How many people can a single Chaos Whale feed?

A strange question that nobody in their right mind had ever asked before, as there would be no reason to ask.

And yet, the roasted flesh of the Chaos Whale was eaten and gone by the third day of the Ascension Feast.

Maybe the Bronze Ants ate more than their body weight, gaining new cultivation Stars and even reaching the peak of Bronze Realm. And a billion Soldier Ants can eat quite a lot. And there were other voracious eaters too, including the Steel Eminences like Demonhunter and Beasthunter, or even the Formation Wizard and Pef himself.

And lastly, but not least, were the actual Legion beasts, the White Tiger, the Queen Bee and the Taotie. The Taotie himself ate half of the Chaos Whale, so that might be a good reason. And let's not forget, the Taotie also ate an entire Chaos Stingray not long ago.

Master Jin also ate a decent portion of the feast, at least his own body weight and possibly more. He had never eaten whale meat before, but it did taste like beef roast. And expertly cooked beef at that.

And still, the black pot of the adamantium tower was left untouched, still covered in cloud lightning. To our swordsman's surprise, people barely even glanced at the cooking pot, as if it was something far beyond their reach.

On the other hand, the purple cauldron which cooked the Chaos Whale and the Stingray too was now the center of attention, as lingering liquid lightning still covered the ancient Artifact, for some strange reason.

"Don't tell me the cooking pot is also Ascending?" he asked, a bit rhetorical.

To his left side, the Brigadier-General of the Legion sighed and stored the remaining meat on her plate. The woman barely ate at all, to his surprise.

"Pef might be a good cook, but a Divine craftsmith he is not. The problem is the poor materials used to construct this Purple Cauldron. Barely any Violet Metal, and no Eternium at all. A certain someone was being too cheap when he crafted this cauldron." she said with a nod towards the Demonhunter.

A dozen eyes at the table turned towards the Steel Eminence, and the man gulped. "I can fix this, I think. I'll be back soon."

In an instant, the Demonhunter vanished, and took the alchemy cauldron with him, fortunately now only an empty cauldron.

As people wandered about and mingled, Master Jin stayed still. While the Legion members were rather civilized, there was always potential for conflict, especially with higher realms and even larger egos.

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"What will you do now, Swordmaster?" the Eternium-armored woman asked in a mild voice.

Master Jin sighed inward, as he long dreaded this question. The Jade War was won and over, and with the Divine Cook now Ascended to Steel Realm, his own usefulness was also at an end.

"I never thought we'd win." he answered, a bit sad.

"I think you will reject the option to properly join the Legion. As would your sword students." the Eternium Knight mused in a soft voice.

Master Jin nodded a bit later. One couldn't truly follow the Way of the Sword if confined by the strict regulations of a military order like the Legion.

"A Sword Soul seeks freedom above all." he answered more diplomatically.

"How true. You know, when we first met in the Cloud Province?" she asked in a sad voice.

Master Jin frowned, as he didn't recall meeting this woman at the restaurant. "We met?"

"I am not human, Master Jin. You could say, I am simply a weapon accessory, a targeting system, if you will. Or was, at least. I am more now." the woman disclosed with a low tone.

"Like those special weapons crafted by the General?" he asked after thinking for a minute.

"Pretty much, yes. But then I died, and came back. A proper Legion Officer, died in the service of the Legion and all that. But the important thing is, humans are really less than a millionth part of the total Legion numbers. Ants and bees, demons and devils and ghouls, and many more species make up the bulk of the Legion. Our own General is a lotus flower." she continued in the same tone, sad and distant.

"And Pef, he is your weapon." he deduced with a glance at the Divine Cook.

"We want to think so, but it won't last long. In a decade, he will be stronger than I am. In a few decades, he will be the strongest in this entire Realm. And then he will keep going, Ascending past the Heaven's boundary into the next realm and then the next." she concluded in a soft voice.

"Ah, you want a new weapon. A proper one." Jin realized a bit too late.

"As I was saying, we had all kinds of customers in the Celestial Restaurant. Some were rude or simply criminals. Others were rich, and a few of them were quite strong. You could have taken over our place with your sword. And instead, you stood in line and paid for your meal." the Eternium Knight asked in a roundabout way.

"I see. It is my honor that attracts you." he observed in a sharp tone.

"Anyone who eats from the Phoenix meat will gain a new Star, and probably the Phoenix Heart too. For you, it would mean instant promotion to Steel Realm." the woman proposed in a casual tone, and a glance at the black pot on top of the tower.

Master's Jin heart skipped a beat, and his Dao Heart almost shattered. It couldn't be that easy...so it wasn't. The test was not over.

"There is no Phoenix meat inside that black pot." he realized a minute later.

"Of course not! That stupid Taotie would have eaten it all long ago, if it was." The Eternium Knight answered in a confident tone.

"How long do I have?" he asked instead.

"42" came the surprising answer to life, the universe and everything.

"You'll have an answer by then." Jin managed to say. Why couldn't he simply say no? He wanted to be free.

"Good. I'll go ask the Formation Wizard next. I do have two hands now, so I can wield two weapons at once." the glove goddess spoke with a slight smirk, then vanished.

Master Jin looked up at the metal tower, and the cloud of lightning around the black pot. Was it really empty, if the cloud was still there?

He glanced to the side, and saw the Taotie staring at the same black pot with drool dripping from his mouth.

The test wasn't over after all.