Desert Island Infrastructure: Claiming the System Brings Many Blessings

Qin Chuan emerged from the body of the ancient sword demon.

My legs went weak, and I plopped down on a rock at the top of the mountain.

My mental energy was almost depleted. My head was buzzing, like hundreds of bees were flying in my ears. My temples were throbbing. The scenery before my eyes was blurry, and I swayed several times before regaining my balance.

"That was too close."

Qin Chuan was panting heavily, his back completely soaked with sweat. The cold sweat clung to his skin, and the chilly air of the Food God Battlefield made it feel even colder.

If that final sword strike hadn't pierced the dragon's heart, he would have been truly in danger. His mental energy depleted meant he couldn't use the Devouring God's Summoning Technique or the Ancient Sword Demon; he was now just a human with 9,997 Devouring Power. Facing a raging, fire-breathing dragon of 1,480 years' capture level was tantamount to suicide.

"I can't be so reckless in the future," Qin Chuan reminded himself.

He leaned against the rock, closed his eyes, and it took him about half an hour to recover his mental energy to a little over 10%.

It's not enough for the ancient sword demon, nor for the food god's summoning technique, but it's enough for flight and basic Rinnegan scanning.

Qin Chuan stood up and looked down the mountain.

The corpse of the purple-gold fire-breathing dragon lay at the bottom of the canyon. Its 240-ton body had created a huge crater, and its purple-gold scales were scattered all over the ground.

Qin Chuan flew down and landed next to the dragon's corpse.

Up close, the scales of the Purple-Gold Fire-Breathing Dragon are even more beautiful than they appear from a distance. Each scale has two colors: a purple base with golden edges. In the dim light of the day, the entire dragon's body seems to be coated with a golden-purple glow.

A considerable amount of dragon blood had already been lost. The deep golden liquid formed a stream, meandering down from the wound on the dragon's belly and spreading across a large area of ​​the rocky ground in the canyon.

Qin Chuan squatted down, took a little dragon blood, and smelled it under his nose.

A strong metallic smell filled my nostrils, but it wasn't the nauseating fishy odor; instead, it carried a hint of sweetness. It smelled like the aroma of molten gold.

"You can eat dragon's blood?"

Qin Chuan didn't hesitate for long. The rules of the "Eat More, Be Blessed" system were simple: eat everything you can, and you'll receive a bonus.

He processed the dragon meat first.

This time, the process of dividing the dragon was more difficult than the previous two. The scales of the Purple-Gold Fire-Breathing Dragon were far harder than those of the Thunder Dragon and the Sky-Devouring Serpent. When the Ancient Sword Demon's greatsword cut into them, it could feel obvious resistance with every stroke.

It took Qin Chuan nearly forty minutes to cut off all the parts he needed.

Heart, liver, back meat, tendon meat at the base of the wings, and two fist-sized pieces of dragon crystal.

The dragon crystals were discovered inside the skull of the purple-gold fire-breathing dragon. Two translucent purple-gold crystals were embedded on either side of the dragon's brain, with fine, flowing patterns on their surfaces.

The battlefield manual mentions dragon crystals. They are the concentrated energy essence of a dragon's entire life, stored in two crystals within its skull. They have extremely high medicinal value, and at the Human Alliance's exchange point, one dragon crystal is equivalent to one space teleportation service.

Qin Chuan finished condensing all the ingredients, found a flat rock to sit on, and began cooking.

He put in a little more effort this time.

First, slice the dragon meat thinly and marinate it for five minutes with Shen Mimi's sauce. Then, use the heat energy of the Rinnegan to fry each slice.

Thin slices of dragon meat curl rapidly under high temperature, the surface becoming crispy while the inside remains a tender pink. The fat is rendered out, sizzling as it cooks, and a rich aroma of meat mixed with the sweet and salty flavor of the sauce fills the air.

Qin Chuan put the pieces into his mouth one by one.

Dragon meat tastes better than snake meat. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with just the right amount of fat. With each bite, the juices burst in your mouth, leaving a rich and mellow aftertaste.

"If Mimi were here, she'd go crazy," Qin Chuan thought, chewing on the dragon meat. "If she were to cook this, I wonder what kind of heaven-defying flavor she could create."

Qin Chuan put the unfinished dragon meat into his spatial ring, and then picked up a piece of dragon crystal.

The dragon crystal felt warm to the touch, with a smooth surface. When I brought it to my lips, I could feel an energy flowing inside the crystal, which made my lips feel slightly numb.

Qin Chuan took a bite.

When the teeth touched the surface of the dragon crystal, a crisp cracking sound was heard. The crystal shattered.

The fragments melted incredibly quickly in my mouth, turning into a scalding liquid almost instantly upon contact with my tongue. The liquid slid down my throat and into my stomach.

hum!

This tremor was more intense than any before.

Qin Chuan's body involuntarily tensed. Every muscle contracted, every bone trembled. A surge of scorching energy erupted from his stomach, rushing along his meridians to his limbs and bones.

A pale purple glow appeared on the skin's surface. The glow lasted for about ten seconds before slowly fading away.

Qin Chuan's breathing became rapid for a while before it gradually calmed down.

A system notification popped up.

[Congratulations, your food energy has increased by 5. Your current food energy is 10,002!]

Qin Chuan was stunned for two seconds.

Then he looked down at his hands.

He opened his palm and then clenched it.

10,020.

It's over 10,000.

Qin Chuan's lips curled into a grin.

He rose from the rock and took a few steps into the canyon. A power surging through his body, completely different from before. With each step, he felt the ground tremble slightly. Not an actual tremor, but rather his senses had sharpened to a new level.

What does it mean to have a food energy level exceeding 10,000?

This means he is no longer in his legendary period.

The upper limit for the legendary stage is 9,999. Exceeding this number allows you to enter the next level.

God of Cookery level.

Novice Food God.

Although we have only just stepped into this threshold, a qualitative change has already occurred.

Qin Chuan could feel subtle changes happening in his body. His bone density was increasing, his muscle fibers were reorganizing, and even his blood flow was faster than before.

The Rinnegan's rotation was also much smoother. Previously, using the Food God Summoning Technique had consumed a great deal of mental energy, allowing him to maintain it for a maximum of three minutes. Now, he had a premonition that the next time he used the Food God Summoning Technique, the duration might be longer.

"Alright." Qin Chuan stretched his shoulders.

With a food consumption exceeding 10,000 units, the first goal has been achieved.

But this is only the beginning.

The problem with the Gu Soul hasn't been solved yet. He wasn't sure if his food strength exceeding 10,000 could resist the Gu Soul's corruption. If not, he would have to continue searching for a way to break the curse.

Qin Chuan touched the back of his neck.

The two teeth marks are still there. The dark purple lines are still slowly wriggling.

But he noticed a change.

The moment my energy level broke through 10,000, the speed at which the wrinkles on the back of my neck seemed to slow down a little.

It's just a little bit, I'm not sure.

"Never mind that for now." Qin Chuan ate the rest of the dragon crystals.

After consuming the second dragon crystal, the system notified: Congratulations, your appetite has increased by three. Your current appetite is 10,050. Note: The effect of consuming the same part of the food a second time is halved.

"It's been halved, but it's still effective." Qin Chuan nodded.

Dragon crystal and dragon meat are considered different parts of the body, so the first piece is increased by five, and the second piece, being the same type of dragon crystal, is halved and then increased by three. A whole number was chosen.

Ten thousand five.

Qin Chuan finished the remaining dragon meat. This time, the system didn't give him any extra food bonus. Although dragon meat and dragon crystal are different parts, they both belong to the same purple-gold fire-breathing dragon, and the meat's bonus had already been calculated during the first consumption.

"That's about it."

Qin Chuan packed his things and flew up from the canyon.

Standing on the rocks atop the mountain, he looked around. The gray sky, the black mountains, and the dark red Gobi Desert stretched to the horizon.

Food power 10,005. Beginner Food God.

About seven or eight hours had passed since he entered the God of Cookery battlefield.

After consuming all the food, his mental energy recovered to nearly 60%. The breakthrough in his ability to eat brought about an overall improvement in his physical attributes, and the recovery speed of his mental energy was also much faster than before.

"It's time to make contact with the outside world."

Qin Chuan took out the conch communicator from his spatial ring.

It was an ordinary-sized conch shell with a pale blue luminous membrane on its surface. This was a communication tool made by Doria's people, capable of making long-distance calls across space.

Qin Chuan placed the conch shell near his ear and infused it with a trace of spiritual energy.

rustling.

A burst of static came through the communicator.

Qin Chuan frowned.

The noise lasted for about five or six seconds, and then a sound came through the noise.

"Brother Chuan? Brother Chuan! Can you hear me?"

It was Diana's voice.

"I heard you," Qin Chuan said.

There was a second of silence on the other end of the communicator, then Diana's voice came through again, visibly relieved: "I'm glad you're alright. Where are you now? What's the situation down there?"

"I'm in the Battlefield of the God of Food. A very large dimensional space," Qin Chuan said briefly. "The situation is alright; I've already killed three god-level beasts, and my food power has exceeded ten thousand."

There was silence on the other end of the communicator.

This time the silence lasted even longer.

Then Diana's voice came through with a subtle emotion: "What did you say? Your eating power has exceeded 10,000?"

"Hmm. Ten thousand five."

"..."

Over the communicator, you can hear Diana turning her head and saying something to the person next to her. You can also vaguely hear Doria's exclamation and Vivian's meow.

"How long have you been inside?" Diana's voice came back.

"About seven or eight hours."

"His energy level increased from 9,990 to 10,050 in seven or eight hours? 15 points?"

"Yes. The ingredients inside are of very high quality; even the lowest-quality ones are over a thousand years old. Eating them gives you much more energy than eating them outside."

A burst of noise came from the other end of the communicator. Several people were speaking at the same time.

Qin Chuan waited a few seconds before Diana spoke again: "How is the Gu Soul? Has it improved?"

Qin Chuan touched the back of his neck. The dark purple lines were still writhing, but they were definitely moving more slowly than before.

"It's improved a little. The rate of movement of the lines has decreased. But it's not completely gone."

"So you plan to stay inside?"

"Yes. We still need to find more ingredients. The higher the food strength, the stronger the ability to resist the Gu spirit. And there might be medicine or ingredients that can directly remove the Gu spirit."

Diana did not object. She was well aware of Qin Chuan's situation.

"Okay. Be careful then. Contact me every twelve hours."

"OK."

Just as Qin Chuan was about to disconnect the communication, another voice came from the communicator.

"Brother Chuan!"

It was Vivian's voice, with the soft, sweet tone unique to cats.

"Have you eaten? Stop fighting without eating!"

Qin Chuan chuckled: "We ate it. We eat whatever we kill."

"That's good." Vivian's voice was clearly relieved. "Brother Chuan, you must come back safely. Lilith and Elsa are still waiting for you to save them."

"understood."

Communication was cut off.

Qin Chuan put away the conch communicator and stood up straight again.

With 10,050 food power, he is a beginner-level Food God.

The flesh and blood of three divine beasts allowed him to cross that threshold. But that was far from enough.

Although the Gu Soul's patterns slowed down, they didn't stop. This indicates that a little over 10,000 units of energy were not enough to completely suppress the Gu Soul's erosion.

It needs to keep rising.

Furthermore, the battlefield manual mentioned that one could exit through the rift if their food strength exceeded 10,000. This meant that he could leave at any time.

But he doesn't plan to leave now, because he hasn't found a way to break the [Gu Soul] curse yet.

Moreover, the divine ingredients in the Food God Battlefield are resources that cannot be found anywhere else. Staying here for an extra day will increase your Food Power by a few points. And those extra points will give you more confidence when facing Medusa.

"Continue the hunt."

Qin Chuan identified the direction, chose a new direction, and took off.

Under the gray sky, a pale golden streak of light flashed across the top of the black mountains and flew deeper into the distance.