The System's True Power

Even Chen Ping had to admit that Shrek City truly lived up to its reputation as the most prosperous city in the former Three Douluo Empires.

All kinds of Ingredients and dried goods that were rarely seen in other Border Towns could be found everywhere in Shrek City.

Moreover, Chen Ping had seen Soul Tool repair shops that were rare in other cities. Quite a few of them had been opened by Shrek's Seniors and Senior Sisters, which was a novelty to him.

Wasn't this the other-world version of Senior's Roast Pig Trotters and Veteran's Barbecue?

Chen Ping scratched his head and immediately abandoned the idea of going in to have someone repair his broken Soul Tool.

In his eyes, this was pretty much the equivalent of cellphone repair shops and Zhongguancun on Blue Star.

If you understood the tricks of the trade, you could go to places like this without worrying about being fleeced the moment someone opened their mouth.

But if you knew nothing, that was exactly what you had to fear. The moment you spoke, you would reveal your ignorance, and then you really would be waiting to get slaughtered.

Especially if you foolishly added, "Senior, Senior Sister, are you also from Shrek?"

Well then, just look at how many Soul Tools you would have to repair before you could leave.

It was just like how Chen Ping had no doubt that the moment he took out his barbecue meal set, someone would copy it and sell it the next moment.

After struggling through life on Douluo Continent for several years, Chen Ping would never proactively test human nature, much less blindly trust it.

However, Chen Ping was genuinely interested in Soul Tool technology. He simply hadn't had the opportunity or resources to learn it before.

After enrolling, he could save up some Scholar Points and properly study knowledge related to Soul Tools.

That would also allow him to use Soul Tools to make up for his lack of combat strength.

Since he temporarily wouldn't need to take medicine these next few days and had nowhere else to spend money, Chen Ping withdrew a considerable portion of his savings to purchase various Ingredients.

Compared to Soul Beast Ingredients, these Ingredients were already quite cheap, but there was no helping it.

No matter how ordinary they were, these Ingredients were still premium goods among ordinary products—the tallest among the short.

Thus, Chen Ping still had to spend most of the funds he had painstakingly saved for so long before he could barely buy everything.

After spending money at a pottery shop to have several pottery jars of different sizes made, Chen Ping finally returned to Teacher Wang's home and began pondering how to make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Chen Ping had eaten Buddha Jumps Over the Wall before.

Well, it had been a little expensive.

It had cost him an entire month's first paycheck after he entered the workforce.

Other than that, Chen Ping's understanding of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was limited to the videos showing how to make it.

Fortunately, his Scholar Cultivation System was designed for exactly this.

His system could retrieve every fragment Chen Ping had memorized from the deepest parts of his memory, then repeatedly attempt to deduce the process and figure out exactly how the dish was made.

Of course, that also cost Points.

Chen Ping sighed, looking as though he had seen through life and attained complete enlightenment.

Checking his Martial Soul cost Points, deducing his Staff Technique cost Points, and now even cooking a dish cost Points.

He had already been molded into the shape created by the Scholar Cultivation System.

Closing his eyes, Chen Ping opened the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall recipe that the system had spent several hundred Points deducing for him.

The next moment, Chen Ping had changed into a chef's uniform. The space beside him was spotless, with every kind of kitchen utensil available.

An Incandescent Lamp hung high overhead. When Chen Ping subconsciously looked up at it, the glare made his eyes hurt slightly, while also stirring a trace of nostalgia.

Yes, this was the truly powerful part of Chen Ping's Scholar Cultivation System. As long as he paid Scholar Points, it could even construct a Simulation Training Ground for him.

"Ah, let me see how this thing was made again."

In front of Chen Ping, a video tutorial window that the system had just finished deducing hovered in midair.

Chen Ping opened the video and immediately sped it up to three times the normal speed, hastily watching it from beginning to end.

"Okay, I completely understand now."

Chen Ping cracked the joints in his hands. With the foundation he had gained from working part-time at a street food stall, plus the tutorial, making a small Buddha Jumps Over the Wall should be easy. Wouldn't it be a piece of cake?

Learning Content: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

Learning Time: Three Days

Settlement Score: 0

Analysis Result: A pot of soup with some ingredients cooked, some raw, some soft, and some hard.

Evaluation: It was said that the first Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was made when a group of beggars poured leftover wine and various leftovers into a broken clay pot. Perhaps you were paying homage to the classics?

All right, he wouldn't use three-times speed anymore.

Chen Ping scratched his head awkwardly. He had overestimated his comprehension ability a little.

But it didn't matter. It was only a small Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. He would try again!

Learning Content: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

Learning Time: Three Days

Settlement Score: 1

Analysis Result: A pot of meat soup that had wasted a large amount of precious Ingredients.

Evaluation: This dish looks pretty good and might even receive a high score, provided you didn't eat the abalone, which was as hard as a shoe sole, or the clams, which still had grit in them.

Chen Ping squatted dejectedly outside Teacher Wang's home, feeling the evening breeze brush across his face.

The flow of time in the Simulation Training Ground was not the same as in the real world.

Although Chen Ping had practiced for several days inside the Simulation Training Ground, only a few hours had actually passed in the real world.

The main reason he was squatting outside and enjoying the breeze was that his mind couldn't take any more of constantly pondering how to make the same thing. He had come out specially to clear his head.

Soon, Chen Ping had adjusted his mentality.

After all, he was preparing this to make money. If it was something that made money, how could he have the nerve to complain about being tired?

If he couldn't even conquer Ingredients without any fantastical properties, then even with the help of the Scholar Cultivation System, would he really be able to reach the other shore?

The Spring Autumn Cicada cried, and the youth returned. Five cicada cries, and one became a venerable!

He didn't ask to become a venerable after five attempts. Conquering Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in five attempts would be enough!

"Chen Ping, you haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? I brought some food back from the cafeteria."

After classes ended that evening, Teacher Wang did not go to the library for the first time despite having no work on hand. Instead, he went straight back to the Faculty Dormitory.

Then he saw Chen Ping bustling around in the kitchen.

"Teacher Wang."

A smile appeared on Chen Ping's face as he hurriedly accepted the meal boxes Teacher Wang had brought back.

"I remembered one of my Coiling Dragon Sect's signature dishes, so I thought I'd see if I could recreate it."

"This dish is rather troublesome to make. I've just soaked the Ingredients that needed to be rehydrated. Once it's ready in a few days, you can be the first to taste it, Teacher Wang."

"I'm not sure whether this dish can be sold to earn some tuition and living expenses, but I have to give it a try regardless."

Teacher Wang was rather surprised when he heard this. This kid Chen Ping has such a good memory? This happened several years ago, and he still remembers it so clearly?

However, Teacher Wang's emotional intelligence was still somewhat higher than that silly girl Tang Ya's, so he naturally couldn't say something like that and bring up Chen Ping's painful memories. Instead, he revealed a gentle smile.

"Then I'll look forward to it. I've never even heard of a dish that takes several days to prepare."

"However, there are quite a few things at the academy that I need to take care of these next few days. After eating with you, I'll have to return to the academy and work overtime. We'll have to study your Martial Soul in a few days."

"Hmm, three days. Three days should be just enough for me to finish handling everything. Perhaps I'll be able to come and enjoy the feast you prepare."

"You might not know this yet, but quite a few people at Shrek Academy are interested in your Martial Soul, which can devour Soul Bones and evolve on its own. I'm not the only one."

Thank you all, Esteemed Readers, for your Follow-up Reading. The New Book has successfully made it into the latest recommendation cycle. Kowtow!

This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall wasn't written in for no reason. It's connected to at least three plotlines later on. I guarantee it'll get more satisfying the further you read, so please invest in the New Book. (Innocent Smile)