Chapter 13: You Don’t Need to Be So Formal

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: You Don’t Need to Be So Formal

"Did you forget to have Liu Chen prepare our breakfast?"

Bai Qiulan glanced at the market-bought breakfast before her, then shot a look at Mo Xuan, who was sitting beside her trying to act composed.

"A change of pace is nice once in a while."

Mo Xuan explained stiffly. Bai Qiulan shook her head in resignation; forcing him to mind his appearance clearly wasn’t going to cure his forgetfulness.

"It seems like for us, Spiritual Cuisine is the occasional treat."

Bai Qiulan said with a smile. Mo Xuan ate in silence, feeling a little guilty.

"Liu Chen is already a Spirit Chef. I’m going to give him Purple Bamboo Peak’s guaranteed spot and make him an Inner Sect Disciple in three months."

After they finished breakfast, Mo Xuan began to speak. Each Peak had one guaranteed spot for an Inner Sect Disciple every year. In the past, he only ever had to wait for the results of Purple Bamboo Peak’s internal competition before signing off. But since Liu Chen was already a Spirit Chef, that spot was naturally his.

Purple Bamboo Peak had no shortage of overly competitive disciples, and even a few who were manipulative and played with others’ emotions. He could usually turn a blind eye to such things. But a Spirit Chef was unique in all of Purple Cloud Valley. Given that value, if anyone dared to stand in the way, then some of their past indiscretions would need to be re-examined.

"You’re the acting Peak Master, so you can make the final decision. By the way, what ever happened to the previous Peak Master?"

Bai Qiulan couldn’t resist asking. The previous Peak Master had left to travel the Red Dust and never returned, which was how Mo Xuan became the acting Peak Master. It had been ten years. Even if he had run into some trouble, having no news at all for a decade was truly strange.

"His Life Token is still intact, but we can’t pinpoint his exact location."

Mo Xuan shook his head. Strictly speaking, the previous Peak Master was his martial senior. Although their strengths were about on par, the other man was clearly better at handling Purple Bamboo Peak’s chaotic affairs.

It was only after the man disappeared that he got bogged down by Purple Bamboo Peak’s tedious, mundane affairs, gradually letting himself go until he resembled a ’beggar’. Now that new disciples had joined, he could finally relax a little.

"Sigh..."

The sigh drifted into the bamboo forest and vanished without a trace.

Liu Chen sighed as he watched Junior Sister Ye yank a stalk of Purple Bamboo Grass right out of the ground. As if that wasn’t enough, Ji Suyao, who was with her, was stifling a laugh. ’She must have seen this coming,’ he thought.

"This is Purple Bamboo Grass..."

Liu Chen explained as he replanted the stalk of Purple Bamboo Grass.

[Recovery Technique Proficiency +2]

The proficiency notification appeared. This time was a little different. Liu Chen had focused on the state of the Purple Bamboo Grass’s roots after reconnecting them, doing everything in his power to ensure its subsequent Growth would be unaffected.

’This line of thinking is completely correct, then. The key to the Recovery Technique isn’t the amount of Life Force-infused Spiritual Power used, but rather how to ensure the plant’s future growth is affected as little as possible.’

Snapping back to reality, Liu Chen glimpsed Ye Linglong chasing Ji Suyao through the woods. Although they were too far away for him to hear what they were saying, he guessed it wasn’t anything particularly refined.

[Purple Bamboo Scripture Body Tempering Mastery +20]

After his morning cultivation, Liu Chen shouldered his bamboo basket and started harvesting Bamboo Shoots. Once he had left, Ji Suyao and Ye Linglong supported each other as they limped toward the kitchen.

Perhaps they were trying to catch up to Liu Chen, or perhaps they were just competing with each other, but the two of them had circulated their Body Tempering Technique for a full hour today. The effects of the Body Tempering were remarkable—one day’s worth of effort yielding ten days’ worth of results—but the side effects were just as pronounced.

From a distance, Mo Xuan silently observed the scene. He subconsciously reached up to stroke his beard, only to find it gone. Then he remembered he had shaved it off.

Once the two girls were a good distance away, Mo Xuan appeared directly beside Liu Chen as he was harvesting Bamboo Shoots.

"Disciple greets Master."

He didn’t know why his master had appeared, but paying his respects first was certainly the right move. ’I haven’t caused any trouble,’ Liu Chen thought, ’so I shouldn’t be in for a punishment.’

"Are you aware of the distinctions between the Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and True Inheritance disciples in Purple Cloud Valley?"

Mo Xuan looked at Liu Chen, growing more and more pleased. In his own youth, he doubted he possessed such a Talent for cultivation, to say nothing of mastering Spirit Chef Skills.

Outer Sect disciples are ordinary, performing menial tasks. Inner Sect disciples, however, receive far more nurturing. The resources from the Peaks, the Cultivation Techniques—none of it is on the same level as what the Outer Sect receives.

As for True Inheritance disciples, they are essentially the designated successors of each Peak. As long as they aren’t completely hopeless, they are guaranteed to at least become a Peak Elder.

"This disciple is aware."

Liu Chen nodded. Even if he hadn’t known at first, he was bound to hear about such things while cultivating on Purple Bamboo Peak. Still, he had yet to meet an Inner Sect Disciple, let alone someone of the True Inheritance.

Furthermore, based on his casual observations, there were a total of nine bamboo forests on Purple Bamboo Peak. Aside from the two belonging to his master and his master’s wife, the other forests seemed to be more than ten times the size of his, with a correspondingly larger number of disciples.

"From this day forward, you are an Inner Sect Disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak. This is your Token. Just perform the Blood Recognition ritual."

Mo Xuan nodded slowly. ’Good, so he understands the significance of being an Inner Sect Disciple.’ It saved him the trouble of going to great lengths only to find that Liu Chen had no idea what it all meant.

"Master, is this... appropriate?"

Liu Chen eyed the floating Token before him. Outer Sect Disciples didn’t have such things. Forget a Token; the only thing that proved their identity was probably the name the Steward had written in a register when they first entered Purple Bamboo Peak.

"What’s inappropriate about it? You’re the only Spirit Chef in all of Purple Cloud Valley. Who would dare say otherwise?"

Mo Xuan waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave, but after only a few steps, he suddenly remembered about lunch.

"By the way, your master’s wife and I need to eat, too."

His master’s words echoed through the bamboo forest. Liu Chen silently put the Token away. He didn’t know how his master had obtained it, but right now, the priority was lunch.

Even if Liu Chen himself could go without eating, his master had made a point of mentioning it, so he had to take it seriously. ’I just wonder if this Inner Sect Disciple spot is meant to be payment for my cooking,’ he mused.

「In another Bamboo Garden」

"My apprentice, the guaranteed spot you had secured has been snatched away."

In another Bamboo Garden, an old man spoke slowly to the white-robed young man before him.

"Don’t worry, Master. Even without the guaranteed spot, I can still become an Inner Sect Disciple. I am confident enough in my own abilities."

Yang Haichen was momentarily stunned, but he answered readily. He had been on Purple Bamboo Peak for half a year and was hailed as the number one genius among the Outer Sect Disciples, so he naturally possessed a certain arrogance.

’Even without that spot, I can still make it into the Inner Sect.’

"It’s just the two of us here. You don’t have to be so formal. The one who took your spot is the acting Peak Master’s apprentice."

The old man shook his head. ’Has this kid been fooling the other Outer Disciples for so long that he’s started trying to fool me, too?’

"Master, isn’t that improper? Shouldn’t the sole guaranteed spot be decided by fair competition?"

Yang Haichen frowned slightly. If the other person had already succeeded in Body Tempering, he would have nothing to say. But the spot clearly hadn’t been taken based on strength.