Does anyone actually Believes That My Master Is A Mortal?

Changhe Sect, common disciple residence area, within the courtyard.

Standing in front of the kitchen.

Chu Yuan gazed at the scene inside.

He saw a stocky and honest-looking fat man clad in the sect's uniform, holding a wok spatula, skillfully shaking the contents of the wok back and forth, occasionally throwing in some seasoning, his movements fluid like the flowing clouds and water.

And the delicious smell that Chu Yuan detected was exactly from those dishes in the wok.

These dishes...

They looked so appetizing.

Chu Yuan swallowed his saliva, his gaze locked onto the food inside the wok.

Honestly, ever since he had gained cultivation levels,

this was the first time he truly felt hungry.

The source of his hunger was those very dishes.

The dishes that managed to entice him.

He might be tempted to eat,

but Chu Yuan didn't disturb the fat man's cooking.

Instead, he quietly watched.

After watching for nearly the time it takes an incense stick to burn,

the fat man finally finished cooking, swiftly turned off the heat, and poured the contents of the wok into some plates he had prepared earlier.

After putting away the wok,

the fat man then turned his head to look at Chu Yuan standing in front of the kitchen, his small eyes sizing up Chu Yuan from head to toe.

I don't seem to recognize this guy, do I?
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But he's quite handsome, with the air of an immortal about him.

The fat man pondered to himself.

"Who are you? We don't know each other, do we?"

The fat man asked outright.

"We don't know each other, but meeting here is fate, isn't it? Now we're acquainted, aren't we?"

Chu Yuan responded with a smile.

"You're here because you smelled these dishes, right? You're just greedy for this food."

The fat man said mercilessly.

"Yes, I'm greedy for this food."

Chu Yuan nodded.

Fat man: "..."

You really aren't giving any kind of explanation.

Throwing all dignity out the window.

The fat man internally ranted frantically while keeping a cold expression on his face.

"You want to eat, but who do you think you are? A Golden Core Expert or a Nascent Soul Expert? There's no shortage of people who want to eat my dishes."

"Also, when did you join the sect? You're still a mortal, aren't you? How come you don't address me as senior brother?"

The fat man's tone was rather unpleasant.

Chu Yuan, standing at the kitchen entrance, didn't mind the fat man's tone and glanced at the dish in his hand.

He had a bold idea.

To recruit this fat man.

The Wayless Sect happened to need someone to cook for its disciples.

This fat man's cultivation levels didn't seem too impressive, just at the Qi Refinement Stage; perhaps it would be better to have him dedicated to cooking for the Wayless Sect.

This is a feasible plan!

Chu Yuan didn't answer the fat man's questions but stared at the fat man intently instead.

"Fatty, what's your name?"

"What's your Spirit Root? How many people are in your family? How old are you this year? Do you have a partner?"

Chu Yuan's eyes shone as he inquired about the fat man's personal details.

"Do you live in the ocean? Why do you care so much? And remember to call me senior brother. If you have nothing else, you can leave now."

The fat man issued a clear order to leave.

Even as he spoke, he waved his hand, using the scant mana of the Qi Refinement Stage in an attempt to force Chu Yuan out of the yard.

"If you're going to speak, just speak. Why get physical?"

Chu Yuan frowned.

This Qi Refinement Stage dares to make a move against me?

Does he think the existence of my future invincible self is a joke?

Chu Yuan looked around and, seeing no one else nearby, his Golden Core Realm mana surged forth, ready to teach the fat man a lesson.

...

Half an hour later.

The fat man was sprawled on the ground of the courtyard in a sprawled 'big' character, his clothes disheveled, his face dumbfounded, and the blank look in his eyes had yet to dissipate.

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What...

What...

What...

What is this thing?

This guy who barged in, is he at the Golden Core Realm???

Are the new disciples these days starting from the Golden Core Realm?

What a joke.

On the other side, Chu Yuan was sitting in the courtyard on a stone chair, thoughtfully looking at the fat man.

Under his 'meticulous' interrogation for half an hour.

The fat man confessed everything.

This fat man's name was Li Ergang, he was a chef, and also a good-for-nothing ironclad scrub—in half a year at Changhe Sect, he was still at the Early Qi Refining Stage.

According to what Li Ergang said, he had once received some culinary inheritance from a famous chef in the Cultivation Realm when he was still a mortal, so his cooking was very delicious, and he was a well-known chef among mortals. Later, in his quest for cultivation, he joined Changhe Sect.

It's just that his cultivation progress was very lackluster, and in frustration, he would cook every day.

Yep, this Li Ergang was a scrub.

Even though Li Ergang was a scrub.

Chu Yuan had no intention of taking him as a disciple.

Because this guy had a Fire Spirit Root, his talent was really good. It was just his comprehension that was lacking, which was why he was still at the Early Qi Refining Stage after half a year.

Out of caution, Chu Yuan still didn't want to take someone who was capable of cultivation as a disciple.

What if his comprehension suddenly exploded, and his cultivation levels shot up?

Just to be safe.

Chu Yuan decided to recruit this Li Ergang to take up the post of head chef instead.

Become a disciple? Impossible!

He, Chu Yuan, was very cautious!

Anyone with a Spirit Root, capable of cultivating, was out of the question!

This man would do just fine as a head chef.

With this in mind, Chu Yuan stood up.

"Er Gang, quit playing dead, get up."

"Let me ask you, are you willing to leave Changhe Sect with me and go to my sect to assume the position of head chef?"

Chu Yuan slowly spoke.

Upon hearing this.

The fat man lying on the ground, Li Ergang, sprang up like a carp and stood up, looking at Chu Yuan.

Was he looking to invite him to his sect?

A Golden Core Expert wouldn't come to Changhe Sect for no reason just to be an ordinary disciple.

The other party must have some motive for being here.

Perhaps he had seen his skills in cooking along the way and thus wanted to invite him to his sect.

He just didn't know the standing of the other party's sect.

If the other party's sect was powerful, then this might be an opportunity for him.

His talent for cultivation was clear for all to see. Without some opportunity, his life would probably just remain as it was.

But if he could find an opportunity, his future was hard to predict.

Thinking this, Li Ergang's breathing grew heavier.

"This... Senior, you want me to leave Changhe Sect? To follow you to your sect? May I ask, what rank is Senior's sect?"

Li Ergang asked through clenched teeth.

"Unranked."

Chu Yuan replied without a second thought.

Li Ergang: "???"

Your darn sect is unranked, and you're poaching people?

The gaze in Li Ergang's eyes suddenly became peculiar.

After speaking, Chu Yuan also snapped back to his senses, his expression froze.

It seemed he had accidentally let something slip...

Seeing Li Ergang's increasingly strange look.

Chu Yuan fell silent.

After a long while.

Chu Yuan's eyes lit up as if he had thought of something.

"You don't really think that when I say my sect is unranked, it's truly unranked, do you?"

"To tell you the truth, that, erm, Hidden Sect that's widely rumored in East State, that's actually my sect, you believe me?"

Chu Yuan decided to wave the flag of the rumor-spun 'Hidden Sect' to bluff a bit.

Anyway, as long as he hoodwinked the man into coming back to the mountain, it would all be good.

After that, everything else would be easy to deal with.

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