Whoosh!

The sound of air tearing could be heard.

The fat chef brandished his long-handled soup ladle and descended from the sky. He aimed at Su Jingxing’s head and swiftly slashed down.

An invisible but terrifying force instantly sealed off all escape routes around Su Jingxing.

The terrifying pressure was like a huge mountain that weighed heavily on Su Jingxing, attempting in vain to pin him to the ground.

Boom!

The force of a punch broke through the air.

Su Jingxing ignored the suppression and aimed a simple punch at the fat chef that was midair.

The Hundred Steps Reigning Fist with 100 years of true essence cultivation.

With this punch, worldly energy instantly boiled.

Force energy, true energy, astral energy, baneful aura, killing intent…

All of them shattered inch by inch under the continuous stacking and tearing of the fist force.

The fat chef’s attack did not even last for half a second before it turned into nothing.

He was also sent flying into the sky by the terrifying force of the punch.

The protective true essence on his body shattered first, followed by a pot.

An ordinary iron pot that was his Martial Art True Intent lasted for three seconds before it cracked and shattered.

The remaining force struck the fat chef’s body, creating a circle of light.

But it quickly dissipated as well.

Under the chaotic force, the fat chef spat out a bloody mist from his mouth and body, and the fat on his body disappeared.

His light body flew in the air for a while before slowly landing back on the ground.

He laid gently on the ground like a piece of paper.

His vitality had long been severed.

Dead…

The fat chef who injured Tian Shunchen and defeated the middle-aged man died just like that?

Because the fat chef was dead, the other chefs also collapsed on the ground. Yu Qianmang, Mei Shanghe, and the other disciples of Jade Sword Sect who had regained their freedom stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded as they stared at Su Jingxing, who had killed the fat chef with a single punch.

One punch.

He killed a powerful third-grade expert who had condensed Martial Art True Intent with a single punch.

What was Su Jingxing’s realm?

Second-grade?

First-grade?

For a time, in the Jade Sword Sect, both inside and outside, up in the air and on the ground, were shocked and fell into dead silence.

“What kind of symbol is this?”

Su Jingxing was the one who broke the silence first. He looked at the fat chef whose clothes were all torn, revealing his soft skin, and the strange tattoo on his back.

This tattoo was rather strange. It looked like words, but also like a pattern.

And it was only one half. The other half should be on his chest.

The front and back together was the complete symbol.

With this in mind, Su Jingxing released his true essence and wrapped it around the fat chef’s corpse to make it stand on the ground.

“This… this…”

“Pu!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the tattoo on the fat chef’s body. Blood spurted from his mouth.

“This is the character ‘shi’, the character ‘shi’ in food¹!”

Enduring the stabbing pain from his body, he got up from the ground and stared at the fat chef with burning eyes.

“Shi character?” Su Jingxing raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, the character ‘shi’.”

The middle-aged man’s pupils constricted. As he panted, he waved at his surroundings and said, “Everyone, stand down. Qianmang, take Xiao Lou and leave too.”

“Huh? Okay.”

Yu Qianmang came back to her senses and left with Yu Qianlou, who was still in a daze.

The other disciples of the Jade Sword Sect also left at Mei Shanghe’s signal.

Mei Shanghe stayed behind. He bowed his head and pretending to be mute.

The middle-aged man glanced at him but did not stop him.

Taking a deep breath, he explained, “From the beginning, I was curious about the origins of these people and their strength. Why are they so terrifying and almost invincible among their peers? Now that I see this character ‘shi’, I finally understand the reason.”

“Gourmand¹!”

Without waiting for Su Jingxing to ask, the middle-aged man continued, “He’s from Gourmand!”

“Like Ghost Ride, it’s an ancient organization that has existed for an unknown period of time. Ghost Ride dares to to do anything for benefits. They don’t care how many people die.”

“Gourmand is different.”

The middle-aged man’s voice was trembling. “These fellow are only interested in eating! Animals, plants, insects, fish, and Mutated Beasts, they can, want to, and dare to eat all of them!”

“The cultivation of every member of Gourmand is gained from eating. And they’re extraordinarily powerful, their true energy attributes are extremely strange.

“If that’s all, it’s fine. The key is that from some point, they targeted humans.”

“How is this possible? They actually dared to eat… eat…”

Tian Shunchen, who was sitting on the ground and panting heavily, opened his mouth in shock when he heard this. However, he did not manage to finish his sentence.

Su Jingxing’s eyes flashed.

Mei Shanghe’s pupils constricted, and he clenched her fists.

“How is it impossible?! There are detailed records of the evil deeds these beasts have done!”

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and growled, “Furthermore, they specifically target martial artists, Martial artists in the lower ranks, middle ranks, and top ranks!

“Once targeted, very few martial artists can escape.

“These beasts once caused the entire continent to panic. All the countries had no choice but to join forces and pay a huge price to get rid of them.

“Although Gourmand disappeared for a period of time, they rose from the ashes not long after.

“There are always people who can’t resist the temptation. They took the shortcut and became a member of Gourmand.

“However, after the recovery, Gourmand no longer dared to be big and loud and cause panic.

“They hid behind the scenes, hiding in dark corners, searching for their targets like the most sinister and cold vipers.

“Other than those they have their eyes on, very few outsiders know about their existence after so many years.

“It’s said, it’s said…”

Suddenly remembering something, the middle-aged man swallowed his saliva and said in a trembling voice, “It’s said that Gourmand once killed a Martial Sage. Even a Martial Sage was implicated!”

“…”

Silence.

Dead silence.

Tian Shunchen’s mouth fell open in shock.

Mei Shanghe was dumbfounded. He stood rooted to the ground and stopped breathing.

Su Jingxing’s heart abruptly skipped a beat. An invisible danger was approaching him. Although it quickly disappeared, he still caught it.

Really?

Is what the middle-aged man said true?

Had the Gourmand really killed a Martial Sage before? Even a Martial Sage was no match for them?

Su Jingxing wasn’t surprised that a Martial Sage would be killed.

He himself just killed Xiang Qingtian’s physical body and injured his Essence Soul.

But killing a Martial Sage.

Few people could calmly take the corpse away after killing a Martial Sage!

Su Jingxing had relied on the ultimate technique, Spirit Annihilation.

With the Thunder Dragon Bone Armor protecting him.

He also had an Essence Soul.

What did the Gourmand rely on?

Did they also have a Transcendent-grade expert?

Or did they possess a powerful rare treasure?

Or rather, a divine weapon?

Silence.

For a moment, Su Jingxing fell into deep thought.

Earth Star was very mysterious.

Putting aside the fact that he was not a true Martial Sage yet, even if he was, it did not mean that he was invincible.

No one knew how many more terrifying existences such as Ghost Ride and Gourmand existed.

“If he’s a member of the Gourmand, who had he targeted?”