Chapter Sixty-Two: The White Deer and the Swift Deer

Luming Gorge.

This was the name Ji Yu bestowed upon the ravine beneath the Hengduan Mountains.

Evening was approaching, and Ji Yu had long since completed the strengthening of every herd of deer. Yet, throughout this time, new groups continued to arrive from all corners of the forest. By dusk, more than five hundred sika deer had gathered in the woodland corridor Ji Yu had fashioned.

Now, these five hundred sika deer, empowered by Ji Yu, were diligently adding to the splendor of the forest corridor. Along both banks of the river beneath the gorge's waterfall, the deer carefully dug into the soil, extracting earth tangled with roots and stems of wildflowers. When the soil around the roots had been loosened enough, they bent their heads and took it up in their mouths.

Carrying the clumps of earth and wildflower roots, the sika deer returned in orderly fashion to the vast ring-shaped woodland Ji Yu had created nearby. Along the periphery of this circular forest, all the wildflowers were placed close together, right at the outer edge of the woods. Row upon row, bit by bit, countless blossoms were swiftly arrayed around the ring of forest.

Once Ji Yu urged the young deer to nurture these flowers, the blooms—which had seemed a little lifeless after losing some roots—immediately revived with fresh vitality.

Fragrance drifted on the air, and lush trees cast their shade.

At this moment, the place could rightly be called a woodland garden.

Watching the busy, diminutive herd before him, and then surveying the marvels of the forest he himself had created, Ji Yu was filled with a sense of accomplishment tinged with quiet satisfaction.

Fighting and killing held little appeal—how could it compare to the joy of crafting landscapes and exploring mountains?

Yet, thinking of fighting, Ji Yu felt a trace of helplessness.

For all five hundred deer had been strengthened to the limit of first-level lifeforms, but only two had managed to break through to the second-level state.

The breakthrough of these two sika deer was a mystery to Ji Yu. After reaching the first-level limit, they encountered no obstacles and simply surged straight through the door to the second level. Naturally, Ji Yu continued to empower them until they too stood at the second-level limit.

Only then did these two sika deer meet a new barrier.

Of course, though they had reached the second-level limit, compared to the fawn, these two were still unremarkable.

One sika deer measured nearly five meters in length, its entire coat turned pure white.

As for its characteristics, Ji Yu could not tell. Perhaps it had to do with its albinism—such traits were too mysterious, and without data, Ji Yu could neither see nor blindly guess.

The five-meter-long white deer was already as large as some elephants, but unlike the elephant’s bulk, the white deer was the opposite. Its musculature was perfectly proportioned, with not an ounce of excess flesh, and the rounded, firm muscles of its thighs left no doubt of its explosive power.

Though it appeared tall, the white deer was slender, imbued with an ethereal grace.

The other sika deer’s second-level form baffled Ji Yu even more.

This deer showed no change at all—its size remained that of an ordinary sika deer, yet the amount of life essence it absorbed was no less than the white deer’s, perhaps even a shade more.

It was precisely this lack of size increase that piqued Ji Yu’s curiosity.

From his own two incarnations, Ji Yu knew that each had developed toward gigantism.

Yet this deer was decidedly odd.

Its size unchanged, its strength nearly matched the white deer’s, while its speed was several times more agile.

Running and weaving through the forest, Ji Yu wagered the white deer could never catch it.

From this, Ji Yu concluded that the evolution of lifeforms was not always toward gigantism.

There were branches—such as this “Swift Deer,” evolving toward small size and agility.

Thus, Ji Yu gained a new understanding of the forms life’s evolution could take.

Two second-level sika deer—a modest but pleasant surprise for Ji Yu.

Reflecting further, Ji Yu developed some theories about why these two had broken through without hindrance.

Perhaps all lifeforms possessed some innate aptitude, or maybe their individual experiences had triggered unique changes.

Such transformation might be evident in whether a lifeform developed special traits at the first level.

Just as Ji Yu had obtained the Oak Incarnation, which possessed two traits at the first level—these traits made the Oak Incarnation taller and stronger than others.

Though the Oak broke through to the second level only after completing a guided quest issued by the game, maybe that was because Ji Yu carried an enhanced buff, or perhaps the game wanted to imbue the Oak with greater potential, so it triggered an experience orb and a dramatic phenomenon during the breakthrough.

Thinking it over, it seemed quite possible.

After all, the Oak Incarnation’s second-level limit was a solid value of 100.

In contrast, the sika deer’s vitality limit depended entirely on the amplification of life grafting.

Yet, all this remained speculation—there was no certainty that lacking special traits meant one could not break through to the second level.

The fawn’s “Prophet” trait description mentioned only probability, not innate aptitude.

Reflecting on himself, Ji Yu, even with the Oak Incarnation’s traits, was stuck awhile before breaking through to second level, and only after gaining the fawn as a second incarnation did he succeed.

So Ji Yu was left unsure.

Perhaps there was no such thing as innate aptitude—maybe it all depended on luck and individual circumstance.

Who’s to say some deer might sleep through the night and wake up at second level?

So Ji Yu decided to observe further before drawing any conclusions.

Glancing at the two deer beside him—one large, one small, now serving as the fawn’s personal guards, Swift Deer and White Deer—Ji Yu lifted his gaze to the sky.

High above, five or six hundred meters in the air, he could clearly see three small aircraft hovering.

These aircraft had been circling overhead all day, much to Ji Yu’s annoyance.

It was like someone installing a camera in your home and recording all your private moments.

Previously, Ji Yu didn’t mind; humanity’s attitude was unclear, and he had been keeping a low profile, pretending not to notice.

But now, having made his stance clear through the fawn, Ji Yu wondered—after a whole day, no one had come, no response, just these drones watching from above. What was that supposed to mean?

Did they still want peaceful coexistence? There was no respect for deer rights at all.

So, Ji Yu decided not to be courteous.

He bent his massive head, letting his crystal-like antlers sink into a patch of stony ground, then channeled his inner power to attach various stones to his antlers.

In a sudden motion, Ji Yu jerked his head up, sending countless stones shooting skyward at supersonic speed.

The scattered stones, like the pellets from a shotgun, small and large, filled the sky.

And then—there was nothing left. All three small aircraft were smashed to pieces, and, trailing sparks, plummeted into the forest below.