"So… you destroyed my Bronze-rank automaton. I, Xan Kang Hang, applaud your struggle. As a reward, you ca— pzzzt—"
Thud!
Crack!
The Soul recording artifacts that were broadcasting the pre-recorded message from Xan Kang Hang were shattered to pieces by Xue Hui, who mercilessly stomped on the head of one of the destroyed soul puppets that was playing the message.
Visibly annoyed, Xue Hui didn't even entertain himself by listening to the old dwarf's antics.
Waving his arm, one of the Origin Spheres flew toward the secret compartment in the room where the rewards were hidden, and stored the rewards inside his Law of Space.
While doing so, Xue Hui walked toward Xiao Ning'er to check her condition.
Grasping her hand, Xue Hui's serious expression softened. He leaned close to her, his gaze roaming all over her face, searching for any signs of distress.
"Are you alright, Ning'er?" Xue Hui asked with concern. "That old dwarf was trying to pull a cheap shot, probably to give anyone who enters his labyrinth a welcoming shock," Xue Hui explained, his face inches away from hers.
This made Xiao Ning'er avert her gaze, too embarrassed to meet his eyes. "Xue Hui, your f-face is way too close," she said in a soft voice.
Seeing that Xiao Ning'er was acting like her usual self, Xue Hui let out a sigh of relief, glad to see that she was perfectly fine.
"Sorry, I can't help it. I was just trying to assess your condition, then I got mesmerized by your beautiful eyes. I was drawn to them just now."
Xue Hui's lips curved upward upon seeing how Xiao Ning'er's face turned crimson from the compliment.
Chuckling, Xue Hui pulled Xiao Ning'er along, guiding her to a corner of the room that was clear of metal debris.
Walking hand in hand, Xiao Ning'er pouted slightly. Xue Hui was teasing her out of nowhere. If it weren't for the fact that he was in the middle of something, she would have pinched his cheek for making those playful remarks.
"This spot is clear. We can sit here, Ning'er." Sitting on the floor, Xue Hui gestured for the Origin Spheres to fly toward him.
Taking out the reward, Xue Hui placed the aforementioned object between himself and Xiao Ning'er.
Exchanging looks, Xue Hui opened the box, and the hiss of escaping air softly reached both of their ears. Inside was a golden-colored metallic object the size of a fist, along with a key, presumably for the next room.
Confused, Xiao Ning'er asked Xue Hui if he had any idea what the circular object was, which he answered with a nod.
Grabbing both the key and the circular object, Xue Hui explained that the key was for the next room. Since this place was a labyrinth, different trials awaited them in each room.
Xiao Ning'er nodded while her gaze landed on the golden orb. "And what about the ball? Is that something we can also use?" Xiao Ning'er asked, her delicate finger brushing over the orb's smooth surface.
Xue Hui let out a laugh and rolled the orb on top of his palm. "This is actually a type of toy that was popular in the past, although this one seems to be overengineered."
"A toy? Overengineered?" Xiao Ning'er asked in puzzlement, wondering why a toy had been placed as a reward for this room.
Xue Hui nodded and placed the orb in Xiao Ning'er's hands.
"It's easier if I just show you how this thing works. First, put a drop of your blood on it and watch it wake up," Xue Hui instructed, which confused Xiao Ning'er, though she still followed his words.
Making a tiny incision on her finger, she let her blood trickle onto the metallic orb.
The moment her blood touched the orb, the object released a soft hum, followed by a faint glow emitting from it.
Her body flinched after feeling a sudden jolt within her Soul Realm. Once it was over, Xiao Ning'er felt the newly established connection between herself and the orb.
Xue Hui explained to Xiao Ning'er how a Soul Weapon works, which made her nod in understanding.
"Then why give it to me, Xue Hui? You're the one who found this. I didn't do anything to deserve it," she asked timidly. Xiao Ning'er felt that Xue Hui was treating her far too well.
"It's just a Soul Weapon, Ning'er. It's nothing special. I already have my own weapon, so I don't need it, and we're doing this together. Naturally, we should share the benefits we find here. You take the orb, then I'll take this key."
His reasoning was a bit nonsensical, but Xiao Ning'er accepted it anyway. To her, Xue Hui was already a special person in her heart. If Xue Hui asked her for anything, she wouldn't refuse him, even if he asked her to be his girlfriend.
That thought made Xiao Ning'er's cheeks dusted in pink.
Before Xiao Ning'er could say her thanks, a clanking noise caught her attention. She gasped when the orb in her hands began to shift and turn, transforming from a fist-sized orb into a creature resembling a bird.
More precisely, a chick, a small and very round metallic-looking chick.
"Pipiru."
The metallic chick tilted its tiny head and turned to look at Xiao Ning'er's face. Its gaze seemed to be trying to recognize the girl in front of it. After a few breaths, the metallic chick stretched its body before flapping its small wings. Then it let out a high-pitched chirp, as if it were trying to communicate with Xiao Ning'er.
Flustered, Xiao Ning'er stretched both of her arms out in front of her, as though trying to keep a venomous animal away from her body.
"Xue Hui, it changed into a bird," she said with a mixture of shock and puzzlement.
Panic crept over Xiao Ning'er when the chick began to flap its small wings and unsteadily flew from her palm to above her head before perching on top of it.
"Pipiru."
Finding the scene a little funny, Xue Hui let out a snort while trying to stifle a laugh.
Noticing his reaction, Xiao Ning'er's panicked expression melted away and was replaced by a deadpan look. Huffing, she scooted to close the distance between them, then brought her hand to Xue Hui's cheek and pinched it.
"Ow, ow, owie… sorry… I didn't mean to laugh, Ning'er. Forgive me… please!"
Unfortunately for Xue Hui, his apology and troubled look only succeeded in making Xiao Ning'er to chortle.
Later…
The two sat side by side. Xiao Ning'er was busy playing with the chick, giggling as the bird jumped between her palms.
Xue Hui watched the two while nursing his slightly reddened cheek. Xiao Ning'er looked at him, still waiting for his explanation.
"That thing is called an automaton, or more commonly known in the recent era as a Soul Puppet."
Hearing this, Xiao Ning'er caught the chick between her palms and gave it a closer look, prompting the chick to stare back at her.
"Soul Puppet? So this thing has a soul trapped inside it or something?" Xiao Ning'er asked in horror, a little perturbed by that piece of information.
"Normally, that's how most Soul Puppets operate." Before Xiao Ning'er could grow more uneasy, Xue Hui scooted closer to her and grabbed the chick in her hands, giving it a knowing look.
"But this one was crafted using a method called Artificial Personality, so it doesn't need a soul to operate."
Xiao Ning'er had a visibly confused look on her face at everything Xue Hui said.
Her puzzlement was unsurprising. Some of the terms Xue Hui mentioned had long been forgotten by the people of this world.
"With the use of Inscription Coding, the master crafter creates an entire artificial personality by placing a series of commands into the automaton until it develops a complete persona of its own."
Xue Hui took out a sheet of paper and some inscription ink, then laid out an Inscription Coding array on it, wanting to demonstrate how it worked.
Xiao Ning'er remained quiet, attentively watching Xue Hui as he inscribed unfamiliar runes onto the paper.
"I wrote an Inscription Coding command on this piece of paper," Xue Hui explained while folding the paper in half before tossing it into the air, "which means that once I let go of it, both sides will flap like wings."
Just as Xue Hui said, the paper began flapping its sides, its movements resembling a flying bird.
"That was amazing!" Xiao Ning'er exclaimed, fascination shining in her eyes. "So what you mean to say is that this chick has the same thing written on it?" Xiao Ning'er asked while tapping the metal chick's head with her finger.
"That, and tens of thousands more Inscription Codings. That old man reached such great mastery in Soul Puppet engineering that he no longer needed to use an actual soul to animate his creations," Xue Hui explained.
"Not only that, this chick is also a Soul Weapon, meaning that once equipped by you, its strength will rise alongside yours. So imagine it, once you become a Legend-rank Demon Spiritualist, this thing is going to become one of your most formidable weapons."
Xiao Ning'er's face reddened. The way Xue Hui spoke made it sound as though he was absolutely certain she would become a Legend-rank expert in the future.
Xue Hui had to admit that despite the old dwarf's eccentricity, there was no doubt in his mind that when it came to Soul Puppet engineering, Xan Kang Hang was undoubtedly the greatest.
This also made the labyrinth far more dangerous to explore. Xue Hui had never read anything about this place in Emperor Shen Jiao Dao's memoirs, meaning that even she herself had never discovered this place either.
That left Xue Hui completely blind when it came to exploring this labyrinth.
But since he and Xiao Ning'er had already come this far, they might as well see the labyrinth through to the end.
If things became too troublesome for the two of them, Xue Hui could always use his Origin Sphere to escape.
After explaining the function of the pure automaton as a Soul Weapon, Xiao Ning'er decided to name the chick NiHui, her face turning red for some reason as she did so.
Instead of entering her Soul Realm like ordinary Soul Weapons did when idle, NiHui transformed itself into a hairpiece and rested atop Xiao Ning'er's head.
At first, Xiao Ning'er felt embarrassed by it, especially seeing how fancy the hairpiece looked.
But once Xue Hui convinced her that it suited her perfectly, she gave in and wore it. Her bashful expression only made her look even more beautiful with it.
After confirming that there was nothing else left to see in the room, Xue Hui told Xiao Ning'er that they were heading to the next room while also reminding her to stay on guard.
Xiao Ning'er nodded and activated her Soul Force to heighten her senses, making sure there wouldn't be a repeat of her earlier mishap.
Key in hand, Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er pushed the door open. As soon as they did, they were hit by a peculiar smell.
Xue Hui was about to cover his nose but stopped when he realized that every scent he was smelling felt strangely familiar.
Red oil, Snow Garlic, chopped vegetables, Yellow-Winged Cow meat, and more.
Xue Hui's eyebrows rose. Those were ingredients for cooking, and based on the sizzling and clattering noises in the distance, he could guess that someone, or something, was preparing a dish.
The question was why?
"Xue Hui, I think someone is cooking over there?" Xiao Ning'er asked in puzzlement.
She knew that the labyrinth they had entered had been hidden for tens of thousands of years, with no one able to discover it besides Xue Hui.
"So how come there are people inside making meals?" Xiao Ning'er asked.
Xue Hui answered with a shrug. He had an idea of what it might be, but he was equally confused about its purpose.
"We'll know once we get closer and take a look."
What interested Xue Hui more was the method used to acquire those ingredients. Everything smelled fresh.
'Not stored in an interspatial storage, then,' Xue Hui thought to himself.
Interspatial spaces, such as those inside interspatial rings, were not capable of completely halting time for the objects stored within them. It was impossible for food to remain perfectly fresh inside one for long periods.
Which meant the ingredients had been acquired through some other method.
"Interesting," Xue Hui murmured. Whatever method they were using, he wanted to uncover it.
As Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er approached the center of the room, they were suddenly blinded by bright lights illuminating the entire area.
Shielding their eyes, Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er heard the sounds of cheering crowds accompanied by bands playing in the background.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO OUR TWO GUESTS! THEY ARE YOUNG! THEY ARE BRAVE! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY WERE K-I-S-S-I-N-G UNDER THE TREE! OUR CHALLENGERS, HUMANS!"
The applause from the crowd became frantic. Some were cheering while others were booing, and a few even swooned upon hearing the latter part of the introduction.
Their reactions made Xiao Ning'er blush, especially when she recalled that she really had kissed Xue Hui once.
On the other hand, Xue Hui had a shocked look on his face. What he saw almost made him pull Xiao Ning'er to his side and activate his Origin Power to escape immediately.
The room, or more accurately, the arena, had a stage at its center with two separate kitchen stations. Tens of thousands of Soul Puppets filled the audience seats. Each possessed Bronze-, Silver-, or Gold-rank strength. Their combined power was enough to bring devastating destruction upon Glory City.
"WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO OUR FIRST EVER COOKING SHOWDOWN!"
End of Chapter 50