ARLQLCC chapter 30

The servant who had been waiting at the entrance of the dining hall was originally observing everything just fine, but suddenly the entire group in the square started heading toward the dining hall.

Among them, the stall owner and the Great Elder were walking at the front, and beside them was a black-clothed man who clearly looked like someone not to be trifled with.

The servants immediately panicked and rushed toward the serving area, afraid of being blamed for negligence.

In just a moment, dense footsteps rang out at the entrance of the dining hall. Led by the Great Elder, the group quickly entered the serving area.

One sharp-eyed servant immediately noticed Chef Lin, who was being supported by several disciples. Already uneasy, he became even more frightened, and even his greeting to the Great Elder trembled.

Su Ji was still holding the little kitten that clung tightly to him. Along the way, he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but the Demon Race’s Demon Venerable Tu Yan seemed to glance at him every few steps.

More precisely, he was looking at Chu Zhaoye in his arms.

Whenever Su Ji turned his head to catch his gaze, the other party would always look away before he could be noticed, pretending nothing had happened while casually observing the surroundings. But his eyes clearly weren’t focused anywhere, drifting aimlessly—it was obvious he felt guilty.

If he were looking at Su Ji himself, he wouldn’t have minded, but the other party kept glancing at his little cat, which Su Ji found somewhat intolerable.

He lifted the kitten and, under Chu Zhaoye’s confused gaze, lowered his head and whispered into his ear:

“There’s a strange man next to us who keeps looking at you. Ma Tuan, be careful not to be tricked away by a weird uncle, understand?”

Chu Zhaoye: “……”

Tu Yan: “……”

Under Su Ji’s caring gaze, Chu Zhaoye seriously nodded. Then he turned his head and shot a warning glance at Tu Yan, making the other stiffen immediately and stare straight ahead.

Having been glared at by his boss, Tu Yan internally cried out that he was wronged.

Su Ji had spoken quietly, but Tu Yan’s cultivation was far higher—he could hear even through an isolation barrier.

He just wanted to take a closer look at his boss’s cub form; after all, he had never seen it before. Who knew he would end up being labeled a “weird uncle”?

But the boss really had changed too much. In this cultivator’s hands, he didn’t look like the terrifying Demon King of the past at all—he looked more like a pet cat acting spoiled toward its owner.

Recalling how Chu Zhaoye had been so anxious earlier that he seemed ready to fly over, Tu Yan sighed.

Truly, beauty blinds the eye.

……

Watching another sect’s “secret” was always exciting.

Even more so when that secret involved Chef Lin, who had been abusing his power.

Whether cultivators or ordinary people, people were always enthusiastic about watching drama. Some disciples even frantically notified their friends via spiritual communication, urging them to come and watch.

As a result, even after most of the crowd had entered the dining hall, many more arrived later, sneaking into the back rows to watch. The scene was lively beyond measure.

The Great Elder did not care about the crowd’s speculation. He directly had disciples carry Chef Lin into the center of the circle, then stepped forward to take a pair of chopsticks himself, preparing for a taste test. He even refused the servants who wanted to serve him a bowl.

The dishes had been kept warm with talismans, so even after sitting for a long time they were still hot. The appearance was just as unappetizing as before, but the aroma grew stronger and stronger.

Compared to what the Great Elder usually ate, this was completely different. Normally, elders either had private chefs or specially prepared meals sent to them. He had only visited the dining hall once when it was first built—he had never seen food this crude.

The variety of dishes was large, but before even tasting them, they already gave off a perfunctory and hard-to-swallow impression.

The Great Elder’s hand trembled as he looked over the rows of dishes, almost wanting to throw his chopsticks at Chef Lin’s face.

Chef Lin flinched in fear, trembling like a startled bird. If not for the two disciples holding him, he would have already collapsed long ago.

The Great Elder looked at the surrounding disciples and spoke angrily:

“So… this is what you usually eat?”

Before anyone could answer, Yun Xicheng spoke first.

“Before Chef Lin arrived, this is not what we ate.”

Yun Che, holding back anger, followed:

“Before, the food was at least edible. We thought the Sword Trial Tournament dining hall would be better, but it turned out even worse—practically lethal!”

Led by them, the other disciples immediately chimed in.

“I ate your Yunxian Sect’s food and got diarrhea in the afternoon! Luckily I wasn’t competing that day, or I would’ve smashed this broken dining hall!”

“Most people couldn’t even finish the first bite. Before coming here, I didn’t know food could taste this bad!”

“The dishes are disgusting enough, but the soup is just a mess stew—worse than pig feed!”

“One senior even said there was shit in the food. I didn’t believe it before… now I know what it means to listen to wise advice!”

From “pig feed” to “shit,” one harsh word after another rang out. Chef Lin lowered his head so far it nearly touched his chest, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

The Great Elder, who had originally planned to taste it directly, now looked at the wilted sweet potato leaf on his chopsticks and suddenly lost the courage to eat.

After staring at it for a long while, he swallowed nervously.

Beside him, Su Ji’s voice drifted over softly:

“Great Elder, if you want to understand how the disciples have been surviving, you should experience it yourself.”

Under the weight of countless gazes, the Great Elder felt pressure on all sides. He steeled himself, closed his eyes, and quickly stuffed the leaf into his mouth.

Just one dish—it couldn’t be that bad. The earlier descriptions were probably exaggerated.

But the moment he chewed once, he nearly lost his composure. His eyes widened, expression twisting, almost spitting it out on the spot.

He forced himself to swallow with great difficulty.

The moment it left his mouth, he felt like he had been freed. His whole body relaxed.

Even Su Ji felt nauseated watching him.

A servant tremblingly brought him water. The Great Elder drank it in one gulp, finally dulling the horrifying taste.

Chef Lin’s heart completely sank at this reaction. All courage vanished, and he could no longer speak a single word in defense.

After swallowing the leaf, the Great Elder closed his eyes and checked his dantian, but felt no spiritual energy.

In the cultivation world, spiritual plants—no matter their grade—would quickly transform into spiritual energy upon ingestion. Even if it was just one leaf, if it were truly high-grade Yunxian Sect ingredients, it should have produced a strong surge of spiritual energy.

But now, there was nothing.

Not even the slightest trace.

This meant the ingredients used were even lower than the lowest-grade spiritual plants—almost equivalent to ordinary food.

Even small sects would discard such materials. Yet here, in Yunxian Sect, they had been used for over a month right under his nose.

Outer disciples were mostly at Qi Refining realm. Large sects progressed faster not only because of hard training, but also because of high-quality spiritual plants provided by the sect.

And now Chef Lin had tampered with this crucial foundation of cultivation—this was no different from destroying Yunxian Sect’s future!

Thinking this, the Great Elder’s anger surged. Ignoring decorum, he kicked Chef Lin hard in the chest. A pig-like scream echoed through the dining hall.

No disciple felt sympathy. Many even wished they could kick him themselves.

Chef Lin’s expression was extremely ugly. Su Ji raised a hand to cover the kitten’s eyes.

“Kids shouldn’t see this. It’ll hurt their eyes.”

Tu Yan: “……”

Ridiculous.

Completely ridiculous.

The boss had seen everything in his life—why would he need someone to cover his eyes? Even if Chef Lin died on the spot, he wouldn’t blink.

He reflexively looked over, waiting for Chu Zhaoye to push the hand away.

In Su Ji’s arms, Chu Zhaoye raised a paw and obediently patted his hand, signaling he understood.

Tu Yan: “……”

Boss, you’ve lost your mind!

Author’s Note:

Tu Yan: Love makes one blind

Chu Zhaoye: I have a wife, are you jealous?

Tu Yan: QAQ I also have one, but for some reason I still feel like I’m being looked down on.

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