Trying the Ingredients!(Part-1)

"It sure is an interesting event," Big Chub muttered while handing Apollo his change.

"Thanks," Apollo took the change and put it in his pocket. "Then how does one enter a Martial School?"

Hearing the question, Big Chub glanced at the beggar strangely. "Don't tell me you want to enter?"

"Haha, I'm just curious," Apollo waved his hand.

"Well, there's no customer besides you, so let's chat more," Big Chub said. "First of all, you need to have the talent for cultivation. This comes to only one in a thousand people. Then you have to go to any Martial School. If you prove to them that you have the talent, they will accept you."

"I see," Apollo nodded.

"Anything else?" Big Chub sighed just in time to notice the beggar's hand slowly moving toward one of his breads. "Hey! Hands!"

Apollo swiftly waved it over the bread. "There are flies everywhere."

Big Chub's eye twitched. This beggar!

"One piece of bread, please!" someone shouted from the side, and Big Chub handed the other customer a bread with a smile on his face.

Apollo took this chance to snatch a piece of bread and put it in his pocket.

When the vendor glanced at him, Apollo asked another question. "What about the library? Does this city have one?"

"This city? Are you not from here? Is that why you don't know anything?" Big Chub shook his head and answered the question. "Library… that is the place filled with books, right? Only Martial Schools have it and those people with wealth and power."

Apollo sighed in disappointment upon hearing the answer. If I really wanted to fully understand cultivation, do I really need to sign up for this so-called Martial School?

He could buy books in the store, but they are too expensive!

He brought up his System Store while still talking to Big Chub and sorted out the items to Cultivation Books.

**Basic of Cultivation:** Understand the foundation of cultivation. Qi, enlightenment, and spirit will be in your hands.

**Alm Points Needed:** 100 Alm points.

This is the cheapest book that can help him understand cultivation, but he needed a hundred Alm points!

What he just needed to know were the very basics!

Apollo sighed and suddenly remembered the book that Big Chub had given him, which contained information about the cultivation stages, maps, and other relevant details. "If the library is strictly regulated, then it means books are also controlled, right?"

"Right," Big Chub nodded.

"Then how did you get your hands on the book you gave me?" Apollo asked.

"Well…" Big Chub scratched his cheek while averting his eyes from the beggar.

"Was it stolen?!" Apollo's eyes widened.

"Shh! Keep your mouth shut!" Big Chub hurriedly made a quiet gesture, afraid that others might hear their conversation. He looked to his left and right before lowering his voice. "You see–"

"Did you give it to me to get rid of the book?" Apollo squinted at the vendor. This fatso gave me some trouble!

"Do you want some more bread? Here!" Big Chub handed two pieces of bread to the beggar, and of course, Apollo immediately took them.

"Hmph! I will accept your bribe even though it's against my will!" Apollo said, stuffing the two breads inside his now bulging pocket.

Against your will? Then why did you take it so fast?! Big Chub glared at the beggar.

"Cough! So, how did you get it?" Apollo went back to the topic.

"Just to clarify, only books with cultivation content are not allowed in the public, though it's still hard for us common people to get hold of some books," Big Chub said.

"Okay, and?" Apollo didn't let the vendor change the topic.

"Come on, give some respect to your elders!" Big Chub said assertively, but the beggar remained adamant.

Apollo continued to look at the vendor with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you!" Big Chub gave up. "It's because of those guys."

Apollo looked back and saw some young men and women wearing their martial uniforms. They were laughing merrily as they walked in the distance. Furthermore, their eyes turned to disgust when they saw the normal people glancing in their direction.

"They had a fight among each other. They made quite a ruckus, injuring some ordinary people. That book that I gave you, it's probably from them. I just found it under this table." Big Chub tapped the table where his breads were placed.

Apollo looked at the vendor with doubt in his eyes.

"Believe me or not, that's what really happened," Big Chub said. "But how come there's a lot more martial students here than usual…"

Apollo glanced in the direction where the group of student cultivators was heading and couldn't help but wonder how Filly's Restaurant was currently doing.

"I should go back. See ya, Big Chub!" Apollo waved his hand before running back to his beggar spot.

Big Chub watched as the beggar disappeared into the distance. Did I see wrong? His eyes became black; I probably imagined it before that his eyes were blue. He shook his head and started attending to his other customers.

...

Filly was currently standing on the second floor of her restaurant. She couldn't help but sigh, seeing that there were only a few of her regular customers eating below.

That Skyline Savory branch in front of her restaurant was really such a beast that on its opening day, most of her customers had changed sides.

She gritted her teeth in frustration. "That beggar better not be lying!"

Filly placed her hope on the journal that Apollo wrote for her. The methods and new cuisine in it were so heavenly defying, and if the method written in the notebook was really true, she would owe that beggar a lot.

It had been a few hours since Gail left, and she couldn't wait any longer. Gail had gone out to procure the ingredients so they could start immediately to recreate what was written in the journal.

With the sound of the door opening, Filly glanced at the entrance and her eyes lit up. Gail was wearing a robe that covered her face. In her hand was a bamboo bag filled with vegetables, fruits, and other ingredients Filly couldn't recognize.

Gail went up the stairs and the two of them entered Filly's room.

"Did you acquire everything?" Filly asked, worry evident in her voice.

Gail took off her robe and shook her head in disappointment. "Unfortunately not. There are some ingredients not available in the market."

"Then what did you get?"

Gail went to the table and began taking out the things inside the bamboo bag. "I only managed to get this coconut, lime, this red pointy fruit, these grasses with white fruits on their ends, and this… and this…"

She took them out one by one while describing them.

"That must be what he called chili," Filly said, holding the red thin pointy fruit. "Can this thing even be eaten? Where did you get this?"

Gail appeared embarrassed. "Well, the illustration from the journal matched one of the ingredients we used for poison concocting… so I went to my master and asked for some."

"P-poison?!" Filly dropped the 'fruit.' "That d*mn beggar! How dare he! Does he want to kill my customers?!"