Kill the Big Goose, Eat the Big Meat

The swan before him stared fixedly at Zhou Qiubai. Food that had practically been in its grasp had been snatched away by Zhou Qiubai.

No one would have been in a good mood over that, but it soon caught a familiar scent from Zhou Qiubai—the lingering smell of those herbs.

"Honk!"

An excited cry rang out. The herbs' allure to a Spirit Beast clearly surpassed its anger.

The swan spread its wings, and a fierce wind carrying ice shards swept forth once more as its massive body charged directly at Zhou Qiubai.

Zhou Qiubai merely chuckled.

Just as the swan was about to crash into him, Zhou Qiubai lightly tapped the ground with his toe and drifted three zhang to the left like a falling leaf. The longsword in his hand instinctively traced an arc through the air.

"Rip!"

The longsword precisely swept across the swan's right wing, drawing a spray of blood.

"Hoooonk!"

The Ice Feather Swan flew completely into a rage at the sight of blood.

Blood streaked its crystalline blue eyes, and the chill around its body surged. Dozens of arm-thick icicles condensed around it and shot toward Zhou Qiubai.

Zhou Qiubai neither dodged nor evaded, merely weaving a curtain of sword light before him.

"Clang clang clang clang—!"

A barrage of impacts rang out. Every icicle was shredded to pieces the instant it touched the sword net.

Seeing that its ranged attacks were ineffective, the Ice Feather Swan repeated its old trick, stabbing at Zhou Qiubai with its long beak.

But Zhou Qiubai was not Shui Bing'er. He immediately gripped his sword with both hands and slashed head-on at that crystal beak!

"CLANG!!!"

The deafening crash of metal rang through the forest, and a visible shockwave burst from the point where the blade met the beak.

"Crack."

A crisp snapping sound rang out.

The longsword in Zhou Qiubai's hand broke cleanly into two!

"Damn."

Zhou Qiubai frowned and immediately retreated.

At the same time, Shui Bing'er's voice sounded beside him. "Second Soul Skill, Ice Ring Armor!"

A ring of ice elemental energy spread outward from her, first enveloping herself before expanding toward Zhou Qiubai.

In an instant, it froze the swan's lower body in place.

"Honk!"

The swan struggled fiercely, and cracks immediately spread across the ice.

But Zhou Qiubai remained unhurried.

He made a grasping motion with his right hand in the air, and a longsword condensed from Soul Power slowly took shape in his grasp.

This was Zhou Qiubai's true Martial Soul. To conserve Soul Power, he usually fought with a physical longsword. Now that one had broken, there was no need to keep hiding his strength.

"It's time to end this."

Zhou Qiubai muttered, his blood and qi churning within him.

The Ice Feather Swan seemed to sense the threat of death and struggled desperately to break free from the Ice Seal.

But Zhou Qiubai gave it no chance, handing the small knife to Shui Bing'er.

Shui Bing'er nodded.

The blade traced a graceful arc through the air.

The swan's movements suddenly stiffened, and a thin red line appeared across its neck.

Its enormous body crashed to the ground, and a purple Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.

Zhou Qiubai dispersed the Soul Power sword in his hand and turned to Shui Bing'er. "Absorb the Soul Ring here. I'll stand guard for you."

Shui Bing'er snapped out of her shock and quickly nodded. "Thank you."

Shui Bing'er did not stand on ceremony. She sat down on the ground and began absorbing the Soul Ring.

This Ice Feather Swan was around eighteen hundred to two thousand years old, just at the limit a level-thirty Soul Master could endure. Its ice attribute also made it perfectly suited as her third Soul Ring.

As for some master's precise estimate of one thousand seven hundred sixty years?

Trust him, or V me 50?

Seeing that Shui Bing'er had entered her meditative state, Zhou Qiubai finally began tending to his own business.

He walked over to the swan's corpse and skillfully began dissecting it.

Next, Zhou Qiubai took an iron pot, clean water, and a few simple seasonings from his ring. He washed the swan legs and wings clean, tossed them into the pot, added enough water to cover them, then sprinkled in a handful of salt and several fragrant leaves picked along the way.

He lit a fire, set up the pot, and began stewing.

Before long, the enticing aroma of meat drifted out with the steam.

Zhou Qiubai sat beside the pot and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

It was a habit he had cultivated over many years. Martial training required substantial replenishment of blood and qi, and the Spirit Beasts he hunted often made the best ingredients. No point letting good meat go to waste.

About half an hour later, Zhou Qiubai lifted the lid.

The swan meat in the pot had stewed until tender, while the broth had turned milky white and fragrant.

Unbothered by the heat, Zhou Qiubai reached in and fished out a plump leg. After blowing on it, he took a huge bite.

Just as Zhou Qiubai was eating with gusto, he suddenly heard a distinct swallow from behind him.

When he turned around, he saw that Shui Bing'er had somehow finished absorbing the Soul Ring. She was staring eagerly at the meat in the pot, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Um..." Shui Bing'er said somewhat embarrassedly. "Could I have some? I can pay."

Zhou Qiubai casually whittled two nearby branches into chopsticks and handed them to Shui Bing'er. "No need to pay. There's a share for everyone who sees it."

They were both Soul Masters, and their appetites far surpassed those of ordinary people. A whole pot of meat was quickly wiped clean.

As Zhou Qiubai packed up the cookware, he looked up at the sky. "The sun will be setting soon. If we head back to the city now, we'll probably have to travel at night. How about we find somewhere safe on the forest's outskirts to rest, then return tomorrow morning?"

Shui Bing'er nodded in agreement.

The two quickly extinguished the fire, buried the remaining swan remains, and hurried toward the outskirts of the forest.

The next morning, outside the city gate on the outskirts of Star Dou Forest.

The moment the two emerged from the forest, a blue figure rushed toward them.

"Big Sister!" Shui Yue'er threw herself into Shui Bing'er's arms, her eyes red-rimmed. "You're finally back! I was worried sick!"

Shui Bing'er gently patted her younger sister's back. "Aren't I perfectly fine? Besides, Mr. Zhou was with me."

"Perfectly fine, my ass!" Shui Yue'er lifted her head from her sister's embrace and shot Zhou Qiubai a vicious glare. "It's precisely because he was with you that I was even more worried! Big Sister, he didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Shui Bing'er explained to Shui Yue'er, "Absorbing the Soul Ring took some time yesterday. It wasn't safe to travel after dark, so Mr. Zhou suggested that we camp on the outskirts of the forest."

Shui Yue'er looked her sister over from head to toe. Only after confirming that she was truly unharmed did she mutter, "That's good... If he dares do anything to Big Sister, every student at Skywater Academy will make sure he pays!"

"Enough, stop making a fuss." Shui Bing'er rubbed her sister's hair, then turned and gave Zhou Qiubai a solemn bow. "Mr. Zhou, thank you for your help this time. If you ever need anything, you may come find me at Skywater Academy. So long as it is within my power, Bing'er will not refuse."

Zhou Qiubai waved a hand. "It was only a transaction. We each got what we needed."

As he watched the girls of Skywater Academy depart, the casual expression on Zhou Qiubai's face gradually faded.

Zhou Qiubai remained where he stood and spoke calmly. "Stop hiding. Come out."

The bushes nearby rustled, and Huang Tianzong crawled out, bruised and swollen. With a fawning smile, he said, "My lord, you truly have sharp eyes. We found the information you asked us to look into that night."

"Oh?" Zhou Qiubai raised a brow. "Really?"

"Absolutely true!" Huang Tianzong hastily nodded and bowed. "How would this lowly one dare deceive you now?"