There were bird eggs. What more was there to say?
Yu Xiaochuan immediately summoned Caterpie to give him a nutritional boost.
He cracked one of the eggs, translucent as white jade, with a tap of his finger, picked away a piece of shell, and tore a hole in the white membrane beneath it.
He poured out the contents to feed Caterpie.
He did the same with all the eggs in the nest, letting Caterpie eat his fill and thoroughly enjoy himself.
"Oh my, these bird eggs are much more nutritious than leaves."
Yu Xiaochuan felt that Caterpie had accumulated more Soul Power. He had only just reached level eight, yet he was already very close to level nine. He gave thanks for nature's bounty.
"Skree!"
A sparrow wreathed in wind and lightning flew over from the distant sky.
It saw the two-legged beast beside its nest, then saw that all the eggs inside had been ravaged.
How could it not know what had happened?
With fire blazing in its eyes, it shot toward Yu Xiaochuan like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"How scary! It's actually a Thunderstorm Sparrow."
Yu Xiaochuan jumped in fright at the approaching Thunder Sparrow and shot out a web with a flick of his wrist.
Without even checking whether the web had caught the Thunderstorm Sparrow, he leaped off the branch, continuing to shoot String Shot from his wrists.
He fled through the woods in a peculiar fashion.
It was hardly surprising that Yu Xiaochuan ran so fast. After all, the Thunderstorm Sparrow was a powerful lightning-attribute bird.
Aside from its ability to unleash lightning, the Thunderstorm Sparrow was best known for its explosive temper.
It was extremely irritable.
It was not as easygoing as those birds that simply flapped their wings and flew away when they saw someone raiding their nests.
With its explosive temper, a Thunderstorm Sparrow that saw a little thief daring to steal its eggs would undoubtedly pursue him without a care for anything else.
Yes, exactly like what Yu Xiaochuan was experiencing now.
"Skree!"
The Thunderstorm Sparrow shook its wings and dodged the web. Seeing that Yu Xiaochuan had actually run away made it even angrier.
It was so furious that its feathers were almost standing on end.
It flew into the woods after the two-legged beast, who had darted away so quickly that only his retreating figure remained in sight.
Its deadly pursuit began.
Yet Yu Xiaochuan felt little concern when he saw the Thunderstorm Sparrow chasing him.
He had been a little frightened at first, but once he collected himself, he realized that this Thunderstorm Sparrow was only a few decades old.
That made sense. Even the oldest lightning-attribute plant Soul Beasts in this Mimicry Cultivation Environment were only a few decades old.
Only Soul Beasts of similarly low ages would be attracted here.
Had the Thunderstorm Sparrow been a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, Yu Xiaochuan would have had to avoid its edge for the time being. But since it was only a few decades old, he had to strike with a heavy fist!
Shooting String Shot continuously, Yu Xiaochuan leaped through the woods, dodging the Thunderstorm Sparrow's swooping attacks with nimble footwork.
He flicked his wrist.
A brilliant golden Electroweb shot from his hands straight over its head and face, trapping it!
Had it been an ordinary web, the Thunderstorm Sparrow could have scorched it with lightning, but this was an Electroweb.
Although the Thunderstorm Sparrow was a lightning-attribute Soul Beast with resistance to Electric-type power, making the Electroweb's offensive power rather unimpressive, that did not change the result.
It had indeed trapped the Thunderstorm Sparrow.
"Haha, behold my Caterpie Jump Kick!"
Yu Xiaochuan descended from above, converting gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy, and snapped the Thunderstorm Sparrow's neck with a single kick.
A white Soul Ring emerged.
"Ah, you. Your eggs got eaten, so why couldn't you just dust off your backside and fly away? You just had to chase me. Happy now? Your eggs are gone, and so is your life."
Yu Xiaochuan shook his head, picked up the Thunderstorm Sparrow, and began plucking it.
He gathered firewood, lit a fire with Electric-type power, and embarked on his grand barbecuing endeavor.
Yu Xiaochuan was quite good at barbecuing. The Douluo Continent had an abundance of biological resources, and this was not his first barbecue.
"Not tasty. This meat is really dry and tough."
After one bite of the Thunderstorm Sparrow's meat, Yu Xiaochuan discovered that its flavor was thoroughly mediocre, both dry and chewy.
Although he found it distasteful, he still finished it.
It was meat, after all.
Over the next few days, Yu Xiaochuan continued stripping leaves from lightning-attribute plants in the Mimicry Cultivation Environment to feed Caterpie.
He also practiced Martial Soul Possession to become more familiar with his possessed state.
A few days later, Yu Tianheng returned.
The first thing he did upon returning was find Yu Xiaochuan, reveal his bright yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring, and issue a challenge.
"Xiaochuan, I won't lose again this time! Here's a two-hundred-year-old ginseng. Take it. I want to challenge you!"
Yu Tianheng watched Yu Xiaochuan nervously, deeply worried that he would refuse the two-hundred-year-old ginseng.
After all, he had now added a Hundred-Year Soul Ring!
His Soul Power Level had also reached twelve.
Although Xiaochuan had advanced another level during the few days he had been away, reaching level eight, he was still only a Soul Scholar without a single Soul Ring. The gap between them was simply too great.
Would Xiaochuan accept his challenge?
"Ah, you. What am I supposed to say?"
Seeing Yu Tianheng slap down a two-hundred-year-old ginseng, leaving him utterly unable to refuse, Yu Xiaochuan shook his head with a chuckle.
That brat Yu Tianheng had indeed offered terms he could not refuse.
Even if he had no confidence, he would still accept this challenge. At worst, he would just take a beating from Yu Tianheng.
And that was without even considering his current situation.
His combat strength had improved again. Not only had he learned the new move Electroweb, but he had also mastered Martial Soul Possession.
So Yu Xiaochuan had absolutely no reason to refuse!
"I'll take this two-hundred-year-old ginseng, then. Meet me at the usual place after school."
Yu Xiaochuan took the two-hundred-year-old ginseng from Yu Tianheng and fed it straight to Caterpie.
"Wooo!"
Caterpie excitedly ate the ginseng, then fell fast asleep, working hard to digest its medicinal potency.
Finally, at noon, Caterpie gained another level, reaching level nine.
Something stirred in Yu Xiaochuan's mind.
Sure enough, Caterpie learned Bug Bite at level nine. Sharing a mental connection with Caterpie, he felt an extremely wondrous sensation arise.
Yu Xiaochuan exchanged a glance with Caterpie, a trace of amusement appearing in his eyes, then recalled him.
He simply requested leave for the afternoon.
"Xiaochuan, don't tell me you're going to run away?!"
Yu Tianheng grew anxious. Was Yu Xiaochuan going to hide at home and avoid the fight after accepting his two-hundred-year-old ginseng?
With Yu Xiaochuan's underhanded personality, it was certainly not impossible!
"What are you thinking, brat? I promised to fight you, and I won't go back on my word. Just wait in the grove after school!"
After saying goodbye to Yu Tianheng, Yu Xiaochuan hurried off to find somewhere for special training.
Having just learned Bug Bite, he naturally needed to practice it. With Bug Bite, he felt even more confident about that evening's battle.
"Bug! Bite!"
Yu Xiaochuan took his stance and clenched both fists, then attacked the tree trunk as though they were an insect's mandibles.
Bang!
The glow of Bug-type power gathered around Yu Xiaochuan's fists. Both fists struck the trunk simultaneously from either side, leaving indentations.
Bug Bite attacked by biting down on an opponent. The fact that Yu Xiaochuan could shoot String Shot from his wrists showed that his hands were like an insect's mandibles.
Thus, Bug Bite, which should have used mandibles, became a move performed with both fists when Yu Xiaochuan used it.
As for why those two punches could leave indentations in the trunk, that actually came down to Bug Bite's additional effect.
When an opponent held a Berry, Bug Bite could consume that Berry and gain its effects.
Thus, the tree trunk had been "consumed" as though it were a Berry.
There was no special effect, however. He merely gained some power from the tree.
"Ah, little brother Tian Heng, it looks like it's still a little too early for you to beat your big brother!"
Seeing the damage his Bug Bite had inflicted on the tree trunk, Yu Xiaochuan smiled happily.