Chapter 264: Trial of Eating? Please

Elder Cai left, slamming the door shut behind her. Unseen by everyone present though, a smile had formed on her lips.

“Hehe. I bet that old fart Zhuo Shi is fuming right about now. Serves him right. Those brats are pretty good, tempering them a bit more should be fine.” She snorted at the thought of Gu Yue. “Since you dare to reject me, there will be a time when you come back begging.” She crossed her arms behind her back, her steps light as air as she departed.

☀

Aggrieved and indignant, class zero arrived at at the site of the sixth trial.

The sixth trial was truly strange. It tested their capacity… to eat.

That’s right, it was a trial of eating.

In front of every person was a giant silver tray, and on top of that tray was a mountain of… steamed buns!

To one side was a sign that listed the requirements to receive points. It said that eating fifteen buns was a passing score and for every additional five buns eaten, another point would be rewarded. However, they weren’t permitted to circulate their soul power while eating and could only rely on their own stomachs.

They were stupefied by this trial’s rules.

Both Xu Xiaoyan’s and Xie Xie’s eyes shifted to Tang Wulin.

Something flickered beneath Tang Wulin’s calm mask as he turned to Shen Yi and asked, “Teacher Shen, can we help each other eat for this trial?”

Still depressed, Shen Yi grumpily replied, “If you can eat enough to score full points, then you can help the others.”

This trial was truly strange, but then again, this was expected from an academy as monstrous as Shrek! In truth, what this trial tested was willpower.

They had to eat until their stomachs burst! For a normal fifteen-year-old, fifteen steamed buns was an enormous amount of food. Furthermore, by restricting the use of soul power to aid digestion, it was almost impossible for most people to finish! One would need willpower to overcome one’s bodily limits! Of course, there were medical staff supervising this trial to ensure that the examinees wouldn’t become sick from overeating. The sturdier-than-normal bodies of soul masters prevented their stomachs from exploding, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t fall ill from overeating. This seemingly simple trial was, in fact, a devil in disguise, innocently dragging examinees through the depths of hell and making them wish for the sweet release of death.

However, today an irregularity had appeared!

“Thank you Teacher Shen,” Tang Wulin said sincerely. In his mind, this trial was practically made for him!  

He reached out his hands, picking up two buns in each. The steamed buns were soft and bouncy, their round fullness delighting him even as his stomach rumbled from the delicious aroma of buns assaulting his nose.

Though Gu Yue had given him food in the morning, it was a meager portion and barely able to fill his stomach. This, coupled with him using up his blood essence in the series of trials, meant that he was starving! The sudden appearance of food in this trial was the most beautiful scene he had ever witnessed.

Tang Wulin devoured each bun in three bites and an instant later, four buns had already been demolished.

Hearing Tang Wulin could eat on their behalf, Xie Xie relaxed, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair as he leisurely waited. Xu Xiaoyan was a bit more reasonable, sitting down cross-legged to meditate. Gu Yue was the only one who picked up a bun to accompany Tang Wulin in his meal.

Shen Yi frowned. What are those two doing? Why aren’t they starting?

“You only have thirty minutes for this trial. However many you have eaten at the end of the thirty minutes will go into your score calculation.”

Xie Xie smiled. “Teacher Shen, just wait and see.”

In the few seconds they had conversed, eight buns had already vanished into Tang Wulin’s stomach. He let out a gentle sigh as he patted it. I feel a lot better now with some food in my belly.

The reason why Tang Wulin could eat so much was that his bloodline consumed a lot of energy. This, when combined with his digestive ability, meant that his stomach’s capacity was ten times that of an ordinary person’s. Those eight buns had instantly broken down into nutrients to replenish his starved body.

Thinking he was feeling unwell, Shen Yi said, “Eat slower. It doesn’t matter how fast you can eat as long as you can eat enough for this trial. If you eat too quickly, your digestion will slow down and later affect how—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Tang Wulin had snatched another four steamed buns and stuffed two of them down with ease.

Xie Xie smirked. “Teacher Shen, you don’t need to worry about our captain. His greatest strength isn’t his combat ability, but his stomach! He managed to eat our dining hall into poverty, so what are a few steamed buns to him?”

His words rang true. The first window at Eastsea Academy served nutritious food, but that came at a steep price. Even then, Tang Wulin’s stomach had only been satisfied because the higher quality of food had made up for the lower quality.

And the steamed buns before them were just average buns, their nutritional content negligible.

Shen Yi then witnessed what it truly meant for one to be called a Rice Bucket; no, a Rice Tub!

Tang Wulin calculated as he ate. If fifteen buns equaled six points and twenty was seven points, then he needed to eat thirty-five of the fifty buns on the tray to get a full score.

No more than eight minutes from the start of the trial, Tang Wulin had already inhaled thirty-five steamed buns while Gu Yue had only eaten about four or five.

Tang Wulin sauntered over to Xu Xiaoyan’s tray and, as if his previous record was just a warm-up, he devoured thirty-five buns in seven minutes. Then, he went over to Xie Xie.

Shen Yi was merely surprised at first but her expression soon changed to shock, then dumbfoundedness, and finally, stupification.

Twenty-two minutes in, he finished eating thirty-five buns for Xie Xie too. He had eaten a total of 105 steamed buns now, but his belly hadn’t bulged one bit.

Shen Yi was certain that they weren’t using any soul power at all, which only served to deepen her and the other examiner’s shock. In all his long years of supervising this trial, that examiner had never seen such a glutton.

Tang Wulin finally came to Gu Yue’s table. She stood up and gave him her seat and began handing him buns as Tang Wulin continued gorging himself.

The speed at which Gu Yue handed him the steamed buns could only just keep up with the rate they disappeared into his belly.

At the twenty-eight minute mark, he finished thirty-five buns for Gu Yue. However, he showed no signs of slowing down.

“Time is up.” The stupefied examiner just barely remembered to call the time.

He had eaten forty-eight of the fifty buns on Gu Yue’s tray, leaving only a lonely pair.

How can he do this?

Tang Wulin patted his belly, still wishing to continue. “Teacher Shen, we got full marks, right?”

Shen Yi nodded and immediately turned to leave. A monster… He really has the potential of a monster. Was he always such a monster? Is his stomach a bottomless pit?

“Teacher Shen, can I take the leftover steamed buns with me? I didn’t eat breakfast this morning…”

Shen Yi stumbled. She waved her hand, indicating for him to do as he wished.

Tang Wulin showed no restraint and swept all the leftover buns into a few bags then stored them in his storage ring. Only then did he follow behind Shen Yi with a content smile plastered on his face.

After a half-hour’s rest and a good meal, his blood essence was nearly fully replenished. Unfortunately, the steamed buns weren’t that nutritious, otherwise, his condition would be perfect.

☀

“All four got full points for the sixth trial?” Elder Cai currently sat in a luxurious room, her face contorting into a strange expression as she listened to the report from the middle-aged man in front of her.

“Yes, they got full marks. It was reported that they even took the leftover buns. It seems the majority was eaten by Tang Wulin.”