Chapter 67: Chapter 66: The Fourth Skill

“I think you need to properly educate it. Spare the rod, spoil the beast; that’s a bad habit,” Chen Xing said seriously.

Chen Lingya nodded, as she had this intention too.

“Keep sucking on this, and sooner or later, you’ll turn into a salt-baked snail,” Chen Xing flicked the little snail’s head with her finger.

The little snail was flicked on the forehead, its eyes squinting in pain.

It glared at Chen Xing, fuming with anger.

Chen Xing chuckled, “The hallucinogenic powder is for you to cast hallucinations on others, not on yourself.”

The little snail climbed down from the pot, crawling toward Chen Xing with anger and determination.

Chen Xing snapped her fingers, and the summoning array lit up with an array of light.

Taotie’s massive body began to emerge from the summoning array, its fearsome fangs just less than ten centimeters away from the little snail’s head.

The little snail’s wriggling body froze.

Taotie slowly lowered its head, eyes locked firmly on the little snail.

Though it didn’t speak, the message was clear.

Little buddy, what do you think you’re doing?

The little snail slowly turned around and climbed back onto the rim of the pot, then hung its head looking at the fish in the pot, as if nothing had happened.

“Roar…” Taotie grew larger and the arrangement of furniture in the sister’s room made it difficult for it to move around.

It shuffled around awkwardly before returning to its own room.

Lying on the floor, it gazed at its master with a pair of eyes.

Chen Xing knew Taotie wanted to sleep next to her; after all, it had slept with her since it was little, and suddenly not being allowed on the bed overnight.

The nights spent in the secret realm, Taotie clinging to her, let Chen Xing feel how peaceful its sleep was.

But this room really isn’t suitable…

“All right, looking at you like this,” Chen Xing couldn’t help laughing.

“Give me some time to move the bed out, I’ll sleep on the floor. Then you can sleep with me… But just so we’re clear, no sleepwalking at night, and no resting your head on top of me.”

Chen Xing extended her finger, laying down the ground rules in advance.

The creature’s weight was getting ridiculously heavy, even through the blanket, having its large head lean over felt almost like suffering from sleep paralysis.

While she still could, she might as well spend more time sleeping next to it.

Chen Xing thought of the Old Enemy’s Salty Bay Crocodile; if Taotie even reached half its size, it would no longer be convenient to accompany her in sleep.

Taotie’s little eyes spun around, eagerly nodding in agreement.

Chen Xing could see right through its little expressions; the little fellow had plenty of tricks up its sleeve.

…

The next day, Chen Xing did as she said. After returning home, she replaced the bed in her bedroom with a mat on the floor.

She had nearly enough skill points saved up; one more day of saving and she could activate the occupation tree skill she had been longing for—Squid Seafood Cannery.

Magic power and physical strength recovery maxed out!

The deeply asleep Taotie had no idea what was about to happen.

But during the night, a blue light suddenly flashed over Taotie’s body, and the cold, damp air quickly condensed, enveloping Chen Xing as well.

The colder and colder it got, the more Chen Xing felt like he had fallen into water in his dream. He climbed up from the shore, his clothes soaking wet.

After changing into a new set of clothes at home, he looked down to find his clothes still wet. That’s when Chen Xing sharply realized something was wrong.

He decisively opened his wardrobe and discovered all his clothes were drenched!

This isn’t right! Chen Xing woke up from his dream in a jolt.

So it was a nightmare.

The good news, it was just a dream. The bad news, the blanket and sheets were all wet.

The blue light on Taotie became more intense.

But it seemed unaware, still closed-eyed and sleeping soundly, as if it dreamt of something delicious, emitting a cooing sound from its throat.

[Species] Salty Bay Crocodile

[Energy Level] 20

“`

[Energy Level Limit] 38

[Attribute] Water

[Body Length] 623.6cm

[Weight] 698kg

[Skills]

Primary Skill: Water Devouring (Mastered)

Intermediate Skill: Great Vortex (Mastered)

Passive Skill: Water Mimicry · Rest

Innate Skill: Death Roll

Chen Xing’s gaze rested on the last skill, the Death Roll.

Had it awakened its innate skill already?

If it was luck to awaken a passive skill, then to awaken an innate skill at the same time as a passive one…

it was not just simple luck, Chen Xing felt it must be related to the intermediate carnivorous pet food and the seed given by the senior elder.

My Taotie truly has an extraordinary innate talent!

Actually, not all Beast Taming passive and innate skills are worth keeping. Some beasts’ these two skills are pretty useless and are eventually removed, even if awakened.

But Taotie’s passive and innate skills are definitely not among those.

One, a crocodile-specific senior six innate skill, and the other, a close combat roll skill with extremely strong offensive power.

If Taotie had awakened its innate skill when competing with Zheng Weixin’s Iron Feather Fighting Hawk, it would have lost more than just wings.

However, speaking of which, there has been no news of Zheng Weixin lately.

Ever since defeating him last time, many rumors in the campus have faded away.

The Zheng family did not come to the school to make a scene, nor did they bother him privately.

Getting up, Chen Xing took out a new sheet and blanket from the closet, which woke Taotie from the noise.

It opened one eye and discreetly observed.

Chen Xing turned around, noticed, and snorted coldly, pointing to the damp bedsheet on the ground, “Look at the mess you’ve made!”

Slap.

Taotie closed the eye it had sneakily opened—I know nothing, I’m sleeping, it has nothing to do with me.

The next day, at the team training, Chen Xing was ready to test the effects of Taotie’s new skill.

The true essence of Taotie’s Death Roll was not a water element skill, nor was it a pure technique, but more like a combat art similar to a rule that could achieve extraordinary effects beyond normal logic in the midst of combat skills.

According to Great Xia’s official statement, such skills are called Common Close Combat Skills, but in recent years, some with long-range attack effects have been discovered, so they have simply removed the word “Close” to refer to them as Common Skills!

Any creature with the relevant organs or body parts can learn these Common Skills.

Taotie’s astonishing biting force comes from its most lethal organ—its mouth.

However, one thing is worth noting: although crocodiles have astounding biting force, they have very little strength to open their jaws.

The maximum opening angle of a crocodile’s mouth is only about 45 degrees, as if the most terrifying biting force creature was restrained by heaven’s design.

If its mouth could break free from this restraint, its biting lethality could reach even more dangerous levels.

Even so…

Chen Xing threw a two-meter-long iron rod, as thick as an adult’s arm, into the water.

The lurking Taotie suddenly burst upward.

It accurately bit the iron rod, and the next moment, a fierce light appeared in its eyes, the air around its mouth slightly distorted, as if an invisible force acted upon the rod.

Taotie’s body violently spun on the spot.

The iron rod in its mouth lasted for less than a second before it exploded violently, turning into countless twisted fragments of iron slag that splashed in all directions.

Fortunately, it was in the water, and most of the iron slag eventually sank to the bottom.

Only a few pieces landed on the shore.

Chen Xing picked up a fragment, the fragment was bent, with a slight curve at the tip, forming a shape like the letter ‘J’.

This was the iron rod—if it were an enemy’s limb… the image was too beautiful, he dared not imagine.