Everyone eagerly headed to the nearby forest to hunt, and before long, they caught a deer.
After eating here for a while, Kakarot had come to understand that cooking in the Mokomo Dukedom was extremely simple: food was usually just cooked through, then sprinkled with a little salt.
So Kakarot decided to treat everyone to something different and delicious.
He deliberately searched the forest for ingredients to season the food. His efforts paid off, and he actually found several plants that could serve as scallions, ginger, and chili peppers.
"Kakarot, why are you picking those weird-smelling herbs? They taste awful," Lilith asked, looking utterly puzzled.
Hearing this, the others also turned puzzled gazes toward Kakarot.
"You'll find out when we roast the meat." Kakarot gave a mysterious smile, putting on an enigmatic air.
Arriving beside a clear stream, they skillfully prepared their prey and set the deer over the fire to roast.
Once the venison began sizzling with fat, Kakarot asked Vian to make a series of cuts in it.
Then he said, "Stuffing these herbs into the meat will make it taste even better!"
Though everyone was skeptical when they heard this, none of them stopped him.
Gradually, the rich aroma of roasting meat began to spread, mingled with a pungent yet enticing spicy fragrance.
That fragrance was like an invisible hand, tickling their hearts. All of them, including the cold Yingyue, could not stop drooling.
Kakarot watched them in speechless dismay. The way their drool practically poured down like running water was rather comical.
He truly had not expected a scene from an anime to play out in real life.
"Yingyue, just sprinkle on some salt in a moment, and we can eat."
Yingyue snapped out of her daze and hurriedly sprinkled on the salt.
In an instant, everyone rushed forward like ravenous tigers to divide up the meat.
They eagerly took a bite, and instantly, it felt as though a fire had ignited in their mouths.
The intense heat assaulted their taste buds like surging waves, yet that unique flavor kept them coming back for more.
"Hah! Hah! What is this flavor? I've never tasted it before," they mumbled between heavy breaths.
"Mmph! That flavor is called 'spicy.' It comes from the red chili peppers we put in earlier," Kakarot explained indistinctly as he ate.
Ignoring the burning heat, they wolfed down the meat, occasionally gulping down several mouthfuls of water.
Ailik had an astonishing appetite, eating fifty jin of meat by himself, while the others each ate twenty or thirty jin.
Even the three little girls, Lilith, Emily, and Vian, each ate over twenty jin.
The little ones, standing around 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall, ate until their bellies bulged like round balls.
Kakarot himself also ate over twenty jin of meat. After all, he had gotten quite a workout that morning.
Yingyue alone finished all the remaining meat from the deer, which weighed two to three hundred jin. Kakarot truly had not expected her to eat so much.
After eating, everyone lay contentedly on the ground to rest.
Over an hour later, Yingyue observed them carefully and saw that everyone had more or less digested their meal.
She clapped her hands and raised her voice. "Next, we'll head to the training ground for some combat.
"This time, we'll mark out a fifty-by-fifty area. Anyone who leaves the dueling area will lose."
After a brief pause, she continued making arrangements. "We'll fight in order according to last month's combat strength rankings."
Turning her gaze toward Kakarot, Yingyue continued, "Kakarot, you're new here and don't have much combat experience, so you'll fight Vian first!
"Go all out without holding back. With me watching from the sidelines, I guarantee your lives won't be in danger."
Yingyue looked confident. With her strength, she could indeed stop their attacks at any moment.
"Okay!" Kakarot and Vian answered in unison, the flames of battle kindling in their eyes.
Kakarot and Vian stood facing each other, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Vian held her hands slightly lowered, gripping her short blades tightly, her knees slightly bent.
The round pupils of her blue and red eyes rapidly contracted into thin vertical slits like those of a beast hunting its prey, a sharp gleam showing in her gaze.
Kakarot instinctively assumed a defensive stance, thinking to himself, I need to dodge Vian's attacks as much as possible and build up more combat experience.
"Begin!"
The moment Yingyue finished speaking, crackling currents coiled around Vian's feet. Like a bullet leaving the barrel, she charged in front of Kakarot in an instant.
The two blades in her hands traced fierce arcs through the air.
Each arc brought a shrill whistle, as though tearing through the air, slashing straight toward Kakarot's chest.
Kakarot's pupils abruptly contracted. Powerful combat instincts and excitement for battle instantly took control of his body.
Thanks to the immense strength and extraordinary speed of his Saiyan physique, he swiftly turned sideways at the critical moment to dodge the attack.
At the same time, using the force of his twisting body, he raised his fist high and brought it crashing toward Vian's right arm like a heavy hammer.
Vian reacted extremely quickly. Sensing the approaching danger, she hurriedly drew a blade across herself, precisely blocking Kakarot's fist.
With the tremendous recoil from the collision, her figure turned lightly in midair like a blossoming white flower.
Then she swiftly retreated like a streak of white lightning, putting distance between herself and Kakarot in the blink of an eye.
Vian landed steadily, stronger currents radiating from her body. The sizzling electricity continuously stimulated her body, further enhancing her strength and speed.
Her gaze grew even more determined, and she attacked again.
This time, her attacks came faster and fiercer, like a raging storm.
The two short blades danced in her hands without leaving a gap, forming a dazzling curtain of steel that completely enveloped Kakarot.
Relying on his high-speed movements and powerful combat instincts, Kakarot nimbly dodged within the curtain of blades, occasionally seizing an opportunity to counterattack.
At that moment, he felt himself enjoying the battle immensely. He did not know whether it was the influence of his Saiyan blood or whether he himself was simply a born battle maniac.
Like a dried-out sponge, he ravenously absorbed combat experience. Every dodge and counterattack greatly improved his reaction speed.
Although bloody cuts had already appeared across his body, these wounds did not affect him in the slightest. Instead, they further fueled his fighting spirit.
As the battle continued, Kakarot's combat experience improved dramatically, and he gradually began deftly evading Vian's attacks one after another.
Suddenly, he keenly spotted an opening, and the strength in his legs erupted.
Launching himself like a spring, he instantly slipped past the overlapping flashes of steel and drove a fist straight toward Vian's chest with lightning speed.
At that critical instant, Yingyue vanished from the sidelines.
The next second, she appeared beside Kakarot and Vian, extending a hand to steadily block Kakarot's powerful blow.
"Kakarot, you really are talented!" Yingyue could not help exclaiming.
"At the start, you clearly had almost no combat experience and could only react on instinct. Yet in just a few short minutes, your combat experience improved by leaps and bounds. It's simply beyond imagination."
"Kakarot wins. Vian, don't be discouraged. Keep working hard!" Yingyue said.
"Kakarot, you're really strong! But we'll fight again next time. I won't admit defeat easily."
Vian's eyes shone with a fiery light as she spoke, brimming with fighting spirit.
Though her breathing was slightly labored after the fierce battle, her refusal to give up had not diminished in the slightest.
Kakarot could not help marveling inwardly. The Mink Tribe truly was a people who revered the strong. Despite her young age, Vian was already so resolute.
"No problem," Kakarot replied with complete confidence, the corners of his mouth lifting. "But next time, I'll definitely be much stronger than I am now."
His words were filled with certainty about his own growth, as though he could already foresee his stronger future self.
"Kakarot, I knew you could do it! But there's no way you can beat me with strength like that. Wahahaha!"
Lilith laughed freely with her hands on her hips, her face full of confidence and pride. "You'd better just be a good little brother to me!"
"Don't worry. I'll keep getting stronger." Kakarot smiled back, firm conviction showing in his eyes.
In just that short time, he had been pleasantly surprised to discover that the wounds on his body had already healed. Even his physical strength seemed to have improved a little.
This powerful recovery ability filled him with confidence, and he thought to himself that even if he traded injuries for injuries, his chances of winning would still be very high.
"Kakarot, you and Vian should rest on the sidelines. Watch the others' fights carefully and learn from them.
"Next, Simba will fight Emily," Yingyue arranged methodically.
The fight broke out immediately. Although Emily was forbidden from flying into the air, the assistance of her wings made her movements light, giving her greater agility and speed than Simba.
Electric light coiled around her claws as she swiftly swung them, tearing through the air to form a sky full of claw flashes that swept toward Simba like a gale.
Although Simba was slightly slower, he had extensive close-combat experience and a sturdy physique.
Facing Emily's fierce attacks, he remained composed, countering each move while retreating step by step toward the edge of the dueling area.
Seeing this, Kakarot made a silent judgment: He must be planning to knock Emily out when she makes a mistake.
Sure enough, with a sizzling crackle, dazzling electric light instantly flashed around Simba's legs.
With the power of the electricity, his speed suddenly soared, and he slipped past Emily's attack in an instant like a bolt of lightning.
Immediately afterward, his right palm struck toward Emily's back like a heavy hammer, bringing a rumbling rush through the air.
Emily reacted quickly and hurriedly blocked with her wings.
However, Simba's blow was simply too powerful. She was still knocked over ten meters away, flying straight out of the dueling area.
"Ah!! You rotten lion! I forgot you'd mastered electricity too. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have lost!" Emily was furious and annoyed, her little face flushed crimson.
"Hahaha! You were the one who forgot. You can't blame me!" Simba laughed smugly with his arms folded across his chest.
"All right, Emily. A duel like this places too many restrictions on you, so don't take it too much to heart. My main aim was to train your close-combat abilities," Yingyue said gently as she stepped forward to comfort her.
"I'm fine. I'm just angry at myself for being careless." Emily took a deep breath and composed herself as she spoke.
"All right, go and rest for a while." Yingyue smiled slightly and motioned for the two to step back.
"Next are Lilith and Ailik."
Before you continue