CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 33 THE TRAINABLE DA SHI_1

Even in the apocalypse, chocolate remained a rare and precious snack.

In Si Yan’s space, there weren’t many such snacks, but now she didn’t skimp and took some out.

Did Mother somehow take out things from nowhere?

Was this also a Special Ability?

"What is this?" Xi Qing deliberately ignored Si Yan’s Special Ability. He sat up straight and curiously sniffed the chocolate after taking it.

"A snack from my hometown called chocolate," Si Yan explained as she tore open the packaging. "It’s sweet; try it and see if you like it."

The dark thing, composed of very regular, neat squares, looked quite peculiar.

It couldn’t be poison, could it?

Xi Qing frowned slightly. He looked at Si Yan, who seemed to be eagerly waiting for him to eat.

Forget it, he thought. Given that she just saved me, I’ll eat it even if it’s poison.

Xi Qing pursed his lips, braced himself, and then opened his mouth wide to take a bite.

At the first bite, the rich, sweet, and smooth texture spread throughout his mouth; the little cub’s eyes widened in surprise.

Delicious! This black poison is really, really good!

Xi Qing’s inner thoughts were practically written all over his face, causing Si Yan to laugh involuntarily.

The little cub is quite amusing, she thought.

Xi Qing ignored Si Yan’s teasing and ate slowly, savoring the flavor.

"Is it good?" Si Yan asked.

Xi Qing nodded slowly.

A sweet and creamy smoothness filled his mouth. Xi Qing, who had never experienced such a flavor, felt a strange and luxurious emotion spread from the depths of his heart.

The sudden emotion left him at a loss. Then he suddenly remembered something even more important.

His face...

Xi Qing subconsciously touched his own face.

He was disfigured, the ugliest male in the entire Rock Village.

Adult Beastmen didn’t like him, the young ones mocked him, and he didn’t deserve anyone’s affection...

Mother... Mother wouldn’t like someone as ugly as him either.

While Xi Qing’s mind was filled with these troubling thoughts, he suddenly saw an animal behind Si Yan, its tongue flickering chillingly. It was a wild poisonous snake!

Si Yan’s vines were favored by snakes, and since this was a cliffside, it wasn’t surprising to encounter them.

"Xi Qing?" Si Yan sensed the beast’s killing intent and turned around.

Xi Qing’s eyes instantly narrowed into vertical slits as he glared fiercely at the wild snake behind Si Yan. However, the wild snake wasn’t afraid of a Beastman like Xi Qing, who hadn’t yet formed a Beast Crystal. It lunged, striking towards Si Yan.

Xi Qing immediately pushed Si Yan aside, thrusting his arm out to shield her. The wild snake bit down hard on Xi Qing’s slender arm.

"Xi Qing!"

"Mother! I’m fine," Xi Qing said, gritting his teeth.

Si Yan was terrified of snakes, nearly panicking, but Xi Qing was her cub. Despite her fear, she knew she had to act.

Just as she was about to help, Xi Qing cried, "Mother, step back!"

"Xi Qing!"

"I am a Sen Ran!" Xi Qing’s lower body had already transformed into a cyan snake’s tail. "I am a Sen Ran Beastman, the king of snake-type Beastmen! If I let Mother get bitten by a snake, it would be an utter disgrace!"

With that, Xi Qing’s upper body also transformed into a snake.

The space atop the cliff was already small, and now it felt even more cramped.

Xi Qing glared angrily at the wild snake, which showed no signs of backing down. The large Sen Ran and the small wild snake became entangled in a fierce struggle.

The wild snake was venomous. Si Yan wanted to help, but the fighting snakes were a tangled mass, making it impossible for her to tell them apart, let alone intervene.

Seeing the wild snake bite Xi Qing, Si Yan grew frantic. Yet, the next moment, Xi Qing suddenly let out a deep, beastly roar, a sound unlike his own voice.

Then, Si Yan witnessed a miraculous scene.

On Xi Qing’s forehead, a Grey Crystal gradually took shape. As this Grey Crystal formed, a sharp yet warm aura began to emanate from Xi Qing’s body.

A Beast Crystal!!

The instant the Beast Crystal formed, the small Sen Ran Beastman clearly became more invigorated!

He opened his gaping maw and coldly flicked his tongue at the small wild snake.

The wild snake seemed to sense how terrifying the Sen Ran Beastman before it had become and tried to flee in fear. But Xi Qing wouldn’t let it escape; he lunged and bit down, killing the wild snake instantly!

After confirming the wild snake was thoroughly dead, Si Yan nervously approached to check on him. In front of her, Xi Qing slowly transformed back into his human form.

"Xi Qing!" Si Yan meticulously inspected him from head to toe. Xi Qing stood still cooperatively, allowing her to check.

The wound on his arm from the snake bite wasn’t large, but it still made Si Yan’s heart ache terribly.

Si Yan asked anxiously, "Are you all right? You scared me to death."

Xi Qing shook his head, his emerald eyes shining brightly at her. "Mother, I’m fine. I absorbed that creature’s poison. And thanks to its poison, I evolved ahead of schedule."

Xi Qing, now evolved into a Grey Crystal Beastman, was overjoyed, seemingly awaiting Si Yan’s praise.

How could Si Yan not understand the little cub’s eager anticipation? Her soft hand gently rested on his head. She sighed softly, her eyes curving into a gentle smile. "Little Xi Qing, you’re truly amazing."

The morning sun shone down. For a moment, Xi Qing forgot all his anxieties, and an involuntary smile spread across his usually troubled face.

However, just then, Si Yan suddenly felt a vibration beside her. A force she couldn’t understand pressed in on her!

"Mother!" Xi Qing cried out in alarm.

Si Yan saw Xi Qing. In the distance, she also spotted a silver wolf-like figure atop a giant white eagle—it was indeed Mu Xiao and Tai Seng, coming to their rescue!

However, it seemed she wouldn’t be able to wait for them to save her.

"Xi—" Her voice was completely swallowed by the void.

「...」

Suddenly, Si Yan fell into a place that resembled a cave, landing hard on her bottom with a yelp of pain.

I was just with Xi Qing on the cliff a moment ago, how did I suddenly end up here?

Where is this place?

Si Yan looked around but couldn’t find an exit or any clues. Somewhat helplessly, she reached out and placed her hand on the large, dark purple Da Shi beside her.

The Da Shi was smooth and had some vaguely familiar circular patterns on it, but she didn’t give it much thought.

Before I fell here, I saw Mu Xiao and Tai Seng flying over. Xi Qing should be safe now, Si Yan thought.

But how was I suddenly transported to another place?

She remained confused for a good while, then suddenly wondered, Could it be related to my Spatial Ability?

Back in the apocalypse, there were rumors of powerful individuals with Spatial Ability who could traverse ten li in a single step, but I only ever heard about it, never saw it myself.

Could it be that my unstable Spatial Ability accidentally activated a teleportation power?

That shouldn’t be possible...

And besides, where on earth have I been teleported to?

While pondering her predicament, Si Yan suddenly felt streams of energy transferring from her palm into her body.

She turned to look at the dark purple Da Shi she was touching. Feeling the power flowing from it, she exclaimed in amazement, "Power? This thing... it can actually evolve my Special Ability?"

When Mu Xiao mentioned that male Beastmen could cultivate to evolve but females could not, I was quite envious.

In the apocalypse, those with Special Abilities enhanced them using zombie crystal cores. But in this world, without such cores, my attempts at cultivation have been useless.

In other words, in this world, my Special Ability can’t be cultivated.

Just as I was about to resign myself to stagnation, it was like a godsend! Have I stumbled upon this dark purple Da Shi that seems like it might, just possibly, help me enhance my powers?