I'm quitting!

Chapter 17 Can you withstand this 8-year-old skill in one bite?

squeak-

The dilapidated wooden door slowly opened in Lin Xiaofan's hands.

The familiar scents wafted from the woodshed—the fresh aroma of wood, the fragrance of hay, and a faint trace of the lingering warmth of the stove fire.

Lin Xiaofan took a deep breath: "Our own woodshed smells the best!"

The little ball in her arms could no longer contain itself; it leaped lightly, its tiny paws touching the ground.

"Maqiu's home! Maqiu wants to eat sweet potatoes!"

"Hehe, I can't let your little gluttonous mouth be wronged."

Lin Xiaofan smiled and shook his head, taking out about ten ventilated potatoes from his homemade simple refrigerator.

"Ma Qiu, after eight hundred years of slumber, you must have awakened powerful supernatural abilities, right?"

Upon hearing this, Maqiu puffed out her little chest: "Of course Maqiu will become amazing!"

The round body began to expand at a visible speed.

One foot, two feet, three feet... In the blink of an eye, the little guy that was originally the size of a palm has grown to be the size of a water buffalo, and its fluffy silvery-white fur almost fills half of the woodshed.

Lin Xiaofan exclaimed in surprise, "Good heavens! This size, this aura—let me guess, is it capable of devouring the heavens and earth? Or moving mountains and filling seas? Or perhaps... summoning a star storm?"

Maqiu wiggled its chubby bottom proudly, lowered its head, and leaned towards the ventilated potato it had just taken out.

Pulu—

Its enormous mouth opened, and the abyssal suction was instantly formed. One after another, the flammable potatoes flew into its mouth.

Maqiu licked her lips contentedly: "Impressive, right! Maqiu can eat a lot of potatoes in one go now!"

Lin Xiaofan's excited expression froze, his mouth slightly open.

half an hour.

"what?"

He finally regained his voice.

My miraculous elixir rat king... how did it become a dry rice rat king?

He raised his hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.

Eight hundred years of slumber, all for the sake of mastering the art of eating rice? There's no need to fight for food in the cafeteria in this godforsaken place!

Maqiu keenly sensed the awkward atmosphere and cautiously cast a glance, blinking her round eyes: "I'm sorry... Maqiu... you're so useless..."

"Silly child." Lin Xiaofan's heart softened. He squatted down and cupped the fluffy head in his hands. "What are you saying? Being able to eat is a blessing! As expected of my pet rat, Lin Xiaofan's rat, it's extraordinary, just like me, truly wonderful!"

As he spoke, he opened his arms and buried himself in the soft, fluffy fur of the hemp ball.

In an instant, an indescribable warmth enveloped him, and he couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh: "This...this softness! Heaven!"

He rubbed against Maqiu like a little child, his cheeks rubbing against her fluffy fur, mumbling indistinctly, "Maqiu body pillow, the best in the world... no! The best in heaven and earth!"

The sesame ball squinted as it was rubbed, a comfortable snoring sound escaping its throat, and the bubbles on its head became bright and cheerful again.

However, in this heartwarming moment, Lin Xiaofan suddenly sensed something was amiss.

Not a single bead of sweat from his forehead stuck to his fine hairs; instead, it slid down naturally along the lines of his skin.

Lin Xiaofan straightened up and wiped the fur of the hemp ball with his fingers: "Strange... this fur doesn't get wet?"

He leaned closer to examine it; the silvery-white fur shimmered with a lustrous sheen in the sunlight, as if coated with a protective film.

"Could it be... that it's impervious to water and fire?"

Thinking of this, he immediately turned around and rummaged through boxes and cabinets.

Before long, a teapot, a bottle of ink, and several small jars containing various colored pigments appeared beside me.

Maqiu tilted its big head and saw Lin Xiaofan approaching with a teapot, and involuntarily shrank its neck.

"Don't be afraid, it's just one drop."

Lin Xiaofan chuckled and flicked his fingertips.

The tea beads landed on the fuzzy surface of the hemp ball, and as expected, they did not seep in.

Wow! This means I can save on an umbrella on rainy days!

He then tried dripping ink, but it still didn't stain.

Then soy sauce and vinegar, and even that treasured jar of chili oil, were added in turn.

"Is... is the sesame ball going to be eaten?"

Lin Xiaofan couldn't help but chuckle, deliberately drawing out his words: "That won't do, the sesame balls won't be flavorful, I can't swallow them."

After fiddling with it for a while, the little guy's silvery-white fur remained as clean and new as ever, and he began to wiggle around proudly.

"Wow...looks like we'll have to serve up the 'main course'."

Lin Xiaofan squatted down, looking at Ma Qiu at eye level, his expression becoming solemn.

"Mahjong, I want to try fire and a knife. It might hurt a little. Are you willing to accept that?"

Maqiu blinked, his limbs suddenly tensing: "Maqiu wants to help!"

Lin Xiaofan nodded with satisfaction, picked up a twig, lit a small flame, and tentatively approached the downy hair on the side of Maqiu's front paw.

The moment the flame touched it, silver light flowed across the surface of the hair, and no matter how the flame flickered and tumbled, it could not ignite that wisp of silver.

"It's not hot! Sesame balls are fireproof!"

Lin Xiaofan took out the knife again, but it still failed to penetrate even a fraction of an inch.

"Goodness..." Lin Xiaofan clicked his tongue in amazement, "This fur is even stronger than my current Extreme Cold Dao Body. The body of a demon is indeed uniquely endowed."

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He channeled his internal cold energy, and a thin blade materialized in his palm. He then gently sliced ​​towards a small tuft of downy hair at the tail of the hemp ball—

A few silvery strands drifted down.

Maqiu turned around in surprise: "It's icy cold..."

"It seems you have a slightly lower resistance to the cold, but it's not a big problem. I'm good at this."

"Did Maqiu help?"

"Of course!" Lin Xiaofan laughed heartily, hands on his hips, exuding boundless pride. "From now on, with you and me, Ma Fan, working together, how could we possibly be a match for you! Hahaha..."

Laughter echoed in the woodshed, but Maqiu tilted his head, looking completely bewildered.

Lin Xiaofan scratched his head awkwardly and explained dryly, "Uh... 'Ma Fan' sounds like 'trouble' in Chinese..."

"Hmm... I didn't understand..."

"Alright..."

He slumped helplessly onto the edge of the bed. Seeing this, Maqiu quickly shrank back to its original size, lightly jumped onto the pillow, and obediently lay down.

"After all this commotion, it's time for me to properly consolidate the 'peerless martial arts technique' that I finally managed to acquire with such great effort..."

With a slight thought, the shadow beneath Lin Xiaofan's feet wriggled and rose, coalescing into a human form.

But the shadow was crooked and twisted, barely able to maintain its basic outline, looking just like a tattered scarecrow.

"Hiss..." He frowned. "Without the tension of life and death, it's really hard to get used to."

He waved to disperse the crowd, adjusted his breathing, sat up straight, and his expression became serious.

"Hey, let me show you something really impressive."

"I've accumulated quite a bit of killing essence, enough for a big operation."

Maqiu's little ears perked up instantly: "Slaughter? Do you mean fighting?"

"More or less."

Lin Xiaofan's lips curled up slightly, and the Star Shadow Military Manual in his mind flipped through rapidly—the technique was divided into seven levels, regardless of strength or weakness, only the order mattered.

He channeled the killing intent accumulated within him—primarily the overwhelming momentum of the final battle, supplemented by fragmented battle memories—directly towards the first realm, "Star Shadow Armor Shield."

"start!"

In an instant, Lin Xiaofan's shadow spread like ink, covering the entire woodshed floor.

Om-!

About fifty dark figures rose up around the area, their armor clanging and shields clashing, crowding the area. The remaining four hundred and fifty dark figures stood in neat rows outside the house, exuding a chilling aura, almost completely surrounding the woodshed.

Startled, Maqiu jumped directly onto Lin Xiaofan's head, shouting, "Wow! The house is going to collapse!"

"All troops, form ranks!"

At his command, five hundred pairs of black mist eyes turned to Lin Xiaofan.

The lead armored general strode forward and knelt on one knee: "Armored General, pays respects to Your Majesty."

Lin Xiaofan examined it closely—it was slightly larger and more solid, and the starlight armor gleamed faintly.

"Since you are the head of my armored shield, you should have a name." He pondered for a moment, "Let's call you 'Lin,' meaning 'fearless in the face of danger.'"

Suddenly, a wisp of red smoke appeared in his eyes, and he clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "As you command."

The voice remained cold, but now carried a touch more solemnity.

Lin Xiaofan stroked his chin: "Early stage of enlightenment? That's a small realm lower than me."

He swept his gaze toward the remaining armored and shielded soldiers—the late-stage of the Xuanzhao army.

Mustering his courage, Maqiu jumped down and tiptoed to poke at Lin's shield: "Excuse me... could you help Maqiu get the sweet potato?"

It remained completely still.

Lin Xiaofan chuckled: "They're soldiers, not porters...!"

Before he could finish speaking, his spiritual sense suddenly collided with a familiar pressure, and his expression changed drastically! Without hesitation, he raised his hand and waved, and the five hundred Star Shadow Armor Shield Army returned to their original bodies.

Almost simultaneously—

"senior!"

That weathered voice traveled through the walls of the woodshed and landed clearly in my ears.

Not again?!

Lin Xiaofan wished he could pretend he was already in the ground.