Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao tacitly avoided mentioning what had just happened. After Lu Wu steered the conversation toward school, they both talked about school instead.
But both knew full well that neither could possibly forget what had just happened.
Since they had ordered the whole gallbladder sashimi, which required no preparation beyond mixing a few sauces, the Azure Wind Python's gallbladder was soon served.
More precisely, it was wheeled over on a cart.
The gallbladder was the size of a basketball, set on a huge platter and surrounded by specially made containers that could preserve its energy.
Even ordinary people would feel comfortable all over after eating it.
"How are you planning to eat it?" Mu Nujiao asked.
She certainly wasn't going to eat it. From what she knew of Lu Wu, he didn't like raw food either.
Especially something like this.
Lu Wu studied the Azure Wind Python's gallbladder. It was slightly yellowish and didn't look disgusting at all. Instead, it gave off a delicate fragrance.
He stretched out his right hand and silently recited a phrase.
Begin the sacrifice.
The time a sacrifice took depended on the offering. Lu Wu held his hand out.
During the sacrifice, his right hand would draw out the offering's energy. He kept his eyes on the gallbladder. It contained plenty of bile, its toxins already neutralized, leaving only liquid that was safe to drink.
Waves of a devouring sensation came from his right hand. Lu Wu looked at Mu Nujiao. "Do you feel anything?"
"I don't feel anything, but you've been acting strangely today. Did something happen when you fainted during your awakening?" Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes at him.
"Strangely? What's strange about me?" Lu Wu said with a smile, though his eyes remained on the gallbladder.
On closer inspection, he could see that its surface had dried out a little.
Most importantly, its delicate fragrance had noticeably faded.
This was his first sacrifice, and Lu Wu wasn't actually certain it would succeed.
But the strengthening of his stars earlier had been real. As long as there were rewards, he could grow stronger.
"Maybe I'm imagining things," Mu Nujiao replied with a laugh.
Ever since she had met Lu Wu two years ago, he had always had his own ideas about how to do things. He did well in school, but he had also gotten into plenty of fights.
He had worked many different kinds of hourly jobs in his spare time and treated his friends very well, though he seemed to have only a few friends.
Some of his ideas were always rather unusual. His smashing those two bastards with a drinking glass was just like things he had done before.
But from his falling unconscious after awakening, to waking up, to ordering a whole Azure Wind Python gallbladder sashimi now, she kept feeling that something about Lu Wu was different.
Lu Wu's attention was on the gallbladder before him. He could distinctly feel his right hand continuously drawing in energy.
[Congratulations to the host on a successful sacrifice. Reward: Shadow Becomes a Demon. Based on the host's Fire Element stardust, the shadow demon is a Dark Fire Ape.]
Hearing the Sacrifice System's crisp voice again, Lu Wu was overjoyed.
"What's going on with you?" Seeing his expression suddenly change in the middle of their conversation, Mu Nujiao felt somewhat helpless.
"Nothing, nothing. What would you like to eat? I'll treat you in a bit." Lu Wu felt a little dizzy.
But his head was still fairly clear. Feeling waves of energy pour into his body before all of it left through the soles of his feet, Lu Wu lowered his head slightly and looked at his shadow.
The lights overhead were very bright, making his shadow clearly visible.
Knowing that outsiders couldn't detect the system's rewards, Lu Wu didn't ask Mu Nujiao anything. Instead, he watched his shadow, wanting to see what the Dark Fire Ape looked like.
"What money do you have left now? Let's just eat when we get back to school." Mu Nujiao was in no hurry.
She hadn't intended to come here in the first place. Although she was a member of the Mu Family, she had only been here once.
Lu Wu stood up and said to Mu Nujiao, "Wait for my message. This time, don't get ready to take me back to the school infirmary in a taxi."
He still didn't know what the Dark Fire Ape looked like, but a spiritual imprint had indeed appeared in his mind.
Lu Wu knew that imprint was the spiritual link between him and the Dark Fire Ape.
"All right." Seeing how confident Lu Wu was, Mu Nujiao agreed.
Despite saying that, she still picked up her phone as she watched him leave.
She didn't want to undermine his confidence, but she knew she couldn't stop him. She might as well call in some backup.
"What did Lu Wu just do? Why does this gallbladder look so stale now...?"
Private room 108, third floor.
The two men in suits and polished shoes had ordered a whole table of expensive dishes, and both had already drunk quite a bit.
"Back in Hong City, the two of us could find girls that age to have fun with every few days. What a great life that was. Now look at us, sent to Magic City, the deal fell through, and when we find a decent girl, we get that fucking shit."
"Yeah, damn it. If they dare come up here, we'll fuck that brat's girl right in front of him."
"Exactly. These private rooms are for rich people anyway. Nobody would dare come in unless we called."
"Hahahaha!"
Lu Wu hadn't expected to hear the two men raving the moment he reached the door. They had deliberately left it open, and the waiter had left. Presumably, they were waiting for him on purpose.
The private room was huge, a full sixty or seventy square meters, and even had its own bathroom.
After entering and shutting the door, Lu Wu summoned the Dark Fire Ape. A huge figure stepped out of his shadow.
The Dark Fire Ape stood over two meters tall, with a burly build and black fur all over its body, but the ape hands and feet on its four limbs, its eyes, and its exposed fangs were fiery red.
"Servant Level!!" Lu Wu had seen his Summoning System teacher's Summoned Beast. This was a Servant Level Dark Fire Ape, enough to rival an entire team of Beginner Mages!!
Without any hesitation, he sent the Dark Fire Ape to teach those two men a lesson.
"Go easy on them."
"Roar!"
The Dark Fire Ape let out a low roar and went farther inside ahead of Lu Wu.
"D-d-demon Beast!!!"
"Help!!"
Screams rang out instantly, followed by a flurry of crashes as various things shattered, mingled with the two men's cries.
Worried something might go wrong, Lu Wu hurried over to look.
Both men's faces were already bruised and swollen. The Dark Fire Ape didn't seem particularly intelligent. Fortunately, he had told it to go easy beforehand.
He saw that the two men could no longer fight, lying on the floor, rolling around and howling. There was also a strange stench coming from the floor, and the entire table of delicious dishes had been overturned.
"You can go back." Lu Wu was very satisfied with the Dark Fire Ape's performance. If he found a way to improve its combat strength later, it would be a powerful weapon for him.
And summoning it didn't even consume magical energy!
This time was just a practice run. Afterward, he would keep the Dark Fire Ape as his trump card.
After receiving Lu Wu's instruction, the Dark Fire Ape vanished into a shadowy corner, becoming a mass of black shadow that sank into Lu Wu's shadow.
"Ow, ow."
"Lord Mage, spare our lives! Lord Mage, spare our lives!" The fat man had plenty of flesh and could endure his injuries. The moment he saw Lu Wu, he pleaded, "Lord Mage, we had eyes but failed to see and offended you! Please spare our lives!"
"Spare us, my lord! Spare us!" Only then did the thin man notice Lu Wu, and he hurriedly begged for mercy.
Both had already lost control of their bowels and bladders. Feces, urine, and food were mixed together on their bodies, giving off a terrible stench.
Lu Wu didn't answer. The table here had been made of thick, heavy ceramic, and the Dark Fire Ape had smashed it apart.
He picked up a piece he could lift and smashed it down on the thin man's hand. "Watch what you say when you're out in public from now on."
"Aaaah!!!!" The thin man's scream rang out instantly, even louder than before.