Volume 16, Chapter 139.3: Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear
After finishing, Huo Yuhao started a bonfire and started to grill the meat.
He grabbed a slice and draped it over the bonfire on a tree branch unadorned, then began to turn the branch repeatedly until the meat started to smoke and let out a golden yellow oil. The aroma of cooked meat spread through the air as the meat’s color changed quickly and it shrank just as fast.
Huo Yuhao pulled the meat off the bonfire and sprinkled salt evenly across the surface, then shook the branch a little to help the meat cool. Afterwards, he tasted his new recipe.
Elder Xuan salivated at the sight from the side. He no longer looked like a top class powerhouse, but rather quite pitiful. Of course, there was no question as to why he looked this way: the Taotie Douluo could never resist the allure of good food.
Juice flooded into Huo Yuhao’s mouth as he chewed. He quickly polished off the strip of meat in three large bites. Contrary to what one would think because of its defensive capabilities, the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear’s meat was extremely tender, and seemed to simply melt in one’s mouth when chewed. Huo Yuhao had doubted his words at first, but just like Elder Xuan had said, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s palm meat was definitely one of the top ten delicacies in the world. He smiled brightly as he swallowed the delicacy.
Huo Yuhao could still taste the extraordinary flavor of the meat when the unforgettable delicacy entered his stomach alongside a deluge of juiciness. It was as if a hot gust of air had filled his stomach, which caused all the tension and fatigue from the last day to disappear.
“It was delicious.” Huo Yuhao complimented.
“Rascal, you don’t know how to respect your elders,” Elder Xuan snapped, “you should’ve given me some first!”
Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, “Elder Xuan, please be patient. I was experimenting with the fire when I cooked this bear meat. I couldn’t bear to waste such an ingredient by using inadequate cooking methods. The next slice will be yours elder, don’t fret. Besides, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s meat is extremely fresh and tender, so it won’t take long to cook. However, it’s a pity that we don’t have any eggs. I could make meal this even more delicious if we did.”
Elder Xuan’s eyes snapped open and he said, “What’s so difficult about that? Do you want raw eggs or cooked?”
Huo Yuhao was stunned and replied, “Raw. Don’t tell me…”
Before he even finished speaking, light radiance flashed in Elder Xuan’s hands, and several multi-colored chicken eggs appeared.
“These are Five-Colored Golden Pheasant eggs. Will they suffice?” Elder Xuan said smugly.
Huo Yuhao’s eyes widened and he said, “You brought chicken eggs along?”
Elder Xuan said mysteriously, “Let me tell all of you a secret. There’s one thing that I can’t do without—food. Not only eggs, I also have almost every kind of food on me! I need at least ten cubic meters of food on me when I go out, else I’ll get uneasy. I even asked Qian Duoduo to help me create a storage-type soul tool exclusively for food, so that it would stay fresh!”
Wang Dong laughed, “No wonder you’re called the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan!”
Elder Xuan passed all the eggs to Huo Yuhao and said, “Hurry up.”
Huo Yuhao asked, “Did you bring any bowls with you? It’d be for the best if you have a clean brush too.”
The things that he’d requested appeared after a second.
Elder Xuan squatted beside the fire like a small kid. He watched Huo Yuhao curiously as he swallowed his saliva.
Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to make him wait, and started to grill the meat again.
He was much more confident in grilling the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear meat now that he had experience. Such delicacies didn’t require too much cooking or ingredients. Their original taste was already good enough.
That’s why the bear meat was only flipped three times before Huo Yuhao retracted it from the fire and sprinkled salt on it. After that, he brushed the meat with the stirred eggs.
“Elder Xuan, please give it a try and see if it’s to your liking.”
“Just like this? It’s my first time seeing eggs on meat.”
However, he’d already stuffed the meat into his mouth and swallowed it before he’d even finished speaking.
“How is it?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Elder Xuan stared at him stunned, but his eyes brightened. The bright, yellow radiance that he emitted from his eyes was just like the time when he fought Du Busi.
“I regret it.” Elder Xuan said.
Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, “Regret what? Is it not delicious? That can’t be! This bear meat is tender and juicy, while its fat is proportionally separated such that it doesn’t need to be cooked too long. The egg should even make it more tender and fresh. Its aroma will be let out when you chew into it, and the juices should explode in your mouth! It should be extremely delicious. I’ve never even used such awesome ingredients before.”
Elder Xuan, “When I said I regret it, I meant that I regret not snatching you as my disciple! If you were my disciple, I’d bring you across the continent and make you the best chef on the continent, haha.” Wang Dong couldn’t help but laugh at this and said, “Yuhao, give me some too! If Elder Xuan wants to make you a chef because of it then it must be really delicious!”
They gorged themselves on the food. Huo Yuhao, while busy, was gratified. More than half of the meat entered Elder Xuan’s stomach who, when he discovered that there wasn’t enough meat left, simply cut off another serving from the bear.
Elder Xuan had tried to grill this meat before. However, his talent was a far cry from the likes of Huo Yuhao’s, and his meat tasted far inferior to the delicacy before him.
When the three of them were almost full, Xiao Xiao finally awakened from absorbing her third soul ring.
Her six senses were restored. But it wasn’t her sense of sight that stirred first; it was her sense of smell.
“Wow, it smells good! What is it?” Xiao Xiao opened her eyes to see the bonfire in front of her.
“Xiao Xiao, how did your martial soul fusion with the soul ring go?” Huo Yuhao asked concernedly.
Xiao Xiao didn’t bother to answer as she snatched the freshest Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear meat that he’d just finished grilling, which she immediately devoured with large bites.
“Wow, it’s delicious. It’s really delicious. I want to woo you now. Whoever marries you in the future will be really lucky. Oh no, I can’t speak anymore. I just bit my tongue…”
Xiao Xiao seemed to have become as gluttonous as Elder Xuan after accepting him as her teacher. She was overjoyed to be able to eat so much.
“I’m full, great food.” Xiao Xiao said satisfactorily. She used her sleeves to wipe the oil from her lips, and appeared very pleased.
Elder Xuan was already full, but he didn’t idle around. While Xiao Xiao was eating, he dissected the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear into 8 pieces and passed them to Huo Yuhao for him to freeze so that they could be brought back to the academy.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s meat was very nourishing. It was a delicacy even to Shrek Academy’s core disciples. Of course, Elder Xuan wasn’t generous enough to give it to them; he would keep these pieces of meat for himself. He only gave the palm meat to Huo Yuhao.
At this point, Huo Yuhao was still unsure as to what the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s palm meat represented.
“Elder Xuan, are we leaving now, or are we going to wait for Xiao Xiao to absorb her soul bone here too?” Huo Yuhao asked Elder Xuan.
“Let’s do it here,” Elder Xuan replied, “I’m full right now, and too lazy to move. Since I’m here, no soul beasts will dare to come close.” This was indeed the case. Even though they’d started a fire and even grilled meat here, no soul beasts had come to interrupt them. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were unsure how Elder Xuan had pulled this off.
Xiao Xiao heard Elder Xuan’s explanation on the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s external soul bone. When she found out she was going to absorb the soul bone, she turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
“Class Monitor, can I pledge myself to you in exchange for what you’re giving up?” Xiao Xiao teared up.
“No.” Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong replied at the same time.
“Oh?” Xiao Xiao looked at them suspiciously, “What’s with you two’s immediate reactions? Is there some sort of illicit affair between the two of you?”
Huo Yuhao snapped, “How old are you? Why’re you talking about pledging yourself to someone else? Do you know what that means?”
Xiao Xiao laughed, “Class Monitor, stop it. When we compared our ages earlier, I was fifth, you were sixth and Wang Dong was the youngest. You’re younger than me, yet you still dare to lecture me? Why don’t you tell me what it means then?”
Huo Yuhao thought of Ma Xiaotao for some reason after she’d asked this. His face turned a little red and he replied, “I don’t know either.”
Xiao Xiao laughed, “That’s right. How dare you lecture me when you don’t know what it means either! You know what I meant. Should you want to woo me, you better move fast! I’m very popular. I’ll make it easy for you though.”
Psht—
Elder Xuan spat out wine from his mouth and stared at Xiao Xiao. He said, “Stop spouting gibberish. Fuse with it quickly, I want to see how mystical this right palm bone is right away.” Once he’d finished, he passed the soul bone to Xiao Xiao and signaled for her to begin.
Xiao Xiao lowered her head to look at the soul bone when she received it. After that, she lifted her head up to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and seriously said, “Thank you.” She emphasized these words strongly.
Xiao Xiao held onto the right palm bone and sat down where she was, then began to stimulate her soul power in preparation to fuse with the soul bone.
The right palm bone visibly melted under the effects of her soul power into a dark golden fluid. This dark golden fluid then slowly seeped into her right hand.
Wang Dong said in a deep voice, “We forgot to ask Xiao Xiao to demonstrate her third soul skill to us just now. The soul skill from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear must be quite extraordinary. I’ve got a feeling that the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron will be completely changed with this new thousand year soul skill.”