," just extrapolated to perfection.
After his recent diligent training, he had officially reached initial mastery in "Heavenly Mystic Eagle Force," but he still fell somewhat short of minor mastery. Following the usual course of training would take at least several more months.
"Startled Swan, Wandering Dragon" was much the same. Progress through his own training alone was simply too slow.
As for the remaining "Twenty-Four Collapsing Mountain Legs," he had yet to attain