Chapter 39: Chapter 39: True Den of Snakes and Rats
Next, by referring to the mode and process of power exertion in the Bear Mountain Lean attack move, Wang Wu summarized two more effective attack moves.
One is the up-down and left-right slaps with the two front paws, suitable for when he stops running and no longer benefits from inertia.
Another one is standing upright and slapping down with both paws, assisted by the weight of the body to perform a gravity strike.
However, this move is also suitable for executing during fast running, suddenly leaping up, and slapping down from the sky.
In short, this requires him to practice diligently and constantly until he perfectly masters it.
Wang Wu named these three moves the Three Bear Techniques.
Hmm, from now on, I’m also a little bear with cultivation techniques, inheritance, and depth, the future Sect Leader of the Bear Sect...
Hahaha!
Having solved the problem of absorption and release, Wang Wu no longer bothered with other matters and started focusing on absorbing Ice Spiritual Qi.
Given his current endurance limit, he can stay outside for 20 seconds without much impact. After returning to the tunnel, he can resolve the absorbed cold energy through about five minutes of impact, converting it into Ice Spiritual Qi.
The entire process takes about six minutes.
To gather a single point of Ice Spiritual Qi, he needs to accumulate exposure to cold energy for 500 seconds, which is 25 times.
It sounds quite substantial.
At first, Wang Wu did think so, but he overlooked a realistic condition that constrained him.
That is satiety.
Constantly striking the walls consumes a lot of satiety.
And his food supplies are running low.
In the end, he had no choice but to compromise.
By reducing food rations and extending the time for absorbing Ice Spiritual Qi.
That is, staying outside for 20 seconds, returning, and resolving through small impacts and extended time, one round taking about half an hour.
In this way, he has to spend at least 12 hours a day to harvest a single point of Ice Spiritual Qi.
Even the training of the Three Bear Techniques had to stop, as the feeling of hunger was really unbearable.
Wang Wu also considered going out to find food, but ultimately gave up. Outside, it seems like endless snowstorms, but who knows how many Little Demons are also absorbing Ice Spiritual Qi, and who knows if there are any Great Demons cultivating Ice Spiritual Qi wandering around?
Don’t rush, now his progress is quite good.
So, Wang Wu settled his mindset, supplemented his food intake daily, only absorbed a little Ice Spiritual Qi each day, with the primary goal of safely surviving the winter, and absolutely no reckless outings, starting his daily monotonous life.
Indeed, such a peaceful life is actually quite nice.
No need to be constantly on edge, no need to worry about competition, if life stayed this calm, it wouldn’t be so bad.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
Now it was already mid-third month of winter, the cold energy winds outside significantly decreased and weren’t as terrifyingly intense anymore.
Wang Wu could stay outside for over ten minutes in one go, yet only barely absorb the amount of cold energy he used to absorb in 20 seconds.
The temperature also gradually rose.
Clearly, spring was about to arrive.
And Wang Wu’s food reserves were completely depleted at this time.
Hence, he immediately stopped the action of absorbing Ice Spiritual Qi.
From then on, he could only nibble on snow every day to barely sustain himself.
The good news is, through the efforts of this winter, he successfully absorbed 31 points of Ice Spiritual Qi. Although it wasn’t sufficient to unblock the second branch meridian, Wang Wu was almost sure that his control over Ice Spiritual Qi had reached the standard of a White Rat.
Bear in mind that when he transmigrated over, it was already the second month of summer, meaning the White Rat had started much earlier, at least a year and six months earlier.
Maybe more.
After all, the White Rat was an evolved form of the Gray Mouse Knight, and they might have been living in this valley for a few years, even a decade, to achieve such accomplishments.
Otherwise, Wang Wu wouldn’t believe that without the support of a Level 5 Healing Talent, a little mouse could gain 10 points of Ice Resistance in a single winter.
It can only be a small accumulation year after year, and surely accompanied by a large amount of death.
Although those five White Rats are impressive, actually, maybe their initial companions should be calculated in the hundreds, if not thousands.
And so,
When the twentieth day of the third month of winter arrived, the cold energy winds completely disappeared.
Then, the temperature suddenly rose significantly, although it was still icy and snowy outside, you could already see bright sunshine, a clear blue sky, resembling a proper, normal winter day.
Many Little Demons couldn’t resist running out.
For instance, those Gray Mouse Knights.
It’s hard to imagine, after that severe blow last summer, they were able to grow and thrive again in just about half a year.
"Squeak Squeak Squeak!"
"Pitter Patter!"
Two squads of Gray Mouse Knights were running on the snowfield.
They were very strong and not afraid of the ice and snow at all. If observed closely, one could see that they had patches of white fur on their backs.
Yes, familiar white fur.
They were so proud, so indulgent, so domineering, as if this world was created for them.
From them, Wang Wu seemed to see the shadows of those five White Rats, if there were no accidents, maybe in a few years, one or two of these mice might grow into White-haired Rat Kings...
At the moment, Wang Wu hid in a snow cave, watching these two teams of Gray Mouse Knights, or rather, the reserve Mouse Mage Apprentice sirs.
What were they doing? It didn’t seem like they were looking for food, seeing their sleek, glossy state, they clearly didn’t lack food throughout the winter.
Given the prowess in gathering and storing food, Wang Wu would absolutely be outclassed by these mice in this regard.
So, could they be looking for new territory?
Just like human adventurers seeking out the nests of a Giant Dragon! Taking them over and making substantial contributions to the expansion of their mouse clans.
Wang Wu recalled those five White Rats from last year.
Wait a minute, will I turn into a white bear too?
Wang Wu felt slightly nervous.
His fur has always been a light golden-gray color, turning more toward golden-yellow under sufficient light and appearing dark gray in dim light.
Especially when in the Level 5 Concealment State amidst grass, it had a somewhat camouflage-like allure of dark hues.
He thought it was great and very beneficial for concealment.
But if it turned white, that indeed would be quite bad.
The two teams of Gray Mice gradually moved away, without noticing Wang Wu, and Wang Wu had no intention of ambushing them, even though he was starving.
It wasn’t due to his kindness, but because there were five Little Red Birds overhead, chasing and playing.
It’s hard to imagine how they survived the harsh winter, especially under the assault of cold energy winds, which was truly lethal.
The five Little Red Birds gradually flew away, towards the other side of the valley.
Meanwhile, the two squads of Gray Mouse Knights launched a charge towards the summit of a low hill to the east, not far from Wang Wu’s cave, less than 200 meters or so. He could even hear the triumphant squeals, seemingly hollering for comrades.
Soon, these Gray Mouse Knights dug through the thick snow and disappeared under the snow layer.
Wang Wu didn’t quite understand what these guys were doing, but soon he saw another two squads of Gray Mouse Knights scurrying from the south of the valley towards the low hill.
Something doesn’t feel right, something is definitely not right.
After a while, even a dozen or so red birds were circling overhead these Gray Mouse Knights, as if serving as sentinels and scouts.
This piqued Wang Wu’s curiosity further.
He knew that last year he had noticed the Gray Rat Race and the Little Red Birds had cahoot-like ties, with the Gray Rats even delivering berries as protection fees to the Little Red Birds.
However, speaking of which, since crossing over last year, he hadn’t seen such a close cooperative relationship between the Little Red Birds and the Gray Rat Race.
Even during times when he was at war with the Gray Rats in bloody battles, those Little Red Birds watched from above and never lent a helping hand.
How come during the tail end of this winter, they suddenly collaborated so deeply?
While pondering, he suddenly saw those dozen or so Little Red Birds dive down like arrows, all at once capturing a over ten meter long big snake.
The serpent struggled hard, but it was clearly still hibernating, unable to exert its full power.
Wow!
Is that even possible?
Could it be that at this stage, interspecies extermination battles can happen on such a large scale?
Vengeance for enmity, retaliation for grievances?
Memory resurfaced, even on Earth, snakes and mice are arch-enemies, with snakes eating mice in summer and fall, and mice devouring snakes in winter and spring, often wiping out entire nests at a time.
To find such a tradition exists even in this Cultivation Realm, what a surprise.