Jumping from the First Rank to Rank 3 all at once felt amazing—an unparalleled sensation.
'Time to devour the Rank 3 Rat King.'
Tu Xiao'an opened his Snake Pupils. An icy light flashed within them as his aura surged.
He slithered beside the Rat King's corpse. Tu Xiao'an stretched his jaws impossibly wide and began to painstakingly swallow the body, inch by inch. As a snake, he was starting to feel a bit like a psychopath.
'The Rat King was so huge and disgusting to look at, yet here I was, swallowing it as if it were some delectable feast.'
'This is what it means to be a cold-blooded creature.'
"Ding... Host has devoured a Rank 3 Rat King, gaining 100 Energy Value."
'One hundred points for devouring just one. Now *this* is interesting.'
Evolutionary Energy Value: 175/1000.
The required Energy Value had skyrocketed after leveling up one rank.
In the backyard, moonlight spilled across the ground. The small, 50-centimeter silver-white snake had grown to 70 centimeters. Its body was longer and thicker, and its strength, speed, and especially its venomous fangs had all been enhanced.
A glossy sheen wrapped around its Snake Skin as a cold, sinister aura swept out, causing the small creatures in the nearby woods to tremble in terror, as if they were staring into an abyss.
'At Rank 3, if I unleash my dominance ability, I could probably summon every venomous snake in these woods.'
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...!
Within the woods, dozens of pairs of eyes, gleaming with an eerie light, shone in the darkness like fireflies.
'Venomous snakes, venomous fangs, Venom?'
'Haha, I think I just figured out how to contribute a little more to this family.'
Status Update!
Host: Tu Xiao'an!
Identity: House Snake (70cm!)
Evolutionary Energy Value: 175/1000.
Talent 1: Devouring Talent, Talent 2: dominance ability.
Pet Box: Level 1 Mosquitoes (398).
'A lot of the mosquitoes I subdued died fighting that rat swarm earlier.'
..........．
Having finished, Tu Xiao'an raised his head and looked at the sky. Dawn would break soon. In the backyard, Xiaobai watched warily from his doghouse as the little snake—now 70 centimeters long—moved about.
"WOOF WOOF..."
'Good boy, Xiaobai. Call me Master.'
Tu Xiao'an stared at the mutt lying in front of the doghouse with his Snake Pupils. His icy eyes were devoid of emotion, yet exceptionally bright.
"WOOF WOOF..."
Tu Xiao'an was in a great mood and wanted to get a little closer to his pet dog, but the dumb mutt shot to its feet, treading as if on thin ice.
With his fangs having been enhanced twice now, he could inflict a fatal wound on an animal two levels higher than himself.
'The dumb mutt is Level 5. If I had a mind to, this day next year would be the dog's death anniversary.'
Of course, Tu Xiao'an would never do that.
Just then, Tu Xiao'an noticed a small, trembling black snake nearby. Of the dozen or so small snakes that had emerged from the woods, it was the only one that survived. This snake, it seemed, was not fated to die.
He took a long, hard look at the little black snake.
"Ding... Level 1 Venomous Snake. Black Mamba. Juvenile."
Tu Xiao'an froze upon hearing this. This little black snake was actually a Black Mamba. He'd misjudged it.
The Black Mamba was an extremely famous venomous snake. It's the longest and most feared venomous snake in Africa, the fastest-moving snake in the world, and one of the deadliest. An adult Black Mamba could grow to be two to three meters long.
As a former Snake Catcher, Tu Xiao'an was naturally well-versed in all the famous types of venomous snakes.
This Black Mamba was a real prize. In Bai Town and on She Mountain, hundreds of snakes roamed, many of them venomous. The local Snake Catchers divided them into three main categories.
Common venomous snakes, rare venomous snakes, and exceptionally rare venomous snakes.
Common venomous snakes usually fetched a price of several hundred to a thousand. Rare ones went for tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand. As for the exceptionally rare ones, a single specimen would be considered a Class 1 National Protected Animal.
Just like giant pandas, they were incredibly scarce. As the saying goes, the rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes.
The Black Mamba was considered a rare venomous snake. Its Venom was terrifyingly potent, and also extremely valuable.
Tu Xiao'an couldn't believe his luck. He'd casually summoned a few snake underlings, and there was actually a Black Mamba hidden among them.
It was a good thing it was a juvenile, looking like it had only just hatched. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to summon with his dominance ability.
'Heehee, since you're a Black Mamba, I can't just let you go.'
'Subdue!'
Tu Xiao'an's Divine Sense enveloped the trembling Black Mamba. In an instant, the little black snake vanished.
"Ding... Congratulations to the host for subduing a Level 1 Young Black Mamba. Gained 20 Energy Value!"
The Energy Value alone showed how special this snake was.
With another thought, the little Black Mamba reappeared before Tu Xiao'an. It was very docile, nothing like the terrifying creature of legend.
'If I can raise this Black Mamba to adulthood, I could sell it for tens of thousands of RMB,' Tu Xiao'an mused.
'That would certainly help with the family finances.'
But while the idea was nice, it was useless. Tu Xiao'an was just a snake now. How could he go out and run a business?
'Oh well, I'll worry about it later.' With a thought, Tu Xiao'an stored the Black Mamba in his Pet Box.
It had been an eventful night, and Tu Xiao'an was tired. He let out a hiss at the dumb mutt, Xiaobai, before darting with incredible speed right into the doghouse.
By the time Xiaobai reacted, he was dumbstruck. His doghouse had been taken over by a small, silver-white snake. He wanted to cry but had no tears.
A snake stealing a doghouse to sleep in—only Tu Xiao'an would come up with something like that.
But even though he'd become a snake, he was still the master of this house, and the master of this dog.
It was only right.
..............．
Several hours passed. The sky had long since brightened, heralding the arrival of a new day.
This was Tu Xiao'an's second day as a snake. Life might be tough, but you had to keep living. And it seemed Tu Xiao'an was actually doing quite well for himself.
He had slept comfortably in the doghouse. When he awoke, a pair of huge, wide-open dog eyes greeted him.
'Morning, Xiaobai!'
Tu Xiao'an opened his mouth, but only a hissing sound came out.
"WOOF WOOF..."
Xiaobai just wanted this damn snake to get out of his doghouse. Who was he supposed to complain to when a snake had just up and occupied his den?
Tu Xiao'an wasn't the least bit embarrassed. However, he saw that it was already approaching noon, so he slithered out of the doghouse and headed for the main house.
"ARF! ARF!"
When Xiaobai saw the damned snake about to slither into the house, he began to bark frantically, as if trying to warn the people inside that a snake was getting in.
Tu Xiao'an knew that while Xiaobai was timid, he was also extremely loyal. He felt a moment of gratified amusement and naturally didn't hold it against the dog.
After slithering inside, he found that no one was home. His mom and older sister were nowhere to be seen.
With nothing else to do, Tu Xiao'an slithered around the house. Though he had been reborn as a snake, this was still his home. It had the same old layout, the same familiar scent.
'Content. He had become a House Snake to protect this home. Wasn't this exactly what he had wanted?'