As Pef cooked cheerfully, he took out a blood essence crystal given to him by that Tier 10 Ancestor, and just ate it.

'You think I might get two Stars again?' he asked inward as he began to Transfer the essence via Blood Dao into his own dantian. Reaching his 7th Star would be great indeed.

'Don't be that hopeful, Soldier. It makes you look naive.' the orange glove answered curtly, and severing Pef's hopes at the root.

'I see. Oh well, at least one Star will be nice too.' he said in a more realistic tone.

"That extra Preservation Dao you gained from the World Tree is worth more than a Star or two. You saved at least a hundred Chaos Cycles of bitter cultivation. I'm just worried what the tree is preparing you for. The Taotie won't be able to harm you now, even after he gains his next Star.' the glove continued in a warning tone.

'So it's not the Taotie...something worse?' Pef mused inward, while still flipping burgers and observing the restaurant, as well as the nearby Cloud City and the adventures of Lara in her Black Cowl guise, leading a band of murderous Devils to take over the criminal underworld.

So far, the Devils were getting killed even faster than they could kill their enemies, but these things had a learning curve anyways. It took time to adapt to a different environment, plus the entangled network of informers present in the city. However, unlike the limited numbers of Divine realm criminals, Lara had a trillion Soldier-level Devils to spend, so the outcome was decided even before it started.

'Look, it's a herald from the Governor!' the glove warned him a bit later.

Pef scanned the herald waiting at the city gates, dressed in purple robes with the Governor's insignia taped to his shoulder. Already an 8 Stars Tier 8, so probably part of the inner circle of government. Oh well, it would be better to maintain nice relations with the city. And possibly save Lara before the Governor got angry and loped her head off.

Pef stepped though the defensive Formations of the restaurant and stopped in front of the herald, then hid his burger fork in the glove with a smile.

"You must be looking for me, herald. You need a Dragon Burger?" he asked in a cheerful voice.

"Lord Tang desires to meet you, Divine Cook. Are you available now, or should I return once the restaurant closes for the night?" the herald asked in a polite but stern voice. It wasn't exactly a free pass to visit. The herald likely meant he had to come right now.

Pef shrugged unconcerned. "We can go now, I have Avatars helping in the kitchen anyways."

The herald nodded gravely, then pressed his hand on the cloud-shaped insignia, making a portal appear beside him.

Pef stepped through and arrived in a giant hall, decorated lavishly in copper colors. On a raised pedestal floating on a cloud, a man looking older than the Silent Monk sat on a copper-colored throne, while at his feet there were thousands of various officials and Cloud Guards.

"We meet again, Governor." Pef spoke with a polite nod.

The man frowned, noting Pef had not bowed this time. "You have grown stronger, Divine Cook." he spoke majestically.

Pef nodded again. The Governor was in his 9th Star, and likely had been at this realm for millions of Chaos Cycles. Ascending to the Bronze Realm wasn't easy, not even for rich and powerful governors.

"I fined the Temple with 50 millions high-grade crystals for the damage to my city. They have just arrived with the payment." the Cloud Governor said while glancing down at his feet, where another Tier 8 cultivator lay down with his forehead on the copper floor.

Pef smiled at the power play, but only nodded again. "Glad to be of service, Governor." he replied instead, making the man smile thinly.

"Be careful such things do not repeat, Divine Cook. I take great care with my duty to protect this Province, especially the Cloud City itself. Can you settle things with the Temple?" the Governor asked in a warning voice.

'He means, you have to give him face.' the glove translated at once, as Pef blinked in confusion.

'I am right in his face, aren't I?' Pef muttered, still a bit confused.

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"Sure, I won't go after the Temple and kill them all, as long as they stay away. I only want to cook in peace." Pef answered as the silence became a bit uncomfortable.

The Governor glanced down again. "You heard the Divine Cook, Temple Elder Luan. It will be better if you refrain from visiting my city again."

"Your Majesty knows best. I will depart now." the Elder said in a humble voice, then rose and walked away with hurried steps.

Pef sighed inward at the useless play. The Mirror Goddess already told him the Temple will come back in force.

"Everyone, disperse. I have other things to discuss with my guest." the Governor ordered after a minute, making his court rush out at their best speed.

'There are two Tier 9 guys hidden on the ceiling. Probably bodyguards.' the glove warned him as the Governor tugged at his beard in obvious displeasure.

Pef smiled and fixed both of the invisible guards with his eyes, before sitting down in mid-air.

"Are you really a new Copper Realm Immortal?" the Governor asked in a sad tone.

"In this life, yes." Pef answered with a grin, then took out a bottle of Divine Wine and looked at the Governor with questioning eyes.

"No wonder. Would you even feel something if I hit you with my best move?" the Governor asked as he took out a pair of glasses and come over to get some free wine, sitting also in mid-air in front of Pef.

"This isn't the Spring Rain Province, Governor. Anyways, I want to buy like a thousand Silver Realm pills, and a Copper Realm Pill too. Can you ask around, see who has enough pills for my restaurant? I would be grateful." Pef asked as the man took his first sip of wine.

To his credit, the Governor didn't choke on his wine, only getting a bit red in the face. "My word would suffice for such an order, if I can guarantee you have the resources. At least 2 billion crystals, even with a discount for such a big order."

Pef carelessly took out a ring and passed it over to the Governor. "Here. Let me know when my pills arrive, I will need to boost my restaurant staff in strength a little. Your Cloud Province is a bit dangerous for the weak people."

With those words, he floated backwards into a Violet portal and vanished, leaving the Governor holding 2 billion crystals and a bottle of precious Divine Wine.

The Governor checked the treasure in the ring again, then took a big gulp on wine. "Ang Tang, we do have Formations around the Cloud Palace, right?" he asked to make sure.

He had paid a Formation Dao Master to lay the protective arrays around the palace, with the guarantee that no Copper Realm Immortal could enter or exit without his express intent. And yet...

"Your guest is not a cook, my lord. It would take the Temple years to breach the Cloud Palace, even if all their Elders come." the Tier 9 guard answered as he floated down from the ceiling, and unveiled his concealment array.

"I was just saying, old friend. Not even I could have killed the Enforcement Elder before he ran away, and not without leveling half the Province, even if I got lucky. And he just gave me 2 billion high-grade crystals, without being worried I might keep them." the Cloud Governor said with a sad voice as he passed the ring to his old bodyguard.

"A thousand Silver Realm Pills? There aren't that many Golden Realm staff in that place." Ang Tang muttered, mostly to himself.

"But he makes the Dragon Burgers, doesn't he? He can raise a thousand Immortals in a single year, without even risking their lives." The Governor said softly as he glanced at his other bodyguard.

In flash, the man vanished, rushing towards the Medicine Valley with the new pill order.

"You think the Temple will listen, Lord Tang?" the old Tier 9 bodyguard asked in a reserved voice.

"I think they will all die. That Divine Cook was already ascending into his 6th Star." the Cloud Governor answered in a sad voice.

Not to mention, the protective Formations of that restaurant were stronger than he had paid for from a Dao Master in the Bronze Realm. The flimsy wooden building wasn't even dented by a Copper Realm powerhouse striking it full force.

He had seen a lot in his long life, but never before a reborn Iron Immortal. He doubted it would take an entire Chaos Cycle for the cheerful cook to surpass him, and then cheerfully rejoin the Upper Heavens without much effort. The Heavens were so unfair.