A Lone Traveler's Feast

Thirty miles from Maple Forest Town.

The main road, dusk.

Han Yuchen still looked sickly as ever, strolling along at an unhurried pace.

When the wind blew, his loose robes fluttered loudly, as though they might sweep his entire body away at any moment.

His steps were slow, yet every one landed at the point that required the least effort.

His breathing was long and steady, producing an imperceptible resonance with the ambient Soul Power drifting through the surroundings.

It was an instinct etched into his Divine Soul Origin.

Cultivation, every moment of every day.

Night fell.

Han Yuchen left the main road and slipped into a secluded stream valley.

His spiritual sense swept the area. Within five hundred meters, there was not even a rat.

Safe.

With a thought.

Splash.

A set of folding rosewood table and chairs appeared out of thin air on the grass beside the stream.

On the tabletop, a set of gleaming silver cutlery was arranged in perfect order.

Beside it sat several cuts of premium beef he had stocked up on in Maple Forest Town, kept fresh with ice.

Dimensional Space: an essential divine tool for home, travel, murder, and disposing of bodies.

Nice.

He walked to the stream and swept his gaze over the clear water.

Several plump grouper fish lazily blew bubbles beneath the surface.

Heh, dinner was here.

Martial Soul, Yulian.

A miniature phantom of a blue whale appeared in his palm.

The whale opened its mouth and gave a gentle inhale.

The stream formed a tiny whirlpool, accurately sweeping up the two fattest fish and suspending them in midair.

The two fish were still flopping about wildly, completely bewildered.

He pressed together the index and middle fingers of his right hand, releasing a faint pulse of Soul Power.

Blade of Flowing Water.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Several blue streams of water, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, traced elegant arcs through the air.

Like the scalpels of the finest surgeons.

A series of soft pops sounded.

The fish scales and innards were instantly separated, cleanly and neatly falling into the nearby grass.

The prepared fish meat was white and tender as jade, not stained by even a trace of blood, and gently dropped back onto the plate.

The entire process flowed as smoothly as clouds and water, nothing short of art.

If those Michelin three-star chefs from my previous life saw these skills, wouldn't they kneel on the spot and beg me to take them as disciples?

A campfire rose.

He grilled fish on one side while slowly pan-frying marbled beef over a low flame on the other.

He sprinkled on the secret spices stored in his Dimensional Space as though they cost nothing.

Sizzle—

Grease dripped down, and the aroma exploded at once, spreading wildly through the silent stream valley.

Han Yuchen leaned back in his comfortable chair and took a sip of the chilled sour plum drink he had brought along.

The grilled fish was crisp outside and tender within, melting in his mouth.

Fresh.

The medium-rare beef was bursting with juice.

Fragrant.

Damn, this was what life was supposed to be.

Fighting and killing were just a diversion. Enjoying the process was what truly mattered.

He wondered how that kid Tang San was doing now, and what his Soul Power Level was.

Just then.

The rumble of wheels and the clatter of hooves came from the nearby main road.

It shattered the stream valley's peace.

A lavish merchant caravan guarded with great care was slowly passing by.

Every guard was clad in bright armor, one hand resting on the hilt of a blade as their wary eyes swept through the surrounding darkness.

When they saw the flickering firelight in the stream valley, as well as the youth beside it enjoying his "feast" alone, they all paused in surprise.

Then, their expressions turned strange.

Contempt mixed with a hint of caution.

Out here in the middle of nowhere, and he was making such a grand fuss by himself.

Either he was an idiot, or he had some peculiar fetish.

Creak—

The window of the most lavishly decorated carriage was pushed open from inside.

A somewhat pale yet pampered young face poked out.

He first caught the overbearing fragrance of meat and could not help twitching his nose.

Then his gaze fell upon Han Yuchen's simple campfire and the plain rosewood table and chairs.

When he clearly saw Han Yuchen's faded blue cloth robes, the curiosity in his eyes instantly turned into undisguised disdain and scorn.

"Heh."

The youth sneered. His voice was not loud, yet it rang especially clearly through the quiet night.

"Where did this country bumpkin come from? He's never seen the world."

"Poor, yet putting on airs."

After saying that, he lowered the curtain without further interest, as though one more glance would dirty his eyes.

The caravan continued onward and soon vanished around the bend in the road.

From beginning to end.

Han Yuchen did not so much as raise an eyelid.

Unhurriedly, he used his silver knife and fork to cut off the last piece of beef and place it in his mouth.

As though what had just passed by had only been a flock of noisy flies.

The caravan had traveled less than a mile.

A shrill horn suddenly sounded from the dense forest ahead!

"Kill!"

Dozens of black figures burst out of the woods on either side of the road like ghosts!

Flashes of blades erupted at once!

"Ambush! Protect the young lady and young master!"

The captain of the guards roared and drew his blade as he charged forward.

The two sides immediately descended into a brutal battle.

Beside the stream valley.

Han Yuchen calmly finished his last bite of fish.

He took out a napkin and leisurely wiped his mouth.

He stored everything back into his Dimensional Space, leaving the site spotless, as though no one had ever been there.

He did not leave.

Instead, his figure moved, and like a weightless falling leaf, he silently drifted to the crown of a nearby tree.

Like a ghost, he coldly watched the bloody slaughter below.

This band of robbers was no motley crew.

They coordinated seamlessly and feared neither pain nor death.

Though the caravan guards were well-equipped and had respectable Soul Power Levels, they were quickly forced back step by step and fell into a disadvantage.

Han Yuchen's gaze soon locked onto the edge of the battlefield.

A bandit leader hiding in the shadows.

He was a lean, wiry man holding a black iron longbow. Every time he drew it, a guard would inevitably fall.

His arrows were tricky and vicious, specifically targeting the caravan's commanders and key points in their formation.

He was an old hand.

Just then.

The bandit leader drew his bowstring again.

The bow was pulled into a full moon.

This time, the arrowhead gleaming with cold light steadily locked onto the heart of the guard captain, who was fighting through blood and fury.

Once that arrow was released, the caravan's command structure would collapse completely.

Defeat was certain.

Up in the treetop.

Han Yuchen yawned in boredom.

I don't like that young master who was acting so high and mighty earlier.

But I hate these blind bandits even more for disturbing the peace after my dinner.

They ruined my good mood.

He raised his right index finger.

A crystalline drop of water condensed out of thin air at his fingertip.

Soul Power poured into it wildly, compressing it again and again.

In the end, the droplet was reduced to the size of a needlepoint, nearly transparent as it blended into the night.

Go.

He lightly flicked his finger.

Whoosh—!

A faint, razor-sharp sound of air tearing.

The extremely compressed water droplet tore through the night sky at a terrifying speed beyond the speed of sound.

Without anyone noticing, it struck the bandit leader's bowstring, already stretched to its limit, with flawless precision!

Snap!

A crisp explosive crack, like metal and stone shattering!

The tough ox sinew bowstring broke at once!

The immense backlash lashed viciously across the bandit leader's face!

"Ah!"

The bandit leader let out a miserable scream, completely dumbfounded.

He had no idea what had happened!

How could a perfectly good bowstring break on its own?!

On the battlefield, the guard captain had already begun to despair.

Yet this sudden change at the critical moment allowed him to seize that fleeting chance at life!

"Third Soul Skill, Earth Splitting Slash!"

He roared as the saber in his hand erupted with dazzling yellow light. A crescent-shaped blade aura hacked fiercely at the bandit leader, who was still standing there in a daze!

Splurt!

An arm flew into the sky!

With their leader gone, the bandits' formation instantly collapsed.

The tide of battle turned in an instant.

And at the moment the bowstring snapped.

Han Yuchen had already turned away from the treetop.

After several flickers of his figure, he vanished completely into the boundless night.

As though he had never appeared.