366 Fire of Life
“That’s not how you roast meat. Look at you; you’ve burnt it.” As Zhou Wen was in thought, he was jolted awake by a woman’s voice.
Looking up, he saw that it was Li Weiyang sitting down on a chair beside him. The girls from before had already gone elsewhere to play with Li Xuan and company, leaving him and Li Weiyang behind.
“Give it to me.” Li Weiyang extended her hand in front of Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen was engrossed in his thoughts and forgot that he was still holding a skewer. The meat had been roasted for too long and the outside was charred black.
Zhou Wen handed the skewers to Li Weiyang in embarrassment. Li Weiyang placed the charred meat to the side and took a few fresh skewers before placing them over the charcoal fire.
“One look and I know you’re a scion who hasn’t experienced much hardship. You don’t even know how to roast meat. Although this isn’t considered a skill, food is the foundation of human survival. Without food, even Epic experts would starve to death. Large swaths of land are now occupied by dimensional zones. The area where humans can harvest food has been greatly reduced. There’s still a need to avoid unnecessary waste.”
As Li Weiyang roasted the meat, she said, “Let me teach you how to roast meat. In the future, when you leave school and really enter the dimensional zones in the wilderness, the food you receive will probably mostly be raw meat. Roasting meat is also an essential skill, so at the very least, it can make you have a better time eating while outside. The most important thing about roasting meat is the control of the heat...”
Zhou Wen actually knew how to roast meat, but he had been preoccupied and had forgotten about the meat skewer in his hands. This resulted in the current situation.
He didn’t refute Li Weiyang’s words, but as he listened, an idea flashed in his mind as he stared intently at the meat she was roasting.
The muscles and fat were sizzling over the fire, giving off an aroma that whet his appetite.
I remember that when humans first used fire, they used fire to fend off wild beasts and cook food. One of the Three Sovereigns, Suiren-shi, had made great contributions to the human race because he had brought the fire. He was praised as the leader of the Three Sovereigns. Could it be that the fire-elemental power in the Ancient Sovereign Sutra is not the destructive power of fire but the vitality of fire?
The more Zhou Wen thought about it, the more he found it correct. He had been trying to find an inkling of the Ancient Sovereign Sutra through the power of fires, but its fire-elemental powers didn’t lean towards lethal power.
Typical fire-elemental Primordial Energy Arts could achieve a projection effect of fire-elemental power when advancing to the Legendary stage.
However, the Ancient Sovereign Sutra didn’t have such an effect. Its fire-elemental power was converged and restrained.
People say that water is the source of life, but they don’t know that fire is the source of civilization. Without fire, perhaps the cold world wouldn’t give birth to life... Without fire, humans wouldn’t be able to eat cooked food or kill most of the parasites in it... Zhou Wen looked at the charcoal fire burning as more and more thoughts flashed through his mind. They were scattered, and he wasn’t able to find the main point.
“Hey, I’m talking to you. Can you hear me? Don’t burn the meat when you roast it in the future,” Li Weiyang said as she roasted the meat.
“It’s just too beautiful,” Zhou Wen said as he looked at the flames. At that moment, he felt that the flames were somewhat different from usual as they emitted a moving radiance.
Usually, when Zhou Wen looked at flames, he would only sense their heat and lethality. But now, when he looked at the flames again, he felt that there was a rhythm to life in them.
Although Zhou Wen was still unable to grasp the essence of the flames’ influence on life, the flames in his eyes were no longer as simple as lethal force.
“What did you say?” Li Weiyang was slightly taken aback as she turned to look at Zhou Wen.
“It’s just too beautiful. I never noticed that something that usually looks so hot inside can have such a beautiful and touching side,” Zhou Wen said as he stared at the roasted meat. He was naturally referring to the flames.
Li Weiyang wasn’t an immortal, so she naturally couldn’t read Zhou Wen’s mind. She imagined that Zhou Wen was referring to her when she heard him say that. Her face blushed slightly as she said in embarrassment, “It’s just roasting meat. It’s nothing serious. It’s not as grand as you put it.”
“No, to me, this is the most important thing. It’s just too beautiful,” Zhou Wen said as he stared at the flames. His body and mind had already been attracted by the dancing flames.
“You... Stop talking nonsense... Eat your barbecue meat...” Li Weiyang handed the barbecue meat to Zhou Wen. She was a little shy after being praised like that, especially by a man. Even she felt embarrassed, despite her usually fiery-tempered self.
“I finally understand. So the true characteristic of fire isn’t destruction. It’s life. The fire of life is what makes it moving and beautiful. I finally get it.” Zhou Wen stood up and walked back. He finally understood why he had never been able to figure out the true meaning of the Ancient Sovereign Sutra. He had been wrong from the beginning.
Now, all Zhou Wen wanted to do was return immediately and meditate on the Ancient Sovereign Sutra. He almost couldn’t contain his excitement.
Li Weiyang held the barbecued meat as she stood there in a daze. As she watched Zhou Wen run off, her mind was filled with question marks. Fire? Beautiful? Moving? What the hell?
“What happened to Zhou Wen?” Li Xuan walked over and asked Li Weiyang.
“How would I know what’s wrong with that lunatic? I’m not a lunatic.” Li Weiyang angrily stuffed the meat into Li Xuan’s mouth before leaving.
What happened? What’s wrong with both of them? Li Xuan looked puzzled, unsure why Li Weiyang was so angry.
After Zhou Wen returned to his dorm, he began meditating over the Ancient Sovereign Sutra in the training room. He quickly realized why the fire-elemental powers that came with the Ancient Sovereign Sutra were so weak.
It wasn’t that the Ancient Sovereign Sutra was not strong, but because excess was just as bad as a deficiency. The true essence of the Ancient Sovereign Sutra was life. If the power of fire was too strong, it would destroy everything, including life.
Therefore, the power of fire was necessary, but it couldn’t cross a certain boundary.
It was akin to the sun’s effect on humans. With the sun, there was the night and day, the four seasons. It was only with the sun that life was possible.
However, if the ground was too close to the sun, all the plants and animals on the ground would be burnt to death. No life could withstand it.
This is the same as barbecuing. It will be inedible if it’s too raw but it can’t be eaten if it’s charred. The most touching thing about life is that tiny bit of spark. Zhou Wen vaguely felt as though he had grasped something, but he was momentarily unable to grasp it accurately.
Over the next few days, Zhou Wen spent all his time in the training room studying the Ancient Sovereign Sutra. He began to understand more and more of the Ancient Sovereign Sutra’s true meaning.