Chapter 249: Pao Ding's Dexterity and the Furious Bull Blue Dragon Slash!
The green blade flashed past. Accompanied by the blue dragon mirage and its roar, Ryohei Tanaka swung the final cut.
As he pulled the blade back, he gave it a beautiful flourish, then stood tall, chest out, and let out a breath in a particularly dashing and suave manner. However, his expression held an unmistakable trace of excitement.
He couldn't help it; the Furious Bull Blue Dragon Slash was just too cool.
Although Lucoa might see it as all flash and no substance, in Ryohei Tanaka's eyes, it was just plain awesome.
Speaking of which...
"This really is a good blade!"
Ryohei Tanaka raised the blade—which was Lucoa—to eye level, praising it sincerely as he gently stroked the flat of the blade. In the sunlight, it glinted coldly, yet it wasn't stained with a single drop of blood or grease.
When he was dismembering the Wagyu, he had felt zero resistance, as if he were cutting through butter with a hot knife. It was unbelievably smooth.
This blade was a massive contributor to his ability to perform the Furious Bull Blue Dragon Slash so easily!
"Of course!"
Lucoa's self-satisfied voice rang out, followed by a shameless and completely unsubtle comment: "But compared to a cold weapon, I'd much rather be a 'hot weapon'..."
At these words, Yurine Hanazono—a weapons master—who had been looking at 'her' with some admiration, now had a look of utter disgust.
"..." Yurine pouted, and just as she was about to say something, the Black Wagyu that Ryohei Tanaka had struck over a dozen times collapsed to the ground with a "thud," and a golden light suddenly burst from its body.
Yurine looked over in astonishment. The cow's hide peeled back and fell away like a blooming flower, revealing the large cuts of beef within, all glistening in the sun.
Every piece of meat was precisely divided according to its cut.
The tenderloin, with its frost-like marbling, showed a delicate texture. The well-proportioned leg meat was a deep, rich red. The rib meat was a perfect marble of fat and lean, and the highest-grade shimofuri (marbled) beef was like "plum blossoms in the snow," its fat distribution as exquisite as a work of art.
As the sunlight fell on it, the butchered and portioned Black Wagyu's life force didn't seem to have faded completely. The plump cuts of meat were still twitching lightly, exuding a vivid freshness. A crystalline sheen of fat slicked the surface of the meat, and its aroma mingled with the mountain air...
"——!"
Yurine stared in complete shock at the perfectly butchered Wagyu. She even noticed that the meat had been cleanly stripped from the bones. Her reddish-brown eyes widened, and her pink lips parted as she couldn't help but exclaim:
"It's already portioned? The bone and meat are separated? Amazing!"
"And not a single drop of blood fell on the ground..." JII-chan stood to the side, her hands behind her back, blinking in amazement.
Just then, Jashin-chan scampered over like a husky. She crossed one arm over her chest, pinched her chin, and circled Ryohei Tanaka suspiciously, as if she didn't recognize him.
"What?" Ryohei Tanaka tossed the knife to the side, looking at Jashin-chan with amusement.
With a "poof" and a cloud of white smoke, the blade transformed back into Lucoa's tall, alluring figure.
"Ah—!"
Jashin-chan looked over, her eyes turning into beady dots and her mouth falling open. As if she understood everything, she made a fist and lightly tapped her open palm. "So that's it! It was all Lucoa's doing, wasn't it?"
"Good grief! You scared me! I was wondering why you were suddenly so fierce. The whole art style was wrong!"
Before Ryohei Tanaka could answer, Jashin-chan clapped a hand on his shoulder, grinning foolishly.
Ryohei Tanaka's eyelids lowered slightly as he glanced at her, feigning dissatisfaction. "Can't it just be my own ability? What's that saying? 'A scholar absent for three days should be looked at with new eyes.'"
"Of course," he continued, "Lucoa's blade form is very sharp and provided a lot of help. Her contribution was significant."
"But that's all," Lucoa, cupping her ample bust with one hand, causing her clothes to shift, put a finger to her lips and smilingly finished the thought.
"Ehh—!"
Jashin-chan looked at her, stunned, then looked back at Ryohei Tanaka, just as shocked.
'Wait! Vassal, you're serious?'
Yurine and JII also turned their heads, curious.
The scummy snake couldn't hold back any longer. "So, what did you get today?"
"The secret technique from a certain world's Dark Cooking Society, the 'Furious Bull Blue Dragon Slash.'"
"It can 'not spill a single drop of blood or juice' and perfectly dismember an entire bull in an instant. As a bonus, it slightly boosted my physical constitution."
Ryohei Tanaka didn't hide it. As he spoke, he looked at the butchered Wagyu on the ground.
'How should I handle all this meat?'
A full-on "All-Cow Banquet" would be perfect for the weekend, but he didn't have time today. He had to open the dessert shop and the restaurant. Where would he find the time?
Ryohei Tanaka thought for a moment. He'd slice some steaks for a steak donburi (steak over rice bowl) for lunch, sell some at the restaurant tonight, and then they'd finish the rest over the next couple of days.
While Ryohei Tanaka was pondering how to deal with the Wagyu, Jashin-chan looked at him with envy. "Another day of envying my vassal!"
Damn it! I want a "golden finger" (cheat system) too!
"..." Yurine was curious about this "Dark Cooking Society" Ryohei had mentioned. She repeated the name "Furious Bull Blue Dragon Slash" to herself, feeling it had a nice ring to it, was very cool, and fit the visuals perfectly.
It reminded her of the classical Chinese story of Pao Ding (Butcher Ding). She couldn't help but say, "This is even more amazing than Pao Ding's skill!"
"Hm." Ryohei Tanaka paused, then smiled. "The Furious Bull Blue Dragon Slash was actually derived from the Pao Ding story."
Seeing Yurine's surprised expression, Ryohei Tanaka stored the butchered Wagyu and began to show off: "It transforms a philosophical concept into a practical blade technique, creating a butchering skill that is both practical and spectacular..."
"Its core principle lies in the precise mastery of the bull's skeletal and meridian structure."
"Chotto matte! (Hold on!)" Yurine, with her sharp senses, found the flaw in his statement. "That world also has a Pao Ding?"
"Yeah, you can just think of it as a similar parallel world," Ryohei Tanaka replied casually.
"..." Yurine raised an eyebrow, surprised, but she didn't doubt him. After all, Ryohei Tanaka himself had been summoned by Jashin-chan from a "similar parallel world."
...
They didn't continue the chat. Ryohei Tanaka took his car keys from his storage space and walked toward the Nissan Patrol parked nearby. He called out to Lucoa, "Lucoa, come with me to buy groceries."
He needed her to open a spatial portal to Tokyo.
"Okay." Lucoa replied, following him with her long, full legs.
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