Chapter 264: Malice
Chapter 264: Malice
Gao Jing had recently advanced to a Great Totem Warrior.
This was indeed a breakthrough achieved when his strength reached its pinnacle.
But the process inevitably consumed a lot of his life’s source energy.
That is, his potential.
If he relied solely on his own cultivation to recover from this consumption, it usually took a very long time.
Only then would his new level truly solidify.
He could then begin accumulating strength once more for the next breakthrough.
Yet now, just one piece of Moon Clam meat had restored most of Gao Jing’s source energy.
This showed how incredibly nourishing Moon Clam meat was for a Superhuman!
Of course, the effect would definitely be much weaker for a Giant Warrior.
Gao Jing couldn’t help but exhale a long breath of foul air.
Every pore on his body opened up.
His body felt so light it seemed he could almost fly.
Great!
Two words: Super great!!
One piece of clam meat wasn’t enough, so he went for another.
Just as Gao Jing prepared to slice more meat, he noticed the bottom of the shell.
There, a pool of milky-white broth had collected.
It looked incredibly tempting.
After some thought, Gao Jing took out a porcelain bowl and a spoon.
He scooped a spoonful of the broth into the bowl.
The Storage Space within the Bronze Anchor had a vast volume of ten thousand cubic meters.
So, it held a huge assortment of miscellaneous things.
Whatever he needed, he could fish out at any time.
It couldn’t be more convenient.
Gao Jing sniffed the air.
The soup gave off a strong, delicious smell, without any trace of grease.
Just smelling it made him feel refreshed and clear-headed.
He took a sip.
Holy smokes!
The flavor was absolutely incredible, unbelievably sweet and fresh.
And the Spiritual Energy within it was even richer than in the clam meat!
Gulp, gulp!
Gao Jing couldn’t help but down the entire bowl in one go.
It was just that good!
An even more intense feeling of well-being washed over him, stronger than before.
It completely replenished the deficit in his body.
It even gave him the illusion of being overstuffed, ready to burst.
Gao Jing was forced to activate his cultivation technique.
He converted all the thick Spiritual Energy inside his body into Totemic Power.
He stored this power within the Crimson Python Rune.
Now his spirit and body had reached their most peak, most perfect state.
This was his strongest form yet.
But he couldn’t eat any more clam meat or broth; too much would be worse than not enough.
Gao Jing reached out and stashed the entire Moon Clam back into his Storage Space.
He would enjoy it slowly after returning.
During his time training in the Great Swamp, he had already finished all the bear meat stored in his Storage Space.
At his current level, ordinary Wild Beast meat offered him no nourishment; it could barely stave off hunger.
To aid his cultivation, he needed to eat Monster Beast meat.
Earlier, he killed a Swamp Black Crocodile.
Now, he had hauled in a large Moon Clam.
For a long time to come, he wouldn’t need to worry about sourcing nourishing food.
Although the Moon Clam meat was much less than the Black Crocodile meat, Gao Jing felt the Spiritual Energy content was roughly the same.
If he ate it all, he estimated he could probably advance to a High-Rank Great Totem Warrior!
Just thinking about it made him happy.
This expedition into the swamp could easily be called a huge harvest.
It was also time to leave.
Because Gao Jing needed to complete the Beast Spirit Fusion ritual to truly become a Great Totem Warrior.
Beast Spirit Fusion was extremely important, significantly influencing his future development.
There was absolutely no room for carelessness.
So, Gao Jing had to return to Shan Yue Village and seek help from Old Shaman Shan Yan.
Staying in the Great Swamp no longer served any purpose.
Squeak! Squeak!
Just as Gao Jing was about to turn and leave, a creature like a water weasel suddenly shot out from the nearby woods.
It headed straight for him.
This weasel had a slender build.
Head to tail, it was about seven to eight meters long, standing less than a meter high at the shoulder.
Its entire body was covered in glossy, pitch-black fur.
Its movements were exceptionally agile.
Most distinctive were its two fiery red eyes, shining as brightly as gemstones.
Red-Eyed Marten!
Its unique appearance instantly brought Gao Jing to its entry in the Hunter’s Atlas.
Red-Eyed Martens were small Monster Beasts inhabiting swamps, lakes, and rivers.
They were social creatures.
Ordinary Red-Eyed Martens were low rank, Beast-tier.
A very few could break through to middle rank, tier, becoming the equivalent of a pack leader.
Red-Eyed Martens were skilled fish catchers.
They were also one of the natural predators of the Moon Clam!
These Monster Beasts had poor eyesight, but incredibly sharp senses of smell and hearing.
They could detect Moon Clams hidden deep in the mud.
Precisely because of this ability, Giant Hunters captured their pups.
They tamed them into helpers for hunting Moon Clams.
Without a Red-Eyed Marten’s guidance, finding a Moon Clam in the vast Great Swamp was like finding a needle in the ocean.
Or being incredibly lucky, like Gao Jing.
Gao Jing noticed this Red-Eyed Marten had a collar around its neck.
That meant it had an owner!
The Red-Eyed Marten stopped moving about thirty or forty meters from Gao Jing.
It twitched its nose.
Its small eyes flickered with surprise and confusion.
It squeaked a few more times.
Then, Gao Jing felt vibrations through the ground.
Three Giant Adventurers came through the woods, entering his view.
These three hunter-dressed Giants were leanly built, about seventeen to eighteen meters tall.
They looked far less bulky than tribesmen like Shan Tai.
But a Giant is still a Giant.
Their inherent advantages over an Abyss Dweller were immense.
Gao Jing sensed danger instinctively.
Gao Jing wasn’t some naive child.
His relationship with the Giants of the Shan Yue Tribe was excellent, almost family-like.
However, he well knew that not all Giants were simple and kind.
He had personally killed an Outcast from among the Giants!
Adventurers who dared hunt in the Great Swamp region were far from ordinary folk.
“Huh?”
The lead hunter saw the Red-Eyed Marten frozen in place.
He also spotted Gao Jing not far away, causing a puzzled expression.
“Where’s the Moon Clam?”
The Red-Eyed Marten reared up, squeaking excitedly at him.
The hunter nodded, clearly understanding its message.
His gaze shifted back to Gao Jing.
“Little one, did you see a Moon Clam?”
The Giant’s terms for Gao Jing were patronizing, his tone aggressive.
Most importantly, Gao Jing sensed malice lurking within his stare!
The other two hunters also wore teasing looks.
Like big cats spotting a mouse!
A MK3A2 grenade silently appeared in Gao Jing’s hand.
In the next second, Gao Jing’s finger pulled the pin through the ring.
He suddenly hurled the grenade towards the leader of the hunters.
Then he turned and ran!
All three hunters paused in surprise.
The lead hunter watched the little dark object flying towards him and couldn’t help curling his lip.
To him, this grenade was no bigger than a small stone.
Gao Jing was just some tiny brat throwing pebbles.
He needed a firm lesson!
This hunter had squashed and trampled more than one Abyss Dweller before.
He didn’t believe Gao Jing could escape his grasp.