Chapter Eleven: Can It Be Eaten? How Should It Be Eaten?

Three days later

On the Big-Bellied Boat, Zhang Ning stood at the prow, both hands raised high, allowing Yu Zhong to press something resembling a jade talisman against his forehead.

In just these few days, Zhang Ning had already mastered the practice of the Cloud Drift Visualization Technique, but the spiritual energy he cultivated could not circulate efficiently yet. This was only natural; after all, such skills required time and patience—there was no method that could be fully grasped without gradual accumulation.

However, Zhang Ning was born with an innate talent: the ability to focus on multiple things at once. Thus, he devised his own training method—raising both arms upright.

There are twelve primary meridians in the body. The three yin meridians of the hand run from the chest to the hands, the three yang meridians from the hands to the head; the three yang meridians of the foot travel from the head to the feet, and the three yin meridians from the feet to the chest. By raising the hands, the spiritual energy in the yin meridians flows upward, while in the yang meridians it flows downward. For someone like Zhang Ning, who could focus on several channels at once, this posture was the most convenient.

Still, Zhang Ning couldn't help but complain inwardly about the terminology in this world. The energy cultivated here was called "spiritual energy"—shouldn’t it be "internal energy" in a martial world? The cultivation system here was truly a mess.

Those born and raised in this world might take all this for granted, even regard it as truth, but Zhang Ning had come from Water Blue Star, a place thoroughly modern and efficient, especially in information science. That made this world seem all the more bizarre to him.

But the naming of spiritual energy was a trivial matter. Zhang Ning had already consulted his "convenient" senior brother, asking if there would be any side effects to practicing the visualization technique in his own way—after all, in countless fantasy novels, improper cultivation often led to disastrous consequences.

Unexpectedly, his third senior brother assured him that even if mistakes were made, the worst outcome would be slow progress; the technique was gentle and natural. Practicing it long-term could even reduce the risk of deviation or mental collapse, let alone the usual problems with spiritual energy circulation.

Zhang Ning couldn't help but doubt how professional this so-called "Demon Sect" really was.

So he wasn't too worried about experimenting with his new method. He even divided his attention to read a leisure book.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a leisure book, but rather a jade communication talisman that recorded all sorts of information.

That young man with thick eyebrows and bright eyes who had sworn allegiance to him days earlier was named Yu Zhong. Among the two hundred subordinates assigned by his master, Yu Zhong was the most accomplished, having reached the level of Martial Emperor. A Martial Emperor could easily govern a region, holding a high post at the frontiers and living as he pleased, yet here he was, utterly devoted as a subordinate.

Of course, Yu Zhong was the temporary leader only because his cultivation was the highest. If Zhang Ning chose someone else, no one—not even Yu Zhong—would object.

Strangely enough, Yu Zhong was the only one among them who could converse with him in Chinese; the others only knew the oath of allegiance. This confirmed what Zhang Ning had learned before: only those of certain standing in the Grand Freedom Demon Sect were allowed to learn Chinese.

This left Zhang Ning with mixed feelings and, unconsciously, greater admiration for his predecessor—the senior brother who had crossed over before him.

Now, the jade talisman Yu Zhong held to his forehead contained a wealth of information—mainly the life histories of those two hundred men, their races and parentage, when they broke through to which realms, their abilities, quirks, even their preferred underwear—every detail was laid bare. It was said to be the sincere work of a secret department within the Grand Freedom Demon Sect.

Judging from these records, the selection for Zhang Ning's two hundred subordinates wasn't based solely on status or background—he even spotted several non-human names. The only standards appeared to be ability and loyalty.

Indeed, not only had these people been chosen for their heartfelt loyalty, but they had also sworn oaths of martial power on the day of their assignment, ensuring the highest degree of future fidelity.

As a transmigrator, Zhang Ning was deeply moved, but he still inquired back home about methods to guarantee absolute loyalty, such as talismans, soul vows, blood pacts, or puppetry. These two hundred had merely sworn an oath, which suggested the elders of the Demon Sect perhaps wanted to test their successors' leadership skills.

After settling them in and ordering them to learn daily Chinese, Zhang Ning had been poring over the jade talisman with all their information. The details were so exhaustive it left him speechless. He had just finished reading.

His arms were getting tired, so he lowered them and said, "I feel like I’ve forgotten something important."

The moment he dropped his hands, Yu Zhong removed the jade talisman, produced a coconut, and placed a soft, not-quite-metallic straw to Zhang Ning’s lips. Zhang Ning immediately began to gulp it down.

Last night, he’d suddenly craved juice, but there was no coconut water aboard. Yu Zhong immediately led a team, gathered hundreds of fruits overnight, and after careful tasting, selected the one that best matched Zhang Ning’s description.

On tasting it, Zhang Ning found that, though it shimmered with an odd light, it was indeed coconut water—his favorite, his very lifeblood!

Thus, the Starflash Fruit—named “coconut” by the Fifth Prince—became one of the most plentiful supplies on the boat, even carried by martial experts like Yu Zhong for Zhang Ning’s convenience.

Zhang Ning had no complaints—well, except for being a little unaccustomed to such treatment, but as a man, one must indulge in at least one vice! Zhang Ning chose to drink.

Once Zhang Ning had finished, Yu Zhong dropped to one knee and said, “Your Highness, if I may be so bold, you may have forgotten a few things. First, the other resources provided by the Internal Affairs Office, besides our group; second, preparations for recruiting new disciples; third, the matter of the young lady captured earlier by Tang Dao.”

Zhang Ning was instantly impressed by the advantages of having a right-hand man. If nothing else, this personalized memo service was truly considerate.

He mulled it over, then—with his priorities utterly misplaced—said, “No, that’s not what I was just thinking about. Oh, I remember now! Why are you the one serving me? I finally finished the roster of these two hundred, and didn’t spot a single maid!”

A chilling thought struck Zhang Ning—could it be that in this martial world, people didn’t care for such pleasures?

Yu Zhong, for the first time, hesitated and replied, “Such people aren’t on the list, Your Highness. Since you haven’t summoned them, they likely dare not act on their own.”

Zhang Ning blinked. What was going on?

He remembered hearing that his senior brother had done much for the common people—even hybrid rice, ensuring that famine was virtually unknown under the Grand Freedom Demon Sect. He’d assumed that ordinary people were highly valued here.

Then, realization dawned—perhaps the prevailing ethos was still martial supremacy, only the leaders thought differently, and those leaders had a legion of followers.

“I see… When did Tang Dao capture a young lady?” Zhang Ning, mentally exhausted, lagged behind the conversation.

Yu Zhong paused for two seconds, then disappeared in a flash. Before Zhang Ning could react, he returned, gripping a large white bird by the neck.

Zhang Ning looked at the bird, then at Yu Zhong, and decided that calling a hen “young lady” was probably a translation issue, the result of non-native Chinese. Everyone was waiting for his judgment, so he said, “Is it edible? Do you know how to cook it? Never mind, let’s braise it!”