Without wasting a moment, Su Wen flicked his wrist.
Five bowls appeared on the table, each landing perfectly in front of everyone.
He carefully ladled the soup into them.
The liquid looked like molten magma, thick, glowing, and radiating a terrifying heat that warped the air above it
'Made from Grade 3 spiritual herbs and beast meat… rich in Yang qi,' Su Wen thought hesitantly. 'It's a little too fiery… but letting it go to waste would be a sin.'
He glanced at the others, one looked solemn, one brimmed with excitement, and one was barely restraining his impatience.
As for the fourth...
He didn't even need to look. He knew her expression all too well.
Su Wen straightened and spoke seriously."This is your final chance to back out."
He paused, scanning the group again... but not a single person moved.
After a brief moment, he nodded.
Instantly, the atmosphere shifted.
Tension filled the air as four pairs of eyes locked onto the bowls with unwavering determination.The fifth pair looked… perfectly normal, just quietly happy and excited.
The four young men exchanged glances, as though about to enter a life-threatening trial.
Like brothers-in-arms, they nodded to one another and lifted their bowls at the same time.
Fatty Bai was the first to react.
The instant the soup touched his tongue, his eyes bulged violently.
His round face went from its usual rosy hue to a blazing, explosive crimson.
Tears streamed down his chubby cheeks like waterfalls as his entire body trembled.
Dugu Jian... the handsome, roguish swordsman, lost all charm the moment the soup entered his mouth.
His spine stiffened. His fingers crushed the edge of the table.
His face twisted as though he were suffering a qi deviation rather than tasting soup.
Lance, who had bravely claimed he wanted to 'share April's pain', regretted every word instantly.
The heat was even more violent than his Fire Intent.
It exploded inside his stomach like an uncontrollable inferno.
He coughed violently, clutching his chest as if his lungs were being forged into molten iron.
Suddenly, he remembered April's fierce glare after her first bite.
Back then, he'd thought she was just being emotional.
'So this was the truth…'
Recalling his earlier cheeky remark, Lance felt such intense embarrassment that he nearly wanted to jump into the bowl and end it all.
Su Wen finally took a sip himself.
His expression remained calm.Too calm... like stone.
His fists clenched as his entire body trembled.
It felt as though a hidden flame had ignited inside him, cooking him alive.
His tongue felt as if he had eaten jagged glass.
Yet he refused to change his expression.
He didn't want to embarrass himself, or his wife, in front of these so-called protagonists.
But when he glanced at their faces…
He realised he was not alone, and unconsciously, a few tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
He exhaled sharply, waving his hand near his mouth as if that might cool his lips.
It didn't help.
All he could do was swallow and endure.
Du Yue, on the other hand, sipped the soup slowly and elegantly.
The moment it entered her mouth, she closed her eyes, her expression filled with pure bliss as she savoured every drop.
Blessed by her Yin Physique, the overwhelming Yang-rich spiciness was instantly balanced by her Yin Vital Qi, transforming the fiery assault into a warm, soothing current that flowed through her body.
To her, the soup was spicy, tingling...
And utterly delicious.
She wanted more.
"Mmm~ Husband!" she said happily, licking her spoon."It's delicious today!"
The four young men, each an elite cultivator in their own right, stared at her, pupils trembling violently.
Their faces were twisted in fiery agony, their voices reduced to pitiful, muffled groans.
"W-What…?""I-Impossible…!""How can this be…?!"
Even Su Wen stared at her in disbelief, eyes wide.
'What a terrifying… woman!!'
Du Yue puffed out her chest proudly."My husband's cooking is the best!"
Fatty Bai, trembling like jelly, looked at her with tear-filled eyes."S-Sister-in-law… h-how are you still so calm?"
Du Yue tilted her head cutely."What do you mean calm? It's amazing! I could eat this forever… My husband really is the best in the world."
The three men felt an invisible blade stab straight through their hearts.
Pure dog food.
They turned their faces away, expressions wounded and tearful.
Su Wen, on the other hand, after listening to her, could only sit there quietly as tears of happiness streamed down his face, in the face of this fiery suffering.
Finally, the four exchanged looks.
No words were needed.
As if reaching the same tragic conclusion, they slowly raised their bowls, expressions heavy with resolve.
"Brothers…" Su Wen said solemnly, wiping the corners of his eyes, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion."It was a short meeting, but it was good knowing all of you."
"Brother Su," Lance declared, straightening his back despite his knees trembling uncontrollably, "in my next life, I will definitely repay this kindness."
"You are right," Dugu Jian said gravely, gripping his bowl as if it were the hilt of his sword.
"Even I have never yielded in the face of fierce calamities, but this...!"
"I never thought…" Fatty Bai murmured softly, his voice carrying the sorrow of a war veteran who had seen too much,"…that I would be defeated by a soup. Still, this life was worth living."
Du Yue and Suzume stared at the four men in silence, watching them as though they were heroes marching toward certain doom.
Once more, their gazes locked, intense, resolute, filled with the unspoken bond of sworn brothers standing on the edge between life and death.
Then...
They moved.
All four lifted their bowls at the same time and gulped down the Blazing Phoenix Soup in a single breath.
A moment of absolute silence fell.
Then...
BOOM!!!
It wasn't a real explosion, but it might as well have been.
The fierce spiciness detonated inside their bodies like ignited gunpowder.
All four convulsed violently.
Their knees buckled.
Their faces shifted from crimson… to scarlet… at a terrifying pace, as if their very souls were preparing to depart.
"AHHHHH!!!"
Four muffled screams echoed through the courtyard.
Several distant physicians and alchemists peeked over in alarm.
When they saw the four young men clutching their bowls of soup, their eyes widened in shock.
They genuinely wondered whether these people were punishing themselves, or indulging in some bizarre new cultivation habit.
Meanwhile...
Du Yue took another elegant sip from her bowl and hummed sweetly,
"~Husband's cooking really is the best~"
Suzume tilted her tiny head, looking at the four with unmistakable pity.
Inside Lance's dantian, the thick Yang Qi erupted like a blazing inferno.
It surged outward in violent waves, crashing through his meridians and tempering his internal organs as though they were iron being forged in a celestial furnace.
His meridians expanded inch by inch under the unbearable pressure, trembling yet refusing to break. Instead, they greedily absorbed the medicinal force.
Veins bulged across his neck as steam visibly rose from his body.
Under his guidance, the chaotic heat gradually transformed into disciplined energy, reinforcing his foundation.
Every breath he took felt like inhaling molten lava.
Yet his aura steadily grew stronger.
Not far away, Dugu Jian's expression turned terrifyingly calm.
Pain distorted his features, yet his eyes sharpened like drawn blades.
Within his body, the medicinal force surged violently, seeking to wreak havoc.
His sword intent flickered faintly around him, thin, precise, unwavering.
Wherever the raging qi struck, his sword intent intercepted it, slicing it apart and guiding it into key meridians and acupoints.
His entire body trembled, as though pierced by countless invisible blades.
Old Fatty Bai, on the other hand, didn't bother controlling anything at all.
He simply let the medicinal power run rampant inside him.
Shockingly... It worked.
His constitution devoured the Yang Qi like a bottomless pit.
His body grew sturdier by the moment, and he could clearly feel his Vital Qi rising at a terrifying pace.
As for Su Wen…
He somehow managed to stand... barely.
Gritting his teeth as his insides burned, he staggered a few steps back and began practicing his Heavenly Fist Body Technique.
He clenched his fists and directed the medicinal energy toward his skin and muscles.
His bones, organs, and blood had long been tempered by Yang Qi.
His meridians were already in pristine condition, thanks to the Spiritvine Tea he brewed daily for himself and Du Yue.
But his outer body... his skin and muscle, had not undergone the same degree of refinement.
The violent Yang energy seeped outward, spreading beneath his skin like flowing magma.
His muscles trembled. His skin flushed red.
Heat radiated from his body, warping the air around him.
Every punch he threw felt like tearing through fire.
Yet with each movement, the burning sensation transformed into strength.
His skin tightened.
His muscles condensed.
The pain was unbelievable...
But so was the improvement.