Ian Song smiled without denying it: "I've always been pretty good at grilling meat. Today, you guys are in for a treat!"
Rose Changsun giggled, "Senior Brother Huang, you really aren't modest at all. Aren't you worried that Senior Brother Zhou might have something to say about that?"
Rose let out a crisp laugh. She wasn't a peerless beauty—about half a level below Harriet Gu—but was still striking, with a healthy sun-kissed complexion from years of martial training. Her slender waist looked incredibly supple, and her long legs were quite eye-catching.
Not far away, Eric Zhou glanced at Ian's grilled meat, then at his own, feeling a bit frustrated. "I admit my barbecue doesn't look as good as Senior Brother Huang's, but when it comes to flavor, I'm still pretty confident."
"In that case, why don't you two senior brothers have a little contest?" Rose suggested.
"How should we compete?" Eric Zhou asked.
"Why not lay out the rules?" Ian added.
Rose thought for a moment and said, "Let's see whose grilled meat tastes best. The eight of us will each pick someone to support, and the losing side takes night watch duty tonight. How about that?"
"Great idea, I’m in!"
Eric Zhou quickly agreed, then looked at Ian: "What do you think, Senior Brother Huang?"
"I don't mind either." After all, it's boring on this island, so a little wager just gives everyone something fun to do.
"Then I support Senior Brother Huang," Rose declared, speaking up first.
"I'll support Senior Brother Zhou," Howard Changsun said. Obviously, nobody was taking the bet too seriously.
"I support Junior Brother Huang, because he always seems to show off some hidden skill when you least expect it," Yoon Zhengyang said with a smile.
"I support Senior Brother Zhou."
"Me too, I support Senior Brother Zhou."
Soon, seven people had voiced their opinions—only Harriet Gu hadn’t spoken yet.
"Senior Sister Harriet, who do you support?" Rose asked her.
"I support Junior Brother Huang."
Rose giggled, "Perfect, that's four to four."
After grilling a while longer, Eric Zhou took out his secret seasoning from his storage ring and sprinkled it over the meat, instantly releasing a rich, mouthwatering aroma.
Ian, on the other hand, calmly rubbed salt onto his roast and used true qi to push the flavor deep into every bite.
Then he added more spices one after another, using the same method.
Finally, after roasting it a bit longer to let all the flavors soak in, Ian brought out the essential finishing touch—a dusting of cumin powder from modern Earth.
At once, an indescribable aroma filled the air. Everyone's mouths started watering uncontrollably.
With the barbecue ready, Ian took out eleven plates from his storage ring, sliced the meat into bite-sized pieces, and invited everyone to dig in.
Eric Zhou hadn’t prepared as thoroughly, so he just cut up his roast and placed it on a freshly washed leaf for everyone to try.
"Wow, Senior Brother Zhou’s barbecue really is delicious!"
Yvette Xue couldn’t help exclaiming after her first bite.
The four who supported Ian tasted his roast next. It was crisp, tender, and bursting with a deep, layered flavor. They nearly swallowed their tongues before lowering their heads and devouring it.
"Let me try Senior Brother Huang's barbecue!"
After tasting Eric Zhou’s barbecue, Yvette picked up a plate of Ian’s roast. With just one bite, she was completely hooked, and, imitating the others, lowered her head and started eating ravenously.
"So, Yvette, how does it taste?" Howard Changsun asked.
"It’s... alright," she mumbled.
Yvette mumbled as she chewed, but in her heart, she felt Eric Zhou’s barbecue couldn’t even compare to Ian’s. She only lied because she was worried there wouldn’t be enough to go around.
"Really? If it’s just alright, why are you eating so enthusiastically?" Howard asked suspiciously.
Rose chimed in, "Brother, Yvette’s just teasing you. Senior Brother Huang’s barbecue is honestly the best in the world. You have to try it!"
"Is that so?"
Howard picked up a plate and tried a bite, instantly stunned by how good it was.
Seeing his expression, even Eric Zhou couldn’t resist—he grabbed a plate and started eating, and once he did, he couldn’t stop.
In less than fifteen minutes, the Demonic Beast Ian had roasted was picked clean by the group, leaving everyone wanting more. As for Eric Zhou’s roast, most people only took a small taste and stopped.
"Senior Brother Huang, I concede—completely and sincerely!"
Eric Zhou grinned, "From now on, all barbecue duty is yours!"
Everyone burst out laughing at that.
After eating their fill and chatting for a while, Ian’s group of five sat cross-legged on the beach to rest, while Eric Zhou’s group of five accepted their wager and took night watch duty for everyone.
Late at night, only the sound of waves and crackling bonfires could be heard.
Just then, as Ian sat meditating, he suddenly opened his eyes and activated Clairvoyant Vision to peer into the jungle behind them.
What he saw made his scalp tingle—billions of Black-Armored Beetles were surging toward the beach from the jungle. Each beetle was only thumb-sized, but their numbers were staggering, and as they moved, they created a sinister rustling sound that sent chills down his spine.
"Everyone, get up!"
Ian called out sharply.
Hearing his voice, the four cultivators who were meditating immediately opened their eyes.
"Senior Brother Huang, what's going on?"
Howard Changsun asked.
"A swarm of Black-Armored Beetles is pouring out of the jungle toward the beach. Everyone, be careful."
Everyone instantly perked up and listened. Sure enough, they could hear the faint rustling.
Soon, the beetles appeared on the beach in a dense mass. The sight made Harriet Gu, Rose, and Yvette go pale—like many girls, they were especially afraid of bugs.
"Whoosh!"
Howard Changsun drew his longsword and slashed out, sending a zhang-long blade of sword-qi into the swarm.
Thousands of Black-Armored Beetles were instantly blasted to dust by the sword-qi.
Seeing that, everyone drew their weapons and launched ranged attacks at the beetle swarm.
Waves of blade-qi, sword-qi, and fist-force crashed into the beetle swarm like a raging flood, smashing countless Black-Armored Beetles to pieces.
In an instant, tens of thousands of Black-Armored Beetles were slain.
"Looks like these beetles aren’t so tough after all!"
Seeing how easily they fell, Howard said dismissively.
"Don’t underestimate them, Howard. There are still countless more," Ian warned. Using his Clairvoyant Vision, he saw that beetles were still pouring out of the jungle—at least a billion in total.
Moreover, at the edge of his vision, Ian spotted a wave of beetles that were noticeably larger than the rest.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosions of qi erupted over and over. The group shifted from indifference to grim seriousness—over the past fifteen minutes, they’d killed hundreds of millions of beetles, yet the swarm kept coming.
It was important to remember that attacking with qi from a distance consumed a lot of true qi.