ARLQLCC chapter 23

Above Yunxian Sect, several streams of light shot into the air and resolved into human figures before the demon beast. They were the sect master and elders who had been standing on the martial arena platform just moments ago.

As the leaders of the righteous path, they now showed respectful expressions on their faces as if they had seen someone important. They gestured toward the main hall of the martial arena. A moment later, the four-winged demon beast left Lianshuo Peak, spread its wings, and flew toward the martial arena.

The sound of discussion gradually grew louder. Everyone was guessing who had arrived—someone who could make a group of Mahayana realm elders greet them with smiling faces.

Su Ji was also curious, but after only glancing at the martial arena for a moment, he turned and continued walking toward the courtyard.

Many disciples were still standing in place and looking around. Since he did not have to move against the crowd, Su Ji returned to the courtyard in only a short time.

There were not many people in the dining hall yet, but the doors were already open, and the aroma of food drifted out. Su Ji sniffed lightly for a while and came to one conclusion: fragrance-enhancing powder had been used.

That Chef Lin had some self-awareness. Knowing that the dining hall food did not taste very good, he resorted to tricks, planning to make a fortune both inside and outside the sect during the half-month Sword Trial Tournament.

While he was thinking, the sound of footsteps approached from far to near. Yun Xicheng and the others were jogging through the crowd and arrived beside Su Ji, panting heavily.

“S-Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go. If there are too many people later, we’ll have to line up in the dining hall.”

Su Ji nodded, and the group chatted as they walked.

Yue He sighed. “What was that just now? It’s my first time seeing such a huge demon beast!”

Yun Che replied, “Judging by the size of that demon beast, it’s probably at the peak of the Soul Transformation stage.”

Yan Shao added, “Just who could command a demon beast at the Soul Transformation realm as a mount?”

Yun Xicheng said mysteriously, “Among the four great sects, have you ever seen anyone with a mount of that level? If they’re not from the cultivation world, then they must be from the demon race!”

Su Ji turned his head to look. The others all revealed shocked expressions.

“But previous Sword Trial Tournaments invited the demon race, and they never came.” Yue He asked in confusion, “Why did they suddenly decide to come this time?”

Yun Xicheng laughed. “Maybe that Demon Venerable got bored staying in his own territory and came out to join the fun!”

Chu Zhaoye—the Demon Venerable who was supposedly just here to “join in the fun”—rolled his eyes.

…

Laughing and joking, the group entered the dining hall of Yunxian Sect.

Su Ji had only seen it from the outside when he first arrived. This was his first time entering it.

No wonder Yun Xicheng had reacted that way when he first visited Linggu Mountain. Yunxian Sect was truly wealthy and extravagant. Even a dining hall was built so luxuriously, glittering with jewels and treasure.

The farther they walked inside, the stronger the aroma became. Yue He said curiously, “Why does it smell so good today? Could it be that Chef Lin trained hard for the Sword Trial Tournament?”

Su Ji replied, “They added fragrance-enhancing powder.”

Yue He looked at him doubtfully. “Chef Su, you haven’t even eaten yet. How do you know?”

Su Ji said, “My sense of smell is sharper than that of ordinary cultivators. I can tell the difference between fragrance-enhancing powder and the scent of normal food.”

Yun Che said miserably, “Ah, I had just started to feel hopeful.”

Yun Xicheng said calmly, “Stop thinking about it. We have to eat it sooner or later anyway.”

Yun Che: …

So whether sooner or later, death was inevitable.

The group arrived at the serving area. The outer sect disciple in charge of serving food was already standing there. Su Ji ordered several classic stir-fried dishes, not much of each, asking for only a small portion of each dish.

The others followed his example. In the end, all the food they took combined was not enough to fill a small bowl.

When Su Ji said they would taste it, he really meant taste it.

On the plates, bean sprouts stir-fried with meat combined meat and vegetables, but the bean sprouts had turned somewhat gray.

The stir-fried yellow beef gave off a fragrant aroma, but the meat was obviously overcooked and tough.

The stir-fried water spinach was sitting in a pool of liquid. The leaves were dark and lay limply on the plate.

In the soup barrel, the broth was pale and bland. Inside were tomatoes and white radish cooked into a mush. Scooping it with a ladle revealed strips of loofah settled at the bottom, with a few bits of egg floating on top.

It looked less like soup and more like a pot of random leftovers stewed together.

Su Ji did not try that one. It was truly hard to bring himself to do it.

Everyone looked at each other, yet not a single person moved their chopsticks first.

In the end, Su Ji, who had proposed trying it, was the first to pick up his chopsticks. He picked up a piece of the stir-fried yellow beef, the dish with the most normal-looking color, and put it into his mouth.

As he chewed, the others looked over with curiosity.

Su Ji chewed expressionlessly. The beef was overcooked. He considered his teeth fairly good, but only after the meat had practically crumbled apart in his mouth did he force himself to swallow it.

Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty—the hundred flavors of life bloomed all at once in Su Ji’s mouth.

Seeing that he had eaten the entire piece without spitting it out, Yun Xicheng rekindled his hope and asked, “How does it taste?”

The corners of Su Ji’s mouth lifted into a strained smile. “Very special.”

Very special. What a very special review.

The group looked at each other. Before Su Ji could stop them, they swiftly put a piece of beef into their mouths.

The next second, they all spat it out.

Yun Xicheng cried out, “I almost died from the salt!”

Yun Che gulped down some water, looking like he was about to throw up. “How can this meat be bitter when I haven’t eaten it for several days?”

Yan Shao and Yue He exchanged a glance and both saw the fear in each other’s eyes. Trembling, they pushed their trays farther away.

They all turned to Su Ji and asked, “Chef Su, didn’t you say it was very special? Why did you trick us?!”

Su Ji said awkwardly, “What I meant was, especially hard to eat.”

As the only one present who had not eaten the yellow beef, Chu Zhaoye grinned and snickered in Su Ji’s arms.

The next second, Su Ji picked up a piece of yellow beef and held it to Chu Zhaoye’s mouth.

Looking at the piece of beef in front of him, Chu Zhaoye raised his head to look at Su Ji. The secretly amused smile on his face slowly disappeared.

You think I eat too much normally, so you’re trying to poison me, aren’t you?

Su Ji put the beef back and said regretfully, “This is also a kind of life experience. Once you miss it, you’ll never get another chance.”

Chu Zhaoye pretended not to hear him.

…

More and more disciples came to the dining hall. Uniforms of all colors mixed together, forming a long line.

Su Ji did not want to waste food. Since he was the one who proposed trying it, he forced himself to finish it, even though the food was truly hard to describe.

The others had the same idea, but even with that intention, they simply could not bring themselves to eat.

Yun Xicheng was not sure if it was just his imagination, but Chef Lin’s cooking seemed even worse than before.

More and more disciples arrived in the dining area with their trays. Smelling the food’s fragrance, they chatted loudly with their friends.

“I only arrived yesterday and didn’t have time to eat. This is my first time eating in the dining hall of Yunxian Sect.”

“As expected of the second-ranked sect. Even the dining hall is so luxurious!”

“I heard Yunxian Sect recently got a new chef. I didn’t expect the food to smell this good. It’s much better than our sect’s food!”

“There are so many dishes, but this soup is a little strange. They added so many vegetables. Does that make it taste better?”

“The Sword Trial Tournament officially starts this afternoon. Everyone eat more, or you’ll be too hungry to lift your swords!”

“I’m starving. I’m digging in!”

As they spoke, Su Ji had already finished the remaining food on his plate. Across from him, Yun Xicheng was still struggling over whether to eat or not. Seeing this, he cast Su Ji an admiring look.

“It tastes this bad. How did you finish it so quickly?”

Su Ji wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said calmly, “Very simple. Just shut off your sense of taste.”

The others all exclaimed, “Ah!” and gave him a thumbs-up. “Brilliant!”

Just as they were about to shut off their sense of taste and quickly finish eating, a chorus of “Ptoo! Ptoo!” erupted all around them.

Their sense of taste might be shut off, but their hearing still worked. The group looked up and saw large numbers of disciples around them spitting out the food they had just eaten, exactly as it had gone in.

Mixed among the sounds were what seemed to be noises of vomiting.

The people who had been chatting most enthusiastically just now were also the ones who had stuffed the biggest first bite into their mouths. They were now desperately gulping down water, trying to wash away the strange taste.

As everyone busied themselves rinsing their mouths, a shocked cry spread through the entire dining hall.

“There’s shit in the food!”

The voice sounded familiar. Su Ji looked up.

Xie Qinghuai’s handsome face was twisted with fury, looking as if he might flip the table at any moment.

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