Of course, comprehension wasn't everything, but it played a huge part in the journey to being a cultivator.
"Going from zero knowledge to Perfect Mastery in just over ten minutes. Do you know how many geniuses spend lifetimes just to reach the first step of that art? Even back in our realm, the geniuses who can keep up with your level of comprehension as a mortal can probably be counted with two hands." Matriarch Zareena praised.
Even she herself would only be able to barely keep up with Gray's comprehension, and not surpass it.
And this was with her being an Immortal whose consciousness and soul has been massively upgraded.
Gray looked up from the cutting board, a little embarrassed. "I just read it carefully and tried to follow. After a few tries, it kind of made sense."
He didn't mention anything about the golden-robed man or the System, after all. He felt that it would be better if they simply thought he just had monstrous comprehension.
Matriarch Zareena's expression grew serious again. Without a word, she handed Gray another technique.
"This one's not for cooking, but for dissecting Fierce Beasts. It's a knife technique. Don't get cocky just because you learned the first one fast."
Gray took the manual, flipping it open. The name of the technique was 'Butcher's Elegance.'
His eyes moved slowly at first, but before long his breathing steadied, and the world around him seemed to fade.
"A Fierce Beast is not flesh and bone alone, but the embodiment of Heaven's will and Earth's ferocity. To cut without knowing is to desecrate; to cut with insight is to reveal the Dao hidden within."
"One stroke severs tendon without harming flesh. One stroke splits bone without scattering marrow. The knife moves not with strength, but with inevitability."
"To dissect a thousand Fierce Beasts, one must learn a thousand paths. But to wield Butcher's Elegance is to walk a single path, the blade itself shall teach where to cut."
"In every slice lies reverence. In every incision, clarity. What others see as butchery, the Daoist sees as harmony: carnage refined into grace, blood transformed into art."
Once again, after reading halfway through, a familiar System Notification popped up, overlaying the text of the book.
[New Skill Book Detected: Butcher's Elegance (Low Celestial Grade - No Cultivation Required.)]
[Analyzing Skill... Analysis Complete.]
[Would you like to learn this skill?]
[Option 1: Self-Study (Estimated Time to Small Mastery: 1,420 years)]
[Option 2: System-Assisted Learning (Perfect Mastery). Cost: 6,000 Street Cred.]
Gray almost scoffed out loud at the first option. '1,420 years to learn how to cut meat? I don't have that kind of patience.' He glanced at the cost. 6,000 Street Cred was a decent chunk of his fortune, but it was a necessary investment for the path he had chosen.
'Pay the fee, get the skill. Easiest decision I'll make all day,' he thought, mentally selecting Option 2 without a moment's hesitation.
[6,000 Street Cred has been deducted. Commencing System-Assisted Learning.]
The world around him instantly faded to black.
Once again, he stood in the vast, dark space of the System, facing the figure in the golden robes.
Unlike the first time, the figure's movements were simpler, less dazzling, yet possessed a surgical sharpness and inhuman precision.
His knife didn't chop or hack; it glided, finding the natural seams in an invisible beast's body, moving with an efficiency that bordered on prescience.
The knowledge wasn't just shown to Gray; it was injected directly into his soul.
He felt the phantom weight of the knife in his hand, the muscle memory of a million perfect cuts, the profound understanding of how to separate flesh, bone, and tendon in perfect harmony.
The demonstration ended and a familiar System Notification appeared.
[Skill Acquired: Butcher's Elegance (Upgradeable)]
[Rarity: Low Celestial Grade]
[Description: You have grasped the Dao hidden within flesh and bone. Your hands no longer wield a simple blade; they now conduct an elegant dance of dissection. You can sever tendon without harming flesh and split bone without scattering marrow. The blade itself will guide your hand, moving not with crude strength, but with perfect inevitability. You can now transform raw carnage into refined art.]
[To take something apart, you must first understand how it is put together. This applies to your enemies as much as it does to your dinner. ]
Gray blinked, returning to reality. He was still sitting in the carriage, the book in his lap.
Only a few seconds had passed.
Matriarch Zareena and Ziye were watching him, wondering whether or not he would still be able to learn this skill within a few minutes or if it was just a fluke
Ziye, remembering the last time, was no longer mocking, but her eyes were filled with an intense, skeptical curiosity.
"Don't tell me you're 'ready' again?" she asked, her voice laced with a disbelief she couldn't hide.
Gray simply smiled and closed the book. "I'll need another Fierce Beast carcass, if you don't mind, Matriarch."
Matriarch Zareena stared at him, she waved her hand, and the corpse of a Horned Serpent appeared.
Gray stood, picked up a carving knife from the carriage's utility set, and approached the carcass.
The moment his hand touched the knife, the atmosphere changed.
His very first cut was perfect.
His hand was impossibly steady, his eyes calm, and the knife glided through the serpent's tough scales as if it were following a map drawn by the heavens.
One stroke severed tendon without harming flesh.
One stroke split vertebrae without scattering marrow.
His movements were a flawless, graceful dance of dissection.
Ziye's jaw went slack. She had expected him to be faster this time, but not instantaneous.
"He... he did it again," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Matriarch Zareena's playful demeanor was completely gone.
In less than ten minutes, the entire Horned Serpent was perfectly processed, the hide removed in a single, immaculate sheet, the organs set aside without a drop of venom tainting the meat, and the flesh separated into dozens of neat, shimmering cuts.
Gray set the knife down, wiping his hands.
"There," he said with a satisfied nod. "That feels right."
He turned to the two stunned women, who were staring at him as if he were a ghost.
Matriarch Zareena's eyes narrowed. "…Perfect Mastery again."
Even Ziye, who never liked to give praise lightly, gave a small nod. "Not bad. Looks like you really do have some talent."
The two of them honestly didn't know if Gray was just a freakishly fast learner or if he was born for the Dao of Cooking, but either way, the kid was a monster.
Matriarch Zareena gave him a few more low-level Fierce Beasts to practice with and Gray didn't disappoint.