After obtaining the genetic energy cultivation technique from Luo Feng, Shi Heng tried practicing it in Shi Village and found that it functioned normally. However, the cosmic energy here differed from that of Ning Yi's world; the energy in the Perfect World manifested as patterns, though converting it into the body worked much the same way.
He could not measure his arm strength precisely and could only estimate it to be around ten thousand catties, meaning he had not yet reached the Advanced War General level. This fell far short of the fifty-one thousand catties limit they had deduced in the chat group. No one knew what effect the cultivation technique would have when integrated into the Blood-Moving Realm, as there were no precedents to reference.
As for passing it on to Little Tot, unfortunately the child was only a year and a half old...
Ahem... Teaching it to the Willow Deity was even more out of the question; matters concerning his lifelong happiness required him to remain prudent and composed.
Genetic energy improved one's genetic tier, allowing for an astonishing capacity to contain energy, whereas the Blood-Moving Realm relied strictly on innate cellular capacity.
It was equivalent to upgrading a first-generation chip to a second-generation chip—a true version iteration.
One could not say the Perfect World would lag behind Devoured Star in realms; the myriad Great Daos ultimately led to the same destination, and the genetic cultivation technique merely gained an advantage in certain aspects.
Shi Heng's cultivation path was not yet fully forged; he had merely taken a stride, and his first step had not even landed yet. Looking too far ahead was pure delusion.
If he didn't have to swear an oath to marry the Willow Deity, he would have chosen to lie flat right here in Shi Village.
Wasn't having a high-tier senior carry you to success simply wonderful?
Half a month had passed since Shi Heng lifted the bronze tripod.
The Hunting Team had also ventured out twice in the interim. Following the second hunt, upon the team's return to the village for the sacrificial rites, the Old Chief began the first Medicinal Bath for the village children. They used the bronze tripod left behind, and the children gritted their teeth and made grimaces of agony one by one. Little Tot, just as in the original story, was covered inside the black tripod and gulped down the medicine fiercely, looking like a little kid sneaking wine and still demanding more, which sent the villagers into roaring laughter.
Little Tot was fair, tender, and chubby; because of his regression, he possessed the intelligence of a two-year-old in the body of a year-and-a-half-old, making his cuteness factor entirely maxed out.
Having grown familiar with Shi Heng, he often sought him out to play. Coming from the modern era, Shi Heng always came up with a few amusing games whenever the children visited, making him the most popular with the kids.
Shi Village possessed a long-standing heritage, complete with its own blacksmith workshop and a place for crafting bows and arrows. Although resources were scarce, the village could supply its own ironware and bows.
The hunting parties were typically equipped with iron armor, broadswords, and dragon-horn bows.
Shi Heng had also claimed his own weapons and iron armor, practicing day and night in the village.
"Whoosh! Thud!" "Whoosh! Thud!"
On the Martial Arts Practice Square, Shi Heng easily drew his dragon-horn bow to its full length. After the taut bowstring released the arrow, it emitted a humming sound resembling a dragon's roar—perhaps how the dragon-horn bow got its name."Heng-kid's archery is progressing so fast! He can already hit nine out of ten shots now! Looks like in another year or two, he'll become the top expert in our village!" A young-to-middle-aged man from the Hunting Team stood nearby, watching Shi Heng practice his archery and said.
"Mm~ Little Heng is indeed doing very well. On this upcoming hunt, he can tag along to get familiar with the ropes. Linhu, you need to teach him more and pass on some hunting experience." The Old Chief, holding Little Tot, also stood to the side in affirmation.
"Kid Heng, bring your gear on this hunt and come hunting deep into the mountains with us. When the time comes, don't lose your nerve and go scrambling up a tree, haha!" Shi Feijiao bantered.
Compared to the original story, under Shi Heng's interference, the strength of Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao had already stepped into the Blood-Moving Realm (Early-Stage) ahead of time—meaning an arm strength of around seven thousand catties. Ziyun's halo buff effect could be described as formidable indeed.
Making an ordinary person twice as strong was far more difficult than making a genius twice as strong. Shi Heng had no idea how far Little Tot's progress with the Runes had reached under the Old Chief's private tutoring!
Hearing Shi Feijiao's words, Shi Heng replied, "Feijiao-ge, give it a rest! Even though this is my first time entering the mountains, I've discussed things with you all beforehand. Just treat this time as practice; don't expect me to bring back any prey! Hehe!"
Early the next morning, all the villagers gathered at the sacrificial altar at the entrance of the village. Every time they ventured into the mountains or returned, they would pray to the Sacrificial Spirit and pray for its blessing; this time was no exception.
The prayers concluded, and amidst the morning glow and early dew, the young men donned their iron armor, slung their weapons and gear, and stepped out of the village gate, setting off toward the depths of the mountain range.
With only a few young men nursing injuries or lacking the required strength remaining behind, practically the entire village had mobilized. Shi Heng also joined the expedition, preparing for the first hunt of his life.
Villages in the Great Wilderness were situated like isolated islands on the outer fringes of the savage mountain ranges; the deeper one went into the mountains, the more terrifying the ferocious beasts became.
Leaving the outside world aside, the villages within the wild mountain ranges were spaced about forty to fifty miles apart, scattered across the outer periphery of the wilderness.
The villages had long since divided up their own hunting territories. The outer fringes had weaker prey, but fewer of them. If things had followed their original trajectory, the improvement in their living standards only began over the past decade after the Old Chief returned from the outside world and prepared the Medicinal Baths, allowing Shi Linhu and the others to grow stronger and life to become slightly more bearable.
And that was only slightly. Before Shi Heng's arrival, because the village's hunting team could only venture slightly into the depths of the mountains, it wasn't until Little Tot's second Medicinal Bath that they managed to hunt a mixed-blood Pixiu to prepare his bath.
Unlike today, when Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao had already entered the Blood-Moving Realm (Early-Stage)—though having arrived in Shi Village for only a month or so, Shi Heng likely hadn't mastered the Bone Inscriptions yet.
With the entire village's able-bodied men mobilized this time, the Old Chief had ambitious plans; the moment they entered the mountains, they headed straight for the depths of the range.
Unless there was a fixed location for a water source, hunting teams generally avoided them, and open fires were strictly prohibited. Therefore, before entering the mountains, everyone was equipped with three days' worth of rations.
After marching for just an hour and a half—covering a distance of about one hundred and fifty li—there were no longer any cleared paths ahead. The mountain forest was deep and gloomy; trees that required several men to encircle were everywhere, and there was no shortage of giant trees that required over a dozen men to embrace. Blocking out the sun, once they plunged into the forest, the light grew dim.
All around, collapsed and rotting giant trees were everywhere. Once inside the forest, no wind could blow through, and the air was filled with the scent of decaying wood, mixed with the aura of ferocious beasts and fierce birds.
"We'll rest here for a bit." Shi Linhu halted the team at the front.
"Feijiao, send the hounds out first to guard against surprise attacks by ferocious beasts. For guarding the mountain, find a place nearby to make camp."
The hunting hounds were ordinary animals and couldn't help when hunting fierce beasts, but they were exceptionally skilled at keeping watch and standing guard at night.
"Understood."
"A-Fu, why don't you take Kid Heng with you? Remember, safety is paramount."
"Rest easy, Tiger-ge! I guarantee I'll bring this kid back to the village safe and sound!" The speaker was Shi Fu, the one who frequently brought berries for Little Tot.
"Linhu-ge! I'll just follow right behind you and learn the ropes. Fu-ge, you don't need to worry about me either—you're one of the mainstays in our team, and we can't do without you!"
A moment later, Shi Shoushan—E'meng's father—walked over from afar, evidently having already found a campsite.
"Let's go! Everyone keep up, hurry to the campsite, and we'll assign today's tasks."
The campsite was a huge tree hollow. It looked very concealed, and the village hunting team must have sent people to scout it out beforehand; the tree hollow was relatively dry and free of snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
"Alright, no more nonsense! This is just a temporary shelter. Out in the wild without the protection of the Sacrificial Spirit, there's no such thing as an absolute safe place! The usual rules: divide into eight groups, led by those of us with arm strength over five thousand catties. Four people will stay behind to guard the camp, and today Shi Heng will set out with me." As the leader of the Hunting Team, and since they were all clansmen from the same village, Shi Linhu assigned tasks extremely quickly. "If you encounter a rare ferocious beast, notify the hounds to report back to me; do not act rashly."
"Understood."
Shi Linhu led his small team directly into the depths, while the other teams, depending on their strength, moved along the flanks or the outer edges in a 'wei'-shaped formation, spreading outward.
"Shi Heng, remember to protect yourself! For your first time, the prey doesn't matter!"
"Understood, Linhu-ge."
There were very many fierce beasts and ferocious beasts in the mountain forests, and most of them were quite massive. Aside from special races or Primordial Ancestral Remnants, they judged whether something could be hunted based on its size.
Soon, they encountered a flying python. It was a relatively common ferocious beast—stronger than ordinary beasts, but to a limited extent. The flying python had a pair of wings growing from its back. This particular one was more than ten meters long, about half a meter thick, and weighed around five or six hundred catties, coiled around a giant tree over two hundred meters away. Shi Linhu simply let Shi Heng test his skills on it.
Shi Heng felt a bit apprehensive, but knowing that a flying python was not particularly difficult to deal with, he pulled a meter-long, thick bone arrow from his quiver and nocked it onto the dragon-horn bowstring.
Following the Medicinal Baths, Shi Heng's height had shot up to one meter eighty-five, and the bow he used was one and a half meters long.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Shi Heng fired two rapid shots. The first arrow pinned the flying python right at its vital spot, and the second arrow sank directly into its eye, killing it instantly with no chance of survival.
"Good lad! To shoot with such precision on your first try, truly impressive! Haha!" Shi Linhu patted Shi Heng's shoulder in praise.