I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

S-rank, [King of All Poisons].

When Wu Gu spoke of his talent in a hoarse, emotionless tone, the courtyard fell into a brief silence once more. Even Xiang Batian, who was arguing with Gu Tianye, fell silent, scrutinizing the dark-skinned, thin boy with a critical gaze.

An S-rank talent is enough to attract everyone's attention, no matter where you are. What's more, it's an extremely rare talent like "King of Ten Thousand Gu," which sounds eerie and dangerous.

"The King of All Gu..." Lu Yuan looked at the black beetle in Wu Gu's palm, still slowly wriggling, its back seemingly smiling at him, and nodded thoughtfully. No wonder this kid always had a cold and dangerous aura about him; it turns out he's a bug enthusiast. And an S-rank bug king at that.

This talent, while perhaps not as violent and direct as Gu Tianye's and Xiang Batian's on the front lines, makes him an absolute master in infiltration, assassination, and creating large-scale chaos. More importantly, his "fighting fire with fire" theory, though sounding like a bizarre culinary disaster, was something that Lu Yuan, the "theory master," keenly noticed as something unusual.

Poison is also a form of energy. Gu (a type of poison) is also a form of life. By fusing different toxins in specific proportions and orders, the "umami" of ingredients is brought out. Isn't this essentially a form of alternative "alchemy" or "enchantment"?

This witchcraft is not merely "cooking"; it is weaving and grafting "rules" in an extremely primitive and dangerous way!

Having figured this out, Lu Yuan looked at Wu Gu with even greater admiration. This was a true genius, a kindred spirit who, like himself, possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to the essence of "rules."

"Interesting." Lu Yuan smiled. He didn't press for details about the witchcraft talent. He simply waved his hand at Liu Wuhen, who was still bowing and whose body was almost stiff, and Chi Lian, who was still kneeling on the ground with her forehead red from kowtowing. "Alright, get up."

His voice remained as calm as ever, as if he were talking about something trivial.

Upon hearing this, Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian both trembled, raising their heads in disbelief. He... he forgave us? Just like that?

"I told you, I'd already forgotten." Lu Yuan shook his head, amused by their flattered and bewildered expressions. He walked up to them, looking down at them. His gaze was calm, devoid of mockery, disdain, or the smugness of a victor; it was simply a calm observation. But it was precisely this calm gaze that made Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian feel more ashamed than any piercing stare.

"I don't care what your status is in your respective war zones, or how popular you are." Lu Yuan spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but every word was like a heavy hammer, striking the hearts of the two men. "I also don't care what your attitude is towards me, whether it's contempt, jealousy, or disdain. None of that matters to me. Because you're not qualified."

These words were hurtful, but Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian couldn't even muster a thought to refute them. Indeed, compared to a master craftsman who could effortlessly forge legendary artifacts, what did their so-called A+ grade talent amount to? They truly weren't even worthy of being given a second glance.

"However," Lu Yuan changed the subject, his gaze becoming somewhat profound, "there is one thing I care about very much. That is, what is your attitude towards this war?"

He pointed to the sky. Although this was the Celestial World, where spring reigned all year round, everyone knew he was referring to the cold starry sky shrouded in void and abyss.

"We are not playing house. We are at war. A life-or-death war for the survival of our entire civilization. In this war, there is no distinction between the Imperial City Theater, the Southern Theater, and the Western Theater. We have only one identity—human beings."

Lu Yuan's voice became somewhat low: "The reason I was chosen to become a 'Master Craftsman,' and the reason I am standing here forging weapons for Gu Tianye, Ye Cang, and Mu Bingli, is not because I enjoy blacksmithing, but because I hope they can take the weapons I make to the front lines, kill more enemies, protect more of our compatriots, and fight for a little more hope for the survival of humanity."

He looked at Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian, and for the first time, a light called "belief" shone in his eyes, which always carried a hint of laziness: "So, do you understand what I mean? I don't care if you are geniuses or trash, I don't care if you respect me or hate me. I only care that when you go to the battlefield, your swords and your fire will be aimed at the enemy or at your own compatriots."

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and walked back to the barbecue grill. He picked up the bottle of ice-cold soda, took a big gulp, and said in an extremely calm tone, "Let bygones be bygones. I don't want to see any infighting or discrimination in the 'God-Making Project' team because of regional or personal grudges. Because we don't have the time or the right to waste on internal strife."

"From today onwards, you are also a member of this team. As long as you can prove your worth, as long as you can make a significant contribution to humanity in this war, then you will also have the opportunity to obtain your own exclusive weapons, or even divine artifacts."

Having said that, he ignored the two newcomers who were completely stunned by his words, turned around and beckoned to the curious sorcerer: "Hey, you who plays with insects. Come here and tell me about your 'dark cuisine' theory. I'm a little interested."

When Lu Yuan said, "I'm a little interested," Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian felt as if their hearts had been squeezed hard by an invisible hand.

Interest. It's interest again.

They tried their best, even abandoning their dignity to kneel and kowtow, but couldn't earn a single glance from the master craftsman. Meanwhile, the dark-skinned, gaunt-looking sorcerer, with just a few shocking remarks about "dark cuisine," successfully piqued the master craftsman's interest.

At that moment, the gratitude and relief they felt for Lu Yuan's magnanimity were instantly replaced by an even stronger sense of jealousy and resentment.

Why? Why is he allowed to? In the eyes of this master craftsman, are these two A+ level geniuses inferior to someone who plays with insects?

However, when they saw the almost fanatical, excited expression on Wu Gu's tattooed, ferocious face after hearing Lu Yuan's words, as if he had found a "kindred spirit," they fell silent again.

Perhaps they were wrong from the start. They and this master craftsman were from completely different worlds. What they pursued was power, status, and glory. But this master craftsman seemed to pursue something more essential, something more ethereal. Like "rules," like "theories," like the chilling "way of cooking" that the kid playing with insects was spouting.

"Master Lu, you...you really want to listen to his nonsense?" Gu Tianye looked at the sorcerer who was excitedly walking towards Lu Yuan and whispered to Lu Yuan with some unease, "That kid doesn't look like a good person at all! Those things he's talking about, scorpion tails, toad saliva, can you even eat those? Wouldn't that kill someone?"

"That's right, Master Lu!" Xiang Batian chimed in with a look of disdain. "If you want to research any new dishes, just say the word! I'll have my father invite the royal chef over for you right away! I guarantee they'll be perfect in color, aroma, and taste!"

"You two don't know anything." Lu Yuan rolled his eyes at the two muscle-bound idiots, "You think he was talking about food? He was talking about 'the Way'."

"The Dao?" Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian exchanged a glance, both seeing the same bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Lu Yuan was too lazy to explain to them. He looked at the witch doctor who had already walked up to him and asked with interest, "You just said that poison can bring out the deliciousness of ingredients. What if I use two or even three poisons with completely opposite properties? For example, the venom of the extremely cold 'Ice Soul Serpent' and the venom sac of the extremely hot 'Flame Crystal Scorpion'. Can they be fused together?"

The moment this question was posed, Wu Gu's cold, venomous eyes lit up instantly! The way he looked at Lu Yuan was as if he had seen the only other person of his kind in the world!

"Yes!" His voice became somewhat shrill with excitement. "But we need a neutralizer! Like the juice of 'Moonlight Grass'! It can create a delicate balance between the two extreme attributes of Yin and Yang!"

"What if I add a toxin with 'spiritual' properties? Like the scales of the 'Dream Butterfly'?" Lu Yuan continued to ask.

"Then we'll need 'Soul-Suppressing Wood' powder as a 'stabilizing anchor'!" Wugu's breathing quickened. "Soul-Suppressing Wood can soothe and bind spiritual energy, preventing it from reacting negatively with other physical attributes!"

"interesting……"

"I see……"

In an instant, the entire atmosphere of the barbecue party completely changed. Lu Yuan and Wu Gu, these two peculiar "monsters," stood by the barbecue grill as if no one else was there. One asked a question, the other answered. The two of them launched into an extremely in-depth and extremely professional "academic discussion" on the seemingly insane topic of "how to cook a whole dish using a hundred different kinds of deadly poisons."

They kept spouting out all sorts of bizarre and poisonous names, along with various chilling "cooking" methods. Things like "deep-fried Dementor eyeballs," "steamed Hydra gallbladder," and "teppanyaki Abyss Demon spinal cord"...

Hearing this, the big shots next to him who were still waiting to eat barbecue all turned pale and felt their stomachs churning.

"I... Holy crap... Are those two even speaking human language?" Gu Tianye got goosebumps all over his body.

"I... I feel a little nauseous..." Xiang Batian covered his mouth.

Even the usually aloof and indifferent Mu Bingli's beautiful face was deathly pale at this moment, and her hands holding the fruit plate were trembling slightly. She suddenly regretted being so attentive in offering Lu Yuan fruit earlier.

Only Ye Cang remained calm and composed, as if everything outside was irrelevant to him. He simply wiped his [Asura] sword, which had just drunk its fill of S-rank BOSS blood, until it shone even brighter.

……

While this "magical" "dark cuisine seminar" was in full swing, the two newcomers who were completely left out at the door—Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian—fell into deep self-doubt.

Looking at the sorcerer who was talking eloquently with Lu Yuan and even seemed to be on equal footing with him, and then looking at their own humble and insignificant posture, an unprecedented sense of defeat welled up in their hearts.

It turns out that in front of this master craftsman, mere groveling is useless. You have to let him see your unique value, even if that value is how you cook with poison.

"What... what should we do?" Chi Lian looked at Liu Wuhen with a sense of helplessness, feeling that she had completely lost.

Liu Wuhen didn't speak. He just bit his lip hard. His peach blossom eyes, which always had a hint of femininity, flickered with an extremely complex light—there was resentment, there was jealousy, but more than anything, there was a resolute determination to burn one's bridges!

Suddenly! As if he had made up his mind, he abruptly raised his head! Then, amidst everyone's astonished gazes, he walked straight up to Lu Yuan and, with a "thump," knelt down on one knee!

He pulled out the [Void Shadow Crystal], which he had acquired at great cost, from his pocket, raised it high above his head, and said in a hoarse but firm voice, "Master Lu! I, Liu Wuhen, am willing to offer this! And I swear in the name of my Liu family ancestors! From this day forward, I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse! I will go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"