Zhang Yang's territory had expanded to cover a full one-li (about 500 meters) radius around him.
He didn't wander any farther. No matter how swollen with arrogance he felt, he still cherished his little life.
Right now, Zhang Yang's strength had greatly increased. All his attributes had reached 1 point. That meant ten jin (about 5 kg) of raw strength. With the fourfold amplification from his Sharpness talent, this twenty-centimeter slender body could unleash a full fifty jin (about 25 kg) of force.
He could lift a sack of rice now, you know?
And that was just his strength stat—not his attack power.
Zhang Yang now possessed two massive blades, enhanced by the Sharpness talent. His offensive capability was downright ferocious.
Dealing with little ants felt like a complete waste of his talent.
But he still went ahead and did it anyway—because his evolution points were trending dangerously close to zero.
That was unacceptable.
He successfully located an ant nest, but after one slash… there was no system prompt at all.
"How is that possible? System, get out here!"
This was absolutely intolerable.
"How can I wipe out so many ants with one slash and get zero evolution points?!"
He didn't care about talent fragments anymore—he had already farmed enough of those—but evolution points? Come on, at least give him those!
"Ding, killing creatures that are far too weak will not grant evolution points."
Zhang Yang nearly spat blood.
You have this rule and you didn't tell me earlier?!
"Great. Now evolution points aren't going to be that easy to farm anymore."
Zhang Yang felt frustrated. Looking at the measly 790 points he had left, he felt a little annoyed. Without hordes of enemies to slaughter, farming points was going to be tough.
"Ding, task triggered: Defy the Heavens. Task requirement: Kill one of your natural predators. Task reward: Unknown."
"Mantis's natural predator? Birds?"
Zhang Yang had heard the saying: "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." So yes, birds were definitely natural enemies of mantises.
Within his territory, other living creatures weren't common, but he had spotted birds flying by a few times.
"For the sake of the task, what's the harm in serving myself up as tiger bait? Yes—exactly—for that tiger. I must take revenge for that one breath that blew me away. The pace of evolution cannot stop. There's still a vast, wonderful world waiting for this Young Master to conquer!"
Zhang Yang was brimming with fighting spirit.
The sword of time hanging over his head would only serve as a whip to drive him forward. Taking revenge on that tiger for that one piss and one breath was now his short-term goal.
And it had to be completed quickly—otherwise he would feel deeply uncomfortable.
With his mind made up, Zhang Yang brazenly sprawled out on a very exposed branch. He was going to wait for some pitiful little bird to come eat him.
As long as a bird dared to approach, it would taste the edge of his blades.
But no birds came. Instead, Zhang Yang began living a rather luxurious life—he had found his new food source.
Eating little ants or beetles? No thanks, too disgusting. But grasshopper hind legs? Zhang Yang had zero psychological resistance to those.
Because back before he transmigrated, he used to eat them quite often.
"If only I could roast them over a fire."
Killing grasshoppers was extremely easy for Zhang Yang now, and each one granted him 10 evolution points. The only downside was that grasshoppers weren't very common—pretty hard to find.
In three days, he had only managed to kill ten of them. As for other creatures, he didn't bother.
Beetles and the like gave no evolution points anyway—killing them brought zero benefit, so why waste the effort? Stronger creatures were too rare. Of course, there were even more powerful things out there—mammals—but Zhang Yang wasn't ready to tangle with those yet. Mainly because he didn't quite trust his own durability.
Strength? No problem—fifty jin of force plus razor-sharp blades. As long as he got the chance, forget little squirrels or civet cats—even if a wolf came, Zhang Yang was confident he could hack it to death.
The only real issue was that he still couldn't take hits very well.
Following the principle that "caution never hurts," Zhang Yang chose a very safe lifestyle. For three full days he never left his little one-mu-three-fen plot of land (his tiny claimed territory).
"These little birds are way too useless. Three days already—don't they need to eat?"
Lying on the branch sunbathing, Zhang Yang felt bored. He had a grasshopper leg in his mouth, happily sucking out the meat inside.
For the past three days he had either been hunting grasshoppers or lying on the branch waiting for the legendary natural predator to show up.
Plenty of birds flew overhead, but not a single one came down to feed.
This was frustrating.
"Waiting like this isn't going to work. Maybe I should go look for other natural enemies?"
Looking at the steadily dwindling lifespan number on his attribute panel, Zhang Yang began considering leaving his territory.
He lived in a vast, dense jungle whose true size he had no idea of. How dangerous it really was, he didn't know.
If it wasn't necessary, Zhang Yang wouldn't choose to leave. Who isn't a life-loving baby, right?
But these birds were just too disappointing.
Suddenly, just as he was thinking of venturing out, he spotted another bird.
"Hey, come down here already!"
Zhang Yang felt irritated watching his natural enemy fly farther and farther away. The feeling was unbearable.
"No—this opportunity has to be seized by myself. I can't just sit and wait for death."
Zhang Yang decided he was done waiting. Time to take the initiative. The bird wouldn't come down? Fine—he'd go up to it.
He flapped his wings and took flight—fast and steady.
His current speed wasn't much slower than a small bird's.
Plus, his body size was noticeably larger than most small birds.
That was precisely why ordinary small birds didn't dare attack him—he was too big, too scary.
But if Zhang Yang actually flew right up to a little bird and started showing off, the bird wouldn't just sit there politely either. That sharp beak wasn't for decoration—it would peck him without hesitation.
Zhang Yang's cockiness soon received its just reward.
The bird that had been about to fly away suddenly turned around and dove straight toward him. Its diving posture looked like a missile locking onto its target.
"Let's see whether your beak is sharper, or whether my blades are hungrier."
Zhang Yang raised both of his large blades. They weren't forty meters long, but they were still four or five centimeters—longer than the bird's beak.
"Slash!"
Zhang Yang's body turned into a streak of deep ink-green light. In an instant he closed the distance. As he passed the bird, he swung his blades.
The razor-sharp edges of his blades scraped against the bird's beak, almost sparking.
But how could a little bird possibly withstand fifty jin of force?
The sparks never even appeared—because the bird's body couldn't handle the sheer power. The tremendous impact force traveled through its beak and shattered its internal organs in one violent shock.
"Ow—that hurts."
Zhang Yang's strength was impressive, but his body was still fragile. Force is mutual. While he sent the bird flying, one of his own blades snapped from the impact.
But no problem—regeneration, anyone?
The pain, though… that part wasn't pleasant at all.
"Ding, killed a small bird. Evolution points +50."
"Ding, task completed: Defy the Heavens. Task reward: Lifespan +5 days, special skill – Heaven-Defying Strike."
Heaven-Defying Strike: Can empower any attack, doubling its power. (Note: This skill can only be used once per day.)