Li Xuan thought it was an illusion, so he observed Niu Niu more closely, only to find that the cold Qi that had just accumulated in Niu Niu's body was rapidly dissipating, transforming into strength and spreading throughout Niu Niu's entire body.
This discovery startled Li Xuan.
"Could it be..."
Li Xuan did not dare to be careless and carefully observed the situation inside Niu Niu's body.
Niu Niu, held by Li Xuan on its belly, didn't dare to move, blinking its innocent eyes. It quickly grew bored, lying on the ground restlessly, looking around, and even trying to entice Cheese with its gaze, wanting to play with him.
Small as Cheese was, he wasn't as foolish as Niu Niu.
Towards Li Xuan, the Cat Overlord, whom he hadn't interacted with much but who exuded authority, Cheese didn't dare to play around inappropriately when he was clearly in a serious mood.
Seeing that Cheese ignored it, Niu Niu yawned boredly, and its tail began to wag restlessly.
In just this short while, Li Xuan had already confirmed that the cold Qi that had just accumulated in Niu Niu's body had been completely absorbed and digested by itself.
"Could this be Niu Niu's talent?"
Li Xuan's eyes widened, a little excited.
He immediately retracted his paw and then asked Niu Niu:
"Meow? (Is anything uncomfortable?)"
Niu Niu immediately nodded repeatedly, making Li Xuan's heart clench.
But then Niu Niu covered its belly, stuck out its tongue, and kept smacking its lips.
Li Xuan immediately understood that this fellow was saying it was uncomfortable because it was hungry, and his face darkened.
Although Niu Niu couldn't discern the change in Li Xuan's expression, it instinctively flinched.
Moreover, Li Xuan's face was already dark, and for Niu Niu's intelligence to understand Li Xuan's expression was truly a bit difficult for a cat.
But despite Li Xuan's anger, he still needed to confirm whether Niu Niu truly possessed some extraordinary talent.
After confirming that Niu Niu's body was not uncomfortable, Li Xuan fed it some more clam meat.
This time, after feeding three pieces of clam meat in a row, cold Qi began to accumulate in Niu Niu's body again.
Li Xuan didn't dare to feed it too much at once, so he stopped again and observed the changes in Niu Niu's body.
This time, Li Xuan observed the process of the cold Qi disappearing from beginning to end.
"It really was absorbed by the body!"
Li Xuan was utterly amazed.
Even Cat Overlord and Fat Orange, who were already at the eighth-grade cultivation, couldn't do this, but Niu Niu, who hadn't even reached ninth-grade 入門, had this ability.
It seemed that while the heavens had closed several doors for Niu Niu, they had still opened a window for him.
Niu Niu, this fellow, practiced the Tiger Form Ten Styles, forgetting what he learned and then practicing again, and still hadn't fully mastered it even to this day.
Aside from playing, his only talent was in eating.
But Li Xuan never expected that Niu Niu's talent for eating was actually quite something.
For beast races, digestion is a very important ability.
Wild beast races, without any special encounters, can only increase their strength by hunting and eating.
As for those lucky ones, they coincidentally ate some wild heavenly treasures.
But no matter the method, without sufficient digestive ability, even if an opportunity arises, it's difficult to seize it.
And Niu Niu seemed to be born with this even more powerful digestive ability.
It's just that this ability, in Li Xuan's opinion, was still relatively weak.
These remaining clam meats were already considered scraps of the arctic supreme clam; the energy contained within them was incomparable to the previous essence part.
After all, Zhuge Fang had also said before that ordinary people could eat this, and eating too much would only cause diarrhea. Although there were no major negative effects, once it reached the point of diarrhea, one could no longer absorb more of the arctic supreme clam's benefits.
Even if one could endure the pain of diarrhea and force down more clam meat, it would actually be futile, only causing oneself suffering and wasting such a good heavenly treasure.
And Niu Niu needed to pause when eating this level of heavenly treasure, and only after digesting the accumulated cold Qi could it continue eating.
This digestive ability was not that heaven-defying, in fact.
However, Niu Niu's digestive ability, when met with Li Xuan, an understanding person who could assist, was a completely different matter.
It could be said that their encounter would produce a world-changing qualitative transformation.
Given Niu Niu's temperament and intelligence, encountering a heavenly treasure like the arctic supreme clam would definitely make him eat without restraint, without any hesitation.
Eating in such a way would soon reach Niu Niu's limit, and could even injure him, or given Niu Niu's intelligence, it's not entirely impossible for him to eat himself to death.
But with Li Xuan by his side, things were completely different.
Cat Overlord and Fat Orange, seeing Niu Niu eat more clam meat than them, curiously came closer.
Cheese also looked at the clam meat, then at Niu Niu, who was occasionally pressed to the ground by Li Xuan, and began to ponder.
The little fellow seemed to have thought of something and also lay down next to Niu Niu, belly up, gesturing to Li Xuan to press him too.
Li Xuan smiled helplessly and ignored Cheese.
Cheese cried out anxiously, but Fat Orange swept him with its tail to its front and patiently began to groom Cheese.
Cheese was still a bit defiant, complaining to Fat Orange, but after only a couple of cries, he was licked into submission by Fat Orange.
After all, Fat Orange licked very hard, making Cheese stumble with each lick. The little fellow, afraid of biting his own tongue, obediently closed his mouth.
Niu Niu also seemed to understand that as long as he cooperated obediently with Li Xuan, there would always be clam meat to eat. He immediately stopped being impatient and instead enjoyed the fun as if playing a game.
With this fellow cooperating well, Li Xuan was also happy to relax.
Li Xuan found that as Niu Niu continuously digested and absorbed the accumulated cold Qi in his body, the amount of clam meat he could eat each time also increased.
In just this short while, Niu Niu could already eat ten pieces of clam meat in one go.
And Niu Niu's body, under Li Xuan's observation, clearly became stronger, a change that truly had some of Princess Ankang's meaning.
"So this is how Niu Niu is supposed to cultivate?"
Li Xuan felt as if he had found Niu Niu's instruction manual.
In just this short while, Niu Niu's growth was faster than practicing the Tiger Form Ten Styles for several months.
However, what made Li Xuan feel a bit regretful was that the speed at which Niu Niu digested and absorbed the accumulated cold Qi in his body began to slow down.
Finally, Niu Niu ate a whole plate of clam meat intermittently, probably a total of fifty pieces.
After that, the coldness accumulated in Niu Niu's body was absorbed and digested by him at a very slow rate.
Niu Niu, who had just been eating fearlessly, now looked listless, lying on the ground weakly, and his stomach rumbled occasionally.
"Niu Niu, you're already amazing for being able to eat a whole plate."
One must know that Yu'er, who had eaten her fill earlier, had only eaten one plate, and if she ate more, she would feel uncomfortable.
But Yu'er was a human, and at the peak of the eighth grade, about to break through to the seventh grade.
Whether in terms of size or strength, there was an absolute gap between her and Niu Niu.
Yet, the amount of clam meat Niu Niu ate was the same as Yu'er's.
"I wonder if Niu Niu will recover tomorrow."
Li Xuan was actually still hopeful.
Most of the benefits of the clam meat Niu Niu ate today were still hidden within his body and had not been fully converted into his strength.
If Niu Niu could continue eating clam meat tomorrow, he might grow even more.
"It just depends on how amazing this guy's talent is."
Li Xuan transferred some Yin Yang True Qi to Niu Niu to make him feel better.
Yu'er also squatted by the side and said in surprise:
"This Niu Niu is so amazing, such a small body, yet it eats as much as I do. Where does it all go?"
Yu'er played with Niu Niu's tail, looking at him, who seemed to have eaten too much, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
Just a short while ago, Niu Niu was urging Li Xuan to feed him, but now, when Li Xuan brought the clam meat in front of him, this guy would only lick it a couple of times to taste, no longer daring to swallow it.
At this moment, Princess Ankang bounced back from the backyard and said to Li Xuan and Yu'er:
"Golden Pig won't eat it, but Big White likes it; it ate the whole plate."
Princess Ankang showed them the clean plate.
Li Xuan was stunned to hear this, thinking it shouldn't be so.
"Big White's strength allows him to eat a plate. Could Big White also be a prodigy among gluttons?!"
"Is a miracle of two gluttons in one family about to happen in our Jingyang Palace?"
Given Big White's size, eating a whole plate of clam meat was not surprising, but the arctic supreme clam's meat contained cold Qi, which couldn't be endured by size alone.
Li Xuan thought that two prodigies had appeared in the household in one day and was about to happily ask Princess Ankang for details, but Princess Ankang's next words made Li Xuan's face darken.
"Big White started having diarrhea after eating, and he even pooped in Golden Pig's pond. Golden Pig was so angry that he scalded Big White's butt with hot water, and Big White was also furious, so he went to beat Golden Pig while still having diarrhea..."
(_ `)(_ `)
Li Xuan and Yu'er became increasingly speechless as they listened.
It was a good thing they had eaten the arctic supreme clam earlier, otherwise, after hearing this, they wouldn't have had any appetite left.
However, Princess Ankang, who enjoyed a good show, shouted at them:
"Oh, why are you still standing there?"
"Hurry and come with me to the backyard to watch!"
As a result, the few of them actually followed Princess Ankang to watch the battle.
The backyard, which was originally a pristine white landscape, was now stained with some unusual colors. Although the stench was not enough to fill the sky, it was enough to make people frown.
The most outrageous part was the fish-tiger fight by the pond, splashing water everywhere. However, the color of the water splashes was not entirely pure, making none of them dare to approach easily.
After watching the commotion for a while, even someone as strong as Li Xuan didn't dare to step forward to mediate.
"Your Highness, should we close the backyard door?"
"Otherwise, what if Big White runs out?"
Yu'er said worriedly.
"Good point!"
Princess Ankang immediately closed the backyard door tightly with Yu'er.
Then, the two people and five cats sat on the wall, watching the epic battle in the backyard.
...
For the next few days, Li Xuan stayed in Jingyang Palace, feeding clam meat to his cat brothers.
After a day of digestion, they could eat some more on the second day, but the amount became less and less.
Only Niu Niu, this anomaly, ate more and more, and received the most obvious benefits.
Big White had the advantage of size and bloodline, but he ate too much on the first day and had been recuperating ever since, ending this opportunity with a record of one plate of clam meat.
Cat Overlord and Fat Orange, combined over several days, ate a total of one plate, which was half a plate per cat, a decent amount.
As for Cheese, he was just tasting it, and half a piece of clam meat was his final record.
But Niu Niu was much more impressive, having eaten a total of five plates of clam meat, front and back.
The cold dishes Zhuge Fang later made were almost entirely consumed by Niu Niu.
As for the rest, Li Xuan and Princess Ankang treated them as snacks.
After all, clam meat wouldn't be fresh if left for too long, and it would be a waste of good food.
Thus, the arctic supreme clam had completed its mission, being thoroughly absorbed by everyone in Jingyang Palace.
And Niu Niu seemed to have become the biggest winner, as Li Xuan had discovered his talent.
Li Xuan planned to find more ordinary heavenly treasures for Niu Niu to eat later.
Originally, as Li Xuan's cultivation grew higher, he had started to look down on ordinary goods.
But now it seemed that Niu Niu could still make use of them, so he had to pay more attention.
"That's fine too. Not learning martial arts also has its own path."
With Niu Niu having his own development prospects, Li Xuan felt relieved. Otherwise, Niu Niu's previous carefree nature had truly saddened Li Xuan.
After all, as Cat Overlord and Fat Orange continuously cultivated, their physiques would become stronger, but if Niu Niu kept falling behind, there might eventually be a time of separation by death.
Their three bond so well, Li Xuan did not wish to see such a thing happen.
As for whether such a tragedy of lifespan would happen to himself, Li Xuan had never worried about it.
Before, he worked hard to ensure Princess Ankang would continue to live.
As his own strength grew, Princess Ankang's body got better and better, and such worries diminished greatly.
Moreover, Li Xuan had heard from Old Ye that the stronger a person is, the longer their lifespan will be.
This was true for both humans and beasts.
Li Xuan lay curled in Princess Ankang's arms, enjoying a rare moment of leisure as he reviewed the year.
Now, with the end of the year approaching, this year was almost over.
And the changes that had occurred in Jingyang Palace were truly earth-shattering, but fortunately, they were all for the better.
Li Xuan curled his body, and Princess Ankang, who was reading a book, smiled slightly, reaching out to stroke Li Xuan. The person and the cat accompanied each other harmoniously.
"I hope next year will also be a good year."
Li Xuan enjoyed the warmth and comfort, planning to doze off for a bit longer.
But at this moment, there was a knock at the palace gate.
Yu'er, busy in the courtyard, quickly went to answer the door and soon returned to report:
"Your Highness, the Eighth Prince is at the gate, requesting an audience."
Upon hearing this, Princess Ankang immediately put down her book and said, somewhat surprised:
"Eighth Brother is here?"
"Please invite him in quickly."
Soon after, the Eighth Prince was invited into the room.
The Eighth Prince did not beat around the bush and said directly:
"Ankang, Master Chenghai has asked you and me to visit Cien Temple recently."
"Has something happened?" Princess Ankang asked curiously.
They had only recently visited Cien Temple, and Master Chenghai suddenly seeking them out made Princess Ankang wonder if there was an issue with her mother's memorial tablet.
After all, only this matter had connected Jingyang Palace and Cien Temple recently.
"Although Master Chenghai didn't explicitly say so, I heard that the monks from Fuhu Temple are leaving soon."
The Eighth Prince took a sip of the tea Yu'er offered and shared the news he knew.
"Hmm?"
"Isn't that a good thing then?"
Princess Ankang tilted her head, asking in confusion.
They had previously witnessed how irreconcilable the two temples were.
To resolve the conflict, Li Xuan even had to pretend to be the Guardian Beast of Cien Temple to deal with Fuhu Temple's provocations.
The Eighth Prince immediately shrugged: "Who knows what's going on again?"