Chapter 16 Endurance and Wisdom

Within the natural cave, eight hours had passed. The two took turns keeping watch, Jiang Xiao taking the first shift, and Xia Yan the second.

Xia Yan calculated the time and gently kicked Jiang Xiao, who was wrapped in a sleeping bag.

Her kick was light because she saw faint starlight fluctuations around his body. She knew that although he appeared to be sleeping, he was actually awake, constantly absorbing star power.

Jiang Xiao opened his eyes, crawled out of the sleeping bag, slowly stood up, and stretched his body.

He hadn't slept soundly, seemingly in a state of half-sleep. Perhaps because he had things on his mind, Jiang Xiao simply stopped trying to sleep an hour earlier, closed his eyes, and started absorbing star power.

Unfortunately, his star power was still at the Star Gathering Stage: Lv.3.

Absorbing more star power wouldn't increase the total amount, but Jiang Xiao persisted, repeatedly replacing the star power in his body, impacting his inner star map, unsure if this method was useful at all.

Since he couldn't sleep, he had to find something to do.

Xia Yan shouldered the giant blade, not extinguishing the campfire, but adding more branches.

The two planned to live here for a while, which meant they needed to hunt further away. The scent of blood would attract a large number of White Ghouls, which was not what they wanted.

The world had never changed color.

The first time Jiang Xiao came here, he was shocked by the beauty of the starry sky and amazed by the dreamlike colors of the aurora on the horizon.

But after only a day, Jiang Xiao began to miss the light of day and the darkness of night.

This half-light, half-dark world was not something someone like Jiang Xiao from Earth could easily adapt to.

The two traveled a long distance, encountering a few White Ghouls along the way, but with Xia Yan wielding her giant blade and flames raging, the White Ghouls they encountered along the way did not choose to hunt them.

It wasn't until they had been walking in the snow-covered wilderness for an hour that they truly began to enter hunting mode.

Xia Yan held a dagger, exhaling wisps of white mist, carving marks on the trees along the way, recording the direction they came from.

Suddenly, Xia Yan stopped, startled.

She heard a faint sound, and what made her even more frightened was that the sound was right beside her, extremely close.

It was a hunter that blended in with the snow, lying in a snowdrift, having been there for an unknown amount of time, forming an inconspicuous outline under the blowing wind and snow.

Xia Yan held her dagger and slowly retreated, nodding slightly towards Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao slowly put down his marching pack, and following the direction of Xia Yan's gaze, saw an ultimate old yin bi! (schemer)

Xia Yan was almost walking on its face, and it still didn't move!

What patience!

This was the patience a good hunter should have. Its target was not just one person, but to tear both Xia Yan and Jiang Xiao to shreds.

Or... was it just asleep?

Had Jiang Xiao overestimated it?

Jiang Xiao thought about it and drew his dagger, slowly walking forward, gradually approaching the almost imperceptible human figure. His heart pounded.

Would this be his first real kill?

Jiang Xiao gripped the dagger and stabbed down.

*Clang!*

The snow suddenly exploded, a flash of cyan light, and the ultimate old yin bi (schemer) head-butted Jiang Xiao away.

Sure enough, it wasn't asleep, it had far-reaching plans!

It was a good opponent... bullshit, if Jiang Xiao could last a minute, he would win.

Xia Yan held the hilt of her blade, sensing the patience and skill of this White Ghoul, knowing that it should be stronger, so she also became more vigilant.

But this time, Xia Yan found that the situation had changed.

Jiang Xiao's mindset had changed, and his fighting style had also changed.

During the break, Jiang Xiao carefully considered his situation.

Yes, Jiang Xiao abandoned the "killing the enemy" idea that was impossible and switched to a style of actively provoking and fully defending.

Throwing away the cumbersome dagger, Jiang Xiao's fists glowed, repeatedly using "Qing Mang" (Cyan Glow) to keep his distance, and trying his best to block the White Ghoul's sharp teeth and claws, his steps chaotic as he advanced and retreated in the snow, dodging left and right.

Xia Yan's eyes lit up slightly. After watching intently for more than 20 seconds, she actually took out the military water bottle hanging from her waist and took a warm sip of water.

It seemed that this kid's adaptability was not bad.

Jiang Xiao fought and retreated, his body covered in wounds, blood flowing down his face, looking extremely miserable.

A cyan light appeared, and the fist finally met the sharp claws. The White Ghoul was once again knocked back several steps, giving Jiang Xiao another chance to catch his breath.

*Whoosh!*

Seizing this opportunity, a white light descended from the sky, landing on Jiang Xiao's body, slowly healing his wounds and restoring his vitality.

"Don't let it succeed, you're smarter than it," Xia Yan said suddenly, holding her thermos cup.

Jiang Xiao was startled and suddenly used all his strength, covering half of his body with cyan light, and charged towards the ferocious, hungry White Ghoul.

*Clang!*

The knockback effect of Qing Mang (Cyan Glow) was truly a divine skill, simple yet extremely practical, directly shifting the battlefield again.

In this sparse snow forest, there were many small open spaces, but there were more closely connected trees. Once the White Ghoul pulled the battlefield close to the trees, it would be extremely disadvantageous for Jiang Xiao.

Even with just a single tree trunk, the White Ghoul could play tricks. It was like a nimble monkey, too much like an ape.

"Hold on for another minute, and I'll reward you with a drink of water," Xia Yan finally had a hint of a smile on her face.

Jiang Xiao gasped for breath, staggering backward. Another white light of blessing descended from the sky. At the same time, he pinched a star bead with one hand, absorbing starlight into his body.

In his mind, a message appeared:

"Star Technique quality improved!

Qing Mang (Cyan Glow), Silver quality Lv.1,

Ren Nai (Endurance), Silver quality Lv.1."

Nearby, Xia Yan said with a smile, "Little brat, I like brave men, and I especially like men who fight with their brains."

The White Ghoul was knocked away, rolled nimbly twice, grabbed a tree trunk with one hand, and scurried up the tree.

Jiang Xiao was not flustered, taking the opportunity to frantically "Bless" himself.

Perhaps seeing the prey frantically adding buffs, the White Ghoul's not-so-high intelligence also understood that a prolonged battle was not a good choice.

*Clang!*

The White Ghoul's feet came into contact with a huge pine tree, making a heavy muffled sound. Pieces of snow fell rustling. In the snow covering the sky, a snow-white figure suddenly darted out.

On that dark ghost face, scarlet eyes were the most abrupt color in the snow.

Jiang Xiao clenched his right hand into a fist, and the Big Dipper Star Map quietly appeared. On the second star slot, the light suddenly lit up.

Xia Yan was startled and hurriedly shouted, "Dodge!"

She couldn't imagine why Jiang Xiao, who had a very strong ability to adapt, had suddenly returned to the state he was in when he first arrived here.

Facing the fiercely pouncing White Ghoul, Jiang Xiao changed his style, his feet suddenly pushed off, and he rushed up: "I love you too!"

Xia Yan's eyes widened instantly, looking at the abruptly appearing star map, the second star slot, actually flashing with dazzling silver light...

*Thump!*

Xia Yan's hand loosened, and the military water bottle fell to the ground, hot water spilled everywhere, melting the thick snow under her feet.