After finishing the bear meat in his hand, Feng Hao sat still with his eyes closed, anticipating that strange warmth.
He wasn’t disappointed.
Before long, a wave of warmth spread from his stomach, gradually flowing through his entire body.
That comfortable, energy-filled sensation returned once again.
“Ha!”
He leaped to his feet with a single bound.
Glancing at the remaining bear meat at his feet — about three hundred jin, enough for several dozen days — he tore off his clothes and headed for the waterfall.
He couldn’t afford to waste this free energy.
With such support, Feng Hao trained with even greater fervor.
Having suffered as a talentless fool, he knew the importance of training.
Now, Feng Hao understood clearly: in this world, the strong devoured the weak.
After several days of eating bear meat, Feng Hao noticed that his endurance seemed to have increased.
This was real — he could feel the changes in his muscles.
They were stronger, much stronger.
Even under the pounding of the waterfall, his skin barely reddened anymore.
Everything was changing.
“If I keep eating like this, will I become like the magic bear?”
He pondered this as he ate.
Wasn’t the magic bear known for its defense and endurance?
“That’s it!”
A realization struck Feng Hao.
“After eating Flame Beast meat, I gained speed and agility.
Now, after eating bear meat, I’m gaining endurance and defense.
Could it be…
assimilation?
Eating beast meat has this kind of benefit!”
His expression froze, then a surge of wild joy flooded his heart.
“I need to eat more types of magical beasts from now on.”
Feng Hao’s mind began to race.
If he ate all kinds of magical beasts and acquired their strengths, he wondered — could he become a strong cultivator just by eating?
But given his current strength, that was still just a fantasy.
He also noticed that the meat’s warmth diminished the longer it was stored.
After a few days, the heat disappeared entirely.
“No wonder I didn’t gain any strength from eating meat before.”
Feng Hao recalled that he had eaten plenty of beast meat back at the Feng estate without any effect.
“That’s not right.”
He put down the meat, his eyes full of confusion.
“If eating beast meat can assimilate their strengths and provide this heat to replenish energy, why did the family use medicinal herbs for conditioning?”
Having lived through all these years, Feng Hao refused to believe that if beast meat had such effects, it wouldn’t have been discovered long ago.
“Then what’s going on?”
Another wave of warmth spread from his stomach.
That comfortable, soothing feeling made his entire body feel wonderful.
“No, something’s off.”
He refused to believe everyone else was stupid.
“Master.”
Feng Hao called toward the ring.
He casually threw around Xuan-level martial skills, and even martial crystals were nothing special in his eyes.
His cultivation had to be terrifying.
“What now?”
Burning Elder’s voice drifted out of the ring.
“Master, it’s like this.”
Feng Hao explained the whole situation from beginning to end.
“What?”
Burning Elder looked at him in surprise.
This was the first time Feng Hao had seen the old man shocked.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing him silent for so long, Feng Hao grew uneasy, worried it might be something bad.
“No way?
In a place like this, how is it possible?”
Burning Elder squinted at Feng Hao.
“The Feng family?
Could it be…
that Feng family?”
A memory surfaced.
The old man’s eyelids twitched slightly.
He confirmed his suspicion.
“Heh heh.”
A strange smile crept onto his lips.
“Tsk tsk.
I never thought the inheritor of the ‘Void Martial’ constitution in this generation would be connected to those people.”
“Kid, let me ask you — when you’re exhausted, does that heat emanate from your blood?”
He asked Feng Hao.
“My blood?”
Feng Hao scratched his head, thinking carefully.
“Probably…
I think so.”
The heat seemed to come from everywhere in his body, somewhat like it was from his bloodline, but Feng Hao couldn’t be certain.
“Tsk tsk.
To have inherited this — kid, you’re blessed.”
Burning Elder’s eyes sparkled.
He looked at Feng Hao like he was some kind ofmonster, making Feng Hao’s scalp tingle.
“After endless years, this bloodline has weakened.
Among them, only one or two appear every few generations.
Could this kid’s ancestors have been from their direct line?”
The more he thought, the stranger his gaze became.
“Master, is this a good thing or a bad thing?”
Under that probing stare, Feng Hao grew anxious.
“What are you worried about?
Burning Elder rolled his eyes.
“Too bad those people refused to show me the ‘Blood Coagulation Art.’ With this kid’s bloodline, that little girl would be nothing.”
“Kid, remember to eat more beast meat — as much as possible!”
Burning Elder bared his teeth in a grin.
Then his form dissolved into specks of light and vanished.
“Uh…”
Feng Hao was taken aback.
“Eat more beast meat.”
“I already knew that.”
He muttered under his breath, gulped down the remaining roast meat in a few bites, and headed for the waterfall.
“Should I try the second posture of Tiger Movement now?”
Practicing the first posture beneath the waterfall was no longer much of a challenge for Feng Hao.
What he needed to do was push his limits.
That was the fastest way to break through.
*Rumble!…*
The waterfall cascaded down like an inverted Milky Way, easily weighing several hundred jin.
But directly beneath it, a figure stood.
He was slightly arched, like a beast about to strike.
His entire being radiated explosive power.
*Crackle!
Pop!*
With a series of crisp sounds from his bones, every muscle in Feng Hao’s body quivered rhythmically.
He had broken through.
Sixth-stage peak!
*Whoosh…
whoosh…*
Feeling the new power surging within him, the improvement in his physique and every aspect of his being, Feng Hao stretched his body and stood up.
“Ah!
Pervert!”
A pleasant cry of alarm reached his ears.
“Pervert?”
Feng Hao was confused.
He followed the sound and saw a girl in leather armor, with a graceful figure and sweet face, standing at the pool’s edge with her back to him.
“Uh.”
He glanced down at himself.
His face reddened.
Stark naked, he hurriedly dove back into the pool, leaving only his head above water.
“Hey, go away!
If you don’t leave, how am I supposed to get out?”
He shouted at the girl.
If he hadn’t shouted, it might have been fine.
But when he did, the girl drew her sword and, with a few swift strokes, slashed his clothes — lying by the pool — to shreds.
“You pervert!
I’ll teach you to run around naked!
I’ll teach you to be a pervert!”
[END OF CHAPTER 23]