Above The Sky
Chapter 97 - 97 92 Oyster Spare Ribs Pot

97: Chapter 92: Oyster Spare Ribs Pot 97: Chapter 92: Oyster Spare Ribs Pot The battles that followed were hardly worth mentioning.

After severing the indescribable organ, even though the otter leader could still transform its body into a hardness akin to metal or stone, it couldn’t prevent the continuous flow of blood.

It was clear that it had completely lost its ability to fight.

Then again, who else could?

After Ian’s downward strike from his high position, he didn’t linger in battle.

He used the momentum of his lunge to dive into the sea and, amidst the panicked shrieks of the otter pack, he smoothly returned to the shore.

The reality was, this was the most dangerous part, for Ian was nothing more than an apprentice sublimator who had not even reached the first energy level.

Had he faced off against two demon beast-level sea otters in the water, the outcome would have been nothing short of abysmal, too dreadful to behold.

But at the end of the day, a beast is still a beast.

Seeing their leader let out a dreadful cry and getting seriously injured at the very instant of confrontation, the first reaction of the two magical beast sea otters was to flee with their respective followers!

If they were faced with magical beasts contesting their territory or giant predators like the Ironclad Shark, the otter pack might have fought desperately against the attackers…

But the speed with which Ian swung his blade and then disappeared was so swift and direct that they couldn’t even determine where their attacker was.

Unknown terror is the greatest terror, especially when the leader’s wound was the most terrifying among terrors.

To avoid suffering the same fate, the somewhat clever but not particularly intelligent beasts naturally chose to run first.

Of course, Ian was aware of another reason.

The Fantasia Labyrinth Reef Cluster was a massive coastal ecosystem home to various magical beast colonies; even the natives were reluctant to approach it, dubbing it the ‘Sea of No Return.’

Bleeding and wailing in such an area could not have simple consequences.

Shaking his head vigorously to spray off seawater, Ian could already hear the faint roars of other magical beasts as well as the abnormal disturbances in the nearby waters.

In his Foresight View, in just an instant, the leader otter, which at first was only surrounded by a faint layer of blood and might not necessarily have died, perhaps only maimed, was now enveloped by a certain black aura of death.

Without its leader, the otter pack had to retreat — their enemies were not only Ian but also other large numbers of reef cluster magical beasts.

But how could Ian possibly give up his magical medicine ingredients?

Therefore, while the other party was still struggling, causing the scarlet blood to spread in the sea, the boy who had retrieved his handmade short gun from the shore began to aim at his target and threw his spears one after another.

Under normal circumstances, such rough, merely sharpened wooden spears, no matter how forceful, would at best only pierce the leader otter’s skin layer, unlikely to even draw blood…

But now, as the leader otter continued to bleed and weaken, its stout ‘Pure Rock Body’ could not maintain for long, and the vulnerability of the wound on its back became increasingly obvious.

It was the thirteenth wooden spear thrown by Ian that marked the death of the furiously struggling but fatally struck leader otter.

One week of observation, preparation, and waiting was finally coming to fruition.

“Is this Crystal Bone?”

Ian moved swiftly, immediately diving into the sea to drag the leader sea otter’s corpse back to the shore, then began to separate and carve it.

The leader sea otter weighed over two hundred kilograms.

It was able to float on the surface of the sea because its body stored a large amount of hydrogen gas, which was produced by the separation of metal-based cellular activities—the Reef-eater Otter could electrolyze water into oxygen and hydrogen through cellular reactions, allowing it to frequently dive for food, gnaw at coral reefs, and float on the water.

After the sea otter died, the hydrogen gas in its air bladder wouldn’t leak out for a short time, and Ian began processing it.

Magical Beasts, especially the lower-tier ones at the First and Second Energy Levels, aren’t entirely composed of Sublime materials.

Generally, at most, a First Energy Level Magical Beast’s body might contain one or two pieces of Magical Medicine Ingredients, as well as some flesh and blood rich in the Origin Quality.

A giant sea otter over two meters tall, excluding the inedible parts, especially its internal organs containing a high concentration of heavy metal toxins, would leave about thirty to forty pounds of meat, as well as key Sublime materials.

Ian had done his homework well.

He expertly followed the wound from the thrown spear, opening the prey’s skin from the back.

His steady and agile hands maneuvered the knife, quickly targeting his objective along the spine.

There was a strip of vertebra radiating a faint silver light, displaying the characteristics of a metal lattice structure.

It was just a small segment, but it showed signs of spreading.

Perhaps in the future, when the entire spine and even the whole skeleton turned into Crystal Bone, it could become a Second Energy Level Reef-eater Otter.

This lattice structured spine could gradually transform the Reef-eater Otter into a metal-based lifeform that could obtain hydrogen and oxygen by breaking down water, absorbing metals to strengthen itself.

In the study of elemental attributes, it was a Dual Water-Earth System Magical Beast.

When used in Magic Potions, it could grant a person abilities similar to Pure Rock Body and the capacity to manipulate and decompose water.

But now, Ian effortlessly separated and removed this magical metal spine, then casually chose a piece of rib rack, tossed the remaining carcass aside by the shore, and quickly retreated towards Harrison Port.

—The sounds of other Magical Beasts in the reef cluster were already close.

He had already taken the highest quality parts, leaving the rest for those opportunists to feast on.

Otherwise, if a pack of Magical Beasts caught up to him, it would not be worth the risk.

“Little Ian, how was the hunt today?”

When he returned to Harrison Port, the residents and city guards he met along the way greeted this diminutive yet amiable Spirit Energy User with smiles: “If you come across large conches again, could you sell me a piece?”

Because of the shape and extensible characteristics of conch meat, coastal fishermen always believed it had certain stimulating benefits and was quite popular in the market, always in demand but rarely on sale.

“The harvest was good, definitely next time!”

Ian’s identity as a Spirit Energy User was now far from unknown; rather, it could be said that everyone was aware of it, particularly the hero of the natives’ siege battle—the young city guard Scott repeatedly emphasized that if it wasn’t for Ian fixing the Alchemical Cannon, all would have been in vain.

Now, almost every person in Harrison Port knew that Ian of the White Folks was an extremely clever genius who, at the age of nine, had mastered Rough Inscription Skills and Spirit Energy.

And this genius was also very approachable; anyone could strike up a conversation with him, which made people feel at ease.

In fact, Ian hadn’t done much.

He simply responded to others when they greeted him and listened attentively when others spoke, showing an interested demeanor.

Moreover, he was indeed genuinely interested.

At the moment, Ian was carrying home his small bucket that he usually filled with seafood.

In theory, the city guards were supposed to check everything, but who would really be that idle?

With Ian’s polite greetings, the guards at the gate let him pass without issue.

And just like that, he brought home the Crystal Bone and Reef-eater Otter meat hidden at the bottom of the bucket.

Upon opening the door of his house, Ian intended to deal with the Magical Medicine Ingredients and tidy up the otter meat, planning to make a delicious meal in the evening as a celebration.

“Hmm, what’s up?”

But he heard some noises coming from his brother Alan’s room, so he put down the bucket of water he was holding and opened the door to see what was happening.

There was nothing special going on—it was just that Alan had woken up after sensing someone coming through the door.

“Bro, brother…”

Upon seeing Ian, the child with white hair and purple eyes still looked a bit dazed, but a clear joy was evident in his gaze.

He waved his little hands at Ian, who was smiling at him, and babbled away.

“Looks like he’s hungry.”

Ian reached out and pinched Alan’s little face, listening to him giggle.

His already good mood became even brighter, “You’re calling out so smoothly.

Do you only remember to eat?”

“Eat!” Alan’s voice was very firm this time.

Ian laughed and then turned to prepare the ingredients.

It had to be said, the Spirit-Focusing Herb that Viscount Grant provided was very effective.

After two treatments, Alan, who was originally listless and sluggish, seemed much more lively in both thought and expression compared to the beginning.

Although, due to lack of teaching in the past and the effects of Sleep Powder, two-year-old Alan could still only say a few simple words and had difficulty putting together a long sentence.

But there was nothing to be done about that.

At least the current situation was better than being stupified.

The future would be dealt with in the future.

With slow nurturing, he would eventually recover completely.

Today, Ian planned to make Oyster Spare Rib Pot—he had wanted to prepare a hotpot originally, but he couldn’t find anything like spicy sauce similar to chili peppers, so there was no way he’d force himself.

If he couldn’t have a full spicy base, a mandarin duck pot was already the limit.

Even a seafood and mushroom hotpot wouldn’t do!

Oysters, mussels—the prices of these for the as-of-yet underdeveloped People of Harrison Port were extremely cheap.

He could simply collect a large number of high-quality ones by strolling around the coastal reefs, but the otter ribs needed some processing.

The flesh on the ribs of the Reef-eater Otter was firm, tender, and rich in Origin Quality.

It was quite different from the muscles of its limbs, which were starting to become metal-based.

The rib meat fell into the category that ordinary humans could also consume.

Under Foresight View, it appeared pale blue.

Even if it were simply salted and charcoal-grilled, the taste would be incredibly delicious.

Ian planned to first marinate it with Bison Rock Salt, shrimp paste, and fish sauce made in Harrison Port, then soak it for a while in the juice of the root of the Spirit-Focusing Herb to remove any gamey taste and add aroma.

As the meat marinated, he would heat up the pot and boil water.

Clearly, there were no clay pots in Harrison Port, but they did have alchemical crucibles that were almost the same.

Ian often used them for his separation experiments; they conducted heat evenly and were sufficiently large.

He boiled a crucible full of water, added some alchemy-purified salt to it, brought it to a boil, turned off the heat, and then soaked the oysters in it for a minute before taking them out.

After preparing the pot, he fried the well-marinated ribs in their own fat until they were half done, then put them into the crucible to heat up, pouring a spoonful of pork lard over them.

Ian had already placed a layer of crushed South Ridge yellow pulp berries at the bottom of the pot.

These berries were sour and spicy, similar to plums.

They were very refreshing and made your mouth pucker if eaten alone.

But if stewed with oil, their taste was surprisingly good, offering a flavor akin to garlic mixed with onions.

Oil, pulp berries, and the flavor of the otter ribs blended together in the crucible, creating a unique aroma that lingered in the house.

At this moment, Ian placed the previously prepared oysters on top of the bubbling meat juices and ribs, covered the pot, and waited.

Gurgle…

the meat juices, fats, and sauces tumbled inside the pot.

Every ten minutes, Ian would add some saltwater.

Each time he lifted the lid, a rich aroma wafted through the air.

The rib meat had fully absorbed the flavors, and the oysters were tinged with the color of the sauce.

The pot’s familiar yet strange fragrance, which stimulated the appetite and opened one’s stomach, had fully formed.

When Hiliard just turned the street corner, still some distance from home, he caught a whiff of the aroma.

“…He really wasn’t lying to me back then.”

The old knight had a complex expression: “Is a Spirit Energy User really this miraculous?

Or are some people simply born to cook?

This scent…

could truly qualify for a chef.”

“Forget it.”

After pausing to think for a moment, Hiliard shook his head: “Anyway, it’s a good thing.

I don’t need to understand the matter of cooking skills too clearly.”

With a pleasant mood, he opened the door of the house.

“I’m back.”