Chapter 112: Preparing Level Two Martial Cuisine

That day, Zhou Zhengkong gathered the leaders of the various Zhou family branches to announce his plan. Naturally, not everyone agreed; the leaders of a few branches vehemently opposed the move, only to be forcefully suppressed by Zhou Zhengkong. In the end, a unanimous vote was reached to relocate to Baicao City.

Zhou Zhengkong first sent people to Baicao City to purchase property, while simultaneously dispatching others to Jiuqu City, Canglang City, and Qiudao City to negotiate the borrowing of troops. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan focused on his martial arts training. He began by studying the manual for "Armor-Piercing Strike." Since he could not obtain a first-rate martial art for the time being, he had no choice but to devote himself to second-rate martial arts. His plan was to first cultivate an archery-based martial art to the state of "Unity of Man and Martial Art" to gain an additional offensive method. Afterward, he would focus on blade techniques, mastering nine different ones and merging them into one to achieve a first-rate blade technique. Once he had mastered a first-rate blade technique, he would seek out a second-rate archery art to forge a first-rate archery skill. If he still hadn't found a first-rate martial art by then, he would collect nine second-rate leg techniques to forge a first-rate leg technique, followed by nine physical training techniques. If first-rate martial arts remained elusive, he would simply continue stacking second-rate ones; if even those ran out, he would stack third-rate ones. By stacking hundreds or thousands of techniques, he would remain invincible. Of course, should he find a true first-rate martial art, he would prioritize that, as second- and third-rate techniques could no longer lead to the formation of a Postnatal Martial Body. However, first-rate techniques likely still could.

Days turned into weeks. With Lu Yan’s current martial realm and perspective, comprehending second-rate martial arts was like a familiar path; he grasped them with ease. In less than ten days, Armor-Piercing Strike had reached the entry level, condensing a martial arts avatar. Once the Armor-Piercing Strike avatar appeared, his earliest avatar—the ordinary archery avatar—rushed toward it and merged. The progress of Armor-Piercing Strike surged rapidly, stopping only when it reached 20% of "Slight Accomplishment." An ordinary archery skill that had reached the "Superb" realm could only reach "Slight Accomplishment" when converted into a second-rate martial art.

Lu Yan summoned the Zhou family’s martial chefs and had them deliver fresh martial food. After consuming it, his progress in Armor-Piercing Strike soared. Another month passed in the blink of an eye. The Zhou family had already purchased houses in Baicao City, and a portion of their elite martial chefs had arrived early to settle in. Simultaneously, agreements had been reached with the three major clans, and groups of Zhou clansmen and three hundred martial soldiers began departing in batches. Everything was done in strict secrecy.

Just then, the Liu family sent word, demanding that Zhou Zhengkong bring a group of martial chefs to rendezvous with them to jointly resist the Qiu family. Zhou Zhengkong readily agreed but made an excuse to delay it by half a month, sending the Liu family’s messengers away. From then on, groups of the Zhou family left daily for Baicao City. Ten days later, Lu Yan, Zhou Zhengkong, and the rest of the clan departed from Qingyang City, leaving behind only an empty blood-earth vein. All the exotic beasts there had already been slaughtered and taken away. By the time others discovered this, Lu Yan and his group had already reached Baicao City.

When the high-level leaders of the Liu family found out, they were furious and immediately sent men to occupy the Zhou family’s blood-earth vein. In this relocation, over two hundred of the Zhou family's elites entered Baicao City. Even though they arrived in small, scattered groups, they still caught the attention of the Li family. However, the Li family merely made a few cursory inquiries before losing interest. Such was the confidence of a Grandmaster-level clan; a few Grandmasters could suppress anything. As long as the Grandmasters remained, no matter how many Limit-Breaking martial artists appeared, they could not stir up any trouble. Furthermore, Baicao City had a massive flow of people, with many strangers entering and leaving every day.

This brought a sigh of relief to Lu Yan; the first step had been successfully completed. As long as the Zhou family remained in Baicao City, they would eventually be slowly consumed by him and become his exclusive martial chefs.

In the training room of the Three Extremes Martial Hall, Lu Yan finished his third set of the "Indestructible Diamond Technique," drenched in sweat. "After stepping into the Martial Marquis realm, the effect of first-grade martial food has weakened significantly," Lu Yan sighed. First-grade martial food was primarily aimed at Limit-Breaking martial artists, providing excellent results for them. But for a Martial Marquis, while it still had an effect, it was far less potent than during the Limit-Breaking stage. It would take a considerable amount of time to strengthen his bone power to a saturated state. Moreover, Lu Yan had six types of bone power, making the process even slower.

For a Martial Marquis, consuming second-grade martial food was optimal. However, second-grade martial food was prepared using the meat of second-grade exotic beasts as the main ingredient, and such meat was extremely scarce. Generally, a first-grade blood-earth vein could not sustain second-grade exotic beasts because the blood-earth energy was too dilute to meet their needs. Even if one attempted to raise them, the numbers were extremely limited—usually only a few—and their growth was very slow. If too many were kept, not only would they struggle to grow, but they would also drain excessive blood-earth energy, causing other first-grade exotic beasts to perish. Consequently, the second-grade martial food produced by Martial Marquis-level clans was rare, often insufficient even for their own needs, requiring them to purchase from Grandmaster-level clans.

This led to an astonishing price for second-grade martial food. A catty of freshly cooked second-grade martial food cost fifty silver taels, five times more expensive than first-grade food. If dried into jerky, it became even pricier: one hundred and fifty taels per catty. After buying some a few times, Lu Yan felt the financial pinch. "Buying second-grade dried martial food is simply unaffordable. I must cook it myself; the second-grade Blood-Armored Lizards in the blood-earth vein must be utilized," Lu Yan mused. There were dozens of second-grade Blood-Armored Lizards in the hidden blood-earth vein, each weighing a thousand catties. Such a quantity was enough to push his cultivation to the peak of the Martial Marquis realm.

Changing into a new set of clothes, Lu Yan found Zhou Zhengkong and requested to borrow fifteen martial chefs: five seniors and ten juniors. Zhou Zhengkong had expected this and readily agreed without hesitation. The next day, the fifteen Zhou family martial chefs moved into the Three Extremes Martial Hall. Lu Yan had already informed Zhou Zhengkong of his identity in Baicao City before their arrival.

"Is this... meat from a second-grade exotic beast?" When the fifteen Zhou chefs first arrived, they were reluctant, but upon seeing the second-grade Blood-Armored Lizard meat piled high in the kitchen, their eyes lit up like thieves spotting a beautiful maiden. Martial chefs needed to prepare various ingredients, including higher-grade ones, to improve their craft. But second-grade meat was rarely encountered. Now that it was laid out before them, the Zhou chefs were fired up. The five senior chefs were particularly excited; if they had enough second-grade meat to work with, they might even have a slim chance of advancing to become Master Martial Chefs. Though the probability was small, it gave them hope.

Martial chefs were ranked by their skill: Apprentice, Junior, Senior, Master, and Grandmaster. Apprentices were beginners with a very low success rate. Junior chefs could proficiently prepare one type of first-grade martial food with about a 50% success rate. Senior chefs could typically prepare three or more types of first-grade food with a 100% success rate; such individuals also had a high chance of success when preparing second-grade food. A Master Martial Chef had a 100% success rate with certain second-grade dishes and even an 80% success rate with dishes at the "Eighteen-Bone-Entry" level.

"The matter of the second-grade exotic beast meat must be kept strictly confidential. If anyone leaks even a whisper, don't blame me for being ruthless," Lu Yan warned, his gaze as sharp as a sword, his killing intent undisguised.

"Elder, rest assured. I will never leak a word. If I do, I will execute myself."
"Leak a word, and I shall offer my head."
"As shall I."
The fifteen chefs swore on their lives.

"Good," Lu Yan nodded. "Just focus on cooking the martial food. There is plenty of first-grade exotic meat, and even second-grade meat will be available occasionally. Perhaps one of you will use this to become a Master Martial Chef and soar to new heights." In the six counties of Lingdong, the status of a Master Martial Chef was unquestionable—second only to Grandmasters and higher than the average Martial Marquis. "Take this cookbook and study it." Lu Yan handed them a cookbook left behind by Shen Yinuo. Aside from helping Lu Yan prepare first-grade food, she had put great effort into researching the second-grade Blood-Armored Lizard meat. After all, she also needed second-grade martial food to cultivate after reaching the Martial Marquis realm. She had already developed a mature cooking method, which she called "Second-Grade Yinuo Lizard Meat."

The fifteen chefs immediately began to take turns reading it, throwing themselves into the research. Lu Yan left the kitchen and found Li Quan. "Send men to keep an eye on these chefs. If there’s anything unusual, report it to me. Also, look through the servants and martial hall apprentices to see who is interested in being a martial chef and has a reliable character. They can start learning, and I will have the Zhou family chefs teach them in their spare time," Lu Yan ordered. "Understood," Li Quan replied and withdrew.

The Zhou family was indeed a family of martial chefs. Although they rarely cooked second-grade food and had never encountered "Second-Grade Yinuo Lizard Meat," their experience was such that they learned extremely quickly. By the seventh day, the first batch of Second-Grade Yinuo Lizard Meat was successfully prepared. Lu Yan tasted it; while the effect wasn't quite as good as the second-grade martial food sold on the market, it wasn't far off. He believed that after some practice, the quality would catch up.

"Having subordinates is truly comfortable," Lu Yan sighed again. After the first success, the success rate for Second-Grade Yinuo Lizard Meat climbed higher and higher, and production accelerated. However, Lu Yan began to reduce the supply of second-grade meat. There was no helping it; second-grade exotic meat was too rare. If he supplied it long-term, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. For example, supplying twenty catties a day would equal six hundred catties a month and over seven thousand catties a year—the equivalent of seven Blood-Armored Lizards. Aside from a Grandmaster-level clan, who could provide so much? Once word leaked, wouldn't people suspect he had a second-grade blood-earth vein behind him? Even though he had people watching the chefs, they had families; what if someone let it slip in their sleep? If that got out, even Grandmaster-level clans would come to capture and interrogate him. He had to be cautious.

Therefore, he only provided a few catties a day, focusing mainly on first-grade Iron-Armored Lizard meat. For his own cultivation, he relied mostly on first-grade martial food, supplemented by second-grade food and occasional purchases of second-grade jerky. After entering the Martial Marquis realm, his ability to digest energy had greatly increased. He ate as much first-grade martial food as possible. Fortunately, the "Indestructible Diamond Technique" allowed for the "Unity of Man and Martial Art," resulting in a very high conversion rate; even with first-grade food, the rate of improvement was decent. If the quality was lacking, he made up for it in quantity.

The second-grade martial food was used entirely to boost his cultivation, while the first-grade food was divided between cultivation and advancing his martial arts avatars. It was a reasonable balance. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed. Lu Yan’s cultivation progressed steadily, while his martial arts progress flew by. After Armor-Piercing Strike reached the Unity of Man and Martial Art, Lu Yan moved on to improve the "Blood Shadow Blade," which soon reached the same level, and then he began on the "Thunder Blade." As one second-rate blade technique after another reached the state of Unity of Man and Martial Art, Lu Yan’s understanding of blade techniques grew deeper and deeper.

That day, Lu Yan summoned Wang Lin, Li Quan, Zhang Jun, Cao Hu, and Wenyuan. "Take a look at this picture." Lu Yan opened a scroll. On it was a figure standing atop a mountain peak. Wang Lin, Li Quan, and the others looked on in surprise, staring intently at the painting. After a long moment, Wang Lin was the first to whisper, "Is this... the Divine Intent Map of a first-rate martial art?"