Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce saw the tall woman on the ground, covered in some sort of sticky liquid that the lizard had spat at her. The first thing that he noticed was the disgusting smell that entered his nose.

This was one of the first times that he lamented having heightened senses, yet he managed to keep his composure so as not to embarrass the poor woman.

"Are you okay?" he said after blocking his nose with Qi.

The woman on the ground seemed startled as his gaze landed on her, so it took a little while before she answered.

"Y-Yes I’m fine, thank you fellow daoist."

She then tried to get up, only to remember that she was currently covered in a disgusting sticky substance which had bound her arms and body to the ground. She struggled to remove herself from the ground only to fail a few times.

Jayce felt a sense of exasperation watching the scene, so he decided to give her a hand before she embarrassed herself further. With a wave of his hand, flames appeared and boiled the liquid, leaving only a small residue behind.

The woman was startled once again, yet for a different reason. She felt the heat emanating from the flames, yet they did not touch her skin nor burn her despite being so close.

’What control of flames!’ She exclaimed inwardly, feeling a profound sense of awe as she watched the mysterious man.

She quickly got to her feet and bowed, her earlier predicament now absent from her mind.

"Thank you fellow daoist, my name is Mei of the Vermilion Flame Sect. May I ask for benefactors name?"

Jayce eyebrow raised in response to her words. Of course he had never heard of the Vermilion Flame sect, yet the name intrigued him. Judging from the womans use of the Law of Fire and the name of the sect, they could potentially all use the Laws of Fire like himself.

If that were the case, then it might be even more beneficial to get to know these people.

Jayce was no selfless hero, at least not outside of his own planet. He had saved the woman for two reasons. Firstly, they were the first sings of life he had run into in this new world and secondly because he needed information.

"Jayce." He answered simply.

He didn’t follow up with any other words just yet. He would wait for Sophia to invite him back to their sect, thinking that it would feel more natural than if he were to ask. Jayce didn’t want her becoming suspicious of him this early.

’I need information... and maybe a shirt.’ He thought inwardly.

Before Sophia could raise her head, they heard the sound of footsteps close by, causing her to turn in the direction. Jayce too moved his gaze over, seeing the two boys return along with another person wearing a similar, more regal robe.

"It was here Elder!" One of the boys called out, pointing in their direction.

Jayce frowned in response. He did not like to be pointed at.

The Elder seemed to quickly catch on, lowering the boys arm after seeing his reaction.

"Fellow Daoist, I am Elder Ji of the Vermilion Flame Sect. May I ask your name?"

The Elder bowed as a sign of respect, causing the two boys to almost jump in fright. Elder Ji was a skinny man who looked to be in his early 40’s. His face was adorned with a long goatee which hung down past his chest.

Mei too watched on incredulously as their Elder bowed towards Jayce.

’Elder Ji is in the Core formation realm, how come he is bowing to this newcomer? Does that mean he has similar strength?’ Mei’s eyes widened and a sense of fear and foreboding crept into her heart.

She scrutinized her earlier actions, hoping that she did not do anything that could have offended her benefactor.

Jayce cupped his fist and returned the small bow, it would not hurt to show respect to this Elder Ji, especially since he was after information. He could tell that the man was strong, possibly around the same level as Baran.

He also noticed that they all bore Chinese names, despite how they looked. Jayce thought this was curious.

"Elder Ji. My name is Jayce, it’s nice to meet you." He said politely.

Elder Ji raised his head, feeling a sense of relief that the man in front seemed easy enough to talk to. His eyes moved to the lizard that was under his foot, realizing that this must be the monster that the twins had been talking about.

"Sir Jayce, thank you for saving one of our disciples. Allow me to humbly invite you to our Vermilion Flame Sect, of course only if you have the time." Elder Ji said with a smile.

Jayce nodded in response, feeling only sincerity in the Elder’s words. To be honest, he was feeling a little uncomfortable with the way the Mei had been checking out his body this entire time. The quicker he could find a clean pair of clothes the better.

"This way please Sir Jayce." Elder Ji said, prompting him to follow.

He flew into the air, leaving the 3 disciples upon the ground. Jayce didn’t say another word and flew up into the sky, also disregarding the others.

The two brothers mouths flung open as they watched the newcomer fly into the sky alongside the Elder. They had guessed that Jayce was strong based on how he had killed the lizard with relative ease, yet never in their wildest dreams had they expected him to be a Core Formation cultivator. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

As they watched the two turn into dots upon the horizon, Mei walked over to the two brothers and stood alongside them.

"We’re not dreaming right? Was he really that young or has he changed his appearance?" The brother on the left said incredulously, his gaze not leaving the figures in the distance.

Mei felt butterflies in her stomach as she remembered the appealing physique of the man, shaking her head a moment later.

"I think he really is just in his early twenties..." She said after a while.

"B-But wouldn’t that make him an unparalleled genius?" The other brother stammered, feeling a sense of awe.

"Come on. Let’s head back to the sect after getting the lizards monster core." Mei said after a wistful sigh.