Jiang He had only agreed to Chi Zhenshan's dinner invitation by accident.
As a result, these past few days he had been focused entirely on cultivation, completely throwing the matter to the back of his mind and forgetting it altogether.
If it weren't for Chi Zhilei's reminder, he truly wouldn't have remembered.
At this moment, he changed into his own clothes, paired it with a "Clean and Fresh", instantly returning to his normal state.
Following Chi Zhilei, he left the school and took a car to the villa district on the outskirts of the city.
This was a residential area for high-level Transcendents.
Not only were all the houses detached villas, but even the ground was paved with specially-made stone slabs.
Even if a C-rank Transcendent struck with full force, they might not be able to leave a mark.
On the upper floors of every villa, there was even a dedicated "landing platform."
Aside from people like Jiang He who came and went by car, most high-level Transcendents simply rose into the air, coming and going above.
The driver dropped Jiang He and Chi Zhilei at the entrance.
As soon as they opened the door and stepped inside, Chi Zhenshan's voice came from within the villa.
"The last dish will be ready soon, you two can sit down and play on your phones first."
Jiang He followed Chi Zhilei in to change shoes, only to be surprised at the sight of Chi Zhenshan wearing an apron, standing in the kitchen chopping vegetables.
With each fall of the knife, the vegetables floated up from the chopping board and fell into the nearby wok.
As the flames surged, the wok shook on its own, grains of salt flew like snowflakes, sprinkling with precision and uniformity over every leaf, blending perfectly.
As if controlled by an invisible hand, the entire process was smooth and seamless.
Meanwhile, five or six dishes had already been placed on the dining table, their fragrance leaking out from beneath the food covers, filling the air and making one's mouth water.
Jiang He widened his eyes: "This is…"
"My dad's cooking. He makes super delicious food, but he's usually too busy to cook." Chi Zhilei spoke proudly, her face glowing with a smile.
"You're in for a treat today!"
"..."
The point wasn't whether the food was tasty.
The point was that Chi Zhenshan was the one cooking!
He was the Mayor of Central State, a top A-rank Transcendent, a powerhouse known as [Force That Calms Mountains and Rivers], his strength in no way inferior to Zhong Honglian's!
During the Arc Light assault, when he was besieged by numerous A-rank Transcendents—including peak A-ranks—he had not fallen in battle, but had only been seriously injured…
That alone was proof of his strength.
And yet such a top-tier powerhouse was acting like a househusband right now?
Truth be told, his burly frame looked cramped just standing inside the kitchen.
"Cooking is also cultivation. To have a body with strength in the hundreds of millions, yet still control power so precisely—so that one swing of the knife doesn't destroy the house along with the vegetables—that's already a terrifying level of control."
"Not to mention, ensuring every grain of salt is evenly distributed across the dish, letting the flavor shine perfectly…"
Old Jiang chuckled: "Among A-rank Transcendents, he truly counts as a powerhouse."
Playing games was cultivation, cooking was cultivation—was everything in the world cultivation?
Jiang He glanced at Old Jiang: "Then why don't you cook at home?"
"I can't." Old Jiang blinked innocently.
"『Cooking』 was one of the abilities erased from me. No matter how hard I try, I'll only ever make garbage…"
Even cooking could be erased?
Jiang He looked at Old Jiang doubtfully.
He had reason to suspect Old Jiang was just lazy, using the eraser as an excuse.
On the other side, Chi Zhenshan seemed to sense something.
Just like You Chunsheng, with an A-rank Transcendent's physique, he didn't even need to deliberately pay attention—he could effortlessly pick up on the slightest movement of others.
After finishing the last dish, he carried the plate out of the kitchen, set it on the dining table, and smiled: "Xiao Jiang, I made quite a bit of food today. If your uncle were here, he could join us too."
Jiang He: "..."
So everyone knew, huh.
Old Jiang was straightforward, directly revealing his figure as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
He didn't even conceal his face, instead showing his preset disguise with a smiling expression: "Sorry for intruding. We've met before—I'm Old Bai."
Chi Zhilei's eyes widened at the sight of Old Jiang appearing out of thin air.
This white-haired man… had he really been invisibly following Jiang He all along, never leaving his side?!
No wonder he always managed to show up right in time during every incident…
To be honest, that was kind of creepy.
Chi Zhenshan, however, looked as calm as ever.
Like Zhong Honglian, he also believed "Old Bai" was once the very first Word-Spirit gifted.
It was possible he had faked his death after being attacked in 1997, and due to some psychological issues, no longer wished to show himself before others… that was perfectly understandable.
It could be understood.
By now, the dishes were served, and Chi Zhenshan invited everyone to eat.
Only then did Jiang He pick up his chopsticks.
When he placed a slice of meat in his mouth, deliciousness instantly blossomed on his tongue, countless taste buds groaning in pleasure.
"Delicious!"
Jiang He widened his eyes, moving his chopsticks rapidly, putting food in his mouth again and again.
If not for the need to maintain some restraint as a guest, he would've lifted the plate and devoured it directly.
After a short while, the table was swept clean.
Jiang He patted his stomach, letting out a satisfied sigh, then gave Chi Zhenshan a thumbs up.
"Delicious!"
"As long as you liked it."
Chi Zhenshan grinned warmly, looking every bit the friendly neighborhood uncle, with not a trace of arrogance.
Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the plates floated away under the control of psychic power, heading into the kitchen to be washed.
Old Jiang was the first to speak, getting to the real business—
He asked Chi Zhenshan about the Council's situation, how many Ultimate Beasts had been hunted down…
To him, that was the most important matter.
After all, Ultimate Beasts grew more terrifying with time.
In their juvenile stage, they could still be dealt with.
But if they matured, and then happened to make contact with other beings… that would be extremely difficult to control.
Because Old Jiang knew very well—
Ultimate Beasts merely refused to coexist with humans.
That didn't mean they wouldn't coexist with other forms of life.
If the Abyss of Demons didn't mind, there was no reason the beasts couldn't cooperate with demons, forming a united force!
If that happened, the result would be an apocalypse even more terrifying, even more despair-inducing than the one he had experienced!
Faced with Old Jiang's question—
Chi Zhenshan's answer was…
"I don't know."
"After we submitted all the information on the Ultimate Beasts to the Council, they gave no response."
"Absolute Judgment told us to continue training, and gave no further instructions."
"I had people keep an eye on the Council's movements, and from what I hear, they still haven't begun taking action."
"My guess is the Prophet is still observing the situation…"
The Prophet was observing the situation?
Old Jiang frowned slightly.
Something wasn't right.
From what he knew, once the most stealthy, Ever-Changing, had been eliminated, the remaining six Ultimate Beasts absolutely could not escape the Prophet's perception—at least not yet.
In a situation that would only get worse the longer it dragged on, how could the Prophet possibly do nothing, just standing by and observing?
Unless…
Old Jiang's eyelid twitched.
The Prophet had run into trouble?
...
Old Jiang fell into thought.
Chi Zhenshan turned his gaze to Jiang He, smiling: "Xiao Jiang, how do you feel about the recent training camp?"
"Very good," Jiang He replied.
In just a few days, he had been handed S-rank resources one after another, along with all kinds of items that sped up cultivation…
If he couldn't say it was good, then no one could.
"That's good. Tomorrow is the second live combat exercise. You'll be entering the Abyss of Demons for exploration then, so be more careful."
Chi Zhenshan smiled: "By the way, the reason I invited you here today is because there's something I want to ask you…"
Tomorrow was the second live combat exercise?
That made sense.
Thursday was when the Twisted Time Domain opened, so of course there'd be another combat exercise on Wednesday.
It would give those with lower energy levels, who hadn't had the chance to act during the beast attack, a chance to show themselves…
Jiang He nodded slightly, perking up as he heard Chi Zhenshan's words.
Chi Zhenshan was a top A-rank Transcendent, his strength second only to the Council's Thirteen.
If he personally invited him to dinner, and even cooked himself, then it couldn't be just for small talk.
What came next had to be his true purpose!
Jiang He watched Chi Zhenshan seriously, only to hear him say with a smile:
"Do you want to marry Zhilei?"
"…Ah?" Jiang He froze.
Chi Zhilei also froze, her face reddening from her neck all the way to her ears.
She sprang up at once: "Dad?!!"
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