Xu Zhou returned home and it was already dinner time.
"Son, you're back?" Xu Tianhai immediately greeted him when he saw Xu Zhou, "So, did you awaken successfully?"
Xu Zhou nodded, not concealing the fact, and told his family about his awakening of an S-level talent.
Upon hearing this, the whole family fell into a moment of silence.
Xu Tianhai and Li Yanping exchanged glances, showing a hint of doubt.
After a while.
Xu Tianhai slowly said, "Son, if you failed to awaken, just tell us, there's no need to lie..."
Xu Zhou said helplessly, "It's true, the entire grade saw it at that time."
"He is probably telling the truth," Li Ruoxi suddenly said from the side, "There's a rumor from the third year that there's an S-level talent genius in this year's first year."
She was a bit surprised and somewhat skeptical, then looked at Xu Zhou, "Is it really you?"
Xu Zhou smiled and nodded, feeling inexplicably smug inside.
Seeing the usually aloof Li Ruoxi show such an expression was quite satisfying for him.
Meanwhile, seeing Li Ruoxi's confirmation, the parents were instantaneously unnerved, looking at Xu Zhou with faces full of astonishment.
Even the usually composed Xu Tianhai lost his composure a bit, "My son awakened an S-level talent?!"
"Hahaha, great! Great!"
Seeing his father burst into laughter, Xu Zhou felt a bit helpless.
Actually, he wasn't surprised by his family's reaction because, under normal circumstances, he would find it difficult to awaken even the weakest talent.
But he awakened an S-level talent!
The more people understood him, the more shocked they would be when they heard about such a thing.
Xu Zhou looked at Li Ruoxi, a little surprised, as he didn't see a shocked expression on her face.
On the contrary, Li Ruoxi only appeared momentarily dazed before regaining her composure.
"That's pretty good," Li Ruoxi glanced at him and casually remarked, "Seems like if someone bullies you in the future, you won't be like before, just crying."
"I'm no longer a kid," Xu Zhou said with a cough, a slight black line appearing on his face.
The previous Xu Zhou had a weak personality since childhood and was a target for school bullying starting from elementary school.
But that was all in the past, and bringing it up now was a bit discouraging.
Xu Zhou couldn't help but think to himself that his sister was really arrogant; even an S-level talent couldn't earn more respect from her!
However, Xu Zhou quickly brushed it off.
Li Ruoxi had a sharp tongue and appeared cold, but since childhood, she had helped him deal with many school bullies.
He remembered once he was seriously injured and fainted, and Li Ruoxi seemed to be crying beside him.
But that was so long ago that the memory was fuzzy, and Xu Zhou wasn't even sure if it was true.
Li Ruoxi was so proud that he had never seen her cry with his own eyes.
Xu Zhou continued to eat his meal.
Li Ruoxi glanced at him unintentionally, a soft smile flickering in her apricot eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
...
After dinner, Xu Zhou took a large bowl of food and returned to his room.
In the room, a large rooster was standing on a basketball, practicing the golden rooster stance.
Today's meal was quite sumptuous, with Northeast rice, braised fish pieces, cabbage, and some chicken bits.
"What's it doing on the basketball?"
Xu Zhou shooed the rooster down and placed the bowl in front of it.
But the rooster didn't seem very hungry, as it pecked at the basketball on the ground.
Seeing this, Xu Zhou's consciousness descended into the rooster.
The next moment, Xu Zhou felt an incomparably strong hunger, which puzzled him.
Could the basketball be more tempting than the food?
Quickly, he realized that this wasn't the case; it was just that without his consciousness to guide it, the mutant chicken avatar had no senses.
It couldn't even feel hunger.
As for pecking the basketball, it was just an unconscious action.
"Cluck cluck~!"
Under Xu Zhou's control, the rooster began to eat and streams of warm energy flowed into its body.
...
After the mutant chicken avatar finished eating, it stood motionless by the basketball.
Meanwhile, Xu Zhou's main body also sat cross-legged under the table, beginning to cultivate the "Basic Law of Cultivation."
"According to this world's classification, Martial Artists range from Grade One to Nine, corresponding to the First to Ninth Ranks of beasts."
"A First Rank Martial Artist has a Qi-Blood level around 150 calories, with a punch strength of about 500 kilograms!"
"And the 'Basic Law of Cultivation' is the training process from unranked to First Grade, the cultivation content for the three years of high school."
Xu Zhou closed his eyes and cultivated for a while.
A few hours later.
Xu Zhou discovered that his cultivation speed was indeed slower than before.
Previously, cultivating for a few hours would lead to noticeable Qi-Blood improvement.
But now, his Qi-Blood didn't budge at all.
"Teacher Cao was right, after awakening the S-level talent, my Qi-Blood underwent a qualitative change, becoming much stronger than before!"
"My Qi-Blood is too strong; simple cultivation is hard to break through, only by consuming cultivation resources can it be improved."
Xu Zhou furrowed his brows slightly.
Is this really a good thing? He didn't know.
But fortunately, he had the mutant chicken avatar, which could develop slowly, while his main body could cultivate when possible, just with a slower pace.
"Dong! Dong! Dong..."
At this moment, the clock in the living room struck twelve times.
Xu Zhou's expression changed slightly as it was already midnight!
"Cluck cluck cluck~!"
Just then, the big rooster suddenly stretched out its neck and crowed.
Immediately after, its body began growing visibly, gaining a layer of fat, but because its body also grew taller, it didn't appear fat, instead looking very robust.
A new day had arrived, and the mutant chicken avatar gained another kilogram!
Before Xu Zhou could check it carefully, a panel suddenly popped up.
Host: Xu Zhou
Qi-Blood: 71 calories
Spirit: 1 Hertz
Avatar: Mutant Chicken
Rank: 0
Net Weight: 5 kilograms (Evolvable)
Talent: Gains one kilogram per day
Evolution: Has reached species limit, can choose an evolution direction!
[Evolution 1: Evolve into a fierce carnivorous mutant beast, greatly enhancing attack attributes.]
[Evolution 2: Evolve into a growth-loving omnivorous mutant beast, capable of devouring all things and growing at the fastest speed.]
[Evolution 3: Evolve into a heavily armored herbivorous mutant beast, greatly enhancing defense attributes.]
——
"Finally able to evolve?"
Xu Zhou looked at the popped-up panel, feeling a bit surprised.
But immediately, he was drawn to the three evolution directions.
The goals of the three evolution paths were clear: the first focused on enhancing attack attributes, the second on growth speed, and the third on defense attributes.
Which direction should he choose? Xu Zhou fell into brief contemplation.
Soon, he made his decision: "Choose the second direction!"
Enhancing attack and defense attributes were temporary.
Only growth was the long-term solution!
So how to choose was obvious.
With Xu Zhou's decision, the rooster on the ground began to evolve.
Its eyes widened, and its beak began to widen, with two rows of sharp teeth growing inside.
Meanwhile, the mutant chicken's feathers became more vibrant, and as the rooster stretched its wings, the feather blades grew sharper, like tiny knives, rooted in the wings.
Once evolution was complete, a majestic mutant chicken stood proudly before Xu Zhou.
"Such a big change?" Xu Zhou was amazed by what he saw.
Clearly an omnivorous mutant beast, yet it looked so imposing.
Meanwhile, the panel also showed changes.
Host: Xu Zhou
Qi-Blood: 71 calories
Spirit: 1 Hertz
Avatar: Shark-tooth Mutant Chicken
Rank: 0
Net Weight: 5 kilograms
Talent: Gains ten kilograms per day (maximum), devours all things (digests any food)
Evolution: When weight reaches species limit, may begin evolution.
[Note: The shark-tooth mutant chicken requires a vast amount of food each day; insufficient food might lead to starvation.]
——
"Shark-tooth Mutant Chicken?" Xu Zhou was surprised. The name fit well since the teeth in the mutant chicken's mouth were as sharp as shark's teeth.
But... does an omnivorous mutant chicken really need those shark-like teeth?
Quickly, Xu Zhou's gaze shifted down to look at its talent.
"Gains ten kilograms per day?" Xu Zhou was shocked, "That's exaggerated, ten times more than before?"
He thought this evolution only added the ability to devour all things.
Didn't expect that even the original talent evolved.
Gaining ten kilograms a day, it wouldn't take long before it grows into a real giant beast?
Xu Zhou was both thrilled and expectant.
But he quickly noticed that the shark-tooth mutant chicken required a vast amount of food, or it might starve to death?
Could it be? It could starve to death?
Xu Zhou turned to look at the mutant chicken on the ground, finding it rolling its eyes, seemingly about to faint.
"No way, just fed a bowl of rice, and it's already hungry?"
Xu Zhou was alarmed, immediately sending his consciousness into the mutant chicken.
"Boom!"
In an instant, a dreadful hunger swept through his mind.
"Oh crap, I'm starving, I'm going to faint!"
Xu Zhou quickly withdrew his consciousness, his face slightly pale, then looked at the mutant chicken in shock.
He was right, just in that short amount of time, the mutant chicken was indeed about to faint from hunger!
Seeing this, Xu Zhou didn't dare hesitate and quickly got up to head to the kitchen; he needed to find enough food, or the avatar might really starve to death!