ARLQLCC chapter 32

The Spirit-Replenishing Pill’s effect was extremely overbearing. After only one night of meditation, Su Ji felt that the spiritual energy he had overdrawn yesterday had completely recovered. Under the stimulation of the pill, even the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy became faster.

Coming out of meditation, Su Ji was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had already broken through the bottleneck of the middle stage of Soul Transformation.

This could be considered a blessing in disguise—without destruction, there could be no establishment.

After his cultivation broke through, his mind became clear and refreshed. He got up early, and the kitten beside him was still fast asleep. He did not know if it was his imagination, but Ma Tuan seemed to have grown a little overnight.

Though it was still a very round little thing.

Last night, he had handed Ma Tuan to Yun Che to look after, and it had frightened the little fellow badly. When it came darting back to him, it was furious. Su Ji had to coax it for quite a while before it calmed down.

The kitten had not woken up early in the morning, and Su Ji was not in a hurry to wake it. He pushed open the door and went out by himself.

The first thing he saw was the lush camphor tree, set against the pale blue morning sky, with a few crisp bird calls faintly audible.

Outside the courtyard, servant disciples who had risen early were already sweeping fallen leaves, the rustling sound of brooms brushing against the ground drifting over slowly.

Su Ji took a deep breath. The clean morning air entered his lungs, and his whole body felt refreshed. He stretched lazily, stepped down the stairs, and walked toward the small kitchen.

Yun Xicheng and the others had not gotten up yet, so Su Ji planned to prepare breakfast first, so they could eat it while it was hot once they woke up.

He simply cooked some plain rice porridge and made a dish of cucumber in vinegar to go with it. With that, breakfast was ready.

By the time the porridge was done, it was also time for the disciples to wake up. The first thing Yun Xicheng saw when he stepped out of his room was Su Ji sitting there, holding the kitten and drinking porridge. The sour fragrance of the vinegar cucumber drifted over to him, instantly stimulating his appetite.

Su Ji spotted him at a glance and called out, “Xicheng, the porridge is in the kitchen. Go help yourself.”

Yun Xicheng nodded, filled two bowls of porridge, and came to the stone table. After Yun Che came out, he sat directly on a stone stool, took one of the bowls, and the two of them began eating ravenously.

The cucumber in vinegar was especially appetizing. Mixed with the sour fragrance was a bit of red chili oil, and one bowl of porridge was quickly finished.

Halfway through the meal, Yan Shao also joined them for breakfast. The three of them had run the stall until midnight yesterday. After a night’s sleep and a bowl of fragrant rice porridge, all the fatigue in their bodies was instantly swept away.

With warmth spreading through his stomach, Yun Xicheng could not help but sigh. “Waking up to Chef Su’s breakfast really makes me feel like I’m guaranteed to win today’s first match!”

Su Ji had just fed Chu Zhaoye a bite of cucumber. Hearing that, he looked up. “Your match is this morning?”

Yun Xicheng put down his bowl and nodded. “I’m in the first Golden Core realm match this morning, and Yun Che just happens to be in the second.”

Su Ji asked curiously, “Do you know who your opponents are? Are you confident?”

Yun Che gave a thumbs-up. “Absolutely. We got lucky—our opponents are both one realm lower than us.”

Su Ji curved his eyes into a smile. “Then let me congratulate you in advance on your victories. I’ll place a bet on you two later and earn some pocket money.”

Yan Shao laughed. “Then bet more and make a huge profit!”

A servant disciple came in to collect the bowls and chopsticks. Once everyone was ready, they left the courtyard and followed the flow of people toward the martial arena.

After Chef Lin had been taken away last night, breakfast in the dining hall was prepared by the apprentice disciples.

Although Chef Lin had never been much help to their already limited cooking skills, when it came to flour-based foods like steamed buns and stuffed buns, the finished products were at least not quite so disastrous and were barely edible.

And because Chef Lin and the Second Elder had been arrested, the dining hall had purchased top-grade spirit plants overnight as ingredients, and the prices had also dropped back to their original levels.

As a result, there were still quite a few disciples going to the dining hall for breakfast that morning. Along the way, they could see disciples slowly munching on steamed buns and pancakes.

After the events of last night, almost everyone recognized Su Ji. As they walked toward the martial arena, people greeted him one after another.

“Good morning, Chef Su! Are you feeling better?”

“Chef Su, your complexion looks pretty good. You should be alright now, right?”

These were the ones concerned about his health.

“Chef Su! I bought your minced meat noodles yesterday. My god, they were so delicious I finished them in two bites. Are you setting up your stall again today?”

“Good morning, Chef Su! Can you open a three-meals-a-day stall? I really want to eat your cooking every single meal!”

These were the food lovers.

“Chef Su, yesterday I told our sect master about you. He said he wants to cooperate with your cafeteria. As soon as the Sword Trial Tournament ends, he’ll contact you through the teleportation array. I hope you’ll do us the honor of accepting!”

“Chef Su, would you like to be the head chef of our sect? Our sect master said he’d pay you this much every month. Please consider it!”

These were the ones concerned about his career.

All kinds of disciples greeted him along the way, and Su Ji patiently responded to each one. By the time they reached the martial arena, his smile had practically frozen.

Besides the friendly disciples from other sects, there were also disciples from the Chenxin Sect who recognized him but felt too embarrassed to greet him. Occasionally, a few would smile and nod when their eyes met Su Ji’s, but most simply stared at his departing figure after he passed.

Although Su Ji had been away from the sect for nearly a month, at this moment, all the Chenxin Sect disciples shared the same thought—

Not only was Su Ji close to the two young sect masters, he had also earned the favor of a Demon Venerable. Above the Demon Venerable stood the incomparably powerful Demon King, and perhaps even he would regard Su Ji differently because of his trusted subordinate.

If the sect master knew that this disciple he had nearly wronged had such an extensive network of connections, would he regret failing to teach his daughter properly and arresting and publicly denouncing him without investigating the truth?

If Su Ji himself had not been determined enough to insist on entering the Yiyan Pool immediately, he would probably already be burdened with accusations and utterly disgraced.

…

After crossing the chain bridge, they found that many people had already gathered at the martial arena. Yun Xicheng brought Su Ji to the betting area, and Su Ji did not hold back, placing two hundred top-grade spirit stones on both Yun Xicheng and Yun Che.

Knowing the abilities of his two friends, Yan Shao threw down spirit stones as if they were worthless. As he placed his bet, he muttered, “You two had better perform well. I’ve staked my whole fortune and my life on this!”

His words earned him a glare from Yun Che. “Don’t worry, we’ll definitely help you win back double!”

As they left the betting area, they ran into Yue He, who had arrived late. The moment she saw Su Ji and the others, she said something to the girls beside her and bounced over happily.

“Chef Su! Have you recovered? I’ve got good news for you!”

Su Ji blinked and cooperatively asked, “What good news?”

Yue He leaned in, and the group formed a circle around her as she said mysteriously, “A friend of mine in the Law Enforcement Hall told me last night that Chef Lin had his cultivation crippled and was thrown back to his hometown. Even the back kitchen’s resting room was torn down overnight.”

“As for the Second Elder, because of embezzlement, bribery, and mismanagement, he was stripped of his elder position and locked in the water prison of the Law Enforcement Hall. He won’t be allowed to take a single step outside for a hundred years!”

Yun Xicheng let out a low whistle. “That punishment is really severe. Chef Lin getting punished so harshly is one thing, but I didn’t expect the Second Elder’s fate to be no better. The Great Elder was truly enraged this time.”

Yun Che cursed, “He brought it all on himself. He had a perfectly good elder position, but he insisted on squeezing money out of the disciples. Ending up like this is entirely his own fault.”

Yue He added, “It seems the sect doesn’t plan to recruit a new head chef. I heard the Great Elder intends to find someone to properly train the dining hall apprentices. After all, they’re the main force behind the cooking, and whether the food is good or bad depends entirely on how their master teaches them.”

Hearing this, Yun Xicheng seemed to think of something, and his eyes lit up as he looked at Su Ji. “Hey, Su Ji, you—you—you!”

Su Ji asked inexplicably, “Me?”

Yun Xicheng nodded repeatedly. “You should teach them! Sometimes the sect’s teleportation array is closed, and the disciples can’t eat your food. If you teach the apprentice disciples, then even if we can’t eat dishes you personally made, we can still eat food made by your apprentices!”

The moment he said this, everyone else immediately voiced their agreement.

Yun Xicheng continued, “This way, you won’t need to set up a stall, and you can openly use our sect’s ingredients. You’ll even save money. I’ll go talk to the Great Elder and have him approve a teaching budget for you. You’ll definitely earn more than you do from the stall!”

What he said made sense, and Su Ji felt somewhat tempted.

Running a stall required him to cook for so many people from all the sects by himself. The workload was even greater than when he had been at Linggu Mountain. Although they helped him, it was still somewhat rushed. If he could teach the apprentice disciples, he would not only be doing the Yunxian Sect a huge favor, but he could also earn money easily. It was definitely a guaranteed profit with no chance of loss.

After only a brief moment of thought, he agreed. The group immediately erupted into excited screams, drawing curious looks from nearby disciples.

With the matter settled, Yun Xicheng planned to find the Great Elder after the matches. Ideally, he wanted Su Ji to start teaching today and rescue the taste buds of all the disciples attending the Sword Trial Tournament.

After chatting for a bit longer, they split up. Yun Xicheng and Yun Che headed to the Golden Core preparation area, while Su Ji went with Yan Shao and Yue He, who had not drawn any matches, to the spectator area in front of the Golden Core arena.

Only after sitting down did Su Ji realize that Chu Zhaoye seemed unusually quiet today.

He pulled the kitten out from inside his robe and discovered that it had fallen asleep again in such a short time. Even after being lifted and turned around twice in his hands, it did not wake up.

Looking at the furball sleeping like a little pig, Su Ji suspiciously placed his hand on the spiritual meridian in its front paw.

His green spiritual energy made a full circuit and found nothing unusual. Su Ji withdrew his hand in puzzlement and ultimately attributed Ma Tuan’s sleepiness to the fright it had suffered last night. It probably needed more rest to recover its spirits.

After all, no matter how intelligent Ma Tuan was, it was still just a kitten. Last night, he had suddenly handed it to Yun Che and made it watch helplessly as he fell into danger. It had probably been terrified.

Thinking of this, Su Ji felt rather guilty.

If the Second Elder’s arrogance had not exceeded his expectations, Su Ji would not have allowed himself to fall into such a dangerous situation.

Even now, thinking back on it left him a little shaken. If the Great Elder and the Demon Venerable Tu had not arrived in time, even if he had been able to break the formation, he likely would have suffered backlash. And when facing the Second Elder, a Mahayana cultivator, he would have had no power to fight back.

If he had been taken away by the Law Enforcement Hall, even if he did not die, he would have been severely punished.

Holding the sleeping kitten, Su Ji let out a long breath.

After this experience, he needed to devote himself more seriously to cultivation. Only by overwhelming others with his cultivation and having a sufficiently strong fist could he avoid falling into such a powerless situation again.

Lovingly stroking the kitten’s fur, Su Ji thought that he would have to make Ma Tuan something delicious tonight to help the little one recover after such a terrible fright.

Not far away, the first match had already begun. Yun Xicheng and his opponent stood at opposite corners of the stage, waiting for the signal to start.

Meanwhile, in Su Ji’s arms, the round little kitten slept soundly. The circulation of spiritual energy around its body was growing faster and faster, and under the morning sun, its black fur seemed several shades shinier than before.

Author’s Note:

Su Ji (worried): Why did you fall asleep again? Don’t tell me you’re sick.

Chu Zhaoye: Once I recover, I’ll punch Yuan Chenxin and kick Yan Shao.

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