Chapter Twenty-Three: An Unexpected Gain

In the blink of an eye, three or four days had passed since Zhou Tian became the king of snakes. To be honest, even after so many days, Zhou Tian still found it hard to accept this reality. Originally, Zhou Tian merely wanted to find a place to settle down, but unexpectedly, he was brought into the snake den. What was even more absurd was that the snake king in the den believed Zhou Tian had come to challenge his throne. As a result, not only did the snake king lose his life, but Zhou Tian was forced to take his place.

Zhou Tian had absolutely no interest in being snake king. If he had a choice, he would never have accepted such a role. Even after occupying the throne by accident, he never abandoned the idea of escape. However, every time Zhou Tian tried to flee, the little snakes followed him, afraid that the commotion would alert the beastmen. In the end, Zhou Tian had no choice but to reluctantly remain as king for the time being.

“Hiss~” As Zhou Tian lay coiled in boredom, pondering how to rid himself of the little snakes, a sudden commotion erupted outside the snake den. With considerable effort, the group of little snakes dragged a low-level magical beast before Zhou Tian.

“…King…eat…” Although their actions were mostly driven by instinct, the little snakes possessed a glimmer of awareness. When they presented the beast to Zhou Tian, he roughly understood their intention.

“It seems there are indeed some advantages to being king.” With a self-deprecating smile, Zhou Tian naturally had no intention of actually eating the magical beast. Instead, he extracted its magic core and rewarded the carcass to the little snakes.

Upon receiving Zhou Tian’s command, the little snakes excitedly swarmed the beast, gnawing it down to bare bones. After witnessing Zhou Tian absorb the magic core, the little snakes appeared to have a moment of realization. After some whispered consultation, they scuttled out of the den once more.

When they returned, Zhou Tian was delighted to discover that the little snakes had brought back a heap of magic cores.

“Where did these magic cores come from?” To Zhou Tian, magic cores were the most valuable resource. Seeing the snakes deliver such a sizable pile, he was eager to know their origin.

“…Underground…bones…”

Listening to their fragmented explanation, Zhou Tian gathered that the magic cores were retrieved from underground. When magical beasts fought, the victor usually consumed the loser’s magic core. However, as Zhou Tian had seen, sometimes the combatants were evenly matched, resulting in both beasts dying. In such cases, their magic cores would be left for other beasts, but occasionally, the magic cores remained undiscovered and buried deep underground.

Given their limited strength, the little snakes could not hunt magical beasts themselves, but their serpentine abilities allowed them to locate and retrieve buried magic cores. Previously, their lack of intelligence meant they didn’t understand the value of magic cores, leaving them hidden beneath the earth. Now that Zhou Tian, their king, showed interest, the little snakes eagerly helped him search underground for magic cores.

If Zhou Tian had never considered being snake king before, and had only recently wished to escape the little snakes, his perspective now changed. He might not care for the authority of the throne, but he could not ignore the magic cores.

Magic cores equaled countless powerful treasures. In his previous battles, Zhou Tian had relied on spiritual energy exchanged for various abilities to achieve victory. Although he survived, his spiritual energy was significantly depleted. Upon discovering that the little snakes could help him collect more magic cores, Zhou Tian seized the opportunity to replenish his energy.

After absorbing all the magic cores brought by the little snakes, Zhou Tian was gratified to see his spiritual energy surge. He nodded in satisfaction.

“Should I give them a reward?” Zhou Tian knew that, as king, the little snakes would continue to collect magic cores for him regardless. But it felt wrong to accept their efforts without giving anything in return. After some hesitation, he opened the system store and exchanged for a bottle of gene potion.

“Gene potion, price: one hundred spiritual energy. (Effect: Improves biological genes.)”

Slithering to the snakes’ watering place, Zhou Tian poured the gene potion into the pool. At his command, the little snakes eagerly drank from the water.

Undoubtedly, the gene potion was a low-grade item in Zhou Tian’s system store. Diluted in water, its effects were almost negligible. Still, for the ordinary little snakes, even watered-down gene potion was enough to slightly enhance their strength.

Almost all who drank the water shed their skins, emerging either larger or more venomous.

Though their awareness was limited, the snakes were not devoid of thought. They sensed the changes in themselves, distinguishing improvement from decline. Excited by their newfound strength, the little snakes could not contain their enthusiasm.

All creatures instinctively pursue evolution. Previously, progress required generations of effort, so the little snakes tried to improve their genes without much determination. But now, having realized that Zhou Tian’s reward brought tangible advancement, they could no longer be indifferent.

“King…water…” The little snakes did not know what Zhou Tian had given them, only that their transformation was linked to the liquid poured into the pool. Hoping for further evolution, they summoned their courage to petition Zhou Tian.

“You want more of that ‘water’? If you do, then bring me more of those crystal things. Whoever brings the king crystals will get ‘water’ in return.” Naturally, Zhou Tian would not grant their request outright. His own spiritual energy was running low; he had none to spare. He wouldn’t give the gene potion freely, but he was happy to use it as a prize to incentivize the snakes to search for magic cores. If he could collect enough spiritual energy, he wouldn’t mind sharing a bit of the benefits.

The little snakes’ request was merely an instinctual pursuit. Even if Zhou Tian refused, they wouldn’t dare challenge him. Though he didn’t give them gene potion directly, Zhou Tian offered hope, which was enough to excite them.

Previously, the little snakes searched for magic cores simply because the snake king liked them. Now, learning that finding magic cores meant receiving rewards and evolving, they eagerly scurried off to seek more.

The truth was clear: incentives were more reliable than obligations. The little snakes had helped Zhou Tian before, but mainly because he hadn’t eaten their offering, leading them to believe he craved magic cores. At that time, they only scavenged nearby, without thorough effort.

Now that their own interests were tied to the collection of magic cores, they spared no effort—near or far, any magic core within reach would not escape them.

Thanks to their diligence, Zhou Tian’s spiritual energy grew at a staggering rate. He knew this couldn’t last forever, but the unexpected windfall of magic cores was enough to bring him great joy.