Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 43 A "Simple" Lunch
Murong Ruyan...

Murong Ruyan is truly a Buddhist.

Of the three people in the sect, only Steward Xu is a normal person!

Putting aside the fact that their master is a deity, this senior brother Chang Ping'an is simply an idiot!

She couldn't use a single one of the tricks she had learned in the palace over the years!
So Murong Ruyan had been thinking about it for a long time since she saw Chang Ping'an off yesterday.

Master seems to be someone who doesn't care about anything, Manager Xu is vaguely hostile to me, and Chang Ping'an, the only person I often deal with, is a fool. What am I supposed to do if I try to use tricks on someone who is blind?
Compared to that, it's better to work hard to hone your skills. Once you've mastered the skills, no matter what tricks they use, they're just clowns!
Therefore, as soon as she guided the Qi into her body at dawn, she immediately wanted to go hunting to test her ability to "guide the Qi into her body".

In fact, all the royal children of the Great Xiao Kingdom were supposed to practice martial arts.

Murong Ruyan had also practiced the "Zhengyan Scripture" when she was in the palace.

This is a martial art practiced by the Murong clan of the Great Xiao Kingdom, also known as the Righteous Flame Technique. It is extremely yang and fierce, and its qi is the red color of flames. Its matching martial art is called "Flame Palm"—as the name suggests, Flame Palm can turn the qi transformed from true qi into fierce fire, which has great destructive power.

However, this kind of extremely yang and intense practice is not very suitable for women to practice.

Murong Ruyan had only reached the eighth rank in cultivation. Although she was considered exceptionally talented, she was poisoned because of her "exceptional talent," which caused her internal energy to dissipate, leaving her a cripple.

Bohai was a small country, and her mother was driven out of Bohai after failing to seize the throne, so she was naturally not valued. Over the years, she had suffered a lot of humiliation and open and covert attacks. To be honest, although the third princess who took her in made her a slave, compared to those others, she was still protected to some extent.

Murong Ruyan had never experienced a higher level of cultivation, but compared to the eighth-grade Zheng Yan Gong in her memory, the first level of Qi Refining was much more powerful—she could even control Gang Qi!

This is something that only a martial artist with at least a sixth-grade cultivation level can do!
Below the sixth rank, one can only release one's inner energy!

However, the so-called "manipulation of qi" is actually the manipulation of spiritual energy. It's just that Murong Ruyan had only cultivated for one night, and she wasn't very familiar with the "Elementary Qi Refining Book" that she had just memorized, so she was still somewhat confused about the difference between immortality and martial arts.

This morning, she used her spiritual power to control and unleash a Flame Palm, and was surprised to find that the power of her Flame Palm was even greater than that of the Crown Prince, who had already reached the sixth rank!

The path to immortality is terrifying beyond belief!
In her excitement, Murong Ruyan practiced her Flame Palm technique all morning, smashing hundreds of trees around her to pieces. When Chang Ping'an found her, he was shocked by the scene.

But immediately, Chang Ping'an was greatly pleased, praising Murong Ruyan for not only having exceptional talent but also being diligent in her cultivation...

"Given time, my junior sister will surely surpass me, and Master will no longer have to feel bad about taking on a disciple with such poor aptitude as me!"

Senior Brother really is a fool!
On the way back, he kept rambling on and on, saying things like "Master is a true moral saint," "We disciples cannot disgrace Master," and "Junior sister has extraordinary talent and will surely achieve great things in the future."

A "moral saint"?
Murong Ruyan scoffed at this!

There are no "moral saints" in the world!
Her master accepted her as a disciple because of her high aptitude and her status as a descendant of the Bohai royal family, right? She refused to believe that her master was even slightly unmoved by the position of Bohai's royal advisor that she had promised him!
However, despite the benefits, her master had taken her in and taught her immortal arts, which was a great kindness. Otherwise, she would have had to return to the Bohai Kingdom first before considering taking up the old troops left by her mother.

As his master had said, it was unknown how many of those old acquaintances would still be willing to help him.

Murong Ruyan's mind was racing with thoughts when she heard her master say to her, "There are many secret manuals on magic and supernatural powers in that study over there. If you are interested, you may go and take a look. It will give you more skills when you travel in the future." Murong Ruyan quickly bowed and said, "This disciple is grateful for your instruction."

Zhang Chengdao nodded and then instructed Chang Ping'an, "Go and call Steward Xu; it's time for dinner!"

Then, he beckoned to Murong Ruyan and led her to the low wooden table in the courtyard.

"Do you have any dietary restrictions? Life in the mountains is austere, and the food is simple, which is probably not as refined as that in the palace."

As Zhang Chengdao spoke, he pulled out a small wooden stool and placed it next to the low table.

Despite having witnessed Zhang Chengdao's ability to "create things out of thin air" multiple times, Murong Ruyan's brow twitched in shock.

However, she said, "The food I eat in the palace isn't very good, it's not fancy at all."

Zhang Chengdao sat down first, then gestured for Murong Ruyan to sit down, and then began to take food from the table—

[Stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork], [Mapo tofu], [Stir-fried cabbage], [Dongpo pork], [Stewed cabbage with pork], [Meat buns], [Vegetable noodles], [Jade and white soup], and finally, ten bowls of [lean meat soup] were served.

The cabbage was specially purchased by Xu Ying and Chang Ping'an from the county, and the tofu was also made from soybeans they bought, which Zhang Chengdao then rubbed into shape using a synthetic board.

Except for one dish, Steamed Crab, and one dish, Crucian Carp Soup, which could not be made due to the lack of raw materials, Zhang Chengdao basically made a bunch of all the currently unlocked dishes and put them in his backpack for later use.

Looking at the table full of dishes in front of her, Murong Ruyan was almost dumbfounded.

What happened to the promise of a simple life in the mountains and basic food?

It's "not as refined as the food in the palace," but this is far more refined than the food in the imperial palace!

Even at palace banquets, the dishes in the palace are always cold; they look nice on the surface but are hardly edible. Only the Third Princess's own small kitchen can prepare a few hot dishes, but the princess's rations are fixed, less than those of ordinary concubines, so what good food could she possibly eat?

And at this moment, in this place...

She could even smell the aroma of various dishes mingling and spreading out!
Seeing the shock in Murong Ruyan's eyes, Zhang Chengdao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Your senior brother has a big appetite; he can eat a whole deer leg in one meal, which is why there's so much food on the table... Hmm, do you eat a lot? Don't worry, there's more than enough to fill you up. If you're still hungry, just ask. I have plenty more food to offer!"

This table of dishes was actually set up deliberately by Zhang Chengdao. The quantity and variety are fine, but once we start eating, the taste alone will be absolutely amazing!

He had already discovered these days that the things produced by the Golden Finger were products of the perfect cooking time. In addition, some of them were made of spiritual materials, so the resulting food was celestial food, and the taste was naturally extraordinary!
This young girl always has a proud streak; if this continues, I'm afraid even Chang Ping'an, her senior brother, won't be able to control her.

Don't forget, this is "Emperor Ruyan"!
In other words, we currently lack the materials and resources. But once we can extract oil and produce milk in the future, we'll be able to make fried chicken and milk tea, and I bet we can subdue your mere "Emperor Ruyan"!
Please continue reading!!!

I didn't make it out of the second round, so I'm in the revival round. Please, dear readers, don't stop reading! (Just scroll to the last page within 24 hours!)
I promise it will reach 10,000 words per day upon release!! But keeping readers engaged is crucial, otherwise I'm doomed!!! Please, please, please!!!

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(End of this chapter)