And so, the small, silver-white snake slithered toward a rat's corpse, opened its mouth, and swallowed it whole.
One rat down.
"Ding... Devouring a Level 1 rat. Acquired 10 Energy Value."
"Ding... Devouring a Level 1 rat. Acquired 10 Energy Value."
"Ding... Devouring a Level 1 rat. Acquired 10 Energy Value."
........
Fifteen rats meant 150 points of Energy. Tu Xiao'an devoured them one by one, and in less than ten minutes, he had consumed all fifteen.
His cold Snake Pupils began to glow as a frigid aura emanated from him, making the late-night air feel even colder.
Next, he turned his gaze to the corpses of the small snakes. 'They may have died for me, but since they're dead, I shouldn't let them go to waste.'
Snakes are cold-blooded and extremely ruthless. If two snakes happen to cross paths, a fierce battle is inevitable.
The loser's fate is to be eaten by the victor. Whoever is defeated becomes food for the winner.
A snake eating another snake is nothing new. This is the law of the jungle—the weak are meat for the strong.
Of course, Tu Xiao'an was human, with a human soul. But he needed Energy now. He needed to raise his Level. His human compassion seemed to be fading.
He slithered toward the corpse of a small snake and began to swallow it. 'It feels a bit awkward, a bit gory, but I have to do it.'
"Ding... Devouring a Level 1 small snake. Acquired 15 Energy Value."
Tu Xiao'an was delighted. 'The small snake's combat power was a bit higher than the little rat's, so the Energy Value from devouring it is 5 points more.'
'It seems that at the same Level, the amount of energy they contain isn't equal. It's like how no two people have the same strength. A strong person's punch will naturally hit harder, which means their Essence, Qi, and Spirit are vigorous, and their physique is robust.'
This was definitely a pleasant surprise for Tu Xiao'an.
'Swallow. Keep swallowing. I can't let a single snake corpse go to waste.'
Snake devouring snake—it was a cruel and bloody scene. The only survivor, the small Black Snake, watched, trembling in terror, prostrated on the ground.
It seemed as if its own fate would be no different.
After a while, Tu Xiao'an had devoured thirteen small snakes, gaining 195 Energy Value. He didn't even spare a glance for the terrified small Black Snake.
Current cumulative Energy Value: 775/200.
A huge spike! This was definitely a huge spike! And he still hadn't devoured the rabbit-sized Rat King.
Tu Xiao'an looked at the Rat King's corpse and decided to put it aside for now. 'It's too big, I can't swallow it. I should level up first.'
'Show stats!'
Host: Tu Xiao'an!
Identity: House Snake (50cm!)
Evolutionary Energy Value: 775/200.
Talent 1: Devouring
Talent 2: Dominance ability.
"Ding... Congratulations, Host. Your Evolutionary Energy has reached the requirement for advancement. Do you wish to increase your Level?"
Tu Xiao'an's eyes lit up. "Increase."
As soon as he spoke, a pillar of white light shot into the sky. Tu Xiao'an immediately felt his entire body being enveloped by a warm current.
'This feeling... it's so comfortable, so pleasant.'
It was as if every cell in his body was cheering. A scorching hot Energy surged wildly within him. His Spiritual Power and his vision improved to an unprecedented degree. He opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed through them. His eyesight had improved significantly; he could now see things dozens of meters away.
'Awesome!'
'Is the effect of going from 1 to 2 really this obvious?'
Although Tu Xiao'an was still just a harmless little snake, this evolution had boosted his confidence.
"Ding... Congratulations, Host, for successfully advancing to Level 2. Your four major Attributes—Strength, Speed, Body Fortitude, and Teeth—have all been enhanced. Additionally, you may choose one Attribute for an extra reinforcement."
The silver-white snake's stripes began to glow, and its body grew at a visible rate, lengthening by a full 10 centimeters.
Just like that, he became a 60-centimeter-long, silver-white snake. His Snake Skin had become translucent and crystalline.
'Haha, this is great!'
Immediately after, his joy was cut short by a thought. 'Four major Attributes? There's an unexpected bonus, huh?' He pondered for a moment. 'For a snake, Strength, Speed, and Body Fortitude can wait. A snake's sharp teeth are what's truly crucial.'
"Reinforce Teeth," Tu Xiao'an stated with conviction.
Only with a good set of teeth could he, as a snake, be unstoppable, endlessly devouring and continuously evolving.
"Ding... Teeth reinforcement successful. You have gained Venomous Fangs. Lethal against creatures one Level higher. Potency is halved against creatures two Levels higher."
Tu Xiao'an felt a flash of light from his teeth. He could clearly sense his venomous fangs had become sharper and his Venom had multiplied.
A snake without venomous fangs is like a cop without a gun—completely non-threatening and utterly useless.
He, Tu Xiao'an, was going to become the king of the Snake Race. His fangs naturally had to be indestructible and all-penetrating. A single drop of his Venom had to be able to kill thousands of creatures.
With his fangs clearly enhanced, if he were to face the Rat King again, it would die a much uglier death. In their previous battle, he had bitten the Rat King several times, but it had relied on its High Rank to endure for a long time before finally collapsing.
That was all because Tu Xiao'an's Venom wasn't potent enough.
Evolutionary Energy Value: 575/500.
"Ding... Congratulations, Host. Your Evolutionary Energy has reached the requirement for advancement. Do you wish to increase your Level?"
The system's voice appeared again, exactly the same as before.
Tu Xiao'an saw that he had just enough Energy Value to advance another Level and was overjoyed.
"Yes, increase!"
Another pillar of white light shot into the sky, once again enveloping the small, silver-white snake in the backyard. The light grew more and more intense. From his doghouse, Xiaobai watched, starting to question his own existence.
'What the hell is this snake? This is terrifying! Is it doing magic?'
A look of dread and fear appeared in Xiaobai's doggy eyes. He could almost commiserate with the small Black Snake.
"Ding, congratulations Host for advancing to Level 3. Your four major Attributes—Strength, Venom, Body Fortitude, and Venomous Fangs—have all been enhanced. Please select one Attribute for an extra reinforcement."
Tu Xiao'an: "Venomous Fangs."
The same choice as before.
The moment he made his choice, the sharp fangs in his mouth flashed again, growing longer and sharper. The venom they contained became even more terrifying.
"Venomous Fangs reinforced. Now lethal against creatures two Levels higher than the Host."
Looking at Tu Xiao'an now, the snake was already 70 centimeters long. Each evolution added about 10 centimeters to his length.
But he was still just a small snake. Only when he grew to one meter long would he be considered somewhat respectable.
Tu Xiao'an recalled the movie *Anaconda* he had seen before. The pythons in it were tens of meters long, some even longer. How terrifying was that?
'If a snake could have both incomparably sharp, venomous fangs and an enormous body, it would be the most terrifying creature in the world.'