Wu Jian looked back at the corpse. He hadn’t realized it was such a powerful magical beast, but it had definitely been strong. If he hadn’t been a practitioner in the Dao of Space, there was no way he would have been able to defeat it. He would have died ingloriously and all his ambitions would have ended here.

He shuddered.

I might have still died if it wasn’t for Yōuměi. Several of those attacks would have killed me if not for her.

Speaking of, Yōuměi was currently staring at the Hell Ape’s carcass with something of a ravenous look. He’d never quite seen her appear so… hungry? Was she hungry? Did she want to eat the Hell Ape? He knew magical beasts ate each other all the time, and they weren’t the same species so it wasn’t like this was cannibalism or anything, but it still surprised him to see her appear so ravenous.

The head elder… what was his name again? Ma Zedong? He was also staring at the Hell Ape, though his expression was contemplative instead of hungry.

“I suppose we should decide what to do with the remains of this Hell Ape. The organs and other parts that can be harvested from this beast are quite formidable. Its hide can be turned into powerful clothes, its organs are used in the creation of medicine, and of course, there is its spirit core…”

“This beast carcass is mine, right?” Wu Jian suddenly declared, causing Yu Qiang and Head Elder Ma Zedong to turn his way. He pointed at the Hell Ape. “I killed it, so that means its mine. To the victor goes the spoils.”

“Well… you are not wrong… but this is… how do I put this…” began the head elder.

“That’s mine, right?”

“I mean… technically… but this is a very big haul so…”

“It. Is. Mine. Right?”

“R-right…”

Wu Jian smiled brilliantly at the head elder, who seemed to almost shrink back under the pressure of his expression. It did almost give him pause. He didn’t think himself a scary person, but Head Elder Ma Zedong looked like he was staring into the face of a devil. He shrugged the thought off. It did not matter if he was scary or not so long as he got what he wanted.

Might made right in this world. While seniority was important, it meant nothing against the power of a person’s fists. Strength was revered in a way that not even seniority and prestige could top.

He clapped his hands. “In that case, I’ll stay here for a little while and harvest what I can from this carcass. What should I do about the test? I have both a Yin and Yang token, but I never took it to the stronghold.”

The head elder hesitated for a moment, but then he sighed. “You have proven yourself more than capable of joining the Inner Court Disciples. You could even join the Core Disciples if that is your desire.”

“It is.”

“Then I’ll recommend you as a Core Disciple at the next council meeting.” Head Elder Ma Zedong looked back at the Hell Ape carcass almost regretfully, then shook his head. “I must be going now. I have to inform Lord Yu Chenguang that the Hell Ape has been killed. I’m not sure whether he will be pleased or shocked… but we should capitalize on this opportunity. If you two will excuse me.”

The head elder disappeared into the forest, leaving Yu Qiang, Wu Jian, and Yōuměi on their own. Was he really busy, or did he just not want to remain in Wu Jian’s presence? He wondered about that but shrugged seconds later.

“The way you handled the head elder was pretty impressive,” Yu Qiang said with a chuckle. “I’ve never seen him look so flustered before. Not even my uncle can get him to react like that.”

“I imagine your uncle is a lot more respectful than me,” Wu Jian said with a shrug.

“There is that, but my uncle also wasn’t capable of slaying this Hell Ape. I think that’s what really has the head elder spooked. The idea that a young man at the Asura Realm can defeat a creature like this is unheard of. I imagine he’s too shocked to even process everything right now.”

“Could be. Anyway, time to harvest this thing,” Wu Jian said, cracking his knuckles.

Yu Qiang rolled up the sleeves of his hanfu. “I’ll help.”

Wu Jian removed his hanfu entirely, leaving his torso bare. The only thing on his upper body were the training bandages wrapped around his hands and forearms.

“That’d be great. If you help me, I’ll let you have some of this thing’s hide.”

“Now you’ve got me even more motivated.”

Harvesting parts from a magical beast was gruesome work. Wu Jian leapt onto the creature’s belly, then manipulated the space around him to create a blade along his hand. He speared his hand into the monster’s gut, then slowly dragged it across the creature, splitting its stomach open to reveal its squelchy insides. The acris scent of blood, bile, and stomach acid made him dizzy, but he grimly pressed on. Fortunately, he could manipulate the space around organs and remove them without touching them.

“Are intestines worth anything?” asked Wu Jian as a gigantic intestinal tract hovered before him.

Yu Qiang looked up from where he was stripping the hide of the creature’s leg, glanced at the intestines, and shrugged.

“They’re not used in anything, but magical beast intestines are considered a rare delicacy. Not only do they apparently taste quite good, but eating them will help bolster your chi. I’ve even heard that eating magical beast intestines and liver can strengthen your dantian and meridians. You could probably sell it to a noble for a high price, but I recommend you keep it and find a chef who can cook it for you.”

Wu Jian had eaten intestines once or twice. He didn’t think they tasted that good, but they tasted much better than tofu. Well, if eating this helped him get stronger, he would find a chef that could cook this to perfection.

He stored the intestines into his storage ring, then removed the heart, liver, and kidneys. All of the organs were quite big. The heart was almost the size of his torso. He was just about to store heart when Yōuměi nuzzled his leg. He looked down at the black panther to see her staring at the heart in his hand with sharp intensity.

“Do you want this?” he asked.

“Grrrr. Prrrrrr.”

“All right. Here you go.”

He set the heart on the ground and almost blinked when Yōuměi dug ferociously into it like someone who’d been dying of starvation. It tore apart the heart’s muscle fibers and gobbled them down. Blood spilled all over its muzzle and the ground.

Wu Jian turned away from the gruesome sight and continued harvesting the Hell Ape corpse. Day soon turned to night and he and Yu Qiang had only harvested about a third of the creature. This magical beast was just so large.

Since it was night, they ended up setting up camp. Wu Jian still had camping equipment stored in his ring, so he brought that out and set up the tent while Yu Qiang went about cooking dinner. Yōuměi had already gone back into his shadow and fallen into a deep slumber. It seemed eating the heart of a magical beast at the peak of the Human Limit Realm had given her a lot of chi to process.

“Just to warn you, I’m not the best cook, so don’t expect anything extravagant,” said Yu Qiang.

“That’s fine. I’m not too picky about my meals these days,” Wu Jian said.

“You’ve been traveling a lot until now, right? I imagine most of your meals were prepared by yourself.”

“Either myself or my friend, yeah. Neither of us are great chefs.”

“You’re not talking about Her Highness, right?”

“No. It’s a male friend. He and I parted ways after leaving the White Tiger Sect Ruins.”

“Ah. Partings are always hard, but I imagine you two will meet again if fate ordains it.”

“Hmph. I don’t care if we never meet again.”

“Heh. If you say so. By the way, the food is ready.”

Wu Jian had created a few places to sit using logs from branches he cut off and turned into stumps. He and Yu Qiang sat around a firepit. Hanging over the flames was a pot filled with bubbling liquid. It looked like a combination of cream, meat, and vegetables. So it was a type of stew. Yu Qiang served them both up in a bowl that Wu Jian had stored in his ring.

“You certainly have a lot of stuff in your storage ring,” he said.

Wu Jian shrugged. “I’m a traveler. We need to carry a lot of equipment with us since we sometimes have to spend days if not weeks away from civilization.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess that makes sense. I’ve never traveled beyond the Shang Kingdom’s border, so that didn’t occur to me.”

Wu Jian lifted his mask just enough to insert the spoon into his mouth. The stew was thick and creamy but lacked flavor. There wasn’t much in the way of seasoning. Wu Jian searched his storage ring to see if he had any salt and pepper, but then scowled when he realized he didn’t. He was certain he had bought some before. That must have meant he’d run out without realizing it.

“I’ve always wanted to ask, but do you have any hobbies?” asked Yu Qiang.

“Hobbies?”

“Yeah. Like, you know, stuff you like to do outside of cultivating.”

“Well…”

Wu Jian needed to actually think about that. Did he have any hobbies? He used to like reading, but he hadn’t picked up a book since his clan was destroyed, and he didn’t know if he wanted to anymore. The idea no longer held the appeal it once did. What purpose would reading stories about heroes and villains serve now? None. There was no purpose whatsoever.

“…I like teasing Jingshu. Does that count?” asked Wu Jian. He didn’t tease her as much as he used to, but he would occasionally mess with her when they were having sex. His favorite thing to do was bring her to the brink, then pull back just before she orgasmed. It drove her insane. He liked it when she begged for release.

Did that make him a sadist?

“I… I’m not sure that counts as a hobby,” Yu Qiang said with clear hesitation. His smile was fixed.

“Then I probably don’t have a hobby anymore.” Wu Jian leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and stared into the fire. “My family was killed not long ago. My only real goal in this life is to get revenge on the people who killed them. I suppose, to that end, I’ve done away with many of the things I used to enjoy.”

“But you enjoy teasing Her Highness,” Yu Qiang pointed out.

Wu Jian nodded. “It’s a lot of fun. And she makes the greatest expressions.”

Yu Qiang rubbed his jaw for a second, contemplatively watching Wu Jian from the corner of his eye. Then he grinned and leaned forward.

“So… here’s another thing I wanted to ask. Just how far have you and Her Highness gone?”

“Are you sure you wanna know? It might ruin your perception of her.”

“The fact that you’d even say as much means you’ve already slept with her. Haaaah. Well, color me surprised. I didn’t think Her Highness would ever sleep with a man before marriage. She doesn’t seem the type.”

“You think so?”

“You don’t agree?”

“Vehemently.” Wu Jian looked up at the stars as his thoughts drifted to Hou Jingshu. She was probably with Zhou Lihua right now. “Jingshu conducts herself like a princess whenever she is in public, and even in private, she cannot always act like herself. Being forced to always act a certain way is confining. Imagine if you could never indulge in the things you love because it would tarnish your reputation? Wouldn't you want to be able to let loose somehow?”

Yu Qiang didn’t speak for a while at first. He looked like he was seriously thinking about what Wu Jian said.

“So… what you are saying is that Her Highness is very repressed, and having sex with you is liberating?”

“Exactly.”

“Pfft! Ah ha ha ha ha! What the heck is up with that?!” Wu Jian cocked an eyebrow even though Yu Qiang couldn’t see it, but the man must have sensed his look because he waved his hand, still laughing. “S-sorry. It’s not that I found your words funny, or that I don’t believe you. It’s just that I’ve known Hou Jingshu almost her entire life. I find it funny that this never occurred to me. You’re probably right. Being forced to act like a princess every day must have been very constricting for her. Now that I think about it, Her Highness has always been something of a tomboy.”

From the very first moment Wu Jian had met Hou Jingshu, he had recognized that she had been forced to repress her true desires. She wanted to be a cultivator, but her father wouldn’t let her. That was why he and Wu Meiying had asked her to join them. They recognized her desire because they both desired the same thing. It was also why they teased her. Nobody had ever done that to her before since she was the Shang Kingdom’s princess. For as much as she complained and got embarrassed, he knew she had secretly enjoyed it when they did that.

Maybe I should tease her a bit more… when we’re not in the bedroom, I mean. I wonder if she’d still appreciate that. It’ll be fun to find out.

The stars overhead twinkled, as if agreeing with Wu Jian’s thoughts.