Little Cooking Saint – 0254 – Meaty Pork Crackling Noodle (i)

Chapter 254 Meaty Pork Crackling Noodle (i)

Translated by Gumihou

Edited by Gumihou

Chinese	Imperial College Classes	Cultivation Levels (latest form)	Reference for Noobs/Gumihou
凝氣	Yellow Grade	Condensation Stage	Stage 1
化丹	Arcane Grade	Core Transformation	Stage 2
凝丹(46)	Earth & Heaven*	Core Condensation	Stage 3
化神(52)		Divine Transformation	Stage 4
成嬰		Nascent Formation	Stage 5
合體		Unification	Stage 6
返墟		Revert Decay	Stage 7
歸真		Original Purity	Stage 8
成仙		Become immortal	Stage 9

*Students who reach Core Condensation – Great Perfection Realm (aka Level 10) would enter Heaven Class. At least, this is true as of Chapter 46

Why are we seeing the table up here?

See, back in Chapter 46 this was how the Imperial College Classes were classified, except back then, Gumihou doesn’t have a good system and would sometimes refer Stage 2 as ‘Transformation Core’ and Stage 3 as ‘Binding Core’.

The issue now is Dean-san going on and on about his Core Condensation students in Arcane Grade Class… like, hellooo?

This text exists?

‘For the reader’s benefit, please know that Lin Fan is now an 8th Level, Transformation Core Stage Cultivator. Moreover, the male-protagonist is currently an Arcane Grade, Class No. 1 student.’

For now, with regards to grades and classes, AutoGumi will be in charge just in case author-san fiddled with the level systems (just as she did in chapter 39.3 (originally 38), 46 and 52)

Remember that one time Nascent Formation used to be Stage 4 and later disappeared having replaced by Divine Transformation? It reappeared again during the Spiritual Leopard Beast Arc, having transformed from Stage 4 to Stage 5.

Gumi doesn’t know anymore.

                    

 

 

 

Within the Imperial College, students qualified to enter Arcane Grade Class are all Core Condensation experts who have yet to reach Core Condensation – Great Perfection Realm. There were a total of 100 students.

Of course, the oldest of them have already reached a great age. Their hair had already started greying. The youngest students in the Arcane Grade Class was Lin Fan, Shiyu and the rest of the Champions. The current record holder for the youngest person to enter Arcane Grade was Shiyu.

Both Shiyu and Lin Fan were 17 years old. Shiyu was only a few months younger than him. The rest were all more or less similar in age.

They were all very young but already this powerful. This put a lot of pressure on students who had been around much longer. Older students who witness these young saplings shooting up into towering trees before their very eyes were starting to panic. Just who are these tyrants, ah?!

Every one of them had entered the Imperial College as famous geniuses. However, before this group of people, were they even qualified to touch the word ‘genius’?

Fortunately, even while mired in envy and despair, they persevered and did not give up. Their persistence in sticking with the Imperial College was rewarded.

For example, the rift that had appeared so suddenly over the College. After that rift appeared over the College, the air was suddenly infused with Spiritual energy. So much so that the atmosphere within College was many times much richer in spiritual energies than the world outside and their Cultivation rate suddenly sped up. Moreover, there is that one other thing. The special message from the Dean…

“Most of you must be familiar with the Spiritual Beast Mountain Range. If so, you should also know that it is plagued by bandits who specialized in robbing and killing Cultivators for the things they have worked hard to collect in that dangerous mountain.

Just a few days ago I heard that a bandit group consist of a few dozen people had razed a small town at the foot of the Beast Mountain Range. For the sake of one precious herb, the town of over a thousand men, women and children were slaughtered.”

The Dean paused to stare gravely at the students before him, “Perhaps you don’t feel anything about these deaths because it has nothing to do with you. After all, you are not the ones who killed them and they are all strangers. Since their blood was too far to touch your sleeves, it is indeed difficult to care about them.

I am not here to speak of the tragedies of swaddled babes being cut to pieces, nor of pitiful old people stabbed to death in their beds. I stand here as the Dean of this College. I am here, as the Dean of a Cultivation school, to offer valuable rewards to anyone who could complete a certain mission.

Bring me the heads of those evil bandits and I will grant them an opportunity. Are you not envious of Lin Fan and the Champions? Do you not want to grow your Cultivation base just as rapidly? So long as you can bring me those heads, I shall let you experience the same rapid rise in Cultivation without risk or drawbacks.”

Silence fell.

For a moment, aside from a few uncertain glances, nobody reacted. Then, like a drop of water falling into a pot of hot oil, they suddenly flared up with excitement.

To experience multiple breakthroughs like Lin Fan and the rest, this was something they could only dream of! How could they not desire it? Although it sounded a little too fantastical, Lin Fan and his friends were living evidence that this was truly possible. Therefore, how could they not believe it? Moreover, surely the very busy and important Dean would not waste his precious time playing a distasteful joke on them?

Therefore… this… absolutely cannot be a joke.

The people around all looked very stirred up. Especially the older ones. However, the ones showing the most excitement were people whose Cultivation had stalled for a long time. The Dean’s announcement ignited their hope.

This could be their chance!

The Dean looked at the excited faces below the stage and knew that he had achieved the desired result. He held out his hands and signalled for everyone to calm down, “Of course, although the matter sounded simple, it is not easy.

First: The Spiritual Beast Mountain Range spans a huge area, aside from the bandits, there are many other dangerous and desperate villains around.

Second: The higher your realm, the more difficult it is for you to breakthrough. Core Condensation Cultivators who wish to achieve Level 1 must provide one head; Core Condensation 1 Cultivators who wish to achieve Level 2 must provide two heads and so forth… until Core Condensation 9. The heads must be from a Core Condensation bandit. 1 Core Condensation head is worth the heads of 5 Core Transformation bandit.

Third: When the time comes, you will be accompanied by an instructor. Once you’ve collected the heads, you may exchange them for your rewards. If you have any questions, you may speak to your instructor for clarifications.

Those who wish to participate in this hunt may register themselves with the Deputy Dean. My final advice to you is this: The Spiritual Beast Mountain Range is very dangerous. You may form teams to better preserve your safety.”

Once the Dean was done speaking, he left them to discuss among themselves what to do next.

The moment he stepped out of the room, his fierce and passionate expression switched back to its usual cool, celestial visage.

Elder Feng had been with him when he gave his little speech. After some thought, Elder Feng ventured to say, “For you to send your student out to avenge that little town. Have you once receive some kind of favour from them? Surely it must be for you to sound so serious.”

“What favour?” the Dean looked at Elder Feng with a dubious expression [1]. “There’s no town and certainly no massacre. Not that it really matters since those bandits make good whetstones, so don’t worry about it. I made up this story just to encourage the crowd. Those bandits and robbers are notorious for killing people anyway. So we may consider this our contribution to society [1].”

Elder Feng, “… …”

“For Cultivation to advance quickly, one should have a strong foundation. The quickest way to dispel any lingering issues a Cultivator might experience is through life and death battles. Rather than cultivating a group of ungrateful mouths who wants a mile after getting an inch, they should take the initiative and struggle for their reward.

Moreover, after considering everything, we could only say that those bandits’ luck is bad. As people say, what goes around, comes around. If they meet us, one could only say they reaped the bad karma sowed from the seeds of their previous evil.”

Elder Feng considered: It was all true. Well, there’s nothing wrong with polishing one’s skills against the scum of society.

“Still, for you to announce it in such a big way, aren’t you worried that it would attract the attention of certain people?”

There were many students within the Imperial College and not all of them would be completely loyal to the school. Some of them have complicated familial or political relationships. Some might even be there to observe the school to find out their secrets or weaknesses. Some things cannot stay hidden even within the school.

The Dean smirked, “That is why I made my announce in such a public away.”

“Oh? [2] Oh!” then, he frowned. “[2] Even so, do you have a way to track them?”

“Don’t forget. This is the Imperial College.”

“Ah,”

The College was the Dean’s own turf and he could perceive the movement of every single person within it. [3] Well, everyone aside from that Wen Heng person. Nevertheless, he was sure that if anyone else aside from Wen Heng shows signs of trying to alert outsiders, he be alerted immediately. A good number of disloyal people could be eliminated that way.

Once he had gotten rid of a good number of the disloyal, he will make the rest swear a blood oath before setting out.

 

[Gumihou: It’s mostly done by AutoGumi, but Gumihou stepped in when Elder Feng was made exceptionally stupid. Why do you bully the Feng Clan so? Also, that’s really cold, Sir Dean. Bandits aren’t people to you guys?]

 

[1] Elder Feng became a victim of ‘Idiocy for Joke’. I guess author-san wants to make the Dean appear intelligent this time by making Elder Feng stupid since Gumi had just deleted ‘looked at him as though he has a hole in his head’. Added the final remark for comedic purpose, since that seems to be the point of Elder Feng’s unexpected bout idiocy.

Also, the Dean and Elder Feng seems to have switch personalities.

[2] Elder Feng being turned into an Usagi caricature 2: Clearly he’s being used for expositional purposes because author-san is dying for people to know just how clever the Dean’s plan was.

Deleted exchange:

“Why?”

“If you hear that the College has something that could safely increase your Cultivation, would you be excited?”

“Yes,”

“If you’re a spy from outside, once you hear this, wouldn’t you immediately try to think of a way to send the message out?”

“Yes,”

Excuse me, would you like a crutch to support your obviously limping brain?

[3] Please don’t forget about Great Lord Wen. Especially when you made the Dean sound so confident and intelligent earlier. Gumi could not help but wonder whether it’s to compensate for the incident back in Chapter 198.

 

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