The surrounding crowd couldn't help but shift their expressions. Plenty of people had managed to eat five full plates of meat before, but someone as eager as Yun Jin?
That was a first.
Even the spiritual chef raised an eyebrow, then signaled her assistants to bring up ten more plates of meat. Yun Jin grinned cheekily and dove right back into eating.
While others gradually slowed down and wore expressions of misery, Yun Jin seemed to only grow more delighted. Several times, the onlookers caught her trying to stifle a giggle—like she was enjoying some rare delicacy.
But everyone knew the truth: The meat was just plain boiled, barely seasoned. Nobody would call it delicious.
Even Si Wanning was a bit alarmed by the spectacle, but when she noticed the shocked looks all around, she lifted her chin proudly. "Convinced yet? My junior sister just has a naturally good appetite."
"Yeah, yeah, great appetite," Yun Jin waved her hand lazily, "Next batch, please."
To everyone's disbelief, the ten new plates had also been emptied.
Si Wanning quickly checked Yun Jin's cultivation level. As expected, she had broken through the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm and reached the sixth. From shock, Si Wanning was now bordering on panic.
"Less than a day since joining the sect… From Level 1 to Level 6 in a single day! Was this even normal?!"
Regardless, all she could do now was help cover for her. Yun Jin's pace was simply too fast and too relaxed. Before long, the entire mess hall had begun to subtly shift their attention toward her.
Some even started counting aloud.
"Eighteen plates!"
"Nineteen!"
"She's eating so fast, I don't even see her chewing!"
"She's really digesting all that meat?"
Ordinary people could only manage five plates at most. To go beyond that, they had to use spiritual energy to assist digestion. Earlier, the spiritual chef had assessed Yun Jin at the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Could someone at that level really handle this?
"She must be close to her limit."
"I think so too."
Yet Yun Jin didn't slow down at all.
"…Could she actually be aiming for thirty plates?"
"No way! Last time, even a seventh-layer senior barely managed thirty."
If Yun Jin succeeded, that would mean her spiritual control wasn't far off from someone at the seventh layer.
Impossible… right?
"…Thirty plates."
"She has to stop now."
"But she hasn't slowed down one bit!"
Silence fell over the crowd.
Finally, someone spoke with a trembling voice. "Is she really going to pull this off?"
No one answered.
They didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was undeniable.
By the time Yun Jin finished her fortieth plate and energetically called for ten more, all doubts vanished. Only half the challenge time had passed, and she still looked completely relaxed.
Was she really…
Going to succeed?
The spiritual chef was visibly surprised, but still brought over the final ten plates.
"Alright, if anything else comes up, just come find me later." Yue Zhao cheerfully waved off a fellow disciple and stepped into the mess hall.
The moment he entered, he saw the massive crowd surrounding Yun Jin.
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
The crowd erupted into deafening roars.
Yue Zhao: "???"
"What the hell happened here?!"
"CHALLENGE COMPLETE!"
"HOLY SHIT, SHE DID IT?!"
"I'm already at the fifth layer, and I never dared try this. But she did it at the fourth? Maybe I could too!"
In the middle of the crowd, Yun Jin stood up and waved like a queen greeting her subjects.
He'd just been outside helping some poor juniors—
How had the dining hall turned into a celebratory arena?!
"According to the rules, your meal today is free," the spiritual chef said, her expression complex.
"Much appreciated." Yun Jin blinked innocently. "Chef Sister, can I order the Glutton's Feast again tomorrow?"
The chef stared at her.
"…Just kidding," Yun Jin chuckled. "Once is enough. If I keep mooching, I might get beaten up."
The chef's expression softened. "You're impressive. Next time, I'll give you a discount. But the Glutton's Feast… please go easy on us."
"A single full meal is more than enough," Yun Jin said graciously, taking the chance to bow out.
"Senior Sister Muhua, can you process this beast meat for me? Turn it into dried meat floss," Si Wanning said, handing over a chunk of monster flesh.
Chef Muhua was about to name her price when—
"It's for my junior sister. Just this once, do it for free. Consider it a welcome gift," Si Wanning declared, completely shameless.
Muhua gave her a flat look. "Fine. For your junior sister's sake."
Si Wanning beamed like a fox who had just stolen a chicken. Yue Zhao approached them, having already asked around to understand what happened. He now looked at Yun Jin with a slightly odd expression. "Junior sister, did you really complete the challenge?"
Yun Jin patted her stomach. "Yep. About 70% full."
70% full.
The entire hall fell silent.
What kind of monster had Tianjian Peak recruited?!
All that food… and she wasn't even fully satisfied?!
How much would it take to actually fill her up?!
[+20 Emotional Value.]
[+10 Emotional Value.]
[+20 Emotional Value.]
Another wave of notifications flooded in.
Yun Jin's smile widened.
Emotional Value had been trickling in during the meal, but this was a spike.
This challenge alone had netted her 900 points—pushing her total past 3,000.
Her free simplifications were used up, but now she could exchange 1,000 points for 10 chances.
"No rush to spend them yet."
Soon, Muhua returned with a large pouch of dried meat floss, which Yun Jin received happily.
"Come on, I'll take you around to explore the rest of the place," Si Wanning said, tugging her along.
Muhua watched them leave, then lowered her voice and asked Yue Zhao, "Can you afford to raise this one?"
"…I'll try," Yue Zhao replied bitterly.
Their master had swindled her into joining—
They couldn't let her starve!
Muhua gave him a look of sympathy. "Good luck."
Yue Zhao's face twisted in despair.
"My years of careful savings… Gone in a few meals at this rate."
He let out sigh. These days were not going to be easy.
"Make extra meat floss for later. Put it on my tab. When she needs it, I'll come to collect," Yue Zhao instructed. "Also, now that she's completed the challenge, the Feast might grow popular. But if people keep failing, it'll stir resentment. If you want steady business, make the challenge easier—either increase the time limit or reduce the portion size. Let a few people succeed. That's the way to keep it going."
Muhua nodded. "Understood."
After their short discussion, Yue Zhao hurried off.
Muhua watched his back and sighed. She had worked with Yue Zhao for a long time now. Most of the mess hall's new dishes and marketing ideas had come from him. In return, she shared a portion of the profits. They were business partners in all but name. Yue Zhao was definitely capable.
It was just a pity… that his master had dragged him down so much.
And now, he had a junior sister with a monstrous appetite to take care of too. She wasn't sure how long he could last. Muhua shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it.