There were still half a month until the culinary competition in Southwest Yang Province, but Jun Changxiao departed with Liu Wanshi ahead of schedule.
He didn’t bring other disciples along, hoping they could quickly improve their cultivation.
As for the several thousand Mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills that had been refined, they were already distributed to the pill dispensers, where disciples could collect them at fixed times.
As the sect developed, Sect Leader Jun could almost manage it remotely.
“If there were another device that could interconnect with spatial rings, even when not at the sect, I could still refine pills, weapons and other items, distributing them to various machines with one click,” Jun Changxiao thought to himself.
The System said, “There is such a thing, but you need luck to refresh it in the shop.”
“Really?”
Jun Changxiao’s eyes lit up.
While a person traveled and enjoyed the scenery across the Starfall Continent, what if disciples lacked pills?
Simple.
Old Wei would send cultivated medicinal ingredients to the device, transmit them to the spatial ring, refine them, then send them to the pill dispenser for replenishment.
Thinking of this, Jun Changxiao looked forward to it even more!
Speaking of which.
Why didn’t he just hire some alchemists to refine pills?
The System’s Alchemy Pavilion could refine pills with one-click simplicity, and the pills refined were incredibly powerful—why bother hiring alchemists!
Though Sect Leader Jun was just one person, he could do many jobs—pills, weapons, talismans, even spirit-imbued weapons, he could make them all himself. Absolutely super versatile.
Even more amazing.
He didn’t even have to do it himself, saving both worry and effort.
…
“Ah!”
Standing in the fresh and beautiful wilderness, Jun Changxiao spread his arms, inhaling the intoxicating scent of grass, and sighed with emotion. “Coming out to clear one’s mind is quite nice!”
Liu Wanshi sat on a rock, her hand supporting her cheek, her face full of anxiety.
“What are you thinking about?” Jun Changxiao asked.
“Uh… nothing,” Liu Wanshi said nervously.
Jun Changxiao sat down and said, “Ever since leaving the sect, you’ve been frowning. Do you have something on your mind?”
“No…”
Liu Wanshi said, “No, I don’t have anything on my mind!”
Jun Changxiao was speechless.
Her concerns were written all over her face. If he couldn’t see it, wouldn’t he be blind?
“Let this Seat guess what’s troubling you.”
After brief consideration, Jun Changxiao said, “Being able to make strength-increasing fried rice, you must have an extraordinary background, right?”
“What extraordinary background could I have?”
When Liu Wanshi said this, her big eyes kept darting around.
Jun Changxiao saw this and continued, “As far as this Seat knows, there’s also a family in Southwest Yang Province that specializes in cooking, and the food they make can improve martial dao strength.”
Liu Wanshi said, “Sect Leader is talking about the Ouyang family of Tianyu Royal City, right?”
“Correct,” Jun Changxiao said.
Liu Wanshi said, “Does the Sect Leader think I’m from the Ouyang family?”
“For an ordinary person to make strength-increasing fried rice, this Seat finds it hard to believe,” Jun Changxiao said.
This statement indicated he was more inclined to believe the little girl was from the Ouyang family. Otherwise, how could she possibly develop such miraculous food?
“Alright.”
Liu Wanshi said, “I’ll be honest. I am related to the Ouyang family.”
Jun Changxiao wasn’t surprised.
When he had taken in this girl back then, Lu Qianqian had also suspected this. Though he hadn’t taken it to heart, he had certainly thought about it during idle moments.
Not just Liu Wanshi.
Sect Leader Jun had wondered about many disciples.
He thought most about Lu Qianqian, because his intuition told him the story behind this disciple was definitely not simple.
To this day, Jun Changxiao still believed that such a talented woman joining the Iron Bones Sect might be to evade pursuit by enemies.
That’s why when Lu Qianqian went out for training, he said that no matter what danger she encountered, the sect would be her strongest backing.
I don’t care who the enemy is or how strong they are.
If they dare harm my disciple, I will use all the sect’s power to fight them to—the death!
Sect Leader Jun’s personality was protective of his own.
This could be seen from when disciples were bullied by evil sects from Huayang Commandery in the Valley of Death, and he directly annihilated them all.
“Just related?” Jun Changxiao asked.
Liu Wanshi lowered her head, her small hands gently clenched together, and said in a low voice, “Sect Leader, I… I’m actually an illegitimate daughter of the Ouyang family.”
Saying those last three words took all her courage, and her body trembled slightly.
“Is that so?”
Jun Changxiao responded with a sound.
He’d guessed Liu Wanshi was related to the Ouyang family, but didn’t expect she’d be an illegitimate daughter.
In his previous world, illegitimate children already had a bad reputation and would be gossiped about by others. In this other world, it was certainly even worse.
“My mother was an ordinary person.”
Liu Wanshi said, “She met that bastard, and then I was born.”
This bastard must be her father.
“Later, my mother became gravely ill and passed away, leaving me all alone. That bastard found me and brought me back to the Ouyang family.”
As Liu Wanshi spoke, the hatred in her eyes grew more intense, because entering the Ouyang family was the beginning of her nightmare.
Jun Changxiao could guess.
An illegitimate daughter entering a great family would inevitably be targeted by clan members.
Indeed.
Liu Wanshi had been bullied by clan members constantly, and being called a “bastard child” was most common.
Because of her background, the little loli could endure.
But the more she endured, the worse the bullying became. Unable to bear it any longer, one day she quietly left the Ouyang family.
To avoid being found, Liu Wanshi came to the most remote Qingyang Commandery, which led to her meeting Jun Changxiao in Qingyang City.
She always used her mother’s surname.
Though the Ouyang surname represented honor, she didn’t want it at all.
If she could choose, Liu Wanshi would even want to discard the blood flowing from the Ouyang family, even if it meant being the poorest ordinary person.
However.
Bloodline was innate—how could one simply discard it?
Liu Wanshi’s mother was very ordinary.
But she inherited her father’s culinary talent. Though she only lived in the Ouyang family for just over a year, she possessed extraordinary understanding.
In this world, there truly were people with exceptional natural gifts.
Liu Wanshi was one.
Though she never entered the Ouyang family’s kitchen, just by secretly observing, she could teach herself.
If she received professional instruction, her culinary skills would definitely make great progress.
Unfortunately.
Because she was an illegitimate daughter, she was destined to have no qualifications to learn the Ouyang family’s ancestral culinary skills.
If you won’t let me learn, I don’t want to learn anyway.
Liu Wanshi began to experiment on her own. Relying solely on her natural talent, she successfully developed strength-increasing fried rice.
If the Ouyang family learned of this, it would definitely cause quite a stir.
After all, without learning the Ouyang family’s recipes, yet being able to develop food that improves martial dao strength—it was simply incredible!
Recalling the unbearable past, Liu Wanshi’s emotions were low.
She didn’t have Long Ziyang’s attitude of being wronged and needing to prove herself to the bullies. She simply wanted to sever ties with the Ouyang family forever.
But the culinary competition was being held in Tianyu Royal City. The Ouyang family would definitely send their legitimate members to compete. What should she do?
Jun Changxiao patted her head and smiled. “On this trip to Tianyu Royal City, if the Ouyang family dares bully you, this Seat will make them pay a painful price.”
He’d set up a flag!
It seemed this trip to Tianyu Royal City would be another show-off journey.