Chapter Thirteen: Cultivating the Body

  "You have ten days to memorize the 'Panorama of Food Ingredients' and 'Spirit Fire Collection'. If you can't even understand some properties of food ingredients and spirit fire after ten days, then this master won't accept you as a disciple!"

  Old Ma was unwilling to give up and made another request.

  Chen Xiao didn't mind and thought for a moment: "Ten days is no problem, I want to know how many yuan stones I can get every day after becoming your apprentice?"

  Old Ma's eyes suddenly widened, as if he didn't dare to believe his ears. His chest violently heaved up and down, and he loudly bellowed: "You want to be my apprentice just to earn yuan stones? Can my culinary skills be measured by yuan stones? You... you... get out of here!"

  Jian Ma Lao Tou was on the verge of going berserk, Bai Wei Qing hastily pulled Chen Yu and fled in a hurry.

  "There's character, but unfortunately it's still not as full of character as I was back in the day." Qiao Nan stroked his chin and solemnly commented.

  "Oh, Chen Xiao is indeed one of a kind. A man like him is worth my care." Pei Pa murmured to herself, her beautiful eyes sparkling with infatuation, and she fell into another bout of lovesickness.

  "Get back to work!"

  Old Ma's sharp roar filled with endless anger mixed with the clanging of iron ladles against pots, thundering loudly.

  ……

  Walking out of Qingxi Wine House, thinking of Old Man Ma's silly appearance, Bai Weiqing couldn't help but laugh lightly.

  Chen Xiao also found it a bit amusing and said, "Old Man Ma's temper is indeed eccentric."

  Bai Wei Qing's tone changed, saying: "You don't have to worry about not earning yuan stone, ten days later, as long as you officially become Master Ma's apprentice, the Clear Brook Wine House will sign a contract with you at a suitable price."

  Chen Ting nodded, he also thought so. As the head chef of Qingxi Wine House, Master Ma was treated with unparalleled favor. As Master Ma's apprentice, Qingxi Wine House would be eager to offer Yuanshi as a sacrifice to himself.

  Bai Weiqing seemed to have thought of something, and a strange expression floated on her delicate face: "Being able to take Master Ma as your teacher, you might be able to see the mastermind behind Qingxi Wine House in ten days... but he's a person with unparalleled skills."

  Chen Xiao was taken aback, thinking that indeed, the Qingxi Wine House was renowned as the number one wine house in Songyan City, and its boss's abilities were naturally extraordinary.

  Just by looking at Chen Yao's expression, Bai Wei Qing knew he didn't understand the meaning behind her words and didn't bother to explain further. She smiled and asked: "Are you going to Zhang's general store today?"

  Chen Xiao shook his head and said, "I'm not going. I didn't make the charm today, and Uncle Zhang at the grocery store will probably scold me."

  As he said this, he thought of the events that had transpired today. His younger brother had successfully entered Songyan Academy, and he himself had gained recognition from Spiritual Chef Ma. He couldn't help but feel even more grateful to Bai Yuqing.

  He didn't know why Bai Yuqing was so willing to help him, but he knew that this kindness was heavy enough for him to repay for the rest of his life!

  "Thank you so much, Bai Yi."

  Chen Xiao's expression was solemn and serious as he looked into Bai Yuqing's eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately.

  Bai Wei Qing was taken aback, and it took her a while to react. Her emotions were also in turmoil. She suddenly stretched out her slender hand and pinched Chen Tai's cheek, smiling and saying: "From now on, smile more often, don't be so serious that people scold you for being a 'facial paralysis', this nickname is too unpleasant."

  Chen Yao was stunned by Bai Yuqing's unexpected action, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. A rare flush rose to his pale and handsome face.

  "Ha, you're blushing!"

  Bai Wei Qing blinked her eyes, a sly smile spreading across her face.

  Chen Yao couldn't take it anymore and stopped responding to Bai Yuqing, only focusing on walking quickly with her head down, but in her heart, she was extremely enjoying this warm feeling.

  ……

  The Li family, in the great hall.

  "Good-for-nothing! Useless thing!"

  With a loud crash, the wine cup in Li Yizhen's hand turned into a pile of powder. His strong and majestic face was gloomy like water, his eyes were about to spout fire, and he roared: "Making a move on the street to hurt people, provoking the authority of the General's Mansion, these are all your good deeds!"

  "Dad, I was beaten up, how can the General's Mansion be so unfair?" Li Ming said with a stiff upper lip, trying to clear himself of blame.

  Li Yizhen's face grew increasingly dark, coldly staring at his young son. "Your skills are inferior to others, yet you still dare to be arrogant and unruly. You suffered a humiliating beating, and you actually use it as an excuse to shirk responsibility! If you weren't my son, I would have killed you with my own hands!"

  Li Ming's face turned pale, his whole body trembling, and he didn't dare say another word.

  "Wu Guanjia, since you've made your move, why didn't you kill Chen Huan? Do you know that because of your incompetence, I had to make unnecessary moves?" Li Yizhen coldly snorted, her gaze falling on Wu Guanjia as she questioned him in a low voice.

  Wu Guan's face was dripping with sweat, his heart racing like a drum, and he was as pale as a cicada in winter.

  He knew that the master of the house had paid a painful price to appease the anger of the General's Mansion, and in this situation, he did not dare to defend himself at all. He only said in a low voice: "I originally had ten times the confidence to kill Chen Huan, but halfway through, I was suddenly ambushed by Chen Tai, and under the unexpected circumstances, I was opened up by these two brothers, please punish me, sir!"

  Li Yizhen's anger subsided slightly: "Chen Tai? Has he already reached the realm of Pre-Heavenly Great Perfection?"

  Wu Guan's face grew increasingly ashamed: "No, this child is skilled at making symbols, with a ruthless and cunning mind. First, he used the hidden symbol and the converging air symbol to hide on one side, and then used the ice cone symbol to launch a sneak attack. The timing of his selection was always aimed at Lao Niu's weaknesses, so..."

  Li Yizhen was taken aback, as if he had thought of something and said: "I promised the southern border that when these two brothers reached the state of perfection before heaven, I would abolish their cultivation and make them have no chance to become immortals. They would rather die than live, being tortured to death. It's precisely because of this that I never put them in my eyes, now it seems that I should take them seriously."

  Wu Guan's face turned solemn as he said: "I don't know what plans the master of the house has, but this old slave is willing to serve him, and will not refuse any task!"

  Li Yizhen shook his head and sighed, "I just received intelligence that Chen Huan has entered Songyan Academy to cultivate. Songyan Academy is extremely powerful and on par with the Li family, so for now, we can't make a move against him. It's fortunate for this kid."

  Wu Guan's eyes lit up as if he had thought of something: "Master, in half a year, the Southern Barbarian Domain trial will take place, and all academies within Songyancheng will participate. Chen Huanxiu has already reached the Xiantian realm, so he must also be participating. Moreover, the Southern Barbarian Domain is located deep within the Southern Barbarian Mountains, where the General's Manor cannot intervene. At that time, we only need to send some people to hide among them, and we can definitely kill this little brat!"

  Li Yizhen pondered and said: "This plan is not bad, but we can't kill that kid, instead, we should cripple his cultivation."

  Wu Guan's eyes flashed with a hint of ferocity as he coldly laughed, "Don't worry, Master. At that time, I will definitely take down this kid!"

  "That's great, I'll go too!" Li Ming exclaimed excitedly, his eyes full of venomous hatred, clearly having already hated Chen Huan to the bone.

  Li Yizhen said coldly, "Wanting revenge isn't a bad thing. From today on, you don't have to go to Tianxing Academy anymore. Go back to the ancestral house and close yourself off for cultivation. When you reach the state of perfection in your innate abilities, then you can come out again!"

  Ancestral home closed?

  Li Ming's legs suddenly trembled violently, his face turned pale.

  "Take him down, Iron Hand. His training is now in your hands." Li Yitian instructed calmly.

  "Roger."

  Behind Li Yizhen, a shadow suddenly appeared, and a tall, thin black-clad man emerged quietly.

  He looks ordinary and unremarkable, but when Li Ming sees him, he seems to see a devil, his lips trembling as he says: "Dad, can't we..."

  The sound stopped abruptly.

  Like a ghost, an iron hand suddenly appeared beside Li Ming, knocking him unconscious with a wave of its hand, and then picked him up like a small chicken and left the hall directly.

  Li Yizhen's eyes flashed with a hint of reluctance, but was immediately replaced by determination. He muttered: "A jade that is not carved will not become a useful vessel. If you can't even reach the Innate Full Moon Boundary, what qualifications do you have to compete with your brother for the position of family head? The Li Family doesn't need trash!"

  Wu Guan's family was shocked by the scene in front of him, Iron Hand? The strong man from the Zifu realm who had been hiding in the dark and calling himself a shadow? The number one butcher of the Li family with thick bloodstains on both hands?

  Being watched by such a pervert while cultivating, the young master's following days will probably be described as miserable and unbearable.

  For no reason, Wu Guan felt a thread of sympathy rising in his heart.

  "Wu Guan Jia, there's one more thing I want you to take care of." Li Yi Zhen furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment before making a decision.

  "Please instruct, master!" Wu's housekeeper woke up with a start and said loudly.

  "It's not suitable to provoke the General's residence again recently, but it can't be so easy to let off Chen Tai either. I want you to cripple his cultivation a month later!"

  ……

  Bidding farewell to Bai Wanqing, Chen Xiao returned home directly and hastily ate dinner before starting to ponder the "Zhou Tian Xing Lie Jian Ti Zhi Shu".

  So many things have happened recently, giving him a strong sense of urgency and not daring to slack off in the slightest.

  What's more important is that, whether it's refining his Qi, refining his body, visualizing the true self-imprint, or even making money with talismans, all of these will take up a lot of his time. Now that he has added cooking to the list, his time is becoming increasingly tight, and he absolutely cannot afford to waste a single moment.

  Chen Yao didn't know how others treated time, but he knew that if he wanted to become stronger, avenge his grandfather and the Chen family, and meet his mother again, he couldn't relax his demands on himself.

  On the contrary, in order to achieve these goals, he must be more demanding of himself, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much sweat he sheds, and he cannot find excuses for himself!

  If you don't persist, if you don't work hard thousands of times, how can you see hope?

  With this in mind, Chen Yao made a plan for himself: in the morning he would practice talisman-making, then study cooking techniques, and at night he would cultivate the "Zhou Tian Xing Lie Jian Ti Fa", the "Purple Mist Skill" and visualize his true self-imprint.

  As for how much time he had left to sleep, it was not within his consideration.

  Of course, if Chen Tang can reach the boundary of Zifu Prefecture and become a Zifu repairman, whether he sleeps or not is no longer important.

  "Most people in the world who cultivate their bodies use the power of solid stone, metal, thunder and fire to temper their bodies, but I have never heard of using the movement of stars and celestial energy to temper the body. This 'Zhou Tian Xing Lie Cultivation Technique' is indeed a unique and astonishing approach!"

  As if opening a mysterious skylight, Chen Xiao's eyes shone exceptionally bright, filled with intense curiosity, carefully savoring the intricate texts etched in his mind.