"What is this?" Pef asked as a waterfall of spirit crystals poured through a portal into the Blue Realm of the Pagoda, rapidly becoming a mountain of precious cultivation resources.

"This is exactly 33.33% of the wealth of the Phoenix House. Although to be fair, the Elder Phoenix body was worth maybe twice as much already." A Void clone of the glove answered, as more precious weapons, armors and various artifacts formed a small hill nearby.

"...I thought you were always stealing this stuff, not sharing it." Pef mused in a thoughtful voice.

"Steal? What do you even think I am? There are 941 trillion Soldiers in the Veritas Legion right now. Which number is expected to double in about 40 years." the Void clone answered with an irate tone.

"Oh!" Pef managed to say before considering things a bit more. The Legion was constantly expanding the Lower Realm, and Tier 2 Divine Soldiers were not that hard to obtain. As for the Legion deployment in the High Heaven, it was already over 1 billion Soldiers, most of them in Bronze Realm and a few dozen Captains in Iron Realm.

And everyone was starved for resources. This wealth of resources wasn't even enough to equip and upgrade everyone.

"Now you understand. Your Iron Body Wine can give the Legion maybe a dozen new Tier 11 Captains. The Phoenix meat might even buy us a few Steel Realm cultivators.

And then there are the reparations we need to pay for those who did die in the Jade War. The Mirror will help us recover them, but not for free." the glove added in sad voice.

Pef slumped his shoulders. "I'll go cook something for those who died." he answered in a more subdued tone.

A single bird leg, crispy and juicy with liquid lightning, dropped on his cooking table. There was enough meat for a thousand meals in the giant leg, however. "This is your share, for cooking my kill. Be very careful how you prepare the burgers, as there aren't any more Elder Phoenixes in this Realm." The Void clone of glove warned him before starting to transplant thousands of rare flowers and herbs in the monk's garden.

The Bee Queen flew at Pef's side and took out her bowl of Royal Honey, which Pef took with an absent mind. Honey-glazed meat was an old recipe, as old as humanity itself, possibly.

Pepper and coriander, sage and thyme and a sprinkle of pink salt formed the rest of the recipe, while his Formation Dao constructed the ideal meal with 2 thin slices of Phoenix meat inside a bread bun made from Golden Spirit Wheat, a rare type of wheat which was sold for a thousand immortal crystals per bucket.

As he pressed the burger together, the Formation Array diffused inside, layering a hundred small formations in a special pattern, allowing the Heavenly Lightning to course through, like electricity into a motherboard circuit. Click.

He wasn't even surprised when the Steel Tribulation fell on his head. Pef and the Heavens were rather good friends by now.

The edible layer of Tribulation Cloud covered the Phoenix burger and kept it safe from time and microbes, perfectly preserved for all eternity until eaten.

"Here, your Royal Majesty! I'm not sure what the effects are, but you are resilient enough." Pef offered and set the burger on plate, which floated towards his loyal companion.

The compound eyes of the Bee Queen measured the meal with anticipation and perhaps apprehension. "Even if I die, it would be worth it, Divine Cook." the beast spoke in a dignified voice, then took a large bite. Unlike a normal bite, the burger flowed like liquid and fell into the Bee Queen's beast core, where its Formation unfolded.

Crack! Crack...multiple painful sounds emerged from the beast, as her core transformed. A jet of fiery Phoenix fire burst from her mouth, most likely a sign of the Phoenix Heart becoming integrated with the Bee Queen. And while her cultivation realm only climbed a single Star and remained in Iron Realm, her body cultivation Ascended to a Body of Steel, the same as the Taotie and Pef himself.

"This is...amazing!" the Bee exploded with joy, and flew around at impressive speed, much faster than Pef himself could achieve.

Pef felt the silent pressure of a certain monk, as if his eyes were boring holes into his soul.

He turned and locked eyes with the Silent Monk. "What? You want to eat meat? Isn't that against your religion?" Pef asked half-jokingly.

The monk fell silent and looked down. The Bee Queen landed next to the Silent Monk and offered him a bowl of Royal Honey instead.

Pef shook his head and returned to his cooking. Honey was also meat of a sort. It came from a bee, after all.

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He had a thousand more Phoenix Burgers to cook, and potentially create a thousand new Bodies of Steel for the Legion. If he never failed a single meal.

The next burger incorporated a new recipe with red hot peppers and a slightly modified Formation Array to ease the Phoenix Heart creation and reduce the strain on the body.

As the next tribulation fell, a certain White Tiger approached with hesitant steps. "Divine Cook...the Phoenix meat can grant me a Body of Steel?" the beast asked in a modest voice.

Pef measured the formidable White Tiger for a minute. "Yes, it can. But why should I give it to you? Do you make honey?" he asked in a mild voice.

The White Tiger took a small step back, but maintained eye contact with Pef. "You want to skin me for my pelt?" the tiger asked in a reluctant voice.

Pef grinned a bit too wide. "There are a billion Legion Soldiers here in the High Heavens. They all need weapons. Steel Realm weapons."

The White Tiger nodded slowly, as he extended a formidable claw and examined it. "I understand. We all have to contribute, in order to benefit from the spoils. I will do my part."

The Divine Cook nodded and sent over the new Phoenix burger. As expected, the White Tiger also gained a new Iron Star, the Phoenix Heart and the Body of Steel.

Soon after, a pile of tiger claws began to form, as the White Tiger grew and discarded hundreds of Steel claws to be crafted into Legion weapons.

One by one, Pef's wives appeared in the Blue Realm to receive their rewards, starting with Lia and Lara who fought against the Jade Eminence, and then all the others.

By the next day, Pef could finally enjoy his married life once more, as his wives' bodies were now resilient enough to engage in arduous dual cultivation.

A week later, Pef was mildly sated with love and left the Legion Pagoda to meet with other people. Like the Bronze Alchemist Rejin, now holding an Iron Realm Cauldron

blackened and burned by Tribulation, but still sporting a purple rim around the lid.

"Divine Cook! Look, the Purple Cauldron has Ascended to Iron Realm!" the man exulted in a proud voice.

Pef nodded and placed his palm on the ancient cauldron. "I hope this repays my debt, old bowl." Pef sent towards the cauldron.

"I always thought I would Ascend through Alchemy, not Cooking. Shows I know nothing, indeed." the cauldron answered in a modest tone.

"Perhaps it is the disadvantage of too much specialization. Cooking and Alchemy are not much different, in the end. But if Rejin wants to become an Iron Alchemist, his green flames are no longer sufficient." Pef warned the old cauldron, then smiled at the Alchemist.

"You have a way to find me a better alchemical flame? Or upgrade my own?" Rejin asked, as his cauldron kept him up to date.

"Rejin, when you reach the ninth Star of Bronze Realm, leave a message for me, and I'll upgrade your flames." He said with a smile, then walked towards the Master Swordsman sitting with his sword students at the side.

"Divine Cook! Your Ascension was amazing. Not only cooking, but also crafting those Steel javelins and ascending your bounded flames as well." Jin offered with a polite voice and a small bow.

"The Steel thorns were grown from my own flesh, so it wasn't difficult at all. But having a double Ascension was indeed quite reckless of me. It was rather painful." Pef admitted with a pained scowl.

A figure made of blue flames appeared beside Pef, then shifted sidewise and became an old man in azure robes, with a burning blue beard. "I, for one, am quite grateful for being Ascended into Steel Realm. See, I can construct a body for myself now!" Icefire proclaimed in a joyful tone.

Master Jin blinked at the sapient flames taking a human form, then shrugged. He had seen much worse things. "Nice to meet you, Icefire. Will you pursue Alchemy, now that you are able to be independent?"

The old man frowned, then glanced at the Divine Cook. "I think Forging, most likely. Formations too. In a few decades."

Pef smiled gently, and patted his companion on the shoulder. "You'll do great, old friend. But first, we have a few millions of Chaos Beasts to kill and Cook. Maybe more. Cultivation is quite hard."

Master Jin blinked again at the ridiculous statement. Cultivation was hard? Really? This boy wasn't even a hundred years old, not a hundred Chaos Cycles or a million Cycles like other Steel Eminences. How was his cultivation hard?

"You're entering the Chaos Sea?" Jin asked instead.

"For a year or so, until I reach my next Star. Hopefully I can find enough Chaos Beasts to cook." Pef answered in a light voice, then stepped through a portal and vanished, while the Icefire folded inside him.

The Eternium Knight appeared in his place, smiling a bit too wide for any human. But then she wasn't one.

"Master Jin, exactly the man I was looking for! We have some problems with intruders in the newly obtained Phoenix lands. I will pay Bronze and Iron pills for every intruder you and your students capture or kill. I do prefer intact bodies if possible. And their Storage Rings, obviously. Once they enter Legion lands, their properties are our properties, after all." the woman proposed with a cheerful voice.

It was a strange logic, but it also made sense somehow. Plus, those Sword Skills wouldn't train themselves, without true combat.

Master Jin glanced at his eager students, and nodded. "I expect to be rescued if a Steel Eminence appears."

The Eternium Knight frowned for a minute. "Or perhaps you would prefer to obtain a Steel Star for killing one of those. Half of the current Steel Eminences are quite weak, much like the former Jade Eminence."

"And the other half?" Jin asked with a forebodding voice.

"The rest have their Sword Soul as well. So you will die." she concluded with a shrug.

As the Immortal Soul Sword group departed to battle the foragers despoling the land, Beasthunter and the Wizard emerged from their pocket dimensions at the sides of the glove. "So we're to hunt down the Steel Realm intruders?" Wizard asked in a wary tone.

The glove goddess rubbed her Eternium gloves in anticipation. "Just think of the wealth they must carry. Thousands of Chaos Cycles of spirit mines profit, plus precious herbs and artifacts. And we're not even risking Legion soldiers lives. Mercenaries are cheap."

The Wizard shivered at her words, and considered himself lucky to be on the winning side. The Beasthunter just grinned and smashed his fists together.