An Excellent Rating

Player: Su Changsheng

Lifespan: 10/30

Realm: second-level half-demon 1/500

Cultivation method: Green Snake Breathing 25/500

Survival points: 105

Not wanting to waste the bloody food in his stomach, Su Changsheng cultivated for another four hours before finally stopping.

When he opened his eyes, he was once again confronted with his headache-inducing, suffocating lack of talent.

Four whole hours of breathing practice, and his realm experience had only increased by one point! As a first-level half-demon, two hours of full breathing practice had earned him one point of realm experience. Now that rate had been cut straight in half.

At this rate, even with an ample supply of bloody food and no concern for consumption, cultivating for all twenty-four hours of the day would only earn him six experience points. Even under those ideal conditions, he would still need nearly four months to advance again.

He was slightly better than the body's previous owner, but even that was built on pouring in enormous amounts of resources.

"Hiss!"

"A textbook good-for-nothing, a block of elmwood! Even with a cheat helping me, I'm still this useless!"

"This is absolute garbage."

Su Changsheng's face darkened, but there was nothing he could do for now. The main problem was that the Green Snake Breathing Method was far too ordinary. Even at the proficient level, it could barely support his cultivation needs anymore.

"The next level of the Breathing Technique costs a full five hundred survival points. I don't even have a fifth of that yet... hopefully tonight brings a good haul."

"But I can stock up on the bloody food I need for cultivation first, then see whether I can get any new yao arts or runes at the Yao Market..."

Right now, studying new yao arts was the best way to acquire more survival points, with yao-art runes being the best option of all.

Su Changsheng still had one Shedding Rune, but that was nowhere near enough. He needed more low-level runes to prepare for accumulating survival points.

Once midnight passed, the settlement arrived.

Survival points: 165

Rating: excellent

-Clad in rags, riding a rough cart, you opened up the mountain forests. You secured each step before taking the next, laying plans for today's fruits while you were still weak. You bowed and scraped before the Black Tiger Yao, abandoning useless dignity. You acted cautiously before the uncanny, avoiding danger. At times, you were also bold yet meticulous, using another yao to intimidate your neighbors.

-Plan after plan, deed after deed, from the smallest details to the overall picture: although your actions were not always perfect, you gave everything you had in pursuit of perfection.

-Yesterday's plans finally bore today's fruit. By advancing to a second-level half-demon and attaining proficiency in the Turtle Breath Art, you secured a greater right to survive within the cruel, bloodthirsty Yao Stronghold.

A full 165 survival points. Added to the 105 he had left, that made a whopping 270.

This was no mere overnight windfall-it was a jackpot piled upon a jackpot. Su Changsheng had never received so many survival points at once.

Of course, it was not actually unreasonable. His realm advancement, his study of new yao arts, and the fruition of days of planning had all combined to earn today's reward for an excellent rating.

This was the result of an entire month of planning with his heart in his throat, trembling at every step. Viewed that way, these survival points hardly seemed like much at all.

"Cultivate, cultivate. Keep up the momentum!"

Su Changsheng collected himself and began his daily midnight breathing practice.

With bloody food in short supply, he still had to cherish the time each day when he could draw from heaven and earth for free.

Six hours, without fail.

A sleepless night passed.

At daybreak the following morning, Su Changsheng moved aside the massive stone blocking the entrance and went outside, his eyes bloodshot.

He instinctively looked next door. Male Fox's room was still cold and deserted, but the massive stone at its entrance had been smashed open by the Black Tiger Yao, and everything inside had been looted.

Now it was nothing but an empty shell.

Nothing major had happened overnight. It had been quite quiet, save for the occasional tiger roar or wolf howl, their voices tinged with exasperation. It seemed the Black Tiger Yao had not caught the culprit behind the chaos.

"I wonder if any half-demons died yesterday."

Su Changsheng sighed inwardly.

He did hope that uncanny creature could keep the Black Tiger Yao occupied a little longer, but he did not want to see the half-demons of the Half-Demon Grounds continue dying in droves.

Stability was the surest path.

Turning his attention away from next door, Su Changsheng gathered his belongings and took three Concealment Runes with him.

He had originally had only one left, but to be safe, he had made another two overnight.

As for the half-sheet of snakeskin he had yet to use up, along with the hides and scales bearing records of yao arts such as the Turtle Breath Art and Concealment Rune, he dug a hole outside and buried them.

Those things were worth some bloody food, but they might leave traces or clues pointing to him. He could not bring them, nor could he leave them at home.

After blocking the doorway with the massive stone again and hanging up the black snow, Su Changsheng looked at his empty hands and frowned.

He simply grabbed a club from the pile of stones beside his stone house and slung it across his back.

Metal objects were quite rare in the Yao Stronghold, and yao weapons were rarer still. Some lesser yao occasionally obtained the former, but only greater yao or top-tier yao approaching their level were qualified to use the latter.

Most low-level yao were like Su Changsheng: they either made weapons from whatever was at hand or simply used parts of their own bodies.

Their weapons came in every shape and form. They were nowhere near as well-off as humans.

"If I get the chance, I should get an iron spiked club or a giant cleaver... then, with one slash and one swing of the club, tsk, tsk..."

Su Changsheng let his imagination roam.

Swords were not even worth considering. For enormous yao, those things were basically toothpicks.

The Yao Market was far from the Half-Demon Grounds. One lay in the southeastern corner of the Yao Stronghold, the other in the northwest. To reach the Yao Market, he had to take a roundabout route along the stronghold's outermost edge.

Cut through the middle?

Had he grown tired of living?

At Su Changsheng's slithering speed, reaching the Yao Market would take about two hours.

Along the way, he found a secluded corner and transformed into a white snake half-demon. His scales turned pure white, and his aura gave off a faint warmth.

He also cut a mask from snakeskin to cover his human head and face. Although his face was already covered in fine snake scales, making this seem a little redundant, wouldn't that make it even easier to mislead other yao?

After all, most yao in the Yao Market tried their best not to reveal their identities. Someone making no attempt at concealment would stand out all the more.

After he left the Half-Demon Grounds, half-demons gradually grew fewer, replaced by more lesser yao with ordinary bloodlines. They were also among the lowest ranks of the Yao Stronghold, forming a classic useless duo with the half-demons.

Of course, powerful lesser yao like the Black Tiger Yao appeared too. Whenever Su Changsheng spotted one, he began giving them a wide berth while they were still far away. Thanks to his caution, he encountered no danger along the way.

This also made him realize that the other areas of the Yao Stronghold seemed more stable and safer than the Half-Demon Grounds. Compared with each other, the former was downtown within the second ring road, while the latter was a little suburb out by the sixth.

"Leaving the Half-Demon Grounds to live elsewhere isn't easy. It's not that any yao would stop me, but the monthly dues would increase substantially."

"For instance, the lesser yao settlement next to the Half-Demon Grounds. Living there would be a little more peaceful, but supposedly the dues rise to over three times as much."

"Still, even so, plenty of lesser yao in the Half-Demon Grounds would fight until their heads split open for the chance to move there. They simply lack the strength."

Su Changsheng sighed.

Longing for the "big city" could be seen everywhere, even in this Wilds Yao Stronghold. After all, yearning for a stable, safe, prosperous place was simply the nature of all living beings.

"I'm here!"

Suddenly, waves of noise reached him from afar. Su Changsheng stopped thinking and gazed ahead. Then he felt the stone club on his back and took a deep breath.

Bloody food, here he came!