Chapter 33: So, You’re the Kid Who’s Wasting Food?

"No problem, I can mortgage my gear to you right now. Once I unlock my inventory, I’ll redeem it with whatever I have inside. Just let me stay by your side, Brother Five, please..."

As she spoke, she pulled a long sword from behind her back and handed it over.

"You're sharp. I like doing business with people who don't beat around the bush."

Lu Wenwu gave her an approving look and took the sword.

It had to be said, this thing looked a bit familiar.

[Name: Celestial Master’s Demon-Slaying Sword]
[Grade: Rare]
[Type: Weapon]
[Attack Power: Powerful]
[Demon-Slaying: When channeled with "Spiritual Power," this sword deals double damage to corrupted creatures.]
[Evil-Exorcising: When channeled with "Spiritual Power," it can suppress the regenerative abilities of corrupted creatures.]

Lu Wenwu: "..."

What a coincidence!

"Celestial Master’s Demon-Slaying Sword, huh... Let’s go, time to eat."

Lu Wenwu tossed it into his inventory and signaled the female player to follow.

The other players, seeing that there was a carry service available, immediately lost their composure. Three other wealthy players promptly handed over [Rare] equipment, choosing to stay by Lu Wenwu’s side for the time being. Among them were Chen Guozhi and the Taoist Xuanfeng.

Xuanfeng, coming from a "prestigious background," had originally hoped to have Lu Wenwu help him power-level until he unlocked his own cultivation techniques. Once his techniques were restored, he was confident he could sweep through the academy's students and spectral entities all by himself!

Unfortunately, the staggering number of side quests required immediately discouraged him. Even if Lu Wenwu could grind for him, he couldn't afford that many [Advanced] techniques, skills, and [Rare] equipment.

The remaining players who couldn't afford the equipment stood in place, mourning. A carry that guaranteed completion of a side quest! Compared to the final evaluation and one’s life, what were mere resources that couldn't be cashed in immediately? The expert’s service fee was high, but that certainly wasn't his fault. The service was impeccable! It was his own problem! He was just too poor!

When Lu Wenwu led the five players into the cafeteria, they instantly became the center of attention. If you can't grasp the scene, just imagine six pieces of crispy fried chicken the size of humans waddling into a school cafeteria. Countless spectral entities cast greedy, hungry gazes upon them, as if they wanted to swallow them whole.

The spectral entities crowded together in a chaotic mess, their noise irritating Lu Wenwu. As someone who had spent nine years as a farmer, he suddenly felt that a certain bald man was right about one thing:

If the path is blocked, use your fists to open it!

Lu Wenwu frowned, inhaled, and threw a punch—all in one fluid motion.

A dark red iron fist slammed out, and a large empty space instantly appeared in front of him. A clear path from the cafeteria entrance to the serving window was carved out of thin air. Countless spectral entities were horrified to discover that within that empty zone, whether they were humanoid, humanoid-like, or non-humanoid, they had all completely lost their lives, with no chance of rescue. Meanwhile, the entities outside his range of attack didn't even have a single scratch.

This terrifying level of power control was nothing short of breathtaking.

The spectral entities scattered instantly, retreating far away. No one dared to stare at Lu Wenwu and his group with such unbridled greed again.

"One strike to open the way, and a hundred strikes will follow."

In this instance, the dungeon was purely a place where the strong preyed on the weak. There was no need to be polite with these spectral entities. As long as you were strong enough to beat them, they wouldn't have a single complaint even if you made them all kneel, kowtow, and shout "Long live my dear father."

"The 'Military Killing Fist' with externalized fist aura, and at the stage of mastery!? It's only been a few days!" Chen Guozhi was shocked. "Master Five, how on earth did you do it?"

"How? You just practice along with it," Lu Wenwu said truthfully. "The skill book explains it quite clearly. I didn't feel like it was that difficult."

Not... not difficult? Just practice along with it?

The players trailing behind him felt their minds unraveling. Was this the world of the experts? Lu Wenwu was a genius when it came to fist techniques, so he naturally felt that mastering the fist aura was just a matter of course. If not for the short time and the lack of combat practice, his Military Killing Fist would have already reached an advanced stage. The Military Killing Fist required a touch of pure, battlefield killing intent, which he still lacked. But to the others, this was top-tier bragging.

Lu Wenwu was hungry and headed straight for the serving window.

However... when he saw the food inside, his vision went black.

Staples: Undercooked rice and watery porridge, cold and hard flatbread tough as a leather belt, steamed buns that squeezed water out when touched.
Dish 1: Stir-fried potato shreds with ginger.
Dish 2: Stir-fried watermelon with banana.
Dish 3: Tofu boiled with strawberries.
Dish 4: Apple and chicken dumplings.
Dish 5: Pomegranate seeds with peas in vinaigrette.
Dish 6: Chopped pepper fish head with bananas.
Dish 6: Deep-fried sugarcane with honey mustard.
Dish 7: White tofu pudding with vinegar.

...

Hard! His fists were hard!

Damn it, does this cafeteria have some kind of mental illness? Why are they so obsessed with stir-frying fruit?

There were about twenty more hot and cold dishes left, but Lu Wenwu couldn't bring himself to look anymore. Judging by the disgusted expressions on the faces of the spectral entities in the cafeteria, even though they weren't human, it didn't stop them from thinking this garbage tasted like hell.

Lu Wenwu’s expression was as dark as water. Suppressing his rage, he strode toward the kitchen. Everywhere he passed, the spectral entities retreated like a receding tide, terrified of being targeted by this ruthless man from who-knows-where.

"BOOM!"

With a loud crash, the kitchen door was blown to pieces by Lu Wenwu’s kick, the doorframe ripped away along with it. Seeing Lu Wenwu charge in alone, the group of cooks, who had been bragging and laughing while serving food to the spectral students, were instantly shocked. Soon, their shock turned to rage.

The head chef, eight feet tall and eight feet wide, grabbed two bone-crushing cleavers and growled menacingly, "Human, are you tired of living? You dare to barge into my territory?"

"You're the head chef?" Lu Wenwu’s icy gaze locked onto his face. "Did you decide the menu for those dishes out there?"

"It was me, your grandfather. So what?" The head chef let out a weird, cackling laugh. "You have a problem with it?"

"If it was you, then that's fine."

Lu Wenwu nodded, and his entire body moved in an instant.

His dark red iron fist, wrapped in violent air currents, reached the head chef’s face in a heartbeat. The Military Killing Fist, burning with intense heat from the rapid surge of blood, made intimate contact with the chef's face, sending his massive body flying backward with a single blow.

"So it was you, you bastard, leading the way in wasting food!"

The chef’s prominent nose bridge was already shattered, caved in by Lu Wenwu's punch. Before the head chef could react, Lu Wenwu used the Shadow Step to close the distance, his terrifying, heavy punches raining down like a storm, creating a series of deep, pile-driving booms.

"Fruits, vegetables, grains, animals—they all worked hard to grow delicious just for a beast like you to squander them like this?"

"Damn you, kneel down and apologize to the ingredients, you piece of trash!"

"Do you know that your Grandpa Five hates nothing more than people who waste food?"

"If I don't beat you to death today, you bastard, I'll take your last name!"

Punch after punch, the entire cafeteria seemed to tremble. Lu Wenwu had never been this angry in his entire life.