Outer Sect Market, Lantian Sect.
"Hot and juicy skewers! Freshly grilled and ready! Twenty sticks for just one lower-grade spirit stone, don’t miss it!"
A crisp, young voice rang out across the stalls, drawing the attention of a few cultivators.
Not because they were hungry—no, they just wanted to see what kind of idiot was actually trying to trade meat for spirit stones.
Turned out, it was a girl, maybe thirteen or so. Pretty little face, delicate features, big bright eyes that sparkled when she smiled. A bit skinny, but the kind of look that made people pause a second.
Seeing the scent of grilled meat pulling in a crowd, Evelyn Star’s smile lit up even more.
She moved fast, flipping the skewers over her crude little grill. The lamb was nearly done, glistening as she sprinkled on some ground cumin and chili powder. The spices clung to the sizzling meat, and the sharp, spicy scent filled the air like a punch to the nose.
"Hey, big brother, want a set?"
She put on her best cheerful face and aimed it at the nearest cultivator.
He backed off, shaking his head. “I’m fasting.”
That hit harder than the spices.
Evelyn’s smile faltered just a second before she turned to the next one—only to be cut off again.
“I just had a fasting pill.”The moment Evelyn Star's eyes swept over the crowd, the cultivators either shook their heads or gave excuses. Some said they'd taken Fasting Pills, others claimed they were already in seclusion. The ones who hadn’t started fasting just muttered about being broke.
“Girl, charging spirit stones for plain meat? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, lucky you’re young—any older and someone would’ve smacked you already.”
“Exactly, do we look that easy to fool?”
Evelyn’s face warmed with embarrassment. In the world of cultivation, most people ate spiritual beast meat or spirit herbs. Her mutton—normal stuff from the mortal world—was bought with copper coins. Selling something like that for spirit stones did sound ridiculous.
[Main Quest 1: Use ordinary ingredients to make a dish and earn spirit stones. Time limit: 1 day. Reward: 100 spirit energy, +10 survival days. Penalty: -1 survival day.]
That was the system’s original message.
Her current survival count? Zero. If she didn’t pull it off today, she’d be dead by night.
Judging by the system’s name and the quests it issued, its purpose was clear—conquer the cultivation world through food.
She didn’t hate the task—in fact, she was all in. Problem was, reality slapped her hard. No sales meant no way forward.
The smell of grilled meat was getting stronger, almost too strong. Any longer and it’d turn dry. Evelyn clenched her jaw, grabbed a skewer, and sank her teeth into it. One bite first. Solutions could wait till her mouth wasn’t watering.Evelyn Star picked up a skewer of lamb from the grill, blew on it lightly, then took a bite. The moment the meat touched her tongue, the spicy flavor exploded in her mouth. With a few chews, hot juices oozed out—the meat was tender, juicy, with no hint of gaminess. It was so good it could make someone forget where they were.
It was just a regular lamb, but raised in a place rich in spiritual energy. Compared to anything she'd had in the modern world, this beat them all hands down.
If even ordinary meat tasted this divine, imagine how good spirit beasts and demon beasts must be...
Lost in the taste, Evelyn downed three skewers before finally stopping.
What the hell was wrong with these people?
She was basically putting on a food show right here, her expressions full of enthusiasm and honest delight, painting the air with the smell of roasted meat. Yet these cultivators just stood there—some sniffing obsessively, others swallowing hard—but not a single one willing to buy.
Unacceptable!
Everyone's got a breaking point. Evelyn didn’t believe they could resist forever—not after tasting it.
She was gonna offer ten skewers for free, let them try, and see who could still hold back!
“Well, well, if it isn’t the little country girl Evelyn Star? Still can’t draw Qi after almost a year?”
Elliot Brewer swaggered over with two sidekicks in tow, acting like he owned the world.
Of course he showed up—Evelyn wasn’t surprised. As the crowd's attention shifted to him, she quickly popped a small round ball into her mouth.
“Heh, boss, bet you didn’t know—she’s actually trying to trade that junk food for spirit stones!” one of Elliot’s lackeys sneered."Only seven days left before she gets sent home, what’s she need spirit stones for?"
The two flunkies shouted like they were afraid others wouldn’t hear.
The onlookers suddenly understood and their eyes turned cold and mocking. Some even laughed out loud.
"Scared the hell outta me. Good thing I didn’t buy her stuff! What if her meat skewer messes up my cultivation?"
"Mess up what? You’d need spirit stones to buy it first. Can you even afford it?!"
The crowd roared with laughter, chanting “Can’t afford it!”
Evelyn Star didn’t bother with the sarcasm. Her attention was locked on Elliot Brewer.
No one knew better than him why the original her couldn’t draw in spiritual energy for a whole year.
He made her life hell—mocking, bullying, and thanks to his father’s role as a petty manager in the sect, she was worked like a dog every day. Her body and mind were worn down to nothing. Who’d have energy left to cultivate?
According to Lantian Sect rules, a registered disciple who couldn’t draw in spiritual energy within a year would be sent back home.
Eight days left. The previous Evelyn, crushed by desperation and shame, had chosen to end her own life.
That’s when the current Evelyn stepped in.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Deaf now, are you?!"
Elliot moved in closer, looking down at her like she was dirt.As Elliot Brewer stepped closer, the scent hit him straight up the nose. He reached out for a skewer.
"Not for mangy dogs like you," Evelyn Star slapped his hand away.
"You hit me? And called me a dog? You’ve got a death wish!" Elliot's face twisted in anger, hand swinging up for a slap.
Before he could touch her, Evelyn's face turned pale, blood gushed from the corner of her mouth, and she dropped like a wilted flower.
The shift happened in a blink.
Elliot stood there, hand half-raised: “???”
The gathered cultivators: “…”
What’s this—fake injury?
But Evelyn was a mortal. Getting hurt by a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator's palm wind? Totally believable.
If you can't win, scare him to death. That’s how you deal with bullies.
Foam at her lips, wide eyes rolling, limbs twitching—she looked proper wrecked.
The act was so convincing that even the onlookers began to doubt their own eyes. Some even glanced warily at Elliot.
All those smug faces around him now screamed: “You’ve messed up, big time.”
Elliot panicked.
If Evelyn died here, in broad daylight, in front of this many witnesses, he’d be branded a killer. Expelled from Lantian Sect at best. Dead at worst.
If this had happened in secret, maybe his father could have cleaned it up. But now? Too many eyes watching. No escape.
"I didn’t even touch her! She’s faking it!" he shouted, voice cracking.Elliot Brewer tried to look tough, but his nerves betrayed him. He circled the grill and gave Evelyn Star a nudge with the tip of his shoe.
Big mistake.
Blood poured out from under her like someone had tipped a wine jug. The sight froze Elliot in place.
His two lackeys saw it too and started slinking away, hoping no one noticed them.
Elliot wanted to run, badly. But the fear of Evelyn actually dying here made him panic. He fumbled through his storage pouch, yanked out a handful of healing pills, and shoved them all into Evelyn’s mouth, mumbling, “It’s not my fault, she’s faking it... Just faking…”
Done feeding her the pills, he stumbled back a few steps, then turned and bolted.
To the bystanders, that panicked retreat said everything.
Evelyn, her mouth crammed with pills, felt her heart twist in pain. These pills were too damn effective—each one melted the moment it hit her tongue. She couldn’t even stash them.
But she couldn’t break character now. She lay still, waiting for the “medicine” to do its work before getting up.
Then a clear, cool voice broke through the noise.
“Are the skewers still for sale?”
“Yes, yes they are!”
Evelyn sprang up like a fish leaping out of water, snatched fresh skewers from her basket, and set them on the grill.
“I’ll make you a new batch. Twenty sticks for one low-grade spirit stone—worth every bit of it.”As Evelyn Star looked up, she nearly choked on her watermelon juice, gasping at what she saw.
The boy standing in front of her had eyes like stars—deep, sharp, and almost pulling her in. His face was clean-cut, like it was carved by a master craftsman, and his tall frame, dressed in black, set off his pale skin. Cold aura rolled off him. The surrounding crowd fell silent the moment he appeared.
Evelyn glanced down at herself. Her short grey outfit was stained with watermelon juice, especially around the collar. She quickly wiped at it with a handkerchief. The watermelon from the system shop wasn’t just blood-red—it stuck like glue.
The boy’s eyes rested silently on the bright red stain behind her. He looked puzzled.
The nearby cultivators followed his gaze to the bloodstain on the ground. They still suspected Evelyn of faking it—but they had no proof, not with that smell of real blood hanging in the air.
Evelyn, though, stayed calm. Even if someone tried to check whether the blood she spit out was real or not—they’d find nothing. Never underestimate what a top-tier chef could fake.