Infinite Awakening: My Exp Doubles Everyday novel Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Rapid Breakthroughs

After confirming the food was working for Elder Guo, everyone finally allowed themselves to indulge. The tension that had gripped them dissolved, replaced by the simple pleasure of enjoying an extraordinary meal.

Elder Huang eagerly scooped up a generous spoonful, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "You have no idea how much I’ve missed this," she declared. "It’s been exactly one hundred hours, fifty minutes, and twenty seconds since I last had Xiang Yu’s cooking. If not for my high mind level, I would have gone into withdrawal and suffered qi deviation."

When the first morsel touched her tongue, she froze. She had expected improvement, certainly, but this? This was an entirely different realm of culinary mastery. The flavors cascaded through her senses like a waterfall of pure spiritual energy. She wanted to ask how he had achieved such profound advancement in his cooking, but her hand moved with a will of its own, continuously delivering more food to her eager mouth.

A warm sensation spread throughout her body as the spiritual energy permeated her meridians. This wasn’t the gentle enhancement she had experienced before—this was a substantial, powerful surge. Her core swelled with qi, expanding noticeably as it filled to capacity and then pushed beyond its former boundaries. In one breathtaking moment, she broke through to the third layer of Core Formation realm.

But Elder Huang didn’t pause to savor this achievement. The food before her demanded her complete attention, and she continued eating with single-minded focus.

Elder Guo ate in contemplative silence. He could feel his cultivation advancing rapidly—he had already reached the fifth layer of Qi Gathering and stood on the precipice of another breakthrough. His disciple’s cooking was truly remarkable, far exceeding his expectations. He wondered if he had possessed this resource earlier, could he have saved the Sect Master?

Li Yao and the Empress were experiencing their own joyful revelations. Unlike the others, Li Yao’s Heavenly-grade spiritual root, coupled with the Empress’s guidance, allowed her to absorb one hundred percent of the meal’s properties. She had already broken through to the sixth layer of Core Formation, and her core continued to fill rapidly.

[This is good stuff,] the Empress remarked appreciatively within Li Yao’s consciousness. [I’m starting to think that I should have chosen your senior brother instead of you,] she added teasingly.

"Hmph! Do you think you would ever have met him if not for me?" Li Yao retorted as she continued to savor each bite.

For Xiang Yu himself, the experience was less dramatic. He consumed his food, pausing periodically to circulate the absorbed energy before resuming his meal. While the others experienced breakthrough after breakthrough, he simply accumulated power steadily, his medium-grade spiritual root limiting the rate at which he could process the spiritual energy.

When everyone had finally finished eating, Xiang Yu extended his qi sense discreetly, assessing the results of his culinary efforts. Elder Huang had advanced from the second layer of Core Formation to the fourth—an astounding leap that made him a little envious.

This was the stark difference that superior spiritual roots made: she could advance multiple layers in a higher realm while he struggled to reach the halfway point in a much lower realm.

Shifting his attention to his master, Xiang Yu noted with satisfaction that Elder Guo had progressed from a mortal state to the seventh layer of Qi Gathering. It seemed the rumors of his exceptional talent were true—with just a few more quality meals, he would likely rebuild his Foundation, perhaps even today since it was still morning. Xiang Yu still had lunch and dinner to prepare, though perhaps not in such lavish quantities.

Finally, he turned his qi sense toward Li Yao, detecting no cultivation whatsoever. "Hmph, like I would believe that," he thought skeptically. Just as this thought crossed his mind, their eyes met, and she smiled knowingly at him. Xiang Yu returned the smile, inwardly acknowledging her perceptiveness. "A genius is really different," he thought. "She felt my qi sense instantly."

"Martial nephew," Elder Huang broke the comfortable silence, her gaze sharp with curiosity. "I noticed you circulating your energy earlier. Can you cultivate now?" she asked directly.

"Here it comes," Xiang Yu thought, but he had already prepared for this inevitable question.

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