3: Chapter 3: Get Stronger by Eating Dirt! Keep Gnawing!

After Xia Youchu left, Ling Tian's evolution suddenly intensified!

An indescribable sharp pain and itching erupted from every corner of his body!

"Hiss—!"

He couldn't help but gasp.

This feeling was like having countless tiny hands inside him, violently tearing and restructuring him.

It was also like being thrown into a high-temperature furnace, where every cell was screaming and rupturing, only to be Reborn in a more powerful state under some kind of force.

His bones made cracking sounds as they continuously grew and deformed.

The dusty layer of skin on his body began to dry and crack, revealing a faint crimson glow from the fissures.

His size expanded by a circle at a speed visible to the naked eye, growing from about a finger's length to nearly the size of a palm.

At the tips of his originally slightly soft little claws, hooked toes shimmering with a metallic cold glint emerged.

With a light swipe, he left several clear gashes on the cushion beneath him.

The most obvious changes were in his head and mouth.

His snout protruded slightly forward, an itching sensation came from the inner lining of his mouth, and two rows of sharp teeth actually sprouted from his upper and lower jaws!

Although they still looked quite immature, they already possessed the ability to bite, no longer the structure of a Gecko that could only swallow small insects.

His entire form, while still small, had already departed from the category of a Gecko, taking on a certain... ferocious prototype.

It was like a newly hatched dinosaur cub, his grayish-black skin faintly exuding a rock-like texture.

The pain lasted for about a quarter of an hour before receding like the tide.

Replacing it was an unprecedented sense of fullness and power.

Ling Tian panted, feeling this new body.

Strength, agility, and that sense of control over himself were all more than a notch stronger than before!

[Evolution complete! Current stage: Juvenile (Tier 2)]

[Host: Ling Tian]

[Race: Godzilla (Juvenile)]

[Tier: Tier 2]

[Evolution Points: 905/1000]

[Attributes: Strength 15, Agility 18, Stamina 17, Spirit 22]

[Talent: Devour (Elementary)]

[Skill: Atomic Breath (Elementary · Energy Core not activated)]

[Trait: [Foundation of Nine Transformations (Gold)]]

[Ding! Detected that the host possesses the special trait [Foundation of Nine Transformations]. After this evolution, you may select one body part to undergo an additional strengthening transformation.]

[Please select: Skin / Skeleton / Muscle / Internal Organs (must specify the specific organ) / Senses / Energy Core (not activated)...]

Looking at the updated panel, Ling Tian felt a surge of heat in his heart.

Just from the first evolution, all attributes had more than increased tenfold!

Moreover, there were over nine hundred evolution points! Only 95 points away from the next evolution!

The benefits of devouring that Nine-Winged Golden Cicada were truly significant; it seemed he would really need to thank Xia Youchu properly in the future.

If she hadn't gone through so much trouble to bring the Nine-Winged Golden Cicada over, he really wouldn't have been able to eat such a good thing.

Most importantly, this evolution also granted the skill [Atomic Breath]!

This was Godzilla's signature skill! The symbol of Doomsday!

Ling Tian immediately tried to mobilize the faint current of heat within his body, concentrating it in his throat area.

A faint burning sensation gathered.

He opened his mouth and tried hard to "breathe".

Pfft.

A tiny, almost invisible orange-red flame emerged from the tip of his tongue, lasting less than half a second before extinguishing.

A faint smell of sulfur, similar to a lit match, permeated the air.

Ling Tian: "..."

Fine, it seems that before the Energy Core is activated, this skill can only serve as a lighter, and a windproof one with extremely poor performance at that.

Expecting to use it against enemies is unrealistic.

Ling Tian's attention returned to the selection for [Foundation of Nine Transformations].

Skin, skeleton, and muscle could directly increase defense and strength; senses could improve detection capabilities; and the Energy Core was related to the power of skills like Atomic Breath.

Ling Tian pondered.

"Godzilla's strength is built upon devouring, digesting, and absorbing; this is the core of the core."

"My Devour talent is currently only Elementary, and digestion efficiency is limited. Choosing an internal organ that strengthens digestion can maximize the effect of this golden legendary trait and solidify my Foundation."

"Then, there is only one answer—"

"I choose to strengthen the internal organ: Stomach!"

[Selection confirmed! Beginning additional strengthening transformation on the designated part [Stomach]!]

The strange sensation that had just subsided returned, but this time it was concentrated mainly in the abdominal cavity.

He could feel his stomach contracting and expanding, the structure of the inner lining undergoing subtle changes, the ability to secrete digestive juices rapidly improving, and a signal of hunger becoming even stronger.

A few minutes later, the transformation was complete.

[Ding! The talent [Devour (Elementary)] is affected by the strengthened part [Stomach], the effect is improved, and it has advanced to [Devour (Intermediate)]!]

[Devour (Intermediate): Can digest and absorb most organic matter and some low-energy inorganic matter (such as rocks, ordinary metals), with conversion efficiency increased by 50%. Also, depending on the quality of the food, there is a higher probability of randomly gaining attribute increases!]

Ling Tian felt a surge of joy!

It seems that skill effects and body parts are linked!

Strengthening the stomach directly upgraded the Devour talent! Now he could even eat rocks and metal!

This simply solved the major problem of food sources in the early stages!

From now on, he would no longer have to fixate only on mosquitoes and flies!

Furthermore, the 50% increase in conversion efficiency meant that the speed of acquiring evolution points and attribute bonuses would be faster!

"Skills are linked to the body... Atomic Breath is related to the Energy Core; since my Energy Core is not activated, the breath is as weak as a lighter. And the Devour talent is clearly strongly related to the digestive System, especially the stomach."

The train of thought was clear.

The direction for future strengthening is, on one hand, to activate the Energy Core as soon as possible, and on the other hand, to continue strengthening abilities related to devouring and digestion, developing like a snowball!

Looking at the progress bar, which was only 95 points away from the next evolution, Ling Tian was full of motivation.

"Eat! Must eat!"

He raised his head, his eyes beginning to scan the quiet room.

Before, he had only focused on catching bugs and hadn't paid attention to anything else.

This quiet room looked simple and unadorned, but the materials used seemed quite extraordinary.

The walls were made of a dark stone material, cool and hard to the touch, and the floor was of the same material.

The stone platform where the Nine-Winged Golden Cicada had been placed looked even more extraordinary, possessing a warm, moist luster.

"I wonder how these things taste?"

Ling Tian climbed off the cushion, came to the wall, opened his mouth, and tried to take a bite of the wall.

Crunch.

With a soft sound, a small piece of stone debris was bitten off by him.

The texture... was a bit like a damp biscuit, a bit hard, a bit astringent, and had no real taste.

[Devoured Obsidian Brick, gained Evolution Points + 0.1. Stamina received an extremely weak increase.]

It worked!

Although the evolution points provided were very few, the point was that he could now eat rocks!

And this quiet room was so big, and it was all made of such stone bricks!

Ling Tian's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a new continent.

He began to feast on the wall.

Crunch, crunch...

The sound of fine gnawing echoed in the silent quiet room.

[Devoured Obsidian Brick, gained Evolution Points + 0.1]

[Devoured Obsidian Brick, gained Evolution Points + 0.1]

[Strength received an extremely weak increase]

...