Chapter 3 Let's Go Have Some Meat.

Zeke looked at Darby with a smirk, and that mischievous gleam in his eyes sent shivers down Darby's spine. Despite Zeke being considerably shorter than him, he exuded an overwhelming sense of dominance. With one step forward from Zeke, Darby instinctively took a step back. Zeke took another step, and Darby turned around and ran.

Thunk!

The dagger flew past Darby's ear, slicing off his earlobe and embedding itself into the door frame. If the dagger had deviated slightly, it would have stabbed into the back of Darby's head. The force behind the throw was evident by how the entire blade had sunk into the door frame. Even though human skulls are resilient, if Zeke had intended to kill Darby, he could have done so just now.

Most importantly, Zeke's throwing technique left Bernard, who had been standing on the side in astonishment, even more amazed.

Zeke barely moved his arm, relying solely on the flick of his wrist. For a child of his age to throw a dagger that far, usually they would need to swing their whole arm. But Zeke simply gave it a flick of his wrist, without even moving his shoulder. Bernard, unable to cultivate and limited to physical training, knew precisely the correct way to generate power. Power comes from the waist, transmitted through the shoulders and elbows, making it as strong as possible.

Zeke's ability to generate such force with just his wrist made everyone take notice. Within this seemingly slender and weak body, there seemed to be tremendous hidden potential. At that moment, Bernard almost hesitated but made a decision... Zeke could be trained!

There was Fantasy City, where every street had its own factions. Although the name "the nine Cook brothers" sounded impressive, in reality, they were not influential there. No matter where they were, the true wielders of power were always the mighty cultivators. Among the nine Cook brothers, only Dean Cook and Bishop Cook could cultivate. However, Dean's physical constitution had limitations, and he hadn't progressed beyond the second level of the starting realm. Bishop, on the other hand, had a decent physique but lacked proper guidance to make significant advancements.

To ensure their territory wouldn't be swallowed by others, they needed continual reinforcement of strength. That's why there was a school in every street of Fantasy City, where combat skills were taught instead of academics. The schools were free, and children from the streets could enroll freely. However, there was one prerequisite: by entering the school, the children implicitly agreed to join the faction in the future.

According to the other members of the nine Cook brothers, someone like Zeke, who is considered useless, should have been kicked out a long time ago. But Bernard said that they shouldn't just kick out a child because they are deemed worthless, as it would create resistance and give the impression that Nance Street School is too harsh, which could discourage parents from sending their children there. The other eight members of the nine Cook brothers always had some bias against the school. In their eyes, they preferred to recruit young and strong individuals to train from a young age, even though it would take at least ten years before they could be of use, which seemed too distant.

However, Bernard didn't share the same view. He believed that although young people around seventeen or eighteen might be physically strong, they lack interest in learning. Even if they were interested, it would be challenging for them to quickly grasp any teachings. Children, on the other hand, are different. They are innocent and don't have their own thoughts. If trained from the beginning, not only would their combat and survival skills be developed, but more importantly, their loyalty would be nurtured.

Since the other members of the nine Cook brothers didn't care much about the children, they entrusted everything to Bernard. Occasionally, a few others would come by, but it was merely out of whim or for entertainment.

After witnessing Zeke's transformation, Bernard decided to focus on nurturing him in the future. Now he realizes that he misjudged Darby and the other older children. Although they were tough, they weren't eager to learn. Those who only know how to be ruthless and aggressive have no future. Despite Zeke's young age and small stature, he clearly possesses greater potential.

Bernard tested all the children in the school, but none had the aptitude for cultivating. If Zeke could qualify, Bernard would even consider sending him to Bishop.

"Are you going to kill him?" Bernard asked.

Zeke walked over and effortlessly pulled out the dagger deeply embedded in the door frame. He shook his head, saying, "Not kill, at least not today. They have bullied me for years. If I easily kill them like this, how can I reclaim the debts they owe me? Today's debt must be collected today, yesterday's debt tomorrow, the day before yesterday's debt the day after tomorrow, and so on, until they've fully repaid their debts."

He turned to look at Darby, who trembled and covered his ears. Fear filled Darby's eyes as if Zeke had turned into a demon at that moment.

"I like the look in your eyes."

Zeke smiled at Darby, walked over and patted his shoulder. As his hand made contact with Darby's body, Darby trembled involuntarily out of fear.

Zeke laughed happily, "Your eyes hold fear, as well as hatred and ferocity. You want revenge, and I will give you a chance... Today, you only hit me once, so I'll only repay that debt with one hit. But do you remember how many times you hit me yesterday? If you don't remember, I'll remind you tomorrow."

"If you dare, just kill me!"

Darby was driven almost insane by this pressure. His eyes turned red with anger, "Zeke! If you don't have the guts to kill me, I will kill you sooner or later!"

Zeke laughed even more gleefully, "That's great then. I don't want my days to be so boring in the future."

"Get lost!"

He suddenly raised his voice and shouted. Darby instinctively took a step back and stumbled, falling to the ground. His expression was filled with frustration. Who dared to bully him when he had always been the tormentor? Now, Zeke, who was much weaker than him, just looked at him coldly, and Darby felt his heart was about to explode. His previous shouting was merely a reaction out of extreme fear.

He felt both fear and humiliation. However, for some reason, he didn't even have the courage to resist. And then, he cried... A guy who had bullied others for years was now scared to tears. Darby stood up while crying, covered his ears, and ran out.

The other children in the classroom looked at each other, not daring to speak or even breathe. They looked at Zeke standing before them and felt like they had suddenly entered another world. The classroom was familiar, the friends around were familiar, Mr. Bernard Cook was familiar, but Zeke was a stranger... a terrifying stranger.

"There won't be any more class today. Carry Carter and Corbin to the clinic," Bernard commanded.

Bernard glanced at Zeke and said, "Come with me later, I have some questions for you."

Zeke shook his head, "No."

Bernard's face changed, "Are you rejecting me?"

Zeke replied, "I'm injured. Carter and Corbin beat me up badly before. I feel like something inside me might be damaged. I need to go to the clinic. You wanted me to come with you, probably to give me some special instruction. But if my body can't recover, I might not survive long enough to learn from you."

Bernard's heart trembled. Zeke had suddenly become completely different. He didn't even seem like a child anymore. His words were calm, confident, and he seemed to have a deep knowledge of the human body. His knife skills earlier were quick and decisive, which couldn't be achieved without training for over two years, unless Zeke was a prodigy.

"Alright, go then. When you feel your body has recovered, come find me at the Cook Mansion."

After saying those words, Bernard turned and walked towards the door. However, he stopped at the entrance and pulled out some gold coins from his pocket, tossing them to Zeke. "Buy some meat to eat."

Zeke reached out and caught the coins, smiled, and bowed, "Thank you, Mr. Bernard Cook."

Nobody noticed the deep disgust hidden behind his seemingly happy expression. Zeke gained the memories of this child and knew what kind of survival rules existed in this place. There was Fantasy City, where the most vicious and unmasked evil prevailed. To survive here, one had to earn recognition from these people and leave this place once he became powerful enough.

The environment and way of survival here were disgusting, but at least here was safe.

Zeke was certain that even a late-stage one cultivator wouldn't be found here. Nobody would perceive his extraordinary nature. His soul was immensely powerful, allowing him to escape from the clutches of over a dozen late-stage two experts, although the escape was extremely brutal. The opponents were cunning and ruthless, with several experts of the first peak hiding among the dozen experts of the late-stage two. They ambushed him suddenly; otherwise, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to retreat safely.

Fantasy City was an isolated place, and its evilness matched the low-level people within it. True powerhouses didn't bother coming to such a place. So Zeke decided to stay. Since he was staying, he had to endure his disgust. First, he needed to understand more about this place and then try to cleanse all the filth. If not for his rebirth this time, he might never have set foot in such a place.

"Ze... Zeke?"

Just as Zeke was lost in his thoughts, he heard someone tentatively call out to him from behind. Zeke turned around and found Brogan calling his name. Zeke was genuinely grateful for this kid. An orphan in a place like Fantasy City could never have easily made it through.

So Zeke smiled and walked over, wrapping his arm around Brogan's shoulder. "Let's go!"

Brogan's shoulder visibly trembled because he found Zeke's behavior today strange. No one knew Zeke better than he did. Although Zeke's appearance hadn't changed, his gaze was completely different now. The old Zeke had a timid and evasive look, never daring to meet anyone's eyes. But now he had a confident and penetrating gaze, as if he once truly held the world beneath his feet.

However, while Brogan suspected that Zeke had changed, he could never have imagined that his dear friend had actually passed away. The soul inside this body was someone who had truly held the world beneath his feet.

"Where... are we going?" Brogan asked instinctively.

Zeke tossed the coins in his hand. "We're going to eat meat."

"But you said we were going for treatment."

"Eating meat is the treatment!"

"Huh? I don't know that."

"You don't know a lot of things. By the way, from today onwards, I've got your back."

"But... but it used to be me who had your back."

"What, you have a problem with that?"

"Not really... well, from now on, I'll listen to you!"

"That's the way. There is a question: where's the best place to eat meat?"

"I've only ever had meat cooked at home... and only when my big brother comes back. How about you, Zeke? Do you know where the best meat is?"

"Of course... damn, I think I've never even tasted meat before."

The two of them walked away side by side, their shoulders touching. Brogan had no way of knowing or even imagining that his life would be transformed on this day.