Dazhuang snickered, his gaze falling onto the Golden-Haired Monkey's corpse on the ground.
"What is this thing?"
"An Eighth Grade Golden-Haired Monkey!"
Dazhuang froze.
"What grade?"
"Eighth Grade!"
Eighth Grade!
Only then did he notice his boss had grown noticeably larger!
"Wait, Boss, you're Eighth Grade?"
"Yeah!"Getting an affirmative answer, Dazhuang slumped to the ground, totally deflated.
"No way, are you on drugs? Advancing is as easy as eating a meal for you! I thought I was ranking up fast enough, but I didn't expect you to be even faster. It's only been a few days, and you've already shot from the Seventh Grade to the Eighth Grade!"
Lu Qing ignored him and simply dug into his meal.
Beside him, Dazhuang was practically drooling.
"How does an Eighth Grade Golden-Haired Monkey taste?"
"It's alright."
"So... is the meat tough?"
Asking question after question—didn't he just want a bite?
Lu Qing flicked his Blade Leg, snipping off the Golden-Haired Monkey's two Flat Peaches. "These things are a massive tonic. Here, have a taste!"
With that, he tossed them over.
Dazhuang had never eaten a primate before, so naturally, he had no idea what these two Flat Peaches actually were.
He caught them excitedly, eager to enjoy this Eighth Grade delicacy.
"Mhm, the taste is good, just a little musky."
Lu Qing laughed inwardly. 'Eighth Grade meat is just like that. You'll get used to it! Actually, the texture and taste are secondary; the real benefit is the energy contained inside.'
This was entirely true!
Even though the location of this particular cut of meat was a bit questionable, the effects were absolutely fantastic!
For Dazhuang, a Fifth Grade Mantis, eating Eighth Grade meat provided countless benefits.
Lu Qing did not need to chew, so naturally, he ate extremely fast.
By the time Dazhuang finished the two Flat Peaches and looked up, only white bones were left on the ground.
Still wanting more, he raised a Blade Leg and wiped his mouth. "Boss, you scarf down your food as fast as ever."
Was this even considered fast?
Lu Qing picked up a white bone and tried chewing on it.
Back when his grade was lower, he couldn't gnaw through bones at all, but now it required no effort.
'Flesh Value +0.2 acquired.'
Even the bones were useful!
With that realization, he swept the rest of the bones clean.
An entire Eighth Grade Golden-Haired Monkey, aside from the two Flat Peaches, had completely gone into his stomach.
His Experience Value had also skyrocketed to 258/700.
If he could just find a way to kill two more Eighth Grade creatures, he could advance again!
In an excellent mood, Lu Qing went over to his stone bed and lay down.
...
Early the next morning.
Lu Qing was awakened by a roar like a clap of thunder.
Immediately after, an incredibly clear, gentle voice appeared in his mind!
"Today is the Day of No Combat. Within the Peach Woods, all species at the Fifth Grade and above must provide one Treetop Fruit before noon."
After the voice vanished, another distinct, furious roar echoed out.
This roar came from dozens of li away, yet it shook the cave so violently that dust cascaded from the ceiling.
The feminine telepathic voice and the furious roar had to belong to Exotic Beasts, and likely not the same individual!
Dazhuang flipped up, assuming a combat stance.
"What's going on?"
Lu Qing turned and hurried to the cave entrance.
"A roar from dozens of li away still carries such power, and they can project their voice so clearly. I have no idea what species possesses such overwhelming strength."
Dazhuang hastily followed.
"If things go south, we can just run for it..."
...
After heading outside, Lu Qing initially wanted to find a few high-grade Peach Worms to ask about the situation, but he happened to spot an Arrow Sparrow flying past overhead.
Having reached the Eighth Grade, Lu Qing's speed was incredible. The mere Arrow Sparrow was instantly clamped down and yanked out of the air.
The Arrow Sparrow let out a shriek and begged frantically, "Don't kill me, don't kill me! Today is the Day of No Combat!"
Lu Qing released his grip and took a closer look, feeling that the Arrow Sparrow before him looked somewhat familiar.
"Tell me, what's the deal with this Day of No Combat, and what exactly was that roar?"
The Arrow Sparrow looked thoroughly traumatized.
Glancing at Lu Qing's terrifying Dark Blade, it communicated while trembling, "The Day of No Combat is designated by the Lord of the Peach Woods. It decrees that the entire day of the full moon is a Day of No Combat. On this day, no matter the species, absolutely no fighting or slaughter is permitted. Otherwise, the Lord of the Peach Woods will personally appear to annihilate the offenders."
Lu Qing was slightly startled. To be able to designate dates and establish rules meant this Lord of the Peach Woods possessed considerable intelligence!
Both strength and wisdom.
"What species is the Lord of the Peach Woods, and what level of strength does it have?"
The Arrow Sparrow responded immediately, "It is said to be a white ape—a massive white ape as towering as a mountain. Rumor has it that its strength has already surpassed the Low Tier!"
If a white ape possessed such intelligence, then it all made sense.
If its strength had surpassed the Low Tier... then it was at least a Secondary Tier existence.
With such overwhelming power, it was absolutely not an existence he could afford to provoke right now.
The Peach Woods was a good place, and the Lord of the Peach Woods was incredibly powerful. Submitting to the rules for now and lying low to develop was the right path!
"Then what is this 'Treetop Fruit' that was mentioned earlier?"
The Arrow Sparrow bobbed its red beak toward a nearby peach tree.
"Up there, at the very highest point, that crystal-clear fruit. That is a Treetop Fruit. Treetop Fruits ripen once every three years, and out of a hundred trees, only one will mature a single fruit after the full moon. It is the Lord of the Peach Woods' favorite food."
"Rumor has it that this fruit prolongs life and has many marvelous effects, though no species knows exactly what those effects are."
"Why not?"
The Arrow Sparrow shrank back in utter terror. "Anyone who ever tasted one was torn to shreds by the Lord of the Peach Woods, and even their entire species was implicated and slaughtered alongside them."
This white ape had quite a temper.
Turning around, Lu Qing said, "Alright, you can go."
The Arrow Sparrow cowered and said, "I have also reached the Fifth Grade, so I need to provide a Treetop Fruit to the Lord of the Peach Woods too. I wonder if I could take this one with me..."
It was truly stupid and greedy.
Lu Qing sent it flying with a single kick.
He turned and ordered, "Dazhuang, pick the fruit!"
Dazhuang scrambled and flew up, snapping off the branch along with the Treetop Fruit.
Afterward, Lu Qing brought him along and found another one.
Dazhuang clamped the branches with two Blade Legs, balancing the fruits on his back.
"Boss, I feel like even walking is a struggle like this."
"You didn't seem to struggle when you were eating and drinking."
...
Along the way, Lu Qing encountered many different species.
Among them was the incredibly stubborn Iron-Headed Cricket.
The Iron-Headed Cricket glared at every creature like it had a deep-seated blood feud with them, but it also restrained itself, not daring to attack.
Yet upon crossing paths with Lu Qing, the cricket did not even dare look his way.
Lu Qing thought to himself, 'It seems the Iron-Headed Cricket only acts tough around those weaker than it!'
A classic bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak.
Hearing a buzzing sound in the air, he looked up to see a dragonfly over two meters long, with a wingspan exceeding four meters, flying overhead.
The dragonfly's wings resembled metallic blades. They vibrated rapidly, and the buzzing noise was produced from this sheer vibration.
The dragonfly seemed to notice that someone was watching it, and paused in mid-air.
A cold, haughty voice immediately rang out.
"Hmph! If you dare look up at me again, be careful I don't dice you into minced meat!"
The species in this Peach Woods really had massive tempers!
To think that this female dragonfly would fly into a rage just from a single glance.
Sure enough, there was no reasoning in this world. The only thing that mattered was strength!
All the other species obediently lowered their heads, but Lu Qing only laughed.
"If I don't lift my head to look, am I supposed to lift my ass to look?"
The dragonfly's gaze instantly locked onto Lu Qing.
Seeing that he was also at the Eighth Grade, she sneered coldly once again. "I wondered what was acting so arrogantly, but it turns out to be just a little Mantis."