Chapter Ninety-One: Barbecue

What Yan Luo had thrown onto Liu Xin’s head was the Second Lord’s hat.

At the moment, his alternate persona could not access the storage space, and the only things on his person were the Spring and Autumn broadsword in his hand, the horse beneath him, and a set of green brocade battle robes—which he could not take off. The only thing he could give away was this hat.

Though it added no benefits, at least it served as an ornament.

Of course, the hat was only a manifestation; once Guan Yu’s persona vanished, it would disappear as well.

“Farewell.”

Yan Luo as Guan Yu spurred his horse and galloped away, re-entering the residential district. Under the swift hooves of Cream Chocolate, even if Pork Rong and Liu Three-Blades wanted to give chase, they could not catch up. One specialized in strength with constitution as a secondary trait, the other in psionics, wielding both ice and fire elements—neither excelled in speed.

Claiming the first kill, Yan Luo recalled Zhao Yulong mentioning that slain creatures would decompose on the organic, fungus-like ground, becoming nutrients akin to money that could be spent at the crystal to buy items. But he first intended to clear the wild monsters in this district before seeking out the Mercury Lizard.

The Mercury Lizard stood over two meters tall, its body shimmering with a red glow, radiating a bloodthirsty aura. However, as Yan Luo charged in, man and horse as one, the force of impact slammed the creature straight into the residential building’s wall.

With a thunderous crash, a web of cracks spread across the bricks and dust billowed.

Seven-Star Strikes!

In an instant, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in Yan Luo’s grasp landed seven consecutive thrusts, their afterimages forming a seamless assault. Originally, this move was meant to “pierce through,” but now, wielding such a massive weapon, there was no need for finesse—the blade punched a bloody hole straight through with each stab. Seven strikes left a row of punctures across the thick, creased skin of the lizard’s chest, perfectly aligned in the pattern of the Big Dipper.

A lizard with seven scars on its chest!

Dark green blood gushed out, splattering onto the ground and immediately giving off wisps of corrosive smoke; clearly the blood was highly acidic.

With another explosive roar, the tenacious Mercury Lizard, its health bar still half full, whipped its tail in a savage blow that nearly toppled Cream Chocolate. Had this been before, the horse would likely have died on the spot, but now, empowered by its bond with Guan Yu, it withstood the strike.

Sweeping the Six Directions!

Yan Luo, while hunting monsters, also took advantage of his persona’s formidable physique to grind proficiency in the Ten Directions Staff Technique. Transforming his blade into a staff, he swept it across the lizard’s belly, tearing open a broad gash.

Stirring the Four Seas!

He stabbed the blade into the wound, then twisted and churned it fiercely, spilling most of the alien creature’s viscera and intestines in a steaming heap upon the ground.

A Pillar Piercing the Heavens!

The dying wild beast received one final blow from the broadsword and perished, collapsing as its body decomposed, leaving behind an item.

“Red Lizard’s Blood: Acidic with a numbing effect. When applied to a weapon and used to strike biological targets, it inflicts additional corrosive damage and slows the enemy’s movement. The blood will evaporate within five minutes.”

Clearly, the item was time-sensitive and could not be taken out of the contamination zone. Yan Luo smeared the blood onto his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, giving the edge a crimson sheen.

“Time to head back to the crystal to shop,” Yan Luo thought, turning his horse toward the high ground.

Meanwhile, at the bottom lane, Liu Xin and Du Rong glared at each other in frustration. The Martian groundhog was waiting to respawn at the enemy’s red crystal. Reinforcements from both sides arrived nearby, and the clone of Huang Jiang engaged the Martian hounds in a brawl.

“Let’s eat something to cool off,” Du Rong suggested.

“Great!”

As a chef who had surpassed human limits, Liu Xin’s greatest pleasure was cooking. He eyed the three Martian hounds—alive, gnashing their teeth and tearing at Huang Jiang—and his eyes lit up. “As the saying goes, even immortals can’t resist dog stew… I wonder how the meat of these alien dogs tastes?”

“Let’s find out!”

Both were Level 3 Modifiers, boasting formidable digestion and no fear of indigestion. Du Rong targeted the fattest hound, lunging at it with practiced ferocity. This butcher had been slaughtering pigs since the age of twelve and had dispatched sheep, cattle, and dogs alike. Gifted beyond human limits and honed by toil in both the real and hidden worlds, his knife-work had reached the legendary realm of “Butcher Ding dismembers the ox.”

“Butcher’s Blade Technique, Form One: Shaving! Form Two: Skinning! Form Three: Slicing! Form Four: Deboning! Watch as I, Pork Rong, unleash my blade combo—howl, howl, howl…”

He kicked the plump Martian hound into the air, whipped two Wang Mazi cleavers from his storage space, and with a crimson face and a bellow, spun the twin blades into a whirlwind. A flurry of slicing sounds and the whistling of blades accompanied the spectacle. Clouds of fur, foul viscera, and pungent blood were cast in all directions by the swirling current.

“What a technique!” Chef Liu Xin exclaimed. “Not only do you combine shaving, skinning, slicing, and deboning into one seamless process, but the twin blade’s airflow blows away all the unwanted dog hair, foul organs, and pungent blood—and even scours the intestines clean! Truly the handiwork of a butcher who has surpassed human limits. Such ingredients need no further cleaning, ready to be cooked at once!”

“No more talk, keep going!” Du Rong barked.

“Alright!”

Liu Xin was no ordinary cook, but a chef who had also transcended human boundaries. The processed Martian hound would decompose into organic matter if left on the ground, so he quickly produced a giant iron flat-pan a full meter in diameter and set it down with a flash.

With a series of thuds, bones and meat chunks fell from the air, landing in tidy arrangement on the pan, rearranging themselves into a complete dog skeleton crouched in the skillet! Neatly cut chunks of meat, as large as a palm, and thinly sliced intestines—garnished like chopped scallions—were arrayed beside the bones.

“Amazing skill!”

Liu Xin let out a gasp of admiration, then drew a deep breath.

“Fire-breathing!”

He activated the fire element, for flame was the soul of all cooking! The ice element, meanwhile, was reserved for preserving ingredients. Now, from his mouth, he sprayed forth a jet of searing fire, the flames licking at the pan and engulfing the bones and meat.

Grilling with open flame might seem simple, but in truth it was an art: red flames, orange flames, each color and temperature yielded a different texture. A flame too fierce could scorch the food; for a chef who had surpassed human limits, anything short of perfect flavor was unacceptable.

Liu Xin kept his eyes on the pan, studying the color of the meat and scent of the air to judge doneness. Sustained fire-breathing rapidly depleted his psychic reserves—even for a Level 3 Modifier, it was taxing. Soon, a fine sheen of sweat formed on the scarred young man’s brow.

Still, he persevered!

His hands never stopped, swiftly sprinkling salt and secret spices from his storage space. At once, a tantalizing, indescribable aroma wafted forth.

“Done!”

He snapped his jaws shut, halting the flames. On the pan, the Martian hound’s skeleton gleamed golden, like a frame of pure gold! Of course, the bones were only for show—the real treasure was the glistening, sizzling blocks of alien dog meat.

With a series of crackling sounds, Pork Rong eyed the juicy, golden, sizzling meat, swallowed hard, and, ignoring the scalding heat, grabbed a chunk and tossed it into his mouth.

The delicious taste of roasted fat exploded in his mouth—the perfect doneness, the rich aroma, the crisp, golden crust! Anyone biting into it would surely cry out in delight. But the butcher only frowned.

“It’s still not as good as the zombie meat we ate back in that level-two supernatural world. Are your skills slipping?”

Liu Xin immediately protested, “Impossible! I’m a chef who’s surpassed human limits! That old zombie, the Chen family patriarch, was buried for centuries in a yin-filled crypt—his flesh was tough, chewy, nearly an iron-corpse. This cloned Martian hound is just lab-grown meat; how could it compare?”

As they bantered, the two devoured every last scrap of the Martian hound.

Meanwhile, Yan Luo had returned to the high ground.