Battle of Skill

Night fell.

Everyone began tasting Zhouliu's Volcanic Storm.

"Aren't you eating?" Mani walked over to Andrew and asked when she saw he hadn't touched the food.

Andrew smiled faintly. "I'm already full."

"What a shame." Mani sat down nearby and dug into the meat.

After coming down, Zhouliu hadn't stopped cooking. Instead, they used the other ingredients they had gathered to make even more delicious dishes. They had discovered that what they truly loved was food; fighting and killing were merely ways to survive.

Once Zhouliu realized this, they had no objection to cooking for everyone.

In particular, they had gained the bearded Elf King's experience with Poison Cuisine, giving them a second way to cook. As the two styles blended, their head filled with ideas, and they could hardly wait to try them.

Andrew stood up. His hatred for Zhouliu ran deep, and he had no desire to keep watching Zhouliu show off their cooking. He walked to the Arena and called out, "Would anyone care to test their skill against me?"

"Oh? What sort of contest did you have in mind?" Aibute asked.

Andrew said evenly, "I'm fairly good with a staff. We each take an identical one, use no special abilities, and have our strength, speed, and stamina adjusted to the same level. We compare staff techniques and nothing else. How about it?"

"That could work. Who's willing?" Aibute asked the other Elf Kings.

An Elf King with a ponytail spoke up. "My staff technique is decent too. I'll do it."

Andrew stepped onto the Arena. With the Spirit King's help, his stamina, strength, agility, and other attributes were brought to the same level as his opponent's, and both of their special abilities were Sealed. Each then received a staff of identical material and length.

"Please show