Chapter 62: Cultivating the Martial Chef

Lu Yan now possessed three second-tier martial arts techniques that had fused body and martial skills, granting him a profound understanding of martial arts. As a result, his comprehension of the Sky-Cleaving Blade progressed at a remarkable pace. In just half a month, he managed to grasp its fundamentals, condense a martial avatar, and, with the aid of martial nourishment, advanced rapidly.

Meanwhile, through a period of familiarity and experimentation, Shen Yinuo’s preparation of martial food—her “Yinuo Lizard Meat”—improved significantly in both quality and flavor, no less impressive than the martial food Lu Yan had tasted at the “Warrior’s Rest.” Of course, that name was of Shen Yinuo’s own invention. Although Lu Yan inwardly scoffed at it, seeing her so pleased with herself, he didn’t have the heart to dampen her enthusiasm. As long as there was food, that was enough.

During this time, Lu Yan provided Shen Yinuo with additional cookware, which increased her efficiency—she could now prepare thirty catties of martial food every three days. Unfortunately, professional martial cooking utensils were hard to come by and costly. Take, for instance, the black wok Shen Yinuo carried on her back: it was a specialized martial cooking tool, made from unique materials, with rapid heat conduction and special properties. Even so, the process of preparing martial food was intricate, and a single wok was far from sufficient.

But Lu Yan was satisfied. With thirty catties of martial food cooked every three days, plus the dried martial food purchased from the Linglan Trading Company and Zhou Zhengkong, he could eat five catties of fresh meat and four to five catties of dried martial food daily—a true extravagance. With ample martial nourishment, his accumulation of vital energy and progress in martial arts both advanced swiftly. His vital energy steadily approached the state of overflowing.

Had his capacity been that of an ordinary person, he’d have long since reached overflowing. But now, his capacity was more than four times greater than that of a normal man, making it much harder—and more resource-intensive—to reach that peak. Yet with a constant supply of martial food, his progress was steady, his strength growing each day.

As for the Sky-Cleaving Blade, his advancement was even more astonishing. In two days, he achieved minor success; in five days, he reached full integration. In just half a month, he had achieved mastery—a speed that even left Lu Yan himself amazed.

At this point, Lu Yan had rotated back with another squad of Crimson Guards, stationed at the Crimson Guard headquarters, patrolling the city streets—a much lighter duty that left him with far more free time. He found himself entertaining new ideas.

There were so many exotic beasts in the Blood Vein, but when the year he’d agreed upon with Shen Yinuo was up, who would prepare martial food for him? Would he be left sitting atop a mountain of treasure, powerless to use it?

“Better to rely on oneself than others. Why not become a martial chef myself?”

Once this thought took root, it refused to leave. He had considered learning culinary skills before, to become a martial chef and prepare his own martial food—after all, he had the Dao Tome. But martial cooking was entirely different from martial arts; entry was exceedingly difficult.

To become a martial chef, one had to master a vast array of foundational knowledge: the properties of exotic beast meat, the nine steps of toxin removal, the use of spiritual herbs, martial food seasonings, mastery of heat, and the basics of martial cooking tools... Only by mastering these fundamentals and successfully preparing a portion of martial food with one’s own hands could one be considered to have entered the discipline.

This process was time-consuming and arduous. Even a talented martial chef apprentice would require at least a year just to get started. And entry did not make one a true martial chef; only by mastering a recipe and achieving a success rate of over fifty percent with a specific martial food could one be considered a competent junior martial chef.

How could Lu Yan possibly spare that much energy?

His original plan was to focus on strengthening himself first, and only after achieving enough power to stand securely in this world—and settling his life—would he begin training as a martial chef. But with a whole Blood Vein right before his eyes, he changed his mind. He would start now.

He brought his idea to Shen Yinuo.

“To become a martial chef, you need to master the basics. I haven’t got the time to teach you all that. Go buy a few books on martial cooking fundamentals and read them yourself.” With that single sentence, Shen Yinuo dismissed him.

Lu Yan immediately thought of Zhou Zhengkong. Coming from a family of martial chefs, they would certainly possess comprehensive foundational materials—perhaps even more than what was available elsewhere.

Leaving the Blood Vein, he hurried straight to Qingyang City.

“Martial chef fundamentals? Brother Lu, are you planning to learn the culinary arts?” Zhou Zhengkong looked at him in surprise.

It was difficult to even get started as a martial chef, and progress was even harder; every step required enormous effort and ingredients, since constant practice with ingredients was necessary. In short, without money, don’t even think about it. Moreover, expert guidance was essential—trying to figure things out alone was even more difficult.

“Just want to browse in my spare time, see if I have a knack for it,” Lu Yan said with a smile.

In truth, he wasn’t confident at all. If not for the Dao Tome, he wouldn’t even have tried. In his previous life he’d been someone who could burn fried rice, living on takeout for all three meals. Martial food was a hundred times more complicated than ordinary fare.

Zhou Zhengkong didn’t say much more, simply ordered his men to fetch the materials. Soon, a stack of books was piled before Lu Yan.

Titles like “A Martial Chef’s Notes,” “A Detailed Guide to the Blood Toxins of Exotic Beasts,” “Key Steps to Remove Odors,” “A Compendium of Auxiliary Spiritual Herbs,” “The Basics of Martial Cooking Tools”... There were thirteen books in all, making Lu Yan’s head spin. But thinking of the giant lizards in the Blood Vein, waiting to be harvested, he gritted his teeth and took them all.

He planned to read them slowly in his spare time, without interfering with his martial training. For now, training remained his priority. In his free moments after practice, he would leaf through the books, asking Shen Yinuo for clarification whenever he didn’t understand something.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed. It was once again Lu Yan’s turn to patrol the forbidden grounds.

He felt a bit helpless—now that he was flush with wealth and held a second-level Blood Vein, he truly wanted to walk away from the Crimson Guard altogether. But after some thought, he held back. Being part of the Crimson Guard made it far easier for the Green Bamboo Gang and Tiger Gang to operate; furthermore, it gave him access to inside information, allowing him to monitor the movements of the two great clans—he might even discover whether they’d found the Blood Vein. He could also keep abreast of the situation among the great clans of Li’an Prefecture.

For now, remaining with the Crimson Guard was far more beneficial than not. If ever the disadvantages outweighed the benefits, he would leave without hesitation.

During his month patrolling the forbidden ground, nothing major happened apart from occasionally intercepting those who tried to sneak a peek inside. The days passed quickly.

Soon, the three-month deadline agreed upon with Shen Yinuo was at hand. At this time, the Sky-Cleaving Blade finally reached the realm where body and blade were one, forging a Martial Body and receiving the blessing of heaven and earth.

The previous time he had mastered the Ironclad Body technique to this level, his vital energy capacity and physical strength had increased by half. This time, however, the effect was greatly diminished—his capacity and strength improved by only thirty percent. Still, given how solid his foundation was, that thirty percent was a tremendous leap: his vital energy capacity now reached five times that of an ordinary person.

Once he reached the overflowing state, he would have five times the vital energy of a normal man. His body was even more formidable—he could kill a tiger with a single punch, even without using vital energy. When energy and body worked together, the power he could unleash was astonishing.

Moreover, the density of his vital energy had increased by thirty percent, so the distance to the overflowing state hadn’t grown despite his expanded capacity. In short, achieving unity with the Sky-Cleaving Blade had once again raised his overall strength to new heights.

“Fortunately, I haven’t grown any taller,” Lu Yan laughed. Last time, the Ironclad Body had made him shoot up; it seemed weapon-based martial arts didn’t have that side effect.

“This blade won’t do—it’s time to get a new one.” He swung his standard-issue Crimson Guard saber, which buzzed as if about to snap at any moment. It was meant to intimidate commoners on street patrols, but was otherwise of little use.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, Lu Yan went to the largest weapon shop in Changfeng City. After browsing for a while, he chose a saber shaped like a Tang blade, forged from refined steel—exceptionally sturdy, weighing eighteen catties. While not a legendary weapon, it was far superior to his old saber. Naturally, it wasn’t cheap—three hundred taels, the equivalent of ten catties of dried martial food.

Flush with money, Lu Yan bought it without hesitation.

“It’s time to fulfill my promise to Shen Yinuo,” he murmured, slinging the saber over his back.

“Looks like you’re ready?” Shen Yinuo gazed at him.

“Let’s go. Time to hunt an aberrant beast,” Lu Yan replied, waving his hand.

Soon, the two found an armored aberrant lizard. The moment it spotted them, it charged with a shrill cry.

With a bang, Lu Yan kicked off, shattering the stones beneath his feet as he shot toward the aberrant lizard like an arrow. Vital energy surged through him, his body gleaming gold, arm muscles bulging and swelling, veins writhing like worms beneath his skin.

With a heavy thud, Lu Yan’s fist smashed into the lizard’s head, halting its charge in its tracks. The massive beast came to a dead stop, but Lu Yan was also knocked back over ten meters, his fist numb from the impact.