Xiao Ji spent the rest of the day watching Mei practice alchemy, finding it a lot more interesting than he would have expected.

He was still far from actually being able to do any of it by himself, of course, but it was fun to watch nonetheless. Hearing Mei talk about the different pills and their uses was like entering a whole new branch of cultivation. Knowledge of cultivation resources like pills and elixirs were generally considered basic, as most cultivators needed them.

Master Fan Guo had not bothered to tell him anything about pills for reasons unknown to him, so he was thankful for the opportunity to learn, even though he might never use them.

After a few hours, Mei finally decided to close up for the day, much to his dismay. She promised that her lab was always open for him to watch her, which pacified him a little. He really couldn’t wait for his trait to get good enough to let him handle the pill making himself.

When they left the lab, she asked him to wait for her for a moment while she went to change. She went inside a room and came out not even thirty seconds later dressed in clean clothes that resembled what he was used to seeing from her.

“Time to go get food ready,” she said with a bright smile as they walked down the stairs.

It occurred to Ji then that he had never actually seen how the food they ate was made. Coming in after training to meet food was something he had started taking for granted. To the point that he forgot to even think about how it got made.

He could imagine his uncle shaking his head at such negligence. Where was his curiosity? After all, the older fowl had not raised him to eat without wondering where it came from.

By the time they were close to the dining, his decision had been made. He turned to Mei.

“Mei, could I watch you in the kitchen while you cook?”

She smiled at him and nodded.

“Sure. Cooking is an underrated skill, in my opinion. Most cultivators see it as something beneath them, but I think that’s a shallow way of thinking. After all, most cultivators still need to eat until they hit a certain level.”

The mention of cultivators not needing to eat after a certain level was something that surprised him. He supposed it made sense, when he thought about it. Cultivation was about stripping away worldly desires. Or at least that was what the scroll had said.

“I am willing to learn. Knowing how to make the wonderful delicacies you prepare is not a bad way to spend the evening.”

Mei smiled at his praise.

“Well, it certainly is not a bad hobby to have. Perhaps you might even prefer it to alchemy.”

Ji did not think that would happen, but he supposed he would see.

They entered the kitchen, a room he had only entered twice. It was a large room with many cabinets. There were also many containers which he recognised as pots and pans.

“This,” Mei pointed to the top of a table. “Is our cooking stove.”

Ji could not see it from the ground, of course, so he had to jump on the table. It was a testament to how much his cultivation had improved him that he barely needed to even use his wings to support the jump.

He studied what she was pointing at with interest, though he was not quite sure what it was. During his time in the village, he had actually seen what they called a stove and it was certainly very different from what Mei pointed at.

This ‘stove’ simply looked like a circle that was imprinted on the table. He noticed some strange patterns etched into the circle, which let him start getting some idea of what he was looking at. Nevertheless, he still asked.

“A stove? It looks very different from the stove the humans used in the village I grew up in.”

Mei looked at him with a strange expression.

“No offence to your village, Ji, but it is a backwater with only mortals who have little contact with the empire proper. What you are looking at is at the very cutting edge of cooking appliances. This stove was a custom order from one of the best formation masters in existence. Of course it’ll be different from what you’re used to.”

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The mention of formations was enough to confirm his suspicions. He had to admit that using formations to heat food was not something he had thought of. Though that might be due to the fact that he knew little about them. Master Guo had also admitted that they were not a field he had much knowledge in.

Mei opened a cabinet and took a metal container from it.

A pot, if he was not mistaken.

Then she pulled out a large quantity of meat from what he imagined was her spatial ring. She also took out a number of things he could not name and put them on the table.

Thankfully, he was not left out, and she remembered to tell him the name of all the ingredients he was pulling out. They were mostly just spices, according to her.

“Cooking for awakened is a lot easier than for humans. Neither Ruo Long nor Qian Shi care for much except some variation of meat. Though it can be annoying when they start craving exotic meat.”

Thinking back to the different kinds of food he had seen Mei eat, he supposed she was not wrong. Whatever she ate always looked a lot more complicated than the simple meat the disciple’s preferred. He wanted to ask why she didn’t just eat only meat, but it felt like a stupid question.

She cut the meat up into large chunks that were slightly smaller than he was and then put it in a pot. Then she put the pot on the stove and added the different spices within the next minute.

The stove produced no fire, yet he could see the meat get hotter, something that made him marvel. The food was ready soon, and he had to admit that it smelled enticing, even though it had seemed so easy to prepare. He pointed out as much.

“I honestly thought the cooking would take longer because of how good the food always is.”

Mei just smiled.

“Well, I imagine some proper chefs would spend a lot of time ensuring it was perfect. I simply used ingredients that have a lot of qi. The meat belonged to a Core Formation spirit beast, and all the spices came from Master’s garden. Of course everything in there would be considered a supreme treasure outside.”

Ji’s eyes widened at the realisation. He had wondered what the secret to her food was all this time. To think it was so simple. It was no secret that any food that had a lot of qi always tasted far better.

The thought made him smile internally. He imagined that there were a lot of people who would not consider being able to use precious plants as spices ‘simple’. Just one of the perks of living with a Divine.

After the meat was done, she brought out a container that was filled with insects and worms. They were clearly spirit worms and insects, and the mere sight of them left him salivating.

She brought out some spices as well, along with what he recognised as corn. They all went into the pot, and soon the food was also ready.

Mei put the food in different containers and put them in her spatial ring before leading him to the dining room, where they met Qian Shi already waiting. The mastiff perked up when they entered, her tail wagging furiously.

Ji moved to his usual position, sharing Shi’s enthusiasm as Mei Brought out the plates of food from her ring.

In a flash, a large part of the food on his plate was devoured. He found that while his cultivation reduced how much food he actually needed to survive by a small amount, it also increased the limit of what he could eat. He found himself eating more and more as the months went by and his cultivation increased.

He was almost finished with the food in front of him when Ruo Long finally came in.

The awakened dragon floated into the room with swagger, his presence filling the room and making him the centre of attention.

For all that he played arrogant, Ruo Long rarely unleashed his full draconic presence, so when Ji found himself unable to look away, he knew the dragon had something he wanted them to know.

“Well that’s certainly a dramatic entrance,” Mei commented with an amused smile. “So what is it you want to tell us?”

Ruo Long’s eyes narrowed.

“You know what.”

“Perhaps. But it would steal the fun from you if I say it, would it not? So lets pretend I’m as clueless as your fellow disciples.”

The dragon still looked like he was suspicious but relented, before puffing out his chest and announcing in his most pompous voice.

“Disciples of the Great Divine Fan Guo, pay your respects to this glorious dragon of the Foundation Building Realm.”

Ji’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise while Shi gave a sharp yip. He turned to her sharply when he heard that, almost refusing to believe a dog her size could produce a sound so high pitched.

“What?” she asked, sounding defensive. “I can make a whole range of sounds.

He hadn’t even said anything.

“Congratulations on your breakthrough, Ruo Long.”

Mei was the first to offer congratulations, which prompted Ji and Shi to follow.

Ruo Long basked in their praise, his chest puffing up even more. Ji was starting to wonder if there was even a limit to how high it could go.

“What made you finally decide to break through?” Qian Shi asked.

The question drew Ji’s attention as well. The dragon could have broken through a while ago, but he kept saying he needed to do something first.

“Well, I finally made further insights into the Dao and got the second Dao Walker title.”

Ji had to admit that the pride on the dragon’s face was well deserved. He knew he would not have unlocked even the first one without the help of the vision from the technique. To think that his fellow disciple had reached the second level before leaving Qi Condensation.

Ji felt the urge to do even better and outshine Ruo Long for a moment. He ignored the feeling, instead choosing to enjoy the dragon’s success and celebrate with him.

His path after all, was one of refusing to be prey. And though Ruo Long was many things, he was not a predator.

Not to Xiao Ji at least.