The Legend of the Dragon King

Fairy fungus — the king of the fungi. Legend has it that it was a rare fungus that could only grow in places where Yin and Yang intersect. It was one of the few fungi that grew underground, and once it broke through the ground’s surface, it would give off an aura similar to a thousand year soul beast. With every year’s worth of growth, it would increase its cultivation base by a thousand years. Once it achieved the ten thousand year level, it would then fall off on its own accord due to the overwhelming energy content.

Although the fairy fungus had no intelligence, it’s nutritional content would concentrate at lightning speed as its size diminished. It was only at this stage that the fairy fungus would be considered to be a complete product.

The rarity of this fungus exceeded that of a ten thousand year soul beast, especially since the requirements of its growth was exceedingly harsh. Its nutritional content was just as shocking. It was able to balance the Yin and Yang of a person’s body. Put simply, anyone who consumed the fairy fungus would have their Yin and Yang stabilized. The greatest advantage it afforded was that it would prevent a cultivation deviation. At the same time, consuming the fungus would also add a trace of fairy aura to a person. This would make it less difficult for that person to break through every bottleneck in their cultivation.

It was not just an ingredient, it was a treasure!

The fairy fungus had a brownish auburn color and resembled an umbrella submerged in the soup. Everyone’s bowl had fairy fungus in it but when the soup was served, Tang Wulin’s bowl that Uncle Chef personally served him obviously had a larger one compared to everybody else.

Needless to say, Tang Wulin’s bowl of soup had the highest nutritional content.

“Uncle-master, I’ll switch with you,” Tang Wulin said to Zhen Hua.

Zhen Hua laughed. “I appreciate the offer, but this is what your Uncle Chef gave you. I won’t rob you of his good intentions. Drink up while it’s hot. Not only does the fairy fungus contain high nutrient content, its flavor is also out of this world.”

It truly was out of this world.

Only a mouthful of clear soup entered his belly and Tang Wulin began feeling as graceful as a fairy as the wonderful sensation spread throughout his body. He began feeling as if his entire person had become nimbler.

“Prrrvvvtt!” Tang Wulin’s face flushed scarlet. How could he pass gas during a moment like this…

Zhen Hua smiled. “It’s alright. Your clear qi is increasing while your foul qi decreases. It’s the same for everyone. I’ve drunk this before, so I’m not so affected by it. Eh, young lady, you’ve eaten fairy fungus before as well?”

He looked at Gu Yue with curious eyes. She had also taken a sip of the soup, but her body did not react the way Tang Wulin’s did.

“Yeah.” Gu Yue nodded lightly.

Zhen Hua was slightly shocked. Fairy fungus was not something that could be obtained by just anyone!

Tang Wulin hastily explained on Gu Yue’s behalf, “Uncle-master, Gu Yue hails from the Spirit Pagoda. She’s the disciple of the Spirit Pagoda’s Assistant Pagoda Master, the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo.”

Zhen Hua finally understood. “Ah, no wonder. So you’re her disciple. Good, very good, haha!”

Zhen Hua had nothing against the Spirit Pagoda. As a blacksmith, it was crucial for him to be on friendly terms with various forces. However, these forces would naturally come and befriend him on their own accord. Almost every four-word battle armor that existing in this era was somehow related to this Divine Craftsman.

Gu Yue nodded lightly, but she did not say anything.

The bowl of clear soup ended up in his stomach. Despite having an enormous appetite, Tang Wulin was shocked that he felt full. How strong would the nutritional content have to be to produce an effect like this?

Gas did not only go through one specific orifice. He felt as if every single pore on his body was breathing slowly as they opened up. With every breath, his body felt lighter. Foul qi was being expelled while his clean qi increased. It was truly an amazing ingredient that increased his soul power. Even his bloodline essence increased in purity despite not increasing in soul power. After he broke through the fourth seal, he had already absorbed most of the Golden Dragon King’s essence but some of it still remained in his limbs. Under the influence of the fairy fungus, the absorption was accelerated, and the remnants were assimilated into his body. In a way, he finally completed the absorption for his blood essence after he broke through the fourth seal by consuming this meal.

There was nothing more wonderful than raising one’s cultivation base by eating.

Tang Wulin was bursting with anticipation as delicacies were continuously served to the table. Including the fairy fungus soup, there was a total of eight dishes. Although the dishes did not have that big of a serving, they were quite exquisite. Still, this was more than sufficient for them because each dish had been made with rare and delectable ingredients! Not only were they tasty, their energy content was also overwhelming. After the meal, Tang Wulin felt full to the brim, almost to the point of being too full. His blood essence also boiled, causing him to sweat slightly. This was the first time experiencing such a thing ever since he started binge-eating.

The simplest word to describe his current state could only be one — overnutrition.

Tang Wulin could clearly feel that he no longer had to eat anymore tonight. He only had to continuously digest the nutrients within his body.

His body was truly peculiar. No matter how much nutrients he consumed, he would feel like his appetite could not be sated, and would digest the food he ate rather quickly. However, the delicacies before him that were made from these rare and delectable ingredients would without a doubt help him build a firm foundation to aid him in his breakthrough of the fifth seal.

“It’s very delicious. Thank you, Uncle Chef,” Tang Wulin looked at the chef with a respectful expression.

Then, a rare smile appeared on the chef’s face. “There’s no need to thank me. I’ve something that I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Yes?”

The chef thought about it and replied, “Let’s talk in private. Follow me.”

As he said this, he stood up and made for the inner room. Although Tang Wulin was at a loss, he hastily got up as well since he enjoyed the man’s hospitality earlier.

At this moment, an urgent knock was heard on the small dining room’s door.

“What’s the matter?” Zhen Hua frowned slightly. It was not common for him to have visitors here.

“President, there’s a problem in the lobby. Someone came to make a scene,” an urgent voice came from behind the door.

Zhen Hua was still frowning. “Come in and talk.”

The door opened, and in walked a middle-aged man. He walked quickly to Zhen Hua’s side and spoke softly, “President, two people of unknown origin have shown up, a man and a teen. The older one should be a Saint Craftsman that announced his wishes of challenging us in forging. However, he won’t be the one taking part in the challenge. Instead, the teen he brought with him will. The teenager looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old.”

“Oh?” Zhen Hua seemed surprised. Nothing like this had ever happened in the Blacksmith’s Association’s headquarters under his personal care after all these years. For someone to actually show up and challenge them, this was strange indeed.

“Alright, I’ll go have a look,” as he said this, he stood up and turned to look at the chef. “Go have your talk, I’ll be back in a minute.”

The chef frowned. “He must have some sort of plan if he’s bold enough to show up on your doorstep to challenge you. I’ll go with you, we can talk later.”

Zhen Hua was slightly shocked. Then, he nodded. “That’s fine as well. Let’s go.”

Naturally, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue also followed them. The four of them got on the elevator and went down. When they arrived at the Blacksmith’s Association’s lobby, it was already packed.

“President!”

“Mister President, you’re here.”

Waves of greetings sounded. At the same time, the crowd parted to give way to Zhen Hua and the others to reach the center of the lobby. As the president, Zhen Hua had absolute influence here.

An old man and a teenager stood in the center of the lobby. The old man looked to be in his sixties or seventies. His hair was white, and his body was big and tall. His eyes had a depth to them and lacked the cloudiness that came with age.

Not only was the other person young, she was also a girl. She looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. She was extremely beautiful with a gentle and graceful body but her most attractive features were her palms. Her palms were as white as jade, and her fingers were especially slender. Although her palms were as large as a man’s palms, they were much slenderer.

When Zhen Hua’s group appeared, their opponents shifted their gaze toward them. The old man had a serious expression on his face. “Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua, I take it?”

Zhen Hua smiled and nodded. “Pray tell, from whence you’ve come, my companion.”

The old man replied drily, “My origins aren’t important. My name is Chang Gongyan. I’ve come here today with the hopes of challenging the younger generation of the Blacksmith’s Association. I wonder if there are any exceptionally talented people here willing to have a match with my disciple?”