The chick was still too young to determine its sex.

It had only just hatched, its warm, yellow down still damp from the egg. It stared up at Wang Ba with a foolish, innocent gaze, completely devoid of fear, occasionally letting out a soft chirp.

It quickly identified its mother and flapped its tiny wings—round and clumsy like little pancakes—as it hurriedly waddled toward the hen with boundless enthusiasm.

However, before it could reach safety, a large hand descended from the heavens and gently scooped it up.

“Little guy… your lifespan is actually forty-two years.”

Wang Ba cupped his hands, carefully cradling the chick that had spent over a month in incubation. A strange light flickered in his eyes.

Ordinary Rare Fowl typically hatched in about twenty days. This little one had cooked in the shell for ten days longer than its peers. Furthermore, its size was visibly larger than any standard hatchling.

Wang Ba had harbored high expectations for this egg.

And the little creature did not disappoint. A natural lifespan of forty-two years!

While it couldn’t compare to a true Spirit Poultry, it far exceeded the limits of a common Rare Fowl.

“A weakened version of a Spirit Poultry… or perhaps, a ‘Half-Spirit Poultry’.”

“Father: Spirit Poultry. Mother: Rare Fowl. Result: Half-Spirit Poultry. Hmm, I need to record this.”

Feeling the faint peck of a beak against his palm, Wang Ba felt a surge of affection for the little thing.

“I’ll call you ‘Alpha-Five’.”

Chicks had weak immune systems and were terribly sensitive to temperature changes; a sudden draft could easily kill them.

Wang Ba didn’t dare leave this prize outside in the dirty coop. instead, he brought it into Old Man Sun’s former room.

The four stolen Spirit Poultry were also kept here, each hidden in separate cages draped with black cloth.

Wang Ba mixed a special batch of feed suitable for a hatchling. Alpha-Five adapted quickly, pacing around the room with tiny, frantic steps. Its large, dark eyes widened as it curiously inspected this brave new world.

From time to time, it would lower its head to peck at random objects, biting first and asking questions later. Unfortunately, its beak was pink and soft, unable to do any damage.

Wang Ba found it amusing. Even while he worked, he couldn’t help but peek in on the little guy.

Since Alpha-Five was just born, Wang Ba hesitated to tamper with its lifespan immediately. He decided to observe it for a few days first.

It wasn’t until evening that he finally found the time to deal with the adult flock. He selected five male Rare Fowl and injected lifespan into them.

He chose roosters for a simple reason: they were the epitome of freeloading.

They ate constantly but refused to work. They had almost zero desire to reproduce, spending their days idly wandering the yard, pecking at the dirt.

Even with plump, alluring hens strutting right beside them, the roosters turned a blind eye.

They stubbornly left the hens in a state of neglected celibacy.

It made Wang Ba grind his teeth in frustration.

He had been at the manor for over four months. Aside from the anomaly of Alpha-Five, he had only managed to hatch seven chicks in total.

Such breeding efficiency was terrifyingly low. It was no wonder the sect’s Rare Fowl population never increased.

He had a quota to meet—four chickens every month for the Merit Hall. At this rate, the natural birth rate couldn’t even keep up with the tribute demands.

And the blame laid squarely at the feet of these lazy, incompetent roosters.

Every time Wang Ba looked at them, his gaze was filled with murderous intent.

“First, I’ll force a breakthrough for these five. Once I drain their lifespan, they go straight into the pot.”

He wasn’t planning to sell any Spirit Poultry for the time being.

The close call with the Sect Disciple had left him shaken. He absolutely refused to take any risks in the short term.

Three days later.

When Wang Ba entered the secret room to check on the poultry, he noticed something wrong with the chick.

Alpha-Five, usually lively and full of curious energy, was standing still. Its little head hung low, and its eyes were squinted shut in exhaustion.

A palpable sense of weakness radiated from its tiny body.

“This isn’t right. Its weight hasn’t changed at all in three days!”

Wang Ba gently lifted Alpha-Five, his expression grave.

Anyone who had raised chickens knew that chicks grew rapidly—you could practically see the changes day by day.

For Alpha-Five to have stagnant weight meant one of two things: indigestion or disease.

If it was indigestion, maintaining warmth might fix it.

But if it was sickness, he was in trouble. He didn’t have any antibiotics or veterinary medicine lying around.

Even if he did, the chick was so small that dosing it would be a nightmare. A single drop too many would be poison.

This was the great filter of breeding Rare Fowl: the young were frail, unable to withstand hardship, and had a pitifully low survival rate.

After racking his brain, Wang Ba placed his palm on the chick’s head.

He decided to deposit 0.1 years of lifespan. He would brute-force the issue—accelerate its growth to bypass the illness.

Birds had fast metabolisms. If he could boost its constitution, the disease would naturally be purged.

But to Wang Ba’s shock, the system rejected the input. He couldn’t deposit 0.1 years!

“Strange! The minimum entry is 0.5 years?”

This was the first time Wang Ba had encountered such a threshold.

“They are all Rare Fowl stock. Why is the buy-in cost for this chick so high?”

“Is it because it’s still an infant? Or… is it because it is a ‘Half-Spirit Poultry’?”

Wang Ba pondered but found no answer.

He decided not to overthink it. The chick was dying. He raised his hand and poured the lifespan into the small body.

[Current Lifespan -0.5 years] [Target Lifespan +2.5 years]

In the blink of an eye, the chick visibly expanded!

Thick, sturdy feather shafts began to poke through the soft yellow down.

“Cluck cluck!”

Alpha-Five’s squinted eyes snapped open, wide and bright. It struggled vigorously against Wang Ba’s grip, then leaped from his palm to the floor.

As if it were a starving ghost reincarnated, it frantically bobbed its head, attacking the feed on the ground.

Tock-tock-tock! The sound of its beak hitting the floor was rhythmic and strong.

Wang Ba watched for a while longer, nodding in satisfaction.

His logic held up. Injecting lifespan could, to a certain extent, cure illness by forcing the body to mature and strengthen.

Another four or five days passed.

The five roosters he had force-evolved into Spirit Poultry finally hit their limit. Their lifespans stopped increasing, which meant their appointment with Wang Ba’s clay pot had arrived.

Perhaps sensing a looming, unseen threat, one of the five male Spirit Poultry suddenly went rogue. It forcibly mounted a Rare Fowl hen.

It even tried its luck with one of the Spirit Poultry hens, though it was promptly pecked away for its insolence.

Wang Ba decided to spare this horny rooster, naming him ‘Alpha-Six’.

As for the other four celibate monks? After Wang Ba harvested 5.6 years of lifespan from each of them, they were one by one converted into stew.

Wang Ba’s personal lifespan finally recovered somewhat.

[Current Body’s Remaining Lifespan: 37.6 Years]

With the restoration of his time, his body felt significantly lighter and healthier. The gray hair at his temples faded back to black.

During this period, Wang Ba tried to play matchmaker. Seeing Alpha-Six’s high libido, he helpfully tied up a female Spirit Poultry in an admittedly humiliating position to facilitate the deed…

“Cluck cluck—”

The result was a look of pure disdain from Alpha-Six.

Wang Ba could practically read the rooster’s thoughts: You think I need your help to get laid? Who do you think you’re looking down on?

It angered Wang Ba so much he almost threw Alpha-Six into the pot right then and there.

Meanwhile, in the secret room, Alpha-Five’s growth finally plateaued.

[Target Lifespan: 92.7 Years]