Chapter 566: Zhang Family Object Manipulation Art

“Burp～”

After eating and drinking his fill, Feng Baobao let out a satisfied burp.

Zhang Jie eyed her still-flat, only slightly swollen belly suspiciously,

wondering if she had a fourth-dimensional stomach installed inside.

He’d only tasted a bit, and Zhang Chuyan had eaten a normal portion—yet more than half of the three dishes and one soup,

along with the rice in the rice cooker, had vanished into her stomach.

Zhang Jie seriously suspected that if Bao’er-jie were to manage her figure, it would require military-style discipline:

Breakfast: a street vendor’s pancake with egg, plus one fried chicken leg;

Lunch: the Korean favorite—a traditional stew known as “Army Stew,” dating back over half a century, plus a cup of Mǐxuě Bīngchéng;

Dinner: veteran-style barbecue, American-style military rations; at night, more snacks like Colonel’s Nuggets, military ice cream, and missile-shaped treats…

Okay, all of this was just Zhang Jie’s malicious inner monologue.

As the perfect synthesis of the Eight Marvelous Techniques, Bao’er-jie’s digestive system must involve the Six Treasury Immortal Thief.

Even without a specific method to activate it, merely through passive effect,

these mere caloric bombs couldn’t possibly turn her from a beautiful girl with long black hair into a fat recluse.

After the meal, Zhang Chuyan quietly cleaned up and prepared to wash the dishes.

Zhang Jie didn’t want to just sit back and enjoy the meal, so with a wave of his right hand,

all the tableware moved like well-trained soldiers,

lining up and leaping into the soapy water to scrub off the grease,

then rushing under the faucet to rinse away residual detergent with flowing water,

finally leaping into the cabinet, lying quietly in place, awaiting their next use.

“Jie-ge…”

Zhang Chuyan stared in awe at this magical scene, suddenly feeling

as if he’d accidentally wandered into a fairy tale from his childhood.

His next thought was: I really want to learn this—I want to do it too,

so I won’t have to laboriously handle prep work and chores in the future.

Anyone who’s cooked knows that the real hardship and time consumption isn’t during the actual cooking,

but rather in the preparation before cooking and the cleanup afterward.

That’s why in hotel kitchens, besides the master chef in charge of the wok,

there are also several “cutting station” staff (responsible for cutting ingredients into specified shapes—shreds, slices, cubes, etc.—as well as marinating, coating, and rehydrating dried goods),

and “dish assistants” (who support the cook by passing plates, arranging dishes, and doing simple marinating).

“This is a simple object-control technique. If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

Zhang Jie smiled.

In the yiren world, the method of controlling objects with qi has long been passed down; various sects and families are renowned for their object-control techniques, such as the Jia family village in the northwest, home to Jia Zhengliang—who nearly got freeballed by Feng Shayan and earned the nickname “Five Hundred in One Night.”

When mastered to a high level, object-control allows one to achieve unity between person and object, capable of severing heads from miles away,

something ancient people once believed was the art of the sword immortal. The depiction of sword immortals in modern xianxia fiction

likely evolved from these legends.

Although Zhang Jie never specifically studied object-control, and Longhu Mountain, where he trained, is famed for the Golden Light Spell and Five Thunder Methods,

at his level, while not claiming one technique unlocks all, controlling objects with qi was no challenge for him.

After all, object-control is fundamentally about nurturing objects with qi until qi and object become one, and person and object become one.

Zhang Jie’s potent, vibrant true qi, when applied to an object,

even without prior cultivation, was sufficient to achieve temporary object control.

This might be what ancient texts described as: when one reaches a certain realm, supernatural abilities naturally manifest.

Since returning from the shared space, Zhang Jie had applied this object-control technique to daily life.

Powers aren’t just for fighting—making life more convenient is also a golden path.

In doing so, he gained insight and developed a specialized method for object-control,

fully encompassing the principles of nurturing objects with qi, uniting qi and object, and controlling objects with qi.

When perfected, though he couldn’t match Lü Zu’s legendary feat of “casually hurling divine swords to topple the highest peak of Zhongnan,”

sending a sword ten or a hundred miles to sever a head would be no difficulty.

If Zhang Jie applied it, embedding a thread of spiritual awareness into the controlled object, taking a head from a thousand miles away would be effortless.

Following the yiren world’s naming conventions, this technique might be called “The Zhang Family Object-Control Technique”?

But it was merely a minor, accidentally discovered method, not tied to one’s core foundation,

and since Zhang Chuyan seemed quite likable, Zhang Jie had no objection to teaching it to him.

Perhaps, with Zhang Chuyan—a white mouse carrying the fate of a protagonist—

this “Zhang Family Object-Control Technique” could evolve even further?

In that case, even Zhang Jie might benefit from it.

“This… better not.”

After thinking it over, Zhang Chuyan reluctantly declined Zhang Jie’s tempting offer.

He admitted he was deeply interested in the qi-object-control technique,

but any technique requires time and effort to master.

With the Luotian Da Jiao approaching, learning another technique wouldn’t significantly boost his combat power—it would only distract him.

He needed to focus his time and energy on the Golden Light Spell and Thunder Art, which he already understood more deeply.

Being a jack of all trades and master of none won’t work.

While being broadly skilled and open-minded is powerful and offers greater potential,

that path is usually reserved for geniuses—like the unfathomable Jie-ge before him.

For ordinary yiren, if they’re too ambitious, curious about everything, wanting to learn everything and invest time and energy in all,

it will inevitably scatter their focus, resulting in being a jack of all trades and master of none.

“It’s fine if you make your own decision.”

Zhang Jie supported Zhang Chuyan’s choice to concentrate on mastering one skill.

“Jie… Jie-ge…”

After finishing the cleanup, Zhang Chuyan approached Zhang Jie again.

“Just say it outright. What kind of man are you, hesitating like a woman?”

Seeing Zhang Chuyan’s hesitant expression, Zhang Jie frowned slightly.

……

Zhang Chuyan summoned his courage and voiced his true desire.

For days, he’d lain awake at night, tossing and turning.

He knew that with his current strength, defeating the young elites of the yiren world

and claiming the Luotian Da Jiao title was pure fantasy, utterly unrealistic.

His only hope was to have the unfathomably powerful Zhang Jie guard and guide him.

As long as he wasn’t eliminated in the first or second round, this plan was very feasible.

“Then what kind of offer are you going to make to convince me?”

Zhang Jie smirked at Zhang Chuyan: “I already said—I can help you, but you need to offer something that truly moves me.”

“And according to news from Longhu Mountain, the patriarch of the Lu family—one of the Four Great Families, ‘Flawless Life’ Lu Jin—has personally intervened,

offering one of the Eight Marvelous Techniques, the Tongtian Lu, as the championship prize.

Do you, by any chance, possess something worth matching the Tongtian Lu?”

"So, what kind of deal are you planning to offer me?"

Zhang Jie regarded Zhang Chu'an with a teasing gaze: "I already said,

I can help you, but you need to present something that can truly impress me."

"According to the news from Longhu Mountain, this year’s Luotian Dajiao,

Lu Jin, the patriarch of the Lu family—one of the four great clans known as 'Flawless in Life'—has personally intervened,

offering one of the Eight Marvels, the Tongtian Lu, as the championship prize.

Do you seriously have something worth matching the Tongtian Lu?"