Who Let Him Cultivate?!

Zhou LuLu lamented, “I love reading and want to study under Fourth Elder, who specializes in Confucian Cultivation, but my father insists that I choose Hundred Refinement Peak. He says Fourth Elder got stupid from reading too much and he doesn’t want me to learn from him.”

Your father is…?”

“Fifth Elder, Zhou Xin.”

Instantly, Lu Yang closed his mouth. Hundred Refinement Peak was her family’s place, of course, her father wanted her to choose home.

The main peak of Hundred Refinement Peak was a towering red mountain top, bursting like a volcano, lighting up the sky.

Perhaps it was due to extensive refinement activities, or Hundred Refinement Peak was just naturally warm, its temperature was slightly higher than other places.

Right now, it was early spring, but Hundred Refinement Peak felt more like summer.

Lu Yang felt a prickling sensation on his skin, as if something was trying to burrow into his body. Spontaneously, he cycled his energy, forming a thin, cicada wing-like protective layer around his body.

Zhou LuLu explained in a low voice, “Junior Brother, what you’ve sensed is the aura of Earth and Metal. Hundred Refinement Peak refines countless magic artifacts, the aura permeates the air but does no harm to cultivators. You’ll get used to it.”

“Though Junior Brother, your reaction is quite fast, rarely have I seen someone react like you.”

Lu Yang laughed and said, “My cultivation technique is very useful.”

Lu Yang heard the clanging of hammers hitting iron, picturing a senior brother pounding a block of refined iron with a giant hammer in his mind, sparks flying and steel being formed.

Looking in the direction of the sound, he realizes it was coming from the cafeteria.

“Hmm…”

Lu Yang felt that this wasn’t too bad.

He could get used to it.

The entrance to the cafeteria was bustling with people coming and going, talking and laughing, bragging about their food as if they were showing off their broadsword, acting chivalrous.

They looked like students picking up food from the cafeteria after class, but at the same time they resembled swordsmen who had just walked out of a weapon shop.

“Is Li Haoran here?” Lu Yang remembered that Li Haoran, the fire spirit root, had become a disciple of Fifth Elder. In theory, his cultivation level shouldn’t be too different from his own. He wondered how far along Li Haoran had actually progressed.

Zhou LuLu shook her head and said, “Junior Brother Li is still in seclusion. He isn’t qualified to sell food in the cafeteria yet. My father reckons Junior Brother Li has a good foundation and suggested that he should soak in lava for a longer time to foster better growth.”

“People say that Junior Brother Li was screaming on the first day when he was thrown into the lava. But after that, there wasn’t any noise so he must have gotten used to it.”

“… Is there a chance that he’s not used to it but has actually been boiled?”

“Huh?”

Lu Yang realized, while he thought bathing in hot water was unbearable enough, others have it even worse. Eldest Senior Sister was, in fact, very kind to him.

It was a slight pity that he didn’t get to meet Li Haoran, otherwise they could have shared their bathing experiences.

Zhou LuLu arrived at the bustling cafeteria. Her enthusiasm dissolved into thin air as she visibly lost courage. She took two quiet steps back and said hurriedly, ” Junior Brother Lu, the cafeteria serves good quality and inexpensive food, go buy some yourself.”

With those words, Zhou LuLu disappeared in a blink, leaving no trace behind.

Lu Yang was left dumbfounded at her sudden disappearance.

Lu Yang sighed, realizing he would have to take care of himself.

“Braised fish bones! Freshly made braised fish bones here! A great choice for either sawing down trees or hacking down your enemies, comes highly recommended!”

“Sesame seed cakes! Freshly baked meat sesame seed cakes! Try hitting or kicking this sesame seed cake and you can’t damage it!”

“Attention everyone! You have to see our noodles which are harder than steel! Great for binding stuff up, once it’s tied down, there’s no escaping! Buy now and get a free knot-tying tutorial!”

The cafeteria felt more like a bustling marketplace as vendors hawked their food products with much fervor. The only difference was that this marketplace was even louder — the vendors were cultivators, they could raise their voices incredibly high.

Lu Yang saw a senior brother holding a braised fish bone. The fish bones were sharp like blades, just a light scrape and it would feel like being bitten by a ferocious shark, the wound would be deep.

The vendor who sold the braised fish bones enthusiastically recommended, “Junior Brother, would you like a fish bone? This was a demon fish from Turquoise Pond. It had the strength of a Foundation Establishment peak when it was alive. Its bones are now extremely hard. I had to refine for quite a while to get so many bones. They can be used as weapons in a fight or eaten when you’re hungry.”

With that, he chomped down on a fish bone to demonstrate its edibility.

Lu Yang wondered how he had developed such teeth.

After looking at the very useful fish bone, Lu Yang took a peek at the price.

Well, he couldn’t afford it.

Sensing Lu Yang’s apologetic smile, the vendor didn’t press further and moved on to promote them to others.

Lu Yang then saw another senior brother pick up a fried dough stick straight from the boiling oil vat, shaking off the excess oil.

“Junior Brother, do you want one? We have ones that can be used during the Foundation Establishment stage, and also ones for the Golden Core stage. The one for the Foundation Establishment stage costs just 150 contribution points.”

Indeed, compared to the Mountain Shaking Hammer on the exchange board, which costs 270 contribution points, the fried dough stick which costs only 150 contribution points, is almost half the price.

“This fried dough stick doesn’t only have the advantage of being hard. It contains triple hidden forces. When you strike with it, the forces combine and explode, producing an astounding power that can take the enemy by surprise.”

“And if you get hungry and want to eat it, it has a pretty long shelf life.”

Afterward, the senior brother selling the fried dough stick took a bite. The triple hidden forces exploded in his mouth, causing his cheeks to puff out, but nothing else happened.

“Senior Brother, I’m new here and there are some things I don’t understand. Why can this fried dough stick be used as both a weapon and food? And can it truly be bitten?”

Sensing that Lu Yang was at the Foundation Establishment stage, the senior brother realized Lu Yang was new and it was normal for him to have questions.

“Eating it is a method to exercise and prove the results of your Body Refinement.”

“Authentic Body Refinement involves refining your internal organs and muscles and bones, as well as externally refining your skin and orifices. Only then can you be considered a true Body Cultivator. Moreover, it should involve the refining of teeth.”

“I heard that some Body Cultivators, specialize in refining the skin and muscles. When they unleash their aggressive clashing force, even mountains tremble. So, other people invented a method to fight these impenetrable Body Cultivators.”

“What method?”

“They use magic skills, like Big and Small Ruyi, to shrink their bodies for internal attacks. These Body Cultivators didn’t refine their internal organs, so they are very vulnerable to these attacks.”

“These people can’t be considered true Body Cultivators, they could be called amateur Body Cultivators.”

The senior brother’s teeth clanked against each other, making the sound of clashing metal.

Since they refined a lot, they were half Body Cultivators as well. Their bodies couldn’t compare to legitimate Body Cultivators, but at least they had gone through the refining process both internally and externally.

“Ordinary Cultivators use magic artifacts as weapons, but a Body Cultivator’s body itself is the strongest weapon. So, eating things like fried dough sticks is nothing big.”

Lu Yang then understood, the food served in the cafeteria is highly functional, serving two purposes. They can be sold as weapons to non-Body Cultivators like himself or as food for Body Cultivators.

“Meng Jingzhou is an acolyte of Third Elder, a bona fide Body Cultivator. He should be able to chew it.”

Thinking this, Lu Yang bought a fried dough stick. He swung it around a bit, and it had a nice weight to it.