A Young Master in the Martial World

Later, everyone learned that Zhou Ming disliked Li Xunhuan, so they stopped discussing the matter.

Two Mutant-Blood Horses pulled the mechanical carriage forward at tremendous speed, as though they never tired.

At noon, Lu Xiaofeng looked up and said, "It's about time to eat. Did you bring any travel rations?"

"Travel rations?"

"Yes..."

Lu Xiaofeng turned to look inside the carriage, startled. "You... didn't bring any, did you?"

"Uh..." Zhou Ming thought for a moment. "We really didn't."

Lu Xiaofeng suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the word "speechless."

"You really are some spoiled young master!"

Lu Xiaofeng took out some rations from his pack and said, "Fine, we'll split mine for now. But I didn't know you'd be coming along, so I only prepared enough for myself. Now six people have to share it... Don't blame me if you don't get full."

He had pancakes and jerky, both dry and tough. They needed water to wash them down.

Taking the pancake and jerky, Zhou Ming smiled. "Fine. Since we're traveling, we'll make do with a simple lunch."

The four maidservants each received some rations, but they were in no hurry to eat. Instead, they first attended to Zhou Ming.

Xia Feng took out a bowl, placed the jerky inside, poured in water, and pressed both palms against the bowl. Her true qi burst forth, and a scorching heat immediately rose.

Before long, the water in the bowl boiled, cooking the jerky.

Chun Hua took out two tightly sealed bags, grabbed some fine granules from each, and added them to the bowl. A rich fragrance instantly spread.

Lu Xiaofeng could not help sighing. "Snowflake salt and flavor enhancer. The little bit of seasoning you added costs more than all the rations I brought."

Zhou Ming smiled. "It's from my own business. It costs nothing!"

"Damn!"

Lu Xiaofeng had nothing to say. Smelling the meat, his envy and jealousy were written all over his face.

Fortunately, Zhou Ming shared some food with him as well.

The meat soup prepared this way naturally could not compare to something freshly cooked, but it was already far, far better than dry rations.

But the appetites of six people were completely different from that of one person. This meal alone wiped out the food Lu Xiaofeng had originally prepared for two days.

What remained was only enough for dinner.

Fortunately, the Mutant-Blood Horses were fast, and they were traveling along the main road. They soon came across a town, where Lu Xiaofeng replenished his rations without thinking much of it.

But because the Mutant-Blood Horses were even faster than Lu Xiaofeng had imagined, he became overly optimistic about the journey and did not stop to rest in that town.

He had thought they could reach the next town before nightfall, but they ultimately failed to make it.

"Sorry, I miscalculated the distance."

"No matter. Spending the night in the wilderness is a completely new experience for me."

Zhou Ming smiled.

The four maidservants pulled a mechanism beneath the carriage, and the entire carriage compartment was somehow drawn apart. They pulled and shifted it left and right, and within moments, the compartment had become a makeshift shelter.

Lu Xiaofeng watched in astonishment. Only after a moment did he laugh helplessly. "As expected of Zhu Ting's work!"

"We ate your rations at noon, so tonight, have some of what I prepared."

Zhou Ming opened a hidden compartment beneath the carriage, reached inside, and when he pulled his hand back out, there was— a chicken?

"Damn! So you didn't bring rations because you brought fresh meat instead!"

But...

Lu Xiaofeng rubbed his eyes, feeling certain he had not seen wrong.

"Why is your chicken black-skinned?"

"Not only is its skin black, its feathers are black too. Even its bones are black."

Zhou Ming said, "This is the legendary spiritual bird—the Black-Boned Chicken! It's a top-grade ingredient. Don't tell me... you've never seen one?"

"How could that be?! I just... I just didn't expect you to bring Black-Boned Chickens. But how can one chicken be enough for all six of us? And if you keep it for so long, won't it go bad?"

Zhou Ming laughed heartily, then pulled another six chickens and a large bag of rice from the hidden compartment beneath the carriage.

"Don't worry, there's definitely enough! And these chickens were freshly slaughtered this morning. It's winter now, so they won't spoil!"

How could there possibly not be enough?

Even if the storage space beneath the carriage was insufficient, Zhou Ming himself carried a portable space.

He had possessed this space since birth. It naturally grew over time, and it was now a massive spherical space forty-five meters in diameter.

Naturally, it stored countless items, including a great quantity of food and water.

There was even less need to worry about preservation.

As mentioned earlier, whenever his portable space met certain trigger conditions, it would randomly awaken an ability or upgrade one he already possessed.

Although he did not know what those trigger conditions were, in the twenty years since he had crossed into this world, they had indeed been triggered three times. He now possessed one upgraded Level Two ability and one Level One ability.

That Level Two ability was:

Perfect Qi: Every twelve hours, the space produces a strand of golden qi. After consuming it, one's body and soul will return to the most perfect state they had ever achieved in life, lasting for one hour.

Level Two Derivative · Decomposition: Perfect Qi may be divided into ten or one hundred portions. Consuming one-tenth can only restore the body to the most perfect state it had ever achieved in life, lasting for one hour.

Consuming one-hundredth instantly restores all injuries and removes all toxins. However, it is ineffective against old injuries, chronic poisons, illnesses, and the like.

This ability could be called utterly overpowered.

But that was not what mattered now. Zhou Ming had accidentally discovered that the Perfect Qi stored within his portable space would also affect items within fifty centimeters of it.

Items within that range would maintain their current quality and would not change with the passage of time.

Therefore, Zhou Ming had stored dozens of strands of Perfect Qi, allowing every item in his portable space to remain in its original state without spoiling.

Thus, there was no need to worry about food going bad at all.

While they were at it, there was also that other Level One ability.

Mark: A mark may be placed upon another person. Through the mark, one can view the surroundings near it, with the mark as the center of vision. The observable range is equal to the size of the space. One may also communicate with the mark holder, though the message appears as text within their field of vision.

It was basically an unlimited-range text message and camera system.

Returning to Lu Xiaofeng, after his initial delight, he realized that their current surroundings did not seem suitable for properly preparing such precious ingredients.

"Uh... grilled chicken for dinner?"

"No. Grilling it would be too wasteful. We'll stew soup and cook porridge. But we need some firewood..."

"Fine, I'll go gather some..."

Lu Xiaofeng activated his lightness skill and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Xia Feng and Qiu Yue headed off in different directions. Chun Hua prepared the Black-Boned Chickens, while Dong Xue took out a long, slender treasured blade and slashed downward. Blade qi flashed and sank into the ground.

By the time Lu Xiaofeng returned, six simple stoves had already been dug out. Clay pots had been set in place, and the Black-Boned Chickens had been prepared.

Xia Feng flicked a finger, sending a streak of red light into the firewood. The wood instantly caught fire and was pushed into the stoves.

Then water was added, and the pots began to simmer.

Before long, the fragrance spread everywhere.

Smelling it, Lu Xiaofeng felt his saliva surge. He barely managed to suppress his excitement until the food was finished and a whole pot was given to him. Opening it, he saw clear broth within the pot and a single black chicken.

"This is... whole chicken soup?"

"I told you, it's soup and porridge."

"Porridge?"

"Yes..." Zhou Ming cut open the chicken with a knife. In the darkness, a bright glow immediately appeared. The chicken's belly was crammed full of rice grains, glistening with oil and looking crystal clear, as though carved from jade.

"In the wilderness, we can only have something simple."

The fragrance rushed straight into his nose.

Lu Xiaofeng had no time to complain. Copying Zhou Ming, he opened the chicken's belly, took a spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and put it in his mouth.

It was as though lightning had flashed through him.

Lu Xiaofeng closed his eyes, but a tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

This rice... was unbelievably delicious!!!

What kind of life had I been living before this?

Forget traveling outside—he had never eaten anything this good even at home!

Damn!

Why wasn't his father the current Grand Chancellor?!

A godfather would have worked too!

Martial artists had large appetites. Lu Xiaofeng devoured the entire chicken and every grain of rice in one sitting.

For someone so talkative, he did not utter a single word of nonsense during that meal. He was too busy eating.

He could put effort into eating, but lodging was another matter.

No matter how skilled Master Craftsman was, he could not use a mechanism to conjure up a mansion from thin air in the wilderness.

Transforming the carriage compartment into a shelter that could block the wind and rain was already excellent.

Still, being in the wild meant they had to stay alert.

Since he had eaten their food, Lu Xiaofeng took the initiative to stand watch. Only after midnight did he switch with someone else.

Early the next morning, an enticing fragrance had already drifted into his nose while he slept.

Lu Xiaofeng sprang up and asked, "That smells amazing! What are we having this morning?"

Zhou Ming smiled. "It's early, so we'll have something simple."

"So?"

"So..."

Rainbow Porridge!

Jade Phoenix Dumplings!

Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul-Soothing Buns!

Looking at the bright and colorful breakfast, Lu Xiaofeng swallowed hard. "This is what you call eating something simple?"

They set out once more, and in the blink of an eye, it was noon again.

Glancing at the sun in the sky, Lu Xiaofeng said, "Just like that, it's already noon. What are we eating for lunch?"

Zhou Ming said, "Traveling is more important at noon. Do you still have any rations?"

"Uh... no! I finished them yesterday!"

"No? Didn't we pass through a town yesterday? Didn't you restock?"

"Uh... I forgot... Sorry, sorry."

"Fine. It looks like we can only cook for ourselves at noon. Hmm... let's have some stir-fried dishes."

Then...

Shredded Pork with Tomato and Green Pepper!

Golden Egg Fried Rice!

Spicy Twice-Cooked Pork!

Giant Panda Magical Mapo Tofu!

That night.

"Brother, what do you say?"

"Make it happen!"

Baoshan Flying Dragon Pot!

Milky Way Squid Noodles!

Peerless National Scholar Noodles!

The next day.

"Feng has drifted through half his life without meeting a worthy lord. If you do not reject me, Feng is willing to acknowledge you as my godfather!"

"Hey! It's only a little food. What are you doing, Brother Lu? Chun Hua, Xia Feng, hurry and serve my son some food!"

Baoding, Xingyun Manor.

Long Xiaoyun stood before the manor and saw a carriage approaching from afar. He had seen a portrait of the man sitting before it and naturally recognized Young Hero Lu.

"Hahaha, Young Hero Lu has finally arrived!"

Long Xiaoyun stepped forward to greet him with a smile. "You must have had a tiring journey."

Lu Xiaofeng cupped his fists. "Manor Lord Long, to tell you the truth, this journey really hasn't been tiring at all..."

As he spoke, he could not help rubbing his stomach.

"...In fact, I think I may have gained two pounds..."