Suddenly, Mao Wenjie discovered that his "sense field" had doubled in size, allowing him to explore a hundred li. This was simply incredible! What could be the reason for this explosive growth of the sense field? He pondered for a long time and still couldn't figure out what had caused it. Eh, never mind, let's not think about it. It doesn't matter what the reason is as long as there's progress; the reason doesn't matter at all.
Mao Wenjie looked at the time; it was still early until dawn, so he sat cross-legged and began to regulate his breath. He continued until the east turned white, then he stopped his breathing and walked out of the cave.
He spoke as he walked: "They say the early bird catches the worm. Is it true?" The words had just been uttered when he sighed and shook his head with a bitter smile. Indeed, there was a worm. The problem was that this worm was somewhat large. A lion in the late-stage of Daheng stared at him from over a hundred meters away.
Looking at the lion, Mao Wenjie thought, This worm is too big to eat; maybe I should let it be for another bird. He turned around and walked away.
The lion saw Mao Wenjie turning around and walking away and became angry. "Everyone says the early bird catches the worm," thought the lion. "I've only gotten up early once, and here I am encountering this small worm. Why should I let it go just because you want to run away?" With a loud roar, the lion pounced on Mao Wenjie.
Mao Wenjie sighed inwardly, lamenting his fate. He never realized that he had become the worm, which was too pitiful. Panicking, he quickly dodged and avoided the lion's attacks.
The lion saw Mao Wenjie dodging its attacks and became furious. "This little human thinks it can escape? It's never going to happen," thought the lion. "Today, you're mine. You might as well submit and let me eat you, this worm."
Mao Wenjie looked at the lion and felt extremely angry in his heart. "I woke up early to find a worm to eat, not to let you eat me as a worm," he thought. "What's the big deal about being in the late-stage of Daheng? Don't push me too far, or I'll make you regret it. I'm getting more and more angry and feeling more and more frustrated. Being chased and beaten by this lion is really frustrating. What can I do when I can't beat them? There's no other choice but to dodge."
The lion, seeing Mao Wenjie dodge its attack, became even more angry. This little human dares to evade? It truly believes that I, the king of beasts, am vegetarian? Without hesitation, it launched another fierce assault, its front paw aimed at Mao Wenjie's head.
Seeing the situation, Mao Wenjie quickly dodged again and whispered to himself, "I can't continue to engage with it like this. If I'm chased and beaten by it, there's no solution. I'll just wait for a stronger mid-stage demon beast to practice my skills and gain some experience before facing you again. After that, you'll know that I'm not someone to be trifled with." Thinking thus, he used his instantaneous movement and vanished before the lion.
The lion, seeing this, became confused. "What's going on?" it wondered. "There's a huge worm in front of me, and it just suddenly disappeared. What happened? How can it vanish in an instant?" The lion started spinning around frantically in search of the worm that had vanished.
Mao Wenjie had already been ten miles away by then, hunting and killing prey. The intermediate stage demon beasts he encountered were defeated with a single blow. Against the mid-stage demon beasts, he managed to kill them after a few exchanges. Thus, in just one morning, Mao Wenjie reaped a rich harvest.
Mao Wenjie looked at the time and realized it was about time. He needed to eat something to replenish his energy, so he searched for a quiet place and began roasting meat to replenish his nutrients. While he was doing this, he used his spiritual power and communicated with Qinghua, the Celestial maiden.
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, asked him, "How is everything in the tenth zone, Master? Have you encountered any danger?"
Mao Wenjie smiled as he replied, "The situation here is quite ideal. I can defeat my equals with just a few moves, the weak ones with one blow, and when faced with the strong ones, I just run away. After all, I can't be eaten by them!"
Qinghua asked, "Have you encountered any powerful demon beasts?"
Mao Wenjie sighed and shook his head bitterly. "This morning I encountered a powerful demon beast," he said. "For the past two days, when I've faced strong demon beasts, I've simply skirted around them. This morning, just as I stepped out of the cave, I came face to face with a lion in the late-stage of Daheng, which blocked my path at the cave entrance. There's no way I can beat it, so I had to use my instantaneous movement to avoid it."
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Master also has times when things don't go his way, huh? Should I go over there to help you eliminate it?"
Mao Wenjie smiled and said, "That's not necessary. You just need to protect them well. I'm fine. I can handle it alone. A demon beast in the late-stage of Daheng isn't a problem for me. I can defeat it within a few days."
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, heard this and understood that Master Mao Wenjie had already reached the mid-stage of Daheng.
Mao Wenjie smiled faintly, "I broke through last night. This morning, I was thinking, as the early bird catches the worm, let's go out to find a worm. Who knows, and I ended up becoming the worm myself."
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, was amused by this and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "It seems that Master's luck isn't very good at the moment. He almost became a bird's meal right from the start."
Mao Wenjie was so angry that he was seething with frustration. "Just wait and see, I'll definitely kill that lion within three days."
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, smiled and said, "We'll be waiting for your good news, Master!"
Ding Qingyao saw Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, looking happy and smiling occasionally, she was puzzled and asked: "Qinghua, what are you talking to yourself about? Why do you smile occasionally?"
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, explained, "I am communicating with Master through our spiritual connection. Since we have a spiritual pact, we can communicate via our souls."
Ding Qingyao and the others quickly asked: "How is Master's situation in the other place? Is everything okay?"
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, couldn't help but laugh out loud. "This morning, Master's situation wasn't very good. He originally thought that an early bird catches a worm, but it turned out that an early riser became a worm and almost got eaten."
Ding Qingyao grew even more worried and asked, "What's the situation now?"
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, replied, "You guys shouldn't doubt Master. He has so many skills. How could he be in trouble? Don't worry. I believe in anyone else, but I don't believe that Master would have any problems."
Ding Qingyao felt relieved upon hearing this, "No matter what, as long as Wenjie is safe, that's all that matters."
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, said with assurance, "He can't possibly have any problems. Not only do we have his numerous abilities to consider, but he is also the Chosen One. The heavens wouldn't allow anything to happen to him."
Ding Qingyao looked confused, "When did Wenjie become the Chosen One? We haven't heard him mention it before."
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, said, "This is a long story. I'll tell you more about it later. Now that you're probably full enough, let's continue our hunt for prey."
Mao Wenjie asked Qinghua, "How have they been doing with their harvest over the past two days?"
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, replied to Mao Wenjie's question, "According to them, everything is going quite normally. I estimate that if their master mothers don't break through tonight, they will definitely break through tomorrow."
Mao Wenjie felt immensely relieved upon hearing this. As long as their strength can be rapidly enhanced, they will be able to pass through their tribulations earlier. Qinghua, take care of them well! I'm going to start looking for prey now. Goodbye!
Qinghua, the Celestial maiden, responded, "All right, goodbye, Master!"
After tidying up the area, Mao Wenjie continued to hunt and kill prey. As the saying goes, "Hard work pays off." In just one afternoon, he managed to slay dozens of mid-stage demon beasts.
Soon, three days had passed. Mao Wenjie stopped his meditation and stood up to stretch his limbs. He muttered to himself, "Early birds get the worms. Today I'll see if I can run into that terrible lion. If I encounter it today, I will kill it no matter what, to avenge myself. It's no coincidence that such an incident happened." Mao Wenjie was unaware that the lion also harbored similar thoughts.
As Mao Wenjie stepped out of the cave, he saw the lion watching him again, which only irritated him further. "You wretched lion, do you still want to eat me? I was just about to seek revenge on you, and now you've come looking for trouble yourself. If I don't kill you, I'll be letting down your effort to come and die!"
The lion looked at Mao Wenjie and said, "You humans finally appear. I've been waiting for you here for several days. Today, no matter what, I will not let you escape again. Today, you must be eaten by me. Letting you fool the king of beasts? Do you know what the consequence of teasing me is? There is only death. Today if you try to escape again, there is no chance."
The lion did not give Mao Wenjie a chance to run away. It charged at him in a fierce leap, truly making a big mouth. It aimed to bite off Mao Wenjie's head in one go.
Mao Wenjie wouldn't let it happen that easily. He dodged the lion's attack and kicked its belly instead.
The king of beasts is not to be underestimated either. Not being able to strike in one go, it executes a mid-air spin.
Mao Wenjie missed with his kick and quickly pounded a punch towards the lion's head.
The lion shook its head to dodge Mao Wenjie's attack and then swung its front paw towards him.
Mao Wenjie saw this and quickly punched out. When his fist met the lion's front paw, there was a loud thud. The lion didn't move an inch, but Mao Wenjie retreated five steps backward.
The lion, watching Mao Wenjie retreat five steps, said, "Huh! This human has some strength. He only retreated five steps after I struck him. Not bad, not bad! Next time, the lion charged at Mao Wenjie again.
Mao Wenjie saw this and didn't dare to be careless. He quickly dodged the lion's attack and turned to give it a punch on the waist. Although the difference in strength was huge, Mao Wenjie's punch still caused the lion pain.
The lion roared again and charged at Mao Wenjie, looking determined to devour him in one go.
Mao Wenjie could not allow the lion to succeed. He quickly sidestepped and kicked the lion's waist again, which happened to hit it accurately.
The lion's waist was in intense pain as it hated Mao Wenjie to death. It felt betrayed by the cowardly sneak attack. It wanted to fight fairly, not rely on sneak attacks to be a hero.
Mao Wenjie would never bother to think about heroes or not. As long as he can win, that's all that matters.
The lion charged at Mao Wenjie again, determined to eat him. But Mao Wenjie would never wait passively for death. He moved agilely like an eel, confusing the lion and making it spin around in circles. The lion was almost disoriented, and it had started to rage, launching a full-scale attack at Mao Wenjie without considering the consequences.
Mao Wenjie was not so foolish as to fight it head-on. He continued to dance with the lion, avoiding its attacks and slipping away like a mud eel. The lion was confused and almost dizzy from the constant spinning, but its strength remained mostly intact. Mao Wenjie realized that even with the power of late-stage Daheng, it wasn't easy to deal with. "You're strong and have plenty of stamina, I won't believe you can continue this for three days and nights," he thought, "I have plenty of pills, if you can't be exhausted first, I'll admit defeat." He continued to play a game of cat and mouse with the lion.
The human and the lion fought on like this for another afternoon. As night fell, the lion's strength began to wane, and its movements slowed down.
Mao Wenjie secretly rejoiced. I thought you could last three days and three nights, but it turns out you can only last a day. Now it's my turn to take care of you. He punched the lion with all his might, and a loud thud was heard. Then came a loud roar from the lion!
