Juggle—Even Shadows Can Be Juggled!

The whole process had been incredibly swift. When Zhou An appeared carrying a wok, even Chef Liu was utterly astonished.

He had thought Zhou An would run.

He had even prepared to strike, but Zhou An's next move left him completely stunned.

"Why are you carrying a wok?"

"No, in such a serious situation, why's he pulling something like this?"

Chef Liu's emotions were a tangled mess.

It was complicated!

Sometimes, he simply could not figure out what Zhou An was thinking.

He was clearly a serious, proper young man, yet at times, he was exceedingly strange.

A master of the blade was learning Knife Skills from a chef. That was just absurd.

And now he had even brought out a wok. Did he really want to become a chef?

"What exactly are you trying to do?!" Chef Liu asked through gritted teeth.

Humiliation. This was pure humiliation!

Both sides were preparing for a fight to the death, yet Zhou An had brought out a wok. It was utter disrespect toward an opponent!

Zhou An did not think much of it. He tapped the iron wok and said, "So the things I read before were true. As long as you use enough force when striking the neck, you can knock someone unconscious. Luckily, I can control my strength freely and make heavy things seem light, so I won't kill anyone by accident."

"I asked what you're trying to do!!!" Chef Liu roared at nearly the top of his lungs.

"We're fighting! This is a battle to the death! You bring out a wok because you want to stir-fry a couple of dishes for me to drink with?"

Zhou An pondered. "If you can turn from darkness to the light, I really will stir-fry a couple of dishes for you to drink with. Old Liu, this is the era of the Demon Suppression Division. No matter how big a storm you stir up, it'll be suppressed."

One had to know how to read the situation. Even if the Beast Cult caused the greatest possible mess in this remote place—

Once the Demon Suppression Division truly began investigating, no one would be able to escape.

Chef Liu said angrily, "It seems you truly refuse my offer. Fine. Though I cherish talent, you must die!"

At this point, Chef Liu had no intention of persuading him further.

He valued talent, but that did not mean he was foolish.

If Zhou An refused today, then death was his only outcome.

The instant he finished speaking, Chef Liu transformed into a violent gale and charged toward Zhou An alongside a two-meter-tall shadow.

The shadow raised the blade in its hand.

The long blade formed from condensed shadow looked exceptionally cold at that towering height.

This slash was unbelievably fast.

Zhou An sensed densely packed shadows appearing all around him.

The shadows condensed into blade light, closing in from every direction like a terrifying meat grinder.

There was no need to look to know that if he were caught in that blade light, he would become a pile of minced meat in the next instant.

"Your attack is indeed formidable, but without any defense, you can't do anything to me," Chef Liu said smugly.

He seemed able to foresee Zhou An becoming a heap of shattered flesh while he himself drifted away unscathed.

"What a pity. Such talent, if only... Impossible!"

Chef Liu had been lamenting at first, but his last word turned into stunned disbelief.

Before Chef Liu's eyes, Zhou An did not swing his longsword. Instead, he wielded the iron wok in his hand, creating an impenetrable defense.

The blades formed from the surrounding shadows were all caught by the iron wok.

Zhou An gripped the wok's handle with one hand as qi surged wildly through his body.

Qi spread across the iron wok, gathering every shadow blade within it.

Layer upon layer of shadow blades piled up from the bottom of the wok, stacking to nearly two meters high.

Zhou An looked like a chef, gripping the wok's handle and forcefully tossing it.

The shadow blades seemed to have lost their target. Zhou An's tossing scattered them into disarray, and in the blink of an eye, they dissolved into nothingness.

Chef Liu's eyes widened as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

It was too bizarre. Truly too bizarre!

He had imagined Zhou An breaking his attack with his longsword.

But he had never imagined that Zhou An would use an iron wok to destroy the shadow blades outright.

That was Wok Flipping, wasn't it?

It had to be Wok Flipping, right?

When Chef Liu had concealed his identity, he had worked as a chef too.

He was more familiar with that motion than anyone.

But it was just wok flipping!

He had never heard of wok flipping being able to toss shadow blades out of existence.

This was utterly outrageous!

"Phew, that was still pretty difficult."

In contrast to Chef Liu's shock, Zhou An set down the iron wok and let out a sigh.

"The technique isn't mature enough yet."

Object Juggling had only just reached Level 3 and was still in the beginning stages as a new skill. This attempt had also given Zhou An a clearer understanding of the skill's power.

This skill was not as fast as the Butchering Ox Skill, but its attack power was truly beyond reproach.

Destruction +1 and Strength +2 stacked together, making its attack power far greater than that of the Butchering Ox Skill.

"You seem very surprised, but this isn't the time for that. Old Liu, be on your way."

A smile appeared on Zhou An's face as he swung the iron wok toward Chef Liu.

At that moment, Chef Liu was wrapped in shadows and stood over two meters tall.

Yet when Zhou An raised the iron wok, he effortlessly covered Chef Liu's head with it.

Chef Liu only felt his head go dizzy as it began to spin, and he was actually flipped upside down.

His head was pressed inside the iron wok in an extremely comical posture.

It was as though he were doing a handstand inside the wok.

Before he could react, he sensed qi flowing within the iron wok.

The next moment, the iron wok began to toss.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull thuds rang beside his ears. Chef Liu felt dizzy and weak all over, as though someone else had taken control of him.

A powerful destructive force traveled down from his head and swept through his entire body.

His body began to collapse, and his flesh started separating.

In an instant, white bones burst through the flesh.

Starting from his head, layer after layer of flesh fell to the ground.

More and more bone was exposed, and Chef Liu's pain grew ever more intense.

The pain was simply torture.

Only he could understand the agony of having the flesh torn apart throughout his entire body.

Chef Liu knew that this time, he would die without even a corpse left behind.

But before dying, he voiced the question in his heart.

"I offered you benefits, offered you immense wealth and glory. Why didn't you agree?"

That was his doubt.

Even though the Beast Cult and Zhou An had clashed before, he had promised that all past grudges would be buried.

Why had Zhou An still refused?

Could he truly hate the Beast Cult that much?

Was there really anyone in this world who would turn their back on wealth and glory?

No one answered his question.

Because after he asked it, he had already become a pile of bones and minced flesh.

Zhou An tossed the iron wok aside, looked at the mound of flesh before him, and shook his head.

Object Juggling was indeed powerful, but this death was far too gruesome.

Thinking of Chef Liu's earlier question, Zhou An gazed at the flesh on the ground, his eyes calm as water.

"First, because opposing the Demon Suppression Division is unwise."

"Second, because I saw that little girl's death with my own eyes."

Zhou An thought of the little girl in the alley whose organs had been torn out, but said nothing more.

Just then, he heard a set of footsteps.

"The Demon Suppression Division's people came pretty quickly. The sounds of the fight must have drawn them here."