From a country cook to a master chef

As June approached, the snow fell exceptionally heavily.

Yucheng, Zhuque Street, Qinghe Tavern.

Inside the spacious, quiet tavern, there were six simple, old-fashioned square tables.

Four on the left, two on the right.

Lin Jue sat at the same table as the injured man. Outside the window, the cold wind was biting, but inside, the warm wine was steaming.

It was getting late, the tavern was closing up shop, and the waiter, carrying a lantern, took down the signboard hanging at the door.

In a window seat in the tavern, the scarred man was pale, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his breathing was weak.

On his chest was a claw mark left by the True Man Qingmu's precious Qilin talisman beast, the flesh torn and twisted, deep and ferocious.

"Shopkeeper, here's your wine."

The waiter brought over a pot of warmed wine and placed it in front of the scarred man. He stood to the side, his face full of worry, and refused to leave.

He is the owner of the tavern, and the waiter is an orphan he adopted six years ago, who is only thirteen years old this year.

The man poured a glass of wine, and the aroma filled the air—a unique fragrance of new wine, with a faint hint of Huainan orange.

After drinking the hot wine, the man's pale face immediately revealed boundless satisfaction.

"You witnessed me killing Aoki Jinshin and Gao Qimo, aren't you afraid I'll kill you to silence you?"

"I'm scared! But I know you won't."

"Oh, why not?"

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so when you killed the second young master of the Gao family, but you didn't."

The man was somewhat surprised and looked Lin Jue up and down: "You are very meticulous and bold. I really won't kill you. I know about Pan Mang and I also know that the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

The man raised his glass. "I want to know, why are you following me?"

Lin Jue hesitated for a moment, then remained remarkably calm. "I am a martial artist, and I want to become stronger, to become like you, capable of fighting even a Qi Refiner. I want to know, between a martial artist and a Qi Refiner, who is truly stronger?"

The man looked somewhat surprised, then sighed softly, "Haven't you found the answer you're looking for in me yet?"

"no."

The man laughed and said, "The Gao family has many martial artists, and Gao Qimo is protected by that Master Qingmu. It will be very difficult to succeed."

"I assassinated Goldman Sachs in the street so that people would see it and spread the news. Then I could lure the snake out of its hole. For the sake of the so-called Gao family's face, Gao Qimo couldn't possibly remain indifferent. Even if he was on guard, he would never have imagined that someone wanted him dead. That Chief Inspector Dong Tianbao was a martial artist at the Divine Power Realm. Gao Qimo would never have imagined that I would appear in front of him to kill him."

"As for the key to determining whether a martial artist or a qi refiner is stronger, it's not actually the only one. If two martial artists of the same level are poisoned before they fight, the outcome is obvious. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The man didn't elaborate on how he was able to defeat Master Qingmu. His hand, which was raising the wine cup, trembled. "Unfortunately, even the best plans can have flaws. I didn't expect Gao Qimo's son to possess spiritual roots and to join the Yanxia Sect for cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue remained silent for a moment, then looked into the man's eyes and said earnestly, "After you die, I would be happy to help you deal with him."

The Yanxia Sect is a major sect for Qi cultivation in the Great Wu Kingdom. Even if the man is a Divine Illumination Realm martial artist, as long as Gao Yao does not leave the Yanxia Sect, he cannot do anything to him.

This was one of the reasons why Lin Jue dared to follow the man into the tavern.

The Gao family is deeply rooted in Yucheng. Even if the current head of the family is killed, a new head of the family will immediately emerge.

When news of Gao Qimo's death reached Yanxia Sect, the most talented young man in the Gao family in a century would inevitably return to Yucheng to investigate the matter.

Lin Jue calmly stated his inner thoughts, "Although I have no deep-seated hatred for the Gao family, they have been relentlessly pursuing me. If possible, I would not mind doing what you did, senior, and making the Gao family suffer a crushing defeat."

The existence of the Zhao Family Immortal Book is probably known only to the Gao family in the entire Yu City.

Lin Jue guessed that the immortal book must be extraordinary, given that Gao Qimo valued it so much. Unfortunately, he was not a Qi Refining cultivator and could not know the contents of the immortal book.

However, the situation has changed somewhat now. He has now obtained the method of cultivating the external elixir of the Five Elements Reversal Pill. As long as he can refine this pill, he can also be considered a cultivator.

Perhaps by then, he will be able to learn the contents recorded in the Zhao family's immortal book.

But before that, he had to find a way to keep the secret of the immortal book within him from being known by more people.

After all, a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.

To prevent more and more people from knowing that he possessed the immortal book, the only thing he could think of was wiping out the entire Gao family.

This is the safest approach.

The Immortal Book is of great importance, and Lin Jue believes that not many people in the Gao family know this secret.

As the head of the Gao family, Gao Qimo should understand the principle that good things are best kept secret.

Among the younger generation of the Gao family, only Gao Yao possesses spiritual roots and can cultivate his Qi. It is said that Gao Qimo dotes on this son and is scheming to obtain the Zhao family's immortal book, probably for Gao Yao's future cultivation.

In that case, Gao Yao must also be aware of the existence of the Zhao family's immortal book.

Lin Jue knew there was only one way to keep this secret from anyone else.

He wants to make all members of the Gao family who know this secret disappear.

Hearing Lin Jue's words, the man coughed incessantly until he coughed up a mouthful of black blood before his breathing stabilized. His tone was gloomy: "You're right. What I want is for Gao Qimo to be childless. As for Gao Yao, I won't let him go."

"Now, I believe you do want Gao Yao dead, but I don't think you can kill him with your current strength as a beginner Martial Master."

...!

Lin Jue looked at the man with some surprise. He didn't expect the other party to believe his story so quickly.

He had prepared a bunch of seemingly flawless reasons to persuade the man, but he didn't expect the other party to believe him so quickly.

Hearing the man's question, Lin Jue did not hesitate. He walked to the spacious area in the center of the tavern, stacked four square tables together, climbed up, and stood in a stance. In front of the man, he smoothly performed a set of Pine Crane Long Fist.

"I only started learning Pine Crane Long Fist from Master Liu Yue of the Four Symbols Martial Arts School last month, and in less than a month, I have already reached the Martial Master level. If you give me time, I believe I can also reach the martial arts level that you have now."

After Lin Jue finished performing a set of long fist techniques, he leaped down and said calmly, "Master Liu said I have good talent, with long arms, a wasp waist, and mantis legs. I am a rare martial arts prodigy."

Speaking of this, it's not just Lin Jue talking nonsense or self-praise, because it's a real and tangible asset he possesses.

Lin Jue approached the man, rolled up his sleeves, and wanted him to examine them.

The man remained unmoved; in his current state, he had no strength to feel the bones.

After hesitating for a moment, he summoned the waiter and ordered him to bring his treasure chest. From the chest, he took out a secret manual that had been burned to the ground and was now only half intact.

"My name is Xiang Yuan, a member of the Xiang family of Hanzhou in Xiaoyao Prefecture. Thirty years ago, the Xiang family was a first-class family in Hanzhou, even surpassing the Gao family of Yucheng today."

"At that time, there was no Gao family in Yucheng. Gao Qimo was originally a bandit in Hanzhou. Later, he colluded with the rogue cultivator Shen Qiuping to seize the Xiang family's vast wealth and cruelly murdered the entire Xiang family, taking the lives of 213 people."

"That night, I escaped by hiding in a water vat and witnessed the Xiang family mansion being burned to ruins in the fire."

As the man recalled the events of thirty years ago, the hatred on his face intensified, and his breathing became heavy as he gasped for breath: "After surviving by sheer luck, I followed several martial arts masters to learn martial arts, practicing tirelessly every day, all so that one day I could personally kill my enemies and avenge my grievances."

The snow was falling heavily outside the window, and soon a thick layer of snow covered the windowsill.

The man sighed and then suddenly laughed, "The affairs of the world are ever-changing. It's hateful that Gao Qimo was originally a bandit who wiped out my entire family and seized my property, but he has now transformed into a prominent family in Yucheng and a law-abiding citizen."

Lin Jue remained silent. He never expected that the man in front of him had such a deep-seated blood feud with the Gao family.

The only way to vent hatred for the massacre of an entire family is to repay the enemy in kind.

"Ping'er has been weak since childhood, unable to learn martial arts, and has no spiritual root. In addition, he is timid and lacks his own opinions. If I die, he will definitely not be able to protect this tavern."

Xiang Yuan looked at the waiter wiping the tables and chairs, his tone filled with helplessness and worry.

The waiter was an orphan he raised, named Xiang Ping, meaning a peaceful and safe life.

Xiang Yuan, barely holding on, talked with Lin Jue for nearly an incense stick's time, but no one came in through the back door of the tavern, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation.

"I told you long ago we couldn't linger in battle. The Gao family has many warriors; they probably won't be coming back..."

Turning his head to look at the heavy snow outside the window, Xiang Yuan stared at Lin Jue: "If you can swear that you will kill Gao Yao in this lifetime, I, Xiang, will be happy to clear up some of your inner doubts."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue immediately made a vow without hesitation.

But then he hesitated and said, "Gao Yao is a Qi Refining cultivator and a disciple of the great cultivation sect Yanxia Sect. I can only guarantee that I will kill him in the future, but definitely not now."

"Um!"

Xiang Yuan nodded slightly. He felt death beckoning to him. At this moment, he lay slumped in the chair, only his head could still move and he could still speak. His eyes were empty and half-open, full of exhaustion.

Lin Jue, worried that he might die, quickly asked the question that had been bothering him.

In summary, his questions boiled down to two main points.

First, does the path of martial arts training, like that of Qi cultivation, have strict distinctions between different realms?

Secondly, and most importantly, can martial artists, like Qi cultivators, have a longer lifespan than ordinary people?

According to the theory of the Reversed Five Elements Pill, even if the pill is successfully refined, it still needs to be nourished with qi and blood for a hundred years before the outer elixir can be condensed.

People have self-knowledge.

Lin Jue was already in his twenties and knew that if he didn't cultivate immortality, it would be a pipe dream for him to live another hundred years.