The Cafeteria

Zhou Lulu said with a rueful look, "I love reading and wanted to study under Fourth Elder, who specializes in Confucian cultivation. But my father insisted that I choose Hundred Refinements Peak, claiming Fourth Elder has read himself silly and that I shouldn't learn from him." "Your father is...?" "Fifth Elder, Zhou Xin." Lu Yang immediately kept his mouth shut. The entire Hundred Refinements Peak belonged to her family; of course her father would make her stay home. The main peak of Hundred Refinements Peak was a crimson mountain that towered into the clouds, glowing like an erupting volcano and illuminating the sky. Whether it was due to long years of artifact refining or simply the peak's inherent nature, the temperature here was noticeably higher than elsewhere. Though it was currently early spring, Hundred Refinements Peak felt as though summer had already arrived. Lu Yang felt a slight prickling on his skin, as if something were trying to bore into his body. His body circulated his cultivation technique of its own accord, forming a protective barrier thin as a cicada's wing over his skin. Beside him, Zhou Lulu softly explained, "What you're sensing is the Qi of Metal Wu, Junior Brother. So many dharma treasures have been forged on Hundred Refinements Peak that the air is permeated with it. It doesn't harm cultivators, though; you'll get used to it in no time." "Still, your reaction was remarkably fast. Very few people respond like that." Lu Yang smiled. "My technique is quite handy." Lu Yang also caught the sound of clinking and clanging. In his mind, he pictured senior brothers wielding massive iron hammers, pounding fiercely on refined iron as sparks scattered, tempering steel a hundred times over. Following the noise with his eyes, he discovered it was coming from the cafeteria. "Well..." Lu Yang decided it was not entirely unacceptable. He had grown used to it. The entrance of the cafeteria bustled with mundane life and smoke. People came and went, laughing and chatting, brandishing various foods as though wielding broadswords and sharp blades while wandering about righting wrongs. They looked like students picking up meals after class, yet also like martial heroes fresh out of a weapons shop. "Is Li Haoran here?" Lu Yang recalled that Li Haoran, who possessed a Fire Spiritual Root, had apprenticed under Fifth Elder. In theory, his cultivation realm should not be far from Lu Yang's own, though Lu Yang had no idea what stage he had actually reached. Zhou Lulu shook her head. "Junior Brother Li hasn't emerged from seclusion yet, so he doesn't qualify to sell food in the cafeteria. Father said Li Haoran has a fine foundation and needs to soak in magma longer to reach his full potential." "From what I've heard, Junior Brother Li was screaming in agony when he first soaked in the magma, but later went completely quiet. He's probably gotten used to it." "...Is it possible he didn't get used to it, but got cooked through?" "Huh?" Lu Yang had never imagined that taking baths in boiling water was not the worst fate. Eldest Senior Sister had actually been too kind to him. Not seeing Li Haoran was somewhat regrettable; otherwise, they could have exchanged thoughts on their bathing experiences. Arriving at the noisy cafeteria, Zhou Lulu's burst of enthusiasm vanished without a trace. Cold feet setting in, she took two stealthy steps back and rattled off at machine-gun speed, "JuniorBrotherLuthefoodhereischeapandfairqualityguaranteedgobuyityourself!" The moment she finished speaking, Zhou Lulu vanished into thin air. Lu Yang could not even tell how she had disappeared. Lu Yang sighed. It seemed he was on his own. "Braised fish bones! Freshly made braised fish bones! The premier choice for sawing down trees and chopping down foes—everyone who uses them swears by them!" "Flatbreads! Fresh out of the oven meat flatbreads! Indestructible even under a barrage of punches and kicks!" "Step right up and take a look! Noodles harder than reinforced iron, an absolute must for tying people up! Once bound, they'll never break free! Buy now and get a free binding tutorial!" The cafeteria resembled a mortal marketplace, with stallholders shouting at the top of their lungs to hawk their food. The only difference was that the cafeteria was far rowdier—the vendors had high cultivation and booming voices. Lu Yang spotted a senior brother holding a braised fish bone in one hand. The bone needles were as sharp as blades; a light graze would leave a wound as deep as the bite of a ferocious shark. The senior brother selling the braised fish bone pitched it with great enthusiasm: "Care for a fish bone, Junior Brother? This came from a fish demon of Bibo Pool. In life, it possessed peak Foundation Establishment strength, leaving behind extraordinarily hard bones. I spent ages refining only a few of these. You can use it as a weapon in battle, or eat it when you're hungry!" With that, a crisp crunch sounded as he bit off a piece of the fish bone. Heaven only knew how he had tempered his teeth. Lu Yang looked at the highly practical fish bone, then looked at the price tag. Right, couldn't afford it. Seeing Lu Yang offer an apologetic smile, the senior brother did not press him and turned to pitch to others. Lu Yang then saw another senior brother plunge his bare hands directly into a pot of boiling oil, pull out a fried dough stick, and shake off the excess oil. "Want one, Junior Brother? We have versions for Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages. The Foundation Establishment version is only a hundred and fifty contribution points." In terms of price, it was indeed cheaper than the Mountain-Smashing Mallet on the exchange board. The Mountain-Smashing Mallet cost two hundred and seventy contribution points, whereas the fried dough stick was only a hundred and fifty—nearly half the cost. "The beauty of my fried dough stick goes beyond its hardness. It contains three layers of hidden force. Strike with it, and the three layers detonate in succession with astonishing power, catching your enemy completely off guard." "If you get hungry, eating it is no problem either. The shelf life is practically indefinite." Saying so, the vendor took a bite. The three layers of hidden force detonated inside his mouth, yet aside from his cheeks puffing out slightly, nothing happened. "Senior Brother, I'm new here and don't quite understand. How can these fried dough sticks serve as both weapons and food? Can someone really chew through them?" The senior brother recognized Lu Yang's cultivation level. Since he was a Foundation Establishment junior brother, he had to belong to the newest intake, so having questions was only natural. "This is a way to train and verify the results of your body tempering." "True body tempering naturally requires tempering the internal organs and bones within, as well as the flesh and seven apertures without. Only then can one be called a true body cultivator. Aside from that, the teeth are an indispensable part of the process." "I've heard of some body cultivators who only temper their skin, muscles, and bones to the extreme. When they charge recklessly, even mountains tremble, which can indeed be called remarkable. Others, troubled when facing these impenetrable body cultivators, eventually came up with a solution." "What solution?" "They used Size Manipulation and other shape-shifting arts to shrink themselves down and attack those body cultivators from the inside. Because those body cultivators had never tempered their internal organs, they were easily defeated that way." "Such people cannot be considered true body cultivators; at best, they're wild, half-baked ones." The senior brother clicked his teeth together, producing a sound like colliding metal. As artifact refiners, they counted as half-body cultivators. Their physical toughness could not match that of true body cultivators, but they had tempered themselves both inside and out. "Ordinary cultivators use dharma treasures as weapons, but a body cultivator's body is their greatest weapon. Since it's the strongest weapon, eating a fried dough stick or two is hardly difficult." Lu Yang understood. The food in the cafeteria was extremely functional, serving two distinct roles: sold as weapons to non-body cultivators like himself, and sold as food to body cultivators. *Meng Jingzhou studies under Third Elder and is a genuine body cultivator. He should be able to bite through it.* With that thought, Lu Yang bought a fried dough stick. He gave it two experimental swings with a "hei-ha!" It felt heavy and remarkably solid.