Chapter 463: An Unexpected Delight from the Zilong Sheds His Armor Food Realm
Thud!
A dull sound rang out, accompanied by the cry of an infant. Yet Liu Bei did not spare it a glance. Instead, he carefully supported Zhao Yun.
"For this unfilial child, I nearly lost one of my great generals."
Watching the entire scene unfold through Song Que's eyes, Qi Han couldn't help baring his teeth.
The arrow Song Que had taken was not fatal, but it had nearly pierced through his abdomen. From Qi Han's perception, it had likely punctured his intestines. In modern times, such an injury would hardly be a major issue, but in ancient times it was extremely difficult to treat completely. Even if he survived, he would almost certainly be left with lifelong complications.
After the Battle of Changban, Zhao Yun truly integrated into Liu Bei's forces. His lone rescue of Liu Shan earned the recognition of Zhang Fei, who had once looked down on him. The two unexpectedly became good friends.
After the battle, Liu Bei ultimately abandoned his plan to advance to Jiangling and instead went to Jiangxia to join Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Biao.
Song Que's injuries, thanks to Zhao Yun's earnest pleas, received the best possible treatment. Even so, they could not fully heal. His digestion was permanently weakened, and he could no longer withstand even minor chills.
With such a body, continuing in the army was nearly impossible. Although Song Que wished to remain by Zhao Yun's side, Zhao Yun hardened his heart and insisted he stay behind in Jiangxia.
Left with no choice, Song Que remained in Jiangxia. He returned to his old trade as a cook, married, had children, and passed the rest of his life in peace.
…
"Father, what kind of dish is Zilong Sheds His Armor? Why must I learn it?"
"Zilong Sheds His Armor…" The aged Song Que, eyes clouded and hair white as frost, reclined half-dreaming in a bamboo chair. In his gaze, it seemed as though that year resurfaced once more—the young general who had removed his armor and robes to wrap the young lord, clad in a single garment as he charged alone through thousands of troops.
"Boy, just learn it. Ask no more. If you don't master it, I won't rest in peace."
"I'll learn, I'll—"
The young man before Song Que suddenly fell silent.
He stared at his father's eyes, now emptied of all light, and at the hand slowly dropping lifelessly to the side. After a long silence—
"Father… Zilong Sheds His Armor… I will learn it."
…
"Haa…"
Qi Han suddenly shook his head and snapped back to awareness.
The Zilong Sheds His Armor Food Realm had completely dissipated with Song Que's final words. Looking back on the old soldier who had followed Zhao Yun for decades only to return at last to the kitchen, Qi Han felt a surge of complicated emotions.
This Food Realm was entirely different from the previous Peony Fish Fillet Food Realm. Though Qi Han could not truly die within a Food Realm, repeatedly witnessing battlefields and combat firsthand left a profound impact on him.
And that impact extended beyond culinary skill.
Within the system space, Qi Han stood quietly. A kitchen knife slowly materialized in his hand. With a shift of thought, the blade lengthened into a tuna-slicing knife nearly a meter long.
That length… was about the same as Song Que's blade.
With that thought, Qi Han began slowly practicing the knife technique within the system space. His movements grew faster and faster, until they matched perfectly with the memory he had inherited.
The technique itself contained little in the way of refined tricks or complex principles. It was simply a set of movements Song Que had developed through months—no, years—of relentless practice. It was this very technique that had allowed him to become Zhao Yun's personal guard.
And now, in Qi Han's hands, that same blade art was completely reproduced, slashing out countless streaks of blade light and surging gusts of force within the system space.
With Qi Han's strength as a Five-Ring Spirit King, executing an ordinary person's blade technique was almost effortless.
His martial spirit was inherently fused with his body, one could say he was naturally in a state of unity between man and blade. Coupled with his Perfect level knife skills as support, using such techniques in combat felt incomparably smooth.
Qi Han had never expected that the combat experience and fighting methods he had long sought would actually be learned inside a Food Realm.
It was truly an unexpected delight.
Only after he had practiced until exhaustion did Qi Han enter the training space and begin drilling Zilong Sheds His Armor.
Though he was eager to rush straight into the Jing Yang Mountain Range to test his newly learned blade techniques, he remained rational.
It was nighttime. Given the dense concentration of spirit beasts in the Jing Yang Mountain Range, he would likely attract a large-scale siege.
If that happened, the blade technique wouldn't be mastered, he'd just end up dead.
Better to focus honestly on practicing Zilong Sheds His Armor.
The dish was no less difficult than Peony Fish Fillet. Completing the training would likely take quite some time.
Previously, Peony Fish Fillet had taken one hundred days, and that was with only half-day practice sessions.
With Qi Han's current learning speed, fully focusing on a 4-Star recipe would require roughly one to two months.
When Main Quest 9 on the Sun Moon Continent was completed… would there be enough time to master Zilong Sheds His Armor?
…
"Shrieeek!"
With a sharp, ferocious cry, a massive golden ape charged toward Qi Han. As the distinct sound of a beating heart echoed outward, one could vaguely see a golden heart pulsing within the ape's chest cavity. Under its suffocating, terrifying aura, the ape's arms turned a dazzling gold, like a pair of massive war hammers smashing down toward the human holding a long blade.
"Oh? Changed moves, huh?"
A relaxed smile appeared on Qi Han's face.
The long blade in his hand instantly reverted to the shape of a Chinese cleaver. Using the flat of the blade as a shield, he blocked the wild assault of the Golden Silk Demonic Ape. Borrowing the force of impact, he lightly tapped across several treetops, darting past a cluster of towering trees. Then, stomping hard on a thicker branch, he launched himself once more toward the lunging ape.
"My turn now~"
The cleaver in Qi Han's hand transformed back into the long tuna-slicing blade. Using the broad spine of the blade, he brought it crashing down heavily from midair.
The Golden Silk Demonic Ape roared again, crossing its radiant golden arms to block the strike. But the tremendous force instantly halted its forward momentum. Overpowered by the slash, its massive body was smashed straight into the ground.
Boom!
The enormous ape crashed heavily into the earth, sending dust billowing into the air.
Qi Han, lifted slightly higher by the rebound force, gazed at the ape's form obscured within the dust cloud. A certain iconic anime scene flashed through his mind.
"You've been helping me practice for days now. Today I'll send you on your way. No need to thank me."
On the blade, the second, third, fourth, and fifth spirit rings lit up in an instant.
Countless flame-condensed blade arcs shot into the smoke at the most vicious angles imaginable, like divine weapons descending from the heavens. In a heartbeat, they suppressed the Golden Silk Demonic Ape, which had just begun to rise.
Tap
With a few light steps against a tree trunk, Qi Han landed softly on the ground. Before him lay the ape's body, charred black by flames, its surface crisscrossed with countless blade wounds. Above it floated a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.
A faint smile appeared on Qi Han's face.
This was already the fifth day since he had entered the Jing Yang Mountain Range. During this time, he had never left this mountain branch dominated by the Golden Silk Demonic Apes. Instead, he continuously fought high-year specimens of the species, sharpening his combat experience.
The reason he had persistently targeted Golden Silk Demonic Apes was simple: as simian spirit beasts, their attack methods were closer to those of human spirit masters. Fighting them provided the greatest improvement to his own combat techniques.
The one before him—a ten-thousand-year Golden Silk Demonic Ape—had cultivation reaching a full twenty thousand years. It was the undisputed overlord of this region.
Ever since it discovered Qi Han on the third day, the man and the ape had been fighting for three days straight.
In truth, Qi Han had long possessed the ability to kill it in a single strike. But he soon discovered that this ten-thousand-year Golden Silk Demonic Ape possessed extraordinarily rich combat experience. Training against it had yielded remarkable results. For a time, Qi Han had even felt reluctant to kill it.
Only now, after confirming that the ape's combat techniques could no longer offer him any further improvement, did Qi Han finally strike decisively and end its life.
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