Chapter 290: Ceramic Mountain

Gu Yue, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan had long since gotten trays full of food and sat themselves at a neighbouring table, pretending not to know Tang Wulin out of embarrassment. .

Tang Wulin restrained a sigh from escaping his mouth. He always hated it when he couldn’t eat his fill. Since Shrek Academy didn’t offer free food, he partook in the ancient art of penny pinching, calculating exactly how much it would cost to feed himself. With a free pass tucked within his pocket, he was determined to eat a mountain’s worth, enough to last him through breakfast the next day.

Xie Peichen stood calmly behind Tang Wulin at first, but as he took in Tang Wulin’s gorging, his jaw dropped.  

I-Is he even human?

Xie Peichen subconsciously gulped as he stared at the mountain of empty plates in front of Tang Wulin, whose momentum increased by the bite.

It wasn’t long before other diners took notice of this spectacle.

“Did this guy starve to death in his past life? How can he eat so much?”

“Heavens! Don’t tell me he cleared all those dishes by himself?”

“Wow! Awesome! I’ve always admired people who can eat a lot.”

People began gathering around Tang Wulin, drawn like moths to a flame. The sight of his gluttony drove their stomachs wild with hunger, and they dug into their meals with renewed vigor.

“Senior, can I trouble you to get me ten orders of that dish, the one that looks like sea cucumbers? Thanks.” Tang Wulin beamed at Xie Peichen.

Xie Peichen was numb with shock. He obediently went and got Tang Wulin ten orders of the dish. This was his third time getting Tang Wulin more food. There wasn’t much food per dish, but the number of dishes was astronomical!

This guy…

The second Tang Wulin cried out in delight, drooling over the steaming dishes, the crowd parted to let a middle-aged man through, face grim and pinched. His body trembled when he saw the staggering pile of dishes. As the manager of the dining hall, he had miraculously received a notice that there was a shortage of food. He was well aware they overstocked on ingredients each day and had more than enough to accommodate extraneous circumstances. So it goes without saying how flummoxed he was after hearing their stock was empty.

But when he saw Tang Wulin, he finally understood the situation.

When did they recruit such a glutton?

“Hey you, student over there. Your stomach is beyond the realm of normal. The Academy can’t feed someone like you. If you ate this much for every meal, then I’ll petition the Academy to get rid of your right to a free meal,” the middle-aged man said.

Tang Wulin blinked in surprise. “Teacher, you don’t have to worry. I’m a working student so I can’t eat this much for free starting tomorrow. This is my last free meal, so can’t I eat my fill?”

Working student?

Everyone’s expression changed after those words. The peanut gallery quickly retreated into the backdrop, and minded their own business.

“So you’re a working student! Alright then. Have a good meal.” After saying this, the middle-aged man left as well.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re a working student earlier?” Xie Peichen asked, clearly flustered.

“What about being a working student?” Tang Wulin curiously asked.

Xie Peichen groaned, refusing to pay any more attention to Tang Wulin and disappearing into the crowd.

It looks like there really is a backstory surrounding working students! Tang Wulin suspicions were confirmed, his curiosity growing, but he kept shoving the food into his mouth.

This was the most enjoyable meal Tang Wulin ever had in his life. Perhaps because he broke the second seal, his appetite was greater than ever. The dining hall had twenty windows serving food, and Tang Wulin had cleared them all. He felt embarrassed.

“Are you still not full? Here, eat this.” An older girl placed a steamed bun on his plate before going off on her merry way. Under her breath, she said, “He’s so pitiful. He’s still not full after eating all that.”

She was the first, but not the last to offer him food. Not long after, another student came and handed him a bun.

The corner of Tang Wulin’s mouth twitched.

Am I dreaming? Maybe I won’t have to complete jobs to feed myself! One hundred points isn’t enough to keep me full anyway. It’s only enough for five or six meals for a normal person.

His eyes lit up at the thought.

Tang Wulin had scouted out the prices at every window, and the cheapest dish was ten points. The meal he ate today costed over a thousand. Come tomorrow, and he might starve to death.

He staggered out of the dining hall once he finished eating. With every step, he felt closer to bursting.

“Captain, can’t you restrain yourself a bit?” Xie Xie wore an odd expression. “Everyone in the outer court recognizes you by now.”

Tang Wulin stared at him wide-eyed. “How will restraint feed me? Do you have any idea how painful it is to be hungry?”

“Fine. Just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“You know, I seem to remember someone saying he would treat us all to dinner. Let’s go.” Tang Wulin smirked.

“Y-you’re still hungry?” Xie Xie’s jaw dropped.

Tang Wulin chuckled. “I’ll be done digesting by the time we get there.” In truth, there was something strange bubbling in his veins. His blood essence was surging through his body before he ate, as if it were boiling. The sensation reminded him of fusing with the Golden Dragon King’s energy after breaking a seal.

He was the one who understood his body best. After gorging himself, his blood essence thickened, growing more vigorous, and his blood seemed richer than before. Perhaps this was a method of cultivation for him.

Due to this sensation, he prodded Xie Xie to go out for another round of food. He wanted to test what was going on with his blood essence, along with the effect more nutritious food had on it.

“Fine, you win. Let’s go eat. Let’s see if your belly will burst.” Xie Xie turned to the girls. “Come on, I’m treating you all. We can stroll through the outer court too! The outer court is practically a town itself. We’ve gotta explore!”

“Okay.” Both Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan approved of his plan.

The four left Spirit Ice Plaza and entered a street lined with warm orange lights and bustling with people.

Soon after they arrived on this street, they found a shop full of rowdy people.

“What’s that place?” Xu Xiaoyan looked with curious eyes.

Xie Xie peeked into the shop. “It looks like this place sells drinks. Huh, so Shrek Academy has this kind of thing too. Let’s go in. We can grab some juice or something.”

“Yeah! Let’s go. I want ice cream!” Xu Xiaoyan exclaimed in delight.

The drink shop was busy and was nearing capacity. The server dashed to and fro, taking orders and bringing customers their orders, the latter who mostly wore Shrek Academy uniforms.

The four managed to find a table with great difficulty and sat down. They waved for a waitress, ordering juice and ice cream.

It seemed that no matter the place, girls couldn’t resist ice cream. Not even the detached Gu Yue could keep her paws off of it. Once their orders arrived, the two girls happily dug in.

After taking a sip of his orange juice, Tang Wulin nudged Xie Xie, whose eyes wandered everywhere. “What are you looking at?”

Xie Xie smirked. “I’m just scouting the place to see if there are any pretty senior sisters here! I need to prepare for adulthood, you know?”

Doubt clouded Tang Wulin’s features. “How are you preparing?”