Poison Was Still the Answer

The last traces of the struggle on the snow began to be slowly covered by the snow.

The Wolf Pack vanished in a flash of white light, leaving the empty forest clearing as deathly silent once more. Only scattered paw prints, trampled snow puddles, and a few scattered snowflakes shaken off in the battle remained hanging from the branches. A cold wind swept through the treetops, carrying fine snowflakes that danced in the air, and the chill permeated the entire landscape.

Lu Heng stood there, gripping the Hunting Blade, his chest heaving violently.

The bloodshot eyes and frenzied, murderous fervor of the moment were gradually fading. The boiling blood was slowly cooling, and the overly tense nerves were slowly relaxing, replaced by the exhaustion and clarity that followed the battle.

He lowered his head and carefully examined his protective gear.

The outer layer of animal hide armor was completely unrecognizable.

The garment was covered in a dense array of claw marks, with many layers of skin torn, rolled up, and split open by wolf claws, completely destroying the once-sturdy armor structure. The outer fur was severely worn, rendering all protective points ineffective, barely clinging to the body, serving only as a facade, and could no longer withstand any more attacks from ferocious beasts.

This old leather armor, which had accompanied him through countless battles, was now completely ruined.

Lu Heng raised his hand and touched the cracked surface of his nail. His fingertips brushed against the rough, broken cracks. He felt no regret, only acceptance. The battlefield was always like this; equipment wear and tear, life-or-death struggles, were all commonplace.

He lifted his hand and removed the entire damaged leather armor, carefully folding it neatly. Even though it was completely unusable, the leather material could still be recycled and disassembled for future repairs and filling; leaving it in the snow would be too wasteful. After tidying it up, he put the old leather armor into his Wristband's Storage Space.

He then looked down and surveyed the entire battlefield.

The snowfield was clean and tidy, with no trace of beast corpses. Only a milky-white card floated quietly above the snow, a trial reward left behind after the Grayfang Wolf King's death.

Lu Heng raised his hand and pinched the card.

With a slight touch of the fingertip, the Wristband lit up with a blue light.

[Trial Reward: Warm Bedding Bundle]

[Unlocks thick, warm bedding, significantly improving warmth and rest in low-temperature environments]

After reading the reward details, Lu Heng felt much more at ease.

With daily low temperatures raging and expected to continue plummeting, adequate insulation in Shelter is crucial. A thick blanket provides protection against the biting cold at night, ensuring a comfortable sleep and a real guarantee of survival.

He stood silently in the wind and snow for a moment, quietly reviewing the entire battle of the day.

The Wolf Pack pack's tiered tactics, their coordinated group behavior, the Wolf King's predictive intelligence, his extraordinary swordsmanship unleashed in dire straits, and that uncontrollable crimson killing intent—all the details replayed in his mind.

The experience gained in these life-or-death situations is more valuable than any peaceful cultivation.

Lu Heng mentally noted down each point, intending to carefully record them after returning to the Shelter, to reflect on the gains and losses, and to preserve the experience.

After packing up, he turned and started his return journey.

The wind and snow were bleak and desolate, and the forest was deathly silent, without the sound of any beasts roaring or birds singing. The extreme cold and blizzard suppressed the activities of all living things, and the entire mountain forest fell into silence, with only the rustling of the wind accompanying him on his solitary journey.

Walking back through the uneven snow tracks, Lu Heng's thoughts drifted towards the trials to come.

Day 1: One-on-one against the Mirror-Image Giant-Antlered Deer.

The next day, the Mirror Grey Fang Wolf Pack.

The difficulty has increased dramatically, as can be seen with the naked eye.

He secretly and repeatedly calculated the cooling rules of the trial in his mind.

The initial ambient temperature was minus ten degrees Celsius. Seven-Day Trial, if he did not kill any ferocious beasts each day, the temperature would drop by ten degrees Celsius. He successfully killed the beasts in the past two days, thus offsetting the twenty-degree temperature drop penalty.

If we give up now and stop fighting, the final extreme low temperature will be minus sixty degrees Celsius.

This temperature remains a deadly predicament.

Even with a stove for warmth and a stone house for shelter from the wind, people cannot withstand prolonged exposure to extreme cold of minus sixty degrees Celsius and will eventually succumb to the low temperatures.

There is no way out.

Lu Heng gently exhaled a puff of white mist, his brows slightly furrowed.

The trial monsters tomorrow will most likely be even more difficult to deal with than a pack of Wolf Pack, and the danger will only increase. But even if the road ahead becomes increasingly perilous, he can only grit his teeth and continue.

The only way to survive this extreme cold catastrophe is to fight it out.

Lost in thought as I continued on my way, the familiar outline of the stone house soon came into view.

Pushing open the door and entering the house, the cold wind from outside was cut off, and the remaining warmth inside enveloped my whole body, instantly dispelling the biting chill from my body.

After a short rest, Lu Heng reached out and opened the Regional Chat Channel.

The channel exploded with complaints from survivors about the second day's Wolf Pack trial, the chat was flooded with messages.

"Help! The wolves in the second day of the trial are too outrageous! Yesterday the deer at most charged, but today these wolves are actually cooperating to surround us?"

"I'm really losing it! How am I supposed to fight these pack monsters? Five regular wolves plus Alpha Wolf, and they can even build wolf ladders and climb trees! It's completely unreasonable!"

"Luckily, I ran fast and managed to distance myself from the fight. I didn't dare to engage them head-on. These things are difficult to fight even one-on-one, let alone in a group."

"Does anyone have a strategy? This Wolf Pack pack is too intelligent. They don't just recklessly charge in; they know how to surround and hold key points. They're so difficult to deal with."

"I tried digging a hole, but the frozen soil is as hard as iron. I dug for ages and couldn't get anything out. It was a complete waste of effort."

"The rope and tripwire are useless; the wolf is too agile to be tripped!"

A dense barrage of complaints scrolled across the screen, realistic and frustrating, filled with the helplessness of ordinary people struggling to survive in dire straits.

Just when everyone was at a loss, a sudden piece of news came out.

"If we can't beat them head-on, hasn't anyone thought of poisoning them? We can just coat our weapons with poisonous plants and animals, and whittle them down until they die, right?"

The channel went silent for two seconds after those words were spoken, followed by a screen full of expressions of sudden realization.

"Holy crap! You can do that? I was focused on a direct confrontation the whole time, I never even considered poisoning!"

"Brother, you're really cunning, but this method definitely works! The ferocious beasts aren't immune to poison."

"It's a pity I don't have any poison on hand, otherwise I could really give it a try."

Lu Heng looked at the conversation on the screen and felt quite emotional.

These survivors may not be top-notch at head-on confrontations, but they certainly have a lot of ideas on finding loopholes, shortcuts, and underhanded tactics.

He always fought honestly and head-on, using skillful maneuvering and patience—the most stable and perhaps the most naive approach. Compared to these endless streams of opportunistic tactics, he was far too honest.

At the same time, this message also completely woke him up.

His Storage Slot happened to contain a considerable amount of rare poisonous materials.

Lu Heng immediately opened his Storage Space and precisely retrieved two well-preserved resources: the Cold Stiff Poison Gland and the Spider Poison Gland.

Both poisons had been dried and processed, making their toxicity stable and their lethality sufficient. However, he had always been accustomed to direct combat and had never considered using them as a tactic.

Inspired by the people in the channel today, I suddenly had a breakthrough.

Tomorrow's trial may not necessarily require close-quarters combat throughout.

By coating the blade with poison beforehand and using the poison to continuously drain the enemy's health, combined with skillful swordsmanship, one can reduce the probability of close-range injury and significantly weaken the beast's combat power, making it much safer.

After putting away the venom glands, Lu Heng's gaze fell on the old leather armor that had long been ruined.

Equipment is the foundation of survival; the old armor is completely useless and must be remade immediately.

He took out the thick hide of the Tusked Wild Boar from his inventory, along with a small amount of animal bone materials he had accumulated, and retrieved the treasured Soft Leather Armor Blueprint. He then walked to the workbench inside the house.

As the blueprint unfolds, materials are placed one by one into their slots. The workbench glows softly as it automatically forges, sews, and shapes the materials.

A moment later, a brand new, complete leather armor was completed and placed on the ground.

The leather is thick and sturdy, conforms to the body shape, and provides complete protection. The shoulders, waist, sides, and joints have all been reinforced, and the protective effect is far superior to yesterday's old nails.

Lu Heng reached out and picked up the new clothes, put them on, and stretched his limbs and twisted his body.

The tension should be just right, without hindering movement or obstructing chopping, and with a balanced load.

Excellent, I'll wear this new leather armor into battle tomorrow.

After resolving the equipment issue, he started a fire and cooked a meal. After eating a hot meal, all his fatigue disappeared.

Inside, the fire flickered steadily, providing warmth, while outside, the wind and snow continued to howl. Just one room away lay a precarious and unsafe haven.

Lu Heng tidied up the table, stood up, and continued his daily routine.

He practiced the Flowing Water Blade Art steadily and repeatedly, slashing, thrusting, parrying, and striking with a firm and methodical approach, refining the skills he had gained from the intense battles of the day. He practiced until his arms ached, then calmed his mind, focused on strengthening his foundation, regulating his breath, and calming any lingering bloodlust.

The Berserker's awakened Supernormal State today is an opportunity, not the norm.

Only through daily practice and steady accumulation can one have the most reliable confidence to survive in dire straits.

Night fell, but the wind and snow continued.

Lu Heng sheathed his sword and composed himself.

Tomorrow marks the third day of trials. With a treacherous plan in hand and new armor at my disposal, I am fully prepared for the challenge.