Chapter 12. Mei Mei.

Li Chen was shocked to see the young man. A question formed in his mind: Could there be other human inhabitants within this treasure space?

"Who are you?" Li Chen inquired, adopting a defensive stance.

Upon seeing Li Chen's guarded posture, the young man snarled and dismissed him. "Fluffy, seriously?" he questioned with an irate tone.

Huh!

Li Chen's mouth fell open in confusion. What on earth was the young man talking about?

Ignoring Li Chen's bewilderment, the young man continued, "Who in heaven's name gives a cat the name 'Fluffy' just because it has fluffy white fur?" he bellowed in frustration.

Surprised by the young man's outburst over the name he had chosen for his system spirit, Li Chen couldn't help but ask, "Umm, why are you so angry about the name?"

Hearing the question, the young man snapped, "Of course I'm angry! I'm trapped here with a weak, pathetic human, and to make matters worse, I have to endure the embarrassing name 'Fluffy' for who knows how long!" His voice rose in anger, and he stomped on the ground, adding, "Angry is an understatement. I feel murderous!" His eyes blazed with a killing intent that sent shivers down Li Chen's spine.

Li Chen took an involuntary step back, feeling a chill run down his spine, but then it struck him, 'Going to bear the name Fluffy?'

His eyes widened in shock. "Fluffy?" he echoed, astonished.

"Don't call me that!" the young man roared, stamping his feet in anger.

Li Chen was stunned by this revelation. "Bu... But how is that possible?" he stammered.

How could a system spirit take on human form? Li Chen's mind raced with possibilities.

"How is it not possible when I am doing it?" The humanoid Fluffy retorted. "And that's not the point. I am a dragon. I should be given a powerful name that befits my status, not 'Fluffy,'" he said, now even more incensed.

Hearing this, Li Chen burst into laughter. "Wait, what? A dragon? You're just a little white cat with shiny blue eyes," he taunted, his laughter growing louder.

"Man, I've met many people with identity crises, but man, I've never heard of a system spirit with an identity crisis who wants to be so much more than what it is," Li Chen jeered, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face.

Perhaps it was sweet revenge for being called pathetic by Fluffy, or maybe it was the release of frustration at having a useless cat-type system spirit, but whatever the reason, Li Chen was thoroughly enjoying watching the enraged human Fluffy at that moment.

Fluffy's fury intensified with Li Chen's mockery. "This isn't funny! Change that name at once! I'm warning you, change it!" he demanded, stomping his foot insistently.

Li Chen grinned at the demand. "You know that's not possible, cutie pie," he replied with a smile. Changing a system spirit's name was out of the question; the name was used to create a bond with the spirit, so attempting to change it was akin to destroying that bond, which meant losing control of the system spirit—and the system itself.

"And even if I could change your name, I wouldn't bother trying," Li Chen's voice turned icy as he continued, "System spirits aren't supposed to give orders to their masters; it's supposed to be the other way aroun..."

Before Li Chen could finish his sentence, Fluffy vanished from his spot with incredible speed, and before Li Chen realized what was happening, he felt a powerful punch land on his chest, sending him flying.

Having learned that the young man in front of him was Fluffy, Li Chen had let down his guard, not expecting Fluffy to attack him. He wasn't prepared to react in time to the punch that hit him squarely in the chest, sending him soaring. Even if he had been ready, the force behind the punch was too much for him to counteract in time.

"Ahhh!" Li Chen screamed as pain shot through his body upon landing.

"What the hell," Li Chen cursed, both shocked and angry. Wasn't Fluffy supposed to be his system spirit? How could Fluffy attack him?

As if reading Li Chen's mind, Fluffy approached and squatted down in front of him, saying in a threatening tone, "Though I might not be able to attack you outside, here I have a mind of my own and am no longer just a system spirit. I can do as I please, so watch how you speak to me."

Li Chen was shocked, but then his face cracked into a smile. "Not everything you like, though, because you seem unable to kill me. I'm still your master," Li Chen taunted, dusting himself off and slowly standing up.

Fluffy clenched his teeth in anger at Li Chen's words. "I might not be able to kill you, but I can still smack that ugly face of yours whenever I feel like it," he said before turning around and vanishing into the tower.

Seeing this, Li Chen's smile broadened. "Isn't that interesting? A system spirit that talks back to its master," he said, the smile growing wilder.

To others, this might seem problematic, but Li Chen found pleasure in it. The mysteries surrounding the Divine Cooking System seemed to make his heart race with excitement.

Watching Fluffy disappear into the tower, Li Chen followed, walking slowly towards it. He ascended the rocky path and finally arrived in front of the enormous door of the tower, which seemed to pierce the sky itself.

"Well, that's one grand tower," Li Chen muttered as he pushed open the entrance door and stepped inside.

Contrary to his expectations, instead of a grand hall, he was met with a space filled with nothing but whiteness.

Li Chen was taken aback but didn't hesitate to enter. As soon as he did, the door behind him closed automatically.

Then, a very beautiful young lady with white hair and two frosty blue dragon horns on her head materialized in front of him.

As the lady appeared, she bowed slightly in front of Li Chen and said in a sweet, ethereal voice, "Greetings, Master. My name is Mei Mei. I am the Tower Spirit and also your guide."

Li Chen, hearing this, beamed with joy. "Finally, a useful spirit," he said with a contented smile.

"So, what assistance does Master require now?" Mei Mei inquired.

Li Chen pondered for a moment. Fluffy had mentioned that challenging the tower was a way for him to learn how to cook the Demonic Inferno Stir-Fry Delight, so he asked, "Tell me about the tower and how to challenge it?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Mei explained, "The tower consists of a hundred floors, each with its challenges. To challenge the tower, one must pass through each floor and overcome these challenges to obtain the legacy of my Master."

Li Chen wondered how this was related to learning to cook the Demonic Inferno Stir-Fry Delight. Could one of the challenges assist with that?

"So, how do I go about challenging the tower now?" Li Chen queried.

As soon as Li Chen asked the question, a notification screen appeared in front of him.

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Would you like to challenge the Legacy Tower?

[YES] / [NO]

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Without hesitation, Li Chen chose the 'YES' option.

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Request processing.

Initiating transportation in 3... 2... 1...

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As soon as the countdown finished, Li Chen disappeared from his position and reappeared in a different location.

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You have arrived on the first floor. Get ready for the challenge.

Initiating challenge in 10... 9...

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Li Chen disregarded the system notification and instead surveyed his surroundings.

Contrary to his expectations of a grand hall on the first floor, Li Chen found himself in a strange village surrounded by buildings. Despite the lack of children running about or joyful elders chatting, Li Chen had the impression that it was a happy little village.

Just as Li Chen was observing his surroundings, the countdown ended.

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Challenge number one was initiated.

_Challenge: Cooking.

_Details: Defeat a member of the Xingling race in a cooking competition.

_Objective: Choose a recipe and prepare the dish according to the recipe, achieving at least medium success.

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As Li Chen read the message on the notification screen, a beastly growl from behind startled him.

Turning around in shock, Li Chen came face to face with what appeared to be a humanoid pig beast.

The beast stood around ten feet tall, and its entire body seemed to be made of tree bark.

Before him was a male Xingling.