Grrr~~~
Fang Ling rubbed his shriveled belly and muttered, "Master Manzi, I'll go eat first, then!"
He was still growing, so Fang Ling had a huge appetite and got hungry easily.
But apart from his fat master, his other four masters never ate anything.
As First Master put it, they had all transcended the need for food.
"Go on!" Zhao Manzi waved a hand. "Eat plenty!"
Fang Ling soon arrived in the kitchen, where his enormous fat master was tending the fire at the stove.
The pot bubbled away, and the aroma wafting from it made Fang Ling's mouth water.
"Fat Master, what are we eating today?" He brought over a little stool and sat down beside him.
The big fat man smiled. "Scorpion stew."
"Wow! My favorite." Fang Ling's eyes lit up.
"There's something I've always wondered about, Fat Master. You don't eat that much every day, do you?"
"How come you're so fat?"
"Fat is good fortune. The fatter, the better!" the big fat man said with a smile.
"Look at your other masters. They don't eat, but they don't get thinner either."
"So if I eat every day, shouldn't I be fatter than them?"
"I suppose so." Fang Ling muttered and nodded.
The big fat man stood up, lifted the lid, and tasted the broth with a spoon, then nodded in satisfaction.
"It's about ready. Let's eat!" he said.
Fang Ling had long since been waiting with a chipped bowl in his arms. He obediently raised his little hands for his master to fill it.
After downing several bowls of scorpion soup, he ate everything, not sparing even the scorpions' legs.
Seeing little Fang Ling enjoying his meal so much, the big fat man smiled as well.
"Actually, this hardly counts as good food."
"Dragon tendons, phoenix wings, qilin feet-those are true delicacies," he said.
"Better than scorpion soup and roasted toad?" Fang Ling asked curiously.
"Of course. Dragons, phoenixes, and qilins are true spirits!" the big fat man said.
"Back then, I got lucky and caught a little phoenix that had strayed from its flock. That was my first taste of a true spirit."
"Dragons and qilins rank alongside phoenixes, so I imagine they must taste just as good."
"Then I'll catch a few dragons and qilins someday and bring them back for you to try, Fat Master," Fang Ling said with a smile.
"Silly boy, those true spirits are no pushovers."
"Even your masters usually have to keep a respectful distance when we encounter them."
"Huh? But didn't you say you caught a phoenix and ate it, Fat Master?" Fang Ling muttered.
"That was a fluke. I just happened to come across one that was easy to deal with..." the big fat man explained.
"All right, if you're full, go wait in the courtyard. I'll come find you once I've washed the dishes."
"Starting today, I'll begin teaching you my supreme arts too!"
"If I learn them, will I become as big as you, Fat Master?" Fang Ling asked in a small voice, glancing up at him.
"What? Is being fat a bad thing?" the big fat man asked.
"Not really. It's just that being that fat... looks kind of scary," Fang Ling replied.
The big fat man laughed and reached out to pat Fang Ling's head. His thick, broad hand covered the boy's entire head.
"Don't worry. I was born fat. You couldn't learn to be like this even if you wanted to!" he said.
"Oh, I see!" Fang Ling nodded, then obediently went to wait in the courtyard.
Before long, the big fat man emerged from the kitchen.
"What I'm best at is using poison."
"And I also have a treasure!"
He turned his hand over, and a small azure cauldron appeared in his palm.
Fang Ling picked up the little cauldron and examined it carefully. "What does it do?"
"This is called the Heavenly Pestilence Cauldron. It's my innate spirit treasure!"
"Your other masters aren't as fortunate as I am, having an innate spirit treasure at my side." The big fat man grinned smugly.
"What's an innate spirit treasure?" Fang Ling asked.
"Some people are extraordinary from birth. Like you, they possess powerful special physiques," the big fat man explained.
"Others don't have special physiques, but they're born with a spirit treasure."
"A treasure that comes into existence at your birth and is one with you is called an innate spirit treasure."
"Innate spirit treasures vary in strength, and my Heavenly Pestilence Cauldron happens to be among the very best!"
"It can devour every poisonous thing in the world and merge their toxins into my body."
"So I've been dealing with poisonous things since I was little."
"First Master said your poison is very powerful. Just how powerful is it?" Fang Ling asked curiously.
The big fat man pondered for a moment, then replied, "Put it this way: if I fully released the poison in my body, not a blade of grass would grow wherever I passed. Every living creature would be poisoned to death."
"That's terrifying!" Fang Ling was frightened.
"Then could Fat Master poison First Master and the others to death?"
"Well, uh... probably not, but I could make them suffer." He gave a light cough.
"All right, next I'll transfer this Heavenly Pestilence Cauldron into your body."
"Starting today, you'll begin tempering your body with poison too!"
"Huh? Didn't you say your innate spirit treasure was one with you, Fat Master? How can you transfer it?" Fang Ling asked.
"Because I'm strong enough!" the big fat man said firmly. "I've also developed a secret art that can forcibly strip others of their innate spirit treasures. I'll teach you that as well someday."
"Here we go!" The big fat man sent the cauldron toward Fang Ling, and it slowly sank into his body.
Fang Ling soon sensed the Heavenly Pestilence Cauldron's presence, as though it had already become part of his body.
"Fat Master, if you give me your treasure, what will you do?" he asked.
The big fat man smiled. "I don't really need this treasure anymore."
"I've already devoured almost every poisonous thing in the world."
"The level of toxins in my body has reached a bottleneck."
"No matter how much more poison I absorb, it won't change much."
"Unless I can obtain those few supreme toxins. But I searched for them for over ten thousand years without finding a single lead. They're all as elusive as mist."
"All right, now I'll teach you how to use this cauldron."
He held out his hand again, and two purple scorpions crawled out of his sleeve.
"Take them into the cauldron, then place both hands over the lid and slowly absorb the toxins that seep out. That's all," he said.
"Aren't these the scorpions I usually eat?" Fang Ling stared in surprise at the two purple scorpions that had suddenly appeared.
"Yes, but what you eat is what's left after all the toxins have been extracted," he said.
"Over the years, I've secretly hatched quite a few venomous creatures. There's enough to last you several years."
"Once you've absorbed all the venomous creatures I've prepared, your own poison will reach a respectable level."
"After you've absorbed them, I'll teach you how to control your toxins, especially how to release and withdraw them."
"Mm-hmm!" Fang Ling immediately opened the Heavenly Pestilence Cauldron and drew the two scorpions inside.
Then he closed the lid and placed both hands over it.
Wisps of purple toxin spread from his hands throughout his body...
Before you continue