Gurgle~~~
Fang Ling touched his empty stomach and mumbled, "Master Manzi, I'm going to eat now!"
At his age, Fang Ling had a big appetite and got hungry easily.
But except for Fat Master, the other four masters never ate anything.
According to Grandmaster, they had all started fasting.
"Go ahead!" Zhao Manzi waved his hand, "Eat more!"
Fang Ling quickly went to the kitchen, where Fat Master was sitting by the stove, tending the fire.
The pot was bubbling, and the aroma wafting out made Fang Ling's mouth water.
"Fat Master, what's for dinner today?" He pulled up a small stool and sat down.
Fat Master smiled, "Stewed scorpion."
"Wow! My favorite." Fang Ling's eyes lit up.
"Master, I've always wondered, you don't eat much every day, so how are you so fat?"
"Being fat is a blessing; the fatter, the better!" Fat Master laughed.
"Look at your other masters, they don't eat but don't get thin either. Then if I eat every day, shouldn't I be even fatter compared to them?"
"Seems like it." Fang Ling mumbled, nodding his head.
Fat Master stood up, lifted the pot lid, tasted the broth with a spoon, and nodded in satisfaction.
"It's almost ready, let's eat!" he said.
Fang Ling was already holding a broken bowl, waiting obediently with his hand raised for a serving.
After several bowls of scorpion soup, he even ate the scorpion legs, leaving nothing behind.
Seeing Little Fang Ling eat so happily, Fat Master smiled.
"Actually, this isn't even the best food. Dragon Tendon, Phoenix Wing, Kylin Foot, now those are delicacies." He said.
"Better than scorpion soup and roasted toad?" Fang Ling asked curiously.
"Of course, Dragon, Phoenix, and Kylin are True Spirits!" Fat Master said.
"Back in the day, I was lucky enough to catch a lone little phoenix and taste True Spirit for the first time. Dragon and Kylin are on par with it, so I imagine they taste just as good."
"Then I'll definitely catch a few dragons and kylins for you to try in the future," Fang Ling laughed.
"Silly boy, these True Spirits are not to be trifled with. Even I have to keep their distance when they see one."
"Huh? But didn't you say you caught a phoenix and ate it?" Fang Ling mumbled.
"That was an accident, just happened to be an easy one to deal with…" Fat Master explained.
"Alright, after you're full, wait for me in the courtyard. I'll come find you after I wash the dishes.
Starting today, I'll begin teaching you my ultimate skills!"
"If I learn them, will I become as big as you, Fat Master?" Fang Ling asked softly, glancing up at him.
"What? Being fat isn't good?" Fat Master asked.
"Not really, it's just that being too fat… looks kind of scary." Fang Ling replied.
Fat Master laughed, reaching out to pat Fang Ling's head, his large hand covering Fang Ling's entire head.
"Don't worry, my fat is natural, you can't learn it even if you wanted to!" he said.
"Really?" Fang Ling nodded, then obediently went to wait in the courtyard.
Before long, Fat Master came out of the kitchen.
"I'm best at using poison and I have a treasure!"
He flipped his palm, and a small green cauldron appeared in his hand.
Fang Ling picked up the small cauldron and examined it closely, "What's it for?"
"This is the Heavenly Plague Cauldron, this is my Companion Spiritual Treasure!"
"Your other masters don't have the good fortune to have a Companion Spiritual Treasure." Fat Master said proudly.
"What's a Companion Spiritual Treasure?" Fang Ling asked.
"Some people are born extraordinary, like you, with a powerful special constitution." Fat Master explained.
"Others, though they don't have a special constitution, are born with a spiritual treasure. This treasure, which is born with them and merges with them, is called a Companion Spiritual Treasure.
Companion Spiritual Treasures vary in strength, and mine Heavenly Plague Cauldron is top-tier!
It can absorb all the poisons in the world, merging their toxins into my body."
"So your Fat Master has been dealing with poisons since childhood. Grandmaster says your poison is very powerful, just how powerful is it?" Fang Ling asked curiously.
Fat Master pondered for a moment and replied, "I can say this: if I were to fully release my poison, nothing would grow in the places I pass, and all living things would be poisoned to death."
"That's terrifying!" Fang Ling was startled.
"Can Fat Master poison Grandmaster and the others?"
"Uh… probably not, but it would make them very uncomfortable." He coughed lightly and said.
"Alright, next I'll transfer this Heavenly Plague Cauldron into your body. From today on, your body will start being tempered with poison!"
"Huh? Didn't you say that a Companion Spiritual Treasure merges with you? How can it be transferred?" Fang Ling asked.
"Because I'm strong enough!" Fat Master said solemnly, "I've also developed a secret method to forcibly strip others of their Companion Spiritual Treasures, which I'll teach you in the future."
"Let's begin!" Fat Master pushed the cauldron towards Fang Ling, and it slowly merged into his body.
Fang Ling quickly felt the presence of the Heavenly Plague Cauldron, as if it had become part of his body.
"Fat Master, now that you've given me your treasure, what about you?" he asked again.
Fat Master smiled, "I doesn't need this treasure much anymore. I've almost absorbed all the poisons in the world.
The level of toxins in my body has reached a bottleneck. No matter how much more poison I absorb, it won't make much difference.
Unless I can get those top-tier poisons, but I've searched for thousands of years without any clues; they are elusive.
Alright, next I'll teach you how to use this cauldron."
He extended his hand again, and two purple scorpions crawled out from his sleeve.
"Put them into the cauldron, then cover the lid with your hands and slowly absorb the leaking toxins." He said.
"Aren't these the scorpions I usually eat?" Fang Ling looked at the two purple scorpions in surprise.
"Yes, but what you eat is the part with all the toxins extracted." He said.
"Over the years, I've secretly bred many poisonous insects, enough for you to use for a few years.
Once you've absorbed all the poisonous insects I've prepared, the level of toxins you possess will be quite impressive.
After you absorb them, I'll teach you how to control the toxins, especially how to release and retract them."
"Okay!" Fang Ling immediately opened the Heavenly Plague Cauldron and put the two scorpions inside.
Then he closed the lid and placed his hands on it.
Wisps of purple toxins spread from his hands to his entire body…
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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