Putting the letter aside, Axton stared at the orb floating in front of him.
The Eyeball of the Finder is an item that helps its user locate a target. However, it requires a medium to find the person in question. The orb in front of the Great Serpent Headmaster had special inscriptions and required approval from the Higher Ups for him to use it. They could also limit the orb's functionality, but Axton thought that his level of approval was more than sufficient.
He pulled something from his robe—a dark brown tree branch that one could easily find on any road. However, this particular stick had clearly been snapped. It was the same stick the small masked man, Can Deez, had used in the Advancement Examination.
Axton threw the stick toward the orb. The Eyeball of the Finder emitted a bright light that engulfed the branch, disintegrating it into particles of light before they were absorbed by the orb. Suddenly, an eye appeared inside the orb, darting around as if searching for something.
When it couldn't find what it was looking for, the orb's eye opened wide, releasing a brilliant light that illuminated the dark room.
At the same time, the surrounding Qi began to be drawn toward the orb. Axton's eyes twitched at the amount of Qi being pulled in. Curiosity kills the cat, he thought. The Qi inside the Great Serpent Cultivation School was far more potent, concentrated, and pure compared to the Qi in the outside world, free of any impurities. And the Eyeball of the Finder was absorbing it, as if drinking water.
"I probably won't be able to use the Qi in this room for about three days," Axton muttered with a bitter smile.
After a while, the orb stopped absorbing the Qi, and the eye inside it closed. However, Axton wasn't alarmed—he knew the process wasn't over yet. Sure enough, the orb projected an image. It was foggy, but it clearly showed a street with blurry figures constantly moving about.
"Oh?" Axton raised an eyebrow as the scene changed, revealing the front of a building with people lined up. The image lasted for only a second before fading completely, and the light from the orb dimmed.
As silence lingered in the room, Axton landed on the floor. He walked toward the door with a relaxed expression, but deep inside, he was quite excited.
He had gotten what he wanted—and more than he expected.
He's alive, Axton thought. The Eyeball of the Finder wouldn't have worked if the person he was searching for were dead. But the orb had worked, even pinpointing the target's location.
A word echoed in the Great Serpent Headmaster's mind:
Disciple. Disciple. Talent. Disciple.
Meanwhile, inside the kitchen of the Filly Restaurant...
Filly and Gail were watching their Fire Chef work at the table.
Temor's hands moved constantly, and the sound of his fists banging against the table echoed through the room.
"How's the rest of the ingredients?" Filly asked, her eyes never leaving the table.
"They've found most of them," Gail replied. "Tomatoes, onions, garlic, dried oregano…"
Gail listed several ingredients before letting out a sigh. "It was hard. They said they searched day and night, barely managing to gather everything. Some were traded, others bought directly."
Because of the Advancement Examination, Gail and Filly had decided to hire mercenaries to find all the ingredients they needed. Of course, they chose mercenaries they could trust, most of whom were closely related to the Kleinford family.
"Finding unfamiliar ingredients is like searching for a needle in a haystack," Filly said with a smile. "Luckily, they managed it. How's our own garden?"
"It's doing well. Planting has started, and with Qi nourishing the crops, they're growing fast," Gail said with a smile. "But it's no surprise, since they're not Beast Plants."
"That's good to hear," Filly said.
"But our meat distribution…" Gail frowned, recalling the events of that morning. A sudden wave of killing intent emanated from her, only to subside when she felt Filly's hand on her shoulder.
"Let's not talk about that for now," Filly said. "Let's focus on perfecting the spaghetti. I want Bel to be the first to taste it."
"A-alright," Gail replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"This should be good enough," Temor said, laying the product on the table. It was a pale yellow, carefully kneaded dough. Following the instructions from the journal, the Fire Chef had completed the first step in creating the so-called noodles for their new dish—spaghetti.
"Gail, it's your turn," Filly said.
Gail nodded and stepped up to the table, drawing her two short swords.
The air shimmered as her blades flashed. When she put her weapons away, the kneaded dough on the table had been cleanly sliced into perfect strips, each one even, with no excess or shortage.
After she was done, she stepped aside.
"I'll prepare the ingredients now," Temor said, pulling them from a basket.
As they watched their chef work, a knock came at the kitchen door. Ned entered, looking flustered.
"What's wrong?" Filly asked, worry evident in her voice.
"H-he's h-here!" Ned stammered.
"Who?" Filly frowned.
"Axton, the Great Serpent Headmaster!"
Filly and Gail exchanged incredulous glances.
"D-don't joke like that," Filly said, staring coldly at Ned.
"I'm not! He's really here!" Ned insisted.
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Filly turned to Gail, who had already closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she looked at Filly and nodded.
"Let's go out and greet him," Gail said with a bitter smile.
Filly's body trembled at the confirmation.
She wasn't prepared at all. She hadn't expected someone so important to visit her restaurant!
"How do I look?" Filly asked, fussing with her hair and clothes.
"We don't have time for that. We can't keep the Headmaster waiting," Gail said.
"Alright, let's go meet him!"
The two went out, leaving the Fire Chef to continue his work. Although Temor is curious and also wanted to go out, he couldn't just ignore Filly's words.