Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Even someone as powerful as Lord Zeng could not keep his cool; not to mention all the others present. The Spicy Strips that Xu Que had specially made were much superior to that Smelly Tofu or Grilled Chicken Wings that he had made before.
This time, he started right from the root – the original ingredients; every single component was scarce and precious. With a flavor enhanced by the Living Holy Water and also the effect that came from his skill as a four-star chef, anything he cooked would be groundbreaking.
“Big brother, I’m hungry!” The little Princess had already run up to Xu Que and tugged lightly at his sleeves. She raised her little head and fastened her eyes on him.
Xu Que smiled and took out a little pouch. He took out a dozen Spicy Strips fresh out of the Pill Furnace and handed them to the little Princess. He then rubbed her small head and said, “Here you go, eat while it’s hot!”
“Thank you, big brother!” The little princess beamed blissfully and stuffed the strips into her mouth.
Sizzle!
As she bit into the Spicy Strips, an intensely fragrant oil seeped out from the chewy pieces. A heavy fragrance, a tinge of sweetness, and a spiciness that made her whole body tremble had filled her entire mouth in a flash, and a pleasant smell permeated the area.
“Wow, big brother! This was so delicious! It was just a little too small.” The little Princess’s eyes lit up as she quickly polished off the strips. After all, she had gone hungry for days. She had thrown up anything she ate, so obviously she would be famished. How could she hold back now that she had eaten food so delicious and exquisite?
Gulp!
Everyone present could not tear their eyes away. Every time the little Princess bit into the spicy strips, sounds of the gulping of saliva would reverberate.
“Impossible! That’s impossible!” The Demonic Pill Old Man still could not believe what had happened. A strange illness that he, a Grandmaster Alchemist, could not treat was now solved by a fellow who did not know even how to refine a pill! What’s the meaning of this?
“Ha, what’s so impossible about that?” Xu Que laughed, but his eyes were cold. His gaze swept toward the Demonic Pill Old Man as he shook his head disapprovingly, “People like you know nothing but to follow books for your entire life. To put it simply, you retards just knew how to adhere to the Pill Recipe!”
“Atrocious! You…how dare you run your mouth like that!” growled the Demonic Pill Old Man.
Xu Que laughed. “Am I wrong? The little Princess had a very simple illness – she was picky about food and slightly anorexic. Although it was also partly due to her body changes made by all those treasured herbs and precious ingredients that she had consumed, they were just too plain tasting and not delicious. All in all, it was because those foods tasted bad!”
Xu Que then continued, “Your first reaction was to treat the symptoms with medicinal pills, but you had never thought of solving the problem from the root cause. Precious herbs may be beneficial, but they are too bland. You would still need to adjust her taste buds by giving her some exciting and delicious foods sometimes!” Once he said that, the Demonic Pill Old Man shut his mouth, while Yun Yang Zi and Zhuo Feng lowered their heads.
It did not matter if they remain unconvinced. It was as clear as day that Xu Que had solved the strange illness of the little Princess. As the saying goes, the winner takes all, while the losers are always in the wrong. Since they had been defeated, everything they said would only be deemed as unreasonable. However, the point that Xu Que made did make sense.
The little Princess ate precious herbs every day. To make an analogy, it was like drinking much plain water every day; although it’s good for the health, it’s tasteless and colorless. As time went by, it was only natural that she would get sick of it. However, if someone gave her a good bottle of vintage Sprite (1982) right then and there, that would be certain to blow her away and make her feel exhilaration.
Based on that logic, his Spicy Strips were just like the Sprite. The little Princess had successfully rediscovered her appetite after she tried something more strong tasting and yummy. In the future, when she got sick and tired of the Spicy Strips, she could revert to eating those light-tasting precious herbs. When she got tired of bland food, she could always turn back and eat those intense Spicy Strips and adjust her palate accordingly.
“My little friend, could you let me try a piece of the Spicy Strip?” Lord Zeng came over with a big smile and asked. Everyone immediately shot him envious glances, but nobody was thick-skinned enough to ask for a piece. After all, they had all sneered at Xu Que earlier. Of course, the most important reason was that Lord Zeng was present. Who would dare to fight with Lord Zeng over food? Especially when those Spicy Strips were created to cure the little Princess’s illness!
However, to everyone’s disbelief, Xu Que put out a finger without any hesitation and demanded, “One strip for 500,000 best-grade Spirit Stones. I would not take anything less!”
“500,000? Per strip?” Lord Zeng was caught off-guard.
Everyone present also had confusion written all over their faces and could not believe their ears. How shocking that Xu Que had demanded payment from Lord Zeng! Xu Que was standing on the turf of Lord Zeng! To have Lord Zeng try your food was a great honor. He’s giving you respect!
However, who would have known that an eccentric like Xu Que would appear out of nowhere. He had even fixed a price for it right away, and it was also a sky-high cost of 500,000 best-grade Spirit Stones per strip.
Damn, with that many Spirit Stones they could even buy a root of a precious pill to refine! Who would use them to purchase Spicy Strips? Even if the Spicy Strips were incredibly delicious, could it help with cultivation? Could it increase your strength? Only silly heads would buy them!
“Eh, Father, look!” Suddenly, the little Princess called out in surprise, as if she had discovered a new land. Lord Zeng and everyone else turned toward her instinctively, only to have their faces change at what they saw, their eyes widening in shock.
The little Princess was just an ordinary human who was unable to cultivate. However, she was now levitating the bag of Spicy Strips in mid-air atop her palm and played with it like a new toy.
“Soul Strength! It’s the aura of Soul Strength!”
“I thought that the little Princess could not cultivate? She did not even have True Core Strength. How is it possible that she has Soul Strength?” The cultivators all exclaimed in surprise, taking it all in with great difficulty. Even the group of cultivators led by the Demonic Pill Old Man and Yun Yang Zi were also aghast.
Lord Zeng trembled, and his hands could not help but shake at the revelation. Such is the kind of happiness and agitation a father would have when seeing his child succeed!
“Lord Zeng, I forgot to tell you that my Ultimate Spicy Strip of our Exploding Heavens Faction, apart from solving anorexia, could also increase your Soul Strength 50 percent when you consume a piece. However, it will lose its effect if you consume too much of it!” Xu Que smiled like it was nothing.
When he had successfully created the Spicy Strips, he had received a System notification. It told him that this food would increase 50 percent of Soul Strength, a game-breaking item! However, there were also restrictions. Only the first Strip consumed would give this effect; for all cultivators, they could not stack its effects no matter how much they ate.
The little Princess was born an ordinary human and was therefore unable to cultivate. However, Soul Strength was merely the strength of spiritual consciousness. Even humans could benefit from an increase in Soul Strength when they consumed this food. It was just that the spiritual consciousness of the little Princess was enhanced, which resulted in her gaining control and levitation ability on some light objects. It could be counted as a form of psychic ability.
…
At the same time, no one dared to speak as awe and horror filled their faces. There was a loud thud in their hearts.
This Spicy Strip could increase Soul Strength?
By 50 percent?
“Crap!”
“Oh, crap!”
“I’m buying it!”
“Buy, buy, buy!”
“We definitely must buy it!”
The cultivators shivered, then quickly took out their Storage Rings. They were prepared to fight for the Spicy Strips at any cost! Although the Cultivation Stage was essential to cultivators, the most critical part lay in their Soul Strength. The strength of the Soul directly affects the power of Taoist Connotation, and the two can be seen as directly connected. Only when your Soul Strength was robust, could you gain enlightenment from a deeper plane of Tao.
A divine item that could increase their Soul Strength by 50 percent instantly had appeared. Who in their right mind could refuse it?
“Fellow cultivator, I would like to purchase a Strip with 500,000 best-grade Spirit Stones! Would you be willing to deal?” Someone shouted and raised his Storage Ring.
Xu Que put his hands on his back and shook his head nonchalantly, “I’m sorry, 500,000 best-grade Spirit Stones was a personal half-price discount that I’m giving to the Lord. Should anyone else be interested in buying them, they have to follow the net retail price set by the Exploding Heavens Faction throughout the whole country. It would be 5 million best-grade Spirit Stones per strip!”
