Chapter 69: Just Give the Order, Junior Brother

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Just Give the Order, Junior Brother

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Yang, on your promotion to Inner Sect Disciple!"

In the Bamboo Garden, Liu Chen offered his sincere congratulations to Senior Brother Yang. With Senior Brother Yang’s promotion to an Inner Sect Disciple, Liu Chen would have a natural ally in the upcoming Inner Sect trial in September. Furthermore, he no longer needed to find a new partner for selling his Spiritual Cuisine.

"Thank you, Junior Brother Liu. If it weren’t for your help, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have succeeded this time..."

Yang Haichen recalled the difficulty of the trial. If not for the Spiritual Cuisine replenishing his Spiritual Power, he likely would have been trapped in a vicious cycle of exhaustion. He might not have even reached the finish line before the trial ended.

"That was all your own skill, Senior Brother. The Spiritual Cuisine just replenishes Spiritual Power. Bringing more Spirit Stones would have had the same effect."

Liu Chen had never gone through the trial himself, so he couldn’t grasp the true difficulty from Senior Brother Yang’s brief account. However, that didn’t stop him from listening as his senior brother described the experience.

"Don’t be so modest, Junior Brother. There’s a huge difference between Spirit Stones and Spiritual Cuisine."

Yang Haichen shook his head. The other Outer Sect Disciples had all brought Spirit Stones, but along the way, he had seen many of his fellow disciples trapped and unable to proceed.

Speaking of Spirit Stones, Yang Haichen placed a Storage Ring on the table.

"Junior Brother Liu, this is from the sale of ten portions of Spiritual Cuisine. Here are eighteen thousand Spirit Stones. The other twenty thousand are still on their way."

At this, Yang Haichen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’Twenty thousand Spirit Stones for a single portion of Spiritual Cuisine that wasn’t even very useful to him... That senior brother who was targeting me probably won’t be living so extravagantly for a long, long time.’

"This?!"

Liu Chen was puzzled. ’Even if all ten portions sold, that would be twenty thousand Spirit Stones at most. How could it be nearly double that?’

"Let me explain, Junior Brother..."

Holding back his laughter, Yang Haichen recounted the incident. After hearing the full story, Liu Chen was momentarily speechless. ’That senior brother really brought it on himself,’ he thought. ’If he hadn’t immediately offered ten times the price, he would have only had to pay the original value at most.’

To lose eighteen thousand Spirit Stones for absolutely nothing... An amount like that... forget an Inner Sect Disciple, even a True Disciple probably wouldn’t have that many liquid Spirit Stones on hand.

"Well, my thanks to that senior brother for his generosity."

Liu Chen shook his head. After performing the Blood Recognition ritual to claim ownership of the Storage Ring, he took out one thousand three hundred Spirit Stones, placed them on the table, and gestured for Senior Brother Yang to take them.

"Junior Brother Liu, what’s this for?"

Yang Haichen grew tense. He had already received three portions of Spiritual Cuisine for free; how could he possibly accept Spirit Stones from his junior brother as well?

"One thousand of these Spirit Stones are your rightful share, Senior Brother. The other three hundred are for the Storage Ring. If you don’t take it, then let’s just consider our Spiritual Cuisine business over!"

Liu Chen said with a smile. Hearing this, Yang Haichen, who had been about to refuse, could only use his own Storage Ring to collect the mountain-like pile of Spirit Stones.

"It’s getting late. Wait here a moment, Senior Brother. I’ll go prepare dinner, and we can talk while we eat."

’Master and Mistress haven’t returned, which means the Grand Elder probably isn’t back either. The Inner Sect Disciple trial is only about twenty days away. I have something I need Senior Brother Yang’s help with anyway, so it’s best to discuss it over dinner.’

’It’s time to put these Spirit Stones to good use,’ Liu Chen thought. ’If holding onto all this wealth just puts me in danger during the trial, it would be completely counterproductive.’

"Then I won’t hold back!"

Yang Haichen’s eyes lit up. After witnessing how crazy even True Disciples were for Spiritual Cuisine, he knew exactly who his benefactor was. Since Junior Brother Liu had been so direct, he certainly wasn’t going to refuse the offer.

In the kitchen, Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao, having already prepped the Bamboo Shoots, sat staring blankly into space. They were quite concerned about Yang Haichen—or more precisely, about the Inner Sect Disciple trial he had just passed.

In a few years, they too would have to take the Inner Sect trial. If they could get some information ahead of time, they might be able to tailor their training to better face the challenge.

"Sorry to keep you both waiting."

Upon his return, Liu Chen used his Artifact Manipulation Technique in coordination with the Purification Technique to slice all the Bamboo Shoots. Then, he used the Lamp Burning Technique to control the heat while the Artifact Manipulation Technique stir-fried the slices.

’This was a routine Liu Chen had perfected through experience. His only regret was lacking a spell that could replace the iron wok. Of course, if he could take it even further, he’d eventually be able to process the ingredients entirely with Magic, rather than using the Artifact Manipulation Technique to control a kitchen knife.’

"Senior Brother, what’s the Inner Sect Disciple trial like?"

As Ye Linglong placed the Spiritual Cuisine into a food box and handed it to Liu Chen, she couldn’t help asking. If her previous motivation for becoming an Inner Sect Disciple was to change her own destiny, now it was to prove herself worthy of the teachings of her master, her master’s master, and her senior brother.

"Don’t worry, Linglong. Just focus on your training. From what Senior Brother Yang said, it didn’t sound too difficult."

Liu Chen thought back for a moment. ’Senior Brother Yang’s story sounded a bit harrowing, but people tend to exaggerate their experiences, and I’m sure he’s no exception. More importantly, I didn’t hear anything in his account that I wouldn’t be able to handle.’

’Even though I don’t have to take the trial,’ Liu Chen mused, ’I’m sure I could pass it if I did.’

"That’s a relief."

Beside them, Ji Suyao let out a visible sigh of relief. She had been a little scared at the thought of the Inner Sect trial being perilous.

"Enjoy your meal, you two. I’m going to go talk with Senior Brother Yang."

Liu Chen nodded and left. Snapping out of her thoughts, Ye Linglong glanced at Ji Suyao, who had already picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and shook her head in resignation.

"What is it?"

Ji Suyao couldn’t help but ask. ’Did Senior Brother hide the true difficulty of the Inner Sect trial from us?’

"It’s not difficult for someone with Senior Brother’s strength, of course. But what about for us?"

Ye Linglong said slowly. Ji Suyao, who had been ready to devour her meal, nearly lost her appetite entirely.

But Ji Suyao had always been an optimist. After just a few breaths, she went back to wolfing down her food. Ye Linglong watched her, feeling a little exasperated. ’So it’s true,’ she thought. ’Suyao actually tries to maintain some semblance of an image in front of Senior Brother. She’s never been the picture of elegance, but she’s never been this unrestrained before.’

"Senior Brother Yang, there’s actually something I need your help with."

「After lunch」 Liu Chen cleaned the bowls and chopsticks with the Purification Technique, but his gaze was fixed on Senior Brother Yang. Before Yang Haichen had even taken the Inner Sect trial, they had decided that Spiritual Cuisine transactions on Purple Bamboo Peak would support bartering. This was a preparation Liu Chen had made to strengthen himself.

Now that Senior Brother Yang had passed the trial, it was time to put that plan into action to prepare for the trial in September.

"Just tell me what you need, Junior Brother Liu."

Yang Haichen pulled his gaze away from the self-cleaning dishes. ’The Purification Technique Junior Brother Liu uses is completely different from mine,’ he thought. ’But now’s not the time to dwell on that. Business first.’