"Not scared!"
Miyoko's eyes snapped firm. She drew a deep breath and slid into the opening stance of Hojo Flow Body Arts. "These two months weren't for nothing!"
Hojo Flow Body Arts—the taijutsu Miyoko had formed while training Food Honor.
Miyoko wasn't "born Herculean," but her arm strength outclassed her peers; her wrist power was especially insane. Shun knew this and built her style around that edge.
Under Shun's guidance, Miyoko didn't chase flashy strings. She fused Food Honor's cores—precision, control, perception—with her crushing wrist strength and solid bodywork.
She ditched head-on collisions, pivoting to a set of piercing point-strikes and joint locks.
With Food Honor's sense, she could read an enemy's muscle drive and energy nodes, then pour focused force into a single point to jam, disrupt, or seal.
Put simply: a pressure-point art—the kind only a handful in the Gourmet world could truly master.
Taken to the extreme, acupoint skills could "refine the whole earth"—like Jiro, one of the Three Greats.
Miyoko was nowhere near a sliver of Jiro's level, of course, but against ordinary beasts, it was more than enough.
Facing the rabid Dark-Red Blazetiger for the first time, the pre-Food-Honor Miyoko might have collapsed in fear.
Now, she stayed cool.
She stilled her breath and maxed out her Food Honor sense.
The instant Shun engaged the beast head-on and drew all its attention, she caught a flicker of an opening.
ROAR!
The Blazetiger's bellow shook the grove. In that surge, the muscles of its neck hit a subtle switch point between taut and loose.
There!
Miyoko moved.
She cut in from the blind side, slipping along its rear flank. Only at close range did she taste its monstrous pressure—the heat and weight pouring off its body like a furnace. She didn't hesitate.
Five fingers together—Food Honor energy not spread on the surface but condensed to needlepoint.
Hojo Flow's unique power route drove up her arm; back, hips, and breath fused into one line—all force to a single spot.
"Food Honor—Piercing Thrust!"
Her fingers, a drill bit, stabbed from a wicked angle into a thin patch along the lower side of the neck—a special node laced with nerves and vessels.
Thump!
A muffled impact.
The hyper-focused penetration punched straight through the fascia.
"GRAAA—!"
The Blazetiger, just about to lunge at Shun again, locked up—a pained, stunned howl ripping out.
A needle of force ripped into its internal rhythm, scrambling its flow.
Pain exploded; a wave of numb suffocation radiated from the neck; its vision dimmed a shade—its movement warped.
Better than expected!
That one blend of Food Honor + wrist power + acupoint knowledge rattled a beast this huge.
Shun didn't waste the window.
"Nicely done, Miyoko!"
Light flashed in his eyes as he surged Food Honor through both hands.
If Miyoko had carved out her domain in training, of course Shun had, too.
"Zanmi — Condensed Edge!"
With a low growl, energy condensed at his hands.
A blade of taste—not material steel but a culinary aura forged from gourmet energy—formed, half-transparent, resonating with his Food Honor pulse.
This was the Shoku-arts weapon he'd realized by fusing Chinese-cuisine fundamentals with Food Honor's deeper truths. Its name—Zanmi. (TL: Slashing/Cutting Flavor)
It wasn't fully material yet; the energy wavered—but the chance might come only once.
He brought everything he had down toward the throat—the most fragile point of any living thing.
This wasn't a probe. It was a finish.
Ssshhh—
Like a razor cutting congealed fat.
Zanmi's edge bit into the Blazetiger's comparatively weaker pharyngeal strip.
Gourmet energy detonated inside, ravaging muscle, vessels, and nerve lines.
"AUUURGH!"
The monster convulsed, dark-red fur rippling as feral energy spatters tore up the ground.
But the blow had gutted it. After a few jagged seconds, the titan's body froze; the fire in its eyes died; it crashed down, kicking up dust.
Heat-thick blood still seeped from the mortal gash at its neck.
Silence fell again.
Shun let Zanmi's unstable edge disperse and blew out a long breath.
A wave of hollow weakness rolled through him—the strike had burned most of his reserves.
Miyoko hurried in to steady him. "Shun, are you hurt?"
He shook his head with a grin. "Nope. Your setup was perfect—without it, the outcome's a big question mark."
As the Blazetiger's last breath left its chest, the system chimed in Shun's mind.
Ding! Quest [Elevate Yourself III] complete. Dark-Red Blazetiger defeated!
Unlocked new system feature: [Ingredient Index]!
Shoku-arts weapon [Zanmi] training template activated and recorded!
Shun immediately checked the updated panel.
[Ingredient Index]
Automatically scans, records, and analyzes ingredients you encounter or obtain (ecology, weak points, nutritional value, cooking methods, etc.).
Current unlocked area: Human World (partial).
[Zanmi]
Host's exclusive Shoku-arts weapon confirmed (prototype).
Status: Energy coalescence achieved; stability insufficient; power output limited.
Growth Paths:
Elevate Food Honor realm
Inject more gourmet energy
Temper with specially attuned ingredients/energies to refine and solidify
Shun closed the pane, a satisfied glint in his eyes.
"First fight—captured cleanly. Next: we test this Index in the wild… and start feeding Zanmi."
Miyoko nodded, excitement and pride bright in her gaze.
They turned their faces toward the sea of trees—and the road to the Full-Belly Gourmet Metropolis.
…
(End of Chapter)
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