It was already nighttime.

After killing one deer and two tigers consecutively, Li Xian was greatly exhausted.

He found a serene place, lit a bonfire, and lay down in the snow to rest.

Around him, he sprinkled Beast Repelling Incense to ward off the Snake Beasts, Rat Beasts, and Ant Beasts.

"Winter hunting is actually much more comfortable than in spring or summer."

Li Xian murmured to himself.

Winter is cold, but also dry.

The mountains and forests in summer are full of snakes, insects, rats, and leeches. Those things are truly terrifying.

On the bonfire, a string of deer meat, tiger meat, and tiger meat sizzled with oil glistening.

There is a rule for winter hunting: apart from the precious parts of the prey, everything else can be eaten at will.

Precious parts refer to: bear paws, bear gall, tiger gall, tiger heart…

Hunting a wild beast in the mountains can bring great benefits. The value of the meat is secondary. Take tigers for example, the tiger skin can be made into clothes and blankets, which are not cheap.

Tiger bones and tiger blood can be used as medicine or brewed into elixirs. Tiger claws and tiger teeth can be made into weapons... Tiger gall, tiger heart, and tiger whip have even more uses. Soaked in wine, eaten raw…

However, this money belongs to those above, and has nothing to do with the Hunter.

Deer meat is the most tender and also the first to finish roasting. A bite into it brings out the oil mixed with strands of blood.

Although no seasoning was added, it was full of aroma.

This wild deer wasn't very old, and its muscle was tender and smooth.

Because Li Xian used fruit branches to skewer the meat, the meat had a faint fruit fragrance, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

[You are familiar with eating venison, Skill Level +4]

[You are familiar with eating venison, Skill Level +3]

[You are familiar with eating venison, Skill Level +2]

The skill level of [Skill Consumption] was slowly rising.

Li Xian discovered that when continuously eating the same type of meat, the increase in skill level gradually diminishes and finally becomes [1].

But this change is not constant. After some time, a few hours, or a few days, eating venison again.

The skill level would rise back to [4], then gradually decline to [1] with continuous eating.

However, changing the method of eating, such as "making soup" or "making jerky", would be different.

"Changing the way to eat meat can increase the 'consumption' skill level faster."

"Even though I've mastered the Four Directions Fist and the Clear Wind Leg, perhaps the most useful of all my skills is [Consumption]."

What Li Xian knew was that the most direct way for Martial Artists to supplement energy is to "eat"!

By now, the tiger meat and tiger meat had both been roasted.

[You are familiar with eating wild tiger meat, Skill Level +6]

[You are familiar with eating Ghost Pattern Tiger meat, Skill Level +9]

...

After eating and drinking to his full, the skill level of [Consumption] increased by more than [70].

Li Xian was actually already full.

But to quickly increase [Consumption], he cut off pieces of tiger, tiger, and deer meat, mixed them with wild vegetables and fruits, and made a soup.

[You drink Three-Beast Soup, Skill Level +12]

Drinking a pot of soup accumulated another [47] skill level points.

"If I eat any more, my stomach will burst."

"At my current speed, having tiger meat, deer meat, and tiger meat every meal for three days should make it easy to upgrade [Consumption] to mastery."

"Right, tonight I can smoke the tiger meat, deer meat, and tiger meat into jerky!"

"This way, even when winter hunting ends, won't I still have beast meat to eat?!"

Li Xian was greatly pleased by this thought.

He immediately sliced the meat with a small knife, cutting it into pieces, and placed it on the fire to smoke and roast.

As much jerky as can be made!

After doing all this, Li Xian lay on the snow, his stomach round and full.

Looking at the bright stars and moon, enjoying the moonlight, he seemed to drift back to the past.

Going up the mountains to hunt… actually made him more at peace.

A faint sense of freedom lingered at the tip of his nose.

"Freedom…must be earned by oneself, not given by others."

Li Xian thought determinedly, resting his head on his hands.

...

The next day.

Li Xian marked along the way, planning to delve a little deeper.

Luck was quite good. Within a morning, he hunted a tiger and a bear.

The tiger was a common mountain tiger, and the bear was a black-furred bear.

Hunting the tiger was rather routine. Li Xian, from a distance, noticed the tiger's traces and shot it directly.

Unlike the troublesome Ghost Pattern Tiger.

However, while hunting the bear, an accident happened. The black-furred bear was licking honey.

It was honey from a "Black Needle Bee". These poisonous bees do not fear the cold and are highly toxic.

After Li Xian shot the black-furred bear, he was chased by the Black Needle Bees, narrowly escaping disaster by hiding in an ice river.

Fortunately, his Inner Qi was refined enough to resist the cold.

Otherwise, he would have surely frozen to death in the river.

But because of this, his clothes were all wet, so he had to first make a fire to dry his clothes before making other plans.

Everything was going well; keeping this momentum, catching three bears, three tigers, and three deer could all be completed.

However, around noon, a gust of wind came, and Li Xian sensed something was wrong, smelling moisture in the air.

He immediately found a cave to take shelter.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before a heavy rain started.

"The mood of the heavens changes just like that, without leaving any face."

Li Xian gave a deep sigh.

This was very unfortunate. Heavy rain would wash away tracks, obscure vision, and make the cold air even denser.

The floating mist was extremely cold.

It broke Li Xian's rhythm, under such circumstances, he could only stay in the cave and wait for the rain to stop.

When hungry, he would eat jerky.

This rain did not cease, and soon it was night. Instead of diminishing, the rain grew stronger.

Li Xian frowned at the rain. Could it be… that it will rain for another day?

This trip has already been quite fruitful. One deer, three tigers, and one bear, and of very high quality: a beautiful tiger, a Ghost Pattern Tiger, a black-furred bear.

These three beasts were stronger than ordinary tigers or bears.

"With such a harvest, I could enter the Leisure Martial Pavilion and exchange for an Entry Martial Arts."

"But… this winter hunting is a rare opportunity for me to be promoted to B-class, must I miss it like this?"

Li Xian smoked the meat of the bear, tiger, deer, and tiger.

While contemplating the next plan.

"Hunting in the rain carries great risk."

"But the opportunity cannot be missed. Tomorrow… regardless of whether the rain stops or not, I must seize the last day to delve deeper into the mountains, striving to hunt two more bears!"

Li Xian clenched his fist, determined.

He must seize every opportunity!

As night fell.

The world was shrouded in darkness; the rain poured vigorously, making the mountains and forests the coldest. Cold and dampness penetrated everywhere, leaving one at a loss.

Li Xian watched the rain, lost in thought... seeing it fall heavier, ceaselessly, feeling helpless.

He sat quietly for the entire night.

Around 9am, the sky was slightly brighter.

Li Xian no longer harbored the hope of the rain stopping, carrying the "Deer Hunting Bow" on his back, he headed deeper into the forest.

Rain mixed with frost formed pools on the uneven ground.

Stepping into them, the cold surged straight into the heart.

Giving one a shiver.

Not far after, Li Xian was fully soaked, but the circulation of his Inner Qi prevented him from losing body temperature and fainting.

The rain washed away tracks, rendering Li Xian's tracking skills obsolete; he could only wander and hope for luck.

Suddenly...

Amid the hazy winter rain, a figure suddenly appeared in his sight.

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