Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Crushing and Steaming

[Mission Progress: 888/2000]

This was the impressive result of Lu Wu’s second day at the stall. Many customers still hadn’t arrived yet, so she estimated that with any luck, she could complete the mission tomorrow.

’Solo queuing to rank up is a bad idea,’ she thought. ’Team play is much more reliable.’

The stall was wiped clean. After the last of the batter was used up, customers even scraped away the remaining sauces.

Thankfully, they left her the pots, pans, and bowls. The stall was so clean she wouldn’t even need to wipe it down.

With her ’ultimate’ move spent, she packed up the stall.

"See you tomorrow, Boss Lu!"

"Boss Lu, remember to prep more ingredients! It’s not nearly enough. I’m still hungry!"

"Can you add more variety? I want to try the sweet and spicy sauce from the first day."

"Does the ketchup not get any love?"

The customers joked with one another. Lu Wu nodded in agreement before slipping away behind Qin Zhan.

The grand competition was about to begin, and Qin Zhan and the others had invited Lu Wu to watch as a guest.

Lu Wu also wanted to see how these prodigies fought.

The grand competition was divided into team and solo matches. The City Lord of Yuanhai City was in attendance, and when Lu Wu arrived, Dan Ji was giving a speech on stage.

Lu Wu couldn’t help but feel that the City Lord’s gaze had fallen upon her several times, and it seemed to carry a sense of goodwill.

Feeling rather narcissistic, Lu Wu sat up straight and proper, observing the surrounding crowd.

It was a major event in the Southern State, and many people had come to watch the spectacle.

Disciples from various sects were mixed in with the crowd. Lu Wu noticed a group of disciples dressed in white robes sitting together.

Men and women alike were all in white, their expressions a uniform blend of arrogance and indifference. They were quite eye-catching.

’They look so pretentious,’ she thought.

"Those are disciples from the Taoist Palace."

"The Taoist Palace took first place in the last grand competition. For the past ten years, everyone from there has had this same condescending attitude."

Seeing Lu Wu’s curiosity, Qin Zhan took the initiative to explain.

The venue was extremely noisy, so to make sure Lu Wu could hear, Qin Zhan leaned in close.

Qin Zhan had forgotten that he was a popular favorite in the prodigy competition. His very appearance had drawn many eyes, and now, seeing him so close to a woman, some of his stans began to show indignant expressions.

They looked for all the world as if Lu Wu had "defiled" Qin Zhan.

"Hey, that woman! Get away from him! Mr. Qin belongs to everyone!"

"SOB... Qin, how could you be with that woman and not even spare a glance for me, a peerless beauty?"

"What does she have that I don’t? Tell me! Tell me!"

A series of fiery gazes shot toward her like daggers. Lu Wu shuddered and subtly put some distance between herself and Qin Zhan.

’Dude, we’re just friends. Don’t get me killed,’ she thought.

Meanwhile, on One World Communication, the Yuanhai City officials had started a livestream of the prodigy competition.

Ever since One World Communication appeared, many homebody Cultivators could watch the world without leaving their homes.

Many viewers saw this very scene unfold.

Among them, naturally, were Lu Wu’s customers and members of the Bun Sect.

"Yo, isn’t that Boss Lu? She and Qin Tianjiao are just friends, there’s nothing romantic going on. You stans need to stop starting drama."

"Exactly! Boss Lu is an amazing cook. Compared to her food, what is Qin Zhan?"

"A simp, that’s what. Who here hasn’t seen the video of Qin Zhan fighting a dog over one of Boss Lu’s buns? Look, that very dog is right next to Boss Lu."

Her many customers defended Lu Wu, taking the opportunity to educate the fans about her.

Once these fans learned that their beloved Qin was the one chasing after the owner of a small food stall, their tone changed completely.

"What? So that woman *isn’t* interested in our Qin? Oh my god, how could this be? On what grounds?! Obviously, on the grounds that she has excellent taste!"

"Let Boss Lu shine on her own. Our Qin should stop trying to leech off her popularity."

"Seriously, I was angry for nothing. I thought Qin was finally getting a girlfriend. You scared me to death!"

"Boss Lu, I’m your fan too! Next time, can I kick Qin Zhan away and be your helper instead?"

"I got to eat the pancakes this time! Fam, these pancakes are so good! How good, you ask? They’re just *that* good. Word on the street is that I said these pancakes are amazing..."

...

The stream was filled with onlookers looking for a laugh and a mountain of nonsensical chatter, reveling in the utter chaos.

All that could be said was, the fans and their idols... they were all nuts.

Dahuang also made an appearance on screen.

He sat obediently by Lu Wu’s side, appearing calm and composed in this environment.

In reality, Dahuang’s tail was wrapped tightly around Lu Wu’s ankle, his body pressed against her calf, broadcasting signals of pure rejection to the outside world.

WOOF WOOF!

’Don’t look at the dog. Dog isn’t tasty.’

’A demon beast coming to a place with so many humans... it’s terrifying!’

But among the many gazes, a few were filled with resentment. Lu Wu looked over and saw a few men and women staring daggers at her.

The instant their eyes met, one of the men pointed at Lu Wu, his lips moving as he said something.

Relying on her uncanny ability to read lips, Lu Wu made out what he was saying: "I’ve got my eye on you, woman. Don’t even think about running."

Yuck!

’Making such a greasy, overbearing CEO-style remark upon a first meeting... it’s truly too cringe to watch.’

A shiver of disgust ran down her spine, and Lu Wu rubbed her arms. In a place teeming with powerhouses, Lu Wu felt like a helpless little thing anyone could bully.

Help!

’What do I do? A creep has his eyes on me!’

She quickly averted her gaze, trying to bury her head in the sand.

"Senior Brother, I told you that Boss Lu is all bark and no bite. See? She doesn’t even dare to look at you."

Over with the Beast Taming Sect, a male Cultivator’s words were filled with contempt for Lu Wu.

’He was an orthodox disciple of the Beast Taming Sect! How could he possibly be inferior in the Way of Beast Taming to some outsider woman?’

"Mm, don’t worry. I’ve already issued a challenge."

’I see you. Don’t think you can run this time.’

That was the message he was trying to convey. He had to reclaim the honor the Beast Taming Sect had lost.

With so many eyes from the Southern State now focused on Yuanhai City, he would use this opportunity to wash away his Sect’s humiliation.

’This time, I will definitely lift the Beast Taming Sect out of its last-place ranking among the Eight Great Sects of the Southern State! At the very least... we have to get second to last.’

The ambitious male Cultivator shot another murderous glare at Lu Wu.

’Is he trying to... wink at me?’

Catching this out of the corner of her eye, Lu Wu felt as if her eyes had been physically assaulted.

’Please don’t, bro.’

’I’m really not interested.’

As Lu Wu stroked Huohuo’s feathers, she heard a resonant bell chime. The grand competition had begun.

After all the disciples had drawn their lots, they went on stage for one-on-one matches.

Aside from the Eight Great Sects, some smaller sects had also sent people to participate in this year’s competition.

Rather than the popular Eight Great Sects, Lu Wu’s gaze scanned the members of the smaller sects.

’Generally speaking, the underdog-protagonist-who-slaps-everyone’s-face type is born in these small sects. They make a stunning debut at a competition like this and begin their own path to the heavens.’

Lu Wu was very open-minded. She couldn’t walk the path to the heavens herself, but that didn’t stop her from finding a god-tier carry.

As she watched, Lu Wu actually did spot someone who fit the protagonist template perfectly.

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