I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 20: Taking a Stand at the Restaurant
The Disguise Pill's effect had about ten minutes left.
Lin Luo glanced at the countdown on his phone: [Disguise Pill time remaining: 00:09:47]. Then he looked up at the restaurant in front of him – the biggest one outside the Cangxuan Sect and inside Suihuang City. Three stories tall, with upturned eaves and arching roofs. Two red lanterns hung at the entrance, with three gold characters on them: "Drunken Immortal Residence."
Yue Long stood on his left, her hat pulled low. Her silver-white hair fell from under the brim, covering most of her face – but it couldn't hide the outline of her rabbit ears twitching under the hat. Su Xiaoxiao stood on his right, a disguise talisman stuck to her forehead. Her face was very ordinary – the kind you'd lose in a crowd.
"Master, are we really going in?" Yue Long asked quietly.
"I'm hungry."
"But there are so many people inside…"
"More people means they have food."
Lin Luo walked in. Yue Long followed behind him, Su Xiaoxiao last.
The main hall of the Drunken Immortal Residence was large, with over twenty tables, about seventy or eighty percent full. Lin Luo found a corner table by the window, where he could see the street outside and the restaurant's entrance. Yue Long sat on his left, Su Xiaoxiao on his right.
A waiter ran over, a white towel over his shoulder, smiling wide. "What would you three like to order?"
Lin Luo took the menu and glanced at it. "Braised pork, steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, three bowls of rice."
"Coming right up!" The waiter turned and left.
Yue Long pushed her hat up slightly to reveal her red eyes and looked around. It was her first time in a place like this, and everything was new. The calligraphy and paintings on the walls, the lanterns hanging from the ceiling, the rogue cultivators at the next table drinking and playing finger-guessing games, the shopkeeper behind the counter clicking his abacus – everything was so novel that her rabbit ears couldn't help but poke out from under the hat. She quickly tucked them back in and acted like nothing had happened.
Su Xiaoxiao sat up straight, maintaining the proper posture of an inner court disciple. She didn't look around, but her eyes kept moving – scanning every table, the stairwell, the entrance, the kitchen. She was observing.
The food came quickly. The braised pork was glossy and oily, the steamed fish was steaming hot, the vegetables were bright green. Yue Long picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of braised pork, put it in her mouth, chewed twice, and her eyes lit up. "Master, this is so good!"
"Yes."
"Much better than Glow Mushroom soup!"
Lin Luo looked at her. "Glow Mushroom soup is for training. Braised pork is for craving."
Yue Long took another piece and put it in Lin Luo's bowl. "Master, you eat too."
Su Xiaoxiao picked up a piece of fish, put it in her bowl, and chewed slowly.
They ate for a while, and the noise from the next table grew louder.
Five people sat at the next table – all rogue cultivators in various robes. Seven or eight empty wine jugs were on the table. Their faces were red, their necks were thick, and their voices were so loud that the whole hall could hear them. A bearded rogue cultivator stood up, holding a wine bowl, his speech already slurred.
"Lin Luo! Let me tell you, that Lin Luo is a complete waste!"
Yue Long's chopsticks stopped.
"Qi Refining Layer 1! Qi Refining Layer 1, my friends! With that kind of cultivation, how did he get the Realm-Breaking Talisman? Huh? Luck! Pure luck!"
Another rogue cultivator slammed the table. "Exactly! The ninth floor of the Trial Tower – that statue must have malfunctioned! How else could a Qi Refining Layer 1 waste beat a Golden Core Layer 1 statue? Do you believe it?"
"I don't believe it!"
"Me neither!"
"The Cangxuan Sect is so muddle-headed. They won't hand over a waste like him, they protect him instead. Should a thing like the Realm-Breaking Talisman be held by a Qi Refining Layer 1 waste?"
The bearded man slammed his wine bowl on the table. "Let him come in front of me. One slap and I'll turn him into a meat patty!"
Yue Long put down her chopsticks.
Her rabbit ears sprang up from under the hat – not slowly, but suddenly, like two springs. The silver-white fur almost glowed in the restaurant's dim yellow light. Her red eyes no longer held innocence and curiosity – replaced by a bone-chilling fury.
She stood up.
Su Xiaoxiao grabbed her hand.
Yue Long looked down at Su Xiaoxiao. Su Xiaoxiao's expression hadn't changed at all. Her eyes were calm as still water. But her grip was strong – so strong that Yue Long couldn't break free.
"Sister Xiao—"
"Sit down."
Yue Long bit her lip. She didn't want to sit.
"Sit down." Su Xiaoxiao's voice wasn't loud, but every word was hard.
Yue Long slowly sat back down. She tucked her rabbit ears back into her hat, picked up her chopsticks, but didn't pick up any more food. She lowered her head, stared at the white rice in her bowl, and didn't move.
Lin Luo kept eating. Braised pork, steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables – bite by bite, steady rhythm.
He pulled out his phone and checked the Disguise Pill's countdown.
[00:02:31.]
Two and a half minutes left. He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and tucked his phone into his sleeve.
The next table was still shouting.
"A waste is still a waste. What good is luck? The talisman is in his hands – what difference does that make? It'll be taken from him sooner or later."
"Exactly! Let him try walking through Suihuang City. See if he makes it out alive."
"Hahahaha!"
Lin Luo stood up.
Yue Long looked up. Su Xiaoxiao's hand pressed against the edge of the table, her knuckles white.
Lin Luo took the Greenwind Sword from his waist and placed it on the table. Then he reached up and pinched the mask on his face – the Disguise Pill's disguise was tangible, like a thin film. Slowly, bit by bit, he peeled it off.
His eyebrows thinned. His cheekbones lowered. His jaw sharpened. His skin went from dark yellow back to pale.
An eighteen-year-old's face. A Cangxuan Sect chores disciple's face. The Idle Sect leader's face. Lin Luo's face.
The whole hall went silent.
Not gradually – suddenly. Like someone had pressed pause. Chopsticks froze in mid-air. Wine bowls stopped at lips. All eyes were fixed on that transformed face.
Lin Luo picked up the axe from the table – the one he used for chopping wood, nothing special, even a bit dull. He walked to the next table, stood in front of the bearded rogue cultivator, and slammed the axe into the table.
CRASH!
The solid wood table split in half down the middle. Bowls and plates shattered on the floor. Wine spilled across the table. The five rogue cultivators' faces went from red to white, from white to green. The bearded man's legs shook. He recognized him – this wasn't the rogue cultivator selling materials at the market, not a Cangxuan Sect inner court disciple, not anyone he could afford to offend. Under that gray rogue robe was a chores uniform. This face was identical to the portrait. He was Lin Luo.
"I'm Lin Luo." Lin Luo's voice wasn't loud, but very flat – so flat it had no emotion at all. "The one you're looking for."
The bearded man opened his mouth. No words came out.
Another cultivator reacted faster. He stared at Lin Luo's cultivation level – Qi Refining Layer 1. Yes, his spiritual sense showed Qi Refining Layer 1. He tried to muster some courage, his voice shaking. "Y-you're Qi Refining Layer 1…"
Lin Luo didn't answer. He looked at the axe blade. Then he picked up the half-bowl of wine from the table, poured it on the blade, and wiped it with his finger. Blood? No. Wine. He raised the axe and struck it into a pillar behind him. The pillar was a whole log, as thick as a bowl. The axe sank in one-third of the way.
Lin Luo pulled the axe out, rested it on his shoulder, and turned to look at the five rogue cultivators. "Are you done eating?"
No one spoke.
"Then get lost."
The bearded man was the first to run. He stood up so fast his stool tipped over, stumbling toward the entrance, crashing into a child passing by – didn't stop, just ran. The other four followed, like rabbits being chased by dogs, gone in a flash.
Lin Luo walked back to his own table, leaned the axe against the table leg, and sat down. He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of braised pork, put it in his mouth, and chewed.
The whole hall was dead silent. No one dared to pick up their chopsticks, no one dared to speak – no one even coughed. The waiter crouched behind the counter, only half his face visible. The shopkeeper stood behind the counter, his abacus frozen, the beads still swaying slightly.
Su Xiaoxiao poured Lin Luo a cup of wine. Her hand trembled slightly – not from fear, from excitement. She had seen Lin Luo kill a demon beast with one axe swing, seen him take two palm strikes from Zhou Tong, seen him sign a thousand Spirit Stone fine without a word. But watching him take off his disguise in front of dozens of strangers, split a table with one axe, and make his insulters run with their tails between their legs – this was the first time. When she placed the wine cup in front of Lin Luo, her fingers touched the back of his hand.
Lin Luo didn't pull away. Su Xiaoxiao didn't pull back either. They just touched.
Yue Long couldn't sit still. She also picked up a piece of food for Lin Luo – the tenderest belly meat from the steamed fish, which she hadn't been willing to eat herself. "Master, have some fish."
Su Xiaoxiao glanced at her. Yue Long glanced back. The two women looked at each other across Lin Luo for a fraction of a second, then both looked away.
The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter. He was in his fifties, wearing a dark blue robe, with a standard merchant's smile – not too deep, not too shallow, just right.
"Esteemed guest, today's meal is on the house."
Lin Luo looked up at him. "No need."
"Yes, yes. Please." The shopkeeper placed a black card on the table. "This is our restaurant's VIP card. Twenty percent off with this card. Next time you come, just say your name."
Lin Luo looked at the black card, then at the shopkeeper. "You know who I am?"
The shopkeeper's smile didn't change. "Yes. But this restaurant is just a business. We don't get involved in sect affairs. Every guest is welcome."
Lin Luo took the card. "Thanks."
"Not at all. Not at all. Enjoy your meal." The shopkeeper stepped back.
Yue Long leaned in and whispered, "Master, why did he give us a discount?"
"Because I just split his table."
"Shouldn't he be angry?"
"A broken table can be fixed. A lost life can't." Lin Luo picked up a piece of braised pork.
Yue Long thought about it and understood.
Lin Luo finished eating. The wine was gone. The dishes were nearly empty. He put down his chopsticks and stood up. Yue Long followed behind him, Su Xiaoxiao walked on his left. The three of them walked out of the Drunken Immortal Residence.
The sun was bright. People came and went on the street. A few rogue cultivators squatted by the roadside, smoking. When they saw Lin Luo come out of the restaurant, they froze for a moment, then recognized his face. Their pipes nearly fell. One ran, then another, then a group. In less than half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the area in front of the restaurant was empty.
Su Xiaoxiao watched their backs, the corner of her mouth moving slightly. "Aren't you afraid?"
"Of what?"
"Afraid they'll go report you. Afraid the bounty hunters will find you. Afraid the person offering ten thousand Spirit Stones for the talisman will come."
Lin Luo walked on. "Does being afraid help?"
Su Xiaoxiao was silent for a moment. She thought back to Blackwind Ridge. Lin Luo had killed the Wolf King with one axe swing back then too, with the same indifferent expression. But back then she only thought he was lucky. Now she didn't think that anymore.
"I never realized you were this tough," she said.
Lin Luo didn't look at her. "You never paid attention to me before."
Su Xiaoxiao said nothing. She had paid attention to him. The laziest in the class. The one who slept through lessons. The one who came last in exams. The only one without a spiritual root after transmigration. She had paid attention to him – but that attention was different from now. Back then, it was "how is he still alive." Now, it was "how is he doing so well."
Yue Long whispered from the side, "Master is so cool."
Her voice wasn't loud, but she spoke with rabbit hearing, and Su Xiaoxiao heard with human hearing. Su Xiaoxiao heard it. Her steps faltered for a moment, then she kept walking, expressionless. Yue Long's rabbit ears poked out from under her hat – as if they were sticking out on purpose.
The two looked at each other.
Neither said a word.
---
The walk back to the inn wasn't long. The inns on the outskirts of Suihuang City were mostly simple. Lin Luo chose the one closest to the market. It didn't even have a sign – just a wooden board with two characters: "Rooms."
The room wasn't big. One table, two chairs, two beds. Su Xiaoxiao and Yue Long each took one, Lin Luo slept on the floor.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at the bedding on the floor, then at Lin Luo. "You take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."
"No need."
"You're the sect leader."
"The Idle Sect doesn't stand on ceremony."
Su Xiaoxiao didn't insist.
Lin Luo sat on the chair by the window and pulled out his phone. He opened Bone One's interface – Bone One had been fighting Iron Claw Mongooses on the ancient battlefield for over half a month. The mongooses had gone extinct, and the system had spawned new demon beasts. These new beasts were much stronger than the mongooses. Bone One was smashed the moment he approached.
[Bone One · Died · Revived]
[Bone One · Died · Revived]
[Bone One · Died · Revived]
Lin Luo frowned and tapped [Auto-Battle · Host]. Bone One stood up and charged at the new beast. The new beast was a mutated species – not the same as the mongoose. Its body was covered in black fur, larger than the mongoose, with longer claws and faster speed. Bone One charged, stabbed his blade into the beast's belly. The beast swiped its claw at Bone One's head. Bone One shattered.
Revive. Charge again. Shattered again.
Yue Long came closer. Her rabbit ears popped out from under her hat, the silver-white fur almost brushing Lin Luo's face.
"Master, what's this?"
"Bone One. Fighting a demon beast."
Yue Long stared at the screen, watching the skeleton get smashed over and over, revive over and over. "Doesn't it hurt?"
"Skeletons don't feel pain."
"But… doesn't he get annoyed?"
"No. He's idling."
Su Xiaoxiao stood behind him, also watching the screen. She wasn't as close as Yue Long – her gaze went over Lin Luo's shoulder to the phone screen. The disguise talisman was still on her forehead, her facial disguise still active. But her eyes hadn't changed – black, calm, with a hint of curiosity.
"You don't need to control him?" Su Xiaoxiao asked.
"No. He's on auto-battle."
Su Xiaoxiao was silent for a moment. "Then what are you doing right now?"
"Looking at you."
Su Xiaoxiao froze.
Lin Luo looked up at her. The disguise talisman made her face very ordinary, but eyes don't lie. Black, calm, with a hint of fluster.
"The talisman on your forehead is crooked," Lin Luo said.
Su Xiaoxiao reached up and touched the talisman. It was crooked – slightly tilted to the left. She peeled it off and stuck it back on, straight. Then she looked at Lin Luo. Their faces were very close. Not because she leaned in, not because he leaned in – just very close.
Yue Long stood nearby, her rabbit ears straight up. She looked at the distance between Lin Luo and Su Xiaoxiao, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
Su Xiaoxiao pulled back first. She sat on her own bed, picked up a book, flipped two pages – didn't read a word.
Yue Long crouched by the window, tucked her rabbit ears into her hat, then pulled out her own phone. She opened Bone One's idle interface, saw Bone One being chased by the new beast, the corner of her mouth twitched down, then she quickly turned it back up.
Su Xiaoxiao lay down. She lay on her side, facing the wall, the curve of her spine rising and falling under the blanket.
Yue Long curled up under her covers, only her red eyes showing. She looked at Lin Luo. Lin Luo leaned back in the chair by the window, eyes closed, phone on his knee, screen still lit. Bone One had died again.
Yue Long said softly. Her voice was so low that Su Xiaoxiao couldn't hear it, so low that even she felt like she was talking to herself.
"Master, aren't you tired?"
Lin Luo didn't open his eyes.
"Just idling."
Yue Long pulled the covers up to half her face, leaving only her red eyes and rabbit ears showing. She looked at Lin Luo for a long time. Then she curled into her blanket and smiled to herself. No sound. But the blanket trembled slightly.
Three swords hung on the wall. Lin Luo's Greenwind Sword, Su Xiaoxiao's personal sword, and the iron sword Yue Long had brought from the mortal. Three swords hung side by side, scabbards touching – like three people standing side by side, waiting for dawn.
Outside the window was the night of Suihuang City. No moon, no stars – just the last light from the distant market flickering and going out in the wind.
Bone One was smashed again on the ancient battlefield.
Then revived.
Charged again.
Just keep idling.
---
(End of Chapter 20)
Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo (Immortal Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (idling, ~12h to Layer 3)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Second Cycle (Mastered)
Defense: 650
Attack: 350 (Greenwind Sword)
HP: 1650/1650
Spirit Stones: ~5650 (after clearing debt, actual disposable ~5000+)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×8, Life Extension Pill ×1, Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Mountain Pass Token ×1, Drunken Immortal Residence VIP card (20% off)
Skill: Spirit Eye Technique
Disciple: Yue Long (formal Idle Sect disciple)
Alt Account · Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 8 (~24h to Layer 9)
Status: Idling · Ancient Battlefield (new demon beast appeared, repeatedly dying for XP)
Cumulative deaths: about 150
Alt Account · Blood One (Demon Cultivation · Blood Clan)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 5 → Layer 6 (breakthrough)
Status: Hidden · Demon Abyss second layer (continuously absorbing Blood Clan energy)
Alt Account · Rat One (Beast Cultivation · Treasure-Seeking Rat Race)
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering, Layer 4 (~6h to Layer 5)
Status: Hosting · Idle Sect land (farming)
Spirit Field: Glow Mushrooms ×40
Special discovery: Spirit Vein Fragment ×1 beneath the mine shaft
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Formal Disciple: Yue Long (life binding, cannot withdraw)
Members: Bone One, Rat One, Blood One (alt accounts, independent)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Warehouse Capacity: 200 slots
Sect Warehouse Contents: Spirit Stones (various), Glow Mushrooms (various), materials (various)
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Race: Pureblood Jade Rabbit Race · Demonic Mutation
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 1 (~12h to Layer 2)
Special Constitution: Four-Cultivation Body (can cultivate demonic, Buddhist, human, and beast arts)
Left Arm: Residual demonic energy
Right Arm: Diamond Body Buddha's light seal
Origin: Traveled through time from ten thousand years in the future
Possessions: Disciple-dedicated phone, Low-Grade Storage Pouch, Zixiao Sect inheritance token, one spirit stone (from ten thousand years ago)
Combat Data: Diamond Body measured to withstand Foundation Establishment Layer 3 full-power attacks
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Appendix: Special Cultivation Systems for Lin Luo and His Alt Accounts
Immortal Cultivation (Main Account · Lin Luo):
Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Opening → Fusion → Heart Movement → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Departure → Spirit Separation → Body Integration → Cave Void → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Demon Cultivation (Alt Accounts · Bone One, Blood One):
Qi Gathering → Body Refining → Core Condensation → Desire Embodiment → Devouring → Demon Infant → Soul Departure → Sense Separation → Body Fusion → Void Break → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Beast Cultivation (Alt Account · Rat One):
Spirit Gathering → Intelligence Awakening → Body Tempering → Bone Refining → Beast Core → Transformation → Soul Condensation → Spirit Roaming → Body Purification → Void Training → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Note: The above are the exclusive cultivation systems for Lin Luo and his alt accounts. Everyone else (side characters, enemies, etc.) uses the traditional system: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Training, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Tribulation Transcendence.
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(End of Chapter 20)