Chapter 7

It was only 9 a.m. and there was still some time before lunch. Jaune retrieved a huge chunk of fish meat and some chicken from the basement and washed it clean, he is exited to taste the fish given the chicken was so good.

Then, he sliced the meat into small cubes.

Jaune was going to whip up some trademark home cooking, with the main ingredients naturally the green fish and the chicken , he will use some wild vegetables he collected the last few days to make a great fish soup out of them, while roasting the chicken with some vegetables.

All the ingredients were prepared, but Jaune wasn't in a hurry to start cooking. There was still quite a bit of time until He go clean up the mountain at the back of the mansion from grimm.

The soup soon started bubbling. Jaune did not continue adding more firewood to keep the fire going, but allowed the fire to extinguish to use the heat from the dying embers to keep the soup's temperature just below the boiling point.

After that, he looked at the time and left the house at a leisurely pace. Before leaving, he placed a metal board in front of the stove to prevent a fire.

Jaune had a bit of time to kill while waiting for the soup to be ready . He walked to next to a giant bolder and begun Warming up to for some quick training before lunch.

after an hour or so Jaune rushed into the kitchen, swift like a gust of wind. He was especially worried about the state of the soup he had left to boil and immediately raised the lid to check on it.

His luck was pretty good. There were no accidents with the chicken soup. The only problem was that some of the herbs and ingredients had turned soggy after being cooked for such a long time. However, it was not a big issue at all.

Even though he had already been eating the Giant Cock's meat for a few days in a row, it's the first time he will be tasting the fish.

As soon as the lid was lifted, a burst of fragrance emanated out of the kitchen, quickly flooding the compound.

"Sniff, sniff!"

"Oh! What a heavenly smell! I'm definitely bringing mom some of it , I am sure she will love it " Jaune could not help but to take a deep sniff. The fragrance was extremely dense, but it did not cause one to feel overwhelmed.

Jaune went into the dining room carrying the steaming plates and placed them on the table.

Jaune's appetite had long been roused by the fragrance while he was cooking. Picking up some chopsticks he made from wood with lightning speed, he grabbed a juicy white slice of fish from the boiled fish with pickled cabbage dish.

"Oh Lord! How can it be so delicious?!" Jaune felt the tender fish melting in his mouth and exclaimed.

The fish was tender, light and chewy. Not a single fish bone could be found within the flesh. The freshness of the fish was also perfectly enhanced by the sourness of the pickled cabbage.

After continuously stuffing four or five slices of fish into his mouth, Jaune finally turned his attention onto the roasted chicken with carrots.

He picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and lightly bit on it. In an instant, a myriad of flavors burst forth in his mouth, rendering him speechless. The chicken had absorbed the flavors of all kinds of herbs and ingredients, and the taste of the carrots and the sauce had also seeped deep into the chicken meat!

With the original heaven-defying tenderness and flavor of the Giant Cock which had originated from an alien world, together with the sweetness of carrots and various other ingredients, the taste of this chicken dish had reached a point where words were not sufficient to do it justice!

Huntsman already had immense appetites. Jaune had also been enjoying himself, gorging on the delicious food. Furthermore, his skill in handling chopsticks had already been refined to perfection long ago, allowing his food-grabbing mechanics to be both fast and precise. In not even five minutes he already eaten 3 mans portion of food.

"Huuu… it's been a long time since I'd last stuffed myself like so!" Jaune said heavily. A simple meal had reduced the great huntsman wannabe into a pig, slumped against his chair. his breath was heavy, and his brows were all densely covered with perspiration.

"I guess i'll sleep a little before going to clean up the mountain I am definitely dying there if I go like this, man I become such a pig"Jaune said to himself before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

***

It was 1 p.m . The blazing sun hung high in the sky, radiating scorching heat upon the earth. Waves of hot air could be seen rising off the ground, forming a hazy screen which lingered in the air.

Jaune was walking unshakably calm, he firmly held Crocea Mors's hilt on his belt, looking at the top of the mountain, situated directly in front of him.

Jaune moved through the flora as he climbed the mountain, he found the signs and became cautious. He looked around and found a Boarbatusk looking at him with soulless eyes filled with hatred.

"a Beowulf it's pack seems to be close, I'll finish this quickly before taking care of them "said Jaune as he heard howls of the pack coming becoming closer While the Boarbatusk was watching jaune closely not attacking him recklessly , "you have good instincts I give you that "Jaune said as he pulled out his blade.

With the shield in his left hand and scimitar in his right, he charged straight towards the Boarbatusk in a straight line , while the other responding with the same.

right when the Boarbatusk was about to crash into Jaune...

Jaune's body moved sideways and his shield crashed into the Boarbatusk at an angle.

Crashing at this angle knocked the Boarbatusk off balance, causing it to stagger to the side.

"PU-CHI!"

A sinister cold light made an arc against the shield. It flashed across the exposed throat of the Boarbatusk due to it being knocked off balance. Soon after, fresh blood sprayed out like a fountain, and Jaune retreated quickly. He coldly looked at the Boarbatusk howling in pain until it slowly fell over and lost its breath.

Jaune's speed and technique weren't anything out of the ordinary, and yet he produced such amazing results!

"Guess all that time spent on Studying the grimms pattern is really paying of" Jaune would always find books about grimm patterns, or watch video of huntsman fighting so that he can decide witch strategy and tactic he would use in his next fight , as a way minimise the power spent while compensating on his lack of skills at the same time , Neo and Roman always taught he was just wasting his time but he didn't think so , as knowledge is power , that's why Jaune is so deep in grimm territory , he was trying to master the different pattern he invented fight he can fight his way out or at least run from most know grimm while he was training his tactics as long he has aura to spend.

"The best way to kill a monster is to aim for its weak points!". Jaune, said indifferently, "Usually for mammals, their weak points are their eyes, throat, and mouth. One stage below that would be their soft abdomen..... one stage below that would be the neck you were slashing into, and Grimm were no different from animals if you don't into account their plate armor!"

"There won't be many chances to attack the monster's weak points. The monsters aren't stupid, they'll protect their weak points properly"

"However, if there aren't any chances, then you can make them!"Said Jaune as looked over at the approaching pack of beowulfs.

Jaune's fighting style was fairly standard for his weapon of choice that he held in both hands, no fancy moves or taunts. He simply slashed, stabbed or back or sidestepped out of the grim's reach.

He kept his distance with the last pair of beowulfs that came after him. Focusing on one at a time, he would strike when the timing was right and would sidestep out of the way when the grim would try to strike him.

It was beautiful in a way. They way he used simple techniques with such finesse and efficiency. Making quick and quiet work of his enemies. No fanfare, cursing or banter with the mindless creatures.

As he walked past the dead grim, he jogged slowly while paying attention to his surroundings. He would stop for a moment when it seemed like he had sensed something and then be on his way.

An ancient deathstalker came charging his way, dodging a stinger strike with his semblance amplified speed and jumping over a Claw grabs, he directly thrust his sword boosted with his semblance at its head , going through even the densest part oh his head armor like a hot knife through butter , before jumping out of its way and watching his surrounding while the ancient grim dissolved.

" A pack of Ursa .HAH it's is going to be a long hunt tonight."

***

7 HOURS LATER

"Man that was really a close call,I really hate those damn nevermore,It took me 2 hours just to kill half of them, I really need some long range weapon, even if the aura slash is a good technique it's only mid range it doesn't do any real dommage in a long range battle. Well the look at the bright side the top of the mountain is clean enough for my morning cultivation session". Jaune said to himself as he walked back to the mansion down the mountain.

'Hmm… since I have some free time now, why don't I practice the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique's movements for a bit? They still felt a little forced last time… ' Jaune thought to himself.

At the moment, it was impossible to practice the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique in its full form as it was meant to be practiced in the morning. However, practicing just the movements themselves shouldn't be a problem.

Jaune stood beneath the shade of the giant Tree and began executing different moves in a systematic manner.

The first two sets of movements weren't too hard. The only one that truly troubled him was the third set. Its difficulty increased exponentially multiple times over when compared to the previous two sets!

The crux of the problem was that the third set required him to imitate a cat. He had to somehow vibrate his entire body using his vocal cords. In other words, he had to purr in an extremely high falsetto…

However, the difference between human and feline vocal cords was simply too big! To cause all the muscles, bones, vital energy and blood to vibrate using only his vocal cords was nigh impossible!

'now that I think about it , can this technique work better for a feline fonus than a human ?, somehow I really don't wanna know'

After finishing each set of movements, Jaune would sit down to meditate upon the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique in his mind, trying to carve the experiences he'd gleaned into his very bones.

Just like that, time went by very quickly. The ground around Jaune soon became soaked with his perspiration.

Each time he compared his cultivation experience to that of his predecessors, Jaune would acquire new insights. He could feel himself improving bit by bit.

Some hours of practice had brought Jaune some positive results. At the very least, he could now complete all the movement sets in one go. In terms of movements, the only thing left to work on was his proficiency in executing them.

Then Jaune went made something to eat before trying his luck on the myriad fishing system again.

"Hopefully, I'll get lucky today and catch something nice…"

Jaune patted his belly contentedly as he wiped his mouth. Taking the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod, he made his way to the Ancient Well.

As every fishing enthusiast knew, the greatest enjoyment for an angler was the process of fishing itself. The longer the wait, the more satisfying it was for the fisherman when a fish finally took the bait.