Cafeteria

Zhou Lulu said with a worried face, "I like reading and wanted to join the Fourth Elder, who specializes in Confucian Cultivation, but my dad insisted that I choose Hundred Refinements Peak, saying that the Fourth Elder has become a fool from reading too much and I shouldn't learn from him."

"Your father is..."

"Fifth Elder Zhou Xin."

Lu Yang immediately shut his mouth. Hundred Refinements Peak is basically your family's, so of course, your dad wants you to choose home.

The main peak of Hundred Refinements Peak is a scarlet mountain, towering into the clouds, like a volcanic eruption, illuminating the sky.

Whether it's due to long-term Artifact Refining or if Hundred Refinements Peak is just naturally like this, the temperature here is slightly higher than other places.

It's early spring, but Hundred Refinements Peak feels like it's entered summer.

Lu Yang felt a prickling sensation on his skin, as if something was drilling into his body. His body consciously activated his Cultivation Method, forming a thin, cicada-wing-like protective film around him.

Zhou Lulu whispered beside him, "Junior Brother, what you're sensing is Metal-Earth Qi. Hundred Refinements Peak forges too many magical artifacts, so the air is filled with Metal-Earth Qi, but it doesn't harm cultivators. You'll get used to it."

"But Junior Brother, your reaction is quite fast. Few people are like you."

Lu Yang smiled, "My Cultivation Method is very useful."

Lu Yang also heard clanging sounds. In his imagination, there should be a Senior Brother wielding a large iron hammer, fiercely striking refined iron, sparks flying everywhere, forging steel from base metal.

He followed the sound and found that it was the cafeteria.

"Hmm--"

Lu Yang felt like it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

He'd get used to it.

The cafeteria entrance was full of lively atmosphere, with people coming and going, talking and laughing, gesturing with various foods as if they were holding broadswords and sharp blades, acting as chivalrous heroes everywhere.

Like students passing by the cafeteria to buy food after class, and also like knights just walking out of a weapon shop.

"Is Li Haoran here?" Lu Yang remembered that the Fire Spirit Root Li Haoran was under the Fifth Elder, and theoretically, his realm was similar to his own. He wondered what realm he had actually cultivated to.

Zhou Lulu shook her head, "Junior Brother Li hasn't come out of seclusion yet, so he's not qualified to sell food in the cafeteria. Father said Li Haoran has a good foundation and needs to soak in magma more to have better development."

"I heard from others that Junior Brother Li was screaming when he first soaked in the magma, but then there was no sound. He should be used to it already."

"...Is it possible that he's not used to it, but he's cooked?"

"Huh?"

Lu Yang didn't expect that soaking in boiling water was not the worst thing. Senior Disciple Sister was still too kind to him.

It was a bit of a pity not seeing Li Haoran, otherwise, they could have exchanged tips on soaking.

Zhou Lulu arrived at the noisy cafeteria, and her enthusiasm vanished without a trace. She began to back down, quietly retreating two steps, speaking extremely fast, like a machine gun, "Junior Brother Lu, the food in the cafeteria is cheap and good, honest and reliable, go buy it yourself."

After Zhou Lulu finished speaking, she disappeared without a trace. Lu Yang didn't even see how she disappeared.

Lu Yang sighed, it seemed he could only rely on himself.

"Braised fish bones, freshly made braised fish bones, the best choice for sawing trees and chopping people, everyone who's used them says they're good!"

"Sesame cakes, freshly baked savory sesame cakes, sesame cakes that can't be broken by punching and kicking!"

"Take a look, take a look, noodles harder than steel and iron bones, essential for tying people up, once you're tied up you can't break free, and now purchase also comes with a free binding tutorial!"

The cafeteria was like an ordinary vegetable market, with stall owners shouting to sell their food. The only difference was that the cafeteria was much noisier than the vegetable market--the stall owners had higher cultivation and louder voices.

Lu Yang saw a Senior Brother holding a braised fish bone in one hand, the fish bones as sharp as blades, a light scratch felt like being bitten by a ferocious shark, leaving a very deep wound.

The Senior Brother selling braised fish bones enthusiastically promoted, "Junior Brother, would you like a fish bone? This is a Fish Demon from Green Wave Pond, it had the strength of Foundation Establishment peak before it died. The fish bones it left behind are very hard, and I've been Artifact Refining them for a long time to make these few. They can be used as weapons in battle, and as food when you're hungry."

After saying that, he heard a crack, and he bit off a fish bone.

No one knew how he refined his teeth.

Lu Yang looked at the very useful fish bones and then at the price.

Well, he couldn't afford them.

Seeing Lu Yang smile apologetically, the Senior Brother didn't force it and continued to promote to others.

Lu Yang saw another Senior Brother reaching directly into the oil pot to take out a fried dough stick, draining the oil.

"Junior Brother, would you like one? There are ones for Foundation Establishment Realm use, and ones for Golden Core Stage use. The ones for Foundation Establishment use only cost 150 contribution points."

In terms of price, it was indeed cheaper than the Mountain-Shaking Hammer on the exchange list. The Mountain-Shaking Hammer cost 270 contribution points, while the fried dough stick only cost 150 contribution points, almost half the price.

"The advantages of my fried dough stick are not just that it's hard. It contains three layers of hidden force. With one strike, the three layers of hidden force explode in succession, with amazing power, catching the enemy off guard."

"If you're hungry and want to eat it, that's no problem either. The shelf life is very long."

After saying that, the Senior Brother took a bite of the fried dough stick, and the three layers of hidden force exploded in his mouth. Other than his cheeks puffing out, nothing happened.

"Senior Brother, I'm new here, and I don't understand some things. Why can our fried dough sticks be used as weapons and as food? Can you really bite them?"

The Senior Brother saw Lu Yang's cultivation. Since he was a Foundation Establishment Realm Junior Brother, he must be a new recruit. It was normal for newcomers to have questions about this.

"This is a way to exercise and verify the results of your Body Tempering."

"The so-called Body Tempering, of course, is to temper the internal organs and bones, and the external skin and orifices. Only then can it be called true Body Cultivation. In addition, teeth are also an indispensable part."

"I heard that some Body Cultivators only temper their bones and skin to the extreme. Under their barbaric impact, even mountains tremble. They can be called excellent. Others are very troubled when facing these invulnerable Body Cultivators, so they came up with a solution."

"What method?"

"They use techniques like the Ruyi Jingu Bang to change their size and shrink their bodies, attacking these Body Cultivators from the inside. These Body Cultivators haven't trained their internal organs, so they're easily defeated with this kind of method."

"These people can't be considered true Body Cultivators, or maybe just self-taught Body Cultivators."

His senior brother's teeth clacked together, making a sound like metal colliding.

Those who practiced Artifact Refining were considered half a Body Cultivator, their physical strength couldn't compare to true Body Tempering experts, but they had tempered both inside and out.

"Ordinary cultivators use magical artifacts as weapons, but for Body Cultivators, their body is their strongest weapon. Since it's the strongest weapon, then eating a fried dough stick or something isn't difficult."

Lu Yang understood. The food in the cafeteria was highly functional and could be divided into two uses. One was to be sold as a weapon to non-Body Cultivators like himself, and the other was to be sold as food to Body Cultivators.

"Meng Jingzhou is under Third Elder, and is a proper Body Cultivator, so he should be able to bite through it."

Thinking of this, Lu Yang bought a fried dough stick and swung it around a couple of times with a "heh-ha," feeling its heavy and considerable weight.