Lin Ye put down his sleeve and looked again; there was still a health bar above the head of the Yao Beast in the distance, exactly like a health bar in a game.
You Suowei saw the change in Lin Ye’s expression and thought Lin Ye was scared seeing a Yao Beast for the first time.
"Don't be afraid. This is just a very common Tier 1 Demon Beast, the Gale Ox. It has no speed, no agility, no intelligence, only brute strength. We can wear it down in ten minutes."
You Suowei led Lin Ye to retreat, standing beside Lin Ye and watching Xu Song and the others tease the Tier 1 Demon Beast, the Gale Ox.
Lin Ye kept staring at the health bar above the Gale Ox's head, noticing that each time Xu Song and the others hit it, the health bar would decrease by a segment.
Ten minutes later, the exhausted Gale Ox was struck in the heart by Xu Song, falling to the ground with a thump and convulsing, its wide eyes filled with unwillingness and rage.
Lin Ye saw the Gale Ox's health bar hit zero.
Si Xi took out dissection tools from his backpack and quickly butchered the Gale Ox into lean meat.
You Suowei stepped forward, packed some lean meat into his backpack, and then gestured for Lin Ye to take some too.
"We'll be in the ruins for about half a month, and during that time, all our food will be Yao Beast meat. The Gale Ox's meat is the tastiest, so come quickly and pick a piece."
"You haven't condensed Qi and Blood yet; eating some Yao Beast meat can help condense Qi and Blood."
"Yao Beast meat is much more effective than Qi and Blood Soup Medicine from outside, and it has no side effects at all."
"You just need to be careful; if your body can't handle it, stop immediately and wait until it's digested before eating more."
Lin Ye tried to remain calm as he walked up to the Gale Ox. The butchered Gale Ox had text annotations on almost every piece of flesh.
"【Tier 1 Demon Beast Gale Ox Hind Leg】 【Tier 1 Demon Beast Gale Ox Lean Meat】…"
Lin Ye's gaze swept over the Gale Ox's stomach, and when he clearly saw the annotation on it, his eyes widened slightly.
"【Mutated Gale Ox Stomach, stew and consume within twenty-four hours to significantly enhance stomach digestive ability.】"
Lin Ye bent down and dragged the dozen-odd catties of ox stomach to the side.
You Suowei looked at Lin Ye with a disgusted expression, "This ox stomach isn't tasty; it's dirty and hard to clean, and it's tough to chew even when cooked. Why do you like to eat this stuff?"
Lin Ye smiled at You Suowei, "Isn't there a saying, 'eat what you want to strengthen'? My stomach isn't very good, so I thought I'd eat some Yao Beast stomach to supplement it."
You Suowei still wanted to persuade Lin Ye to give up the ox stomach, but a look from Xu Song made Qi An step forward to help.
"It's just wanting to eat ox stomach; it's not a big deal."
Everyone has their special tastes. For a period, he particularly loved eating the kidneys of beastly pigs; the smellier they were, the tastier they seemed.
Qi An even helped Lin Ye wash the ox stomach by the stream, cutting it into small pieces for Lin Ye to pack away.
In the evening, Lin Ye put the ox stomach into a pressure cooker to stew.
You Suowei still looked disgusted.
"How are you going to eat this? There are no spices to remove the smell."
Cheng Ye rolled his eyes at You Suowei, "If you have nothing to do, go collect firewood. You're the most talkative one here."
Lin Ye wanted to eat ox stomach, not Dragon Liver Phoenix Gall; what was there to complain about?
They would roast more meat, and when Lin Ye realized the ox stomach was unpalatable, he would naturally stop eating it.
Back when they first became mercenaries, what didn't they find curious?
He had even dared to eat a Mutated Plant once and almost died from the poison.
After the ox stomach was stewed, Lin Ye invited everyone to eat together.
But everyone refused, all watching Lin Ye with expressions of amusement.
Lin Ye knew that ox stomach stewed without spices wouldn't taste good, and he didn't dare to use spices to stew meat in the ruins, as the smell might attract other Yao Beasts.
Only Lin Ye knew that the ox stomach was a good thing; he ate it as if it were medicine.
If it could enhance his stomach's digestive ability, his interval for taking potions would be shorter than others'.
Lin Ye ate and stopped eating the dozen-odd catties of ox stomach, eventually leaving half of it because he couldn't eat any more.
Lin Ye put away the remaining ox stomach, planning to continue eating it tomorrow.
The Gale Ox died in the afternoon, so he just needed to finish it before tomorrow afternoon.
Xu Song and the others couldn't understand Lin Ye, and they all assumed he had a special preference or felt it was too much trouble for them, so he was forcing himself to eat.
Lin Ye intentionally increased his exercise, and by noon, he finally finished all the ox stomach.
Lin Ye noticed a change in his stomach; that was over a dozen catties of beef, and he had managed to eat it all within a day.
Now, apart from feeling a bit full, his stomach had no other discomfort.
You Suowei even jokingly called Lin Ye a 'big eater'.
Xu Song's mercenary group controlled a Spirit Medicine valley route in the ruins. Along the way, they encountered only Tier 1 Demon Beasts, all of which were jointly slain by Xu Song and the others.
You Suowei was responsible for Lin Ye's safety. When the team rested, he would take Lin Ye to fight wild beasts and guide Lin Ye's combat style.
Lin Ye, who was clumsy at first, gradually became able to dodge calmly.
On the third day, he could already kill ordinary Tiger Beasts on his own.
Lin Ye very rationally pulled the Tang Dao out of the Tiger Beast's body, glanced at the Tiger Beast whose health bar had already zeroed out, and then raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face.
You Suowei was very satisfied with Lin Ye's progress, "Indeed, actual combat is the best teacher. Ordinary wild beasts can no longer do anything to you."
"But never be careless; if you encounter a Tier 1 Demon Beast, run as far as you can."
"There's a world of difference between wild beasts and Yao Beasts. Never underestimate your opponent, no matter what."
"Some Yao Beasts will feign death and might go berserk before dying. A moment of carelessness can cost you your life."
You Suowei saw that Lin Ye was young and eager to learn, never complaining about the strenuous training, and his eyes even revealed sincere gratitude.
No one dislikes someone who is hardworking, ambitious, and grateful, which is why he became more and more invested in Lin Ye.
Upon reaching Medicine Valley, Xu Song and the others first went to investigate the number of Yao Beasts in the vicinity.
Lin Ye had been consciously learning since entering the ruins, and those text annotations were simply the best teachers.
He learned about many Spirit Medicines and also understood their habits.
He also recognized a large number of various miscellaneous Materials.
The text annotations and Yao Beast health bars were the same; they only appeared when he was within ten meters of them.
Lin Ye was packing things at the camp when a text annotation suddenly appeared on the ground.
"【Tier 1 Mutated Plant evolving. Evolution requires a large amount of fresh blood. Its floral scent can attract Yao Beasts of the same tier to go berserk.】"
That annotation only stayed for three seconds, but it was enough for Lin Ye to see clearly.
Lin Ye's back was covered in cold sweat. Although Mutated Plants were not easy to move, they were harder to kill than Yao Beasts.
Because most Mutated Plants were elusive, and once they attacked, it was with the force of thunder.
Lin Ye cautiously began to move, but he didn't find any more Mutated Plant annotations.
The body of that Mutated Plant might have been active underground within ten meters of him.
The floral scent of that Mutated Plant could attract Yao Beasts. Once it bloomed, the entire Medicine Valley would become a Yao Beast battlefield.
Cold sweat dripped from Lin Ye's forehead. Seeing Xu Song and the others returning, he urgently said, "Xu Shu, we must leave here immediately."
Xu Song saw Lin Ye's pale face and sweat-soaked forehead, and the panic and fear in his eyes were particularly evident.