There were many occupations in this world and gourmet was one of them. Gourmets were often born sensitive to taste, and their ability to discern flavors far exceeded ordinary humans.
Their cultivation might not necessarily be high, but there were some hotels or taverns that would hire them at high salaries so as to ascertain the taste and effects of their ingredients.
However, this occupation was one of the least esteemed ones and could only be considered one of the Lower Nine Paths.
There were more than several thousands of occupations in the world. To better classify them, they were split into the Upper Nine Paths, Middle Nine Paths and Lower Nine Paths.
Apothecary, blacksmith, formation master and similar jobs, which brought about benefits to battle techniques and one’s cultivation, were considered as the conventional Upper Nine Paths. On the other hand, gourmet could only be considered as an unorthodox occupation, thus being classified under the Lower Nine Paths.
Going by Shen Bi Ru’s opinion, given how the young man was capable of pointing out the flaws in those dishes and wine, he had to be a gourmet.
“You can take it so!” Zhang Xuan didn’t explain.
The Library of Heaven’s Path did more than reflecting one’s cultivation. As long as he had tried a dish, its flaws would be reflected in the library. With this, it was a simple task for him to take care of a small Manager Wu.
“Thank you for your help today…”
Seeing the other party admit to it, Shen Bi Ru thanked him.
If it wasn’t for this young man’s ability to discern delicacies, it would be truly embarrassing for her today.
“It’s nothing!” Zhang Xuan waved his hand.
“You resolved the problem just a moment ago, so it can’t be considered as my treat. I’ll treat you again next time!” Shen Bi Ru said.
“Treat me again?” Zhang Xuan pondered over it and shook his head. “Better not, I still treasure my life!”
Eating with a beauty might be an enjoyable event, but he knew himself the best. Given his reputation, the other party might simply be speaking out of politeness despite being repulsed by the idea!
Not only so, he would have to suffer from the envy of others. If so, he would have to come up with ideas to deal with her pursuers. However, there were still many things that he needed to do at the moment and he didn’t have the leisure for such matters.
“You…”
Just when she thought that Zhang Xuan could speak normally, she heard those words and felt a blockade in her chest again as the urge to go berserk surged through her.
Many people had asked her out to eat, but she rejected them all. Yet, when she took the initiative to invite him, she felt as though she was begging a stubborn elderly.
[Detestable!]
“Alright, since we have already eaten, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be making a move first. I still have many things to attend to!” Oblivious to her rage, he waved and prepared to take his leave.
“Wait, I’m not done yet!” Suppressing her anger, Shen Bi Ru calmed down her breathing and looked at him with her beautiful eyes. “You might have resolved that difficulty in my stead today, and your occupation as a gourmet played a huge role in it, but… In the end, it is still an unorthodox occupation. After all, a fighter should focus on his training…”
Fighters, upon cultivating to a certain realm, were able to survive without ingesting food, so delicacies did not have much use. Even if he was able to profit out of the occupation for now, it still wasn’t a proper path a fighter should be treading on.
After interacting with him, she could tell that Zhang Xuan wasn’t as useless as the rumors made him out to be. It could be possible that he had devoted his efforts to studying food, that’s why his Teacher Qualification Examination results ended up horrendous.
Upon such thoughts, despite her overwhelming anger, she couldn’t resist advising him.
“Alright!” Knowing that she said those words out of goodwill, Zhang Xuan nodded his head. Just as he was about to leave, rapid footsteps sounded out from his back.
“Zhang Xuan, let’s see where you can escape to today! Today, don’t even dream about getting away!”
Following which, a resentful voice echoed in the surroundings. Two men and one beast blocked his path.
They were Shang Bin and Cao Xiong.
At this moment, the two of them have a giant footprint imprinted on their face, the outlines of it clear to see. Half of their face were swollen red and blood trickled down by edges of their mouth. Not a single hint of their previous dashing and carefree look remained.
This was especially so for Shang Bin. His injuries from morning have yet to recover and yet, he suffered another violent kick. At this instant, his mouth was crooked to the side and his lips looked like two giant sausages, thus pulling him further away from the concept of handsomeness.
He had planned everything out perfectly so as to look cool in front of his goddess. Who knew that not only would he fail, he even got beaten up to such a state and his connection with Hongtian Pavilion was severed as a result. If things went wrong, he might even be chastised by his grandfather. How could he take this humiliation lying?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Thus, he charged up directly towards Zhang Xuan!
“Shang Bin, what do you intend to do?” Shen Bi Ru didn’t expect him to come in pursuit to cause trouble. She stepped in front of Zhang Xuan to shield him from Shang Bin.
“Shen laoshi, don’t block my way! This is a personal grudge between Zhang Xuan and me!”
It was one thing if he didn’t see her, but when he saw her shielding the infamous trash of the academy, Shang Bin was further provoked as his eyes slanted to the sides and his mouth crooked further from the overwhelming rage.
The intense envy clouding his mind made him go frenzy. He stared coldly at that young man and shouted, “Zhang Xuan, are you a man? If you’re one, stop hiding behind a woman and have a fair duel to the death with me!”
Seeing how the fellow before him had lost his rationality, Zhang Xuan widened his eyes and said, “So what if I’m hiding behind a woman? This is a part of my capabilities. If you’re capable, find one to hide behind as well!”
“You…”
Shang Bin almost vomited blood.
As long as it was a man, if someone insulted him by saying that he was gutless and hid behind the protection of a woman, wouldn’t they feel embarrassed and humiliated such that they would rush forward to retaliate out of indignation?
[Why does common sense not apply to this fellow?
How can he speak of something that should have been incomparably shameful so naturally and righteously?
****, how can one be so thick-skinned?]
“Shen laoshi, I’ll be leaving these two for you to deal with. I still have something on, so I’ll be taking my leave first!”
As a transcender, what had he never seen before? Thick-skinned?
What a joke. In his previous life, in the information era… Have you seen anyone who wasn’t shameless?
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with a problem which someone had taken the initiative to resolve for him.
This wasn’t fear. Rather, it wasn’t a good time for him to be revealing his level of cultivation. On top of that, Shang Bin’s grandfather was an elder. If he were to be forced to a corner, Zhang Xuan would have to waste precious time dealing with the problems that would ensue. Since someone was shielding him, he was also happy to be spared of the effort.
“…”
Seeing how shameless the young man was, Shen Bi Ru was also at a loss for words.
Just a moment ago, she was still fearful that he would be provoked by Shang Bin’s taunt and duel with him. Now, it did seem that she was overthinking it…
If this fellow could be provoked, even sows would be able to climb trees!
“Zhang Xuan, hold it there! If I can’t kill you today, I won’t be called Shang Bin!”
Seeing the attitude of the young man, Shang Bin became even more enraged. Veins popped out from his temples and his face turned into a shade of green. Seeing that Shen Bi Ru had no intention of letting him through, he roared, “Sky Shattering Lion, kill him! As long as you do it, I will bring you delicacies every day! Furthermore, I will give you the 【Acupoint Soothing Pill】 that my grandfather promised me!”
As a tier 6 savage beast that had been tamed by a human, the Sky Shattering Lion was capable of comprehending human words.
As his grandfather’s pet, as long as Shang Bin was kept out of harm’s way, it couldn’t be bothered with his orders. In order to get it to make a move, he promised all kinds of benefits to him in an instant.
“Roar!”
Indeed, hearing his promises, the eyes of the Sky Shattering Lion lit up.
Savage beasts who have reached Pixue realm, unlike humans, were unable use the flow of zhenqi to break open their acupoints. They could only rely on the growth of their body to gradually pull up their strength. If it were to consume the Acupoint Soothing Pill at this moment, with its effects, its strength would surely soar significantly!
Acupoint Soothing Pill was a pill made specially for Fighter 6-dan experts. It possessed the effect of soothing one’s acupoints, thus allowing one to progress further in Pixue realm.
At this moment, Shang Bin’s strength had already reached Fighter 5-dan Dingli pinnacle, just a step off from Pixue. Thus, Elder Shang Chen spent a huge sum to obtain this medicine, so as to give him a boost.
Initially, Shang Bin was reluctant to take it out. However, upon recalling how he was humiliated by a trash, he found himself unable to suppress his emotions!
If he didn’t get rid of Zhang Xuan today, he feared that he would be unable to uphold his dignity in the academy anymore.
This was especially so for the goddess before him, she probably wouldn’t even spare him a gaze!
How could he tolerate such a situation!
“Shang Bin, what do you intend to do? Killing a colleague in academy compounds is a huge crime…”
She didn’t expect Shang Bin to be so insane to order the Sky Shattering Lion to make a move. Shen Bi Ru’s eyes narrowed. She wanted to rush forward to protect Zhang Xuan, but was blocked by Shang Bin instead. Panicking, she bellowed at him.
In the compounds, teachers were forbidden from killing one another. To do so was an infringement of the school rules, as well as a severe crime.
“Zhang Xuan was the one who wanted to kill me. To protect me, the Sky Shattering Lion retaliated. What I did was legitimate self-defense, what can the others say about it?” Shang Bin’s eyes turned red from insanity. He roared, “Sky Shattering Lion, what are you hesitating for? Do it!”
“You…”
Shen Bi Ru felt her heart turning cold.
Too shameless!
If he were to really use that as a front, with Elder Shang Chen’s interference within the matter, he might really get away with it! In fact, it was possible for him to escape punishment completely!
Zhang Xuan could very well die here!
After all, it was a tier 6 savage beast. Ordinary Pixue realm experts weren’t even its match. How could one who was the last in the Teacher Qualification Examination withstand it?
“Roar!”
Just when she was still in a fluster, the Sky Shattering Lion roared and dashed over. Before coming into contact with it, its powerful aura created a powerful gale that forced the surrounding grass and tree leaves to bow down to it.
——
Nine Paths, also known as Three Teachings and Nine Paths
This is a real terminology used to classify jobs in ancient China.
To put it simply, there are Upper Nine Paths, Middle Nine Paths and Lower Nine Paths in ancient China and each of these paths refer to an occupation.
For example, the top occupations in ancient China (the nine occupations listed in the Upper Nine Paths) are:
Emperor, Saints, Secluded Masters, Oracle, Scholar, Warrior, Farmer, Worker, Merchant (And they are classified from |Most esteemed <–> Least esteemed|)
Similarly, the Middle Nine Paths and Lower Nine Paths have their own set of occupations as well.
The Three Teachings refer to Confucianism, Daoism (or Taoism) and Buddhism.
Do note that there are different interpretations/versions to the Nine Paths and most of them list Buddha as the first one.
