Chapter 151: Chapter 148: This Old Man Is Willing to Give It Another Try
Hearing the CRUNCH of chopsticks against teeth, Mo Qi sighed to himself. ’As expected of seniors, they’ve got some strong teeth.’
He hesitated, wondering if he should tell them to spit out the chopsticks.
But seeing their satisfied expressions, he held back. He quickly abandoned the thought altogether, as they had already swallowed everything in their mouths.
Including the broken-off piece of chopstick.
The three elders fell silent for a long time, savoring the taste in their mouths and feeling the Medicinal Power of the "Boiled Divine Tempering Pill" blossom within them. One after another, they exclaimed in amazement.
"I’ve lived for 873 years, and never in my life did I imagine something so delicious could exist in this world!"
"Indeed. The flavor and texture are simply intoxicating. But now that you mention it, it was surprisingly chewy."
"Huh? You felt that too? So did I. That sensation... it was quite peculiar. Even now, there’s a faint hint of bamboo lingering in my mouth."
Mo Qi rolled his eyes from the side. ’You guys ate the tips of your chopsticks, of course it was chewy! Of course it felt peculiar!’
’A hint of bamboo? That was the taste of the chopsticks!’
"None of that is the point. What’s crucial is the Medicinal Power it contains! It’s more than ten times purer than a Divine Tempering Pill’s, and did you notice? It has no Erysipelas!"
It’s often said that all medicine is partly poison, and Elixirs are no exception.
No matter how high the quality of an Elixir, it will invariably contain some hidden impurities.
It was an unavoidable problem.
But the "Lantern Festival" Mo Qi had made not only had more potent Medicinal Power, but it also lacked the side effect of Erysipelas.
Even after experiencing it firsthand, it remained difficult to believe.
"I don’t believe it!" one of the elders exclaimed, his brow twitching. His eyes kept darting toward the remaining "Lantern Festival" as he declared with an air of righteous indignation, "All of you, stand aside! I shall test it again!"
As he spoke, he strode over, tossed his chopsticks aside, and grabbed at the food with his bare hands—both of them.
He snatched the boiled ones with his left hand and the fried ones with his right, stuffing them into his mouth without a second thought.
The other two elders were stunned for a moment before they realized what was happening.
"You shameless old bastard! Making up such a lame excuse just to eat more... Hey, hey, that’s going too far! Leave some for me!"
"Put that plate down! Do you want me to end our friendship over this?"
The two of them also tossed aside their chopsticks and joined the fray.
There were only twenty in total, and the two young men had already eaten one each.
There weren’t nearly enough left to go around.
The elder who had been in charge of testing Mo Qi was kicking himself with regret.
’Why did I have to be so conscious of my status? Why did I feel the need to put on airs?’
’All twenty of them should have been his. But now? He had only managed to eat four in total.’
The elder who had moved first had his mouth stuffed to the brim, his cheeks bulging.
He looked just like a hamster hoarding its food, completely devoid of the dignity expected of a senior.
He never would have known he could stuff ten "Lantern Festivals" into his mouth if he hadn’t pushed himself.
Mo Qi was no longer surprised by such sights. No one understood the allure of Medicinal Cuisine better than he did.
The grand figures of the Void Sect couldn’t resist this temptation, and the Mountain and Sea Empire was no exception.
"Um... esteemed seniors, is my test considered over now?"
While chewing vigorously on the "Lantern Festival," the three nodded repeatedly, then shook their heads in unison.
After forcing down the delicacies in their mouths, the three spoke in one voice: "Quick, make some more!"
Mo Qi had anticipated this. He deliberately let his breath hitch, causing his healthy complexion to turn pale and wan. He even managed to force out a cold sweat.
"Esteemed seniors, my Cultivation is shallow. Refining two ’pots’ of Elixirs was already my limit. I don’t have the strength to make any more," Mo Qi said in a weak voice.
The three elders: "..."
’Do you take us for blind fools?’
’Your face can just turn pale on command?’
’You can start sweating on command?’
’If you’re going to refuse us, at least put some effort into your acting! Do you think we have no dignity?’
’Besides, even you admit you made two "pots" of Elixirs?!’
’Aside from chopping vegetables, kneading dough, and rolling them into balls, you barely expended any energy at all, did you?’
Although that’s what they were thinking, the three elders didn’t actually try to force Mo Qi.
"Young man, where did you learn this ’Alchemy’ of yours?"
Mo Qi once again took out his trusty panacea, the *Medicinal Cuisine Record*, and handed it to the three elders.
"*Medicinal Cuisine Record*? You... You’re saying these are actually Medicinal Cuisine?"
The elders were stunned, just as the leadership of the Void Sect had been.
Mo Qi didn’t answer, but smiled and countered with a question of his own: "Do you seniors think it’s Medicinal Cuisine, or an Elixir?"
The three remained silent.
Medicinal Cuisine? An Elixir?
’Perhaps it was both!’
"Excellent, excellent, excellent! Truly, heroes rise from the youth. For our Mountain and Sea Empire to have gained a talent like you, it is truly a heavenly blessing!"
"Good lad! As long as you can successfully pass the annual selection, a top seat in the Imperial Academy will surely be yours!"
"Keep up the good work!"
If the three elders had known that, given the right Spirit Medicines, the Medicinal Cuisine Mo Qi cooked would be effective even for experts at the Vajra Realm, the Void Realm, and even the Void Realm, their attitude would have been entirely different.
However, Mo Qi had no intention of revealing this just yet.
He did indeed plan to make a grand entrance at the Imperial Academy, but until he had enough strength to protect himself, he couldn’t reveal all his trump cards.
Not everyone was as friendly as the Ni Brothers.
This was why he had only cooked something equivalent to a Divine Tempering Pill, a First-Grade Elixir.
Besides, this was already stunning enough.
Just then, the two young men successfully completed their breakthroughs, reaching the Early-stage Purity Realm.
The two finished their meditative cultivation and walked over. First, they thanked the elders: "Thank you, seniors, for making this possible."
An elder waved his hand. "Say no more. From the moment you came to participate in the Empire’s annual selection, you became people of the Empire. It was my duty."
The two then approached Mo Qi and bowed deeply, not a trace of their earlier disdain remaining.
"We are Jiang’an and Jiang Quan. We pay our respects, Grandmaster."
"We were blind and failed to recognize your greatness. We offended you with our words, and we beg your forgiveness. We will surely repay you for the gift of this breakthrough in the future!"
The two young men were brothers, named Jiang’an and Jiang Quan respectively.
The gap between the Refining God Ninth Heaven and the Purity Realm is immense.
The mortality rate for the Mountain and Sea Empire’s annual selection was as high as seventy percent.
By helping them break through from the Refining God Ninth Heaven to the Purity Realm, Mo Qi had undoubtedly and significantly increased their chances of survival.
This was a tremendous debt of gratitude!
Mo Qi helped the two up and smiled. "There’s no need for this. It was your own opportunity, and our fateful encounter."
"No! We will never forget your kindness, Grandmaster!"
"All right, we should be going," one of the elders interjected. "The annual selection only truly begins after you’re Within the Pass. Whether you repay this debt or not can wait until after you make it back alive!"
When the six of them returned to the main hall, they found Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang surrounded by a crowd.
"Hmph! San Pang will remember all of you! Brother Mo said that once we’re Within the Pass, he’s going to strip you all bare!"
Jin Sanpang extended a chubby finger, pointing at the people in the surrounding crowd one by one.
"You damned fatty, you’re asking for a beating, aren’t you? Strip us bare? On your own?"
"Hmph. Plenty of people are looking for an early grave these days, but it’s rare to see someone choose suicide-by-crowd-taunt."
"Fatty, once we get Within the Pass, I’ll personally help you render down all that blubber!"
