Chapter 152: Seven Emotions as Blades

"Who are you?!" Tianmeng Iceworm shrieked.

The sudden appearance of a stranger in Huo Yuqing's spiritual sea made Tianmeng extremely uneasy.

If outsiders could just casually enter a person's spiritual sea, wouldn't that be a complete disaster?!

"Eh~ This big bug is quite vigilant," the voice said in a teasing tone.

"Cut the nonsense! Who exactly are you?" Tianmeng shouted, his voice carrying a false bravado. "Don't think that just because I don't have hands, I can't teach you a lesson!"

"Me?" The unfamiliar voice paused for a moment. "I'm just an ordinary chef."

A seven-colored glow flickered briefly, and a tiny figure appeared.

It was a little golden-haired man, only about the size of a palm, dressed in white clothes with a tall chef's hat on his head, truly resembling a chef.

"Hello." Rong Nianbing smiled and waved, looking like a big bad wolf about to lure Little Red Riding Hood.

"Hello." Huo Yuqing responded cautiously. Considering that she still had a firm grip on the broken horse-cutting blade in her hand, her tone was extremely polite. "I don't think you're an ordinary chef."

"Oh? You have sharp eyes." Rong Nianbing puffed out his chest proudly. "Actually, I am the best chef in the world—no, in all 108 worlds."

God of Food? The God of Food had nothing on real culinary skills.

"So, little one, do you want to learn how to cook from me?" he asked eagerly.

"Sorry..."

"Eh??" Rong Nianbing instantly turned gray and lifeless. "Why? Someone told me you're great at making delicious food—"

Huo Yuqing hesitated. She could vaguely sense that the other party had no malicious intent, but he was not someone she could afford to offend either. So, she carefully and honestly replied, "I can tell that your passion and dedication to culinary arts surpass most people. And yes, many have said my grilled fish tastes great, but honestly, I just… simply enjoy watching others eat happily. I don't pursue culinary excellence for its own sake. Besides, apart from cultivating, I'm also studying alchemy and soul tool craftsmanship, so I can't fully dedicate myself to cooking."

"Sigh—" Rong Nianbing let out a long sigh. But since he was so tiny, he actually looked a bit cute doing it. "Well, I understand. Back in the day, I studied too many different things. If you really want to reach the pinnacle, you have to unify all paths into one... Your reasoning is correct. My culinary skills aren't suitable for you to inherit. It's not easy to find a disciple who is wholeheartedly devoted to cooking."

He rubbed his chin. "But I know quite a lot, and I have a knack for side jobs too. I can always teach you something."

"How about this!" He clapped his hands together and said with a bright smile, "I'll teach you some techniques to control emotional power! That's something I'm quite good at."

"Emotional power..." Huo Yuqing murmured.

"Aren't you trying to forge a weapon using the power of anger?" Rong Nianbing patted the blade of the broken horse-cutting knife. "There are a few reasons why you haven't completely succeeded. The first is that your spiritual power level isn't high enough. There's no shortcut for that—just keep training. The second reason is that your understanding of anger is still shallow. Not all of these emotions belong to you, right? Your comprehension isn't deep enough."

"Furthermore, even if it's the same anger, it differs from person to person, from situation to situation, and even from time to time. It's just like…" Rong Nianbing paused for a moment, pinched his chin in thought, then snapped his fingers. "Cucumbers! Different varieties, different seasons, different regions, different fertilizers, even whether they've been exposed to music—all of these can affect their taste. You need to observe and experience more."

Rong Nianbing's face showed a look of lingering fear. "You'd never believe how many different things I had to eat when I first started learning to be a chef, just to distinguish the subtle differences between ingredients."

"If you can achieve the first and second points, you will have mastered the power of anger. But there's also a third point, which might be even harder yet even more important—you haven't mastered the other six emotions yet."

"A wise being is complex. They can never have just one emotion. Relying on anger alone is too one-dimensional—it won't work." He waved his hand, and seven glowing orbs obediently floated around him. "Why do you feel anger? Because what you love is harmed, because what you desire is taken, because what brings you joy is destroyed, because what you despise keeps appearing before you, or perhaps because of deep fear or sorrow. In the end, anger alone cannot support you. You need to understand and master all of them. Fully comprehend each one, unify the seven emotions, refine them, and you will reach true perfection."

Huo Yuqing nodded in agreement.

"When you accomplish all this, you will fully control the power of emotions. Simple, right?" Rong Nianbing said with a grin. "By then, not only will you be able to manifest your emotional blade into reality, but you'll also be able to influence your opponent's emotions to change their will—or even extract their emotions to turn them into a puppet. All with just a single thought! Impressive, right?"

If she could truly achieve all of this, the current God of Emotions silently added in his heart, this child would probably instantly comprehend the laws of the universe and forge an emotional god core by hand—though, unfortunately, the God of Emotions' divine position was already occupied.

That blade, along with the six other weapons that hadn't even taken shape yet, would likely each possess the might of a super divine weapon.

That would be a true "Blade of the Heart"—one that does not rely on reality but is formed purely by will and thought.

This was probably the normal cultivation path of the God of Emotions. Compared to that, his own way of achieving it felt like a half-baked method.

Rong Nianbing himself still didn't fully understand how he became the God of Emotions. Back in the day, he had studied elemental magic and even mastered all seven elements. But since the elemental god positions were already taken, he switched paths midway, comprehended emotional power, and was ultimately granted the title of God of Emotions. His go-to knives, infused with emotional power, were actually elemental blades, and the gods he was closest to were the seven Elemental Gods.

...Honestly, compared to the girl in front of him, he did feel a bit like he had been selling dog meat under the sign of a sheep's head. Rong Nianbing mercilessly roasted himself in his mind.

But he was born earlier! And now, this natural-born Emotional God's Sacred Physique was going to be his successor! Thinking of this, Rong Nianbing couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

"You've learned quite a bit, but my lessons aren't free... Currently, my true body is locked up in an incredibly boring prison, unable to travel the worlds with my beautiful wives in search of new delicacies. Since I taught you, you'll have to take my place and sit in jail for me."

"Huh? Wait!" Huo Yuqing was shocked.

"Xiaoqing will never go to jail for you!" Tianmeng Iceworm said furiously. "Get out of her spiritual sea right now!"

"Too late." Rong Nianbing let out a sinister cackle. "Now that you've learned from me, you're my disciple. That means you can only take my place and serve a few tens of thousands of years in prison!"

Huo Yuqing suddenly realized something. "The prison you're talking about… where is it?"

"The God Realm, of course!" Rong Nianbing put his hands on his hips. "I'm the God of Emotions there. Learning from me is a guaranteed good deal."

"..." Tianmeng Iceworm slowly retreated to a corner of Huo Yuqing's spiritual sea. "Sorry to bother you. Please, carry on."

The poor worm looked as if he were about to shatter.

Huo Yuqing numbly nodded.

…Was this God of Emotions really reliable?

"Show some reaction, disciple! You're making me feel so unaccomplished here." Rong Nianbing complained. "Aren't you surprised at all?"

"I had a faint suspicion..." Huo Yuqing murmured.

"Hm?"

"Even for the strongest human in Douluo Continent, my spiritual sea seems to be quite dangerous, doesn't it…?"

"Hm… That does seem to be the case…"