The old and silent monk eyed Pef in way that transmitted thousands of words with a single glance.

'I see you were successful.' was quite easy. A single glance towards the new Mulberry Tree.

Pef nodded and smiled thinly. Meeting the Silent Monk always made him feel like he was being judged, and found lacking. Even after surpassing the old man in cultivation realm, the feeling remained.

'You also have the Royal Honey?' asked with a mere questioning gaze towards Pef's right hand.

Our hero sighed inward and produced a large bowl filled with the precious liquid.

The Silent Monk calmly took the bowl and tasted it with a finger, and his eyes filled with wonder.

Pef followed suit, and began slowly eating a bowl of precious honey as well, using a gloved finger.

With each small gulp, transformations began to occur in his inner screen character sheet, mildly improving his cultivation realm but more importantly improving his body stats. From his base 80 percent Physical God body, a single dollop of honey added a whole new percent.

By the time he finished the first bowl, his body crossed over the 100 percent threshold, and into a new category: Blessed Yang Body.

'No wonder those Immortal Bees have such a high durability. As for the Old Queen herself, her body must be indestructible. I got lucky avoiding a direct fight.' Pef mused inward, while noting a sharp increase in his Wisdom stats.

'We couldn't have known, before testing the honey. Still, you do have amazing luck, Soldier.' the orange glove agreed in a slightly impressed tone.

'And to think the Taotie ate a whole vat of this.' Pef added with a glance at the small badger lying lazily under the Mulberry Tree.

Feeling his gaze, the miniaturized Taotie opened an eye and stared back at his Master. Then simply turned on his side and fell asleep, simply enjoying the enlightenment offered by the three holy trees gathered here in the Blue Realm.

As a counter point, a Tribulation Lightning fell on the Silent Monk, who accepted it with a serene smile.

'Six more honey bowls for the monk. Should be enough to Ascend him into Tier 10.' the glove inferred with its devilish intellect.

"Be good, old badger. You may stay here and rest while I cook something." Pef spoke in a soft voice, then stepped away.

The Celestial Restaurant would have a brand new menu for the Bronze Gate, something that any cultivator in the Middle Heavens would die for.

Standing in his kitchen, Lady Lia was waiting for him patiently. Within her dantian, the Tao Symbol observed the so called Divine Cook with a mix of curiosity and respect.

"My beloved! Already got bored with the General's war?" Pef asked to be sure.

Lia simply snorted then began preparing tea with calm and collected movements, reminding Pef of a strange dance. He almost expected the Heavens to come forth and bestow a Tribulation Cloud on her teapot, only it never happened. Possibly, her Tea Ceremony was too low level for this universe, where old monsters who had lived for millions of Chaos Cycles had most likely all completed the Tea Dao.

Tea drinking was extremely wide-spread in this universe, more than normal, due to poor hygiene knowledge and the need to boil water before drinking.

There were entire streets in every city dedicated to various tea shops and small gardens, almost like cafes were, back in his first life.

Lady Lia herself had been a Tea Master when Pef first met her, and now with a Tier 9 cultivation her tea was almost perfect.

"Here, try my new recipe." His wife offered with a patient tone, and poured him a cup of tea smelling divine.

Pef had to wait 30 minutes for the entire tea ceremony, which almost bored him to death. Luckily, he was already immortal.

As always, he accidentally dipped a gloved finger inside his cup, before taking a small sip.

No point making a fool of himself by misjudging the holy tea, when his glove could analyze the thing to the last detail.

'Oh? Her skill has grown indeed. This Lava Lotus and Mountain Berry tea will even mildly affect Tier 3 cultivators. In regular mortals, a single sip it would induce direct enlightenment and the formation of a dantian core.' the glove said as Pef swirled the tea in his mouth.

Pef's Alchemy knowledge found the references and compared the effects. 'I could make a pill with the same effects, from those herbs' he responded after a minute.

'Not the same thing. A teapot like this will suffice for a thousand mortals. You would only make one pill.' the glove countered in a disappointed tone.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

'My Alchemy sucks, I know' Pef admitted with an inner shrug. At least he had Cooking and Winemaking to be proud of.

'You do need to finish Alchemy though. You can't rely on Rejin forever.' the glove said in a sterner tone.

"Delightful tea, my beloved. Do you want to open a tea garden for mortals?" Pef asked instead, eyeing his wife carefully.

Lia sighed audibly and sat her tea cup down. "I can't waste thousands of Chaos Cycles on this hobby. I'm thinking to reunite with Kalima and study Formations seriously. I hear that Lord Wong can already block the Unreal River for a second."

The Tao Symbol manifested for a second, becoming visible in Pef's senses. An invisible ray of light scanned the teapot then retracted, somehow managing to appear sad in Pef's mind.

It wasn't exactly an invitation, but Pef wasn't that stupid anymore. The sentient symbol was at Tier 11, so its actions always had meaning.

He placed his hand over the teapot and dropped a single dollop of priceless honey into the steaming tea.

A powerful emission of energy filled the teapot, filling the kitchen with aromatic smells and powerful Dao waves.

In a few seconds, the tea transformed into something different, causing a small lightning bolt to appear.

"The tea just needed some honey." Pef explained with a smile, watching Lia lose composure and cycle through a dozen emotions.

Carefully, the Tea Master poured herself another cup and sipped the aromatic tea. Even without his coresenses, which could scan through people like ultrasounds did back home, Pef could see the effects of the Holy Tea, filling Lia with a special type of enlightenment and raising her body stats.

"This. A perfect tea?" Lia wondered out loud.

Pef poured himself a cup of this Holy Tea and tried it as well. The effects of the Royal Honey were more subtle now, and changed for the better. The tea itself created a fusion of multiple effects, also nourishing the soul and mind. One could only imagine what such a product would sell for.

'If only tea wasn't such a bother to make. Becoming a Tea Master would be painful.' he complained inward.

'Lia can provide the tea for the Bronze Gate. You need to cook something with this honey. Should work on wine as well' the glove provided in a helpful mood.

Thinking quickly, Pef moved a vat of Royal Honey into a spare storage ring, then offered it to his wife. "Go to the Blue Realm and Ascend under the tree. I have to try some Cooking recipes too."

As Lady Lia vanished from the kitchen, Pef could almost feel a sense of approval coming from the Tao Symbol. Another test passed.

Lia wasn't gone for a minute when a shinny metal knife glinted, and a Mirror Goddess stepped inside.

"Sit and drink some tea." Pef offered while busy remaking a sweet recipe from his first childhood. Flour, water, nuts and a drop of honey. Nothing complicated or even hard, especially for someone with 100 percent in Cooking Dao. But when the honey was the exquisite Royal Honey that entire universes died for, the result was as remarkable as expected. Another Tribulation, and a Silver Cloud Cookie appeared!

"You make it look so easy" Gena Feng whispered as she sipped the Holy Tea.

"The Oracle has just left. You aren't here for me to read your future." Pef said while offering the Tier 7 Goddess her Ascension on a silver plate.

The Mirror Goddess simply ate the cookie, then drank more tea and Ascended in a single minute. Even so, she didn't seem happy, but worried.

"Your wife...nevermind. Time has ran out. A hundred Throne Authorities will show up in a few days." she declared in a glacial tone.

Pef scratched at his cheek, delaying for a moment while allowing the glove to calculate a dozen plans. The Mercy Seat Authorities were all at Tier 10, and also mind-controlled into submission. As their title said, they were enforcers of the Throne, and dispatched to troubleshoot problems.

Even a first tier Sect would be powerless to resist so many Bronze Realm experts.

And that such a powerful unit was coming to the restaurant only proved the Mercy Seat took him seriously. Perhaps too seriously.

Someone has figured him out, or some oracle skill detected a danger?

He did plan to overthrow the current government, and was even training an army for this.

'If it was last year, we would have been in trouble. Today? It will only take a second.' the glove concluded after a running a full threat analysis.

"Let them come. We have cookies." Pef answered in a warm voice.