"That's enough. Withdraw."
Meng Qingshuang's hoarse, chilling voice rang out, his brow knitted with a hint of displeasure.
"Yes. My apologies, I was being reckless."
The one-eyed Supervisor's eyelid twitched. He immediately dropped his vicious act, nodding and bowing as he retreated.
KLAK-KLAK~
Meng Qingshuang rolled the Iron Pills in his hand, his venomous, snake-like eyes sweeping over the crowd of Mining Slaves as he spoke in a chilling voice:
"I know what you're thinking, but it's not up to you. You have two choices: eat, or die."
The moment he finished speaking, his gaze turned cold. With a flick of his toe, an egg-sized stone on the ground shot out like a bullet!
Swift as a thunderbolt, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
WHIZ!
BANG!
After a brief sonic boom,
The stone instantly obliterated half the skull of a scrawny Mining Slave over ten meters away. Red and white matter sprayed all over the people nearby, who scrambled back in terror.
Such power, such accuracy!
He was practically a human sniper rifle!
Huddled at the back of the crowd, Wu Dao's assessment of Meng Qingshuang's strength sharpened once again.
'Just based on that move alone, a Heaven Stealer would need to have released over 50% of their body's potential. Their Physique would have to be in the Great Success Beast King Domain, the apex of the natural world, to perform such a feat so effortlessly!'
Having personally ended a life, Meng Qingshuang looked as if he had merely crushed an ant. His expression remained completely unchanged, his voice as frosty as ever. "I will count to three. If no one has moved by then, I will kill again. One!"
The thick stench of blood filled the air. A chilling, serpentine aura coiled around every Mining Slave, and the intense, suffocating pressure made it hard for them to breathe.
"Two!"
WHOOSH~
Meng Qingshuang had barely counted to two before the Mining Slaves—legs weak and utterly terrified—stampeded forward, scrambling over one another, terrified of being left behind.
CRACK!
In front of the long table laden with bowls of meat, the Supervisor cracked his leather whip and bellowed, "Line up properly! One bowl per person, and you must finish it on the spot!"
This move completely crushed any hope Wu Dao and others had of trying to fake their way through.
'I hope the poison isn't too potent!'
At the back of the line, Wu Dao focused his full attention on the "taste-testing" Mining Slave at the very front.
The core of the Essence Devouring Art was its "Healing Fluid," which was derived from the various substances in the food a person consumed.
As long as enough of one's potential was released, the body could digest most natural and chemical toxins, converting them into beneficial Healing Fluid.
In his previous life, after unlocking 100% of his potential, Wu Dao could drink nuclear wastewater like it was a sports drink; it was actually a huge boost for him.
In this life, he was just starting out, with only 35% of his potential released, but he could still shrug off simple natural toxins.
'The Four Seas Gang couldn't possibly be using Extraordinary Resources on a group of Mining Slaves who had nothing left to offer but their bodies, right?'
"Next!"
"Next!"
Perhaps it was the mentality of "might as well die on a full stomach," but the line moved quickly.
Every Mining Slave was wolfing down the food, shoveling it in with their hands. Many choked so hard their eyes rolled back into their heads. Luckily, buckets of water were prepared at the table; otherwise, a few might have choked to death on the spot.
Wu Dao kept his eyes fixed on the first batch of Mining Slaves who ate the meat.
More than ten minutes passed.
Other than being visibly stuffed and lying on the ground burping nonstop, those few men showed no signs of poisoning.
'A slow-acting poison, then?'
Wu Dao breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lift slightly from his heart.
A little while later,
It was finally Wu Dao's turn.
He lowered his head and silently accepted the large bowl. Looking at the gelatinous-looking braised meat inside, he squatted to the side and, like everyone else, began to wolf it down, grabbing chunks of meat with his dirt-caked hands.
Huh?
The moment the first bite entered his mouth, Wu Dao felt a jolt of surprise. Not because he detected poison, but because the meat tasted... off.
Mixed in with the savory aroma of the meat was a faint but distinct medicinal scent. With just one bite, Wu Dao identified several different herbal flavors.
Ginseng, goji berry, eucommia, fo-ti...
...and other herbs Wu Dao couldn't name, which were likely unique to this World.
This was a medicated meal!
A medicated meal designed to treat weakness and replenish one's qi and blood!
Moreover, the combination of herbs was brilliant. It could rapidly pull someone out of a weakened state and bolster their qi and blood. As long as a person wasn't on the verge of death, they wouldn't be overwhelmed by the potent nourishment.
How did Wu Dao know all this with such intimate familiarity?
It was because after reaching 45% Potential Release with the Essence Devouring Art, a Heaven Stealer had to consume various medicated meals daily to meet their body's nutritional demands. The further they progressed, the older and more potent the required herbs became.
You could say that every Heaven Stealer was part walking pharmacy and part master herbalist; they could identify the ingredients of any medicated meal with a single taste.
How bizarre...
That was the only thought in Wu Dao's mind after he carefully identified the herbal ingredients in the meat.
There was no poison.
It was a purely restorative medicated meal!
'What in the world is the Four Seas Gang planning with such an extravagant gesture?'
Though his mind was riddled with questions, Wu Dao didn't dare refuse. He quickly finished the entire bowl of medicated meat.
And just as the last piece of meat went down,
Wu Dao's eyes narrowed.
He clearly felt a chilling seed take root and sprout within his stomach. The sensation of a foreign body was crystal clear—it was no illusion!
But before he could even focus on the sensation, the ethereal, transcendent prompt sounded in his mind once more—
"Teleportation Points +0.05."
The instant that voice sounded, the foreign-body sensation in his stomach vanished.
!!
Wu Dao felt not the slightest bit of joy at gaining Teleportation Points. Instead, a chill ran down his spine.
The source of Teleportation Points was the "abnormalities" of this World.
The "Specter" he had encountered yesterday was one such abnormality.
'Then what in the world did I just eat?'
The corpse pit, the Specter, Meng Qingshuang, the abnormality hidden in the medicated meal...
In a flash, the pieces of information began to connect. Wu Dao felt like he was on the verge of grasping something. But his knowledge of this World's Extraordinary information was too limited, and without a god's-eye view, the truth remained shrouded in mist, unclear and indistinct.
But no matter what, this was definitely not a good thing.
'Whatever the Four Seas Gang is planning, the malignant seed inside me has already been eliminated. And if the meals for the next ten days are all this nourishing...'
Wu Dao crudely licked the greasy dregs from the bottom of his bowl. Sensing the Four Seas Gang's palpable malice, he didn't panic. In fact, he felt the urge to ask for a few more bowls.
The prerequisite for the second stage of the Essence Devouring Art, 45% Potential Release, was for a Heaven Stealer to eat a rich, meat-heavy diet every day. This would provide the abundant nutrients needed to create enough Healing Fluid to breach the body's natural dams and reshape one's physique.
As long as this diet was maintained, and he trained to his limit once a day to metabolize the Healing Fluid, he could shatter his shackles and break through the first major threshold in as little as a month, or at most, half a year.
However, just as there was a slow and steady path, there was also a fast and furious one.
By force-feeding oneself the medicated meals required for the next stage of Potential Release, the time needed could be drastically reduced. A Breakthrough was possible in half a month at most.
The only drawback was the risk of overdoing it—rushing one's progress. The body wouldn't be able to adapt to the sudden increase in strength. Before you could break your limit, you'd end up in a hospital bed.
But it was a different story if you could have a master herbalist formulate the medicated meal to be nourishing without being harmful.
This medicated meal from the Four Seas Gang was clearly the work of such a master. It was rapidly restorative, yet gentle enough that it wouldn't overwhelm the body.
As for the timeframe, Wu Dao was the creator of the Essence Devouring Art; no one understood it better than him. He was confident he could shorten that half-month period to less than ten days.
The only condition was that every meal from now on had to be a medicated meal of the same quality.
'Don't let me down.'
Feeling the potent medicinal energy surging from his stomach, Wu Dao wished he could run into the mining pit right then and there for an intense workout. For the first time, this Purgatory-like Red Fire Mine felt a little warmer.
'Unfortunately, I can't confirm if Meng Qingshuang has a way to detect these abnormalities. Otherwise...'
Wu Dao glanced at the swollen bellies of the surrounding Mining Slaves and licked his greasy lips with regret.
Even though Meng Qingshuang hadn't reacted when the abnormality inside him disappeared, it was better to be safe than sorry. If the abnormalities implanted in a large number of Mining Slaves suddenly vanished and attracted Meng Qingshuang's attention, then Wu Dao, as the culprit, would be immediately exposed. The risk wasn't worth the reward.
...
Night.
A bright moon hung in a cloudless sky.
Its brilliant light bathed the land, making the vast desert as bright as day.
A corner of the Red Fire Mine.
Enclosed by an inner wall was a series of dirty, low-roofed shacks, resembling a large pigsty.
It was late into the night.
Snores thundered through the air. Having eaten their fill, the fifty Mining Slaves who had partaken of the meat were enjoying a good night's sleep for the first time in ages.
No one thought about what tomorrow would bring. Their lives were worthless, escape was hopeless; it was better to leave things to fate and simply live one day at a time.
INHALE—
EXHALE—
Amidst the cacophony of snores, a deep, rhythmic breathing like muffled thunder could be heard.
Wu Dao's lean, panther-like physique was hidden in the darkness of the shack. His muscles were tensed, his entire body vibrating from organs to tissues. Veins bulged like serpents on his skin, which was burning a feverish red as he cultivated the Essence Devouring Art in a horse stance.
That's right. The most basic of stances: the horse stance.
Unlike the secret Cultivation Techniques in wuxia novels that required all sorts of bizarre postures, as if trying to twist the human body into a pretzel, the Essence Devouring Art was different.
On the contrary, cultivating the Essence Devouring Art was very simple. It could all be summarized in a single word—
Limit!
Even in the simplest of postures, once the brain's protective inhibitors were released, the full-body vibrations, from the inside out, would rapidly deplete one's stamina, forcing them into a state of hitting their Limit.
Training to the Limit to 'tear' the body apart!
The Healing Fluid to rebuild it!
Again and again!
Tempering iron into steel!
WHOOSH~
Half an hour later, he exhaled a long, turbid breath.
Wu Dao lay sprawled on the ground. The divine, sacred clarity in his eyes faded, and his violently pounding heart, surging qi and blood, and crimson skin slowly returned to normal.
He closed his eyes to focus. After a few breaths, a thick, warm current—far more substantial than usual and distinctly palpable—spread out from a single point, surging through his entire body to heal fatigue and damage, strengthen his cells, and restructure his muscle fibers!
During the process, Wu Dao felt as if he were watching from a third-person perspective, experiencing no pain whatsoever.
All he could perceive were his muscles, bones, tendons, and organs... like crude iron on an anvil, being hammered and tempered into fine steel by the Healing Fluid.
CRACKLE-POP—
He stood, clenched his fists, and rolled his neck. His joints popped and cracked like a string of firecrackers.
It was like a brand-new war machine being fully assembled. His strength had surged, and his entire body felt rejuvenated. This feeling of rebirth brought the first genuine smile to Wu Dao's face since his transmigration.
'Open attribute panel.'
[Physique: Expert (Limit)]
[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (36%) +]
[Teleportation Points: 0.15]
My Potential Release, which has been stuck at 35% for a month, finally went up by 1% after metabolizing the Healing Fluid from a single medicated meal!
The progress was small, but the word 'Limit' now displayed after his Physique meant that Wu Dao had officially begun the process of shattering the first of his body's shackles.
As long as he successfully completed the remaining Nine Steps, he could shatter the first of his body's limiters, steal back the potential sealed away by the heavens, and undergo his first Rebirth, gaining Non-human Power!
Calming his qi and blood, he dismissed the attribute panel.
'I can't wait to see how high the sky is and how vast the earth of this World truly are... and what kind of beings stand at the top of the food chain.'
Lying on the cold, hard wooden planks, Wu Dao squeezed his own muscles, which felt fuller and harder than ever. His bright eyes, full of fiery anticipation, slowly closed. He regulated his breathing and quickly entered a half-awake, half-asleep state.
In his room were three other Mining Slaves who had eaten the meat today.
He wasn't sure if they would undergo some dangerous transformation after consuming the 'abnormality,' posing a threat to him.
Therefore, he couldn't allow himself to fall into a deep sleep.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!
「The next day.」
At noon, the sharp, clanging sound of a gong once again echoed throughout the Red Fire Mine.
Wu Dao stood at the mine entrance, hair disheveled. His increasingly robust physique was hidden beneath a filthy, stinking black robe, making him look like a wild man.
"Hsss... damn, that smells good!"
He took a deep, appreciative sniff of the savory, meaty aroma wafting through the air and grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth.