So-called Delicious Food

“Success!”

Su Xuan stood on the high platform, his face alight with excitement.

“I finally beat it!”

From seven o’clock until now—five full hours—he had poured himself into the fight.

Five hours might not sound like much, but the hardship within was beyond words.

Hundreds of falls.

Hundreds of electric shocks.

Limbs gone stiff, waist and abdomen aching, head pounding.

The exertion of these five hours was greater than a month of morning runs combined.

Where there’s effort, there’s reward.

His control over his breathing had laid the foundation for energy manipulation.

The efficient consumption of energy cells had improved his physical fitness.

He was hungry now, yes, but his mind was clear, his strength abundant.

Slender arms held explosive force.

Though his muscle definition wasn’t obvious, the lines they formed were nature’s most perfect.

Sweat clung to his fair skin, catching the light.

A blush of rosy color bloomed on his cheeks, radiating an irresistible charm.

Zhang Heng gave a light cough and said to Su Xuan,

“Want to grab something to eat with me?”

After being pushed around for half the day, there was no way Su Xuan would give up a chance to squeeze him back.

His jade-like fingers curled into a tight fist, his heart brimming with playful, vengeful intent.

‘Just you wait—I’ll eat you bankrupt, hmph~’

Su Xuan thought to himself.

Like a magician, Zhang Heng folded up the lounge chair, patted the wrinkles from his long robe, and walked out without another word.

Su Xuan pushed back the sweat-damp hair sticking to his forehead, revealing that pale brow, and quickly followed in Zhang Heng’s footsteps.

“Ugh, damn old man—why’s he walking so fast?!”

Seeing Zhang Heng stride ahead, Su Xuan also quickened his pace.

It was obvious Zhang Heng didn’t want him to keep up, walking faster and faster.

Su Xuan thought he was trying to ditch him, to skip out on the promised meal, so he put on a burst of speed to catch up.

Since regular high schools were already in session, the training grounds weren’t crowded.

The few students present stared, dumbstruck, at that celestial figure.

That exquisite face, tinged with both grievance and coyness, with a trace of anger held back—it could make anyone fall for him.

“I… I’m in love…”

One boy clutched his chest, eyes reddening.

“Get lost… she’s mine.”

A friend beside him shoved him and spoke with swagger.

“Heh~ Her boyfriend… is me, Dio~”

Another boy joined in the so-called contest.

The instigator, Su Xuan, had no idea what ripples he was causing.

From that day on, rumors of a peerless beauty at the Juncheng Training Grounds began to spread.

Soon, Su Xuan followed Zhang Heng to a strange restaurant.

Its name: Warrior’s Diner.

Inside, there weren’t many customers.

Several were hulking, muscle-bound men, their faces rough-hewn, some even scarred.

“Yo~~ Zhang Heng!”

A buzz-cut brute waved at him.

The others turned to greet him as well.

“Zhang Heng—”

“Zhang Heng—”

Zhang Heng returned the greetings.

“Zhou Hu… Zhou Long… Ou Chen.”

As soon as Su Xuan stepped in, dozens of eyes turned toward him at once.

“Heh-heh, Zhang Heng… You bring something like this along—does Li En know?”

“Zhang Heng, you old fox. But bringing her to a place like this—aren’t you afraid you’ll scare her off?”

The burly men laughed boisterously, downing baijiu in big gulps.

“Don’t get the wrong idea—this one’s my student,” Zhang Heng countered.

“Ehh~~”

The group made a sound of mock disdain.

Then they turned to Su Xuan.

“Beauty, don’t trust that sanctimonious guy—he’s useless where it counts. Come have some fun with me instead, I’ll treat you right~”

“Hahahaha~~”

Su Xuan’s face flushed red, then white with anger.

They didn’t know—but once, Su Xuan had been a proud man.

As a reborn soul, that pride had been etched into his very bones since childhood.

It had only been buried deep when high school began.

Now, these crude men’s words stabbed deep into that pride, into his dignity.

“Su Xuan… dignity is something you fight for yourself.”

Zhang Heng sat down on a stool, his calm eyes watching Su Xuan at the doorway.

“Mm…”

Su Xuan gave a quiet reply.

Cold radiated from his whole body, but he didn’t make a move.

He knew he wasn’t a match for these retired soldiers.

Still—once he broke through to the Initial Form stage, he would reclaim his pride.

“Ou Chen, have some decency,” another man chided, seeing Su Xuan’s pitiful expression.

“Alright, alright… I’ll stop. Let’s eat!”

Ou Chen seemed to realize he’d gone too far, quickly turning to urge the others to focus on the meal.

Zhang Heng glanced at the quietly approaching Su Xuan and advised, “Don’t take it too much to heart. They’re not that bad. But this is also your reality—on the front lines, your looks won’t help you. They could even bring you unexpected danger. Without real strength, it’s hard to survive in that kind of place.”

“I know…”

Su Xuan muttered.

He understood they weren’t truly targeting him—but he was still furious.

Being mistaken for a woman and mocked for it… that was something he couldn’t just swallow.

“Which is why you have to work even harder. And trust me—these dishes will make you forget all your troubles!”

Zhang Heng’s smile turned sly, like a prankster about to enjoy the results.

Seeing that unsettling grin, Su Xuan felt a bad premonition.

“Here you go, customer—your order.”

“Live-sliced cicada larvae, earthworm ramen, termites on noodles, mealworm rice…”

One by one, the dishes were set down.

Not a single one stirred his appetite.

Watching the insects squirm, Su Xuan’s face went pale, his earlier anger forgotten.

So this was how Zhang Heng planned to make him forget his troubles?

Replace a small misery with a far greater one—what a genius.

“This is your lunch. Well? They’re all high-protein, high-energy, top-grade ingredients,” Zhang Heng said with a laugh, admiring those trembling lashes, the way his eyes shimmered as if tears were about to fall.

“If you don’t eat, we’ll have to stop training this afternoon. Wouldn’t want to risk something happening to you.”

His tone was flat, as though already certain Su Xuan wouldn’t be able to stomach it.

Back in the day, in the mess hall, plenty of people couldn’t handle these foods at first.

They’d fall behind in training, end up in the infirmary.

These were nutrient-dense meals designed for training soldiers.

Ordinary rice could never meet the massive nutritional needs of intense training.

At such high intensity, the body’s cells replaced themselves rapidly.

These insects provided huge amounts of material and energy for that regeneration.

Trace elements in them could even stimulate further physical development.

Without eating them, training results would be cut in half.

“Hope you can eat them. Don’t act like a real woman,” Zhang Heng thought to himself.

To him, this was a rare opportunity.

“Look at that—Zhang Heng’s really going for it.”

“Isn’t that… the Devil’s Boot Camp meal? Guess this girl’s got potential.”

“Doesn’t matter how much potential she has—if she can’t stomach this, she’ll never be an elite soldier. Out in the wasteland, if you hit rock bottom, you’ll have to fight vultures for rotting meat. The maggots crawling over it pop in your mouth like jelly—crunch, crunch… Compared to that, this is child’s play.”

The brutes talked openly, their voices carrying.

Su Xuan heard every word.

‘Su Xuan—you’ve staked your soul, staked your dignity as a man. How can you lose to a few bugs?!’

He knew this wasn’t Zhang Heng picking on him.

It was preparation for the training to come.

Eat them, and the training would continue.

Fail, and it would end here.