Transformation

Four days later—

On the morning of the fifth day—

The middle section of the Dark Forest's outer perimeter.

[Rubber Axe]!!

A foot caked in mud and blood came crashing down from the air at tremendous speed.

Below it, Su Wuming had both arms tightly wrapped around a White Demon Ape's neck. Its jaws were clamped firmly onto Su Wuming's shoulder, its two pairs of fangs deeply embedded in the flesh around his shoulder blade.

Both sides had bloodshot eyes, clearly having fought themselves into a frenzy.

At that moment, the foot came down with a thunderous blow, landing squarely on the White Demon Ape's crown.

The enormous force crushed its skull outright, sending its eyeballs bursting free.

At the same time, Su Wuming was dragged down by the impact. With his shoulder still firmly caught in the beast's jaws, he uncontrollably slammed face-first onto the ground.

There was a sharp crack from his shoulder as the bone broke. Agonizing pain surged through him, while the White Demon Ape's two pairs of fangs remained lodged in his flesh.

Su Wuming was in so much pain that he could barely breathe. Curled into a ball on the ground, he groaned miserably.

Over the past four days, he had gone through dozens of battles. Only this one had been so difficult; he had nearly been bitten through the throat and killed by the White Demon Ape.

Luckily, he had dodged in time, avoiding a fatal hit and taking the bite on his shoulder instead.

Even so, it had ended in a miserable victory.

The White Demon Ape was among the best of Black Iron Rank Demon Beasts. More importantly, it could evolve, giving it an extremely high potential ceiling.

Fortunately, there were no other Demon Beasts nearby. Su Wuming had cleared them out before coming here, or he truly would have died in this place.

After resting for quite a while, Su Wuming finally struggled into a sitting position and took out his last Qi-Blood Sausage to eat.

This time, however, one sausage did not fully heal his injuries. It merely stopped the bleeding from his shoulder and restored a little color to his paper-pale face.

The bone was still broken. The reason was that his cultivation had now reached Black Iron Six-Star.

As his physique grew stronger, his need for Qi-Blood Sausages increased as well.

Not only that, several wounds deep enough to expose bone still remained unhealed on his body.

Worst of all, the hunger gnawing at his stomach plunged him into extreme weakness, and his mind began to grow hazy.

In his dazed state, his gaze settled on the White Demon Ape's corpse beside him.

Grrr~

Su Wuming's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Between death and disgust, he had to choose one.

There was no need to think about the answer. Naturally, he chose the latter.

So Su Wuming picked up his dagger and aimed it at the White Demon Ape's right arm.

Bleurgh~~~~

The first bite made Su Wuming vomit on the spot.

"Whoever said Demon Beast meat tastes good in those novels, get your ass out here!"

He had brought a lighter and seasoning for starch sausages, figuring that if he ever felt like it, he could imitate the protagonists of other novels and roast some Demon Beast meat.

But books were all lies. This meat could no longer simply be described as disgusting.

Still, staying alive mattered more. After vomiting several times in a row, Su Wuming directly used [Rubber Devour], swallowing the entire arm in one bite and forcing it down with great difficulty. He nearly choked to death.

After eating all four limbs of the White Demon Ape, Su Wuming's injuries eased, leaving only the broken bone in his shoulder unhealed.

With no more Qi-Blood Sausages, he could not remain in the Dark Forest. Enduring the intense pain in his shoulder, Su Wuming stopped lingering and got up to follow the path back.

He had basically cleared out all the Demon Beasts along this route, and had tossed their corpses into other areas.

Nothing unexpected happened along the way, and Su Wuming safely returned to Dry City.

As he passed through the city gate, the surrounding guards and pedestrians all cast strange looks his way.

"Did this wild man come down from some mountain?"

"What are you talking about? Every mountain is occupied by Demon Beasts now."

"Brother, can't you tell I'm joking?"

"Judging by the direction he came from, he returned from the Dark Forest. What did this guy go through?"

"What a heavy smell of blood. How many Demon Beasts did he have to kill?"

Su Wuming heard the discussions around him clearly, but he did not care. Instead, he began to laugh.

With his face covered in blood and grime, his smile made him look somewhat unhinged.

To outsiders, this man was definitely crazy. Some even directly asked the guards, "Someone like this can enter the city?"

The answer they received was, "As long as he's human."

Su Wuming continued laughing freely. At that moment, a line flashed through his mind, and he recited it aloud.

"Others laugh at me for being too mad; I laugh at them for failing to see through."

The people around him were all stunned.

Brother, you can get philosophical even now?

And why did that voice sound so young?

Yet Su Wuming was still laughing.

As he laughed, tears suddenly slid down his face.

They were tears of joy shed after his entire being had transformed.

He had come back alive. That was wonderful!

When he returned to the rental apartment, Lin Pangpang nearly mistook him for a beggar. He turned to get some leftover food from the kitchen for him.

Fortunately, Su Wuming spoke up in time and stopped him.

"Brother, did you go take part in some wilderness survival show?" Pangpang asked, pinching his nose.

Su Wuming smelled unbearably bad, and his whole body was covered in blood and grime, making him look terrifying. If it were nighttime, anyone who saw him would get the fright of their life.

"More or less," Su Wuming said weakly. Just then, a sharp pain tore through his left shoulder, making him grimace.

"What's wrong?" Lin Pangpang saw Su Wuming's pain.

"Hiss—It hurts like hell. Pangpang, quick, give me a Qi-Blood Sausage. Make it two."

As soon as he finished speaking, a chubby hand extended before Su Wuming, five Qi-Blood Sausages resting in its palm.

Su Wuming said nothing. He took them, pulled out two, and immediately ate them.

There was no need to guess. Pangpang knew he needed these things, but they could not be stored for long, so he must have prepared them in advance last night.

Neither of them needed to say anything grateful. It was enough to keep it in their hearts.

Once the Qi-Blood Sausages entered his stomach, the pain in his shoulder quickly vanished. He could clearly feel the broken bone reconnecting.

At the same time, he noticed that Pangpang's cultivation had improved, and the Qi-Blood Sausage's effects had increased significantly.

After washing up in the bathroom, he felt much more refreshed. His mind relaxed as well, no longer needing to remain tense at every moment.

"What are you planning for tomorrow?" Seeing that Su Wuming was fine, Lin Pangpang asked about his plans for the next day's assessment.

"My plans? Hmm~~Just do it!"

Lin Pangpang heard the confidence in his words and could not help scrutinizing Su Wuming carefully.

He still looked as punchably annoying as ever. Nothing had changed.

No, why did it feel like he had gained some kind of special aura?

Seeing Lin Pangpang continually sizing him up, Su Wuming cracked a joke.

"Pangpang, have you sensed the aura of a king around me?"

"No, I think you've become even more sleazy."