CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE

In this wave of heat, he felt the light in front of him seemingly becoming brighter, the view clearer, and simultaneously, all the muscles in his body alternated between contracting and relaxing.

This feeling was somewhat familiar to him, but before Chen Shouyi could fully comprehend it.

The heat wave came quickly and disappeared just as fast, lasting only a few seconds before vanishing without a trace.

Feeling his body becoming somewhat light and floaty, Chen Shouyi finally recalled.

Wasn’t this the same feeling as when he first entered this small island, and the Book of Knowledge transformed his body?

His heart stirred, and he quickly opened the attribute panel.

Strength: 13.1

Agility: 13.1

Constitution: 13.8

Intelligence: 12.6

Perception: 11

Will: 11.8

Knowledge: Chinese Language (Mastery 6); Physics (Proficient 12); Chemistry (Proficient 11); Mathematics (Proficient 9); English (Proficient 6); Computer Science (Beginner 6); Culinary Arts (Beginner 5); Body Refining Thirty-Six Styles (Proficient 8); Meditation for Self-Cultivation (Proficient 8); Swordsmanship (Proficient 12); Archery (Proficient 6)

Innate Ability: Natural Healing

Energy Accumulation: 2.95

His attributes had undergone dramatic changes.

Strength increased from 12.7 to 13.1, an increase of 0.4 points.

In addition to this, agility, constitution, and intelligence all increased by 0.3 points.

Even will power increased by 0.2.

However, Chen Shouyi speculated that this was not due to a change in his body, but rather the result of this life-and-death battle.

The more Chen Shouyi looked, the more delighted he became.

Although this increment was incomparable to the previous increase of at least one or two points, it’s like finding an unexpected monetary windfall under your mattress; you can’t ask for more.

A strength of 13.1, translated into concrete numbers, is approximately 350 kilograms, well above the minimum standard for a martial artist.

After a bout of excitement, he suddenly calmed down, confused by a thought.

With an additional 0.3 points in intelligence, his mind became more active.

Abilities such as memory, observation, imagination, thinking, and judgment were all enhanced.

He looked at what seemed to be a ravaged "fruit core."

And couldn’t help but ponder.

Anomalies must have a reason; this is definitely not a coincidence.

This "fruit core" had been closely kept by that Barbarian clan leader without any change, so there was no way it would release its power as soon as he got hold of it, transforming his body.

If such a boon existed, the Barbarian clan leader would have used it long ago.

Comparing himself to the Barbarian, the only differences are twofold: First, he is not a native of this world.

Second, he holds the Book of Knowledge.

He quickly dismissed the first, as it was an unlikely possibility.

The second, therefore had to be due to the Book of Knowledge existing within him in the form of the World Tree.

Its origin is prestigious, with material made from the heartwood of the World Tree and forged into a Divine Artifact; although it is severely damaged and its powers are latent, it still possesses some special abilities.

Unfortunately, with too little information, he could not make a specific judgment.

However, he faintly felt that this item was not benign, looking at it instilled a sense of aversion.

...

In fact, Chen Shouyi was unaware that this was the influence brought by his subconscious.

Although he had no recollection of the mysterious, hypnotic whisper, his subconscious had developed resistance and caution against it.

Ultimately, this boiled down to Chen Shouyi’s willpower not being strong enough.

The "Tree God," though called a god, was still far from a true deity, merely a divine creature with fairly weak capabilities. Against a seasoned warrior, such distraction would have been easily ignored or completely blocked.

...

Chen Shouyi gently squeezed, and the fruit core crumbled under his grip like flour, immediately disintegrating.

His finger lightly rubbed the fragments and felt some moisture in the powder.

Indeed, it was a fruit core.

He discarded the powder, clapped his hands.

Then started pulling out the two arrows lodged in the Barbarian’s body, hefting the corpse over his shoulder, and headed toward the sea.

It felt lighter than he expected.

Of course, he knew well that this was just an illusion caused by his enhanced strength.

Carrying the corpse, he progressed cautiously, trying to adapt to the newly augmented attributes.

Fortunately, the growth wasn’t substantial, and he adjusted shortly afterward.

After discarding the body, he began to deal with the two canoes stranded not far away.

Times have changed!

Previously, worried that the canoes being left on the island might be discovered by passing Barbarians at sea, he had no choice but to push them back into the ocean.

Now, the concern was unfounded.

Instead, he was apprehensive that they would reclaim the canoes if set adrift again.

The canoes were quite large, about four to five meters wide and ten meters long, with jagged and uneven cabin interiors, rough to an extreme, covered everywhere with dense layers of chiseling marks. Clearly, a hole had been laboriously dug into a massive log to form them.

Moreover, the chisel cuts were not smooth, indicating that the original wood structure had been severely damaged and reduced to loose fibrous threads. This showed the tools used were not sharp, but rather achieved through repeated forceful hacking.

How long would it take the Barbarian Tribe to build one of these canoes?

Chen Shouyi himself reckoned that if there were enough people, it would take at least three to five years from selecting and harvesting the log to hollowing it out.

Even though the Barbarians were significantly stronger than humans, the trees here were just as dense and tough as metal, making constructing such a large canoe an enormous project for them.

This estimation still accounted for the presence of specialized shipwrights within the Barbarian Tribe solely dedicated to building canoes rather than engaging in other production activities.

In reality, the time taken might be even longer.

Such a canoe was a precious asset within a tribe, passed down for decades or even centuries, and was a crucial tool for daily survival in hauling in their fish catch.

Losing two of them was a significant blow to the Barbarian Tribe, not unlike having a meal slashed from their lives.

Chen Shouyi certainly couldn’t let them recover these boats, even if there was just a possibility.

...

He waded through the seawater and climbed onto the canoe.

Immediately, various strange and unpleasant stinks wafted directly into his nose.

He immediately held his breath, picked up a coarse rope woven with vine strips that connected to the bow’s hole, waded through the seawater again, and tied it to the rocks onshore.

Then, he secured the other one similarly.

...

Of course, he didn’t forget about retrieving the arrows from the floating corpses at sea, washing and collecting each one back.

This battle had shown him the immense power of bows in warfare.

An archery expert, when given distance, could usually outmatch a stronger opponent.

Though the Barbarians had greater strength and speed than him, in the battle, aside from the Barbarian clan leader, the others were lethally struck with just one hit.

Once he retrieved all the arrows, Chen Shouyi found eight missing.

Those fell into the sea, impossible to recover.

It didn’t bother him, as he wasn’t short of money. These metal arrows, given complimentary by the seller, were about twenty yuan each, allowing him to buy five for a hundred; he’d decided to purchase another batch when he returned.

Picking up the war bow, clothing, and the pelt left on the ground, he glanced back before turning to head for the passageway at the mountainside.

From a distance, he saw the Shell Lady fluttering excitedly in the air.

As soon as Chen Shouyi approached, she immediately flew down to his shoulder, hopping and yelling enthusiastically, "One... one giant was killed by you, one... one giant was scared away by you!"

Is there anything new?

I knew it already.

Chen Shouyi tried to appear indifferent, though he couldn’t help but smile at the corner of his mouth.

Then, recalling the Shell Lady’s timely warning earlier, he felt a need to reward her.

He searched his pocket, generously producing two small glass beads:

"Gems. For you, for spotting the giant!"

The Shell Lady immediately flew in front of him, gleefully grabbing a bead with each hand, beaming as she exclaimed:

"Great Giant, you really are a good person!"

PS: Sorry for the delay, asking for a recommendation.