Hu Qi held the room key, found his room, and quickly locked the door from the inside.
Running to open a room in broad daylight, he was naturally not there to sleep, but had other business.
He closed the doors and windows, and drew the curtains.
After confirming everything was in order, he placed his backpack on the ground and opened it.
The Zhangcha Duck, which had been cooped up in the bag the whole way, immediately craned its neck and quacked loudly, flapping its wings vigorously, the moment its head emerged.
It was expressing its displeasure.
Because the Zhangcha Duck's size had grown significantly compared to before, it no longer had the same comfort in the bag; it was a bit cramped.
Regarding this situation,
Hu Qi didn't pay it any mind. He pulled out a disposable cup, poured some water from a mineral water bottle, and placed it in front of the Zhangcha Duck.
"Come, Zhangcha, here's something good for you."
When it saw the black and scarlet blood in the cup, the Zhangcha Duck shivered its neck.
It eagerly stretched out both of its beaks and then began to gulp it down.
"Indeed!"
Watching the Zhangcha Duck's behavior, Hu Qi's heart stirred.
He had long suspected the Zhangcha Duck's changes.
After all, its previous abnormalities began after it drank the Black Blood of that Blood Slave.
If this was truly the case, would drinking it again cause it to undergo another transformation?
This was also one of the reasons he went to hunt Black Blood Species this time.
He stared at the Zhangcha Duck.
The Zhangcha Duck seemed to love this Black Blood immensely; it didn't take long for it to drink the small cup of Black Blood dry.
Seeing this, the Zhangcha Duck's pair of scarlet eyes looked at the mineral water bottle in Hu Qi's other hand, revealing a human-like desire in its gaze.
However, due to its long history of being disciplined by Hu Qi, it didn't dare to make any other moves.
Seeing this, Hu Qi directly poured the remaining Black Blood to it as well.
After a short while, the Zhangcha Duck finished drinking again. A human-like sense of satisfaction appeared on its duck face. It quacked twice at Hu Qi, then squatted down and closed its eyes, seemingly falling into sleep.
From time to time, a few low quacks emanated from its throat, as if expressing its inner joy.
As time passed, a thin, veil-like layer of black mist continuously surged out from its body.
This layer of black mist was initially just a few faint wisps, but gradually it became denser, enveloping the entire body of the Zhangcha Duck like black smoke.
Under the shroud of this black mist, the Zhangcha Duck's originally vibrant purple feathers changed at a visible speed.
The purple gradually darkened, as if stained by thick ink, eventually transforming into a mysterious and profound black-purple.
The Zhangcha Duck's physique also seemed to have subtly changed; its originally rounded body lines began to become taut, and the outlines of its muscles were faintly discernible.
Its feathers were no longer as smooth as before, but instead stood slightly erect, carrying an indescribable tension.
Seeing this scene, Hu Qi silently pulled back, directly drawing the long blade from the sword bag on his back, ready to kill the opponent immediately if anything went wrong.
Fortunately, apart from this layer of black mist, there was no other movement.
After this layer of black mist reached its densest point, it slowly began to contract inward, little by little merging into the Zhangcha Duck's body until it completely disappeared.
And the Zhangcha Duck remained quietly asleep, with no other movement.
Seeing this, Hu Qi's expression stirred.
This effect seemed a bit exaggerated.
Could it be because this Black Blood came from that Blood Slave who was about to undergo a transformation?
He waited a while longer, and only after confirming there were no other changes did Hu Qi relax.
He cleaned up the few drops of Black Blood on the ground and in the corner, as well as the cup and mineral water bottle that contained the Black Blood.
Then, Hu Qi stayed in the room until late afternoon, only then returning to Anshan Academy with the Zhangcha Duck.
However, just as he reached the main gate, he saw a figure standing to the side.
This person had graying temples, a tall stature, and a somewhat haggard face.
It was Xie Guang.
He just stood there; upon seeing Hu Qi, he said nothing.
After a glance,
Hu Qi withdrew his gaze.
Hu Qi didn't harbor much ill will towards Xie Fei; their interactions had been quite pleasant.
Regarding his death, Hu Qi could only express regret.
But this was a separate matter; if Xie Guang insisted on causing him trouble, then he wouldn't mind sending him to meet his dear son.
...
Over the next few days, ever since drinking the Black Blood, the Zhangcha Duck had once again fallen into a deep sleep.
Just like last time, the Zhangcha Duck was extremely lethargic during this phase, only eating and sleeping, not even laying eggs.
Regarding this situation, Hu Qi understood that his guess was correct; the previous changes in the Zhangcha Duck were related to the Black Blood it had consumed.
He was also very much looking forward to what changes it would undergo once it recovered.
In the following days, Hu Qi stayed obediently in Anshan Academy, not stepping out even once.
He wasn't afraid of confronting Xie Guang directly, but he was afraid that the guy might use some hot weapon to take a cheap shot from behind.
If it was just a regular small-caliber pistol, he might be able to block it with his Cloud Iron Body.
But if he encountered a sniper rifle with six or seven-centimeter bullets, he would only face certain death.
Of course, this possibility was extremely small, but he still had to be on guard.
After all, his life was his own; if he died, everything would be gone.
Before his strength improved again, he wasn't planning on going out.
Additionally, during this time, he also looked up information about strange beasts online, but unfortunately, he didn't gain much.
The explanation for strange beasts only stated that they might have mutated due to environmental or genetic issues.
Of course, there might be some hidden truth he didn't know about.
After all, things like Martial Artists and Black Blood Species had always been kept secret by the Xi Ya Federation.
If he hadn't reached his current level, he wouldn't have known about them.
He could only wait until he reached a certain level in the future to find the answer to this question.
On the fourth day, Song Jian found another strange beast, a gray rabbit the size of a small dog.
This rabbit was different from ordinary ones; its entire body was made of muscle, and it looked like a kangaroo, with a pair of large ears hanging down to its feet.
Of course, how it looked on the outside didn't matter; once roasted, they all tasted the same.
Hu Qi used the excuse that he was busy and couldn't leave, asking the other party to send the rabbit over, and then he made it into spicy rabbit meat.
With Hu Qi's appetite, in less than a day, he had completely devoured the rabbit, which was roughly the size of a kangaroo.
Hu Qi sat in his room, with the Cold Iron Blade beside him.
"scarlet!"
He silently chanted, and the scarlet panel unfolded before his eyes.
【Host: Hu Qi】
【Status: Normal】
【Age: 21 years old】
【Skill: Snake Form Stake (Eight Layers) △】
【Ghost Killing Blade (Beginner) △】
【Cloud Iron Body (Major Achievement) △】
【White Whale Stance (Incomplete)】
...
【Modification Value: 6 (34%)】
The panel had undergone some changes from before.
Because he ate that spicy rabbit meat, his Modification Value had reached six points.
Several skills on the panel showed that they could be modified, except for the White Whale Stance, which still couldn't be modified.
Clearly, the current Modification Value was not enough to fully modify and complete this Stance Skill.
He didn't care about this.
He looked at the triangle rune behind Ghost Killing Blade, preparing to upgrade this Qi and Blood Skill to compensate for his combat strength.
However, just as his gaze fell upon this Ghost Killing Blade, a line of scarlet text appeared behind it.
【This blade Dao is incomplete, patched together by later generations. Although it can be Cultivated, as the blade Dao deepens, it will lead to the cultivator's will being corroded by killing intent. If there is no solution, they will eventually only become a killing machine.】
Seeing this line of text, Hu Qi's expression slightly hardened.