CH 81

Chapter 81: A Scene of Great Aroma

"Hmm?" One of the members from the other team, who had been noticed and avoided by Xiao Qingyang, suddenly stopped in his tracks and called out with confusion.

"A-Xuan, what's wrong?" his teammate asked upon seeing the situation.

A-Xuan, a boy in the team, looked around and said, "I sensed someone ahead just now, but now I can't sense them anymore."

"They can't be sensed anymore? Have they already left?" his teammate continued to inquire.

A-Xuan scratched his head and replied, "Probably. Unless they've become powerful enough to completely conceal their presence, it's likely that they have indeed left."

"If they've left, then they've left. After all, this has just begun, and the other teams won't have many points either. It's better for us to wait until they accumulate more points before we strike. That way, we can earn more points ourselves," said a burly, muscular boy in the team, exuding a mischievous grin.

During the training process, there were three ways to earn points.

One was through tasks assigned by the school, which yielded more points than hunting beasts of the same level.

Another was by hunting beasts of different levels and obtaining corresponding points.

The third way was by eliminating other participating students or teams. The eliminator could acquire all the points of the eliminated student or team, making it the fastest way to earn points.

However, as the training tasks had just been assigned, everyone was still on their way to earn points. Each individual or team had only obtained a few points so far, and unless they encountered each other directly, nobody would go after other teams to eliminate them.

"A-Hui is right. Our main task now is to complete the tasks assigned by the school. As for seizing points, we can consider it later," the captain of this team finally spoke up.

"Then let's leave this place first. The Flame Birds here should have already been eliminated by the previous team. We need to search for other Flame Birds," A-Xuan suggested and received unanimous agreement from everyone.

Thus, this team arrived quickly and departed just as swiftly. Even before the Beggar Chicken could escape Xiao Qingyang's spiritual detection range, they had already left.

"They should have already left. We're safe," Xiao Qingyang reported to everyone.

"That's good. Otherwise, if we fought with the Flame Birds and then had to fight other teams, we'd definitely be exhausted," Xu Kaiyang said as soon as he heard they were safe, immediately finding a nearby spot to sit down.

Even the strongest of ability users would feel tired after fighting continuously for a whole morning.

They were currently in the process of training, where they could encounter danger at any time and place. Therefore, they needed to maintain a good state and adjust immediately if something was off. They had to seize opportunities to rest whenever possible in order to prepare for the upcoming dangers.

"You all take a rest first. Kainan and I will prepare lunch right away," Gu Xiaotian quickly took out the dishes and partially prepared food from the spatial button. Since they had been inside for a short time, the food was still hot.

"Wow, you've already prepared the meal? We're really lucky to have you, Xiaotian," Xu Kaiyang and Liu Jialiang praised enthusiastically, one after another, not sparing any compliments. It made the introverted Gu Xiaotian's face turn red, almost losing grip of the spatula while cooking.

"You rest here for a while. I'll go and fetch something, and I'll be back soon," Xiao Qingyang informed everyone.

Calculating the time, his Beggar Chicken should be ready by now. It was the perfect moment to retrieve it and have a meal.

"What are you going to get? I'll accompany you. It's too dangerous for you to go alone," Lin Weiran stood up and said.

Xiao Qingyang didn't refuse. Although he had spiritual detection and the distance to the Beggar Chicken wasn't far, no one could guarantee that there wouldn't be any unexpected events. With his current strength, he was still a bit lacking in self-defense.

So Xiao Qingyang, accompanied by Lin Weiran, arrived at the spot where he had buried the Beggar Chicken earlier. Seeing the soil on top no longer glowing red, he knew that the temperature had dropped. He then found a sturdy branch nearby and started digging.

Lin Weiran remained silent, observing Xiao Qingyang's actions until he unearthed a larger "soil lump." Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "What is this? Is this what you're getting?"

Xiao Qingyang looked at the intact soil lump, the soil having hardened due to the heat, and knew that the Beggar Chicken inside must be cooked.

Just thinking about the delicious taste of the Beggar Chicken made Xiao Qingyang's mouth water uncontrollably.

In response to Lin Weiran's question, Xiao Qingyang smirked mysteriously and replied, "You'll find out when we get back."

Then, with a satisfied embrace of the Beggar Chicken, Xiao Qingyang, and a curious Lin Weiran returned to the team.

Seeing Xiao Qingyang return with a lump of soil in a contented manner, the others were equally puzzled and curious, just like Lin Weiran.

"What are you bringing back a lump of soil for, Qingyang?" Xu Kaiyang asked, his eyes filled with confusion.

Only Gu Xiaotian and Zheng Kainan, who had been with Xiao Qingyang earlier, had a slight correct guess in their minds.

"This isn't an ordinary lump of soil. I guarantee you'll still want to eat after trying it later," Xiao Qingyang patted the "soil lump" in his hand and said mysteriously to everyone.

When Xu Kaiyang heard that it was something to eat, his confusion deepened, and a hint of disgust even appeared on his face. "Qingyang, are you kidding? Are you really planning to make us eat soil?"

"If you don't want to eat, then don't. I guarantee you'll regret it later," Xiao Qingyang pouted, expressing his dissatisfaction.

If they weren't in the same team, he wouldn't want to share it with everyone. He alone would be enough to finish off the entire Beggar Chicken.

Gu Xiaotian cooked quickly, but because they had to save every second, they couldn't make some delicate dishes. They made large pots of food just to ensure that everyone could eat their fill.

However, even so, everyone felt satisfied and didn't demand much.

All the dishes were ready, but everyone's gaze kept shifting to the lump of soil that Xiao Qingyang held in his hand.

Although they had been a bit disgusted earlier, they couldn't help but be curious about how this lump of soil was meant to be eaten. It just looked like an ordinary lump of soil.

Seeing everyone's attention repeatedly falling on his hand, Xiao Qingyang felt extremely pleased.

I would show you guys who were disgusted by it just now. Don't be surprised later.

Xiao Qingyang took out his beloved little hammer and lightly tapped on the soil lump. Suddenly, a crack appeared on the seemingly ordinary lump of soil, and a rich fragrance spread, completely overshadowing all the dishes in front of them.

"It smells so good. What is this flavor?" Xu Kaiyang, a self-proclaimed foodie, was the first to speak and eagerly sniffed the air, trying to locate the source of the fragrance.

This fragrance obviously didn't come from the dishes in front of them because they hadn't smelled it just a moment ago. It was only in this instant that they caught a whiff of it.

Xiao Qingyang couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Xu Kaiyang's words and continued to tap on the soil block until all the soil had fallen off, revealing the true appearance of what was inside.

"What... What is this?" Everyone's gaze was tightly fixed on the Beggar Chicken in Xiao Qingyang's hand. The intense fragrance became even stronger, and everyone was convinced that the new aroma originated from this Beggar Chicken.

Opening the leaves that wrapped the chicken, the entire chicken finally revealed itself.

"A chicken? There's actually a chicken wrapped inside? It smells amazing, I really want to eat it," Xu Kaiyang exclaimed in astonishment, completely immersed in the fragrance of the Beggar Chicken, forgetting that he had previously found the lump of soil unappealing and didn't want to eat it.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't eat it?" Xiao Qingyang teased.

"When did I say that? I never said those words," Xu Kaiyang immediately acted innocent.

With such fragrant chicken, it must be even more delicious to eat. How could he miss out on such a tasty dish? Even if it meant "self-slapping" for his earlier words, he still wanted to eat this chicken!

Xiao Qingyang understood Xu Kaiyang's obsession with food to some extent, but he was just teasing him in the first place.

This Beggar Chicken was meant to be shared with everyone, to reward the warriors who had been busy on the front lines. There was no way he wouldn't share it with them.

However, there was only one chicken, and there were ten people in the team. Basically, each person could only have a few pieces of meat to try it out.

"It's so delicious. Why is there so little of it? I'll go hunt a few more chickens now. Qingyang, are you up for it?" Xu Kaiyang quickly finished his portion of chicken and still felt unsatisfied, feeling even hungrier now.

He even acted like he needed to go hunting immediately, as if they couldn't proceed with the next task without hunting.

"No, it's lunchtime now. If you don't want to eat, Qingyang does. Hurry up and finish yours. Can't this much food fill your mouth?" Shen Yu couldn't bear it anymore and picked up a mouthful of food with him chopsticks, stuffing it into Xu Kaiyang's mouth, silencing him with "mmm" sounds.

"Qingyang, how did you make this? It's so magical. I didn't smell any fragrance earlier, but it turns out to be so aromatic," Gao Lingqi also exclaimed in amazement.

As a superhuman (supernatural), his sense of smell was dozens of times more sensitive than an ordinary person's, yet he hadn't caught a whiff of the fragrance at all.

"This is called Beggars Chicken, and it's actually quite simple. Even you guys can try making it yourselves," Xiao Qingyang smiled and explained the steps to everyone.

"I didn't know there was such a cooking method. It's truly eye-opening," Liu Jiaming, who was usually reserved and seldom spoke, couldn't help but speak up, indicating how much of an impact the Beggar Chicken had on them.

It was no wonder they had such a big reaction. After all, as superhumans or mech warriors, their strength was accumulated bit by bit in real battles, which meant they often needed to venture out for training.