My Talent Skill Mutated

"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"

It felt as if the bones and flesh within his body were undergoing some kind of metamorphosis.

A wave of comfort spread through his limbs and torso.

"So comfortable..."

The pleasant sensation gave him an unprecedented feeling of clarity, and he subconsciously closed his eyes.

His flesh, muscles, and bones thrummed with a peculiar vibration.

After ten-odd seconds, the sensation finally dissipated.

Chen Yu opened his eyes.

His previously weak body now pulsed with an unprecedented feeling of power. Every inch of his flesh, his muscles, his bones—even his very cells—had changed.

Even his vision had become much sharper.

[Physical Body Evolution successful. Skill acquired: Spirit Devouring]

A line of text appeared before his eyes, leaving Chen Yu stunned.

’Spirit Devouring?’

’What kind of Skill is this?!’

Chen Yu stared blankly for a moment before snapping back to his senses. An interface appeared in his vision, its information updated.

Name: Chen Yu!

Talent: Infinite Body (Tier One 0/100) [Unique Talent]

Skill: Spirit Devouring (Beginner 0/100) [Focus mind to view Skill details]

Source of Life: 0

Looking at the information on the interface, Chen Yu quickly understood.

"Spirit Devouring..."

Looking at the Skill section, Chen Yu followed the prompt. As the thought formed in his mind, a new line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Skill: Spirit Devouring. Devour the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to restore yourself. Can also devour the Qi of others to recover!]

’So that’s what Spirit Devouring means...’

Reading the Skill description, Chen Yu instantly understood.

With a thought, the information vanished. He brought up the interface again, studying the text on it.

’This Spirit Devouring Skill I got from my first physical Evolution is pretty good, but I wonder how effective it is.’

’If I had enough Source of Life, I could evolve indefinitely... but how do I get this stuff?’

Chen Yu stared at the interface, his mind racing.

Source of Life. That was the key.

Whether it was to upgrade his talent for physical Evolution or improve his Skill, he needed Source of Life. The problem was...

He had no idea how to obtain it yet.

’First, I’ll try using Spirit Devouring to restore my Qi.’

Since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided not to dwell on it for now. Chen Yu closed his eyes, and with a mere thought, the Spirit Devouring Skill activated instantly.

In the next second, he felt specks of Spiritual Qi surging into his body.

Within his Dantian, the nearly depleted vortex of Qi immediately absorbed these specks of Spiritual Qi, regaining its luster.

A warm sensation spread out from his Dantian.

A wisp of Qi appeared!

Qi is the core of a Cultivator, capable of unleashing astonishing power.

When combined with martial techniques, it could unleash unimaginable destructive force.

Normally, one would use the Primordial Breath Skill to recover, but his Spirit Devouring could recover Qi by direct absorption.

And it was more than ten times faster than the Primordial Breath Skill.

Countless specks of Spiritual Qi flooded his Dantian. The vortex within devoured them like a ravenous beast, and wisps of Qi began to permeate his Dantian.

Chen Yu closed his eyes, a look of comfort on his face.

In just a few moments, his Qi vortex went from being on the verge of depletion to shining brightly.

The Qi in his Dantian had recovered to about thirty percent.

Compared to recovering by absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi with the Primordial Breath Skill, recovering with the Spirit Devouring Skill was like riding a rocket.

In the woods, the two of them recovered in silence.

"RUSTLE RUSTLE..."

Just as Chen Yu was recovering with his Spirit Devouring Skill, he suddenly heard a faint sound from deep within the forest.

His eyes shot open.

He peered into the depths of the woods.

They were still in the desolate wilderness, where mutated beasts could appear at any moment.

The physical Evolution had also greatly enhanced his hearing.

The sound was faint, but he heard it clearly.

Looking deep into the woods, he spotted a dark shadow.

Upon closer inspection, it was a monster covered in black fur. It resembled a hyena, but it was a third larger than a fierce tiger.

Its eyes were crimson.

Chen Yu’s pupils contracted. A chill rose from the bottom of his heart.

A mutated beast!

This wasn’t an ordinary animal, but a genuine mutated beast.

From his memories, he knew this was a Tier One mutated beast, a Hyena Hound.

Extremely fast, with an astonishing bite force!

Chen Yu immediately kicked Ma Xiang, who was beside him.

"Get up! A mutated beast is here."

Ma Xiang was startled awake and shot to his feet.

His expression changed as he saw the dark shadow in the woods.

He had only just recovered a sliver of Qi; there was no way he could face a Hyena Hound head-on right now.

"Run!"

Before he could react, a hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him into a sprint.

Chen Yu pulled Ma Xiang along and broke into a run.

"ROAR—!"

From the depths of the forest, the Hyena Hound watched the two run. It let out a roar, and with a leap of its powerful limbs, it shot after them like a black gale.

With his body evolved, his strength greatly increased, and half of his Qi restored, Chen Yu didn’t feel the slightest bit strained even while pulling Ma Xiang along.

The appearance of the mutated beast filled Ma Xiang with such terror that he subconsciously forgot to wonder how Chen Yu had suddenly recovered.

They sprinted wildly, but the Hyena Hound was fast. Both of them could feel a foul wind closing in.

They didn’t dare to slow down for a second, but just as they were running for their lives, their frantic pace came to an abrupt halt.

Ahead of them, another black monster had appeared.

A Hyena Hound!

A second Hyena Hound!

"We’re done for!"

Ma Xiang’s face turned deathly pale. Even if his Qi were fully restored to its peak, he could only handle one at a time, and that was only if he had a weapon.

At his peak and bare-handed, he would have a hard time fighting even one.

And now, there were two.

With no weapons, they were cornered.

Chen Yu’s face darkened as well.

With a Hyena Hound in front and one behind, his heart leaped into his throat.

"Brother Yu, see you in the next life."

Ma Xiang’s throat was dry, his expression bitter.

"Bullshit. If we’re going to die, we’re taking one of them with us," Chen Yu said.

Ma Xiang didn’t reply, just took a deep breath.

He gathered the last dregs of Qi in his body. He clenched his fists, and a faint glow of Qi appeared around them.

"ROAR!"

"ROAR!"

At almost the same instant, both beasts attacked, charging the two men from front and back.

Chen Yu activated his Qi, covering his fists in its glow. Seeing the charging Hyena Hound, he stepped into a lunge and threw a punch at it.

No weapon, bare-handed—he still had to charge in.

’I’ve already died once,’ he thought, steeling himself. ’Big deal. I’ll just die again.’

"BANG—!"

"CRACK—!"

His fist slammed into the Hyena Hound’s body, and the massive beast was sent flying by the force of his punch.

It flew four or five meters.

Its body snapped a large tree before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"AWOO~"

The downed Hyena Hound let out a painful whimper.

Chen Yu: "???"

’I’m this strong?!’

Chen Yu was stunned.

’The Hyena Hounds in my memory were supposed to be strong, but this seems a little different...’

’Sent it flying with one punch.’

’Even at my peak, I couldn’t have done that.’

’A Hyena Hound’s defense is also supposed to be tough. It shouldn’t be this fragile.’

’Looks like this physical Evolution is even stronger than I imagined.’

Excitement flashed in Chen Yu’s eyes. His gaze toward the Hyena Hound changed completely.

All fear comes from a lack of firepower!

’When you have enough "firepower," what the hell is there to be afraid of!’

"SWOOSH—!"

He shot forward like an arrow, activated his Qi, and threw another punch at the Hyena Hound.

The Hyena Hound had just struggled to its feet when another punch sent it flying again, snapping trees as it fell.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!!!"

Chen Yu seemed to have entered a frenzied state. He unleashed his full power, holding nothing back as he rained punch after punch on the Hyena Hound.

It was completely unable to fight back.

On the other side, however, Ma Xiang wasn’t having such an easy time.

With his Qi depleted, Ma Xiang could only dodge frantically. When he inadvertently glanced over at Chen Yu, he was completely dumbfounded.

Chen Yu was straddling the Hyena Hound, his fists falling like a torrential downpour.

He was pulverizing the Hyena Hound!

’What am I seeing?!’

The scene made Ma Xiang question his entire existence.

’When did Chen Yu become so ferocious?!’

’Is this the same Chen Yu I know?’

But in that moment of distraction, a foul wind rushed toward him, and Ma Xiang’s body was sent flying.

His internal organs churned, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"THUD!"

Chen Yu brought down his final punch. His Qi-wrapped fist smashed the Hyena Hound’s head, sending blood everywhere.

Glistening white brain matter spilled out.