By the time forty-some seconds had passed, his hand could barely feel the cold anymore. He couldn’t help but stir his hand in the basin, allowing him to feel the different temperatures of the moving water.

But at the sixty-second mark, he completely lost all sensation of the water’s coldness. It was as if he were stirring his hand through thick, resistant air!

Like sticking his hand out the window of a speeding car.

He knew that even if his hand were in 36.7-degree water, he would still feel a distinct change in temperature.

But here, he was only aware that his hand was stirring the water; the sensation from the temperature difference was so minimal it was negligible!

At that moment, he summoned his Attribute Interface to check it.

——

Name: Cheng Zongyang

Age: 16 (Years)

Lifespan: 16/101 (-378 Days; +42 Days)

Realm: Sixth Grade (Meridian Passage)

Talent: Adaptation (Beginner, 1/100)

Points: 15240

Skills: Archery (12412/20000, Specialization); Medicine (755/3000, Middle Level);

Cultivation Techniques:

Turtle Breath-holding Skill (11154/12000)

Martial Arts:

Basic Saber Technique (1753/7000, Refined and Masterful)

Wind-Stepping Step (9462/10000, Peak of Perfection)

Great Strength Vajra Palm (3291/7000, Refined and Masterful)

Illusionary Blade (1/1000, Beginner’s Practice)

——

Seeing that his new Adaptation Talent had gained a point of progress, he instantly understood how to improve it. This wouldn’t be difficult for him.

’So this is what it feels like to adapt? My hand adapted to the water’s temperature, so I can’t feel it anymore! Or rather, has my hand synchronized with the water’s temperature?’

Cheng Zongyang found the sensation very strange.

He pulled his hand out and placed the back of it on his forehead. He immediately felt that his hand was cold—the same temperature as the water in the basin had been initially.

’So that’s Adaptation. My body adjusts to external changes, and the process requires a massive supply of energy to cover the consumption.’

Cheng Zongyang understood the principle behind it.

As for the time it took to adapt, his recent test had shown it was sixty seconds.

’That amount of time doesn’t matter under normal circumstances. But in an emergency, sixty seconds could be fatal,’ Cheng Zongyang thought. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"With this Talent, some training methods that rely on stimulating the body probably won’t work anymore," Cheng Zongyang said, shaking his head. ’There are always trade-offs.’ But relatively speaking, this Talent gave him one more way to save his life.

At the very least, he wouldn’t have to worry about Exotic Beasts with Magic System or Spiritual System attacks in the future, provided he could shorten the adaptation time.

Having grasped the basic principles of his Talent Ability and how to improve it, Cheng Zongyang set the matter aside for now.

He checked the time; it was the middle of the night.

Luo Dingran hadn’t returned yet. He was probably still in Huining County handling the excavation. Cheng Zongyang considered that his own business was mostly concluded, so he went to one of the rooms.

He Shujun and Liu Chengdong were both still unconscious. It would take another ten to fifteen days for He Shujun to recover from his feigned death. After a moment’s thought, he brought He Shujun to the small cabin’s wooden bed for treatment.

The man had survived having his throat crushed, and Cheng Zongyang wasn’t sure what method he’d used to do it. But since he was still alive, it qualified as an Internal Injury.

After an assessment by the wooden bed, his injuries, having already recovered somewhat, were judged to be Middle Class.

So, he spent three hundred Points to heal his injuries. After telling the guards to keep watch, he took Gangzi and left the Wilderness World, preparing to travel through the night back to the cave near the village.

He had been out for four or five days, and his gains had far exceeded his expectations. Gangzi would stay in the village from now on, and his father would arrange for people to handle the search for the gold and silver ore.

But just a moment after he left, a small bird suddenly fluttered down onto his shoulder.

Seeing it was an Elf Bird, Cheng Zongyang paused. Realization dawned, and he gave a wry smile. "I forgot. My apologies."

He’d been so busy with his own affairs that he’d forgotten Ma Yue might be sending him something.

He took it into the Wilderness World, fed it a Little Red Blood Pill, swapped out the Crystal Stone, and saw the small note.

Ma Yue was still in Shangyong and was safe. This meant there were still plenty of places to gather things there.

This time, he wrote a note for Ma Yue, telling him to take the Crystal Stone and then let the Elf Bird return to continue its deliveries.

This was nothing for an Elf Bird.

After coming out and releasing the Elf Bird, he continued on his way.

By noon, after rushing through the mountain forest, the man and beast finally arrived at the cave. During their journey, the Elf Bird had returned six more times, taking away six blank Crystal Stones.

Cheng Zongyang entered the cave to check on things and found that two of the men were dead.

Cheng Zongyang took out the Soul Crystal Stone. After seeing its progress had increased by two, he began to examine their bodies.

There were no wounds, but there were ligature marks on their necks! Lividity had already set in, and their bodies were stiff and cold. They had likely been dead for over twenty-four hours.

This made Cheng Zongyang’s expression darken. It meant he had lost two usable Martial Artist corpses!

However, Cheng Zongyang didn’t question or punish anyone. There was no point. In the end, he left behind a batch of Inner Replenishing Pills and said:

"Go ahead and all die, for all I care. When that happens, your Patriarch will only be coming back for your corpses."

With that, he ignored the string of questions from the other Martial Artists and walked straight out with the two bodies. Only by giving them a sliver of a chance to live would they stop doing stupid things.

Once outside, he found a relatively flat spot. He sent the two corpses into the Wilderness World, tossed them into a pit to be used as fertilizer, and then brought He Shujun out.

A Soul Slave had fed the man Wilderness Bean Water half an hour ago. It would be another hour and a half before he woke up.

With nothing else to do, he gazed at a small waterfall in the distance, listening to the ROARING crash of the water. He gathered some firewood, intending to build a fire and roast something to eat.

Half an hour later, marinated Exotic Beast Flesh was skewered and roasting by the fire. He sat beside it with his feet close to the flames, using the heat to train and improve his Talent’s proficiency.

This was the easiest method. It didn’t interfere with his Cultivation Technique’s automatic operation, his Talent training, or his roasting.

Could there be a more efficient way to do things?

As he and Gangzi were eating the roasted meat, He Shujun, who was leaning against a tree trunk, slowly began to stir.

"You’re awake," Cheng Zongyang said, taking a sip of wine and glancing at him.

He Shujun saw Cheng Zongyang, checked himself over, and then scanned his surroundings, asking with a frown, "Where is this?"

"Tianduan Mountain," Cheng Zongyang replied casually, chewing on a mouthful of rich, juicy Exotic Beast Flesh.

He Shujun slowly stood up, sizing up Cheng Zongyang and the creature on the other side—a burly, powerfully built being covered in corded muscle.

"Speak. Why did you bring me out of the dungeon?" He Shujun asked, his eyes full of vigilance, unaware that he had been asleep for over ten days.

Cheng Zongyang swallowed the meat in his mouth, handed the rest of what he was holding to Gangzi, and said, "Here, you can have this."

Gangzi accepted without hesitation, clearly fond of this flavor of Exotic Beast Flesh. He took it and started eating with an open mouth.

Cheng Zongyang casually wiped the juices from the corner of his mouth with his hand before turning to He Shujun. "Tell me how you managed that feigned death."

Hearing this, a flicker of shock crossed He Shujun’s eyes, and his heart pounded. But he kept his expression calm and said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

He didn’t believe his secret had been discovered. The price of his "Rebirth" was the complete exhaustion of his Martial Arts blood and qi and a total loss of his Cultivation, after which he could only rely on the Heart-devouring Gu to start cultivating again. But right now, he had only lost about a third of his blood and qi—not a significant loss. The condition hadn’t been triggered.

That was why, after his initial shock, he had calmed down. He figured Cheng Zongyang was just bluffing.

Cheng Zongyang said in a flat tone, "Since I’ve brought it up, you can drop the act. If one of my men hadn’t been meticulous and noticed you still had a heartbeat after ’killing’ you, we would have buried you somewhere. You would have revived on your own and truly escaped. I was the one who used a special method to heal your injuries and speed up your recovery."

After hearing Cheng Zongyang’s words, He Shujun suddenly erupted, lunging at him with a palm strike.

Cheng Zongyang’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t even need to move. Gangzi, at his side, had already sensed the attack. The moment He Shujun made his move, a long leg was already kicking out toward his kidney.

"AHH!!"

Before his palm could even touch Cheng Zongyang, He Shujun cried out in pain as his body was sent flying sideways. With a THUD, he slammed into the ground and rolled several times.

It was a scene reminiscent of He Jinjin getting kicked into the air by his senior brother!

"Nice kick!"

Cheng Zongyang gave Gangzi a thumbs-up, very satisfied with his "bodyguard’s" diligence and reaction speed.