He picked up the ladle of soup, which weighed over fifty pounds.
Merely by its weight alone, consuming it would be akin to poison for an ordinary person.
Furthermore, with a regular person's palate, they wouldn't be able to appreciate the ever-changing flavors of the Wuxiang.
[Cooking Complete: Wuxiang]
[Replication Time: 400 days]
[Ingredients: San Zhuo, San Qing, San Hun...]
[Description: The pinnacle of soup cuisine, bringing together major Chinese culinary schools and philosophical theories. Once formed, it is like mountain spring water.
This is the highest realm of Northern Song culinary arts, the 'Wuxiang' which triumphs over the tangible with the intangible!]
"Four hundred days for replication, it truly matches your status!"
"Wuxiang... it's finally done!"
...
On the battlefield.
With Zhang Wei's restraint gone, the battle turned into a one-sided affair.
Despite their considerable exhaustion, the Bloodhound still had some fight left, and with the reinforcements from the Blade Unit, the North began to wane.
Bo Gang's fight with the Scorpion was drawing to a close.
Bo Gang was in a sorry state, his face a mixture of green and purple. More severely, large parts of his body had suffered extreme physical damage.
The Scorpion, however, had lost its armor and medicine pot. Its bare upper body was covered in black scorch marks.
It now lay on the ground, unresponsive.
Bo Gang said, "I've never met such a tenacious opponent. You had some grit. Besides your venom, your pincers are also formidable weapons. However, in the end, you were still a step below me!"
Facing the Scorpion, Bo Gang showed a rare display of respect.
He surveyed the battlefield; everyone had fought to the point of exhaustion.
And then, at that very moment.
A wondrous, delicious aroma permeated the entire battlefield!
"This scent!"
"What is this? Where is it coming from?"
The aroma seemed to have existed for eternity, traversing countless spaces and times to reach the battlefield.
Hundreds of thousands, regardless of their strength, froze in place at the scent.
Unmoving.
Forgetting their killing.
Forgetting their struggle.
They only wished to be immersed in this exquisite taste, forever and ever...
The scorched Scorpion suddenly sat up, sniffing the aroma with a bewildered expression. It completely ignored its injuries, its face filled with satisfied bliss.
Countless life flames that were about to extinguish were reignited by this scent!
Just the aroma alone...
... revitalized many of their Food Cells!
Shaka's eyes showed a look of confusion... then clarity... then confusion once more.
No one knew what was happening here.
On the battlefield, only one person remained lucid.
This person stood in the middle of the battlefield, yet no one noticed him.
A dirty robe, a goatee, one hand holding a brush, the other a scroll.
The scroll bore the title "Tales of Northern Heroes" in five large characters.
The goatee-wearing old man also looked enraptured, muttering, "How many years has it been... I never expected such a thing to appear in the mortal realm... It's been so long since I've tasted something like this."
He patted his shriveled stomach and said pitifully, "How much longer until I can go back?"
"Perhaps, not many more years."
...
Under the bright morning sun.
The dreamlike aroma slowly dissipated.
People gradually emerged from their dazed state.
The soldiers looked at their dropped weapons, but didn't pick them up immediately.
One soldier muttered, "I want to live. I suddenly realized there are so many beautiful things in the world."
"I... don't want to fight anymore."
"What's the point of fighting here?"
"I miss my mom... and her scrambled eggs with tomatoes..."
"I'm a bit hungry too."
A commander from the Blade Unit roared, "What are you talking about! Pick up your swords! If you don't want to fight, will the treacherous Northerners spare you?"
A Northern soldier said, "I'm going home. Don't stop me."
A soldier from the Yun Kingdom shed his armor. "I miss home too."
The Gold and Silver Brothers, watching the bizarre scene on the battlefield, became enraged. "What in the world is going on? That aroma... have they all been bewitched? A dish that can bewitch the mind? And it spread across the entire battlefield?"
As they spoke,
The Gold and Silver Brothers broke out in a cold sweat.
Such a strange event was something out of a child's fairy tale. To achieve such a feat, what kind of astonishing cuisine would that be?
Could such a thing... truly exist?
Shaka seemed to have recovered some strength and re-seated himself in the air.
He closed his eyes again and said, "It's not bewitching the mind, but awakening it."
"What do you mean?"
"The aroma just now... that aroma was filled with the happiness that food brings. It could awaken the deepest desires for sincerity, kindness, and beauty, dispelling ill intentions like greed and conflict."
"That is a desire rooted at the cellular level, a desire for a better life."
The Gold and Silver Brothers, confused, said, "What kind of nonsense is that?"
Shaka shook his head.
He said no more.
Suddenly, Shaka looked at his palm and said, "Everyone, I seem to have some unfortunate news."
...
Within the palm-sized Buddhist country.
A world-shattering thunderclap erupted!
Zhang Wei's Zhan Kong Xing Hen not only punched through the gourd but also pulverized the surrounding cave.
With the gourd broken, Zhang Wei shot into the air. Gentle breezes trod beneath his feet; his wind-riding technique had advanced significantly!
Compared to the ethereal lightness of a hurricane, Zhang Wei's was like a storm. The swirling air currents around him were at least Level 11 (109 km/h).
Standing in the sky, Zhang Wei surveyed the land. "Where is this place?"
"It feels very strange... this place is like an illusion, a false sense of reality, like a dream not yet awakened."
Zhang Wei had consumed the Wuxiang.
He had been lost in the deliciousness of Wuxiang for a very long time. When he finally regained his senses, he felt completely reborn.
His body felt as though it had been reshaped. Yin and Yang energies circled before him, yet could not harm him in the slightest.
Zhang Wei was unsure what changes had occurred within him, only that all his sensory organs had become exceptionally developed, and the precision of his bodily control had reached a new peak.
If he was a pair of pliers before, now he was a CNC machine.
Correspondingly, all his skills were utilized with greater ease.
"This place feels different from inside the gourd... how many layers of mirrors have I been trapped in..."
Zhang Wei felt a sense of helplessness.
However, this space seemed very fragile, and exiting should not be difficult.
As he pondered,
Several cracks appeared in the sky.
Red beams of light descended upon the land.
"This is..."
Within the beams of light were familiar figures.
The Gold and Silver Brothers.
Bo Gang.
Bloodhound.
Warwick.
Sonic Speed Sonic.
Shaka.
Zhang Wei chuckled, "To be attended to by six commanders simultaneously, what an honor!"
Shaka ascended into the heavens.
A golden wheel slowly unfurled, his body towering ten thousand feet!
A majestic voice seemed to echo from ancient times, "Above and below, I alone am honored!"
"Villain, will you not repent!"