Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 7: A Meal for You

Xu Qing scanned the combat pit. Above the clamor of the spectator stands, a deafening boom echoed from the gate his group had just passed through. A massive wooden portcullis slammed into the dirt, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

The heavy thud acted like a war horn, whipping the surrounding scavengers into a frenzy.

Looking up, Xu Qing noticed a middle-aged man draped in brocade robes taking the highest seat on the viewing platform, flanked by an entourage.

Though the distance blurred the man’s features, his status was undeniable. Even from afar, Xu Qing could feel the suffocatingly dense spiritual energy radiating from him—far surpassing anyone he had ever encountered.

Xu Qing’s guard went up. That must be the Camp Master.

Beside the seated man, the scavenger with the three-stroke mustache from yesterday hunched over, whispering a careful report. As the Camp Master settled in, the mustached man stood at the edge of the platform and signaled the pit below.

Another wooden gate ground open at the edge of the arena. Without the heavy doors to muffle them, the guttural roars and snarls of feral beasts spilled into the pit.

Four squads of scavengers, three men to a team, trudged out of the shadows, straining under the weight of massive iron cages. Inside, the beasts thrashed and lunged, desperate to tear through the bars.

Xu Qing’s cold eyes swept over the four cages.

Two held giant wolves—one large, one small. Both had pitch-black fur, razor-sharp fangs, and eyes glowing with bloodlust. Thick saliva dripped from their jaws as they locked onto Xu Qing and the other four trial-takers, radiating feral malice.

The third cage held a crimson-furred bear. Its arms were thicker than a grown man’s thigh. It battered the iron bars in a blind, irritable rage, nearly overpowering the three scavengers carrying it.

The beast in the final cage had a noticeably weaker aura. It was a gibbon, its entire body riddled with weeping pustules that looked ready to burst at the slightest touch. Driven mad by agony, it continuously threw itself against the bars, rupturing the sores in a gruesome display.

The crowd roared again at the sight of the beasts.

Beside Xu Qing, the two youths went deathly pale. The little girl’s eyes widened in sheer terror. Even the older youth, a former scavenger himself, swallowed hard, his tension palpable.

Why are there only four? Xu Qing frowned, his gaze shifting back to the dark tunnel.

The moment he looked, the four raging beasts instantly fell dead silent, as if paralyzed by an unseen terror.

From the shadows of the tunnel, six scavengers slowly hauled out a fifth iron cage—nearly twice the size of the others.

Gasps rippled through the spectator stands.

“A Giant Horned Python!”

“The Camp Master actually dragged a Giant Horned Python in this time. Then again, to him, a beast like that is probably worthless.”

“For those brats down there, whoever draws that thing is dead meat. Even out in the wild, it takes two veteran scavengers fighting tooth and nail just to bring one down.”

Coiled inside the massive cage was a monstrous serpent. Its body was as thick as a grown man’s waist, covered in grayish-black scales etched with dark, jagged patterns resembling mountain peaks.

It lay perfectly still, its massive head slightly raised. Cold, yellow slit-pupils surveyed the arena with predatory malice.

Under its gaze, the giant wolves and the diseased gibbon trembled. Only the red bear let out a low, defensive growl, but even it slowly backed away until it was pressed against the far side of its cage.

“Please don’t let me draw it… please…”

Behind Xu Qing, the two youths shook like leaves, muttering desperate prayers.

Xu Qing, however, felt a cold gleam rise in his eyes.

He recognized the Giant Horned Python. Back in the slums, he had seen city hunters hauling their massive carcasses back from the wasteland. Experienced scavengers had spoken of its terrifying constricting power—capable of snapping giant trees in half—and its incredibly thick hide.

But it was heavy. Clumsy. Slow.

More importantly, its gallbladder possessed potent medicinal properties, capable of purging bodily pollution. And its meat was highly nourishing.

Captain Lei said he likes to eat snake.

Xu Qing had caught plenty of snakes as a child. He licked his dry lips.

Lately, the Mutation Points on his body had been darkening as he cultivated, emitting a faint, stinging pain just yesterday. If he could eat that python’s gallbladder, it would neutralize a significant amount of the mutagen in his system.

As he stared intently at the serpent, the drawing of lots began.

A scavenger approached with five bamboo slips, each carved with the name of a beast.

The older scavenger youth drew first. Seeing his slip, he exhaled a massive breath of relief.

The two terrified youths drew next, their faces twisting into bitter grimaces. But when the little girl looked at her slip, all hope drained from her eyes.

She had drawn the Giant Horned Python.

The only slip left was the small wolf—the weakest beast of the five.

Xu Qing held the final slip, his brow furrowing in silent calculation.

The scavengers retreated, corralling the trial-takers behind a makeshift barricade in the corner. Amidst the cheers of the bloodthirsty crowd, the first trial commenced.

One of the terrified youths was shoved into the ring. His opponent was the crimson bear.

It was a slaughter. The boy was hopelessly outmatched. After barely dodging a few wild swings, the bear pinned him to the dirt and tore him apart.

Blood sprayed across the sand. The crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers and angry curses from those who had lost bets.

Witnessing the carnage, the second youth broke down completely. Scheduled to fight next, he fell to his knees, screaming that he forfeited. Amidst a chorus of boos, scavengers dragged him away. His fate was sealed regardless.

The third to fight was the older scavenger youth.

He had drawn the large black wolf. Years of surviving in the wasteland had bred a ruthless streak in him that ordinary people lacked. After a brutal, breathless struggle, he managed to slit the wolf’s throat, sustaining several deep gashes in the process. He became the first to pass.

Clutching his bleeding chest, he walked out the open gate a free man.

The fourth… was the little girl.

As the iron lock on the python’s cage clicked open, the girl trembled violently. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to walk past Xu Qing to her death.

“Let’s swap,” Xu Qing said suddenly.

The girl froze. Before she could process the words, Xu Qing snatched the bamboo slip from her hand and shoved his own into her palm.

Without sparing a glance at her tearful, grateful eyes, he gripped his black iron skewer and walked toward the Giant Horned Python.

The crowd, having seen the drawing order, immediately began to jeer and holler at the sudden change. But aside from those who had placed bets on the specific matchups, no one cared. The scavengers didn’t care. The Camp Master didn’t care. In this camp, you lived or died by your own strength.

Xu Qing stepped calmly into the dusty arena. Inside the cage, the python locked its cold eyes onto him and slowly slithered out.

As its massive bulk dragged across the iron bars, the scales produced a harsh, grating screech.

Animal instinct warned the serpent that the scrawny boy standing before it was different from its usual prey. Instead of striking immediately, the python coiled itself just outside the cage, raising its head high, watching Xu Qing’s steady approach with lethal caution.

The crowd’s jeers died down, replaced by a murmur of genuine interest.

Xu Qing’s expression remained deadpan as he closed the distance. Whether he had crossed into its strike zone or his aura had provoked it, the cold malice in the python’s yellow eyes suddenly flared. Its heavy tail slammed into the dirt with a thunderous crack.

Using the momentum, the massive serpent launched itself through the air like a battering ram. Its jaws unhinged, revealing rows of curved fangs, and a foul, rotting stench washed over Xu Qing as it sought to swallow him whole.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. At the exact moment the jaws snapped shut, he sidestepped. He didn’t strike at the passing head. Instead, his eyes tracked the beast like a seasoned hunter, locking onto its exposed underbelly.

Missing its prey, the python let out a low, furious hiss. Its body contorted mid-air, and with a sharp whistle, its thick tail whipped around, lashing viciously toward Xu Qing’s back.

Driven by predatory instinct, the python forcibly wrenched its head around as well. Head and tail snapped shut like a massive, deadly pair of pincers, aiming to crush the boy in a fatal coil.

Xu Qing didn’t flinch. His eyes remained glued to the python’s abdomen. As the tail whipped toward him, his right hand clenched into a fist, and he punched outward.

Bang.

Though he had only mastered the first level of the Sea Mountain Technique, the physical power it granted him was explosive. The punch slammed into the tail, violently repelling it and breaking the deadly coil.

The python hissed in pain. The blunt force trauma wasn’t fatal, but it sent the beast into a blood-crazed frenzy. With its eyes glowing red, it lunged forward, snapping its jaws wildly at Xu Qing.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. There.

Instead of retreating, he stepped directly inside the python’s guard, pressing himself against the upper-middle section of its thick body.

He planted his feet and unleashed a flurry of brutal punches. One, two, three…

Fist after fist slammed into the serpent’s belly.

The sheer kinetic force of Xu Qing’s blows drove the massive python backward. It thrashed and hissed, desperately trying to wrap around him, but the concussive impacts kept its head and tail at bay.

The scales on its underbelly were its weakest point. Under the relentless bombardment, the tough hide began to crack. Blood seeped through the fractured scales, the flesh beneath bruised and tenderized.

Before the python could adjust its posture, a lethal coldness swept across Xu Qing’s face.

His left hand blurred, drawing the dagger strapped to his calf. With a flash of cold steel, he plunged the blade deep into the python’s fractured underbelly.

He twisted the hilt and ripped downward with all his might.

Blood sprayed across the dirt. The python unleashed a deafening, agonizing shriek as its abdomen was laid bare, exposing the steaming organs within.

Despite the beast’s massive size, its mutation had shrunk its gallbladder to the size of a chicken egg.

Without a second of hesitation, Xu Qing plunged his bare right hand into the hot, bloody cavity. His fingers locked around the gallbladder, and with a vicious yank, he tore it free from the screaming serpent.

Hot blood rained down, soaking the sand.

Ignoring the gore dripping from his fingers, Xu Qing stared at the gallbladder with a strange intensity. Right there, under the stunned gazes of the scavengers, he tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

Having its gallbladder ripped out alive sent the Giant Horned Python into a death throe of unimaginable agony. It thrashed wildly, its massive body cratering the earth and kicking up a blinding dust storm.

Driven by pure, mindless agony, its head snapped toward Xu Qing one last time. Its jaws opened to impossible widths, intent on dragging the boy to hell with it.

Xu Qing watched it come with dead eyes. At the last possible second, he leaped into the air, narrowly dodging the snapping jaws. Suspended above the beast, he flicked his wrist, and the black iron skewer materialized in his grip.

Killing intent flared in his eyes. Using his momentum, speed, and entire body weight, he drove the iron skewer down with maximum lethal force, plunging it directly into the serpent’s heart.

The iron shattered the scales and sank deep into the flesh.

Boom.

The Giant Horned Python convulsed violently, all strength instantly leaving its massive frame. Its head and tail crashed heavily into the dirt. The agonizing shrieks stopped dead, leaving only the weak, rhythmic slapping of its dying tail against the sand.

Silence fell over the arena.

As the dust slowly settled, the scavengers in the stands stared in absolute shock. Many had risen to their feet, their eyes locked onto the scrawny boy standing over the carcass, calmly pulling his iron skewer free.

If a veteran scavenger had killed the python, they wouldn’t have reacted this way.

But a child? A malnourished boy who had cleanly vivisected a monster, eaten its organ raw, and executed it with a single, flawless strike—all without his expression changing once?

That was terrifying.

In the adjacent cages, the surviving wolf and bear whimpered, pressing themselves as far back into the shadows as possible.

This hadn’t been a trial. It was a hunt.

Under the heavy silence of the crowd, Xu Qing wiped his skewer clean, hooked his fingers into the python’s gaping wound, and began dragging the massive carcass toward the arena gate.

A thick, shocking trail of crimson painted the dirt behind him.

The heavy wooden doors had not yet opened. Xu Qing paused and glanced back up at the high platform.

The mustached man finally snapped out of his daze. Swallowing hard, he hastily signaled the guards.

The gears ground loudly, and the heavy doors slowly rose.

Standing in the tunnel, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, was Captain Lei. He had been waiting.

He looked at the blood-soaked boy and smiled.

“Can I stay at your place now?” Xu Qing asked, looking up at the old man, his grip still tight on the snake’s flesh.

“You can,” Captain Lei chuckled.

Xu Qing nodded. He hoisted the heavy carcass and tossed it at the Captain’s feet.

“You like to eat snake. A meal for you.”

Captain Lei blinked in surprise, then threw his head back and let out a booming laugh. He hoisted the Giant Horned Python over his shoulder and, still laughing, led Xu Qing out of the dark tunnel and into the camp.

Only after they had completely disappeared did the arena finally erupt into a deafening uproar.

Amidst the chaos, high in the stands and completely unnoticed by the screaming crowd, sat an old man in a purple robe. Beside him stood a middle-aged man with a pentagram tattooed on his forehead, still as a statue.

They sat in plain sight, their pristine clothing and dignified auras entirely at odds with the filth of the scavenger camp. Yet, no one looked at them. No one bumped into them. Even the Camp Master’s eyes slid right past them, completely blind to their existence.

The old man had a ruddy complexion, but deep within his eyes, violent arcs of lightning danced—a terrifying power that felt capable of obliterating the entire camp if unleashed.

He sat there, watching the spot where Xu Qing had vanished, and let out a soft chuckle.

“What an interesting boy.”