Staring at the motionless Dragon Turtle still withdrawn in its shell, Fang Chang found himself at a loss.
He leaned his head toward the hard shell, clamping his upper and lower jaws around the turtle's shell edges. Slowly increasing his bite force, he began gnawing at the shell.
"Crack... scrape... crack... scrape."
The grinding noises grew louder, but the only result was two shallow scratch marks on the shell. Frustrated, Fang Chang tried again—twice—but his efforts remained fruitless, leaving his jaws aching.
In a fit of childish frustration, he flipped the turtle over and stomped on its belly shell with his legs, only to realize the futility of his efforts. Reluctantly, he paused to think.
The turtle's tough exterior and its 5,500-year cultivation made it a prized target, yet its shell was proving to be an unbreakable barrier. Giving up seemed wasteful, but cracking its shell seemed nearly impossible.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in Fang Chang's mind.
Grasping the Dragon Turtle's shell with his shield legs to steady it, he extended another leg into the gap near its head. Probing around, he found soft flesh and began vigorously stirring. After some effort, he managed to scrape a tiny bit of meat and blood into his mouth.
The process reminded him of using a plastic spoon to scrape food out of a tin can, though the analogy fell apart when considering his oversized spider legs and the turtle's irregular, bone-filled interior.
After several attempts, Fang Chang had only managed to retrieve a few drops of meat-laced blood—barely enough to fill his appetite.
With a sigh, he kicked the turtle aside. As it rolled, a small portion of the flesh he had mashed trickled out, mixed with blood.
Seeing this, Fang Chang quickly flipped the turtle upside down and drained the mixture into his mouth.
"This still isn't satisfying," he grumbled. The process was slow and inefficient, and the turtle's interior structure only made it harder to extract more meat. At this rate, the task could take days—long enough for the turtle's meat to rot.
Realizing this, Fang Chang decided to abandon this approach.
Fixing his gaze on the seam between the upper and lower shells, he noticed that they weren't completely fused. "A gap... this might work."
Using all eight legs, he gripped the shell's edges, pried, pulled, and twisted with all his might.
Half an hour later, exhausted and sprawled on the ground, Fang Chang admitted defeat. Beside him lay the still-intact Dragon Turtle, seemingly mocking his efforts.
As he rested, a brown bird flew overhead, clutching something in its talons. Suddenly, its grip slipped, sending its cargo—a hard-shelled fruit—plummeting toward the ground.
The fruit shattered upon impact, revealing golden pulp that spilled out onto the forest floor.
Watching this, an idea formed in Fang Chang's mind.
A short while later, Fang Chang had covered the Dragon Turtle in a sticky web and tied its corners into a makeshift sack. With the turtle secured, he dragged it toward the tallest tree in the area.
The massive tree stood over a hundred meters tall, making even Fang Chang seem small beneath it. Satisfied, he began climbing the trunk, dragging the turtle along with him.
Despite its weight, the Dragon Turtle posed little challenge to Fang Chang, whose soul power had already surpassed 8,000 years.
Reaching the treetop in a matter of minutes, he positioned the turtle over a patch of solid ground far from the nearby swamp. Then, loosening his grip, he let the turtle plummet.
Six seconds later, a thunderous crash echoed through the forest as the turtle smashed into the ground.
Hurrying down, Fang Chang found the shattered remnants of the turtle's shell, now held together by mere tendons and muscle. Pieces of its flesh had burst through the cracks, forming a gory mess.
"Finally!" Fang Chang exclaimed, his frustration melting into triumph. With his shield legs, he pried apart the remnants of the shell, then dug into the tender meat with unrestrained hunger.
Dragon's Blood LV1 has evolved to Dragon's Might LV2.
Dragon's Might LV2: Temporarily increases strength by 20% during battle for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours.
Dragon Turtle consumed successfully. Skill acquired: "Underwater Breathing."
Fang Chang's mind reeled with excitement. Not only had his Dragon's Blood skill been upgraded, but he'd also gained the Underwater Breathing skill.
Unaware of the danger approaching, he danced joyfully around the remains of the Dragon Turtle, even picking up pieces of its shattered shell to inspect.
In the shadows, a pair of red eyes gleamed.
"Lady Hu Liena, we've found the target," a dry, thin man reported respectfully, bowing to Hu Liena.
The glowing red eyes belonged to his martial soul, a bat. As a reconnaissance soul master, he specialized in gathering information rather than combat, making him invaluable in this mission.
Hu Liena nodded. Following his guidance, she split the twelve assembled soul masters into three groups. They began encircling Fang Chang's position from three sides.
Blissfully ignorant, Fang Chang continued to revel in his accomplishment, oblivious to the tightening net around him.