Chapter 27: Growth

"Awoo!"

The alligator lizard, caught in the grip, let out a miserable howl. Under the crushing pressure of death, it struggled to thrash its limbs, desperate to fight back. However, its body was bound by layers of thick vines, rendering all its efforts futile.

"Hiss-roar!"

Under the terrifying bite force and tearing strength of Xuebing, a bone-chilling crunch echoed from the lizard’s neck. Gradually, the intensity of its struggle faded at a visible rate.

"Nice work!"

Seeing this, Han Ning manipulated the vines in his hand, driving them into the eye socket of the slightly smaller lizard and pulverizing its brain into mush.

Meanwhile, the other alligator lizard, entangled by six vines, was currently exerting its full strength, appearing on the verge of snapping most of the restraints.

"Xuebing, finish it off, quickly!" Han Ning commanded in a low voice.

He wanted to see if there would be a difference in the energy gained depending on whether he dealt the killing blow himself or if Xuebing did.

Xuebing abruptly released the second lizard, which had already ceased its struggle, leaving its corpse to sink into the depths of the water. Its yellow, slit-pupiled eyes locked onto the first lizard. Its hind limbs surged with power, and like a ferocious saltwater crocodile, it lunged forward. Its maw, filled with razor-sharp teeth, clamped down hard on the relatively soft underbelly of the prey.

*Rip!*

The tough scales were easily torn apart by Xuebing’s terrifying bite force, and the slick entrails and intestines were dragged out in an instant.

"Hiss-ga..."

Until the very moment of death, the first lizard remained completely immobilized by Han Ning’s vines. Its massive body convulsed violently a few times before it went completely limp, with only its tail twitching sporadically from residual nerve impulses.

The murky water was quickly stained by large clouds of dark red blood, and a thick, pungent scent of gore permeated the rainy air.

"Phew... Xuebing is far more formidable than the likes of Chen Yan or Lu Minghu."

Han Ning let out a long, weary breath, his tense nerves relaxing slightly. Two pure, blue orbs of light drifted out from the lizard corpses and quickly split.

The first, coming from the smaller lizard whose brain Han Ning had crushed, split into a marble-sized orb and submerged directly into Han Ning's chest. It entered his body and, through a peculiar mechanism, transferred the energy to Xuebing, rather than splitting into several strands in the air as it did when hunting humans.

[Druid growth progress +25, current: 187/300]
[Vine Mastery (Intermediate) proficiency +3, current: 187/200]
[Spiritual Power: 15/20]

A familiar warm current dissolved within him, nourishing both his body and mind.

[Swamp Alligator Lizard growth progress +6, current: 53/100]

Immediately after, the second orb, originating from the larger lizard killed by Xuebing, appeared.

[Druid growth progress +30, current: 217/300]
[Vine Mastery (Intermediate) proficiency +2, current: 189/200]
[Spiritual Power: 17/20]
[Swamp Alligator Lizard growth progress +13, current: 60/100]

"So, there is a difference after all." Han Ning’s eyes flickered. "When I finish the prey myself, I receive about eighty percent of the energy, and Xuebing gets twenty percent. But when Xuebing delivers the final blow, I get about seventy percent, while Xuebing gets nearly thirty percent, or perhaps even a bit more. Overall, I take the lion's share, but Xuebing still receives substantial nourishment."

This was perfectly acceptable to Han Ning. He needed energy to improve his level and skills, and Xuebing’s rapid growth was an indispensable part of his own strength. Whether it was 82 or 73 points did not make a huge difference in his total energy intake, but accelerating Xuebing’s growth was a worthwhile investment in the long run.

"Hiss-woo..."

Xuebing surfaced from the murky water, shook the blood and slime from its head, and nudged Han Ning’s foot. Its yellow slit-pupils scanned the two sinking corpses. Just like the last time Han Ning had offered it the flesh of its own kind, there was no instinctive hunger in its eyes that it usually showed toward other food.

"Other wild alligator lizards eat their own kind, but Xuebing does not..."

It seemed that since signing the soul contract, not only had Xuebing’s intelligence increased, but its perception of its own kin had also undergone a subtle change. Perhaps it subconsciously viewed these wild lizards as a related species rather than a pure food source. Or perhaps the aura of the Black Tide made it instinctively repulsed.

"I’ll test this again when we encounter creatures of other species next time."

It would be best to find a large, inexpensive source of meat for Xuebing; otherwise, its rapidly growing appetite would be difficult to satisfy with human supplies alone.

The scent of blood here was too strong; it was not wise to linger. Han Ning glanced at the carcass of the larger lizard and made a decision.

"Xuebing, do me a favor."

He directed Xuebing to dive back under the water and use its sharp claws to tear several large chunks of flesh, still attached to scales, from the relatively intact hind leg of the larger lizard. Dark red blood surged once more, dyeing the surrounding water even deeper. Han Ning used his vines to wrap these bloody meat chunks, trimmed away the outer scales with his kitchen knife, and packed the pure flesh into a plastic bag.

"Let’s go! Time to change locations!"

He climbed back onto Xuebing’s broad back.

*Splash!*

Xuebing carried him away from the blood-choked waters, swimming toward the deeper, submerged ruins of Blue Bay Park.

...

For the next few hours, the man and the lizard acted like hunters in the water, patrolling the flooded remnants of Blue Bay Park. Han Ning repeated his tactics. Sometimes he used semi-submerged viewing platforms as ambush points; other times, it was the slanted roof of a pavilion. He would have Xuebing swim slowly through the nearby waters, holding a small piece of pungent, bloody lizard meat as a live bait. Once a lone alligator lizard was lured in by the scent, Xuebing would accelerate and return to the ambush point. If they encountered a larger one, they would simply discard the meat and flee.

After killing nearly six more alligator lizards, it was approaching noon. However, the sky had grown increasingly dark, and the rain seemed to have intensified. Han Ning’s spiritual power was mostly depleted, and Xuebing showed signs of fatigue. While the energy gained from killing monsters raised their physical limits, the recovery speed could not keep up with the consumption of high-intensity hunting.

"Let's rest for a while and get something to eat. I remember there's a small convenience store at the northern entrance of the park. We'll go check for supplies later..."

Han Ning gave most of the food he had brought to Xuebing, while he sat there gnawing on a few pieces of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water. As he ate, he tallied his gains.

[Profession: Junior Druid (Lv3)]
[Spiritual Power: 9/20]
[Skills:
Vine Mastery (Intermediate): 197/200
Rapid Growth (Intermediate): 78/200
Rejuvenation (Intermediate): 38/200
Tree Skin (Intermediate): 12/200
Animal Companion (Intermediate): Xuebing (Swamp Alligator Lizard Lv1, Growth Progress: 92/100)]
[Druid Growth Progress: 269/300]

Vine Mastery was only three points away from leveling up. His Druid rank was also stuck at 269/300, still 31 points away from a breakthrough. Xuebing, however, was nearly ready to grow. Its physique had become slightly larger, its gray-white scales shimmering with a cold, metallic luster under the dim light. Its muscles were taut and clearly defined, making it look solid and powerful.