He tried to leave Snail to discuss food with the pillars and approach the busy makes.h.i.+ft kitchen on the other side of the giant pillar's surface, but before he could grab a bite, either the food would move away from his grasp or Snail would come and bring him back to introduce the next dish.

When the spirits were in the middle of a round of eating, Kenja finally had enough and spoke to Snail, "Let's go. You've completed what you set out to do, so let's not waste any more time here."

Snail was stumped by Kenja's angry tone. "What's wrong, disciple? Why do you want to rush out now that we got a good thing goin' here?"

Previously, Kenja was concerned that his sect credit farms placed in the various caves around the sect would dry up all the Yang in the sect, but with Snail's contribution in the form of these pillars' acknowledgments, they had gained plenty of extra time before needing to collect the stones. In fact, their optimal course of action would be to milk these stones dry for all they're worth.

"Why won't you let me eat any of the food?"

He changed the course of the conversation, and Snail could barely keep up.

"Why won't I let you eat the food? I said it before: the chef presides over the dining experience."

"You know what I mean…"

Kenja had a look of betrayal on his face. He stared at Snail wide-eyed and deeply hurt causing Snail to feel troubled for the first time in a while.

"You mean to ask why I have not used the same methods for your cultivation?"

Kenja did not respond to his question, but the gleam in his eyes gave Snail his answer.

Once one embarked on the path of cultivation, they would learn that mortals were considered to be at the beginning of the Body Tempering stage. Once their meridians had been opened and attuned to sensing and drawing in Qi, they were considered official cultivators in the Qi Flouris.h.i.+ng stage. Following Qi Flouris.h.i.+ng, there were the Foundation Establishment, Core Crystallization and Nascent Soul stages, each one a magnitude harder to reach than the previous one.

For Snail to have to the means to influence a Nascent Soul's cultivation, he should have hundreds more to impact someone at the Qi Flouris.h.i.+ng stage like Kenja. Why was Snail purposely holding him back when he knew how c.u.mbersome his const.i.tution was?

Snail crawled onto the right side of Kenja's neck and began using the Wind Whisper technique.

"Listen, disciple…the truth is I did put something in the food to help these rocks improve their cultivation, but these things are just rocks. If I do the same for you, your cultivation might improve now, but it will affect your foundation and make your future cultivation more treacherous. These rocks have already reached the end of their path, so my a.s.sistance could be considered their good fortune. You aren't the same as them and treating you the same would be an injustice. That's why I am sacrificing my personal resources for the Qi they've stored. With that, you might be able to take a step forward on your own."

Kenja eyed him doubtfully. Snail had already helped boost his cultivation rather quickly on three separate occasions: once at the glade, a second time during his fight with Bolo's bodyguard, and a third time with the Orbs of Eventuality.

Snail seemed to guess what was on Kenja's mind as he tried to persuade him, "Disciple should not underestimate himself. I was able to help you reach this point because you had made the necessary preparations yourself. Your muscles were tempered; your bones strong; your mind sharp, and most important of all, your body had been nourished with Qi for years despite your const.i.tution. If it weren't for your diligent preparation, even with our lending you a hand, there's no way you would have already formed the Fog in your dantian so quickly."

Kenja listened to his words and was reminded of the various cultivation lectures he audited over the years and their countless reminders.

Cultivation was an acc.u.mulation…

One must lay the proper foundation slowly…

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Step-by-step was key to success…

Take your time and do not rush…

His frustration eventually cooled, and he gave Snail a nod. Seeing Kenja's mood lighten up ever so slightly, Snail continued, "Disciple, if you decide to go against my advice, just tell me. I'll give you the same treatment as these rocks here and now if you want."

Kenja smiled at Snail's promise. Although it sounded insulting to be treated like a rock, Kenja could sense the care and sincerity through the whisper, elevating his mood further.

"You aren't deceiving them, are you?" The pillars had treated Kenja kindly during his time here, so he would not accept Snail tricking them.

"Hardly! Even if they offered all the Qi they had ten times over, I'd still be the one losing out! I am making great sacrifices for disciple's sake, yet you continue to doubt your master." Snail had an expression of being deeply aggrieved.

Kenja silently rolled his eyes at Snail, but he could not help but feel moved by Snail's actions. He decided to accept Snail's strange way of helping.

"How long till you have to serve the next round?"

They had fallen into a pattern of being served the next plate of food, processing their meal in silence, spending a few minutes examining their souls while Snail shared his recipe with Zhu Jidan, and rewarding Kenja with another acknowledgment before being served the next meal. Snail used the few spirits that advanced each entrée as a reason to celebrate another round, and the pillars figured this out as they began collaborating to ensure at least one pillar's soul would advance each time. Who knew if Snail would stop feeding them the instant none of them improved.

"The next round will be in ten minutes, but I've already instructed my kitchen to prepare the next forty dishes on their own. We can just relax here and enjoy the show."

Kenja finalised his decision: "Kimursan, we're leaving now."

He called for Sakura who was showing the silverware how to properly dice onions. Even the spoons and forks were not exempt from her lesson. She stood up straight when her master called for her and flew right over, leaving the onion half-diced.

"Wait, why? Do you still doubt my words?" Snail was stumped with Kenja's decision. They should at least finish milking the cow before releasing it.

Kenja gave him a look of a.s.surance. "Wasn't it you that said the kitchen was working on its own? If so, then we don't need to be here."

Snail understood Kenja's meaning, but he still raised another point. "But my stuff is still here, disciple. You don't expect me to just throw away one of my kitchens, do you?"

Kenja was baffled. This was only one of his kitchens? How many kitchens did a snail need?

"Don't worry. We'll be back for your pots and pans. I just want to fetch the new stones from Puchi and check on the remainder in the caves," he said as he thought about his unmentioned sisters and Princess Hanabi.

Kenja did miss his sisters in the short time he had not seen them, but he reaffirmed his decision to avoid interacting with them whenever possible. Spending time with Princess Hanabi was also disadvantageous considering he did not want to continue using that ident.i.ty. Because of these reasons, he would only return to his cave in three days when his master was scheduled to return so that he could pay his respects and finalize the disciples.h.i.+p ceremony. He decided to use Junior Brother Hizumi's cave in the meantime.

"Ah, in that case…"

Snail's toque vanished and his eyestalks were visible once more. Sakura's 'I AM A FORK' bandana was also put away.

Then, a light breeze swirled around Kenja, and his robes regained the appearance of one belonging to the inner-sect. Snail also stowed away the hairpin gifted to him by Hirose Hide and allowed his hair to fall to his shoulders once more.

"It's probably for the best that we go back to original appearance—ahem, I mean your disguise."

Kenja's eyes narrowed into slits.

"And whose fault do you think that is?!" His sarcasm was clear and filled with irritation.

Because of the 'Rusty Robber' incident, it was a tad risky to walk around with his preferred appearance. He had made arrangements with Puchi beforehand on an agreed place where he could pick up the tribulation stones, but he would have to think of something if a need to speak with him arose.

Kenja remembered something else and looked up at the spirits in the middle of cultivating with their food. Even though they had been conversing telepathically, this idiot snail fixed his appearance right in front of all these pillars. Wasn't that the same as revealing his true ident.i.ty?

His eyes locked with the affable monk who had already finished processing the Autumn Frittata. Seeing Kenja's panicked expression, he spoke out loud to console him, "We know of your cave's location, so of course we know your true status. You don't seriously think you're the first disciple to disguise themselves within the sect, do you? I frequently did the same as you in my younger days."

Kenja could not believe his ears. Was masquerading as the opposite gender something common amongst cultivators? Unable to contain his excitement at finding a fellow sufferer, he asked, "Senior disguised himself…in the same manner?"

The monk gave him a sincere smile and nod. "Of course! It is quite tiring being in the inner-sect as everyone scrutinizes and treats you with respect. It is a pleasant experience to shed such formalities on occasion and play amongst the outer-sect and the servants. It isn't easy to do this in a small sect, but one of this size is still possible."

Kenja's open-mouthed smile suddenly exhaled in defeat. He realized that the monk was referring to switching between the inner-sect and outer-sect, not between genders.

He gave the monk his thanks and asked him to let the others know that he would return shortly.

Sakura flew him to the edge of the basin where he touched the wall of dirt enchanted to have the background of a clear sky.

"Snail…"

Already knowing what he was going to say, Snail rea.s.sured him, "Don't worry, disciple. I won't let you drown!"

Sakura let out an angry hum at Snail's declaration.

"Alright, yeesh. We won't let you drown.

Kenja calmed his beating heart and steeled his nerves. He took in a deep breath before diving head-first into the basin and swimming through the designated hole in the wall.

Having thoroughly tempered his body and being at the Qi Flouris.h.i.+ng stage, he could easily hold his breath for several minutes. But those several minutes were a fraction of what a Qi Flouris.h.i.+ng could do if they utilised Qi during the process. But circulating Qi while he was standing still was already difficult; understandably, he had reservations about attempting to do the same as he swam underwater.

He could breathe, errrr, not breathe easier with Snail and Sakura's insurance.

…

A sword dragged the boy's hand out of the water until his head breached the surface.

"GAAAAAAAAAH"

He gasped for air before coughing vehemently, his eyes squinting tightly from the earlier pressure of water hitting his face. He held onto the sword who kept him stationary in the rus.h.i.+ng water and saved him the effort of staying afloat.

"...*cough* Snail, *cough* you said you wouldn't let me drown!"

Snail waited for Kenja's coughing to settle down before replying, "What? You were drowning? Why didn't you tell me…?"