The story of Ximen Chuihuo and the High-tier Spirit Beasts was extraordinarily convoluted—not something to be shared with outsiders.

In any case, Ximen Chuihuo was an oddity in the Spiritual Control Sect. A major oddity.

Jiang Zuo shook his head. ’It really takes all kinds,’ he thought.

After Da Bai finished packing up its own leg, Ximen Chuihuo handed it to Jiang Zuo. It was indeed a very large leg, the entire thing.

That Da Bai was quite generous.

This was probably the only thing worth being happy about today. He had originally planned on sharing it with Su Qi, but on second thought, he decided against it.

This dog leg was enough for two or three meals. ’I’ll save it.’

With Zhong Yiyang’s skills, he should have a way to preserve it.

After Jiang Zuo accepted the dog leg, Ximen Chuihuo spoke again. "I wonder, does Fellow Daoist have a Sect? If you wouldn’t mind, the Spiritual Control Sect..."

"Not interested," Jiang Zuo said directly.

’I have no interest in joining any sect. I’m perfectly fine on my own, with no worries about food or clothing. Why would I join a sect?’

’To make my own life difficult?’

At this thought, Jiang Zuo looked at Sweet Potato and then asked Ximen Chuihuo, "Do you recognize this duck?"

Ximen Chuihuo followed Jiang Zuo’s gaze to Sweet Potato, then frowned. "A Spirit Beast duck?"

Although Ximen Chuihuo couldn’t sense any Spiritual Qi from Sweet Potato, the way it nibbled on the apple was very human-like.

Especially when it heard Jiang Zuo mention it, it even raised its head to glance at him. This was further proof that it was sentient.

Creatures with sentience were basically all Spirit Beasts.

Then Ximen Chuihuo added, "I wonder how it tastes."

Jiang Zuo: "..."

Ximen Chuihuo gave an awkward laugh. "Just a minor quirk of mine, please excuse me, Fellow Daoist. However, as far as I know, there are no duck species among Spirit Beasts.

The only ones that exist are farmed Spirit Ducks, but farmed types don’t really count as Spirit Beasts. They lack sentience.

And this duck doesn’t look very big. It must have been born with nascent intelligence.

Where did you get it, Fellow Daoist?"

’Looks like Ximen Chuihuo doesn’t know either,’ Jiang Zuo thought. He then said, "The Water Qilin gave it to me. Said it was a descendant of the Holy Beast Vermilion Bird. But aside from its color, I really can’t see any trace of a Vermilion Bird in it."

"What?"

Ximen Chuihuo was shocked. "A descendant of the Vermilion Bird? You’re not joking, are you, Fellow Daoist? This is a duck, right? And a Vermilion Bird is, well, a bird, right?"

Jiang Zuo nodded placidly, indicating that he wasn’t joking at all.

Although Ximen Chuihuo was skeptical, he knew the Water Qilin probably wouldn’t lie.

"In that case, this is simply a disgrace to all Holy Beasts. Although Holy Beasts aren’t the apex of Spirit Beasts, they’re considered nobility. For a commoner to appear among a group of nobles... if they saw it, they would definitely strangle it to death.

You’d best be careful, Fellow Daoist."

Then Ximen Chuihuo added, "However, a duck Vermilion Bird is unprecedented. It’s not impossible that it could mutate and surpass its ancestor. You don’t need to be discouraged, Fellow Daoist."

Those words were clearly just for comfort, and Jiang Zuo didn’t take them seriously.

Besides, just as Ximen Chuihuo had said, Holy Beasts weren’t the most powerful Spirit Beasts. There were even more terrifying existences above them.

’Even if it were a real Vermilion Bird, if I didn’t want to raise it, I wouldn’t take it for free.’

Sweet Potato was a bit lacking, but at least it was special. Recently, it had even started learning to do a backflip (still a work in progress).

However, Jiang Zuo and Ximen Chuihuo didn’t discuss these topics in depth. Not long after, Ximen Chuihuo left. It was getting late, and everyone had things to do.

At one point, Ximen Chuihuo offered to buy some of the dog leg meat, but Jiang Zuo bluntly refused him.

’This leg was hard to come by.’

After finishing the barbecue, Jiang Zuo returned home.

「The next day.」

Because his Innate Two Qi was completely depleted, he couldn’t level up. If it didn’t recover by the next morning, he wouldn’t have the chance to do so at home.

His plane ticket was for around three in the afternoon the next day. Even if his Qi recovered in the morning, the time for absorption would be very tight.

Today, Jiang Zuo didn’t go to the Tianhe Group. He went to the Incomparable Restaurant. With the newly acquired dog leg, he couldn’t wait to taste it. ’How should I have it prepared this time?’

’That’s a good question.’

’Roast it again?’

’That would be good, but it feels like a waste not to try something different.’

Before long, Jiang Zuo arrived at the restaurant with Sweet Potato.

"Welcome! How many in your party, sir?" a waitress greeted him as soon as the door opened.

Jiang Zuo looked at her and said, "I’m looking for Zhong Yiyang."

The waitress smiled. "The boss didn’t mention any guests coming today. May I have your name, sir?"

"Po Xiao," Jiang Zuo said.

"Please wait a moment."

After the waitress left, someone in the restaurant called out toward Jiang Zuo, "Elder Po Xiao, over here, over here!"

Jiang Zuo turned to look. ’In this world, it seems there aren’t many people who would call me Elder, are there?’

’Except for those who haven’t stepped into the world of cultivation.’

Then Jiang Zuo saw Chu Qing, then he saw Chu Qing, and finally, he saw Xiao Xiaomo.

At this time, Chu Qing was almost healed; Chu Qing, by contrast, was covered in quite a few injuries.

However, she was still in her usual getup. Although she had changed her clothes and the towel was a different color, the overall style was the same.

Seeing Jiang Zuo, Chu Qing immediately said, "Uncle Po Xiao."

Xiao Xiaomo also asked, "Boss Po Xiao, you’re here to eat too?"

Jiang Zuo shook his head. "I came to find Zhong Yiyang to help me make something delicious."

Chu Qing looked at Jiang Zuo excitedly. "Can we eat together?"

"No," Jiang Zuo refused without hesitation. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

’It wouldn’t matter if they called me Elder or Uncle. Even calling me Dad would be useless.’

Chu Qing lowered his head. The rejection was so decisive. ’Good thing I’m a frequent lurker and know what Elder Po Xiao’s personality is like. Otherwise, I’d be questioning my existence right now.’

Just as Xiao Xiaomo was about to ask something, an excited voice came from the direction of the kitchen. "Po Xiao? Fellow Daoist Po Xiao, you’re here?"

Just then, a man with messy hair and bloodshot eyes ran out.

Jiang Zuo frowned. ’Zhong Yiyang is supposed to be very handsome, but this guy looks nothing like him.’

’Something’s wrong with him. Will it affect his cooking?’

What Jiang Zuo really cared about was his Duoling Dog leg.

At that moment, Zhong Yiyang said excitedly, "I’ve achieved initiation, Fellow Daoist Po Xiao! I’ve achieved initiation in my Sword Skill! I’ve figured it out! It’s true, it’s truly magical! I feel like the path ahead of me has been smoothed."

Jiang Zuo took a closer look and found that Zhong Yiyang’s aura had indeed changed. It was very faint, but it had definitely changed.

’He must have really achieved initiation.’

"Is this era full of geniuses?" Jiang Zuo muttered to himself.

’Indeed, in just over a week, I’ve seen so many geniuses. Chu Qing is one—around fifteen years old, Tier Two, and a "genius" Blacksmith. Chi Xue Child is another—unassuming, but with an extraordinary state of mind. Ximen Linglong counts as well, just with unbalanced skill points.’

’Chu Qing’s constitution is special, so he isn’t a true genius, but he’s definitely no worse than one.’

’Ximen Chuihuo isn’t a genius, but he’s a man of talent. Compared to other geniuses, I have a much higher opinion of a talented person like him. For no other reason than the fact that he gets it.’

’Not only that, among my peers, my Cultivation is higher than all those geniuses. Compared to me, someone like Ximen Linglong is as ordinary as can be.’

’But in terms of aptitude, I’m really not a genius-level figure.’