Zhang Lie pulled the rock giant out of the ground, then brought him to the golden rocs' nest to have a look at what they would find. The short detour was fruitless for Zhang Lie, but the rock giant was overjoyed to find all sorts of jewels and minerals in the nest with which it could upgrade its armor.

That night, at Mt. Wanren, Yu Huantian clutched a cup of wine with his left wing and a meat skewer in his right. He called out, "Come, let's celebrate the demise of the golden rocs! Eat your fill!"

Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "I was the one who brought the golden roc back, and I was the one who roasted the meat you're consuming now."

Yu Huantian grinned at him. "Those are minor details—let's not worry about them!"

The elder called out, "Huantian, don't be insolent to our honored guests!"

Mt. Wanren was lit up from foot to peak with bright lights, the path up the mountain trailed by red lanterns and multicolored flowers. The aroma of roasted meat wafted throughout. Two golden rocs were being simmered in a clay pot. 

Zhang Lie would have handed over all five golden rocs' carcasses if he could, but this was precious meat from peak-grade lifeforms, and he was already being rather generous by giving two of the five to the crag eagles. After all, for the crag eagles, eating the golden rocs' flesh was of limited importance beyond nourishment. Humans, on the other hand, would be able to add to their gene fragments by doing so.

Zhang Lie, the elder, and Yu Xuanguang all sat at seats of honor overlooking the party. Given the role that Zhang Lie played in defeating the golden rocs, his status in the crag eagles' tribe was almost on par with the elder and the chief themselves.

Yu Xuanguang stood up and announced, "First, let me thank Mr. Zhang Lie for helping us out on this expedition. Without his presence, we would have been unable to take down the golden rocs. From the bottom of my heart, Mr. Zhang, a toast from me to you. Without our aid, the crag eagles could well have perished."

No, it isn't just a possibility, but rather a certainty. That was what happened to you in my past life, after all. Zhang Lie murmured inwardly.

"Second, I would like to apologize to Mr. Zhang." Yu Xuanguang lowered his head. "I want to apologize for my insolence and lack of courtesy yesterday. No matter what, I shouldn't have struck you without understanding what was going on first. If not for Mr. Zhang's leniency, I would be dead now. Today, if not for Mr. Zhang's help, I would be dead a second time. Taking all this into account, I sincerely apologize to you, Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Lie nodded in acceptance; in truth, he had barely minded.

"Now, I'm sure this is a joyous occasion for everyone, so I'll shut up and we can get started with the festivities!"

The crag eagles began to laugh as the elder announced, "Serve the meat!"

The lid of the gigantic stone pot was opened, and a mouthwatering fragrance drifted out. Everyone was served a bowl of meat broth; Zhang Lie, the elder, and Yu Xuanguang's bowls were particularly large.

"With this, I announce that the crag eagles have triumphed over the golden rocs!"

Everyone dug in with gusto. As he ate and observed the crag eagles, he noticed a strange phenomenon. The crag eagles' feathers were gradually gaining a golden tinge. The crag eagles who had undergone the most drastic transformation were those who had partaken in Zhang Lie's own feast the day before.

In particular, Yu Huantian's wings had both turned a shade of lustrous gold, and even his claws seemed to have turned golden as well.

Is this genetic mutation? Perhaps genetic evolution? The golden rocs were particularly compatible with the crag eagles. It was likely that, upon consuming sufficient golden roc flesh, the crag eagles would be able to assimilate the golden rocs' racial characteristics and merge them with their own, with some variance between members of a species.

No wonder the golden rocs had preyed upon the crag eagles! The crag eagles had to be particularly nourishing food for them, and reciprocally, the golden rocs would be particularly nourishing for the crag eagles.

Zhang Lie turned to the elder and Yu Xuanguang, who were seated beside him. Yu Xuanguang's feathers had turned a dusky gold, but the elder's appearance had hardly changed. Perhaps it was because he was old, and he hardly had any potential for evolution remaining in his deteriorating body.

The elder smiled as he glanced at the crag eagles seated before him and observed the changes to their bodies. The transformation didn't seem to shock him at all—the wily old fellow had clearly predicted what the golden rocs would do to the tribe of crag eagles!

That said, Zhang Lie didn't really mind. He had obtained what he wanted, after all. He took a gulp of the broth and heard in his head,

[The soulshard merging process has concluded. You have obtained a post-peak-grade golden roc soulshard.]

The 'post-' prefix meant that the soulshard was at a level intermediate between peak- and disaster-grade.

Yu Huantian asked, "Zhang Lie—no, Mr. Zhang, where are you from?"

He hurriedly changed his mode of address toward Zhang Lie upon seeing the elder glaring daggers at him.

"A human city—ah, well, not just one of humans anymore. It's a city composed of many different races."

The elder looked at him in surprise. "To think there are such cities! It sounds like quite an interesting location."

"I can't say whether it's interesting or not, but I believe that, one day, it'll be known throughout the second realm. And I believe that day will come soon."

Yu Huantian sidled up to him. "Is there anything fun to do within?"

"There are a few fun human inventions, a race that can grow and nurture spiritual herbs and greenery, and... well, that's about it." Zhang Lie didn't mention much about his city, but it had already caught the interest of the crag eagles hanging around Yu Huantian.

After the feast, Zhang Lie summoned the newly minted post-peak-grade soulshard that he had just received. The combined soulshard seemed fascinating, but he didn't want to test it out so close to a populated region.

He left the soulshard in his soulspace, then remembered that he also had the golden roc's heart in his storage pouch.

The heart looked crystalline, but it was actually still somewhat gelatinous in his hand. There was a clear difference between the heart that Zhang Lie had consumed in the first realm and the one he was holding now.

However, the fact that the crystallization process had already begun might give him an unexpected surprise.

Zhang Lie took a satchel of spice out of his pouch, sliced the heart up, seasoned it with some pepper, and then fried it.

With a hopeful heart, he consumed the dish.

[For consuming the meat of a disaster-grade golden roc, you received 1 disaster gene fragment.]

Zhang Lie almost couldn't believe his ears. He really had received a disaster gene fragment!

However, even after consuming the entire heart, all he got was that one point. It looked as though the golden roc was about to ascend, but in reality, it had likely been far from it.

That said, even a single disaster gene fragment was a huge increase to Zhang Lie's abilities, and this trip was well worth it.

Given how much Zhang Lie had grown in the meantime, absorbing this sole gene fragment went much more successfully than it had in the first realm. Zhang Lie was slightly feverish for a few moments, but that was it. When his body cooled back down, Zhang Lie smiled in satisfaction.