Aiden was lying unconscious on the ground. The ground below him was completely black, covered in ashes.
No one was around him; he was alone. So, no one noticed a golden light flashing from within Aiden's body that enveloped his entire body. The wounds and burns that Aiden suffered started to heal on their own.
Although the healing process was slow, it was also true that his injuries were healing under the effect of the golden light.
As for the source of the golden light, it was the Golden Dragon Pearl that entered Aiden's body.
After a long time, the golden light started to shrink, and eventually, it totally submerged into his body.
And at this moment, Aiden finally woke up. His mind was buzzing. He slowly opened his eyes and felt extremely comfortable.
"Umh... my injuries?!"
As Aiden checked his body, a look of confusion spread across his face. His mind raced to piece together what had happened.
How could his injuries have healed so quickly?
He vividly recalled the brutal explosions that had nearly burned him alive. The searing heat, the pain—it had all been too real. Just as he was on the brink of being consumed by the flames and losing consciousness, he had caught a glimpse of something strange. He seemed to have seen golden liquid emerging from inside him before enveloping his body completely.
That is why he was not burned to death right then!
But what was that golden liquid?
"Golden liquid?"
Suddenly, Aiden came to a realization. It turned out that the Golden Dragon Pearl acted in time and saved him. Otherwise, before he could even step on the path of an Eternal, he would have died.
"Phuu!"
Aiden breathed deeply before exhaling it out. Then he placed his hand on his heart and fell in deep thought. Right then, he knew that his injuries must have been healed due to the Golden Dragon Pearl as well.
Otherwise, why would he find his body uninjured upon waking up?
"Gurrr!"
Suddenly, Aiden heard a sound coming from his abdomen. He could not help but start laughing bitterly as he held his stomach. It seemed that he had not eaten for a long time, and his stomach was empty.
At first, he did not feel anything at all but now he could not take it anymore!
He really felt very hungry!
Aiden rubbed his stomach. After that, he stood up. He was ready to go and look for food.
Just as he took a step forward, Aiden was startled. Then he retracted his foot. He frowned as he muttered: "There shouldn't be any more traps, right? I don't want to be blown up again."
Aiden could still feel the pain of being trapped in the middle of continuous explosions. When he thought of those explosions, fear could be seen in his eyes. He could not help but shudder in fear subconsciously.
"Gurrrr!"
His stomach started to play again, making Aiden's vision turn black.
He had no choice but to take a gamble. If he stayed here, he would not only starve to death but he would also be eaten by wild beasts.
Therefore, Aiden stared at every inch of grass, afraid that there would be something abnormal. He slowly walked forward.
Just like this, after walking dizzily for half a day, Aiden did not find anything to eat. He cursed in his heart.
Is he really going to starve to death here?
Aiden did not want to die yet. A strong desire to live supported him. He suddenly gained a few more points of strength when he thought of his mother's dying wish, which was for him to become strong. With that, his walking speed also increased.
As he walked along, he suddenly smelt a burst of fragrance. It seemed to be the smell of barbecue.
His eyes immediately lit up. He could tell that there was someone up ahead!
His steps hurried as he walked forward but stopped again as he started pondering something in his heart. If the other person is a powerful expert and wants to kill him, what would he do?
And what if it happened to be the previous group of people who wanted to kill him?
"Whatever! Let's go and look at it first!"
Gritting his teeth, Aiden steeled his conviction and followed the smell of the roasted meat to the front. Finally, he saw a bonfire. There was a youth sitting next to the grill, eating grilled meat, and roasting a fat and sturdy wild boar.
The fragrance unavoidably entered Aiden's nose, and then as he stared at the dazzling golden roast meat. It started to burn on the outside but on the inside it was tender.
Glug~
Aiden gulped down his saliva heavily. He was almost drooling as he stared at the grill, completely ignoring the young man. He walked towards the grill like a hungry wolf, getting closer and closer to the young man.
The young man abruptly turned his head, his eyes widening in disbelief as they landed on Aiden. His face darkened, and he spat coldly, "You bastard! You actually didn't die from those lethal burns and injuries."
The venom in his words was palpable, as if the mere sight of Aiden standing there had ignited a new wave of rage within him. It was clear that Aiden's unexpected survival had only fueled the young man's anger even more.
Aiden froze and was startled.
The young man also glanced at Aiden in astonishment. His gaze was as cold as ice and anger rose from the bottom of his heart.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said coldly: "Bastard, you are quite evil, huh! Have you taken a miracle medicine or what? It's only been a short while, yet you've already recovered from your injuries completely!"
Aiden kept silent and did not answer. He sniffed and swallowed, and his eyes involuntarily turned to the grill again.
"What the fuck are you looking at? I'm asking you a question!" The youth became even more furious. When he was talking to Aiden, Aiden actually ignored him and instead kept staring at his roasted meat.
"Grrrr!"
The grumbling of Aiden's stomach echoed once again. He was so hungry he felt like he might lose his mind. Without thinking, he dashed forward like a wild beast, his mouth watering as he pounced on the roasted meat. In a frenzy, he tore into the leg, ripping off a large chunk with savage intensity.
"Fuck!" The young man stared at Aiden blankly, and then, he erupted with rage again. With a loud shout, he grabbed a wooden thorn on the ground and threw it at Aiden.
"Whiz!"
Aiden reacted in an instant as he quickly dodged while biting the meat.
"Gulp!" Aiden immediately swallowed a big mouthful of meat when he saw the young man dashing over and kicking him angrily.
He widened his eyes and waved his hands repeatedly, trying to tell the young man to stop while frantically retreating.
"You?" The young man did not waste time talking with him. With a heavy kick that carried an unknown weight, he flew towards Aiden.
Aiden immediately jumped in the air to dodge it, only to hear a "bang" sound.
At the spot where the young man's kick landed, the ground instantly caved in, and cracks of varying sizes spread out. The force behind the kick was terrifying, sending a chill of fear through Aiden. When he looked at the young man again, who appeared to be around his own age, he was genuinely taken aback.
"Stop!" Aiden shouted, tearing the meat from his mouth as he nearly choked in panic. While gulping down another large mouthful of meat, he waved his hands frantically and said, "I didn't do this on purpose, brother, don't do this. I'm really starving. Let me eat, and I swear I'll repay you in the future!"
"Repay?" The young man stared with red eyes, pointed at Aiden, and scolded: "You destroyed my trap. I haven't settled the score with you yet. Do you know how much I spent on those materials? Do you know how long I've been preparing? Can you afford to repay me when you look so poor? Not to mention, you still want to eat my meal!"
The young man glared angrily and roared. Then, he immediately dashed over again. Aiden anxiously bit onto the roast meat again and jumped onto a tree beside him. He jumped onto it like a monkey, waved his hand at the young man below, and said something that was "Wu Wu Wu Wu".
That is how he sounded, as his mouth was filled with meat.
He completely behaved like a monkey.
That young man did not bother about him at all. The moment his temper flared, he immediately kicked the tree trunk with a heavy kick, and suddenly, the three-foot-thick tree actually snapped and fell with a "Kacha" sound.
Aiden was shocked and immediately leaped into the air and landed on another tree.
"You bastard, get the hell down here!" That young man roared and kicked the tree again.
This was a forest and trees were everywhere.
Even with Aiden's extremely weak strength, he was still able to jump and land on another tree.