Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The summer night's breeze was warm and humid. The three of them busied themselves around the grill, faces filled with anticipation and joy.

Lin Ning, the chef in charge of the barbecue, flipped and turned the skewers, controlling the fire and adding coal with seamless ease —it seemed nothing in the culinary world could stump this girl.

Standing next to her, Yan Yu held metal skewers, threading meat and vegetables. Although it was his first time, his deft hands worked so efficiently, he was on par with the veterans.

Behind them, Chen Lingyun sat elegantly sipping tea.

Around her, seven or eight Yin Ghosts were tasked with preparing ingredients, each performing their duties in an orderly fashion. Some were chopping, some marinating, others mixing, and one Yin Ghost kept a watchful eye on a ceramic pot over the fire, where tea simmered inside.

This wasn't a Necromancer, this was a slave owner.

Yan Yu suddenly doubted if guiding her to become an Envoy was a bigger mistake—leading to her bottom line now being abyssally deep.

"I told you." Lin Ning placed the first batch of skewers on the table beside them, "You seem pretty idle lately."

"Idle?" Yan Yu asked.

"Yeah." Lin Ning focused on the grill, "You used to spend your free time either training or watching others' combat footage, like domestic cultivators and foreign superheroes, claiming it was necessary intelligence gathering."

"So why is it now, other than sleeping—my point is, sleeping a lot—it's just eating, like a pig?"

Yan Yu pondered this question thoughtfully.

"It's simple." He replied, "Because I'm already the strongest in this world. There's no opponent for me, so why bother understanding enemy intel? As for honing skills, I've never stopped. You just didn't notice."

"What about the serpent monster?" Lin Ning asked.

"The serpent monster's not a person." Yan Yu argued self-righteously.

Lin Ning was speechless.

But after being together for so long, she was immune to this level of cheekiness, so she simply pretended not to hear, calmly sprinkling seasoning and applying sauce to the skewers. Fat dripped onto the coals, exploding with astounding heat and aroma.

Yan Yu finally finished threading all the ingredients, and turning around, he found Chen Lingyun already eating.

One Yin Ghost was responsible for removing the grilled meat from the skewers, placing it onto a pristine porcelain plate. Another arranged the grilled meat in order, ready to bring the warm pieces to Chen Lingyun.

"How come you're already eating?" Yan Yu used a Dragon Claw Hand move and pressed down on Chen Lingyun's head, "We're all working here, and you're sneaking bites?"

"Ouch!" Chen Lingyun retracted her neck.

Yan Yu released her with a cold laugh, only for her to turn around like lightning, chopsticks in hand, flicking a morsel of grilled meat into his mouth.

"Now you've eaten too." Chen Lingyun said with a sly smile, "The two of us are accomplices now, huh."

Yan Yu: .........

"How does it taste?" Chen Lingyun asked.

"A good balance of lean and fat, the person threading the meat did a fantastic job." Yan Yu said.

"Don't boast!" Lin Ning retorted, "It had too much fat. It's only because I grilled off the excess oil with perfect heat control, okay?"

"Then the problem lies with whoever cut the meat." Yan Yu expertly shifted the blame, "Ningning, stop busying yourself and come sit with us."

"Let me finish this batch first." Lin Ning refused to budge. Those who wielded the ladle at home were like this, insisting on washing all the bowls before they would sit down to eat.

"Hurry up!" Yan Yu impatiently urged, "If you keep getting lost in grilling, I'll poke you with a skewer!"

Lin Ning immediately covered her backside in fright. She instantly guessed that Yan Yu wasn't really going to poke her with a real skewer… Such indecent acts couldn't be done under broad daylight!

Although it was night, and they were alone, it still wouldn't do!

"Come here, hurry!" Yan Yu commanded with the authority of the head of the house.

Lin Ning reluctantly removed most of the coals, reducing the heat, and sat grudgingly next to Yan Yu.

"This plate's for you." Yan Yu pushed the meat her way.

"Wow, thanks!" Lin Ning was pleasantly surprised, not expecting Yan Yu to be so gentle and thoughtful, even helping remove the skewers in advance.

Chen Lingyun smiled silently, not exposing his performative generosity.

The three joyfully feasted on the grilled meat, while the Yin Ghosts brought beer and soy milk.

"Lingyun, can I borrow a Yin Ghost?" Lin Ning asked enviously, unable to resist, "If I had an assistant to help prep the ingredients, my efficiency would increase too."

"Sure." Chen Lingyun said, "I'll train one up for you…"

"Why not find a living person?" Yan Yu suddenly suggested, "Yun Jin and Xiao Lian can both cook. Oh, and Ye Jun can whip up a few dishes too."

"I'm not used to having others help in the kitchen." Lin Ning silently cursed the captain for being a fool. Cooking is my domain as his girlfriend, why let other competitors encroach?

"Then why have a Yin Ghost as your assistant?" Yan Yu teased.

"A Yin Ghost isn't human." Lin Ning replied.

Yan Yu was instantly choked with frustration. Lin Ning, you dare use my own words against me?

Hmph! What good is winning with words?

Tonight, you shall see, the persuasion of weapons far exceeds the weapons of persuasion!

——————————

Lingyou Province, underground national defense laboratory.

As the only serpent monster to be slain, its heart has been classified as a top-secret project by the Lu Country's Privy Council.

Even the five Golden Core True Men currently in Jinmen, who seem to be attempting to resolve the Bohai Giant Snake with conventional force, are, in some regard, providing cover for the secret research here.