Time passed slowly, yet several weeks slipped by in the blink of an eye.
Lin Yuan walked along the streets of Sunset City, glancing at the restaurants around him. This time, he stepped out with a single mission in mind—
To steal a chef.
Of course, this was also a task issued by his system—the Sect Construction System.
[Ding! Current Task 12: Recruit a Chef.]
Description: This task belongs to the first subsystem, the [Sect Construction System], under its second mission.For a sect to grow, its cuisine must grow with it.A skilled chef is crucial to a sect's development.
Rewards: The most complete Chinese recipe collection (primary), fragment of the Time Dragon King.
But after staying here for more than ten days, he hadn't come across a single chef capable of cooking truly delicious food.
No wonder—Sunset City was remote. A good chef was hard to find here.
Lin Yuan arrived at a restaurant named Youjia Inn. The name itself sounded inviting.
He entered the inn, ordered a few simple home-style dishes, and sat down to wait.
Soon, the dishes were served.
Though the dishes were ordinary, the simpler a dish, the harder it was to make delicious—yet these tasted excellent, showing the chef's skill.
"Really tasty," Lin Yuan murmured after just one bite.
The flavor was remarkable. Lin Yuan immediately concluded:The chef of this inn was the one he had been searching for. He must bring him back to the sect.
While eating, he subtly observed and eavesdropped, picking up bits of information.
The owner of the inn was a young, chubby soul master named Li Panglong.
Not only a chef—he was also a Gourmet-type Soul Master.
Rumor said he had exceeded level 50 recently and was currently paying soul masters to venture into the Star Dou Forest to help him acquire a soul ring.
Lin Yuan raised a brow—an idea forming.
He walked to the counter and found Li Panglong, then stated his proposal directly.
"Boss, I heard you're looking for help to obtain a soul ring. What do you think about me?"
"You?" Li Panglong looked him over. "Kid, I'm aiming for a ten-thousand-year soul ring. I want to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast. You sure you can handle that?"
"Absolutely." Lin Yuan replied calmly.
He and Li Panglong entered a private room.
Six soul rings appeared around Lin Yuan—the typical configuration of a Soul Emperor after being adjusted by the system.
Li Panglong's eyes widened."I didn't expect someone so young to already be a Soul Emperor."
"Thank you," Lin Yuan replied. "So, Chef Li, do you think I can do it?"
"Of course you can." Li Panglong hesitated. "But… it's dangerous."
"One is enough. The kind suitable for cooking is easy to hunt."
"I see. Then let's talk rewards."
"I don't want money. I only have one request."
"Oh? Let's hear it." Panglong was intrigued.
"I want to invite you to serve as the chief chef of my sect, responsible for preparing meals. In return, the sect will fully support your cultivation."
"Uh… may I ask what this sect is called?"
"It's called the Nine Demon Pavilion. Not far from Sunset City."
Li Panglong froze."Nine Demon Pavilion?" Never heard of it. Probably some second-rate sect…
"Hm… I'm not planning to join any sect as a chef right now. I just want to cook here in my inn."
Lin Yuan understood his hesitation and simply smiled without explaining further.
"In that case, I'll get you the soul ring first. What you do with it is up to you. But I hope you'll at least come visit the sect with me afterward. You haven't seen it yet, after all."
Li Panglong saw that Lin Yuan was insisting and sighed helplessly."Fine…"
Am I being forced? Even a strong man can't escape this?Lin Yuan thought.
Five days later.
Lin Yuan and Li Panglong rented a carriage and arrived at a small town near Star Forest.
The driver didn't dare go near the Star Dou Forest and stopped outside the nearby settlement.
The two then headed into the forest on foot.
Naturally, the surrounding soul beasts posed no threat to them. Along the way, Lin Yuan also learned about Li Panglong's martial soul and soul skills.
"We're about to enter the territory of ten-thousand-year beasts. Tell me about your martial soul and soul skills."
"Alright. My martial soul is bread. I'm a level 50 Soul King."
As he spoke, a loaf of bread appeared in his hand—simple, unadorned white bread.
"First soul skill: Recovery Butter Bread!"
His first soul ring lit up, and a thick spread of white butter instantly covered the bread's surface.
"Try it."
Lin Yuan took the buttered bread, took a bite, and chewed.
What could he say?
It tasted like… caterpillar bread.
Nothing special, but not terrible either.
"My butter bread restores stamina and mental strength."
Li Panglong then created three more breads:
Butter bread.Garlic bread (with a lot of garlic).Sugar-coated toast.
"My second soul skill is Healing Butter Bread. It heals injuries."
"My third soul skill is Detox Garlic Bread. Removes toxins."
"My fourth soul skill is Berserk Toast. After eating it, you enter berserk mode for one minute."
This soul skill combination was very similar to Oscar's.
Search! (I get it.)
"So, recovery, healing, detox, and berserk. I think your fifth skill should be a defensive support skill."
"Exactly. The soul beast I'm aiming for can grant a defense-boosting soul skill."
"Good. Then let's continue."
Soon, they entered the territory of ten-thousand-year soul beasts.Li Panglong followed closely behind, tense and wary.
After walking for a while, a soul beast finally appeared.
But it wasn't suitable for Li Panglong—it was a ten-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider.
Lin Yuan recalled the original story.
Even powerful soul beasts often hunted the vicious Man-Faced Demon Spider. Reaching a thousand years was already difficult—ten thousand years was extremely rare.
Once they reached ten thousand years, they gained a special ability:They could hide their body and their aura—even mental detection had trouble finding them.
This spider, having lived ten thousand years, naturally possessed this skill.
Lin Yuan summoned the Ice Unicorn martial soul—freezing a beast in his palm—but a beat too late.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider activated its stealth skill.
"Not good. Panglong—stay alert!"
Just as he finished speaking, the spider suddenly appeared beside Li Panglong, stabbing two spear-like legs toward him.
Lin Yuan yanked Panglong out of the way, turning and facing the incoming attack himself.
"Earth Dragon King Right Leg Bone Skill—Power of the Earth!"
An extremely powerful defensive soul skill—capable of blocking the strongest attacks of any soul master below rank 99.
Earth energy wrapped his entire body, blocking the spider's strike.
The spider's attack failed, and it immediately turned invisible again.
"Oh, come on—you just love running away, don't you!"
"Second soul skill—Ice Unicorn: Frozen World!"
This was a technique Lin Yuan developed after mastering water and ice elements.It rapidly lowered the surrounding temperature, causing continuous snowfall and freezing the environment.
Snowflakes fell quickly. The temperature plummeted.Grass, flowers, and trees around them were covered in frost.
Lin Yuan watched silently—waiting for the right moment.
He scanned the area but saw no trace of the spider.
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