Chapter 53

The bear stood upright, revealing a hint of a human-like sneer. The figure before it, now awake, had already become a sumptuous meal in its eyes.

"Roar!"

The bear, with its thick black fur, stood over two zhang tall. It powerfully slapped its sturdy chest, the sound resonating. Its blood-red mouth opened wide, and it roared at the "little one," the foul breath from its mouth ruffling the hair of the awakened figure.

Awake's eyes narrowed, his hair plastered to the back of his head. His slender figure appeared frail in front of the two-zhang-tall bear, but his expression remained unchanged. He calmly stared at the bear, even with a hint of a smile on his lips.

Seeing that its roar had no effect, the bear became enraged and swung its massive paw at Awake's head with astonishing force. The wind from the blow was fierce, and if it hit solidly, it would surely tear Awake's head to pieces.

The bear's paw grew larger in Awake's eyes. His lips tightened, and he suddenly raised his arm, grabbing the bear's paw. Then, using his waist strength, he threw the bear away.

"Roar?" The bear was taken aback, seeing the "little one" below it grab its paw and then its entire body fly up.

"Thud!"

It sounded like a large bell ringing. The iron chain stretched taut, the links clinking together. The bear, lifted to the air, was suddenly pulled by the chain, hanging in mid-air, not falling to the ground as Awake had intended.

First, the bear was startled by Awake, then it let out a series of sneers, its mouth stretching to its ears, its arms spread wide, and its yellowish-white fangs exposed. Foul saliva dripped from its mouth.

Suddenly, the bear fell, pressing down like a mountain on the figure below it.

I'll crush you!

The bear's expression was fierce, its massive body pressing down like a mountain. Its massive paw was spread wide, ready to smash Awake's head.

"Ha!" Awake took a deep breath, let out a low shout, and clenched his fists. The nine force soul wheels rotated, and he kicked off with his legs, his body shooting out like an arrow, delivering a powerful punch to the bear.

With a loud "Bang," the two collided. The bear failed to crush Awake's head, but Awake's large fist, like a mortar, shattered the bear's rock-hard chest.

Blood gushed out, splashing on Awake's face, making him look like a demon.

"Swallow, swallow." Awake opened his mouth, drinking the bear's blood, and using the *Nili Sutra* to refine it into strength.

Fresh bear blood was very nourishing, replenishing his energy. After pulling out his arm, Awake threw the bear to the ground, then jumped onto its back, drawing out a butcher's knife. With a flash of the blade, he cut off the bear's paws and gallbladder.

These were ingredients recorded on the wooden sign. Awake had a photographic memory, and although he hadn't taken the sign from the bulletin board, he could submit the ingredients by simply taking the wooden sign and turning it in with the ingredients.

Actually, taking ingredients without the wooden sign was against the rules of the Imperial Kitchen's ingredient area, but since Awake wanted to eat bear meat, he decided to deal with the bear. Besides, few ghost servants would take on such a ferocious ingredient.

After cooking the entire bear, Awake, having eaten his fill, went to find the ingredients listed on the wooden sign. With just his formidable strength, he knocked down all the ferocious ingredients, turning them into true ingredients.

The ferocity was overwhelming. Awake, agile like a monkey, jumped from one iron cage to another, and any ingredient that displeased him or roared at him was mercilessly dealt with, then chopped up with the butcher's knife, becoming a true ingredient.

After a round, the first and second-level ferocious beasts were mostly dealt with. Beasts like black leopards, unicorns, and broad-mouthed crocodiles were all defeated by Awake, their rough meat filling his stomach.

"The rhinoceros meat is too tough, like chewing on wood, a torment. And the crocodile, not only is the meat rough, but it also has a foul smell that's hard to remove. Only the crocodile skin is decent." Awake walked through the blood mist, muttering to himself.

If the ingredients he had eaten could hear him, they would surely shed tears of blood, cursing him as a demon, smashing their bones to make bone soup, leaving no meat scraps, and complaining about the rough meat and foul smell.

"My current strength can forcefully pry open a crocodile's mouth, and with one arm, I can exert ten thousand pounds of force. If I add the amplification from the force soul wheels, I can reach a hundred thousand pounds of force, enough to crush a ghost official-level strong opponent." Awake clenched his fists, his eyes bright, full of confidence.

"But," Awake said with a regretful look, "reaching this level of strength has already hit the bottleneck of my ghost body. It's hard to improve further just by eating meat. If only I could eat the meat of a special-grade ingredient..."

Finally, Awake left the ingredient area. On the surface, the entire Imperial Kitchen was only the size of a soccer field, but just a simple walk around the ingredient area revealed it to be about two to three soccer fields, seemingly compressed by a powerful ghost.

"The bear's wooden sign..." Awake now stood in front of the bulletin board, looking for the wooden sign for the bear and other ingredients, preparing to turn them in.

"Found it!" Awake's eyes lit up, finding the bear's wooden sign. Just as he was about to pick it up, a hand with missing fingers stopped him.

Awake frowned and turned to look.

"Don't take it, this bear is very ferocious." A bearded ghost servant was trying to dissuade him.

"Kid, don't be impulsive. Although the name on the wooden sign sounds weak, I know that bear is not weak at all. On the contrary, it's very ferocious, a first-level dangerous ingredient."

The uncle continued, "They say the bear is over two zhang tall, like a small mountain. Standing in front of it, you'd be much shorter, just like a little one."

"That's not all. They say the bear is very ferocious, liking to roar at ghost servants. The foul breath from its roar can blow you away, and its mouth can swallow you whole, leaving no bones. Even a glance from the bear could scare you half to death!"

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Awake looked at the uncle with doubt.

"I heard this bear, although tall, is actually gentle, liking to smile at ghost servants and even hug them, very friendly." Awake said, giving a different version.

"And it's weak, soft and flimsy!" Awake added.

"Is that so?" The uncle was taken aback, as if Awake had seen it with his own eyes.

"Who knows?" Awake shrugged, indifferent, and pulled out the wooden sign for the bear, heading to the ingredient submission area.

"Again, it's you!" The ghost servant at the submission area glared at Awake. Every time Awake came, the ingredients he brought could scare any ghost, and he always came out unscathed.

"This is the last time," Awake said with a smile. He had been staying in the ingredient area for days, eating rough meat to the point of almost vomiting, and the effect was already very weak, so he planned to rest.

"Last time?" The ghost servant looked at Awake with doubt. He had said it was the last time before, but he always came back, without a break. The ghost servant even suspected that Awake lived in the ingredient area or was one of the ferocious beasts.

"This time, it's really the last time!" Awake placed the ingredients and the wooden sign on the wooden table at the submission area, which was now full.

"So many!" The ghost servant's eyes widened, almost falling out, and his tongue tied, making it hard to speak.

"Quick, clear it up and see how much reward I can get." Awake urged.

"Wait, just a moment!" The ghost servant quickly cleared it up, his eyes darting up and down, his fingers moving on the abacus.

After a while, the ghost servant cleared it up, looking at Awake as if he were a monster.

"How much?" Awake asked.

"Because most of the ingredients this time are first-level, and the quantity is the largest compared to the previous times... so..." The ghost servant paused, swallowing, and continued, "135 ghost qi, 210,000 nether coins!"

"Identity token."

Awake took off his identity token from his waist and handed it to the ghost servant.

The identity token was specially made by the City God's Office, with unique patterns inside that could not be replicated elsewhere.

Besides proving identity, the token could also record nether coins. Large amounts of nether coins could be transferred to the token, and when needed, they could be withdrawn using the token.

"Awake." The ghost servant glanced at Awake's identity token, surprised, after transferring over 200,000 nether coins.

"What's wrong?" Awake's eyes flashed with doubt.

"Nothing, just..." The ghost servant thought for a moment, looking somewhat troubled, "A few days ago, Chef Li gave you a task to fetch a special-grade ingredient."

"Li Dazui? Special-grade ingredient?" Awake pondered, then continued, "Did he tell you what special-grade ingredient I should fetch?"

"Ba Crocodile!" The ghost servant said with a serious expression.

"Ba Crocodile? So it's a crocodile." Awake pouted, having eaten a crocodile in the ingredient area, which was both rough and foul-smelling, making it very hard to eat.

"Usually, only ghost servants at the ghost official level can take on special-grade ingredients, but you..." The ghost servant hesitated, not out of concern for Awake's safety, but fear of being blamed.

"Li Dazui will take responsibility." Awake said, a smile on his lips.

The ghost servant stared at Awake in surprise, worried that he would be afraid, but Awake's reaction seemed to be one of anticipation.

"Since Chef Li ordered it, there's no need to worry about being blamed, but... are you sure?"

"Special-grade ingredients are at least at the ghost official level, and the Ba Crocodile is particularly difficult even among special-grade ingredients. Its physical strength is formidable, and a single sweep of its tail is hard for even ghost official-level ghost servants to withstand."

The ghost servant tried to dissuade him, not wanting Awake to die in vain. It would be better for him to stay outside the ingredient area and take the wooden signs, which would also benefit him.

"So powerful? That's even better!" Awake laughed, eager to try.

"But..."

"Enough, I've made up my mind." Awake said firmly.

"Alright, here's the wooden sign for the special-grade ingredient, Ba Crocodile." The ghost servant sighed, taking a wooden sign from the drawer and handing it to Awake.

When Awake took the sign, he glanced at the drawer, which contained a few scattered special-grade ingredient signs, not many.

"Thank you." Awake bowed, took the special-grade ingredient sign for the Ba Crocodile, and resolutely turned to leave.

Special ingredients are kept in the deepest part of the ingredient area—the special ingredient room!

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