Several days later, on the outskirts of the Fukang Mountains.
A chicken-winged canine fox crouched in the underbrush, quietly stalking prey not far away.
The target was a little white cat sporting a gold ingot atop its head, looking utterly festive and auspicious.
In the fox's eyes, however, festive or not, that chubby little body looked undoubtedly delicious.
Wiggling its rear slightly, the chicken-winged canine fox crept toward the kitten, completely unaware that while hunting its mark, it had become the prey itself.
Ambush!
Yu Xian suddenly dropped from a tree above, slamming his fist down onto the fox's skull. Seizing on its stunned state, he followed up with a barrage of punches, knocking it out cold with a flurry of swift thuds.
Mengmeng Fortune Cat trotted right over. Grabbing the fox by one of its chicken wings, Yu Xian hoisted it up and grinned. "Mengmeng, awesome! We've got food!"
Normal fox meat definitely tasted terrible.
Foxes with chicken wings, however, tasted just like tender chicken.
Yu Xian had survived entirely on chicken-winged canine fox meat over the past few days; without it, he would have starved to death.
"Mengmeng!"
After making sure the beast was dead, Yu Xian carried it back to Mengmeng Fortune Cat, scooped the chubby feline into his arms, and showered her with kisses and cheek rubs.
"Sorry, sorry for using you as bait. You get the chicken wings later!" Yu Xian said affectionately.
Mengmeng Fortune Cat had a hilarious expression—born with a smiling face, the markings around her muzzle made her look cheerful and amused even when resting without an expression.
She clearly adored Yu Xian as well, rubbing right back against him as he cuddled her.
A moment later, Yu Xian headed to a familiar stream carrying Mengmeng in one arm and the fox in the other. With practiced motions, he gutted and cleaned the carcass.
Then he started a fire by the stream to roast the meat.
Speaking of fire, looking out over the dense jungle of the Fukang Mountains had once sparked a wild thought in his head: setting the entire mountain ablaze.
If he torched the whole Fukang range in one fell swoop, would all the monsters burned to death count as his kills? And if they did, how much experience would he rake in?
It was an enticing idea. The only problem was whether the realm's rules would strike him down.
Without a doubt, every inch of the Zhen Realm was governed by rules. If pulling a stunt like that triggered a punishment, the loss would far outweigh any gain.
Yu Xian's current goal was simply to reach Level 250 and bring Mengmeng Fortune Cat out with him, so he ultimately shelved the tempting notion.
Besides, with so many class-holders throughout the Zhen Realm, he was certain he wasn't the first person to have considered it. The fact that no one was doing it meant the method either didn't work or carried severe downsides.
Once the chicken wings were roasted, Yu Xian and Mengmeng Fortune Cat had one each, human and cat munching happily side by side.
The best part of a chicken-winged canine fox was the pair of wings on its back. Many creatures in the Zhen Realm could evolve, and this fox was one of them.
Upon reaching Level 20, it would evolve into a white-winged two-tailed fox, its canines transforming into saber teeth, becoming adept at ambushing targets from above.
Fate was ironic like that.
The evolved white-winged two-tailed fox loved swooping down from the sky to hunt prey, yet this unevolved one had just been crushed by Yu Xian's fist falling from above.
Finishing his wing, Yu Xian roasted the remaining cuts of meat and split them with Mengmeng.
Once full, it was time to get back to leveling. When he had first entered this world, he had only intended to fool around. But after getting Mengmeng Fortune Cat, his priorities had shifted. Now he needed to grind diligently to get her out of this realm so she could live as a free creature.
In fact, he had spent the past few days endlessly farming monsters.
He had realized the Zhen Realm had a rather intriguing setup: monsters were capable of reproducing naturally, yet the realm itself also respawned them to maintain a constant population.
Take the Evil Woodlands, for example—roughly five thousand ghouls resided there.
If Yu Xian killed one hundred on day one, exactly one hundred would respawn the next day.
Furthermore, if a class-holder died in the woodlands and was lucky enough not to be devoured, they would turn into a ghoul by the next day, meaning only ninety-nine ghouls would respawn since the transformed class-holder took up one of the slots.
Of course, Yu Xian wasn't sure if this mechanic applied across all zones, but based on his observations, that was how the Evil Woodlands functioned. It made the woodlands relatively safe; monsters respawned scattered about, making it an ideal grinding spot for novices.
That was precisely why Yu Xian lingered nearby. Why take unnecessary risks when he could play the Sword God of Shili Slope and overlevel in peace?
An hour later.
A ghoul dissolved into specks of white light under the barrage of coins hurled by the cat.
Seeing that nothing had dropped, Yu Xian picked up Mengmeng and turned to leave. He had obtained quite a bit of loot from farming ghouls over the past few days, but nearly all of it had been bizarre garbage.
Stuff like "Ghoul Grandma's Foot-Bindings," "Ghoul Uncle's Nose Hair Trimmer," and "Ghoul Grade-Schooler's Unfinished Homework"—items that defied all reasonable commentary.
Of course, useful equipment had dropped as well.
[Ghoul's Shit Stick]
[Effect: While holding this equipment, ghouls will hesitate to approach you, slowing their movement.]
[Remarks: Clearly, even ghouls find this revolting. As for you, holding it in your hands...]
...
Yu Xian naturally found it disgusting, but it was genuinely effective.
He had wrapped the Ghoul's Shit Stick in the Ghoul Grandma's Foot-Bindings. The results were astounding—once ghouls spotted him, they practically stopped with every step, completely reluctant to get any closer.
Yet instinct—or perhaps the game mechanics of this world—dictated that ghouls were obligated to attack class-holders. The result was ghouls inching toward Yu Xian with utter, excruciating reluctance.
Because of this, Yu Xian didn't even need to lift a finger anymore. Mengmeng Fortune Cat alone was more than enough to gun them down, given how painfully slow they moved.
For the next entire month, Yu Xian farmed monsters back and forth between the Evil Woodlands and the Fukang Mountains.
Progress was slow at first, taking five whole days just to reach Level 2. Fortunately, his level and Mengmeng Fortune Cat's were linked.
The moment he leveled up, she jumped to Level 2 as well, significantly boosting their clearing speed.
Reaching Level 3 took Yu Xian a little over four days, while hitting Level 4 took only three. Having thoroughly figured out the layout of the Evil Woodlands, his farming efficiency had naturally skyrocketed.
Then there were the coin drops.
Monsters in the Zhen Realm had a chance of dropping a currency called Fortune Gold Coins, which possessed widespread utility as the primary currency across the realm.
Whenever Yu Xian earned Fortune Gold Coins, he fed them straight to Mengmeng. As a result, not only did her level rise, but her basic attack damage also climbed steadily.
This, in turn, drastically accelerated his own leveling speed.
Chapter 436