Chapter 14

Jiang Feng's final hunt was a ground-type wild boar. It weighed about 500 pounds, with two thick tusks protruding forward. Jiang Feng intentionally provoked it, making it charge at him mindlessly until it rammed its tusks into a tree trunk. Then, Jiang Feng broke its tusks and thrust them into the boar's heart. The boar's tusks were unexpectedly sharp. When Jiang Feng pulled them out of the tree, he found that with a bit of trimming, they would make a decent short knife. In fact, many weapons used by martial artists came from the bodies of Bright Beasts. Claws, teeth, bones, and horns were the most common parts. He brought the boar's legs back to the unnamed small valley and began processing them skillfully. The meat of Bright Beasts was much tougher than that of ordinary wild animals, but fortunately, the boar's tusk knife was sharp enough. He quickly cut the pork into strips as thick as fingers, washed them clean by the stream, sprinkled salt on them, and began to cure them. This small valley was one he had specially chosen and intentionally cultivated. He planted many fragrant herbs and wild ginger around the valley, and picked a lot of them, along with some edible mushrooms. He piled firewood in the stone stove, placed an iron pot on it, and began to cook, putting the ingredients in one by one. Soon, a strong aroma of meat wafted from the pot. Jiang Feng, smelling the scent, felt his stomach growl even louder. The meat of Bright Beasts was so tough that it would take a long time to cook. He took out some dry rations and ate them with the meat broth. Although his stomach no longer growled, he still felt very hungry. He held an empty bowl, chopsticks in hand, and squatted by the pot, feeling a bit dazed. He hadn't been this hungry for a long time. Since he grew up a bit, he learned to dig for ground squirrels and steal their winter food. When he got older, he secretly learned some skills and could try to deal with some weak animals. After he started practicing martial arts with Miss, he never went hungry again. He remembered reading a book about cooking Bright Beasts in Miss's study. He flipped through it casually and threw it aside. Miss picked it up and laughed, asking him if he planned to find a wife to cook for him in the future. What did he answer then? Right, he didn't say anything. But at that time, a sentence kept echoing in his mind, which he held back from saying. What's the point of finding one? No matter who it is, no one can cook as well as Miss... Miss, Jiang Chen... Jiang Feng stared at the steam rising from the pot, lost in thought. The next time he saw her, he wondered what she would look like. She must be even more beautiful, right? Suddenly, something moved at his feet. Jiang Feng looked down and saw a snow-white ball of fur rubbing against his ankle, trying to climb up his leg. Jiang Feng's lips curled into a smile. He picked up the rabbit and placed it on his knee, petting its fur. "You're awake, how do you feel?" The rabbit lowered its head, rubbed against his fingers, and looked longingly at the meat in the pot. This reaction... was a bit off! Jiang Feng's fingers touched its forehead, and he quickly realized that although the rabbit was awake, the residual soul inside was still asleep. So, this ball of fur now only had the nature of a Bright Beast, not the incomplete human residual soul. He sighed and complained, "What are you looking at? I'm hungry too, be careful I don't eat you! But you're not even enough to fill my tooth gap, at most a midnight snack! Oh, right, you're called Midnight Snack..." Midnight Snack didn't understand what he was saying. It drooled at the sight of the meat in the pot, clearly dissatisfied with how long it was taking to cook. Suddenly, it jumped off Jiang Feng's knee and hopped to the stone stove. It moved so fast that Jiang Feng didn't have time to stop it. It reached the fire and a green gas was emitted from its three-lobed mouth, directly spraying the flames! The flames were pushed upward by the green gas, and then seemed to dim. But upon closer inspection, it was because the flames had turned transparent. This color of flame was extremely hot, and the broth in the pot immediately began to boil more vigorously, visibly decreasing. Jiang Feng was shocked and quickly added a scoop of water. The pot continued to boil, and Jiang Feng kept adding water. In no time, the meat aroma became so intense it almost couldn't dissipate, and the wild boar's meat was completely stewed. Jiang Feng watched in amazement, muttering, "What kind of ability is this..." Midnight Snack hopped around him anxiously, and Jiang Feng's slight melancholy was largely dispelled, making him laugh. He washed a leaf and tried cutting two pieces of meat for it. Midnight Snack ate them clean and still looked at Jiang Feng with longing, clearly unsatisfied. Jiang Feng thus shared the pot of meat with Midnight Snack, piece by piece. He finally realized this was indeed a Bright Beast. Its appetite was much larger than its size. It ate half a boar's leg, and its belly barely bulged. The meat of Bright Beasts was extremely fresh and fragrant, and even after being completely stewed, it still had a bit of chewiness. Jiang Feng ate it so eagerly that he almost swallowed his tongue. After eating, he licked his chopsticks and said, "Not bad, next time..." Before he could finish, it felt like a bomb exploded in his stomach, and intense pain swept over him. Jiang Feng groaned and fell to the ground. At that moment, the content of the book he had read earlier came clearly to mind. The meat of Bright Beasts was highly toxic to ordinary people and absolutely could not be eaten. Only martial artists who had fused with the Bright Heart Seed and started cultivation could begin to try eating this meat. What was the difference? Of course, it was Bright Energy! The meat of Bright Beasts contained Bright Energy, which was now impacting his stomach! He had previously practiced martial arts, focusing on skin, bones, and tendons, with internal organs being the most vulnerable. Even skin, bones, and tendons would be almost defenseless against Bright Energy, let alone an untrained stomach. If left unchecked, the Bright Energy would tear through the stomach lining, causing his internal organs to rupture and leading to death. But Jiang Feng would not let this happen. He endured the intense pain, calmed his mind, and began to use his consciousness to guide the Bright Energy. At first, his focus was a bit scattered, and the chaotic Bright Energy remained still. But gradually, he became more focused. He could almost see his body, seeing the chaotic golden lines struggling in his stomach, trying to burst out and scatter. He focused on them, guiding them patiently. The pain in his body gradually receded, as if it were separated from him. After an unknown amount of time, the Bright Energy in his stomach suddenly moved, beginning to act according to his will! Jiang Feng was overjoyed, slowly bundling them together and guiding them into his bloodstream, merging them with the existing, thin Bright Energy. Indeed, he succeeded! Like a drop of water merging into the sea, the added Bright Energy entered his bloodstream and completely merged with the existing energy. Then, they no longer needed his conscious guidance, following the original Bright Energy, flowing and strengthening his blood vessels and tendons. The Bright Energy obeyed, and the pain in his stomach gradually disappeared. Jiang Feng withdrew his consciousness and smiled joyfully. Although his mixed bloodline blocked the entry of Bright Energy, he could still increase the amount of Bright Energy from the outside using this method! Without hesitation, he picked up another piece of meat, chewed it, and swallowed it. After a moment, another strand of Bright Energy entered, though in a small amount, it was a real addition! It took him two hours to finish the pot of meat. To be honest, the meat of Bright Beasts was not very tasty, tough and chewy, making his teeth ache to bite. But Jiang Feng still ate it all. For him, the ability to increase Bright Energy was more important than the taste. By the time he finished this meal, the sun was setting. At dusk, one could not absorb Bright Energy, but Jiang Feng did not give up on his training. He stood in front of the tree house and began to punch. The sound of his punches breaking the air echoed continuously in the small valley. Jiang Feng's gaze was resolute, and sweat flowed from his forehead, like a river, down his face. This was his daily routine. Three sessions a day, each with 10,000 punches. When punching, he had to mobilize all his muscles, from shoulder to arm to fist, like a whip, snapping out with a "snap." This routine had not just started; he had been doing it since he met Miss. He was not a genius and had no more advantages than others. He had to accumulate day by day to become stronger! The Bright Energy flowed with his blood, merging with every muscle fiber. The muscle fibers trembled, becoming stronger with each movement. Through constant practice and constant combat, he was steadily advancing towards his goal! ... ... Three days later in the afternoon, Jiang Feng was hiding in the bushes by a small river, patiently waiting. He was alert, observing his surroundings, but his body was as still as a stone. After a moment, a large bull, about the height of a person, slowly walked over. The bull was entirely black, with two red horns on its head. The attributes of Bright Beasts were reflected in their bodies. From the looks of it, this red-horned bull was a fire-type. Over these three days, Jiang Feng had obtained the most fire-type fragments, a total of 18, while the other four types were around 15, with none exceeding 20. This meant that he had already opened three acupoints but had not embedded a single core. The red-horned bull was a level 4 Bright Beast, and this was the first level 4 Bright Beast Jiang Feng had attempted in the past three days. The levels of Bright Beasts were similar to those of martial artists. In theory, having opened three acupoints, his target should be a level 3 Bright Beast. Moreover, due to his bloodline, the Bright Energy he absorbed could only be partially output to his body and was not under his control, only used to strengthen his body. In other words, he still could not freely manipulate Bright Energy, yet he set his target higher than his actual level! The red-horned bull walked to the stream and lowered its head to drink. Jiang Feng took a deep breath, raised his hand, and a stone shot out from the slingshot in his hand, striking the bull's forehead heavily! The slingshot made of branches cracked, and the sharp stone whistled sharply, moving at an astonishing speed. The red-horned bull was hit and let out a thunderous "moo." It turned its head, saw Jiang Feng, and immediately arched its back, lowered its head, and pawed the ground with its front hooves, charging at him. Jiang Feng saw clearly that its eyes turned a deep red, as if about to spew fire, clearly completely enraged. He showed no sign of retreating, roared loudly, and charged forward, both hands fiercely pressing against its two curved horns! With a "boom," as soon as his hands touched the bull's horns, they spontaneously ignited, and the bull's head seemed to be adorned with two blazing torches!