"I knew it! Mr. Beggar is really a Wanderer!" Gail exclaimed, her eyes burning with excitement. "There's no way Headmaster Axton would personally visit him, and they even left in the same carriage!"
"Yeah, fortunately, we redeemed ourselves and treated him with respect," Filly said with a sigh of relief, placing her hand over her chest.
Seeing Yoma and the Great Serpent Headmaster leave together, with Yoma even taking the lead, confirmed their suspicions about the beggar staying beside their restaurant. This also meant Yoma was far from ordinary.
"We should respect his Way of Cultivation and act like we don't know his 'real' identity," Filly said seriously, and Gail nodded in agreement, wearing the same determined expression.
"This is a good sign for the restaurant," Temor added from the side, stirring something with a spatula.
They were inside the kitchen, where the Fire Chef continued his work.
"Hopefully," Filly smiled, watching the wok in front of her chef. Inside was a bubbling red liquid, simmering in the heat. Small condiments occasionally surfaced before being swallowed by the red sauce.
On the table beside Temor were steaming, white-yellowish noodles, which had gone through a meticulous process to achieve their soft, gleaming texture under the Light Rock hanging from the ceiling.
These noodles, unlike anything they'd seen or heard of before, awaited their final touch.
"How much longer until it's ready?" Filly asked, her eyes darting between the noodles and the red liquid in the wok.
The aroma made her mouth water, and she gulped, her stomach growling in anticipation of this new dish.
"Two minutes," Temor replied. Like the two women, he was also eager to taste the new creation. Following the instructions from the journal the beggar had written, he had barely managed to replicate the steps. Some ingredients were still missing, but the journal mentioned it was fine to skip a few as long as the main ones were used.
"Two minutes..." Filly glanced at Gail, and the two chuckled, seeing the eagerness in each other's eyes. "We can wait that long."
Exactly two minutes later, Temor extinguished the fire under the wok with a snap of his fingers.
He quickly poured the contents over the noodles resting on the plate. As the noodles soaked in the red liquid, the trio gathered around the dish.
"So, what now?" Filly asked, staring at the plate with curiosity and excitement.
"The journal said we should stir it until the noodles are fully coated with the sauce," Temor explained, handing her a fork. "Here, please do the honors."
"Oh, a-alright," Filly nodded, taking the fork and carefully piercing the sauce-covered noodles. Feeling their softness, she began to stir.
The steam from the dish swirled with her movements, while the aroma intensified, filling their noses.
The sauce and noodles soon blended together, and the pearly white plate was now coated in red. Releasing the fork in the center of the dish, Filly turned to the Fire Chef.
"Is this alright?" Filly asked.
Temor nodded but didn't say much. However, his eyes were so wide they looked like they might pop out of their sockets.
"What's wrong?" Filly asked, noticing his surprised expression. The only response she got was the sound of him gulping.
Then she realized something, her gaze fixing on Temor's lips. His lips were red, with sauce smeared at the corners.
"You... when did you..." Filly was at a loss for words. Shaking her head, she didn't blame the chef. Being closer to the dish, he must have been holding back his appetite longer than the rest of them.
Turning to the table, she was even more shocked to see that nearly half of the spaghetti was already gone.
She then noticed Gail, her mouth stuffed full, red sauce covering her lips, eyes closed in deep satisfaction.
"You guys didn't even wait for me," Filly pouted, grabbing the fork, stabbing some noodles, and putting them in her mouth.
The moment she took a bite and her taste buds touched the dish, her eyes widened like theirs had. The noodles were soft, smooth, and easy to bite. The flavor was sweet, with all the condiments blending perfectly to create something she had never tasted before!
Swallowing the noodles was effortless; they slid down her throat like water.
"Ah," Filly sighed in contentment. "This... this is heavenly!"
"Right!" Gail nodded, wiping her mouth with a cloth.
"It's sweet, a little sour... and spicy!" Temor added from the side, taking another bite of the spaghetti. Soon, the only sound in the kitchen was their slurping.
Sir Guo was walking towards the Training Ground with a spring in his step. A small smile played on his lips; he couldn't wait to see the new scarecrows. Though he had seen them yesterday, his excitement hadn't faded.
But as soon as he arrived, he saw a group of Martial Students gathered at the entrance.
One of them turned around and spotted him. Nudging the person beside him, the news spread quickly, and the students parted to make way.
A foreboding feeling crept over Sir Guo as the crowd parted, revealing the training area.
"What?!" Sir Guo vanished from his spot, reappearing in the center of the Training Ground. "WHO DID THIS?!"
He shouted, staring at the devastation. The place was sliced up, with cuts so deep they seemed to disappear into the void, nothing but darkness visible beyond. The edges were unnervingly clean—no jagged lines at all.
The training dummies, the newly installed scarecrows, shared the same fate. Some were sliced in half, others completely reduced to bits, now little more than a pile of rubble.
Sir Guo's heart sank at the sight. They were brand new! The thought of the old elders blaming him made his blood boil. And the idea of that fat Mayor nitpicking him only added to his frustration.
When he turned and saw the stage, he almost fainted from fury. The stage had been cut in half?! Who in their right mind would do something ?!
"If I EVER FIND YOU, I WILL KILL YOU!" he bellowed.
The sound of sneezing echoed from the corner of a restaurant.
"Is someone badmouthing me behind my back?" The Beggar muttered as he opened his eyes after a night of cultivation.
Shaking his head, he stood up from the cold floor, glancing around his Beggar Spot.
It was empty now that he had cleaned up the shattered makeshift roof. Useless, now that he thought about it. Other than being a place to beg for Alm Points, it served no real purpose.
"Hey System, why even bother having this feature if the Beggar Spot is so simple?" Apollo complained to the System.
A translucent screen materialized before him, displaying words as an emotionless voice echoed inside his head.
"You can decorate it with items from the System Store. There is a specialized section for your Beggar Spot, and using Alm Points, you could strengthen it so much that even a nuclear bomb wouldn't leave a scratch."
"Yeah, I know, I was just complaining," Apollo said, waving his hand. He knew the System's words were true—he had already seen that section. But with his meager amount of Alm Points, dreaming of owning something that could block a nuclear explosion seemed far off.
Letting out a sigh, he brought up his Status Screen to check for changes while feeling something stirring in his dantian that brought a satisfied smile to his face.
Spirit Cultivation: None
Physique Cultivation: Half-Step Qi Condensation Stage
Attributes: Lightning
Sure enough, he had finally reached the Half-Step Qi Condensation Stage. After an entire night of cultivation, he managed to make the ball of Qi below his navel grow bigger until it couldn't expand anymore. He had tried several times to break past the limit, but no matter what he did, it didn't budge. Around that time, his body had felt hot all over, then cold, before returning to normal.
Still focused on cultivation, he decided not to "wake up" and just continued meditating in that Void with only himself and the surrounding Qi.
But he didn't let this small success cloud his judgment. He knew his new mission wouldn't be simple. He had to investigate and uncover the Mayor's plans, which meant personally getting involved. He would be getting closer to danger, and a mere Half-Step Qi Condensation Stage wouldn't be enough. He didn't know how many experts the Mayor had under his command, so it was better to be prepared.
With this in mind, he left his Beggar Spot and sat cross-legged at the corner of the restaurant, where people could see him.
Raising his hands above his forehead, his signature begging pose, he began grinding for Alm Points.
He's been dragging this matter in a few days as he was focused on getting past the barrier from the Foundation Building Stage. Now that he is at the Half-Step Qi Condensation Stage, he decided to focus on getting Alm Points before getting back at increasing his Cultivation.