The teacher’s voice was so hypnotic that the classroom was quiet and a bit warm. After staying up late last night, Lin Zhusheng couldn’t hold on any longer; as soon as the book was propped up, he toppled over.

When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he was jolted awake by the insurmountable wall of knowledge that had fallen on him. The book had hit his head, and the weight of knowledge was quite substantial. He was awakened, and the little cat inside his clothes also stirred, poking its head out in an instant.

He woke up just in time, catching the end of the class. The others were packing up to leave. The face he had just met yesterday, the blushing guy, also left, or rather, it seemed more like he was escaping the scene, rushing out as soon as class ended. Only Song Ming remained sitting beside him.

One hand stifling a yawn, the other rubbing his head where he had been hit, he finally put away his book and stood up, stepping out of the classroom with Song Ming.

Today, his fellow students seemed to have been slightly inspired by the teacher’s lecture and planned to go back to read some more. As he took a different path down the mountain, he waved goodbye with a small arc of his hand.

The wooden box had already been made, and there was still an excess of wood and stone. Just as Lin Zhusheng was heading down the mountain, he could stop by the halfway point to buy some fire crystal stones and take the opportunity to fix the cooking table.

On the way, he tied his hair up with a new headband, still managing to make it look messy in a very personal style. He took a stroll around the halfway point and regrettably lost dozens of silver coins.

The bulletin board was still filled with announcements, especially the information about buying Lingxu grass. The number of papers was exactly the same as last time, not a single one missing, all intact. The only change was the price, which had risen from 5 silver coins per piece to 15. The numbers had been manually changed, and the handwriting was quite messy, as if there was some urgency.

The price had increased quite a bit, and the little cat lifted its head from his clothes, asking, “Sell?”

Lin Zhusheng shook his head, saying, “Not in a hurry, still have a few days.”

He was quite steady about it, glancing at the announcements before leaving without any hesitation. On the way back, he stopped by to deliver two fruits to the steward, hoping to gain a few points of goodwill.

He had to make the wooden box himself, but thankfully, he didn’t have to repair the cooking table. He just needed to place the required materials on the platform, leaving the rest to the little cat, who was still a system, after all.

Back in his room, with all the materials gathered, the little cat circled the cooking table and professionally assessed, “It’ll take about two hours.”

As long as he didn’t have to do it himself, he had no doubts about that time. Lin Zhusheng sat in a chair and said, “Okay.”

After saying that, he didn’t turn his head, still looking this way, sitting up straight with a pair of bright eyes.

The wooden box was a low-level item he made himself, but the cooking table was different; it was a high-level item. He was very curious about how this thing was repaired or what form of repair was used.

“……”

Facing the fiery yet expectant gaze, the little cat turned silent, then picked up a stone with its paws, trying hard to stuff it into the gap.

— A very simple method of repair, with no skills or special bonuses involved.

“?”

Thinking he would see some sci-fi or fantastical repair scene, he was surprised by the plainness of reality. Lin Zhusheng’s eyes twitched, and his expectant gaze smoothly turned into pity as he kindly asked the little cat struggling to move the stone, “Need help?”

The little cat was capable of completing the repair process independently and didn’t need help. Its ears twitched, and it refused, saying it was fine.

Suppressing the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise, Lin Zhusheng withdrew his gaze, crossed his legs, and opened the book he hadn’t finished reading today, casually taking out his wooden sword to practice.

Although he was just an outer sect servant disciple, there was a lot he needed to learn, including the history of the cultivation world, the basics of pharmacology, the overview of demon beasts, and a whole bunch of other things, as well as the basics of swordsmanship.

Even though he didn’t understand why a mere servant disciple needed to learn so much, he had to take the exams, so he studied along. A considerable part of the book was obscure and abstract, making it a bit troublesome without someone to translate.

Fortunately, even without a translator, he had a good memory, and he could memorize things by hard work.

“Creek—”

The wooden sword slowly turned in his hand as he sat in the chair, swaying back and forth. The legs of the chair pressed against the floor, making a rhythmic sound that, in a sense, matched the sound of the little cat tapping on the cooking table.

【Congratulations on achieving the achievement: Repairing the Cooking Table (Level 1)!】
【Achievement Reward: Complete Food Recipe Collection (2/200)】

The little cat said it would take two hours, and it really did take two hours. With its short limbs, it had been busy for quite a while, and it had indeed managed to get it done.

When the notification popped up, Lin Zhusheng, who had been reading for two hours, put down his book and turned to look at the cooking table.

The busy little cat master hid the small broom used for dusting behind it and stood confidently at the corner of the cooking table.

It was a clean and beautiful cooking table. Just from the outside, you couldn’t tell it had been repaired with dozens of stones and a few pieces of wood. The countertop was clean and tidy, looking as if it had naturally grown that way. Lin Zhusheng looked at it a bit longer, feeling that it must have secretly used some technology.

Not saying anything about it, he clapped his hands, making it sound like ten people were applauding.

The little cat elegantly extended its paw, indicating that there was no need to continue clapping. It jumped over from the cooking table and asked, “Where’s the recipe?”

The complete food recipe collection, abbreviated as the recipe, had just the right amount of space left in his backpack, and it automatically went into the backpack. When the little cat asked, Lin Zhusheng took it out.

The recipe was a thick book, and it felt heavy in his hands. He changed his posture and placed the book on the table, opening the first page.

Most of the recipe was blank, with only the two recipes awarded as rewards lit up at the front.

One was Peach Blossom Rolls, and the other was Lingxu Pastry, both adding 20 points of stamina, with the latter also providing a buff to refresh the mind.

The ingredients for Lingxu Pastry were Lingxu grass and wheat flour, which were very simple. After selling the Lingxu grass in a couple of days, if there were any left, he could try making it.

At the back of the recipe, there were intermediate and advanced recipes, but they were all blank and not yet unlocked. If he remembered correctly, unlocking the intermediate recipes would also unlock food from the demon and magic races, covering a wide range.

It was a great recipe, but it took up some space. After flipping through it, he casually put it into the wooden box and continued reading his book.

The overwhelming amount of knowledge waiting to be learned suppressed his desire to run wild outside like a wild person. For the next two days, the wild Lin behaved like a human, with his biggest exercise being running to the academy for classes and casually greeting people he knew.

The deadline for collecting Lingxu grass was approaching.

On the last day of the deadline, after reading for most of the day, Lin Zhusheng gloriously collapsed, his head hitting the desk, completely out of commission.

He was finally awakened by the little cat’s friendly cat punch when it was just getting dark.

When he woke up, it was dark outside, just about the right time. Wiping away the nonexistent drool, he closed the book and quickly headed out.

Today was the last day for the Lingxu grass task, and it was also the most important day for making money.

The commercial street halfway up the mountain still had a few people in the evening, with some stalls still open, their dim yellow lights glowing.

The bulletin board at the end of the street was quite lively, with a few people squatting in front, their backs looking desolate. Nearby stalls had the most disciples keeping watch, occasionally peeking at the figures squatting on the ground.

Even though he was quite skilled at climbing, it was still quite difficult to speedily ascend halfway up the mountain. When Lin Zhusheng walked onto the commercial street, he took a deep breath and paused for a moment to catch his breath. From a distance, he saw the few people squatting in front of the bulletin board and smiled while still catching his breath.

He guessed that these people would likely be here at this time.

As the time drew near, it was clearly too late to search the mountains for the scattered Lingxu grass. With nothing in his pockets, he couldn’t go looking for the steward. To ensure that those who had grass could contact him first, those who were short on grass would likely choose to squat here directly.

On the way, he overheard the disciples guarding the stalls talking. The current situation was that everyone had managed to trade for some extra Lingxu grass from other disciples, but it was only a drop in the bucket, and there were still large numbers that hadn’t been filled.

After walking a bit further, he stopped at a distance, squinting at the bulletin board.

The numbers on the bulletin board had changed; the price of Lingxu grass had risen to 20 silver coins each.

Hearing footsteps, he thought it was another kind-hearted disciple coming to trade for grass. The few people squatting on the ground suddenly turned their heads, only to see a person standing behind them, empty-handed, just passing by.

The face that had just come back to life seemed to die again. The few people lowered their heads, their eyes dimming as they began discussing what to bring back when leaving the sect, their voices filled with endless sorrow.

“……”

“Have you already decided to leave?”

“This time, even if we ask the steward for help, it won’t work. This grass can’t be produced immediately, so… who are you?”

In the discussion, a voice naturally joined in, and someone replied. But halfway through the reply, they felt something was off and suddenly turned their head, only to see the person who had been squatting beside them without them noticing.

A person who looked like they would quickly disappear into a crowd, with features that were the template of an ordinary person, so ordinary that one would forget them after just one glance. But the person was smiling, with crescent-shaped eyes, and when they smiled, they were quite recognizable. Their breathing was a bit ragged, as if they had just run.

The others turned to look as well, and one of them recognized him, suddenly realizing, “You’re the one who often arrives late to the academy.”

The rest also came to the same realization, exclaiming, “So that’s who you are.”

“……”

Being remembered in such a strange way, Lin Zhusheng’s smile faltered for a moment, then he replied.

The person who recognized him asked, “Haven’t you found enough grass?”

“Not really.”

Temporarily ignoring the way he was remembered, facing the slightly disappointed gazes of the others, he smiled and simply said, “I just happened to find a patch of Lingxu grass today.”

He pretended to pull something out of his sleeve, and when he opened his fingers, fresh herbs with white edges appeared, landing in his similarly pale hand, the slightly bitter fresh scent spreading out. Along with it, the pupils of the people nearby widened.