42 Advancement
"So it is like that, huh…" Lu Zhen thought as he looked at his system warning for the first time.
[Warning: your energy is not enough to allow the host to advance this skill]
[Do you still want to continue <yes> or <no>]
A simple panel showed in front of Lu Zhen.
"Hmm..." Lu Zhen contemplated his chances but eventually chose "no."
Although he was a little tempted and curious about what this so-called cooking skill could do for him, he wasn't stupid; he knew the consequences of advancing right now. Since Lu Zhen had obtained the divine physique, he hadn't felt any exhaustion, and he was confident that his qi and body strength should be high. However, it wasn't enough that the system warned for the first time. From the looks of it, the requirements to advance the system skills were very high, and he didn't have a correct solution for it. What if he gets drained dry just by advancing this skill? So he decided to do it later.
Besides that, he stole a glance at Xia Long, who was just watching Lu Zhen cook with a smile on his face and even some concern. However, from his previous world experience, he knew these guys were the real ones who would stab you in the back at any moment – pretentious individuals who were all shown. Although he might have believed him if he had seen this Xia Long for the first time, the malicious feeling he felt when Xia Mei came near him was undeniable. So this guy was undoubtedly an enemy of his. How could he be in a vulnerable state right in front of his enemy? So the best option was to find the most suitable moment.
That's why he wanted to kill this guy the very moment Lu Zhen saw this guy.
With that thought, Lu Zhen imagined pressing the "no" button, and the system prompt disappeared.
Lu Zhen was stunned.
"How will I advance the skill again?" Lu Zhen thought.
Lu Zhen hurriedly opened his system with a thought, feeling a little nervous and stupid.
"What if it was a one-time thing only?"
However, he was relieved when he saw the system panel.
Everything was all pretty normal except for the new skill he gained, which was already level 10.
[Cooking: level 10] (advance <yes><no>)
Seeing this, he was pretty relieved. He had thought that this advance thing was only for one time, but seeing the option still provided to him, his relief washed over him.
"Brother Lu, looks like the rain has stopped significantly. How about we go search for it now? We are very close to it," Xia Long said as he folded his fans into his two hands.
"Alright, Brother Xia, I will follow you," Lu Zhen said as he saw Xia Mei staring at him with sparks of interest.
He knew why she was like this; he had also seen her eyes when she came to check him out. They felt very similar to his own eyes but at the same time unfamiliar to him.
He knew that these eyes were obtained from that scroll, and she might be like him, possessing a bloodline. Although he didn't know all the details of the bloodline, he at least knew the basics that Yu Bai had given him.
Bloodline martial practitioners were able to comprehend different abilities from their ancestors if they were talented enough; apparently, Lu Zhen was also talented enough to gain bloodline abilities with a unique trait of his own.
However, Lu Zhen himself doubted his talent in anything, even with all the resources provided by the Lu family. These resources were enough to produce ten martial trainees; however, Lu Zhen's constitution was still at level 4, with almost no foundation to work on. So there was no possibility that he could be considered talented.
Therefore, the ability was most likely due to his system, as he received the notification from it. However, since the system registered it as his skill, did that mean the skill was his unique bloodline ability that he had gained, and was there any difference between his ability and the one other bloodline user possessed?
He didn't know and didn't contemplate any longer as it was useless to him now. It has become a habit of his to analyse everything even if it was useless.
"Sigh, only time will tell," Lu Zhen mused to himself, rising from his makeshift seat where he had prepared the skewered meat.
The scent of his skewered meat attracted his attention.
"Not bad, I really made this well," Lu Zhen thought as he examined the meat, which now had a pleasant smell.
When he took a bite of the meat, a tantalizing crunch gave way to succulent and tender meat beneath.
It was tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside, absolutely perfect. It filled Lu Zhen's mouth with joy.
"Let's go," Lu Zhen said as he got up and looked outside.
The plants and trees glistened under the soft, silvery shine of the waning moon, casting an ethereal glow over the surroundings. The rain had just stopped, leaving behind glistening raindrops on leaves and petals.
Sounds of insects humming their nocturnal melodies and the occasional calls of normal animals echoed through the tranquil forest however the roar and squeals of animals were heard from time to time as lu zhen could see blood from his superhuman eyes in the distance. However he decided to ignore these details for now.
The surroundings resembled a natural paradise. Unlike his previous world, where pollution had reached an all-time high, and he didn't venture outdoors much due to dedicating a significant portion of his life to learning coding, Lu Zhen now truly felt the beauty of nature at its finest. It refreshed his mind. Although ignoring the minor details.
"Has this bastard gone crazy since I have not met him for a month? He's cooking meat now?" Xia Long thought as he looked at the meat that Lu Zhen had grilled. It looked like the very definition of perfection, with an attention to detail that was truly impressive.
"You can grill all you want, but you will die soon anyways," Xia Long sneered in his mind as he looked at his cousin. Her eyes were still on Lu Zhen the whole time.
"I will punish her when she moans under me. That time she will regret even looking at the dead Lu Zhen by then," Xia Long thought as he narrowed his eyes.
However, maintaining his forced smile, which looked fake through and through.
"Let's go now, sister," Xia Long said with a smile on his face as he extended his hand.
However, Xia Mei didn't listen to him as she stayed where she was.
As Lu Zhen walked, Xia Mei also followed behind, looking like a hypnotized follower of Lu Zhen.
Observing this scene, Xia Long became even more infuriated, to the point where his face flushed crimson. However, he swiftly opened his fan to conceal his anger.
In the next moment, he made an effort to maintain a composed facade as he employed the fan to cool himself, pretending as if the heat was causing him some discomfort. However, his expression morphed into an unsettling blend of a forced smile and a frown, rendering his face to turn ugly.
"Sister, why don't you follow me? We're going the same way," Xia Long said, causing a frown to appear on Xia Mei's face.
"What does that have to do with you?" Xia Mei responded with a domineering tone.
Hearing this, Xia Long barely managed to control his anger. "Yes, sister," he said, bowing his head respectfully.
"Soon," Xia Long thought.
Hearing the interaction between the two, Lu Zhen was quite amused. He really liked this woman, Xia Mei.
With that said, Lu Zhen left the temple with Xia Mei following behind him, just staring at him, followed by the twins who were basically sidelined, and the two old men, Yu Bai and Xia Jiang, staying alert as they both kept a watchful eye on the surroundings and the opposite side.
As they exited the temple, none of them noticed an inconspicuous statue in a corner, its eyes subtly shifting as they moved farther away.
When they reached a certain distance, the statue made a creaking sound as it started cracking.
Creak! Creak!
Cracks started appearing in the statue as they shattered, revealing a tiny white ball that looked like a floating baseball. The white ball suddenly transformed from its round shape into a humanoid form about the size of a child, with white hair that resembled an ordinary child. However, its eyes were pitch black, which looked terrifying.
The child-like figure moved its mouth as if attempting to speak, but only the rustling of the wind filled the air. It silently observed the departing group until they disappeared into the distance.
After what seemed like an eternity of attempting to speak, the figure finally managed to utter a sentence.
"You are all going to die," the child said in a hoarse voice, which sounded too old for his child's body, as it followed them slowly.
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