Chapter Summaries

After Protector Tie threatened Ruyi Zhai and headed for the Black Corner Region, Xiao Cheng opened the shop with a bruised eye and bought an expensive medicinal Suck-Suck Freeze from the system to heal it. The swelling went down, and he returned to making pastries.

• Protector Tie appeared as Black Mist near Ruyi Zhai, revealed that his cultivation had risen to six-star Dou Zong, and vowed to cause trouble in the Black Corner Region.
• Wang Tianfen witnessed Protector Tie's Black Mist disappear and decided to ask Qing Mang about it.
• Zi Yan accidentally punched Xiao Cheng in the eye while sleepwalking, leaving him with a bruise the next morning.
• Xiao Cheng asked the system for medicine and bought a strawberry-flavored Healing Suck-Suck Freeze for 188,888 Gold Coins.
• Xiao Cheng drank the Healing Suck-Suck Freeze, watched the swelling go down, and began replenishing the pastries.

Xiao Cheng refused Yuan Yi’s proposal to auction his pastries again, then learned that Molhan of the Black Skull Tomb had left to seek revenge against him. Confident that his four-star Dou Ling cultivation and new weapon could handle the threat, Xiao Cheng considered the coming encounter.

• Xiao Cheng told Mu Jie that he would not cooperate in another pastry auction, but sold him five boxes of Original Flavor Egg Rolls.
• Xiao Cheng made Zi Yan’s pastries, and Xue Ni noticed Zi Yan secretly glancing at him as if she wanted to apologize.
• Sun Ming hurried to Xiao Cheng and warned him that Molhan of the Black Skull Tomb had left to seek revenge.
• Xiao Cheng learned Molhan was likely a one- or two-star Dou Ling and declared that he could easily defeat him.

At Ruyi Zhai, Gu He failed to recruit Ao Tuo for a game of chess. In Rakshasa City, Molhan confronted Xiao Cheng to avenge his younger brother, but the system’s defenses struck him with lightning while Xiao Cheng and Zi Yan watched.

• Gu He asked Haibodong to teach him chess, but Haibodong said Gu He would never grasp the game.
• Ao Tuo bought fruit wine and Egg Roll, then declined Gu He’s invitation to play chess.
• Xiao Cheng realized Molhan might come seeking revenge and decided to wait for him in Rakshasa City.
• Molhan found Xiao Cheng and accused him of injuring his younger brother, Mo Ye.
• Molhan attacked Xiao Cheng inside Ruyi Zhai, triggering the system’s defensive lightning.
• Xiao Cheng and Zi Yan watched Molhan dodge the lightning as it continued to strike him.

Xiao Cheng fought Molhan outside the protection of Ruyi Zhai and severely injured him, but Molhan escaped using a secret technique. After the battle, Xiao Cheng returned to the shop to rest.

• Xiao Cheng challenged Molhan with the Dragon Pattern Rolling Pin and gained the upper hand in their first clash.
• Molhan swallowed a red medicinal pill that raised his cultivation to Four-star Dou Ling and attacked Xiao Cheng.
• Xiao Cheng powered up with lightning armor and clashed with Molhan while Che Cheng, Xiao Yu, and Xue Ni watched.
• Xiao Cheng struck Molhan with the Rolling Pin, leaving him seriously injured and spitting blood.
• Molhan used a secret technique to flee, and Xiao Cheng returned to his chair at Ruyi Zhai to rest.

After Xiao Cheng injured Molhan, the Rakshasa Gate and Black Emperor Sect assessed Ruyi Zhai’s growing importance. Mo Tianxing sent his son Mo Ya to work at the shop and report back, leaving the young sect master on his way to Ruyi Zhai.

• Xiao Cheng asked the system about a cultivation room, but it said he lacked permission to access the information.
• Su Mei heard that Xiao Cheng had seriously injured Molhan and told Sun Ming to strengthen his ties with Xiao Cheng and Ruyi Zhai.
• Mo Tianxing learned of Xiao Cheng’s strength and the strange lightning that had struck Molhan, and he decided Ruyi Zhai needed to be reassessed.
• Mo Tianxing summoned Mo Ya, explained Ruyi Zhai’s benefits and the report from Che Cheng, and ordered him to replace Che Cheng as a shop assistant and send the Black Emperor Sect news.
• Mo Ya accepted his father’s order and immediately set out for Ruyi Zhai.

Wu Tie learned that Xiao Cheng had defeated Molhan and decided to strengthen the Mad Lion Gang’s relationship with Ruyi Zhai. In Rakshasa City, Xiao Cheng introduced Zi Yan to Rubik’s Cubes, lost ninety thousand Gold Coins replacing the ones she broke, and was relieved when Sun Ming arrived.

• Wu Tie asked Wang Chu about Xiao Cheng’s strength, then decided the Mad Lion Gang should cultivate ties with Ruyi Zhai and sent Wang Chu to prepare gifts.
• Xiao Cheng was resting when Zi Yan took away the leaf covering his face and asked him to play with her.
• Xiao Cheng fetched a Rubik’s Cube from the system and taught Zi Yan how to use it.
• Zi Yan broke several Rubik’s Cubes by twisting them too forcefully, so Xiao Cheng bought thirty more for ninety thousand Gold Coins.
• Xiao Cheng saw Sun Ming arrive and felt relieved to have someone else to talk to instead of watching Zi Yan handle the cubes.

Sun Ming, Fan Ling, and Mo Ya all sought positions at Ruyi Zhai, prompting Xiao Cheng to make them compete for one opening. He left to devise a test, while the three applicants waited under a tense, watchful standoff.

• Sun Ming asked Xiao Cheng for a clerk position so he could eat more pastries and cultivate, but Xiao Cheng said the shop did not need clerks yet.
• Fan Ling arrived to apply as a clerk, and Xiao Cheng questioned whether he and Sun Ming had coordinated their applications.
• Xiao Cheng announced that the applicants would compete for one opening by taking a test he would set.
• Mo Ya of the Black Emperor Sect asked to replace Che Cheng, and Xiao Cheng included him in the competition after Mo Ya agreed to take the test.
• Xiao Cheng told the three applicants to wait an hour while he worked out the test, and Zi Yan called them idiots as they glared at one another.

The Tomb Master ordered Molhan captured and sent someone to investigate Xiao Cheng and Ruyi Zhai while he focused on breaking through his realm. At the pastry cart, Xiao Cheng set a Rubik's Cube challenge to choose a new employee, and the three candidates struggled to begin.

• The Tomb Master learned that Molhan had been badly injured after disobeying orders, sent guards to retrieve him, and dispatched an investigator to Rakshasa City to look into Xiao Cheng and Ruyi Zhai.
• Xiao Cheng announced that the applicant who restored a scrambled Rubik's Cube fastest would become an employee, then explained the puzzle to Sun Ming, Fan Ling, and Mo Ya.
• Xiao Yu recognized Xiao Cheng's assessment as a sly way to make the candidates struggle, while Zi Yan looked forward to having new people to play Rubik's Cube with.
• Xiao Cheng gave each candidate a difficult scrambled cube, and Sun Ming began twisting his randomly as Xiao Cheng watched and chuckled.

Zi Yan suddenly fell into a deep sleep after Xiao Cheng learned she was digesting energy before a breakthrough. As Ruyi Zhai's customers continued puzzling over their Rubik's Cubes, Molhan nursed his injuries and vowed revenge.

• Protector Tie hid near Ruyi Zhai in Wutan City and planned to use other forces to weaken the shop before attacking it himself.
• Xiao Cheng closed Ruyi Zhai in Rakshasa City, and Fan Ling and Mo Ya decided to stay while Sun Ming returned to Rakshasa Gate.
• When Xiao Cheng tried to wake Zi Yan, she punched him in the left eye, so he used a Suck-Suck Freeze potion to recover and carried her back to the vehicle.
• The system told Xiao Cheng that Zi Yan was asleep while digesting energy and would awaken after reaching the peak of the fifth tier of Magical Beasts.
• Mo Ya made the first correct move toward solving his Rubik's Cube, while Molhan treated his wounds and vowed revenge on Xiao Cheng and Ruyi Zhai.

Xiao Cheng set Mo Ya and Fan Ling a Rubik’s Cube test for becoming Ruyi Zhai employees, but refused to teach them how to solve it. As business began, they continued studying their cubes while Xiao Cheng relaxed and waited to see whether Sun Ming would appear.

• Xiao Cheng arrived at the cart and saw Mo Ya and Fan Ling looking exhausted after spending the night trying to restore their Rubik’s Cubes.
• Mo Ya and Fan Ling met on the way to Ruyi Zhai and each claimed he had made no progress.
• Xiao Cheng told them the only method was to use their brains, then left them to keep working on the cubes as his test.
• Fan Qian visited, heard from Xiao Yu why Mo Ya and Fan Ling were studying the cubes, chatted with Xiao Cheng, bought pastries, and left.
• As customers arrived, Xiao Cheng brewed tea and settled into a reclining chair while Mo Ya and Fan Ling continued studying.

At Ruyi Zhai, Ya Fei and Xiao Lu visited while Gu He nursed a painful crick in his neck. In Rakshasa City, Sun Ming impressed Xiao Cheng by restoring half a Rubik’s Cube, while Xiao Cheng beat him in embarrassment; back at the inn, Zi Yan began breaking through to a higher realm in her sleep.

• Ya Fei visited Ruyi Zhai, bought a box of each kind of Egg Roll, and asked whether Xiao Cheng had returned.
• Xiao Lu came to the shop, bought a bottle of fruit wine, and quickly left, puzzling Gu He.
• Xiao Cheng offered Mo Ya and Fan Ling help with their Rubik’s Cubes, but Sun Ming arrived and announced that he had restored half of his.
• Xiao Cheng called Sun Ming a genius, beat him in a fit of surprise, then awkwardly praised him and left to rest.
• Mo Ya and Fan Ling returned to their Rubik’s Cubes, while Sun Ming sat beside Xiao Cheng and continued working on his.
• Zi Yan remained asleep at the inn as fluorescent light surrounded her and her aura rose, signaling that she was breaking through.

Xiao Cheng replaced the Rubik’s Cubes for Mo Ya, Fan Ling, and Sun Ming, then received a quest to collect thirty-six varieties of high-grade spiritual medicine. Wang Chu invited him to the Mad Lion Gang, and Xiao Cheng agreed to visit later before returning to his leisurely rest.

• Mo Ya broke his Rubik’s Cube, so Xiao Cheng gave him and Fan Ling and Sun Ming new, sturdier cubes.
• The system assigned Xiao Cheng a quest to collect thirty-six varieties of at least Profound-grade spiritual medicine for the Hundred Spirits Cake recipe, with a seaweed-skirt street dance as the failure punishment.
• Wang Chu invited Xiao Cheng to visit the Mad Lion Gang, and Xiao Cheng accepted the invitation for a later date and took the gang leader’s gift.
• Wang Chu learned that Mo Ya, Fan Ling, and Sun Ming were aspiring Ruyi Zhai clerks undergoing Xiao Cheng’s assessment, then left with pastries.
• Xiao Cheng remarked that the three applicants were finished and went back to rest in the sunlight.

Two Black Skull Tomb enforcers confronted Molhan for disobeying the Tomb Master's orders and refusing to return. They killed him, then carried his corpse back to the sect.

• Molhan recovered only thirty to forty percent from his injuries and vowed to take revenge on Xiao Cheng.
• Two black-robed men arrived and ordered Molhan to return to the Black Skull Tomb, but he refused.
• One enforcer attacked Molhan while Old Ghost watched, and their fight worsened Molhan's wounds.
• Old Ghost joined the battle, and the two enforcers struck Molhan from opposite sides.
• One enforcer pierced Molhan's chest and slashed his neck, killing him.
• Old Ghost carried Molhan's corpse toward the Black Skull Tomb while the other enforcer followed.

Xiao Cheng sold Hu Jia fifty bottles of fruit wine and watched Mo Ya give up on becoming a shop assistant, while Fan Ling and Sun Ming kept working at the Rubik’s Cube. At the Eight Sects Gate, Yuan Yi discovered that Ruyi Zhai’s Egg Rolls could cleanse battle qi and decided to buy more.

• Hu Jia visited Xiao Cheng and bought fifty bottles of fruit wine for her grandfather, Hu Gan.
• Mo Ya gave up on the shop assistant assessment, and Xiao Cheng sent him off with a bottle of fruit wine while Fan Ling and Sun Ming continued solving the Rubik’s Cube.
• Mu Jie brought five boxes of Egg Rolls to Yuan Yi at the Eight Sects Gate in Black Seal City.
• Yuan Yi ate an Egg Roll and found that it made his battle qi purer and more condensed.
• Yuan Yi told Mu Jie to return with others the next morning and buy plenty of Egg Rolls.

Wu Tie discovered that Egg Rolls purified battle qi and sent Wang Chu back to Ruyi Zhai to buy more, while Xiao Cheng continued working as supplies ran low. Xiao Cheng then received another demanding mission and reluctantly accepted it.

• Wu Tie tried mango-flavored Egg Rolls, discovered they purified battle qi, and ordered Wang Chu to buy more of every flavor.
• Yue'er returned to work after Xiao Yi Xian stopped her from slacking, while Gu He annoyed Haibodong and drew Xiao Yi Xian's disapproving attention.
• Xiao Cheng began making pastries when Xiao Yu reported that several items were running low.
• Xiao Cheng offered Fan Qian's subordinate two boxes of Egg Rolls per person to gather wild fruits and gave the subordinate a box as a tip.
• Xiao Cheng inspected his machines and received a new mission, which he complained about but accepted.

Xiao Cheng made Shredded Pork Hand-pulled Noodles to satisfy a system quest, drawing in customers and Che Cheng with the aroma. Meanwhile, Mo Tianxing punished Mo Ya for abandoning his chance to work at Ruyi Zhai and sent Qi Shan to investigate whether Xiao Cheng would hire him.

• Xiao Cheng questioned the system's quest to make six kinds of flour-based food, then chose Shredded Pork Hand-pulled Noodles to work toward its Crispy Rice recipe reward.
• Xiao Cheng invited Xiao Yu and another woman to try his hometown food, and the smell of his Shredded Pork Sauce drew Fan Ling and Sun Ming to the shop.
• Xiao Cheng finished cooking the noodles, and the four guests joined him in eating them while Che Cheng secretly watched and recorded what happened.
• Mo Tianxing beat Mo Ya for giving up his chance to become an employee at Ruyi Zhai, then confined him to the Dark Room for a month.
• Mo Tianxing summoned Qi Shan and instructed him to ask Xiao Cheng whether Mo Ya could become an employee, unaware that Xiao Cheng had no plans to hire anyone.

Xiao Cheng dealt with Zi Yan’s hunger after forgetting she had awakened, while the Black Skull Tomb Master took interest in Ruyi Zhai. Yun Shan reconsidered his alliance with the Soul Hall and decided to seek a relationship with Ruyi Zhai through Yun Yun.

• After Xiao Cheng refused to make more Hand-pulled Noodles, Fan Ling and Sun Ming left looking forward to his next dish, and Xiao Cheng told Xiao Yu and Xue Ni to clean up.
• Xiao Cheng found Zi Yan awake and starving, gave her pastries from his personal backpack, and watched her eat herself to sleep.
• The Black Skull Tomb Master learned Molhan had been killed, appointed the killer as an elder, and expressed interest in Xiao Cheng and Ruyi Zhai.
• Xiao Yi Xian closed Ruyi Zhai early after the pastries sold out, while Wang Tianfen arrived too late and resolved to return the next morning.
• Yun Shan suspected the Soul Hall had used him and harmed the Misty Cloud Sect, so he decided to seek Ruyi Zhai’s favor and rely on Yun Yun to understand his intentions.

Xiao Cheng opened Ruyi Zhai and dealt with Sun Ming and Fan Ling’s failed attempts to qualify as employees, while making peace with Fan Ling as a friend. Elder Mu Jie then arrived with a spiritual herb from Eight Sects Gate’s sect master, giving Xiao Cheng progress on his mission as he prepared a special dish.

• Xiao Cheng woke early to feed hungry Zi Yan, then brought her and the others to open Ruyi Zhai.
• Sun Ming tried to teach Zi Yan to solve a Rubik’s Cube, but Xiao Cheng intervened and scrambled it again, forcing Sun Ming to restart his assessment.
• Xiao Cheng told Fan Ling that his lack of progress meant he could not become an employee, then offered friendship, which Fan Ling accepted.
• Xiao Cheng invited everyone to stay for a special dish and offered Fan Ling a discount on pastries if the Blood Sect ordered in large quantities.
• Elder Mu Jie delivered a spiritual herb from the Eight Sects Gate sect master, and Xiao Cheng invited him to stay while he prepared food.

At Ruyi Zhai, Xiao Cheng served little wontons that delighted his guests and considered asking Fan Ling and Mu Jie to gather spirit herbs in exchange for pastries. Unaware that the tomb master of the Black Skull Tomb had sent three Dou Ling experts to kill him, Xiao Cheng remained confident in the system’s power.

• At Ruyi Zhai in Wutan City, Gu He agreed to guide Gu Ni in alchemy, while Wang Tianfen and Payne bought pastries from the shop.
• At Ruyi Zhai in Rakshasa City, Xiao Cheng prepared little wontons with seaweed, dried shrimp, and seasonings for Mu Jie, Fan Ling, and the others.
• Fan Ling poured half a bowl of vinegar into his wontons and grimaced at the sour taste before Xiao Cheng suggested adding Chili Oil.
• Everyone enjoyed the wontons and noticed they slightly increased their Dou Qi.
• Xiao Cheng considered asking Fan Ling and Mu Jie to gather spirit herbs in exchange for pastries.
• The tomb master of the Black Skull Tomb sent three Dou Ling experts to kill Xiao Cheng, who remained unaware of the threat.

Xiao Cheng discovered a hidden effect of his Dragon Pattern Rolling Pin and made a deal with the Eight Sects Gate to trade gathered wild fruits for discounted Egg Rolls. After completing the Egg Roll quest, he won a rare Durian Cake Recipe and went to study it, while three Dou Ling powerhouses from the Black Skull Tomb neared Rakshasa City.

• Xiao Cheng told Fan Ling and Mu Jie that the little wontons’ cultivation benefit was only one effect of the Dragon Pattern Rolling Pin.
• Mu Jie asked to buy sixty more boxes of Egg Rolls, and Xiao Cheng agreed to make them once the Eight Sects Gate gathered wild fruits.
• Xiao Cheng sold the Egg Rolls on hand to Mu Jie, and they formed a partnership for future orders at a discount.
• Xiao Cheng claimed his Egg Roll quest reward and won a rare Durian Cake Recipe.
• Xiao Cheng headed to the kitchen to study the recipe, unaware that his experiment would cause a tragedy, as three Black Skull Tomb Dou Ling powerhouses approached Rakshasa City.