The black-scaled python hissed menacingly at Xiao Jin; it recognized the small golden creature. Xiao Jin had harassed it a few days earlier, and the encounter had left it painfully bruised. The python had harbored a grudge against Xiao Jin ever since. Now, coming across Xiao Jin again, it couldn't help but launch an attack.
Ye Tian looked at the enormous body of the black-scaled python and chuckled, "With a body this large, it should yield a few hundred portions of high-grade beast blood. Its skin can also be fashioned into protective clothing. My apologies!" Ye Tian moved, activating his twenty-fold sonic speed and his strength talent.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
With each stroke, Ye Tian targeted the python's vital area. The scales, which seemed indestructible in Xiao Jin's eyes, were easily shattered by Ye Tian's blade. Ye Tian's offensive power was incomparable to Xiao Jin's; it reached the level of a Grandmaster. The python's defense, strong though it might have been, was only comparable to a Grandmaster's.
Even Yao Ye, a Grandmaster, couldn't withstand his attacks, so naturally, the python stood no chance either. In the span of a second, Ye Tian had struck the same spot countless times. The python's vital area was now pierced by a large hole, and its heart had been thoroughly punctured by Ye Tian; its life force gradually fading away.
The black-scaled python collapsed onto the ground, lifeless.
At that moment, Xiao Jin widened its eyes, looking incredulously at its master—Ye Tian. It remembered that although its master had been stronger than it, the difference wasn't this vast. How could so much change have occurred in such a short period? A python that even it couldn't handle was easily slain by Ye Tian.
"Worthy of being my master!" Xiao Jin thought to itself, filled with pride.
After killing the black-scaled python, Ye Tian hastily collected its heart's blood. The heart's blood was undoubtedly the essence of a beast's life force, rich and pure in energy. Once he had collected all the heart blood, Ye Tian gathered several dozen portions of high-grade beast blood. After ensuring no more blood would leak, he had Xiao Jin drag the python's corpse back.
It took a considerable amount of time to bring the python's corpse back to Xiao Jin's dwelling. There, the remaining high-grade beast blood was deposited into a blood pool.
"Xiao Jin, the body of this black-scaled python is yours to consume. Just remember to leave the skin," Ye Tian instructed.
"Okay!" Xiao Jin agreed.
It had no desire to eat the python's tough skin anyway; it was too hard to bite into. Even if Ye Tian hadn't ordered it, Xiao Jin wouldn't have consumed the python's skin.
As Xiao Jin relished the meat of the black-scaled python, Ye Tian began to integrate a medium-grade defense talent.
"Integrate!" Ye Tian mentally commanded.
Swiftly, heat suffused his body, beads of sweat trickling down. His skin tingled painfully, and his body flushed red. This was the process of talent transformation.
Ten minutes passed, and the integration of the defense talent was successful. With a thought, the status of his talents displayed on his retinas:
Cultivation Talent: Top-tier
Speed Talent: Top-tier
Healing Talent: Top-tier
Strength Talent: High
Endurance Talent: Medium
Defense Talent: Medium
"In addition to my cultivation talent, I now possess seven unique talents. I'm probably the only one in the world with these!" Ye Tian declared proudly.
"Let's test the effects of my medium-level defense talent!" Ye Tian took out an intermediate Yuanli knife and lightly slashed his own left forearm.
The Yuanli knife was deflected. The force he had used was not considerable, amounting to no more than a few tens of thousands of jin (a unit of weight), so it was unsurprising that the blade didn't pierce his skin. Consequently, Ye Tian increased his exertion, going up to 150,000 jin, yet he still couldn't break through his skin's defense.
Ye Tian activated his strength talent, causing his bodily power to surge tenfold. Next, he experimented with a force of 200,000 jin, but still failed to breach his bodily defenses. He then increased the force further, finally piercing his skin with a strength of 250,000 jin. However, this was merely relying on his skin to withstand the attack. True martial warriors would utilize Yuanli to form a protective barrier, and the efficacy of this barrier was directly related to the body's physical defenses.
A faint layer of Yuanli membrane enveloped his skin. Ye Tian tried slashing his skin again, this time using the knife with a force of 1,500,000 jin before finally breaking through his bodily defense.
"1,500,000 jin! With this level of defense, I can withstand an attack of 1,500,000 jin. Most top-level martial warriors won't be able to break through my defense. And this is just the beginning. Once I advance to the peak of top-level martial arts, I doubt even they could pierce my defense by simply striking me!" Ye Tian was extremely satisfied with his current bodily defense. With this layer of defense and his top-tier healing talent, his ability to preserve his life had multiplied several times over.
In the following month, Ye Tian spent most of his time in the Xiao Qian Ye Forest, occasionally returning to the Linhai Base. During his time in the forest, Ye Tian trained vigorously, working together with Xiao Jin to slay dozens of high-level beasts and collect large quantities of their blood. Amidst this fervent training, both Ye Tian and Xiao Jin experienced rapid increases in their respective strengths.
Finally, one day, Ye Tian raised his bodily strength to the level of 200,000 jin. Xiao Jin had also reached the peak of the early stages of high-level beasts. His speed had also increased a notch, almost reaching 25 times the speed of sound, while Ye Tian's speed had reached a level of 23 times the speed of sound.
However, Ye Tian and Xiao Jin's frenzied actions had severely reduced the number of high-level beasts in the area, eventually attracting the attention of a top-level beast deep within the Xiao Qian Ye Forest.
A white giant ape, fifty meters tall, emerged from the depths of the Xiao Qian Ye Forest and began to patrol the vast area where Xiao Jin was located. This area was its territory, and the high-level beasts served under it. They were required to provide offerings of blood and flesh at regular intervals in exchange for its protection. But the offerings in the last few months had been too sparse.
Not particularly intelligent, the ape was considerably angered, prompting it to personally address the issue. Upon arriving, it was dumbstruck; not a single high-level beast was left.
"Could they have run away?" thought the white giant ape.
The white giant ape moved forward, each step causing giant trees to fall over in its wake. Suddenly, it sensed the aura of a high-level beast and immediately moved toward it. The high-level beast it sensed was none other than Xiao Jin.