Best Young Master

The gentle breeze blew softly, with Primordial Qi lingering in the air. The aroma of meat filled the valley, and flames danced in the fire. Ye Fan, Yaling, Jin Changgeng, Hu Fei, and others sat together, surrounded by the scent wafting from the boiling crocodile dragon meat in the large iron pot.

On the other side, Shi Ye twirled Ye Fan’s Thunder Emperor Spear carefully grilling the crocodile dragon meat. The meat strips turned golden and luscious, with oil dripping into the fire, making crackling sounds.

Nearby, several jars of fine wine also emitted a strong aroma, drifting far with the breeze. They ate large chunks of meat and drank wine in big bowls, creating a lively and harmonious atmosphere.

"This crocodile dragon meat is excellent, fatty but not greasy, melting as soon as it enters the mouth, brimming with life essence. It is indeed top-quality ingredients!" Han Sandong commented while eating.

"Ye Zi’s cooking skills are exceptional. Even the best chef employed by our clan can’t make food this delicious."

Sikong Po, with oil dripping from his mouth as he ate, mumbled to Ye Fan, "Ye Zi, why don’t you become a Guest Elder at my Sikong Family? You won’t need to exert yourself; just teach our lazy chef a few tricks!"

"You’re dreaming too much. Ye Zi, since we’re on the same path, you must come with us to the Northern Domain, right?" Hu Fei said.

"Speaking of being fellow travelers, this iron pot and some seasoning were stolen from the Qing Family’s kitchen by Old Bai, so we’re comrades in a way!" Ye Fan laughed.

Poof!

Yaling had just taken a sip of wine and couldn’t hold back her laughter, spraying it all over him as she chuckled, "You rascal, stealing their Spirit Stone Storage wasn’t enough; you even cleaned out their kitchen. This is just too much..."

Hu Fei was dumbfounded, and after a while, he gave Ye Fan a thumbs-up and said, "Brother, I surrender to you. Is there anything you don’t want?"

"Cough... it was all Old Bai’s doing!" Ye Fan spread his hands, shifting all the blame to the Bai Yan wolf, indicating his innocence.

"——"

Everyone was speechless together. The Bai Yan wolf was truly bizarre—emptying out someone’s kitchen, can there be any more peculiar retaliation?

"Alright, the grilled meat is ready!"

Under Ye Fan’s guidance, Shi Ye quickly mastered new skills, brushing on BBQ sauce repeatedly while grilling the crocodile dragon meat. The taste was absolutely superb, making one’s mouth water even before it was fully cooked.

Once the meat was done, they pulled a piece off the Thunder Emperor Spear and began to devour it, munching away and licking their fingers with relish.

Although the Thunder Emperor Spear was just a replica, it was personally refined by the Thunder Venerable master. It only lacked some materials compared to the original Thunder Emperor Spear, but it was still rare and a fearsome weapon for killing enemies. Yet now, it had become a skewer for a group of foodies to grill meat, truly a case of great talent being wasted.

"This grilled meat is really good. Ye Zi, in future gatherings, we’ll leave the grilling to you, and we’ll just be responsible for eating!" Hu Fei praised while eating.

Previously, when they grilled meat, it was never this exquisite.

They would just clean and peel it, then roast it over the fire, which was a world apart from the meticulous grilling of Ye Fan.

"Although the crocodile dragon’s True Dragon Bloodline is thin, it still carries the bloodline. This meal is truly extravagant!"

As Gu Hao ate to his heart’s content, he couldn’t help but sigh. He felt it was surreal to eat such delicacies, noting that even in the Ancient Sacred Land, not many could enjoy such a feast.

"By the way, Ye Zi, last time you said you’d tell us once you’ve figured out your Divine Skills, but you haven’t said anything yet. Can you tell us now?" Hu Fei asked, after downing a jar of wine, with an alcoholic breath towards Ye Fan.

"You’ll find out during tomorrow’s competition. I’m not telling now to keep it a surprise!" Ye Fan teased.

"We despise you!"

Everyone made a gesture of disdain.

However, they didn’t press further but continued to chat about oddities and curiosities in the Cultivation World.

"By the way, little brother, did you take the test in the Immortal Secret Realm? Did you pass?" Yaling couldn’t help but ask.

"Is that even a question? That guy Ye Zi is a freak. Not only was he the first to pass all three tests, but he also crossed the Divine Soul Bridge and Lake of Reincarnation in one attempt and used only three days in between the two attempts for the Life and Death Tower, breaking the academy’s record..."

Upon hearing Yaling’s inquiry, Hu Fei, with meat crumbs in his mouth, exclaimed with envy, jealousy, and admiration.

"This..."

Though Yaling had expected Ye Fan to pass the tests, hearing Hu Fei and seeing the envious, jealous, and admiring looks from Shi Ye and Jin Changgeng left her stunned.

"Little brother, you’re still as remarkable as ever."

After her brief shock, Yaling praised with a smile, feeling quite gratified in her heart.

As Ye Fan’s strength grew, she increasingly felt her initial choice might be the most correct of her life, bringing unimaginable benefits to herself and the Treasure Pavilion!

Afterward, Han Sandong and Sikong Po talked about the disciple ranking competition during their generation, prompting Ye Fan and others to perk up their ears, wanting to learn more about the rules.

"Actually, there’s nothing mysterious about the ranking competition. In simple terms, it’s a way for the academy to encourage students to cultivate diligently. The academy arranges opponents with similar strengths for matches based on each person’s strength.

Achieving a good rank in the competition allows one to get good cultivation resources, but if one’s strength stagnates, they can easily be challenged by others, and upon defeat, have to hand over all their resources willingly!"

"According to the rules, one is not allowed to kill opponents, nor intentionally cripple their cultivation during the matches, imposing many restrictions. This forces many people to be unable to use their trump cards." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Upon hearing their introduction, Ye Fan couldn’t help but touch his chin, pondering silently.

Immortal Stele Scattering Hand is a powerful loose hand technique, arguably his strongest trump card apart from the Emperor Weapon—since the Xuandi Fist was already known to many!

Since the Immortal Stele Scattering Hand can’t be used, I can only rely on the spell immunity divine skill to secure an unexpected victory.

To fight for the best cultivation resources, he must go all out, as long as he keeps the Immortal Stele Scattering Hand and the Emperor Weapon as his trump cards.

The fewer cards exposed, the better he can survive in dangerous situations, for he doesn’t believe the Ling Family will let things rest.

In the Immortal Academy, they might not dare to do anything, but once outside, who knows when the Ling Family might strike with dark intentions, so he must be vigilant.

Additionally, the Qing Family Ancestor is also a potential threat. The old man is not easy to deal with, especially since both Qing Yu and Qing Zi were killed by him, shaking the Qing Family’s heritage and foundation. There’s no guarantee the Qing Family Ancestor won’t take desperate measures against him.

...

The feast lasted from morning until evening, and the several thousand pounds of crocodile dragon was devoured clean by everyone. Each person was particularly satisfied, not even a drop of soup was left in the large pot.

The crocodile dragon meat contained life essence; even a small piece could cause an ordinary person to explode with Essence Qi. Even the cultivators felt their bodies surging with Essence Qi after eating too much, nearly bursting.

"No way, I need to exercise, or else this much Essence Qi will blow me up!" Hu Fei was the first to stand up and started running around the academy.

With the first leading, others followed suit. Such life essence needed to be refined into their bodies, otherwise it would be wasted.

In the blink of an eye, only Ye Fan and Yaling were left in the small valley.

Yaling had drunk quite a bit, her face flushed, and her large eyes sparkling like ripples, enchanting like silk.

Ye Fan, on the other hand, having a Pure Yang Body, could quickly convert all the life essence into Pure Yang Qi, without the danger of exploding.

The two stood on a small hill, watching Hu Fei and others running circles around the Immortal Academy, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Hu Fei and the others had overeaten, so much Essence Qi overflowed from them, spurting out of their seven orifices, creating a strange scene like human-shaped torches burning.

"These guys..."

Ye Fan shook his head with an amused smile, indeed, crocodile dragon meat was tasty, but eating too much wasn’t pleasant either. Now they finally experienced the consequences.

After a few laps, Hu Fei was so exhausted he was panting, dripping with sweat as if he’d been fished out of water.

"Xiao Fan, I’m planning to set up betting for tomorrow’s ranking tournament, with you as the top contender for the championship, with the lowest odds."

Yaling glanced at Ye Fan and continued, "The old rule stands: if you don’t win and I lose money, then as a punishment, I’ll be your follower for a year, how about it?"

"Why is it me? The four seeded contestants in this tournament are Qi Tianlin, Zhou Zhaolong, Wu Jingtian, and Yue Chuan, it has nothing to do with me!" Ye Fan replied with a wry smile.

"Because I want to! Is that not allowed?"

Yaling smiled slyly, as if a hundred flowers bloomed, her beauty was captivating.

"Of course, but what if I win?"

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He smiled and asked, "If I win, what will you give me?"

"If you win, I’ll be your follower for a year, listening to your every command, how about that?"

Yaling charmed him with a smile, her jade-like fingers gently sliding across Ye Fan’s face, leaving a faint fragrance as she floated away.

"Deal!"

Ye Fan gazed at Yaling’s alluring, exquisite face and smiled, "Isn’t winning the championship no big deal? It shouldn’t be too difficult for me, so just wait to be my follower for a year!"

"Alright, I’ll wait for you. As long as you can truly win, I won’t go back on my word!" Yaling smiled alluringly.

"Alright, but I’m curious, what exactly do you mean by listening to my every command?" Ye Fan asked mischievously.

"Uh..."

Yaling blushed a little upon hearing this, glancing at Ye Fan with a flirtatious look, "Little brother, you have impure thoughts... Well, wait until you win and I’ll tell you!"

With that, Yaling floated away, leaving a tantalizing scent behind.

"The championship..."

Ye Fan murmured to himself, his face filled with confidence.

Although he knew many people had yet to reveal their strength, waiting to dominate the ranking tournament, he was not afraid.

On the contrary, he eagerly anticipated the upcoming ranking tournament.

Because...

It will be the best place to test his year’s cultivation achievements!

...

...