What does the average person do when they meet a small animal?

Of course—feed it.

Chen Yu thought this little crocodile looked scrawny and got bullied by the other crocs every day, so he told the Poison-stinger Wasps to prepare a Moss Monster dinner for it.

But instead, the little thing was so frightened by the wasps that it crouched in the corner of the wall and wouldn’t come out.

What do you do when a kid won’t eat?

Looks like he had to use his “little brat obedience technique.”

“Heh heh… I love eating those skinny, stringy little crocs. They must be delicious.”

The crouching Little Ka shuddered.

“Chomp chomp… strong… got muscles…”

After speaking, it wagged its crocodile tail as if showing off its strength.

But that thin little tail had zero persuasive power—couldn’t even convince itself.

“Come out and eat, or I’ll have a feast tonight.”

“Chomp chomp… obey the king…”

It trudged out with its head drooped, occasionally glancing nervously at the Poison-stinger Wasps circling above the Moss Monster pen.

If the wasps made any sudden move, it would bolt back to the corner and bury its head.

Pathetically cowardly.

But once it sat by the campfire and bit into a Moss Monster, the juice spraying out made its eyes sparkle;

all worries about the unfamiliar environment were instantly forgotten.

“Chomp chomp… tasty…”

Chen Yu squinted.

“Good, right? Eat more.”

“Chomp chomp… get big… king don’t eat…”

Chen Yu hopped and spun around. “Then you better eat up. I hate skinny crocs.”

“Chomp chomp… eat…”

After Chen Yu left, Little Ka entered full-on eating mode, downing Moss Monsters one bite at a time until five were gone and it was completely full.

With a round belly, it found a corner of the castle and sat to savor the warm, satisfied feeling from its stomach, feeling happier than ever…

“Chomp chomp… follow king… got food…”

Little Ka dozed against the wall, eyes half-closed, drifting toward sleep.

At that moment, a few mischievous Little One slimes discovered it, hopping over to examine it curiously.

“Chomp chomp…”

The little crocodile curled up and froze.

The small slimes realized it posed no danger and grew bolder, bouncing around it—some even leapt onto its head.

Little Ka tensed every nerve, not daring to blink, but after a long day it finally wore down.

Its eyelids drooped and it fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, light rain drizzled, making it hard to see the distant swamp even from the treehouse.

The heavy storm would arrive in a few days, and Chen Yu hadn’t been idle. He'd hurriedly used Accelerate Wood and Shape Form to reinforce the castle from top to bottom, including the Poison-stinger Wasp nest, ensuring the hive wouldn’t be blown away by strong winds.

When he came down from the treehouse, he saw Little Ka still hiding in the swamp, bubbles bobbing as it refused to poke its head out.

Only then did Chen Yu realize this little guy didn’t seem to have a nest;

he had no idea where it had slept last night.

But today he needed to continue expanding into the forest;

the nest issue could wait.

After all, for Magical Creatures, sleeping on the ground wasn’t a big deal.

He called the timid Little Ka over and climbed onto its back.

“Set off. Return to the crocodile nest.”

Little Ka pulled its head in.

“Chomp chomp… traitor… crocodiles angry…”

“You’re an idiot. I’m your boss now. With me here, what’s there to fear?”

“Chomp chomp…”

Little Ka pondered with not much brainpower, decided that made sense, and finally took a cautious step forward.

“Hey, wrong direction, a bit to the left.”

“Chomp chomp… what is left…”

“Left is… um…”

Chen Yu spent some time getting the little croc used to him;

only then did it barely understand his commands and head deeper into the swamp.

Not to be understated, crocodiles move pretty fast in the marsh—much faster than his sluggish bouncing.

Before long, they were deep inside the swamp.

Still, the little thing was skittish;

the slightest noise made it tremble.

If Chen Yu hadn’t been there, it would’ve wanted to bury its head in an oak tree right away.

Chen Yu focused on hunting and ignored it.

After crunching down two Giant Vein Leech magic organs, he finally completed the conditions for the talent to spawn.

Looking back, Little Ka had long since been scared into hiding behind a tree.

Chen Yu found it and paused to digest in place for a while.

[Devour Digestion Lv.3 triggered — Giant Vein Leech traits fully recorded, acquired talent Life Drain Lv.1]

Chen Yu’s round eyes lit up.

This talent sounded special.

Life-sucking was nobler than poison damage in Zeyarila—only the value of flying attributes could compare.

But how did one use it? Just latch onto a monster and suck it dry?

Chen Yu’s gaze swept the swamp. When it landed on Little Ka, his excited look made the croc feel inexplicably afraid and it shrank instinctively.

In the end, he picked a poisonous frog as the target for draining.

He discovered that any monster his slime shell could touch could be drained, though the effect was mediocre—probably because of the low level.

The life energy he absorbed flowed in liquid form through the slime gel, making him… tastier?

Okay, Chen Yu found a problem.

Life Drain seemed less useful for a slime than he’d imagined.

After all, slimes don’t have the same injury penalties;

being hurt just meant shrinking, and drinking water and sunbathing would refill him.

At best, Life Drain gave him another way to replenish his fluids during battle.

And at the same time, these life liquids made him more delicious and fragrant with life… and more appealing to other Magical Creatures.

Ahem, and this kind of appeal… was the appetite kind.

Fortunately, those life liquids had other uses.

If he excreted and then collected them, perhaps they could be used as life potions.

Life potions sold for a pretty penny at the alchemy workshop.

These lifesaving items started at least at coin-level prices.

It was the same in Xu Xuan Heaven— not every cultivator would splurge on healing pills.

“Looks like I need to tell Shao Qingsong about the new stock.”

Chen Yu rode Little Ka back to the ruins where the crocodiles had been and found they had already fled deeper into the swamp.

If he chased them off, he wouldn’t worry about getting robbed while poking around in Death Swamp later.

Staring at the progress bar inching closer to the next level, Chen Yu decided to explore deeper.

“Little Ka, charge!”

Half a day later.

[Devour Digestion Lv.3 → Devour Digestion Lv.4]

[Acid Secretion Lv.3 → Acid Secretion Lv.4]

[Object Manipulation Lv.3 → Object Manipulation Lv.4]

The upgraded Object Manipulation still had no change in range—the objects it controlled could only detach half a meter.

In combat, it was already falling behind him;

for everyday tasks like assisting with talismans or reading, it was passable at best—better than nothing.

Chen Yu also discovered the limitation of Little Arrow Technique.

As a single-path Dao art, its power was astonishing, but it was ineffective against groups of monsters.

He was currently lacking a Dao art suitable for crowd control.

That afternoon, when Shao Qingsong arrived, Chen Yu handed him the life potion extracted from the monster meat and then brought up his idea.

“Don’t worry, junior brother. Since there are plenty of spirit stones, finding that Dao art won’t be hard. Wait a few days.”

After sending Shao Qingsong off, Chen Yu’s mind returned to Zeyarila.

He rested under an oak tree while Little Ka gnawed contentedly on another Moss Monster it had hunted.

From its blissful expression, the Moss Monster agreed with its taste.

When Little Ka finished resting, Chen Yu pushed further into the swamp.

He had a hunch: when he advanced to Bronze-tier, the slime race talent might change.