Beach Barbecue

Ye Chuan led the group to the portal. The moment his hand touched the door, a strong repulsive force traveled down his fingertips. He couldn't step in at all.

It wasn't open.

"Closed again?" Ye Chuan pulled his hand back and raised an eyebrow. "Just like the fourth floor before. We have to wait for the fixed refresh cycle. We can't force our way in right now."

"Ah? We can't go in?" Lan Xiaoke leaned over.

Luo Xi also walked over, touched the portal's barrier, and looked back at Ye Chuan. "Then are we going back now?"

"What's the rush?" Ye Chuan smiled, his gaze sweeping over the group. "We're already here. Since we made the trip, we can't just go back empty-handed. The sea on the third floor happens to have nice scenery. Let's find a spot for a barbecue and treat it like a vacation."

Luo Xi tilted her head in thought, then smiled. "Mm, okay. Let's just treat it as a vacation."

After all, she didn't follow Ye Chuan for the monsters; she simply wanted to accompany him.

"Barbecue?!" Lan Xiaoke raised her hand. "I wanna eat! I want grilled squid! And big meat skewers!"

Ye Yue also immediately let go of Ye Chuan's arm, shaking his sleeve affectionately. "Brother! I want the honey-glazed ones! And grilled corn too!"

"Alright, I'll satisfy all of you."

Ye Chuan snapped his fingers, activating his Origin Magic. A white halo enveloped the group. In the blink of an eye, they went from the scorching desert back to the seaside reefs of the third floor.

He was really getting more and more proficient with this Origin Magic.

Moreover, Ye Chuan discovered that as he used his self-created magic more often, the cost became smaller and smaller. He didn't even experience any mental energy drain anymore.

Ye Chuan glanced at his Dao Foundation percentage. Just a little bit more, and he could directly break through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

The lightning tribulation of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm definitely wouldn't be weak. Ye Chuan could even return to the Profound Sky Continent to summon it.

However, Ye Chuan wasn't sure if the lightning tribulation of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm could deal with someone in the Ascension Realm.

Having personally experienced the power of the Ascension Realm, Ye Chuan didn't know if he could take down that old man.

Forget it, there's no rush anyway.

He would just level up a bit more before heading back.

...

The third floor of the Tower.

The salty sea breeze blew against their faces, carrying a faint scent of the ocean. The distant sea sparkled, and the waterless path Ye Chuan had previously cleaved open had long since closed.

The shadows of sea monsters faintly flashing in the deep sea reminded everyone that this was still a dangerous dungeon within the Tower.

But Ye Chuan didn't pay them any mind. He raised his hand and shot out a streak of ice-attribute spiritual energy, instantly freezing a flat, hundred-meter-wide ice platform on the surface of the sea.

Following that, Ye Chuan pulled out a folding grill, skewers, and a complete set of seasonings from his spatial storage. He set them up on the ice platform, looking exactly like he was ready for a seaside vacation.

"You guys set things up first. I'll go get some ingredients," Ye Chuan said. He walked to the edge of the water, casually tapped his finger, and sent a wave of Origin fluctuation into the sea.

Within seconds, the surface of the sea suddenly exploded, and several plump sea monsters, each over a dozen meters long, were yanked out of the water by an invisible force!

The monsters were still frantically twisting and struggling. They were all Golden Core stage sea monsters that Lan Xiaoke had previously punched into a daze. Their meat was firm and delicious, perfect for grilling.

With a casual wave of Ye Chuan's hand, the sea monsters were instantly cleaned up. Their innards and hard bones were removed, they were cut into palm-sized chunks of meat, and even their scales were scraped completely clean.

Moreover, after a few purification spells, there was no need to worry about toxins.

They could just eat to their hearts' content.

"Wow! So much meat!"

"Come help skewer the meat."

"Coming." Luo Xi and the others also started helping to skewer the meat. The original group adventure had turned into a group picnic barbecue, seemingly completely forgetting their initial goal.

"It looks like it'll taste great." Luo Xi and Lan Xiaoke picked up the skewers and threaded the meat chunks with nimble movements.

Wang Yanran also came over to help skewer the seafood, not forgetting to pick out a few of the tenderest pieces of meat and set them aside. Tian Xiaotian used her spiritual energy as kindling for the barbecue, not producing a single wisp of smoke.

Ye Yue squatted to the side, holding a small brush, earnestly brushing honey sauce onto the meat skewers.

"Chuan Chuan, all done!"

"Alright."

Ye Chuan placed the meat skewers on the grill, flipping them rapidly.

The well-marbled sea monster meat was grilled until it was golden and crispy. The grease dripped down along the meat's texture, landing on the charcoal fire and splashing up tiny sparks.

He sprinkled a handful of cumin and chili powder, and the aroma instantly exploded.

"Is it cooked?"

"It's cooked."

"Don't roast it into black charcoal."

"Black charcoal has the best texture."

Ye Chuan first finished grilling a few skewers of honey-glazed tenderloin and handed them to the eagerly waiting Ye Yue and Lan Xiaoke.

Lan Xiaoke took a big bite. The meat juices from the crispy outside and tender inside exploded in her mouth, so hot that she kept exhaling. "Delicious! This sea monster meat tastes really good."

Ye Yue also nibbled on it in small bites, her eyes curving into crescents as she continuously praised her brother's skills.

The group gathered around the grill, drinking iced beverages, eating hot barbecue, and chatting and laughing in the sea breeze. It was a picture-perfect, relaxing seaside vacation.

...

Right at this moment, a white light of teleportation flashed not far away, and three fully armed squads of super warriors teleported into the third floor.

The moment they landed, they immediately assumed a combat formation. Their energy guns and alloy swords were all drawn out, and they stood back-to-back, vigilantly staring at the surrounding sea.

As if terrified of being ambushed by sea monsters lurking in the dark, everyone wore a tense and solemn expression, clearly having suffered at the hands of the third floor's sea monsters before.

But the next second, a rich barbecue aroma drifted over with the sea breeze and burrowed into their noses.

The group was instantly dumbfounded, looking at each other in dismay.

???

What was going on? This was the third floor of the Tower!

A hellhole where level thirty sea monsters roamed everywhere, where one careless mistake would result in being dragged into the sea with not even bones remaining. How could there be the smell of barbecue?

They turned their heads to look in the direction of the scent and were completely stunned in place.

On the sea surface not far away, a flat ice platform was frozen solid. A group of exceptionally good-looking young men and women were gathered around a grill, drinking iced beverages and eating barbecue, chatting and laughing with unparalleled leisure.

Beside them lay several half-processed giant sea monsters. There wasn't even a single guard; it was as if they were having a picnic in their own backyard.

"I... I'm not seeing things, right?" A super warrior rubbed his eyes, his voice trembling.

"Those... those are the sea monsters of the third floor, right? They're actually grilling them?"

"Are they crazy? Every time we come in, it's like surviving a tribulation, and this group is actually throwing a barbecue party here?"

"Wait! That man! I recognize him! He's the demon who turned those superhumans into lolis at the Tower entrance yesterday!!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the three squads instantly stiffened. They subconsciously squeezed their legs together, not even daring to breathe loudly.

No wonder they dared to be so arrogant on the third floor; it turned out to be this big shot!

The group instantly dismissed the thought of going up to strike up a conversation. They didn't even dare to get close, tiptoeing around in a massive circle.

They hugged the coastline and walked far away, terrified of making the slightest noise and disturbing the group eating barbecue on the ice platform.

They were even more afraid that if they weren't careful and offended this evil god, they would be turned into little lolis the next second and thrown to feed the sea monsters.

It wasn't until they were a few kilometers away that the group finally dared to catch their breath. Looking back at the ice platform in the distance, they still found the whole thing completely unbelievable.

"How can the gap between people be this massive..."

Meanwhile, back on the ice platform, Ye Chuan had long since noticed the movements of those squads. He didn't care in the slightest, though. Casually finishing up another large grilled squid skewer, he stuffed it right into the hands of the eager Lan Xiaoke, who was scrambling for a bite.

As long as they didn't come looking for trouble, he couldn't be bothered with them anyway.