: Child, You Are Invincible!

Cao Xing mused to himself, "Just as I expected, besides me, no one has played this game in advance, and everyone is in a state of utter ignorance."

"If they don't take action and quickly adapt to this world, a lot of people might die on the first night..."

Even though they were currently in a beginner protection period, and no monsters would attack the camp,

the cold at night was no joke.

Just then, Cao Xing heard a frantic knocking at the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Lord! Something has happened!"

"Lord... please help me!"

Hearing the cries for help, Cao Xing frowned, feeling a bad premonition.

He quickly tossed the Small Wooden Shield to Liu Muxue and took out a Wooden Magic Wand, preparing for battle.

When he pushed open the Lord's Hut door, he saw two Polar People huddled together, fear in their eyes.

Cao Xing asked, "What happened?"

Erzhuang quickly replied, "Lord! There's a snake!"

"In that grove, there's a huge Snow Poison Snake. It bit Dazhuang, and he's fading fast!"

Cao Xing looked over, and Dazhuang's face was turning purple, his body trembling.

At the same time, purple numbers of -2, -2 kept appearing above Dazhuang's head.

It was a sign of severe poisoning.

Seeing this, a look of concern also appeared in Liu Muxue's eyes.

Cao Xing checked Dazhuang's attributes.

[Polar People: Dazhuang]

[Level: 1 Level 0/100]

[Life Value: 52/140]

[Current Status: Poisoned (Level 1 Snake Venom)]

Seeing this poisoned status, Cao Xing felt relieved, "Don't worry, it's just Level 1 snake venom. Madame, just cast a Purification Skill."

Liu Muxue seemed a little confused, but she quickly understood.

Then, Liu Muxue raised her right hand, and a colorful Aurora condensed in her palm.

"May the Holy Aurora bless you!"

Liu Muxue's cool voice rang out.

With those words, the Aurora entered Dazhuang's body.

At the same time, Dazhuang felt a pure power surge in, melting the snake venom like ice and snow.

His complexion gradually improved.

Dazhuang gratefully said, "Thank you, great and kind lords!"

However, although Dazhuang was free from the snake venom, he still looked weak.

His Life Value had dropped to half, indicating he was in an injured state.

Without a Medical Room, treating injuries was troublesome.

Cao Xing checked his skill bar.

Besides an [Ice Ball Skill], there was an [Ice Healing Skill].

Then, Cao Xing raised his Magic Wand, and an unusual Frost Power gathered within it.

With a wave of his hand, the Frost Power surged into Dazhuang's body.

The next moment, green numbers of +3, +3 continuously appeared above Dazhuang's head.

Then, a system prompt appeared.

[Successful use of [Ice Healing Skill], talent [Eternal Power] activated, this skill has become a permanent state...]

Hearing this prompt, Cao Xing's jaw dropped in shock.

"Holy crap! Healing Skill works too?"

He recalled the introduction of this talent.

[Eternal Power]: Makes all friendly units within the territory, when receiving a temporary boost, permanently gain the boosted state.

But to have a Healing Skill also classified as a boost was something Cao Xing had never considered.

At that moment, sheer joy appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

Because it meant Dazhuang now had an infinite healing buff!

Watching Dazhuang's continuously recovering Life Value, Cao Xing couldn't help but marvel.

Kid, you're invincible!

Of course, Cao Xing's current spiritual strength was low, so he could only restore 3 Life Points.

Even though Dazhuang could heal infinitely, if he encountered an enemy that was too strong, a single slap could still end him, so he wasn't truly invincible.

Before long, Dazhuang's Life Value was fully restored, and he was lively once more.

At this moment, an excited Dazhuang exclaimed, "Lord, I feel a healing power within me, constantly restoring my life!"

Cao Xing nodded knowingly.

"Thank you, Lord. Your power is so great and vast!"

[Dazhuang's loyalty to you increased, current loyalty: 80.]

Cao Xing began pondering a question.

If the [Ice Healing Skill] could infinitely heal Polar People, then could it also work on him or Liu Muxue?

Cao Xing thought for a moment, then cast an [Ice Healing Skill] on Liu Muxue.

The same system prompt appeared.

[Successful use of [Ice Healing Skill], talent [Eternal Power] activated, this skill has become a permanent state...]

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue widened their eyes, and both saw the shock mirrored in each other's pupils.

Holy crap! This talent could also work on human survivors!

Cao Xing could only say, "This is incredible!"

This meant his survival capability would experience a qualitative leap!

He was eager to cast a green light on himself.

As he was about to raise his Magic Wand, his head suddenly felt dizzy, almost causing him to faint.

Cao Xing shook his head and quickly realized the reason.

"Because my spiritual power is insufficient, releasing two Ice Healing Skills is my limit?"

Restoring spiritual power requires rest or eating.

However, the urgent task now was to expel or kill the venomous snake in that grove.

Otherwise, the source of the territory's Wood would be cut off.

Currently, the team had two beings with infinite healing, and they should be able to handle ordinary beasts.

Cao Xing said directly, "Let's go, follow me to deal with that snake."

The two Polar People raised their Stone Axes and shouted, "Follow the Lord's steps!"

Then, he led Dazhuang, Erzhuang, and Liu Muxue out of the Lord's Hut.

As for Sizhuang and Sizhuang, they were busily transporting Stones into the territory.

[Stone +1]

[Stone +1]

System prompts appeared continuously.

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

Before long, they stepped out of the Bonfire's range.

In an instant.

The temperature dropped by more than ten degrees!

The cold rushed in like invisible blades, continuously slicing through everyone.

Waves of stinging pain struck.

Liu Muxue instantly shrank, her body trembling with cold.

Even Cao Xing felt his body stiffen.

With temperatures at minus fifty degrees, without the Polar People's constitution and cold-resistant clothing, they couldn't last a few minutes before turning into icicles.

Fortunately, the grove Cao Xing headed for was not far from the Bonfire, just over a hundred meters away.

The four of them walked across the snow, leaving a trail of footprints.

Before long, they reached the small forest, where dozens of white birch trees were planted sparsely, their branches covered in ice and snow.

"Lord! That poison snake is over there!"

Following the direction of Dazhuang's point, Cao Xing indeed saw a large snake about two meters long, coiled on a tree branch.

"Hiss! Hiss hiss!"

The Snow Poison Snake, entirely snow-white, stuck out its crimson forked tongue at the four, posing a threat.

Cao Xing saw the attributes of the poison snake in front of him.

[Snow Poison Snake: Level 2]

[Race: Beast]

[Life Value: 160/160]

[Attack Power: 8~10]

[Attributes: Power 4, Agility 7, Spirit 5, Constitution 8]

[Skills: Raid, Neurotoxin]

[Note: This is a snake adapted to polar conditions, having undergone unknown evolutions.]

...

A Level 2 Beast, no wonder Dazhuang and Erzhuang together couldn't defeat it.

Even with Cao Xing, they would have to approach carefully to withstand it.

But now, things were different.

Because in his team, there were two beings with infinite healing!

Of course, Liu Muxue currently had no combat power.

Cao Xing brought her along just to help her adapt to the battle rhythm of this world.

Liu Muxue was a smart woman.

She understood Cao Xing's intention and was swiftly acclimating to everything in this world.

"Dazhuang, attack!" Cao Xing ordered directly.

As the words fell, Dazhuang charged forward with his Stone Axe raised.

With a loyalty of 80 points, he could basically follow orders without hesitation, never defying Cao Xing's commands.

"Hiss hiss!!!"

The Snow Poison Snake's body arched and then shot out like a spring!

Whoosh!

Like a white shadow, it flashed by in an instant, biting Dazhuang on the shoulder.

Its sharp fangs pierced through the thick icy snow clothing and into Dazhuang's flesh.

[-6]

The next moment, purple numbers of -2, -2 appeared once again above Dazhuang's head.

Dazhuang was poisoned again.

Yet, after a while, green numbers of +3, +3 emerged.

A look of joy appeared on Dazhuang's face.

"I have the Lord's blessing upon me! You, evil creature, can no longer harm me!"

With that, Dazhuang reached out his large hand and grabbed the Snow Poison Snake by the neck.

Then with a swing of the Stone Axe, he struck down.

: First Kill Reward: Snake-man Tribe Priest Recruitment Scroll

Puff!

This axe strike carved a bloody gash into the smooth body of the Snow Poison Snake, skin and flesh splitting open instantly.

[-8]

A damage number floated up.

The Snow Poison Snake, in pain, bit down even harder.

However, in an infinite healing state, Dazhuang fought as if he was on stimulants.

He grabbed the Snow Poison Snake and started slashing and hacking chaotically.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

[-10]

[-9]

[-9]

...

The sound of flesh being hit repeatedly echoed.

After several bites, the Snow Poison Snake seemed to realize something was amiss.

Its life value was continuously decreasing, quickly dropping below 80.

Yet, this opponent, clearly weaker, was still lively and vigorous after all this!

The snake was bewildered.

It also realized that the enemy in front of it was in an unusual state.

Twisting its body, it turned around, trying to slip away.

Cao Xing had been watching the actions of the Snow Poison Snake from the back, and upon seeing this situation, he quickly said from behind, "Don't let it escape, Erzhuang, you join in too!"

"At your service, my Lord!"

Erzhuang obeyed the order, rushing up to tangle with the Snow Poison Snake.

With Erzhuang's joining, the life value of the Snow Poison Snake decreased even more quickly.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Two stone axes continued slashing at the snake's body.

In no time, its life value dropped below 30.

Meanwhile, after a brief rest, Cao Xing also recovered a bit of spiritual power.

So, he raised his magic wand, and the nearby frost power gathered.

In a short while, a fist-sized ice ball formed at the tip of Cao Xing's magic wand.

"Go!"

Cao Xing flicked his wand.

The ice ball catapulted out instantly.

It landed on the Snow Poison Snake, and with a 'pop,' it exploded!

[-21!]

An exaggerated damage number emerged from the Snow Poison Snake.

The enemy's life value hit zero, collapsing completely.

A system prompt appeared.

[Successfully killed Snow Poison Snake lv2, you gained 30 experience points.

[Combat personnel: Dazhuang gained 15 experience points, Erzhuang gained 15 experience points.]

[Congratulations! You are the first creature in this area to kill a wild creature, earning a first-kill reward: Snake-man Tribe Priest Recruitment Scroll *1.]

...

Seeing the power of the [Ice Ball Skill], a shock appeared in the eyes of Dazhuang and Erzhuang.

"My Lord, your power is intimidating!"

"Our Lord is so powerful!"

Cao Xing glanced at them lightly.

These Polar People were always amazed by trivial things.

The profession of a Frost Mage was like this, with high damage also comes high consumption.

This one Ice Ball Skill directly drained the spiritual power he had barely recovered.

Meanwhile.

Cao Xing came to the corpse of the Snow Poison Snake, and a system prompt appeared before him.

[Snow Poison Snake corpse (can be decomposed)]

Cao Xing directly clicked decompose.

In an instant, the body of the Snow Poison Snake vanished.

Then, on the icy snow ground appeared a torn snake skin, more than a dozen segments of fresh red snake meat, and a purple poison bag.

[Torn snake skin (white) *1]

(Though torn, it can still be used to make simple leather clothes.)

[Fresh snake meat (green) *17]

(Fresh snake meat, 1 piece of snake meat = 5 food units)

[Poison bag (green) *1]

(A snake's poison bag, when smeared on a weapon, may have unexpected effects?)

...

Seeing the items on the ground, a look of surprise appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

"Whoa! So much snake meat, and a snake skin, this is a big haul!"

17 pieces of snake meat meant a total of 85 food units!

And the most crucial part was that apart from dry bread, they now had new food.

And it was fresh, delicious snake meat!

At this moment, Dazhuang and Erzhuang were staring intently at the fresh red snake meat on the ground, the sound of gulping saliva continuously heard.

"Meat... it's meat!"

"Heavens! How many years has it been since we've seen meat?"

"Erzhuang, pinch me, am I dreaming?"

Polar People were creatures living in the subterranean world for long periods, seldom able to eat fresh meat.

Cao Xing was unaware of their way of life, but from previous conversations with some Polar People, he could infer that their living environment was probably very harsh.

Erzhuang pulled Dazhuang's goatee and exclaimed, "Dazhuang, you're not dreaming, this is real meat!"

"Oh my god, if someone would let me taste delicious meat, I would give my life for them!"

Cao Xing knew that these Polar People were saying it for him to hear.

"Alright, you all speed up your work, tonight everyone gets to drink snake soup."

Hearing this, Dazhuang and Erzhuang immediately sprang up from the ground, shouting loudly.

"Long live the Lord!"

"We'll get to work right away!"

Then, the two Polar People, wielding stone axes, enthusiastically went off to chop wood.

Watching their energetic demeanor, Cao Xing collected all the materials on the ground.

He looked at Liu Muxue, who was standing to the side, and said,

"Sister-in-law, did you remember?"

"When encountering enemies in the wild, you also need to fight like this to defeat them."

Liu Muxue hugged a shield to her chest and nodded firmly, "Mm-hmm, I remember, Axing."

Cao Xing nodded in acknowledgment, then led her back near the bonfire.

The moment they stepped into the fire's coverage, the coldness was significantly dispelled.

"Hiss!"

The two of them shivered instantly.

This time, they had been active outside for roughly seven minutes.

According to Cao Xing's estimation, their maximum current activity time was fifteen minutes.

If they could make cold-resistant clothing, their activity time could be greatly extended.

Cao Xing glanced at his territory's resources.

[Food *135, Wood *36, Stone *54]

"Still not enough materials to craft a Sewing Shop, it seems it won't be made today."

"So, are there any other ways to resist the severe cold?"

Cao Xing turned his gaze to the Polar People nearby, clad in thick snow suits.

Clearly, the set of clothes these Polar People wore was very thick and had excellent cold-resisting features...

It's likely that most survivors at this point were considering using some forceful means to seize these Polar People's clothing.

But it's advised not to do so.

Because once you kill the first Polar Person, the goodwill of this race will immediately drop by 50%.

When you kill the second Polar Person, you will become directly hostile to this race.

Not only will you be unable to recruit Polar People to work for you, but any Polar People encountered on the road will also launch attacks on your camp.

Cao Xing mused internally, "Forget it, let's just hang on like this for today."

"Probably by tomorrow, enough wood and stones will be gathered to build a Sewing Shop."

At this moment, Cao Xing recalled the first-kill reward that the system just gave, which seemed to be a recruitment scroll.

After taking it out from his backpack, the scroll's attributes appeared before him.

[Snake-man Tribe Priest Recruitment Scroll: Can summon a level 5 Snake-man Tribe Priest to assist the Lord in battle.]

[Occupies 2 population.]

Seeing this system introduction, a look of joy instantly appeared on Cao Xing's face.

Goodness, it's actually a scroll that can summon a level 5 creature!

This reward is really nice!

However, the Snake-man Tribe, this race, was something Cao Xing had never encountered in the game before, so he didn't know what they were like.

Of course, it could also be because Cao Xing hadn't developed to the later stages, and hadn't explored the full range of that game.

The vastness of this world exceeded Cao Xing's imagination.

[Do you want to consume the scroll to summon the Snake-man Tribe Priest?]

"Yes."

With the words spoken, a hexagram array emerged in front of Cao Xing out of thin air.

The next moment, the hexagram array emitted a dazzling light.

Liu Muxue, beside him, was also curiously watching Cao Xing's actions.

Meanwhile, they suddenly felt as if a strong, cold aura had descended.

Then, the cold wind blew.

A winding, white-bodied creature appeared.

The five-meter-long snake body was covered in scales, and the slender tail swung casually in the snow.

And atop this serpentine body, there was a human female head.

With elongated eyes and chiseled features, one glance exposed an air of enchantment.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue, both stunned, gazed at this towering snake-woman.

"Wow... what a massive snake..." Liu Muxue's small mouth hung slightly open.

Cao Xing, also seeing such a creature for the first time, found it beyond his expectations.

"So this is the Snake-man Tribe? Truly living up to its name."

At this moment, the snake-bodied human-headed creature locked eyes with Cao Xing using its ghostly green pupils. It opened its dark purple lips and softly spoke.

"Esteemed Lord, Yilena, the Priest of the Snake-man Tribe, at your service."

The attributes of this Snake-man appeared before Cao Xing.

...

: Discovering Wild Coal Mines

[Priest of the Snake-man Tribe: Yilena]

[Race: Snake-man]

[Level: 5, 132/4000]

[Life Value: 480]

[Attack Power: 51~54 (Weapon Bonus)]

[Attributes: Power 21, Agility 17, Spirit 18, Constitution 24]

[Skills: Scale Armor (can provide 10 extra Armor for oneself or ally, Cooling Time 90 seconds). Snake-man Tribe Frenzy (gives Berserk effect to oneself or ally, Move Speed +20%, Attack Speed +20% for 60 seconds, Cooling Time 120 seconds.)]

[Frost Ice Bloodline (can survive longer in extreme weather)]

[Hunger Level: 67]

[Loyalty: 68]

…

"Wow... Such strong attributes, truly worthy of a level 5 creature!"

Cao Xing was amazed.

Moreover, the crucial thing was that Cao Xing saw Yilena's two skills: Snake-man Tribe Frenzy and Scale Armor!

These two skills were both buff-type skills.

With his own SSS-level Talent, they were equivalent to a permanent increase of 10 Armor!

(For easy calculation, 1 point of Armor offset 1 point of Attack Power.)

For Ordinary Creatures like Polar People, 1 point of Power roughly equaled 2 points of Physical Attack Power.

(Depending on Profession and Race Talent, Power bonuses to attack vary between 1.5 Attack Power to 3 Physical Attack Power.)

In other words, apart from Dazhuang, the other Polar People's attacks hardly posed any effective Damage to Cao Xing.

This showed how terrifying the boost from this skill could be in the early stages.

The other skill, Snake-man Tribe Frenzy, increased Move Speed and Attack Speed by 20%, a percentage boost skill that was even more frightening.

At this moment, Cao Xing felt as if he had found treasure!

Suppressing his excitement, Cao Xing said, "Yilena, please cast the Snake-man Tribe Frenzy skill on us first."

In this world, he obviously needed to seize every opportunity to enhance his Power.

Yilena flicked her scarlet tongue and said, "With pleasure, my Lord~"

As she spoke, Yilena raised her Spear, and a red Energy gathered around it.

Then she pointed her Spear, and the Energy fell upon Cao Xing.

In an instant, Cao Xing felt a surge of hot Energy flowing through his body, significantly boosting his hand speed and Move Speed.

[Casting Snake-man Tribe Frenzy successfully, Talent Eternal Power activated, the skill has become permanent...]

Seeing this prompt, Cao Xing clenched his fists in excitement.

It really worked!

Meanwhile, Yilena raised her Spear again, and a white Energy fell upon her own body.

Cao Xing felt an invisible scale forming over him.

[Casting Scale Armor successfully, Talent Eternal Power activated, the skill has become permanent...]

This layer of scale was extremely hard and smooth,

and only appeared when attacked.

This meant that normally, Cao Xing appeared as an ordinary person.

Cao Xing exclaimed excitedly, "Great, great, with this, my defensive power has skyrocketed!"

After the skills' Cooling Time ended, Cao Xing had Yilena cast the same two Statuses on both himself and Liu Muxue.

After the Talent activation prompt sounded,

Yilena also found that the power in her body did not disappear as before, but remained permanently.

She was somewhat puzzled, then when Cao Xing used a permanent Ice Healing Skill on her, Yilena understood the reason.

"My Lord, your power truly is immense and unfathomable, it stays permanently within me."

Cao Xing had a somewhat strange look in his eyes.

Why did it feel like something was off with that statement...

Shaking his head, Cao Xing began thinking about other matters.

This Berserk skill could increase speed by 20%.

In other words, if he could apply it to all four Polar People, their work efficiency would increase.

So, Cao Xing asked, "Yilena, can you continue casting skills?"

Yilena gently shook her head, "My Lord, these skills consume my spiritual power, I need some time to recover."

Cao Xing nodded.

Then, he turned to look at the four Polar People working in the distance.

At that moment, Dazhuang and Erzhuang were each jogging over with a bundle of processed Wood.

Sizhuang and Fourzhuang were carrying several Stones.

Watching the four little Dwarfs running across the snow was somewhat comical.

They placed the materials near the Bonfire where they would automatically disappear, prompting a series of System Prompts.

[Wood +5]

[Wood +5]

[Stone +3]

[Stone +3]

...

Cao Xing calculated their round-trip time to be about ten minutes.

There was still an hour and a half until nightfall.

This meant that before dark, they could gather up to 90 Wood and 54 Stones for Cao Xing.

"I need more labor, but I can only build one Polar People Hut."

"To recruit more Polar People, I have to upgrade the Polar People Hut."

"A Level 2 Polar People Hut can recruit 4 more Polar People, greatly increasing work efficiency."

"But at the same time, these Polar People will consume more Food and occupy my Population Cap."

Cao Xing glanced at his population.

[Population: 8/50]

(Level 1 Territory's maximum Population Cap is 50, can increase by upgrading Lord's Hut.)

At this moment, Sizhuang ran over to Cao Xing's side and spoke.

"My Lord, I have something to report to you!"

Cao Xing looked at Sizhuang, "What's the matter?"

Sizhuang replied, "When Fourzhuang and I were gathering Stones, we discovered a small Coal mine about three to four hundred meters ahead on the right."

"However, there seem to be two Snow Wolves guarding it, so we didn't dare to approach."

"I'm concerned that the Snow Wolves might pose a threat to our Camp, so I came to report to you, my Lord!"

Upon hearing the word 'Coal mine,' Cao Xing's eyes instantly lit up.

As we know, Coal is a more advanced energy material than Wood, not only burning longer but also emitting more heat.

If he could seize the Coal mine, it would save him a lot of Wood for constructing other facilities.

Cao Xing quickly asked, "Do you know the strength of those Snow Wolves, and how many are there?"

Sizhuang nodded, "We watched for a while and currently, we've only seen two Snow Wolves."

"These Snow Wolves appear to be slightly stronger than that Snow Poison Snake."

Upon hearing this, Cao Xing's grin grew wider.

Two Snow Wolves, according to Sizhuang, slightly stronger than the Snow Poison Snake, would be around level three to four Monsters.

Before summoning Yilena, Cao Xing wasn't confident in facing them.

But now, he could devise a plan to take over that Coal mine.

So, Cao Xing nodded, "Sizhuang, excellent work!"

"Tonight, I'll reward you and Fourzhuang with a portion of snake meat!"

At the mention of snake meat for dinner, Sizhuang's eyes almost sparkled like Stars.

He nodded excitedly, "Thank you for your Generosity, my Lord. Sizhuang will do his utmost to contribute to you!"

After speaking, Sizhuang continued his short-legged strides back to collecting Stones.

Liu Muxue also heard their conversation and asked nervously, "Axing, is it time for combat?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Yes, the Coal mine is an important resource, it's better to secure it sooner."

A trace of fear appeared in Liu Muxue's eyes, but she mustered the courage to say, "I will fight alongside you."

Cao Xing didn't refuse.

Although the Snow Wolves were formidable, Liu Muxue had already been enhanced with three permanent buffs.

Both defensive power and recovery ability were greatly improved, and with Yilena at level 5, handling two Snow Wolves shouldn't be an issue.

However, before combat, he could use some Items to increase Combat Power.

Cao Xing took out a Purple Poison Bag from his backpack.

[Poison Bag of the Snow Poison Snake (Green)]

[Effect: Apply to Weapon to inflict 'Level 1 poisoned' state for the next 15 attacks.]

[Remaining Uses: 10 times.]

Cao Xing applied the Poison Liquid to Yilena's Trident and Liu Muxue's ordinary Stone Axe.

Their Weapons glowed with a faint Purple light.

Having finished these preparations, Cao Xing nodded and said, "Then, let's set out now."

Saying this, he raised his simple wooden staff and headed into the snow.

Yilena, holding the long Spear, led the way.

Her snake-like body slithered across the snow, leaving a distinct trail.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind her.

Shh... shh...

The farther from the Bonfire they went, the thicker the snow on the ground became, nearly reaching their ankles.

The cold pierced deeper and deeper.

After about four minutes, they arrived at the location Sizhuang had mentioned.

Indeed, there was a dark Mine shaft, and beside it, a pile of mined Coal lay stacked.

[Small Coal Mine: Special Resource Point]

[Remaining resources available for mining: Coal*1754, Stone*754, Dirt*5360]

[Current status: Cannot be occupied]

…