(Food Court, Servant Compound)

"F*ck it all. I'm in!

"I'm already twenty-eight this year, and, for the life of me, I can't seem to break through in any aspect of cultivation!

"This may well be the only smidgen of hope left to get out of here, and I, for one, will be taking it!"

"Damn right brother!

"If a genius like Lin Fan can't help us escape, then at this point we might as well be damned!

"So why not bet on this spark of light that's emerged within this darkness!?

"It's not as if it could get much worse than this!"

"Me too...!"

With the first stage coming to a close, a brief interval was held so everything could be set up for the next stage.

During this interval, many servants decided to grab a bite to eat and discuss amongst each other the current hot topic, which, of course, was Lin Fan's announcement.

The food court was just a massive wooden building with rows of wooden tables and chairs set up, alongside an outside area with the same set-up, allowing a great number of servants to dine at once.

The building had a kitchen attached as well, with multiple trained servants constantly making batches of different meats, salads, and the like.

These foods would then be served in different portions and combinations, as per each customer's order.

Currently, sitting in one of the building's corners, was a group of five rowdy boys chowing down on a variety of meats and vegetables that filled the entire table.

"...Using my ultra-keen senses, I saw that the imbecile opposite to me was in some sort of momentary daze, so I hastily charged at him with all my strength and gave him a nasty whack to the nose!

"And then BOOM, that was him done and dusted!

"It honestly felt a bit too easy, but in fairness, his foe was an unparalleled combat prodigy seen only once in a million years!-"

"BULL-SH*T!

"If anyone here is a genius, then it's clearly me, Zi Hua!

"Unlike your opponent, who was desperately battling sleep, mine's was fully focused on me!

"Yet even then I outmanoeuvred that chump like the unstoppable menace I am, then eventually obliterated him with a bold feint!

"BANG, a hook to the face was all it took so that he couldn't tell the difference between me and his father!

"It's started to become clear to me that my father may have not lied to me, and that I might truly be the descendant of a certain Immortal Emperor!"

*THUD!*

The boy who had just been discredited for his win, Tan Lin, slammed the table and roared back,

"AS IF, SH*THEAD!

"Your opponent was some rookie who didn't know what was good for him and was, in simple terms, courting death!

"What 'descendant of an immortal emperor'?

"I'm more inclined to believe you have the blood of a dog running through your veins!"

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, TAN LIN?!

"You wanna fight?!

"Unlike you, who's all talk and has no real skills, I'm someone with a wide range of desirable traits!"

"YOU-!"

Looking at his two supposed 'friends' rigorously arguing like two raging chimpanzees, Zhang Wei felt a great urge to cut ties with them that instant.

But before he could even get a word in, Tang Fen stood up with a furious expression and said in a solemn tone,

"If both of you don't sit down and start eating peacefully, this instant, then I'll personally take it upon myself to start taste testing both your meals- and it'll be a thorough one at that!

"Do both of you not recall my motto?!

"If one doesn't respect their source of sustenance, then another shall!

"And I'll tell you now, 100% of the time that 'another' will be me!"

Tang Fen then hastily sat back down and started devouring a huge chicken wing with a joyful expression, as if he was just pretending to be angry earlier.

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This threat seemed to have worked wonders, as both boys obediently took their seats and started munching as well- Of course, the nasty glare they gave one another hadn't changed.

Ah, it's been a while so I've forgotten that even that pig-b*stard has a reverse scale- Food!

A few years back, he went ballistic when Jin Feng jokingly stole something from his bowl, so in retaliation, Tang Fen took it upon himself to join Jin Feng for every lunch and then rapidly devour Jin Feng's entire meal, as well as his own, for an entire week!

He was reminiscent of one of those obscene influencers back on earth who would eat ungodly amounts of food at insane speeds, and then somehow have space for some extra!

Tch, I also don't get why he's acting all philosophical and sh*t by making a motto, you may as well just be honest with yourself and outright say you're a foodie!

After thinking to himself for a while, Zhang Wei also joined the others and went for another bite of his dish, when suddenly a waiter, kitted out in formal clothes, came up to the table and carefully placed down five plates.

Each dish was brightly glowing due to the spiritual energy oozing from the food, which was a testament to the incredible quality of the ingredients used in the dish.

The waiter then said with a friendly smile on his face.

"Greetings customers!

"I would once again like to thank you on behalf of the head chef, for allowing him to work with such incredible ingredients!

"Now without further ado, let me introduce the dish he's made!

"Starting off with the Purple-Scaled Peacock, we carefully descaled it, removed the wings, and trimmed off the fat around the edges. After which we took the breast and chopped it into even parts, then thoroughly seasoned it with spirit salt, pepper and a variety of exotic spices we have in the kitchen.

"We then cooked it to perfection and garnished it by drizzling it with the Lotus Lemons- As per your request.

"Moving on to the salad, we took your fifty-year-old Ice Ginseng and Steel-Skinned Radish, as well as some of the Mind-Cleansing Lettuce, then chopped them up and mixed them together.

"As requested, we've plated them into five portions and sent all the unused ingredients back to your area of residence.

"Now I will not bother esteemed guests any longer, and let you enjoy your meal!"

The waiter then gave an elegant bow, then scurried away, leaving the group of five boys who all had bewildered expressions painted across their faces.

"Hey?

"Did any of you even order any more food?"

Tan Lin asked the entire group inquisitively.

Everyone shook their heads implying they didn't.

"...Wellllll thennnnn, I think it's only fair to act like upstanding members of society and report this back to the staff as clearly we've been given someone else's dish-!"

"BULLSH*T!

"TAN LIN YOU FIEND! HOW DARE YOU SPOUT SUCH DRIVEL IN MY PRESENCE!"

As if Tan Lin's words were akin to high treason, Tang Fen shot up from his seat and interrupted Tan Lin with a shout of pure rage as if he were the incarnation of an asura!

"As responsible citizens, we should be making sure none of this food spoils!

"And in order to do that we must, most regretfully, EAT IT ALL!

"Otherwise, it's clear that this food will just end up in the bin because it's been out for too long!"

Although Teng Fen said that he felt remorseful, everything from his body language to the look in his eyes suggested otherwise.

As if to further dispel any chance of him being remorseful, Tang Fen hastily grabbed a plate and dug in without another word- One bite was all it took for him to be entranced by the food.

Not wanting to be left behind, everyone took a plate for themselves and began digging in.

Tch, tch, you devious fatty!

You know much better than me that food with such insane spiritual density would take weeks to spoil!

Lucky for you, I've buffed our luck to unimaginable levels, therefore I'm sure this was fated to be ours. So we don't need to worry about any revenge!

After Zhang Wei finished thinking that, he began to dig into the scrumptious meal until an interesting system notification popped up!

[Ding!]

[Notifying the Host that 32% of the 'Luck Booster(x2)' has been used to activate a random 'Plot Providence' for one time!]

[Dragons Don't Devour Dogs (Unique): This Plot Providence, if procced, allows its possessor to inevitably acquire the most exquisite dish within the vicinity one way or another.

Note: One digests the food as would a true dragon.]

Seeing almost a third of his lifeline gone, and a fancy thing called 'Plot Providence' show up, Zhang Wei was unsurprisingly startled.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what sort of bullsh*t is this?!

Although some good grub is welcomed here and there, but not in this case!

I mean, come on!

A whole third of my only form of protection from being beheaded has now been turned into some little meal!

F*CK!

I don't want this fancy 'Plot Providence' or whatever, I want the OP luck that lets me solo everything!

And the stupid system hasn't even bothered to explain to me what it is yet!

Feeling a bit panicked by this sudden turn of events, Zhang Wei hesitated no longer and grabbed a bit of the succulent meat from the plate and started eating.

As the food entered his mouth, an explosion of flavour erupted inside his mouth!

The juicy, tender meat melted as he chewed into it.

He was instantly hooked, just like the rest of the group.

Unbeknownst to them, each time they took a bite, the amount of spiritual energy within their dantian began to grow and become more concentrated to an exaggerated degree!

It wouldn't be wrong to say that eating this dish saved them several months of bitter cultivation!

After a few minutes of furious eating, the whole group let out a satisfied sigh and comfortably leaned on the cushioned backrest of the chair. Each person had an ecstatic smile on their face as if they'd just been to paradise.

But all of a sudden, one person sprung into a lotus position and began to breathe rhythmically.

The person's eyes were closed, and he seemed to be in a state of intense focus.

Seeing this spontaneous action, the four other people snapped out of their daze and raised their eyebrows!

"W-What?!"

"H-How?"

"He's..."

"...Breaking through?!"

Each of them stared at the person, horrified.

After all to them, who were all untalented cultivator wannabes, it was unthinkable that someone could break through from some food!

But it was real!

And the four of them were witnesses to this very scene!

"No way. I thought he pulled it out his ass when he preached that 'The true essence of the Dao was what made one happy'."

"...To think that a meal was all it took for him to get to a place where only ages of cultivation could take me."

"Is he actually a senior who restarted their cultivation journey in order to solidify their foundation?"

All of them began seeing the person in a new light!

Even more surprisingly, only a few minutes later the person opened their eyes and started stretching as if they had just woken up from a nap!

He'd successfully broken through!

The whole group was about to erupt with questions, but before they could even get a word in, the person said,

"Oi shitheads, when we gonna get seconds?"

"..."

After hearing that, everyone's expressions went blank and they all had the same thought running through their head.

Tch, never mind.

He's just a pig b*stard!

...