Chapter 59 - 25: Kitchen Apprentice

Chapter 59: Chapter 25: Kitchen Apprentice

The true words of the Taoist Skill flowed like a stream across his Heart Lake, every last bit of its mystical technique firmly engraved deep within Jiang Xuan’s Divine Soul.

At that moment, Jiang Xuan suddenly detected a subtle hitch.

He discovered a few subtle points of disharmony between his breathing rhythm and the Qi circulation path of the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method.

’The operation of the Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique is fixed, but the internal structure of the human body has countless subtle differences... It’s only normal that there would be some disharmony, since I’m cultivating based on the experience of those who came before me...’

As understanding dawned in his mind, Jiang Xuan sensed something else. A flash of inspiration struck him. While softly reciting the incantation, he slowly adjusted his breathing. At the same time, he made a few subtle changes to the cultivation technique’s Qi circulation path, allowing it to conform more perfectly to his own meridians and innate constitution.

’Exhale... Inhale...’

Time slowly trickled by as Jiang Xuan made his adjustments. Soon, the time it took for an incense stick to burn had passed.

When he stopped his adjustments, he was startled to find that the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method had become like his very own breathing. With just a slight thought, it would begin to circulate on its own, completely without hindrance.

’It’s still not enough. The Minor Achievement Realm for this Cultivation Technique requires it to circulate endlessly on its own, even without reciting the incantation, even when I’m deep asleep.’

With this in mind, Jiang Xuan subconsciously took a few breaths.

And with his every breath, the Magical Power within his Dantian began to circulate spontaneously. The full Circulation of the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method started to operate, all on its own.

At the same time, a series of system prompts chimed in his ear.

[You have activated the Dao Foundation Contract and successfully established an exclusive Dao Contract with the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method.]

[Dao Foundation Contract Slots: 1/1]

[Adapting Cultivation Technique... Adaptation complete! The Nine Breath Qi Refining Method has been modified into your exclusive Lifebound Qi Cultivation Method.]

[You had an epiphany during the modification process. Nine Breath Qi Refining Method has broken through to the next Realm! Current Realm: Second Realm ・ Proficient (19/4900)]

[You spontaneously circulated the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method once. Cultivation Technique proficiency +2.]

[You spontaneously circulated the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method once. Cultivation Technique proficiency +3.]

His breathing and the technique’s operation were now completely in sync, making Jiang Xuan’s breaths long and gentle. Now, every single breath he took was equivalent to one full circulation of the technique. With each breath, wisps of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were drawn into his body and refined into his own exclusive Lifebound Magical Power.

And because it was perfectly adapted to him, Jiang Xuan’s technique proficiency increased by +2 or +3 with every breath.

’At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before the Nine Breath Qi Refining Method breaks through to the Third Realm and becomes a complete instinct!’

Of course, this constant, round-the-clock cultivation had one unavoidable problem: the consumption of qi and blood.

Cultivation in the Spirit Core Awakening Stage could not get around the fundamental principle of Refining Essence and Qi.

But after focusing his senses for a moment, Jiang Xuan discovered that this problem was not without a solution.

First, when operating passively, his Nine Breath Qi Refining Method entered a low-consumption state. In this state, his rate of refining Spiritual Qi would be slightly slower, but the cost was also correspondingly lower.

Second, the human body is constantly leaking Life Essence Qi. Now that the Circulation of Heaven and Earth was active, the pores all over his body sealed shut. The Essence Qi that would have normally dissipated was now locked firmly inside, providing the basic fuel needed for the technique’s passive operation.

’Still, running it like this will cause a slight deficit of qi and blood... But as long as I eat more Spiritual Cuisine, supplement it with Primordial Energy Pills, and pause from time to time, I should be able to barely sustain it...’

The thought hadn’t even fully formed before Jiang Xuan shook his head.

True, he could barely maintain his qi and blood balance by running the technique intermittently in its low-consumption mode, but his cultivation speed would inevitably take a massive hit.

But Jiang Xuan knew full well that his current situation didn’t allow him the luxury of slowing down.

He may have been rated ’excellent’, but Jiang Xuan hadn’t forgotten he was in the last batch to receive that rating. In the Chengdao Class, there were nearly forty people whose Cultivation was higher than his.

Nor had he forgotten that for the second round of assessments, the Chen Daoist School only had about ten open slots.

Forty people were vying for ten seats, and every single person at the front of the pack had subordinates to help them. Take Dong Hao’s faction for instance: even without Jiang Xuan, he still had the help of four others—Mu Yuan, Wu Chen, Fu He, and Nan Zhi.

It was the same for the others, like Zeng Jun and Su Linyin.

Only Jiang Xuan was all alone, with no one to rely on.

Worse still, because he owed Dong Hao so many favors, he would have to help him in the upcoming assessments.

...

’I was in the last batch to advance, I’m weak and on my own, and I still have to spend energy repaying favors. I have too many disadvantages. Even with the help of the professional panel, if I don’t find another way, the second assessment will still be dangerous for me.’

At this thought, Jiang Xuan resolved to run the Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique around the clock. As for the extra consumption of qi and blood this would entail, he already had a vague idea for a solution.

’Replenishing qi and blood during the Spirit Core Awakening Stage comes down to a single word: eating. And the key to eating comes down to two things. First is the quality of the food. Only high-energy Spiritual Materials and Spiritual Cuisine can cover the immense costs of cultivation. I don’t need to worry about that for now. Between the Spirit Stones I won in the bet, the resource rewards from my ’excellent’ rating, and occasionally fleecing Dong Hao, I won’t be short on Spiritual Food and Elixir in the near future.’

’The second problem is digestion. Food must be thoroughly digested and completely absorbed by the body before it can be converted into one’s own source of qi and blood.’

This was the core reason why Noble Family’s Descendants like Zeng Jun and Dong Hao, despite holding massive resources, hadn’t managed to pull far ahead of the Nobles from the Lower Classes. A person’s ability to digest and absorb has a limit. No matter how much Spiritual Cuisine or how high-quality the Elixir Pills, if you can’t digest them, you can’t enjoy the benefits.

And Jiang Xuan had found a way to break this deadlock.

With this in mind, Jiang Xuan summoned his attribute panel with a thought. This time, his gaze was locked firmly on the empty slot for his auxiliary profession.

With his Spirit Core condensed and his Tier increased, he had not only gained an additional main profession slot, but a new slot for an auxiliary profession had also been unlocked.

And the solution he’d thought of was hidden right here.

BUZZ...

As he stared, a dense list of auxiliary professions, along with their respective requirements, appeared before his eyes.

Apprentice Painter, Apprentice Calligrapher, Kitchen Apprentice, Blacksmith Apprentice, Stream Angler...

His eyes quickly scanned the list, finally settling on the life profession, "Kitchen Apprentice."

’A so-called Kitchen Apprentice is a cook’s helper. A Chef’s core ability is to use cooking to transform Spiritual Materials and Spirit and Body—things that are difficult for the body to absorb—into nutrient-rich Spiritual Cuisine that is extremely easy to absorb. This would solve the issue of resource quality.’

However, Jiang Xuan was more interested in another advancement path for this profession line than in cooking himself.

’The chef and the diner are two sides of the same coin—inseparable.’

’If I remember correctly, in Celestial Vault Immortal Realm, the Kitchen Apprentice has an extremely special advanced class path. Its name is—Gourmet!’

The core trait of this profession in the game was that when eating the same food with a buff, a Gourmet would receive a 30% stronger effect and a 30% longer duration than any other profession.

Furthermore, Celestial Vault Immortal Realm had a satiety mechanic. Characters with the Gourmet profession had a much higher satiety limit than other professions, allowing them to eat much more food.

’If I translate that to reality, the Gourmet’s traits should mean that whenever I consume any Spiritual Food, Elixir Pills, or Spirit Fruit, my absorption and conversion efficiency will be massively increased. More importantly, my digestive ability will undergo a qualitative change, allowing me to handle a much greater intake of resources.’

’And the ceiling for this profession is extremely high. In this life, no one can escape the act of eating. Even on the path of Cultivation, there is an old saying: "Those who consume water are good swimmers and resistant to cold; those who consume earth are heartless yet wise; those who consume wood are mighty and violent; those who consume grass are fast runners but foolish; those who consume leaves produce silk and become moths; those who consume flesh are brave and fierce; and those who consume Qi become divine and long-lived."’

’As a Gourmet, you just eat tangible Spiritual Cuisine. After advancing, you can directly devour the various veins of qi between heaven and earth. And if you cultivate it to the very peak, you can even transform into a Sacrificial Master who devours all living beings, or even the very concept of the Great Dao itself.’

’This is the one!’