Chen Xu leaned on a cane, bent over, listening to the Ugly Monkey's constant chatter in the small bamboo forest.
As expected, he didn't find any more suitable stone fragments, in fact, not even any unsuitable gravel could be found on the ground anymore.
Once again, the Ugly Monkey clapped its hands and laughed: "Give up, give up! Young man, do you now understand that the world is difficult, and it cannot be resolved by mere youthful passion?"
Its eerie cackling was shrill, disturbing the mind.
Chen Xu listened, feeling his chest swell, a surge of Qi Blood rushed to his head, making him wish he could throw down all the bamboo pieces right there and punch the Ugly Monkey.
His fists were clenched, but the blisters on his left hand stung painfully.
Chen Xu suddenly regained clarity, the pain slowly spreading from his palm. He took a deep breath and ignored the Ugly Monkey's chatter. Instead, he turned to a slender green bamboo nearby and abruptly struck a certain bamboo joint with his right hand.
Crack!
This chop, though with a bare palm, was unusually concentrated, with Qi Blood swelling within and power focused precisely at his palm.
Chopping bamboo was akin to chopping wood, targeting its weakness and striking its vital point.
In an instant, the green bamboo broke with a crash, toppling to the side.
Chen Xu exerted force with his right hand, swiftly clearing the fine branches on the bamboo pole in three or five moves.
Moving quickly, he selected an appropriate node, propped the bamboo pole into a triangle, then once again chopped the bamboo pole at the node.
Finally, he obtained a bamboo tube about half a foot long.
There was a small, round, blunt stone left from earlier when he was grinding the stone fragments, which he held in his palm, using it to strike the bamboo tube along its grain.
Crack, crack, the bamboo tube along its grain instantly split into four pieces.
Chen Xu selected one piece, holding the round, blunt stone, trimmed the edges and ground a bevel, shaping the bamboo piece into a blade.
Upon closer inspection, how is this just a bamboo piece? It's clearly become a bamboo knife!
The Ugly Monkey was dumbfounded, its chattering stopped at some point, merely following Chen Xu step by step, watching him exert his force precisely, using the bamboo knife to carefully engrave questions on the bamboo pieces.
Chen Xu's Qi Blood was abundant, his mind agile, and his strength technique was skillful. The bamboo knife in his hands proved much more useful than the previous stone pieces.
Before long, he had carved the bungled questions onto the twenty-second, twenty-third... and twenty-fifth bamboo pieces.
Just then, the Ugly Monkey suddenly said: "Scholar, among those people, the fastest one has already answered thirty questions. He has exited the bamboo forest and entered the second layer of the Star Array."
Snap!
The tip of the bamboo knife in Chen Xu's hand snapped, breaking abruptly.
Chen Xu wasn't concerned, picking up the round stone, and polished the broken tip of the knife, restoring it again.
"Monkey," Chen Xu said, continuing to engrave the questions with his bamboo knife, "do you know the biggest difference between humans and animals?"
The Ugly Monkey's large ears flapped, its protruding eyes bulging, asking in a muffled voice, "What is it?"
"It's because humans can make tools," Chen Xu smiled, "Humans can create tools and change the environment under any circumstances.
In ancient times, the primitive ancestors had nothing, they were not the strongest in the perilous primordial environment, nor were their claws and fangs the sharpest, yet they could utilize all available resources around them to create stone knives, stone axes, bone spears, bone swords...
Using tools to replace claws and teeth, to hunt beasts, and protect themselves.
They ate raw meat and drank animal blood, so they learned to make fire by drilling wood, cooking their food thoroughly.
Their skin was weak, so they learned to tan hides and make clothing.
They could not resist the extreme cold or heat, the knives of the wind or swords of the frost, just with their flesh; thus, they also learned to build houses.
No, they didn't just learn. They created miracles throughout the evolution of nature.
From weapons to flames, from language to writing, from savagery to civilization!"
Chen Xu's tone was gentle, his leisurely voice as if casually chatting about the bygone days.
Yet, the Ugly Monkey squatting beside him, for some reason, had its hackles raised. Beneath its sparse fur, its skin was covered in one tiny goosebump after another.
The Ugly Monkey opened its mouth, its eyes wide, its neck arteries pulsing and trembling.
Chen Xu continued to engrave letters and answer questions, reaching the twenty-ninth bamboo piece, the thirtieth bamboo piece... and then picked up the thirty-first blank bamboo piece.
"The biggest difference between humans and animals is that humans can create civilization and history in adversity, honing wisdom and the spark of fire.
What of having nothing?
What if the world is dangerous and the human heart is unkind?
Would a single door decide life and death? Rank and status, high and low, noble and base?
No, it's that you do not know that aside from being adept at creating, humans are equally adept at destroying."
Chen Xu laughed again, turning his head, causing the Ugly Monkey to suddenly let out a strange shriek, its thin monkey legs slamming the ground.
Bam!
Thus, the Ugly Monkey fell right before Chen Xu.
The Ugly Monkey screeched "Ow ow", leaped up quickly, and in a few leaps vanished into the misty bamboo forest, leaving no trace behind.
Simultaneously, within Chen Xu's sea of consciousness, the Food Cauldron Celestial Book suddenly revealed a new message:
[You have captured Three Taels of Heart Monkey Dust Flame, this object has distinct spirituality, has been included in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen, unlocking Gourmet Recipes, Three Taels of Red Dust.]
Such a surprise?
Chen Xu paused, then laughed again.
He sat in the mist-shrouded bamboo forest, one leg lame, carving the bamboo pieces with the bamboo knife, while leisurely chanting: "The world's sentiments are thin, people's feelings are malicious, evening rain makes flowers easily fall..."
"So what?"
Chen Xu laughed heartily, finishing carving the fortieth bamboo piece, then moving onto the forty-first.
He couldn't see when the Ugly Monkey, which had formerly departed, unexpectedly returned.
Only, this time the Ugly Monkey did not reveal itself, instead clinging to the bamboo in the mist, quietly peering at Chen Xu.
Occasionally, its belly expanded and contracted, emitting a sound inaudible to others: "Damned monkey lord too! This young lad doesn't play fair, seems gentle and kind, without a trace of malice, who would have thought he's actually quite the madman!
The senior brother absolutely must not take this child as a disciple, otherwise how could we keep a good reputation outside? It'll be ruined by such a madman."
The Ugly Monkey ranted angrily for a long time, before a gentle and elegant voice remarked: "Ah Sun, you are not angry because he's mad, but because you yourself cannot surpass his madness, right?"
The Ugly Monkey let out another loud "Ow", even more furious.
The bamboo leaves rustled in the mist, and the Ugly Monkey instantly disappeared again.
It swore, this time it would never come to see this wretched scholar again.
Yet after a quarter of an hour, a big-eared, bulging-eyed monkey figure crept quietly along the mist back to Chen Xu's side.
At this point, Chen Xu had carved a full fifty bamboo pieces.