Even Chen Ping had to admit that Shrek City deserved its reputation as the most prosperous city in the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.
All sorts of ingredients and dried goods that were rarely seen in other small frontier cities could be found practically everywhere in Shrek City.
Chen Ping also spotted Soul Tool repair shops, another rarity in other cities. Quite a few were run by older students from Shrek, which made for an interesting sight.
Wasn't this just the otherworld version of "Senior's Grilled Pig's Trotters" and "Veteran's Barbecue"?
Chen Ping scratched his head and immediately abandoned the idea of going inside to have someone repair his broken Soul Tool.
To him, these places were much like phone repair shops on Blue Star, or Zhongguancun.
If you knew the tricks of the trade, visiting a place like this was fine. You didn't have to worry about someone taking a knife to your wallet the moment you walked in.
But if you knew nothing, you would give yourself away as soon as you opened your mouth. Then you would really be waiting to get fleeced.
Especially if you foolishly added, "Senior, you're from Shrek too?"
Well, then. Who knew how many Soul Tools you would have to get repaired before they let you out the door?
It was just like how Chen Ping had no doubt that the moment he brought out his barbecue set, someone would copy it.
After spending several years scraping his way through life on the Douluo Continent, Chen Ping wouldn't go out of his way to test human nature, much less trust it blindly.
Still, Chen Ping genuinely was interested in Soul Tool technology. He simply hadn't had the opportunity or resources to study it before.
Once he enrolled, he could save up some Academic Genius Points and properly study the knowledge involved in Soul Tools.
That way, he could use Soul Tools to make up for his own lack of combat strength.
Considering that he wouldn't need to take medicinal supplements for the next few days and had no other expenses for now, Chen Ping withdrew a good portion of his savings to buy various ingredients.
Compared with Soul Beast ingredients, these were already quite cheap, but there was no helping it.
However ordinary these ingredients might be, they were still premium goods among ordinary fare-the tallest picked out of a crowd of short people.
So it still took more than half the money Chen Ping had worked so hard to save before he barely managed to buy everything.
After paying a pottery shop for several earthenware jars of different sizes, Chen Ping returned to Wang Yan's home and began figuring out 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.
That one meal had cost him the entire first month's salary he had saved after entering the workforce.
Beyond that, everything Chen Ping knew about Buddha Jumps Over the Wall came from videos showing how to make it.
Fortunately, this was exactly what his Academic Genius Training System was for.
His system could retrieve every fragment buried deep in Chen Ping's memory, then repeatedly test and deduce the process until it figured out exactly how to make the dish.
Of course, that cost points too.
Chen Ping sighed, looking as though he had seen through life and attained complete enlightenment.
Examining his Martial Soul cost points. Deducing staff techniques cost points. Now even cooking a dish cost points.
He had already been molded into the shape the Academic Genius Training System wanted.
Closing his eyes, Chen Ping opened the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall recipe that the system had spent several hundred of his points deducing.
The next moment, Chen Ping was dressed in a chef's uniform, surrounded by spotless windows, gleaming counters, and every kitchen utensil he could need.
An incandescent light hung overhead. When Chen Ping instinctively looked up at it, he found it a little dazzling, yet also a little nostalgic.
Yes, this was the truly extraordinary power of Chen Ping's Academic Genius Training System. As long as he paid Academic Genius Points, it could even construct a Simulation Training Field for him.
"Ah, let me see how I'm supposed to make this thing."
A video tutorial window, freshly deduced by the system, hovered in front of Chen Ping.
Chen Ping opened the video, set it straight to triple speed, and gulped it down whole without stopping to digest it.
"Okay, I understand everything now."
Chen Ping cracked his knuckles. With his experience working part-time at a food stall and a tutorial to help him, making a little Buddha Jumps Over the Wall would be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it, wouldn't it?
[Study content: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall] [Study duration: three days] [Final score: 0] [Analysis: a pot of... soup, with some ingredients raw and others cooked, some soft and others hard.] [Evaluation: legend has it that the first Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was made by a group of beggars who poured leftover wine and assorted leftovers into a cracked earthenware jar. Perhaps you are paying homage to the classics?]
Fine. No more triple speed.
Chen Ping scratched his head awkwardly. He had overestimated his ability to grasp things.
But that was fine. It was only a little Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Again!
[Study content: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall] [Study duration: three days] [Final score: 1] [Analysis: a pot of meat broth that squandered a large quantity of precious ingredients.] [Evaluation: this thing looks quite presentable. Its appearance might earn a high score, provided you don't bite into the abalone as tough as a shoe sole or the clams that still have grit in them.]
Chen Ping squatted outside Wang Yan's front door with a despondent expression, feeling the evening breeze brush his face.
Time flowed differently in the Simulation Training Field than in the real world.
Although Chen Ping had practiced for quite a few days in the constructed Simulation Training Field, only a few hours had actually passed in reality.
He had come outside to squat in the breeze mainly because his head couldn't take constantly puzzling over how to make the same thing. He needed a change of pace.
Soon, Chen Ping had adjusted his mindset.
After all, he was preparing to make money. How could he have the nerve to complain about being tired when money was on the line?
If he couldn't even conquer ingredients with nothing fantastical about them, could he really reach the far shore just because he had the Academic Genius System's help?
The Spring Autumn Cicada sang, and the youth returned; five cries of the cicada made him a venerable!
He wasn't asking to become a venerable in five attempts. Conquering Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in five attempts would do!
"Chen Ping, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? I brought some food back from the cafeteria."
After his classes ended that evening, for the first time, Wang Yan headed straight back to the faculty dormitory instead of going to the library, despite having no work on hand.
Then he saw Chen Ping bustling about in the kitchen.
"Teacher Wang."
A smile appeared on Chen Ping's face, and he hurried over to take the meal boxes Wang Yan had brought back.
"I remembered one of our Coiling Dragon Sect's signature dishes, so I thought I'd try to recreate it."
"It's a fairly troublesome dish to make. I've just put the ingredients that need rehydrating in water to soak. Once it's ready in a few days, Teacher Wang, you can be the first to taste it."
"I'm not sure whether I can sell it to earn some money for tuition and living expenses, but I have to give it a try."
Wang Yan was rather surprised to hear this. Does this kid Chen Ping really have such a good memory? That was years ago, yet he still remembers it so clearly?
Still, Wang Yan had more emotional intelligence than that silly girl Tang Ya. Naturally, he wouldn't say anything that might stir up Chen Ping's painful memories. Instead, he gave him a gentle smile.
"Then I'll really have something to look forward to. I've never even heard of a dish that takes several days to make."
"But there's quite a lot that needs my attention at the academy these next few days. After we eat, I'll have to go back and work overtime. We'll need to wait a few days before looking into your Martial Soul again."
"Hmm... three days. Three days should be just enough for me to finish everything. With any luck, I'll be back just in time for the feast you're preparing."
"You might not realize this yet, kid, but I'm not the only person at Shrek Academy interested in that Martial Soul of yours that can devour Soul Bones and evolve on its own."
Before you continue