"Oh!"
Xu Xian let out a soft exclamation, his gaze darting around as he continued to peer toward the back kitchen, his neck craned in anticipation.
Clearly, his mind was not on the conversation.
Wen Qingxue's elegant brows furrowed slightly before she let out a long breath of turbid air. Her expression softened as she slowly explained:
"A dao jade is the identity token of the Wendao Sword Sect. Everyone has one. It records your name, cultivation realm, the peak you belong to, and your position. It updates automatically, but most importantly..."
Pausing for a moment, she intentionally raised her voice and continued, "It can store merit points. In the Wendao Sword Sect, merit points are used like worldly currency. You can trade them with others, buy or sell spiritual herbs, pills, talismans, and exchange them for spirit stones, materials, techniques, weapons—and even food."
Xu Xian replied perfunctorily, "Right, food. Food is good. Eating is important. You can't skip a meal without feeling the hunger."
Wen Qingxue's eyes widened. "..."
She fell silent.
Soon, a steaming bowl of spiritual porridge was brought to Xu Xian by a serving disciple. The disciple respectfully handed the jade plaque back to Wen Qingxue, his gaze lingering on the two of them for a few seconds. His eyes shifted with hidden thoughts as he addressed her:
"Martial Uncle, your dao jade."
"Enjoy your meal. Call me if you need anything else..."
Xu Xian didn't care about any of that. The moment the spiritual porridge hit the table, he pulled it toward him. The milky-white porridge was speckled with red and green ingredients, and the broth emitted a crystalline glow, like stars in the night sky.
Already famished, Xu Xian's appetite surged. He licked his lips and pretended to be polite, "Aren't you eating?"
Wen Qingxue shook her head slightly.
Xu Xian bared his teeth in a grin. "Then I won't be formal."
With one gulp of the white porridge, it felt like a clear spring cascading into his heart during the height of summer. The sensation was truly beyond words.
In just a few breaths, the white porridge had vanished into his stomach. Xu Xian rubbed his belly and let out a satisfied burp, leaning lazily back in his chair with a look of pure contentment...
There was no delicacy in the mortal world that could surpass this.
The surrounding disciples occasionally cast strange looks his way. He looked refined and carried himself with some dignity, but his ravenous eating habits were truly shocking.
Besides...
It was just a bowl of spiritual porridge. It was the cheapest item at the Spirit Food Workshop. Could it really be that delicious?
To enjoy it that much after finishing...
They couldn't help but look into their own bowls. Were they not eating the same thing?
Did the fatty in the kitchen add extra ingredients for the person Deacon Wen brought?
The disciple who had delivered the porridge was one of them. He scratched his head and muttered quietly, "That's right, it's just ordinary spiritual porridge..."
He had served it and brought it over himself; he even began to doubt if he'd made a mistake.
Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed behind him. A round, bulging belly nudged him forward. He turned around abruptly. "Martial Uncle..."
The large, portly man stared at Xu Xian and Wen Qingxue from a distance and grumbled, "Look at that, just how hungry is that kid? Life in the Sword Suppression Hall must be tough. It's nothing like the comfortable life we have in the Merchant Hall... You brat, don't you dare take your blessings for granted..."
The disciple nodded repeatedly and said firmly, "You're right, Martial Uncle. Don't worry, I'll definitely work hard under you."
The fatty squinted his eyes, looking very satisfied. He raised a hand and gave the disciple a heavy pat on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. He laughed and said:
"You're the one I have the highest hopes for. You've got talent. Go on, get back to work."
"Alright! Just watch me..."
At the long table...
Xu Xian looked at the ordinary-sized empty bowl in front of him and smiled. "I have to say, the food in the Wendao Sword Sect is really different. Just this one small bowl and I'm full. Back home, I could eat ten bowls this size by myself."
That was when Xu Xian was twelve and still growing.
As the saying goes, a growing boy can eat his father out of house and home, and he was no exception.
Wen Qingxue remained expressionless as she explained:
"Spiritual food is made from ingredients nurtured with spiritual water. They contain the essence of heaven and earth. When mortals eat them, they strengthen the body and bones and extend life. When cultivators eat them, they satisfy hunger and restore a small amount of Qi. You don't have a cultivation base yet, which is why you feel this way."
Xu Xian nodded instinctively.
In short: Eat more of this. It’s good for the body and nutritious.
Xu Xian's gaze fell on the jade plaque at Wen Qingxue's waist, and he changed the subject. "By the way, you just told me this thing is called a dao jade?"
"Yes."
"Where's mine?"
Wen Qingxue said, "It's getting late today. I'll take you to get it processed tomorrow."
"And those merit points you mentioned for trading—how do I get them?"
Xu Xian's proactive questioning pleased her, and she explained with extreme patience:
"Merit points can be obtained by completing sect missions or through trading with others. Of course, you can also work for the sect to earn them as compensation."
"Work?"
Wen Qingxue nodded. "Yes. For example, I am a Deacon of the Sword Suppression Hall, so I have a fixed amount of merit points deposited into my dao jade every month. Like the disciple who just brought you porridge—he comes to help at the Spirit Food Workshop in his spare time outside of cultivation, and he receives merit points as payment. Similar jobs include sweeping, weeding, night patrols... and so on."
Xu Xian curled his lip. "So it's just working a job?"
"You could say that," Wen Qingxue said calmly.
Xu Xian rubbed his nose and gave a sheepish laugh. Working a job was impossible. Xu Xian would never work a job in this life. He was a cultivator now; why the hell would he work?
To put it simply, the so-called dao jade was equivalent to an ID card, a bank card, and a salary card all in one.
He couldn't help but marvel that this ten-thousand-year-old sect was indeed different; its system was very well-developed.
"Got it."
Wen Qingxue continued, "This is the Spirit Food Workshop, and it's also the only place on my Zhijian Peak that provides food. If you're hungry in the future, you can come here to eat, though it will be a bit expensive..."
Xu Xian said nonchalantly, "Hey... you can't put it that way. So what if it's expensive? It tastes good! Eating is a big deal; you can't skimp on it."
Wen Qingxue said nothing. She stood up to leave. "Let's go."
"Where to?"
"Home."
"Oh!"
The two of them left the Spirit Food Workshop. Wen Qingxue did not choose to fly via sword control. Instead, they followed a winding path, bathed in the last remnants of the twilight glow, heading toward a certain place in the mountains.
Along the way...
Wen Qingxue acted like a robot, numbly providing Xu Xian with general knowledge about the Wendao Sword Sect: its layout, its situation, and the rules of Zhijian Peak...
"The Wendao Sword Sect has a total of Seven Peaks and Thirteen Halls."
"The Seven Peaks are: Sword Inquiry Peak, Burial Sword Peak, Zhijian Peak, Tianjian Peak, Falling Cloud Peak, Zhujian Peak, and the Ancestral Peak."
"Aside from our Sword Suppression Hall, the Thirteen Halls include the Spirit Elixir Hall, the Merchant Hall, the Shadow Hall, the Law Enforcement Hall, the Forging Hall, the Personnel Hall, the Mission Hall... and so on."
"The presence of the Thirteen Halls is spread across the Seven Peaks. They each have their own branch halls and properties, as well as their own responsibilities and functions. The Thirteen Halls complement each other, allowing the Wendao Sword Sect to operate stably. My Sword Suppression Hall, for example, handles external affairs, monitoring the world and acting as the sword of justice among men."
"The Mission Hall issues tasks."
"The Shadow Hall is responsible for gathering intelligence."
"The Law Enforcement Hall is responsible for maintaining internal order within the sect..."
"And then there's the Merchant Hall, which is essentially the business arm. The sect leads the business ventures, and the Spirit Food Workshop is just one of them. They also have auctions and shops, and they even have businesses in the world outside..."
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