Battle Frenzy

Firstly, it was because the flames were coming from within his body. No matter how high a person’s fire resistance was — as long as he was human — he could not get rid of his internal organs, which were the most vulnerable and untrainable parts of human beings. One could only imagine what it felt to be roasted by fire directly. On the other hand, the flames could burn the soul as well!

This was really too much for Wang Zhong, and his Soul Sea responded instantly. It was as though his entire Soul Sea was suddenly shrouded in raging flames, and there was a terrifying surge of power attacking him at the spiritual level through his body and consciousness!

A bout of unbearable pain instantly overwhelmed him from the inside to the outside, as though he was trapped in a sea of fire, and there was no form of protection at all, not even the most basic layer of Soul Power! The pain of being torn and scorched by the flames felt clear and direct. One could see that the muscles in his entire body were twitching and cramping wildly, as though the muscles had shifted from their position. His skin reacted as though it had just gone through a steaming session in a sauna, with beads of cold sweat forming on its surface.

Ella and Lan Daier were familiar with this situation. It was definitely not easy to digest this piece of meat. Furthermore, the weaker the realm of one’s Soul Power, the bigger the reaction would be. If one didn’t scream from the pain, one would probably faint and start foaming at the mouth.

Although Ella was a little unhappy with Wang Zhong, slight worry could still be seen on her face. On the other hand, Lan Daier seemed rather calm. Usually, this thing could only be consumed by experts at the Heavenly Soul Stage, but she estimated that Wang Zhong could handle it. Her title as a gourmet master was definitely earned. Wang Zhong should be able to survive it, but it would be very painful. In all likelihood, he would be unconscious for two or three days.

The food had begun to take effect. Lan Daier waved her hand for Ella to head upstairs to get a quilt so that the boy would not have to lie on the cold ground after passing out. However, he unexpectedly began to sit down slowly, holding tightly onto the side handles of the sofa. Countless beads of cold sweat flowed down his face. His chin had already turned pale from him gritting his teeth, but there was no sign of him yelling or fainting. He held on to his consciousness and even revealed a pretty-distorted smile at the two ladies.

This… Not to mention Ella, even the experienced and knowledgeable Lan Daier couldn’t help but gape her mouth wide open.

Lan Daier had a clear view of the medicinal effects of those meat slices. Even though there was only a meager amount of meat, the pain when the meat took effect was similar to putting an ordinary person into a fireplace and burning him alive. It was impossible for a guy who was in the Initial Phase of the Heroic Soul Stage to rely on his willpower to withstand the effect. To be able to withstand for two or three seconds would already be a reflection of one’s extremely strong willpower, but this guy not only hung in there and prevented himself from passing out, he actually had the energy to smile?

What kind of person was he…?

Lan Daier had already been stunned for more than 10 seconds when a loud pa sound was heard. The handle of the sofa had been crushed by Wang Zhong subconsciously, and the pain seemed to have finally reached an extreme climax this time. Alas, Wang Zhong eventually could not keep hanging in there. His vision grew dark, and his body collapsed forward, losing consciousness.

Wang Zhong slept rather soundly. It was as though the pain that was penetrating his soul had completely dissipated as he roamed his dream world, replaced by endless tranquility and comfort. The energy that was consumed by an entire week of deep meditation was quickly restored in this tranquility, and when he woke up, he felt as though all the fatigue in his body had completely disappeared without a trace.

Not only did his fatigue dissipate, what was even more amazing was that Wang Zhong sensed the power of his Soul Sea surging instantly.

He was completely different from his previous state now. His initial phase’s limit of one thousand Grassos had long been exceeded, and the entire Soul Sea had expanded a few times. It was probably at least four to five thousand Grassos now. How could this be considered an improvement in Soul Power? This was more like directly skipping the Middle Phase of the Heroic Soul and reaching the threshold value of its peak.

Generally speaking, one to two thousand Grassos were considered the Middle Phase of the Heroic Soul Stage, and two to ten thousand were all considered the Peak of the Heroic Soul Stage. As the span of this phase was too large, there were many experts at the peak of the Heroic Soul Stage whose power limit was only five to six thousand, or worse, three to four thousand; these people were stuck at this stage and could no longer make any progress. Only those who were exceptionally good could reach the maximum limit of ten thousand Grassos. This varied from person to person. Of course, Wang Zhong believed that his limit had to be more than five or six thousand Grassos, but there was no doubt that he had indeed reached the Peak of the Heroic Soul Stage in the ordinary sense.

It was merely four slices of meat, yet it actually made him break through from the Initial Phase to the Peak of the Heroic Soul Stage?

He had just regained consciousness, but even before Wang Zhong opened his eyes, he could already feel and was a little surprised by this unexpected, unbelievable result. He could still recall the terrifying feeling after digesting the four weird meat slices previously. Frankly speaking, Wang Zhong was the kind of person who was sort of immune to pain, but he still shuddered at the thought of the severe pain he felt earlier on.

He actually lasted for so long — two to three minutes!

His strong will was only one aspect. Wang Zhong was actually very concerned about the changes in his Soul Sea, but before he could take a closer look, someone had already tapped him on the shoulder. “You’re awake?”

It was Lan Daier’s voice. Wang Zhong opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on a quilt, which was exuding a faint fragrance. Of course, he was still on the ground of the living room, and beside him was an exquisite sofa that had been crushed and destroyed by him. Both Ella and Lan Daier were observing him from the side. Neither of them were rookies in spiritual cultivation, and Wang Zhong — having just broken through to the Peak of the Heroic Soul Stage — did not conceal his Soul Power at all. With one look, anyone could tell that he had already reached the peak, but he himself wasn’t sure about the extent of his power currently; it could be four to five thousand Grassos, or even five to six thousand Grassos.

Ella could not believe her eyes. Not to mention her, even Lan Daier was rather surprised by the result.

For a gourmet master, one had to have accurate control and understanding of the effect of the ingredients used. Lan Daier was not one to make mistakes in this regard. If she planned to make one get diarrhea for five minutes, one definitely would not go to the toilet for just four minutes. Those meat slices were really good stuff, but according to Lan Daier’s previous estimations, even if Wang Zhong managed to break through his current phase, he would probably only reach the middle phase, with a power of around two thousand Grassos. But now… This effect was indeed extremely unexpected. It was probably due to his extreme persistence in staying awake previously.

This guy… Maybe he had strong suits other than being daring and being able to eat all kinds of food.

Noticing the two ladies’ weird expressions, Wang Zhong’s first reaction was actually gulping a mouthful of saliva as he began to speak rather shamelessly. “Teacher, this meat tastes really great! Are there any more? I swallowed it too quickly just now. So I didn’t get to taste it properly…”

Lan Daier only thought that the remark was funny; thus, she didn’t bother to react, but Ella, on the other hand, couldn’t help it anymore. “Wang Zhong, do you know what you just ate? You wouldn’t be able to afford it even if you mortgaged yourself!”

This person had really gone overboard. She really couldn’t understand why her teacher would want to invest so much money in him.

Was there any more?! This was an extremely rare dish, the Palulu Turkey. It had the pedigree of a vermillion bird and was closely related to the Supreme Flaming Phoenix. For those who had fire attributes, this dish was a Holy Item which was extremely nourishing. Just by counting the ingredients alone — aka the four thin meat slices that Wang Zhong ate — they were worth at least 5,000 Holy Coins. Considering that Lan Daier herself was the chef, with her supreme culinary skills and combination of spices, it was definitely not too much to ask for 20,000 Holy Coins from the big shots in the Holy City!

But what did this guy do? He swallowed the whole dish like how a cow would eat grass. At the end, he even said that he didn’t taste the dish and wanted some more?!

If word got out, he might be throttled to death by other gourmets.

Frankly speaking, Holy Disciples were not qualified to enjoy this dish as it contained Grade A materials. It would usually be packed in sealed food containers and would only be taken out when there was a need to host VIPs. Even Ella, her loyal assistant, had no chance of eating it.

Also, if a powerful person consumed this dish, it would not only be good for his body, he would also experience much less pain as compared to Wang Zhong. The pain that Wang Zhong felt was entirely due to his body and soul being too weak. However, as long as one could pull through the painful period, this was indeed one of the best ways to increase Soul Power at the Heroic Soul Stage. There were no side effects as well. However, it was only true for people with the fire attribute.

Ella even clearly remembered that Solomon, a famous newcomer, had attempted to buy this Palulu Turkey from Lan Daier not long ago. He offered 15,000 Holy Coins, but Lan Daier rejected him as she felt that his offer was too low. This kid… she really couldn’t believe Wang Zhong’s good luck!

Ella really couldn’t figure it out. Frankly, if it wasn’t for Wang Zhong’s ordinary appearance, ordinary natural talent, and young age, Ella would begin to suspect that Lan Daier had taken a fancy to this kid.

For people in the Holy Land, age was of no value; even one’s appearance was merely an embellishment. Practitioners only cared about whether others had interesting or powerful souls. By this measure, Wang Zhong was almost equivalent to a beggar. His only virtues were that he was very cheerful and patient.

As Ella was still harping on the fact that Wang Zhong was not worthy of the dish, Lan Daier had already put her fingers on his wrist and began to use Soul Power to explore the state of his body. At the same time, she also recorded down the information and data she had collected, including absorption points, physical reactions, Soul Power values, etc. Wang Zhong’s bodily response to Palulu Turkey and the turkey’s effects were completely unexpected. Originally, this ingredient had already been analyzed thoroughly by her, but after witnessing Wang Zhong’s bodily changes, it seemed as though there were new unknown changes to the dish’s effects. Lan Daier believed in data the most, but often, data was also the most unreliable indicator. To her, in cases where unexpected things occurred, it was an opportunity to understand things from a new perspective.

Lan Daier, who had entered an absolutely focused state, began to exude the charm of a focused mature woman, which Wang Zhong appreciated and felt comfortable with. This kind of comfort was not only from the ascension of his Soul Sea, but also from his vision, and mostly from her soft touch.

Lan Daier’s hands were very soft, warm, and reliable. He would not bother to put on the false front of being courteous; he would just openly show that he felt comfortable. He would also not stop Lan Daier from exploring his body thoroughly as every gourmet was a good physician.

Wang Zhong could feel that a kind of tacit understanding had developed between them. It was because they both knew each other’s darkest secrets, but at the same time, they had absolute trust in each other. That was because they were the same kind of people: they were lonely and yearned for warmth, and they would never betray their friends.

The entire process was meticulous and took a long time. At the same time, the living room remained quiet as well. Wang Zhong was rather laid back the entire time, while Lan Daier remained focused throughout the whole process. On the other hand, Ella stood at the side awkwardly. She hadn’t gotten any signal from Lan Daier to take her leave, and she was afraid that she might disrupt Lan Daier. As such, she didn’t even dare to move an inch as she stood at her side the entire afternoon, as though she was a woodcarving.

It wasn’t until late evening that Lan Daier ended her lengthy investigation. She stood up and gave herself a good stretch, releasing the tension on her sore body and exposing her S-shaped body curves.

“Okay, you guys can take your leave.” Lan Daier’s face revealed a slight smile, and her words were obviously directed at Wang Zhong. “Wang Zhong, you better start training from today onward. I have invested so much in you. If you are killed during the Holy Disciples’ test, I will not spare you.”

“Boss, please rest assured!” Wang Zhong spoke in a serious and sincere tone. “I will be your taste-tester till earth and heaven get old!”

Originally, Ella’s legs were already very sore. When she heard his reply, she nearly slipped. Till earth and heaven get old? Was he seeking death? Was he actually flirting with a teacher?

However, Lan Daier just chided him, smiling. “Alright, get lost. Just make sure you don’t go missing in action the next time you are needed!”

Bang!

Lan Daier’s door was slammed loudly by her.

Wang Zhong then smiled and waved goodbye to Ella before he left, leaving Ella standing outside the door alone and confused. Fifteen thousand Holy Coins… If he really died during the Holy Disciples’ competition, wouldn’t it all be for nothing?

Lan Daier’s ingredients did not fall from the sky. As Lan Daier’s main assistant cum housekeeper, Ella began to think about this month’s final accounts estimation seriously.

……

Coming out of Lan Daier’s house, Wang Zhong couldn’t wait to return to his dorm. In the afternoon, due to Lan Daier’s investigation, Wang Zhong hadn’t had a chance to feel the ascension of his Soul Power. Now, he had the Soul Power of about five thousand Grassos, and it felt like his whole body was exploding with seemingly endless power and energy. After walking all the way back to his dorm, Wang Zhong had basically gotten a handle on his new power. After all, his ability to manipulate Soul Power was streets ahead of ordinary people.

When he finally reached home and closed the room door, Simba could no longer wait to jump out of his Soul Sea. He was about to activate his inner sight when Simba began to exclaim loudly.

“Ah, what a beautiful teacher. Not only does she have a beautiful face, an unparalleled hot body, but also an interesting soul! Oh yeah, she is also a great cook. Tsk tsk tsk, she is so perfect!” Simba’s face was filled with happiness, as though he was in love. He grabbed Wang Zhong’s hand and continued to ramble on about his feelings. “Till now, I can still recall her soft and warm Soul Power. Oh my god, Wang Zhong, I feel like I am finally in love! What do I do?!”

“Stop dreaming!”

Wang Zhong rolled his eyes, not intending to reply to him. He sat down on his bed and was about to begin activating his inner sight when Simba climbed up his leg like a koala and caressed Wang Zhong’s thigh as though he was fondling his beloved teacher. “I don’t care! It’s love! Every cell in my body is telling me what it’s like to be in love. Ah, I feel like I can’t live without seeing the beautiful Teacher Lan Daier! Wang Zhong, do you think she will accept me if I confess to her?”