1226 Long Way To Go
A few hours later, Wang Wei was casually eating these women's food. He did not care nor had any expectations. He gave them a task as a way to psychologically comfort them since he knew they would feel useless if he ignored or completely dismissed them. And in this terrifying place, being useless meant they would be killed, discarded, or even worse, traded as goods to someone else.
"Hmm?" Wang Wei uttered after taking a bite in one of the dishes. He focused and ate even more. "This is delicious even by my standards." He added the meat to the rice and took a bite. "They perfectly combine, and the taste even elevates each other." He drank the soup next, and his eyes shone even brighter: "A three-piece combination meal?"
Wang Wei quickly finished the meal before summoning the woman who made it. He looked at a thin woman with large eyes that had lost their luster. She had shoulder-length black hair and a mole underneath her eyes, and her body smelled of naturally alluring herbs — she was an unconventional beauty.
"What's your name?"
"Chen Zhilan," she replied while secretly holding the corner of her green dress.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"I...I cultivate Food Dao."
Wang Wei shook his head. "You're only a Quasi-Emperor, so even with such a unique Dao, it's impossible for your cooking to reach such a level unless you're an unparalleled genius. Are you an unparalleled genius?"
Chen Zhilan lowered her head.
"You can tell me the truth," Wang Wei reassured. "Unlike your predecessor, I have no desire to...take advantage of the weak."
"Are you going to abandon us?" Chen Zhilan quickly asked. Such a fate might be worse for them. Their previous owner might be a bastard, but he was not one of those sick bastards who used them to fulfill his demonic desires.
"No, I'll find a better and more peaceful life for the rest of you," Wang Wei reassured. "However, if any of you have talents or abilities I appreciate, life will be much easier for you once I leave this place."
Chen Zhilan was silent for a few seconds before saying: "I understand." Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m
"Can you answer my question now?"
She still briefly hesitated before telling the truth, "I had a master who was, in fact, an unparalleled genius. With his Food Dao, he became an Everlasting Empyrean in record times. His skill even reached the level where he could make food beneficial to Paragons as long as he had the material and enough time."
Chen Zhilan became teary.
"I'm guessing fate was not kind to him," Wanh Wei said as he waved his hand to manifest a handkerchief for her.
Wang Wei suddenly felt or realized how tiny he was. His fate manipulation is a joke compared to the River of Fate or its guardian/manager — the Adjudicator of Fate.
'There is no need to beat myself down,' he thought, inhaling and exhaling to calm down. 'This only means I have a long way to go to attain my freedom.'
"Look, he has an invincible streak."
19:13
"That's nothing. It will only be impressive if he can keep it while battling the tower."
The next day, Chen Zhilan woke up refreshed, having had the best sleep since her master's disappearance. She quickly went to apologize to Wang Wei for how she behaved yesterday, and the latter reassured her. After breakfast, Wang Wei warned the other women — who were already displaying hidden jealousy toward Chen Zhilan — before leaving to start his challenge.
According to the rules, as long as a cultivator in this continent leaves their house — considered a sacred and protective place — they must experience a minimum of five battles and a maximum of 1000 battles. Wang Wei challenged all the Empyreans, but there were only 210 of them. He was not surprised since most of them had already entered the pagoda. Regardless, he won his matches as quickly as possible — usually with one punch. After that, he challenged the Dao Rulers, which was even easier and quicker. Although a few Insurgents were among them, most were just regular Dao Rulers. In fact, they exercised their right to give up this battle once they encountered Wang Wei, and he was okay with it since it still counted as his win. In five days, Wang Wei met the requirements and took everyone from his room to enter the Pagoda. As soon as he stepped inside, a golden crown condensed above his head, alarming everyone in the lobby. Wang Wei sensed countless gazes focusing on him, but he remained calm.
"Someone who's going to get a [Title]?" murmured an Emperor on the corner.
"Look, he has an invincible streak."
"That's nothing. It will only be impressive if he can keep it while battling the tower."
"Look at this man's face. I think he might keep it."
"Keep dreaming. Only a few people can remain undefeated as they climb the tower, and they all lose that streak anyway after fighting the Barbarian King," sneered another bystander.
"Either way, I have a good feeling about this one, so I'll bet on him."
"That's what you said, but the person you chose was defeated on the third floor."
"I'm telling you, my intuition is telling me this person is the real deal."
Wang Wei calmly observed and listened. An administrator from the pagoda came to lead him to a private room.
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