Ling Feng walked over and picked up all the apples that had rolled onto the ground. He didn't even leave the branches, piling them all up at the base of the large tree. The branches could be used as firewood.
Ling Feng selected a few apples from the pile, then went to the lake to wash them clean. He then slowly began to nibble on them.
"Crunch, crunch… apples are delicious, but you can't eat them as your main meal all the time."
Ling Feng's gaze fell upon the apple cores, their flesh already mostly gnawed away.
If he continued to eat only apples, no matter how delicious they were, he would eventually grow tired of them. Moreover, fruit was fruit; it couldn't serve as a proper meal.
The cranes around couldn't be eaten. If he dared to lay a hand on them, Cloud Retainer, the True Monarch, might just break his legs.
And given how alert those cranes were, a sneak attack would likely fail.
"Huh? There are fish in the lake!"
As Ling Feng searched for food, he suddenly spotted a fish darting across the lakebed.
He hadn't noticed before, but upon closer inspection, he saw quite a few fish at the bottom of the lake.
And they looked to be of a decent size.
"Today, I can improve my diet."
Ling Feng licked his lips, his eyes shining as he looked at the delicious fish swimming freely beneath the water.
The fish in the lake seemed to sense Ling Feng's greedy gaze and provocatively flicked their tails at him twice.
Ling Feng exploded on the spot.
Today, he was actually being provoked by a fish.
"Damn it! You're done for, for daring to provoke me!"
Ling Feng didn't care if the fish did it intentionally or not; he was determined to catch and roast it today.
"Youngster, you're quite arrogant! Don't rush, I'll have you roasted and eaten soon!"
Ling Feng stood up from the ground, unleashing his true energy. He formed a sword-condensing seal, and ten spirit swords slowly materialized.
"Go! To prevent you from escaping, ten spirit swords! Let's see where you can run!"
Under Ling Feng's control, the ten spirit swords lunged towards the fish in the lake with extreme speed.
The fish: !!!
You're not playing by the rules! If you have the guts, let's fight one-on-one!
Feeling the threat to its life, the fish moved as if it had a motor.
With a swish, it shot towards the lakebed and into the distance, its speed so great that Ling Feng's eyes could barely track it.
"Still trying to escape! Full power!"
The ten spirit swords, under Ling Feng's command, also accelerated to their maximum, chasing after the fish.
Along the way, many fish were accidentally killed. Fish floated to the surface of the lake one after another, but Ling Feng paid them no mind, his attention solely on the escaping fish.
A chase ensued between one fish and ten spirit swords. The fish, relying on its agile movements, dodged the sword thrusts several times.
The fish's stamina was being depleted, and the true energy forming the spirit swords was also being consumed.
Just as the spirit swords were completely worn out by the fish's evasive maneuvers, the fish's speed also began to slow down.
It even impudently flicked its tail at Ling Feng twice and stopped running, circling in place as if mocking Ling Feng's incompetence.
Ling Feng did not show any anger at this. Instead, the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly.
The fish suddenly felt an extremely dangerous aura. Looking around, it realized that it had been surrounded by a swarm of spirit swords without knowing when.
It still wanted to struggle, trying to break through the area with the fewest spirit swords. However, before its intention could be realized, Ling Feng had already controlled his spirit swords to end its life.
"Little one, still want to compete with me? Even with some intelligence, you're no match for me."
Ling Feng manipulated his spirit swords, pushing the dead fish one by one, and then collecting them all into his system space. When Ling Feng checked and organized them, he discovered that the number of fish piled up in his system space reached over thirty.
"Is this one fish responsible for a family's annihilation?"
Ling Feng's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at the large number of fish in his system space.
That fish would probably be chased by its own kind even after death, all because it provoked someone. It was too…
"Damn it, all that effort was for nothing."
"Wait, didn't the reward for the master-apprentice mission include something called Intermediate Culinary Skills?"
Ling Feng opened his system space and found a white light cluster and a dark, unappealing pill. He hadn't noticed them before, but now he did.
"System, how do I use these Intermediate Culinary Skills?"
Ling Feng inquired in his mind.
[Just silently recite "Use Intermediate Culinary Skills" and you'll be fine.]
"Silently recite?"
Ling Feng followed the system's instructions and silently recited the phrase in his mind. The white light cluster turned into a point of light and disappeared. Ling Feng felt a pain in his head, and then nothing else happened.
"What? That's it?"
Ling Feng found no significant change in himself, only a brief headache, and then nothing else. He strongly suspected the system was lying to him.
[System products are guaranteed to be exquisite! Please do not doubt the system! How to use this skill requires the host to explore on their own.]
"Forget it, let's try." Ling Feng cast his gaze at the fish in his hand. Suddenly, Ling Feng felt his mind fill with many recipes for fish, such as Mondstadt Grilled Fish, Boiled Black Spotted Bass, and so on.
Not only that, but he also knew the steps for some of the recipes and ingredients from Earth.
"Is this Intermediate Culinary Skills? As long as I come into contact with relevant ingredients, I'll know all sorts of ways to prepare them. It's amazing."
"There are no seasonings right now, so I can only make ordinary grilled fish."
Ling Feng took out the Lion's Roar from his system space. He didn't have a kitchen knife now, so he'd have to make do with Lion's Roar temporarily acting as one.
Ling Feng first processed the fish by the lake, following the memories in his mind. He then carried some branches to the tent, as there was a pre-built grill there, saving him the time of constructing one.
The only problem now was fire. He didn't have a lighter, flint, or anything of the sort.
Did he have to learn to make fire by friction like primitive humans? That wasn't as easy as it sounded; it required skill, and he certainly didn't know how.
"Perhaps I should find a Fire Slime? The Hilichurls seem to use Fire Slimes as a way to start fires."
"But where would I find a Fire Slime here? This is the peak of Mount Aocang. It seems that due to Cloud Retainer, the True Monarch, there are no signs of any monsters around."
Ling Feng helplessly squatted down, staring blankly at the fish in front of him.
[Host can try to convert pure true energy into fire-attribute true energy. This can also form a tiny flame. You have an all-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root, so this is very simple for you.]
"It can be done like this?"
"I thought it required a cultivation technique."
Ling Feng closed his eyes upon hearing this and began to convert a trace of pure true energy in his dantian into fire-red true energy, which was fire-attribute true energy, according to the system's method.
Ling Feng opened his eyes and looked at the branches. The fire-attribute true energy from within him was released and condensed on the branches.
Slowly, wisps of white smoke began to rise from the branches.
"It's done!"