Huo Yuhao carried the exquisite plate holding the Red Jade Shrimp. He then picked out several light and delicious-looking spiritual vegetables from other vegetarian windows that would aid digestion before carefully walking toward the agreed-upon long table.
However, when he pushed through the crowd and arrived at the long table...
"..."
Huo Yuhao's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes, even doubting if he had walked to the wrong place.
The originally spacious long table was now piled high with plates like a small mountain.
Various roasted meats, stews, staples, soups... stacked layer upon layer, teetering precariously, almost completely obscuring the person sitting behind the table.
"This..."
Huo Yuhao swallowed hard with difficulty. He bypassed the "food mountain" and looked at Tang Wulin, who was sitting behind it with a knife and fork ready to start. He asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Class... Class Monitor?"
"Did you bring... everyone's portions over?"
In Huo Yuhao's view, this amount of food was more than enough for forty people, let alone four.
"Pfft—hahahaha!"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's naive question, Xie Xie, who was sitting to the side with only two dishes and a soup, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
He laughed while slapping the table, looking at Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, what are you thinking?"
"Bringing it for everyone?"
Xie Xie pointed at the pile of food and then at Tang Wulin, saying with a face full of mirth:
"How is that possible?"
"This is all for the Boss alone!"
"What?!"
Huo Yuhao was stunned, nearly dropping the plate in his hand.
One person?
This whole table?
"But..."
Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Wulin, his eyes full of worry and confusion:
"Class Monitor, didn't you just say that we shouldn't waste food in the cafeteria?"
"With so much food..."
"If you can't finish it, the school will probably punish you severely, right?"
Huo Yuhao was an honest kid and always had a sense of awe toward rules. He truly didn't want to see Tang Wulin get a disciplinary record right after starting school just because of a moment's greed.
No matter how good Tang Wulin's appetite was or how strong his body was, a human couldn't possibly eat this much, right?
A human's stomach has limits, unless Tang Wulin wasn't human anymore.
However, facing Huo Yuhao's concern, Tang Wulin simply grinned, revealing a row of pearly white teeth and clear eyes.
"Don't worry, don't worry."
Tang Wulin patted his stomach and said with a relaxed expression:
"This little bit of food isn't much."
"It's just enough to make me eighty percent full."
"Eighty... eighty percent full?"
Huo Yuhao was shocked once again.
Looking at Tang Wulin's dead-serious expression that didn't look like a lie at all, his brain short-circuited for a moment.
Over the next half hour Huo Yuhao truly witnessed what it meant to be a super glutton.
"Crunch— Gulp—"
Tang Wulin ate extremely fast, like a bottomless pit. Those mountain-like piles of food disappeared rapidly into his mouth.
A large piece of Blazing Beef weighing at least two pounds was gone in two bites. A basin-sized bowl of Moonlight Rice hit the bottom in just a few movements.
And he ate everything clean, leaving not even a drop of sauce behind.
Huo Yuhao sat to the side, nibbling on his Red Jade Shrimp while watching Tang Wulin's performance in a daze.
"Stunned, aren't you?"
Xie Xie sipped his soup elegantly as he leaned toward Huo Yuhao, pointing at a plate at the corner of Tang Wulin's table.
"Yuhao, look at that."
Huo Yuhao followed Xie Xie's finger.
It was exactly three Red Jade Shrimps.
"This..."
"Didn't that uncle just say... an average Spirit Master needs a year to absorb the energy of one Red Jade Shrimp?"
Xie Xie explained with a smile."As you said, that's for ordinary people. But the Boss is no ordinary person. He can absorb the energy of a Red Jade Shrimp in an instant. This was specially permitted by the Dean; otherwise, that uncle over there wouldn't dare give the Boss so many."
"Hiss—!!!"
Huo Yuhao sucked in a breath of cold air.
Instant refinement?
"No wonder..."
Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Wulin, a realization dawning in his heart:
"No wonder the Class Monitor looks so strong, even able to explode a hundred-year Spirit Beast with one punch."
"So... it's also related to being able to eat!"
A strong sense of envy welled up in Huo Yuhao's heart.
As a trash with only level one innate Spirit Power, he yearned to become stronger.
But limited by his talent and constitution, he didn't dare eat many heavenly treasures recklessly, fearing his body couldn't handle the nourishment.
"If..."
Huo Yuhao chewed on the half-eaten Red Jade Shrimp in his mouth while lamenting in his heart:
"If I could ever become as good at eating as the Class Monitor..."
"If I also had this terrifying digestive ability..."
"Then, whether it's that black steamed bun from before, or the Red Jade Shrimp now, or even more and better resources..."
"I could refine them all in an instant and convert them into my own Spirit Power!"
"Then wouldn't I also be able to become very strong? Wouldn't my cultivation speed improve by leaps and bounds?"
"Alright, stop thinking about it."
Seeming to see through Huo Yuhao's thoughts, Xie Xie patted his shoulder and ruthlessly dampened his spirits:
"Don't try to compare yourself with the Boss."
"This guy... isn't even human."
"Comparing eating with him is purely looking for trouble."
Wei Xiaofeng also nodded in deep agreement from the side.
"Exactly, exactly."
Hearing his teammates' complaints, Tang Wulin, who was finishing the last piece of steak, looked up and blinked innocently, defending himself with a mouthful of food:
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"This is just... a normal appetite."
"I'm at the age where I'm growing; what's wrong with eating a bit more?"
Everyone: "..."
What kind of god-forsaken 'normal appetite' is that!
...
After a dinner that was like a whirlwind sweeping through clouds.
The four of them walked out of the cafeteria. By this time, the sky had completely darkened.
The streetlights in the academy were lit, casting a soft glow on the paths, making it seem exceptionally peaceful and serene.
Just as the four of them passed an open-air plaza on the side of the cafeteria.
Huo Yuhao's nose suddenly twitched. An extremely enticing charred fragrance drifted into his nostrils along with the night breeze.
It was the smell of grilled fish!
That scent was mixed with the fresh aroma of perilla, the intensity of cumin, and a special fatty fragrance that seemed to hook the appetite from the depths of one's soul.
"So fragrant..."
Huo Yuhao subconsciously stopped in his tracks, his gaze turning toward the direction of the fragrance.
As someone quite confident in his own fish-grilling skills, Huo Yuhao had to admit upon smelling this aroma that this skill was definitely superior to his own.
Even though he was already full and still had that undigested Red Jade Shrimp in his stomach.
After smelling this fragrance, saliva still couldn't help but secrete in his mouth, creating an urge to eat another grilled fish.
"Hmm?"
Tang Wulin by his side obviously smelled it too.
His eyes lit up instantly, as if that whole table of food earlier had been eaten for nothing.
"Grilled fish!"
"What a fragrant grilled fish!"
Tang Wulin saw Huo Yuhao's enchanted look and immediately suggested:
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Okay!"
Huo Yuhao didn't refuse. He also wanted to see what kind of expert could grill fish of this level.
The two followed the scent to a corner of the plaza.
There was a very inconspicuous window there, with a simple charcoal grill set up in front of it.
A burly middle-aged uncle wearing a clean white chef's uniform was busy in front of the grill with his back to them.
As the uncle gently fanned with his hand, the fragrance became even richer.
He seemed to hear the footsteps.
The uncle who was grilling the fish slowly turned around. As Huo Yuhao walked closer and subconsciously looked up to meet the uncle's eyes.
Even though it was just a brief eye contact, Huo Yuhao could feel that the strength of the uncle in front of him was definitely not simple.
"Yuhao, this chef's strength is likely even above your homeroom teacher's!"
In Huo Yuhao's mental World, Skydream Ice Worm spoke up in disbelief.
A chef could be this strong?
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.