Chapter Thirty-Nine

Thus, Cheng Yuan brought the little tiger to confront the Icefeather Chicken, a foe somewhat formidable for them. Facing such a glass cannon, it was essential to strike lethally in one blow; otherwise, if it took to the air and played to its strengths, it would truly evolve from a ground bird into a bomber.

Gazing at the chicken before him, Cheng Yuan pondered for a moment, then pointed and commanded, “Taunt it. Go.” The little tiger glanced back with an expression that seemed to question Cheng Yuan’s boldness. Cheng Yuan nodded. The little tiger’s cub stage form was highly deceptive, and, as the king of its kin, Cheng Yuan surmised that the Icefeather Chicken would have at least a bit of a temper.

He only needed to give the little tiger a chance to pounce and kill; such a fragile chicken would be an easy catch. So Cheng Yuan sent the little tiger forward. As soon as the little tiger entered the Icefeather Chicken’s line of sight, the bird spread its wings. The little tiger, however, acted as though it didn’t care, which immediately infuriated the Icefeather Chicken.

How dare a mere cub provoke me, the great Icefeather Chicken? I’ll send it flying with a single smack of my wing, the bird thought—and acted accordingly. As it charged, wings outstretched, toward the little tiger, the cub suddenly pounced from its spot. The little tiger, over a meter in length, was about the same size as this Icefeather Chicken—yet it dared to engage in close combat.

In an instant, the Icefeather Chicken was knocked to the ground. Nevertheless, it didn’t panic. After all, it was a mature beast, stronger than the little tiger. As the Icefeather Chicken opened its beak, about to fire an ice arrow at close range, a sudden pain shot through its neck and wings. The bird’s head, poised to release the ice arrow, was wrenched aside as the little tiger bit into its neck and shook it violently.

If the opponent had been a massive monster, this move would have been nearly useless. But for birds, even mature ones rarely grew large, their bodies shaped by evolution for the skies, leaving their weight among the lowest of their peers.

In this world where size and strength reigned, birds also had to contend with two monstrous reptilian rivals—the giant dragons and the true dragons—as well as other strange competitors. Fortunately, few of these rivals could match them in flight; most were merely powerful but unwieldy.

Cheng Yuan looked at the ground, now littered with feathers and the Icefeather Chicken thrashing about. The scene reminded him of a rooster at home, its throat slit and blood draining. After a moment’s thought, he stepped forward and grabbed the bird’s claw. Harnessing the terrifying strength of the upright ape, Cheng Yuan slammed the Icefeather Chicken into the ground like a hammer.

With just one blow, Cheng Yuan felt the bird’s wings deform. He struck twice more, forcefully. The little tiger, startled, released its grip and backed away. Cheng Yuan gazed down at the Icefeather Chicken, now barely clinging to life beneath his foot. It felt as though a coach had stepped in to slaughter the opposition. “It’s good to be human,” he mused.

After a few strangled cries from the Icefeather Chicken, a system prompt sounded: “You have solo-killed the dungeon target—Mature Icefeather Chicken. Simulated Dungeon ‘Five Sacrificial Beasts’ generated.” “Dungeon clue obtained: Sacrificial Beast—Chicken.” “Clue collection complete. Hunt target beacon generated.”

The little tiger stared at the motionless Icefeather Chicken, then at Cheng Yuan, its eyes brimming with awe and envy. It trotted over to Cheng Yuan, rubbing against him repeatedly. This was unsurprising; it was the first time Cheng Yuan had demonstrated the full combat prowess of an adult terrifying upright ape. The little tiger’s admiration was only natural. The Giant Lizard of Manze also crawled out from Cheng Yuan’s clothes, having been jolted awake by all the commotion.

At that moment, Cheng Yuan heard the sound of wings beating. He immediately realized that the flock contained more than just one Icefeather Chicken. Just as he scooped up the little tiger to flee, he saw flocks of chickens taking to the trees, and he froze in surprise. Then a meteor appeared in the sky, quickly landing beside him.

As the light faded, the dungeon reward appeared: Skill Book—Ice Arrow. Cheng Yuan tried to use it, but both he and the little tiger had zero compatibility; only the Giant Lizard of Manze had a 6% compatibility rate. Like Windstep, it was a skill with potential for the future.

Of the Five Sacrificial Beasts, the only “sacrifice” he could deal with had been handled. Cheng Yuan grabbed the Icefeather Chicken’s corpse and prepared to leave. As he crouched, he spotted several chicks hiding in the grass. Suddenly recalling something, he stood up and carefully surveyed his surroundings.

The Icefeather Chicken was the strongest in this flock, but the hens and other chickens were not all Icefeather Chickens. Or rather, although the Icefeather Chicken was the dominant breed, there were still some other types among them. After all, there were not yet reproductive barriers among the original chicken species.

Cheng Yuan casually reached into a nearby nest, sensing the hens’ anger, yet they dared not approach—likely intimidated by his formidable display of force. Even the damage caused by the little tiger’s pounce and biting during their struggle paled in comparison to the devastation Cheng Yuan’s single slam had caused.

Cheng Yuan speculated that if his opponent had been a Bladeclaw Skeleton, he would have needed a long steel pipe to keep his distance. Against a glass cannon like the Icefeather Chicken, he simply needed to get close—then there was nothing more to it. The terrifying upright ape had plenty of ways to handle small creatures. If the Icefeather Chicken hadn’t been fully mature and the little tiger hadn’t already bitten its neck, Cheng Yuan felt he could have tried twisting its neck off directly.

From this simple experiment, Cheng Yuan gained new insights. After feeding a few eggs to the Giant Lizard of Manze and filling his pockets with more, he carried the Icefeather Chicken’s body toward the dungeon exit.

An hour later, Cheng Yuan frowned at his blood-soaked kitchen. “Maybe I should learn Harvesting Skills,” he thought. After tossing a heap of feathers and some innards into the trash, he wiped the sweat from his brow, scalded by hot water. “How do you make chicken soup, anyway? Better watch a tutorial.”

That evening, when Cheng Yuan’s parents returned home, they were greeted by the rich aroma of chicken soup and saw Cheng Yuan standing motionless at the kitchen door, back to them. His mother was moved—she usually cooked, and now her son had grown up and was making a meal for her. As she approached, she caught a whiff of blood. When Cheng Yuan turned around, she was startled.

Cheng Yuan’s clothes and face were spattered with blood—sprayed everywhere. It was truly alarming, especially when she saw the state of the kitchen. She took a deep breath, cold sweat trickling down her back. “You didn’t go out and kill someone, did you?”

Half an hour later, sipping the chicken soup, his mother sighed, “It’s really good. Next time, let me cook.” She hadn’t expected her son to have a talent for cooking, but to turn the kitchen into a crime scene over a chicken was something else.

Cheng Yuan felt embarrassed as well and decided to learn the Harvesting Skill the next day. Though it might cause a bit of waste, at least he wouldn’t end up covered in blood.

The next day, Cheng Yuan made a call, skipped school again, and went to a nearby library. He picked up the Harvesting Skill with ease—compatibility 105%. As he was about to leave, he noticed the Appraisal Skill nearby. Since he was already there, he learned it too—compatibility 100%.