The next morning found the Celestial Restaurant mostly empty inside. Perhaps it was the 50 times increase in all menus cost.
Or perhaps it was the 5 millions high-grade crystals Copper menu, named Bloody Tribulation.
People gathered in front of the wooden building and read the new menu again and again, just to make sure they saw it right. A pair of Copper Realm golems had also appeared in front of the main entrance, made of some type of violet shade of metal that imposed fear and respect.
The waiters felt a bit bored and sat down to meditate, lacking the usual busy activity of the morning.
A large group of tourists dressed as Sword disciples approached the entrance, lead by a powerful Copper Realm Elder.
"What's going on? Why is everybody waiting outside?" the man asked a nearby cultivator, a weak man only in Monarch Realm. He held the hand of a mortal boy, and the Sword Elder remembered him from a previous visit.
"Prices have gone up 50 times. Now there's no chance for my little boy. I did gain a Realm with a Dragon Burger last time, and today we wanted to buy one for little Deng. But, 500 crystals is too much." the man explained while struggling to hold back his tears.
The Elder glanced down at the mortal boy, while various thoughts crossed his mind. 'Such a drastic increase? And Copper Burgers too? That waiter did mention a Bronze Realm beast was killed for the Paramita Wine. I gained a Star from that...might as well pay back the karma.'
"Join my group, mister. But the boy joins my Immortal Sword after Ascension." the Elder decided and walked forwards, impervious to envious looks from the poorer people in the line.
The funds would not suffice for the entire group anymore, but several lottery draws may still provide a few Sword Immortals anyways. This was only a test after all. For if the Sect decided to invest more, the Recruiting Hall will have to gain traction in the Council.
The Sword Immortals changed lanes and entered the Silver Entrance, while taking note of a new Copper Entrance being raised overnight next to the side.
Lady Yuan took charge of the large group and led them to their reserved room.
"A menu for everyone?" she asked in a pleasant voice, making most disciples tremble and blush to the tip of their ears. And this was only because there was a female disciple in the group.
"Can you ask the Divine Cook if he has anything for the mortal boy? And if Paramita Wine is available for sale?" the Sword Elder asked instead, while gesturing his guests to sit down as well.
The waiter tilted her head curious, and caressed the mortal boy on his head. "Something will be arranged. My husband is a decent Alchemist as well." she declared in a confident voice, then vanished.
"Wow, the pretty lady is married to the Divine Cook?" the mortal boy exclaimed without a mouth filter.
"That's usually the norm in family restaurants. The Cloud City has millions like that." the boy's father explained in a fatherly tone.
The Great Elder sighed inward. This was no regular family restaurant. And the way the waiter vanished, not even his honed sword skills caught the exact moment she moved. If she moved at all.
"It would be nice to become a famous cook and get such a pretty wife..." the boy continued as he examined the room with clear and innocent eyes.
The Grand Elder took out a small adamantium dagger and held it out for the boy. "What about blades? To defeat beasts you need sword skills, right?"
The boy touched the dagger with curious fingers. "I think you're right too, old man. Those beasts won't chop themselves. Hmmm. Life is complicated..."
The boy's father pressed the boy's head on the table in a forced bow. "Excuse my son, my lord. He is young..."
The Grand Elder waved it off. "I have eyes, mister. Not only that, but I was once a young boy too, many lifetimes ago."
"It is done, esteemed customer. A pill for the boy, and your wine. The Divine Cook has gifted you another bottle." the waiter said suddenly, having appeared in the room without a sign of movement. She gently opened the boy's mouth and placed a pill inside, then winked, making the boy gulp in surprise and ingest the pill by coincidence.
The smell of ozone filled the room, and a tiny blue Lightning bolt struck down towards the boy only to be slapped away by the waiter.
"There you go, little Deng. You're now a Tier 1 Divine Immortal." she spoke with a kind smile. She then turned towards the actual paying customer. "For 92 Silver menus, the cost is 4.6 million high-grade crystals."
The Elder nodded unfazed by the ridiculous cost. "Here. So what's the deal with the new Copper Burgers?" he asked after he payed for their menus.
Lady Yuan smiled. "The chances for a Copper Realm Ascension work much better for late-tier Silver Realms. There was a Noble lady visiting yesterday that named the Cooper Burger as Bloody Tribulation. However, the Divine Cook made her pay 2 billion crystals for that burger."
"What are all these tiny letters written on the walls?" the young Immortal asked with confused eyes.
"Those are protective arrays. I hear they can block even Bronze Immortals, but I haven't seen that yet. Only a single Copper Realm guy dared to attack this place, may he rest in peace." the waiter explained with a faint smile, then sped away to bring the menus.
The Grand Elder nodded towards his disciples as warning. They had heard some rumors at the Sword Monument, about a small sect attacking the restaurant and exploding almost instantly. If someone knew where to look, they would even find the repaired cracks in the city walls.
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"Is a Copper Realm strong?" young Deng asked his father, who was now powerless to shut him up.
"I suspect this mighty Elder here is in Copper Realm. See the copper metal wires sown in the hem of his robes?" the father pointed with a sad voice.
The boy examined the Elder with curious eyes, then turned to measure everyone else in the room. "Father, are you the weakest person here?"
The man slumped and burrowed himself in his robes. "I guess all these Sword disciples are already Divine Immortals, just like you. I can't see their realms."
The Grand Elder poured himself a glass of priceless Paramita Wine, then another for the sad father. "Try this wine, mister. It was free this time."
He sipped the wine, losing himself in Dao insights once more. Once more, he felt his prodigious cultivation move a little, despite the apparent impossibility. But then again, who ever heard of simple meat buns Ascending people without effort or Tribulation?
Made him wonder why the Copper Burger gained such a ominous name like Bloody Tribulation. Maybe the Copper Realm was too strong to achieve so easily and did provoke Tribulations? Perhaps. Or perhaps that Noble simply disdained the taste of the burger. Equally possible, with what he knew about Nobles.
The waiter returned with a floating array of Celestial Burgers, including one with a silver cloud. "Little Deng, it seems today is your lucky day. The first burger to come out had a tribulation cloud, and I picked you as the lucky winner. But, perhaps it was because I didn't get any tips. Who knows?"
the pretty lady asked in a joking tone, and a daring glance at the Sword Elder.
"Wow! It smells so good! Can you also eat the cloud?" the boy asked with a drooling mouth, while examining the Celestial cloud burger.
The other people in the room looked in envy as a the boy took a big bite from the burger, then chewed with loud noises. "Really good! No wonder these burgers cost so much." the boy said in childish praise, and got munching on the burger, even devouring the foam-like cloud.
Then his eyes closed and Deng drifted into a deep sleep, while the Grand Elder nodded to himself. Was it really karma, to pick up a mortal disciple and instantly receive a peak-grade Silver Immortal? What if he bought a Copper Burger?
Was this luck or something else? How would the Sect react to a 6-year-boy Elder in Copper Realm?
Not very well, he expected. Even the more mature disciples would be a hard sell for those old codgers in the Sword Council.
He looked around the room, selecting his favorite disciple, and the only woman in this trip. "Lei'er, you'll be in charge of the little one, until we return to the sect. Kids are prone to accidents..."
"Grand Elder, he is a Silver Immortal now! There's no way I can force him to obey me." the young disciple complained with a grumbling voice.
"Errr. He will listen to me, I'm his father still." the weakest man in the room spoke suddenly.
"I have funds for six more menus. But if you still do not Ascend, you can only join the Sect as a personal servant. Wash your son's clothes and such."
The Grand Elder explained with a calm voice, and sipped more wine.
Following his example, the Monarch Realm took a sip of wine too then began to glow. Numerous Stars formed rapidly, raising the man to a middle-grade Saint in only a minute. "Whoa! This thing is quite potent for a free bottle." the man exclaimed in amazement, then took a larger gulp.
Another minute, and he rose into the first realm of Divinity, but didn't disperse into a loose state, just like his son had with that strange pill.
Right now, he would qualify for trials as an outer disciple, but he still had half a full glass in hand. And he drank it right away, eager to catch up.
More Stars followed and the new Divinity was covered in a weak Void Shield, a simple proof of initial Void Dao mastery.
Disciple Lei threw him a begging look. "Grand Elder, you said this wine was free?"
The man sighed and poured some Paramita Wine for the girl. "Drink slowly, it's quite potent."
A minute later, she gained more Stars becoming a Galaxy Realm and also formed her own Void Shield. Even without a lucky burger, she would become an inner disciple now. Void Dao allowed for the study of the Void Sword Unity, and the rank of a core disciple once achieved.
Normally, such things took billions of years of hard training...it made sense the Divine Cook restricted the sales. Gifts were never truly free, after all. But Dao gifts were even more significant.
"Waiter, another menu round, please!" the Elder ordered and this time remembered to tip heavily, adding a hundred thousand crystals to the bill.
He had a feeling this place valued tips even more than a regular restaurant. It was just that the owner had enough of ungrateful people forgetting to tip, even after successful Ascensions, thus the brutal price increase.
When the pretty lady returned, she brought 2 cloud burgers with her. "Nice tips bring luck! Who knew, right?" Lady Yuan wondered as she distributed the menus around, somehow managing to place one for Lei'er and one for the lucky father.
The Grand Elder cursed inward, then managed to smile. "Is there a prize for a million-crystals tip?" he asked curious. The waiter decided the draw, after all. She almost spelled it out.
The waiter threw him a world-ending smile, then answered with a confident voice: "Who knows?"