Chapter 40: Special Side Quest Reward: Spiritual Chef Heritage

That night, Xin Shengzhu ultimately still didn't get to pet the dog.

Instead, she petted something else.

Her favorability rating experienced a massive surge, leaping straight to 85 points, reaching the confidant stage.

The next day, when Lu Wenwu walked over to the director's office with a refreshed expression to ask for leave on behalf of Xin Shengzhu, the pot-bellied director showed no inclination of making things difficult or demanding bribes.

Not only did he grant the leave slip with remarkable efficiency, but he also proactively and thoughtfully asked if he needed to extend the paid leave by a few more days.

Lu Wenwu thought about it and simply requested a full week.

With a seven-day leave slip in hand, he was happily and courteously escorted out of the office by the director.

The director walked him all the way to the building entrance before turning back.

The broad, plate-like face hadn't stopped beaming with a rich, radiant smile the entire time.

"Is this director always this easy to talk to?"

Lu Wenwu felt a mild sense of surprise, but didn't dwell on it and decisively headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

After plowing the fields diligently all night, he was too lazy to make egg pancakes in the morning.

......

Seven days later.

Xin Shengzhu's favorability toward Lu Wenwu had skyrocketed to 95.

It was just four points shy of reaching the inseparable stage.

This final bit proved a bit stubborn to raise. After trying hard for a while with no movement in sight, Lu Wenwu simply let nature take its course.

When the students of Class 1, Grade 3 saw Xin Shengzhu again, the specter students were immensely astonished to discover that her strength had actually broken through to the B-minus tier!

It was on par with the head of teaching!

Due to this breakthrough in strength, Xin Shengzhu's absence on leave hadn't aroused any suspicion among the specter students or the rest of the faculty and staff.

They all unanimously concluded that her opportunity had arrived, and she had gone into seclusion to achieve a breakthrough.

Apart from her complexion looking somewhat more rosy than before, and her cold, rigid demeanor softening considerably into warmth, everything else seemed no different from usual.

Even her altered temperament was attributed to the gains brought by her cultivation breakthrough.

Only the principal and the director, who knew the inside story, smiled without a word, grinning from ear to ear.

As for Lu Wenwu, who continually spent his nights away from the dormitory?

Not a single specter dared to have any objections.

The various dorm supervisors were mere C-tier entities; how could they dare to discipline this supreme deity?

Besides......

He really wanted to taste Fifth Brother's egg pancakes too!

Days went by one after another, peaceful yet fulfilling.

Lu Wenwu's routine consisted of waking up in the morning to make breakfast, playing with Maomao for a little while, and then going to morning self-study with Xin Shengzhu.

During the day, he supervised the class in serious study and inspected whether the meals prepared by the cafeteria suited the public palate.

In the evening, he went out to sell egg pancakes as usual, raking in sacks of cash.

After evening self-study ended, he would discuss adult-only biological knowledge with Xin Shengzhu, living a life of absolute joy and fulfillment.

A month passed in this mundane yet peaceful manner.

Including Lu Wenwu, out of the thirty players, twenty-one remained.

The other twenty harbored an intense mixture of envy and jealousy toward his pampered lifestyle.

Wherever he went, he was flanked by crowds, served by subordinates, and embraced by a beauty.

No matter where he walked, the cries of "Fifth Lord" and "Fifth Brother" echoed incessantly, accompanied by the respectful gazes of numerous specters.

Those who knew would think he was here to clear a dungeon and complete quests; those who didn't would think he was here to ascend the throne as emperor!

Right now, among all the specters in the Strange Mystery Yuying Middle School, there might be some who didn't recognize the principal, but there was definitely not a single specter who didn't recognize Fifth Brother Lu Wenwu.

That's how dominant he was!

Merely relying on his mastery-tier egg-pancake-making skills and his efforts in improving the cafeteria food was enough to fill the specters with utmost respect.

Not to mention the behind-the-scenes functioning of the Azure Dragon Study Mutual Aid Society.

The first monthly exam concluded.

As expected, the overall grades of Class 1 experienced a collective leap forward.

Going from basically zero specters passing to basically all specters passing was definitely a major upgrade.

All the specter student felt a sense of unreality.

Never did we expect that a bunch of academic dregs like us would actually have a day where we passed every single subject!

The goal Lu Wenwu initially set was gradually being realized.

On the evening of the first day of the second month, the first side quest he triggered was finally completed.

[You have unlocked a special side quest—The Respected Culinary King]

[Quest Progress: 2/2]

[Quest Description: The Strange Mystery Yuying Middle School has suffered under its cafeteria cooks for far too long, and you are fit to replace them! Even mass-produced canteen food requires a chef's mindful cooking and dedication. Show the specters what true culinary art really is!]

[Your final evaluation has been significantly enhanced]

[You have obtained the reward: Spirit Chef Legacy]

Spirit Chef Legacy?

When I helped Fang Zi achieve sudden enlightenment, because he was the vice leader of the Azure Dragon Gang, the reward was the Leader's Token.

Now because the quest I completed was triggered in the cafeteria, the reward given is this Spirit Chef Legacy?

Lu Wenwu fell into deep thought.

The rewards given by special side quests seemed to be closely related to the side quests themselves.

He would study this question later; let's quickly check what this thing actually was.

After finishing his stall-vending for the day, Lu Wenwu bid farewell to Xin Shengzhu and returned to his blessed land to inspect this newly acquired reward.

[Name: Spirit Chef Legacy]

[Quality: Complete]

[Type: Auxiliary Profession]

[Description: The path of culinary arts is profound and vast. A master of great attainment observed the ways of alchemy and pharmaceutics to gain enlightenment. Thus, taking from others to make up for one's shortcomings, drawing on the strengths of all schools, and fusing them into the culinary arts to create spiritual cuisine. Because spiritual cuisine contains supreme spiritual essence within itself, it earned the name—Spirit Chef.]

[Note 1: Accepting this special legacy allows you to unlock the auxiliary profession [Spirit Chef].]

[Note 2: The quality classification of auxiliary profession legacies depends on the completeness of the legacy information.]

"A Spirit Chef? It actually seems quite suited to me." Lu Wenwu didn't hesitate and decisively chose to learn it.

The next instant, a vast ocean of knowledge materialized out of thin air, continuously pouring into his mind.

Even with Lu Wenwu's current soul strength, which exceeded three hundred points, he inevitably felt a slight prickling pain.

This showed just how much information was contained within the Spirit Chef Legacy.

About half an hour later, Lu Wenwu finally recovered, rapidly browsing through the newly acquired knowledge like flipping through a book.

The preparation of spiritual cuisine by a spirit chef shared a subtle, wondrous similarity with mortal medicinal diet therapy.

It could also be considered a close relative to professions like pharmacists and alchemists.

For instance, pharmacists had first-tier breakthrough potions, alchemists had foundation-establishment pills, and spirit chefs had foundation-establishment spiritual spring eggs.

The effects were largely similar.

What cooking spiritual cuisine required was the use of special techniques to awaken and stimulate the spiritual essence within the food.

Cooking techniques at the mastery tier naturally infused the prepared food with spiritual essence.

That was precisely the phenomenon LuWenwu had previously been unable to detect.

In the case of spiritual cuisine egg pancakes, even if made from ordinary mortal materials, consuming them frequently would yield tremendous benefits for cultivation.

It was said that once the spiritual essence born from the mastery-tier cooking realm was thoroughly stimulated, it could even accelerate the comprehension speed of skill realms.

Whether the rumor was true remained open to debate.

Lu Wenwu decided to take it as truth for now; it was easy enough for him to make them anyway.