Chapter 360: Exceeding the Goal

Qiao Tianhao’s disdainful expression and tone instantly ignited Huā Wúyuè’s anger.
As the eldest son of the Huā family, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? Even when accompanying the family head to visit allied sects, he had never faced such insults.
With a flick of his hand, a spirit sword with a light red tassel and a crystal-clear blade appeared in Huā Wúyuè’s palm. Clenching his right hand, he prepared to thrust the sword forward. In his furious mind, a figure suddenly flashed through his thoughts—Lín Dōng!
He had indeed been humiliated in Língnán City, and the only person standing by his side was Manager Lín.
This was Lín Jì Inn, and the person standing across from him was its top chef. If he accidentally injured someone or, driven by anger, killed them, it would surely deal a fatal blow to Lín Jì Inn’s business.
By then, it would be uncertain whether he could even save his own life. Manager Lín, standing beside him, didn’t care at all about the Huā family’s influence.
Seeing Huā Wúyuè hesitate, Qiao Tianhao’s lips curled slightly as his blood boiled with excitement.
Today, he must find someone to bully to vent his frustration toward Chéng Bào.
The smile on Qiao Tianhao’s face made Huā Wúyuè’s anger flare up again.
“Manager Lín, the chef of Lín Jì Inn—isn’t he a bit uncivilized?”
Jiāng Kuí and Yù Línglóng stopped beside Qiao Tianhao. They were clearly displeased by Huā Wúyuè’s words, but after recalling Lín Dōng’s introduction that the person across from them was also the chef of Lín Jì Inn, they settled for it.
Qiao Tianhao acted as if Huā Wúyuè wasn’t criticizing him, casually tapping his feet while figuring out how to maximize his own pleasure.
Lín Dōng’s gaze drifted toward Chéng Bào’s back.
Chéng Bào continued stirring the contents in the large pot with his iron spoon. But Lín Dōng believed that Chéng Bào’s already fierce face must be wearing a cold smirk.
Being wrongly accused and called uncivilized was unfair. Chéng Bào avoided trouble, but he would never let go of anyone who caused him problems. Whether it was Huā Wúyuè or Qiao Tianhao, after finishing their tasks, they would likely have to return to their rooms lying down.
“Manager Lín…” Not hearing a response from Lín Dōng, Huā Wúyuè reminded him again.
“I’m just the inn’s manager. Whether the chefs are civilized or not is their personal matter. As long as it doesn’t affect the inn’s business, I can’t interfere,” Lín Dōng replied nonchalantly.

“Does Manager Lin mean that whenever he’s free, as long as I can cure him on time, I can do whatever I want to him?” Hua Wuyue stared coldly at Qiao Tianhao.
Before Lin Dong could speak, Qiao Tianhao impatiently took out a kitchen knife and waved it at Hua Wuyue. “Kid, someone who can work as a chef in the third kitchen of our Lin’s Inn—so long as their hands can stir-fry, they can cook even with swollen eyes or by lying on a frame with broken ribs… What’s such a small issue? If you want an excuse to run, just say so.”
Hua Wuyue was overjoyed and glanced at Lin Dong beside him.
“I only need to ensure that high-grade spiritual beast materials and signature dishes are delivered to the private rooms on time. The rest has nothing to do with me,” Lin Dong said calmly. “Young Master Hua, as long as you remember that you’re now also a chief chef at our Lin’s Inn. Also, if you can’t guarantee not to damage the kitchen, it’s better to work outside.”
“Don’t worry, Manager Lin. I promise to keep him alive,” Hua Wuyue said solemnly.
“Keep me alive? Come on! Today, I’ll show you who Boss Qiao really is.” Qiao Tianhao turned, holding the kitchen knife, and strode toward the side door in a staggered gait.
Hua Wuyue followed closely behind.
After watching the two leave through the side door and seeing Cheng Bao lifting the spoon from the pot, preparing to serve the dishes and heading toward the side door, Lin Dong called out, “Cheng Bao, talk about your matters later. Come here first; I have something to tell you.”
Cheng Bao stopped in his tracks and turned toward Lin Dong.
“Manager, is he really the new chief chef of our inn?” Jiang Kui asked softly, but to everyone else’s ears, it sounded like a loud shout.
“He’s more of a temporary chief chef, tricked into helping us. Getting him to stay permanently will likely be quite troublesome. He’s the heir of a prominent family in Lingnan City. His ability to arrange dishes is excellent, but his cooking skills aren’t great—probably because he rarely cooks,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “I called you here to inform you of this.”
“Find a way to keep him?” Yu Linglong asked.
“Yes!” Lin Dong nodded.
“What should we do?” Yu Linglong pressed.
“There’s no need to do anything special. Just do as usual. The only thing is to stop bullying Qiao Tianhao a bit. Especially you, Cheng Bao, stop making Qiao Tianhao get carried back to his room so often. Of course, it depends on the situation—judge for yourself. Don’t end up making the new chief chef hate Qiao Tianhao too much,” Lin Dong said, looking at Cheng Bao. Among the four top chefs at Lin’s Inn, Qiao Tianhao was the weakest.

Although Qiao Tianhao joined Lin’s Inn second only to Jiang Kui, he already possessed the strength to break through the Lingdong stage when Jiang Kui first began his cultivation. However, due to his lazy habits—spending his time either cooking in the kitchen or practicing in his room—Qiao Tianhao had been surpassed by Jiang Kui by several months. The same was true for Yu Linglong and Cheng Bao; they both had extremely strong abilities even before joining Lin’s Inn. Although their cultivation levels were slightly lower than Qiao Tianhao’s when they joined, their combat experience gave them an edge over him. After using auxiliary cultivation herbs like the Qinglan Fruit, they far surpassed Qiao Tianhao. It could be said that Qiao Tianhao was the weakest among them. Strangely enough, he was also the one who liked to stir up trouble the most. Jiang Kui was burly but had a very gentle and uncompetitive nature. Yu Linglong’s temper was originally quite good, but when she first joined the inn, she was too polite toward Qiao Tianhao, which led to him bullying her for a few days. After obtaining auxiliary cultivation herbs like the Qinglan Fruit, although she stopped bullying him, she would still beat him a few times whenever he started causing trouble for no reason. The worst-tempered one was Cheng Bao—Qiao Tianhao might get beaten if he showed up in front of him, if he spoke too loudly, or if he bullied apprentices for too long… In short, in Cheng Bao’s eyes, Qiao Tianhao was just a punching bag; whenever Qiao Tianhao disturbed his mood, he would get beaten. Yet Qiao Tianhao was stubborn and unwilling to obey—every few days, if he didn’t get beaten by Cheng Bao, he would immediately think that Cheng Bao was afraid of him and would go ahead and provoke him right away. The main reason Lin Dong brought Hua Wuyue to the inn as a temporary head chef was to gradually make him enjoy being a full-time chef. Another reason was to give Qiao Tianhao and the others something that would make Hua Wuyue want to stay. After all, given Hua Wuyue’s love for showing off and his habit of being the eldest son of the Hua family, it wouldn’t happen overnight for him to realize that being a full-time chef was more comfortable than being the eldest son while occasionally cooking. Even though cooking was Hua Wuyue’s greatest pleasure, it wouldn’t take just a few days to change his mind. If Qiao Tianhao and the others could give Hua Wuyue a reason to stay, he would have more time to gradually experience the joy of being a full-time chef. Any martial artist, given a worthy challenge, surely wouldn’t give up in the short term. According to Lin Dong’s plan, Cheng Bao and the others were Hua Wuyue’s targets. And the first target Lin Dong assigned to Hua Wuyue was Qiao Tianhao.

Qiao Tianhao was the weakest in the third kitchen of Lin’s Inn, yet he still possessed the strength of the fifth level of the Mental State phase. His speed was his advantage, and compared to Hua Wuyue’s dexterity, they were roughly on par. With a higher realm level, he could undoubtedly hold Hua Wuyue at a significant disadvantage. Given Qiao Tianhao’s personality, and even Yu Linglong, who was obsessed with revenge, saw him as a target to surpass upon entering the inn, not to mention Hua Wuyue, who was used to being a young master. As long as Hua Wuyue wasn’t given too many spiritual beasts or materials to aid in his cultivation, Qiao Tianhao alone could keep him tied up for a long time. Once Hua Wuyue surpassed Qiao Tianhao, Lin Dong believed he would have gotten used to life in the third kitchen of Lin’s Inn, and he would also start to feel competitive with Cheng Bao and the others in terms of cooking skills and strength. Of course, all of this was contingent on the Hu family not interfering and Hua Wuyue truly preferring to be a chef. Otherwise, it would all be in vain. As for the first condition, Lin Dong was already gathering detailed information about the Hu family; with effort, he could surely find a way. As for the second, he was somewhat helpless—it was beyond his control, and he could only leave it to fate. “Owner, wearing like that, he surely won’t…” Yu Linglong hesitated. “He just grew up among women and has such a hobby; he’s still quite normal,” Lin Dong said with a smile. Yu Linglong sighed in relief. A man wearing a pink robe might seem strange, but there were many odd people in the second and third kitchens of Lin’s Inn, so it wasn’t that unusual. “Also, he’s extremely clean-minded—almost to the point of being obsessive,” Lin Dong said with a smile, pointing at the wall near the fifth stove. “Jiang Kui, after work, take that stove down.” “Take it down?” Jiang Kui was puzzled. “Yes, build another one,” Lin Dong nodded. Given Hua Wuyue’s cleanliness obsession, he might manage to cook under the existing stoves for a few days, but not for long. Normally, given Hua Wuyue’s habits from Peach Blossom Tower, tearing down a section of the wall in the kitchen and placing a spirit stone fan there wouldn’t be a problem. But the third kitchen of Lin’s Inn contained recipes for its signature dishes and various spiritual beast materials of level three and above—these were the biggest secrets of any grand restaurant. Although no one could replicate Lin’s Inn’s signature dishes, proper confidentiality measures were necessary. Aside from selecting apprentices interested in cooking from among beggars, even staff weren’t allowed inside; all dishes were carried out by apprentices and handed to the staff.

So, tearing down the wall is definitely not an option. If a stove is set up outside for Hua Wuyue, it will also eliminate the chance for him to interact with Cheng Bao and the others. Fortunately, Lin Dong isn’t completely helpless—he can place some spiritual flowers and herbs that can freshen the air in the kitchen and install a few large range hoods, and that will solve everything. Spiritual flowers and herbs generally have unique scents, so it’s not hard to find ones that can freshen the air. The principle of range hoods is similar to that of spiritual stone fans. Lin Dong believes that once Ma Chun comes to knock on the door later, he can ask him to make a trip to Qiufeng City to inform Peng Qiao, and they can have them ready in three to five days. “I’ll start working as soon as I finish here,” Jiang Kui nodded. After finishing the important tasks, Lin Dong casually asked, “Cheng Bao, how’s progress on researching spicy dishes?” “Not very well. Don’t even think about it in three to five months,” Cheng Bao shook his head. “Yulinglong, have you made any progress on the pastries I asked you to research?” Lin Dong immediately turned to Yulinglong. When he first arrived in Lingnan City, in addition to asking Cheng Bao to work on new spicy dishes, he also gave Yulinglong a list of cakes, breads, and other pastries to research. “Not yet!” Yulinglong shook her head apologetically. “Take your time! Have you reached the sixth level of the Mind Spirit stage?” Lin Dong wasn’t in a hurry. With Lin’s Inn’s current advantages—compared to Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant, it only lacks the rank of its chefs; in every other aspect, it’s already far ahead. It just needs to develop a few more dishes before expanding into the capital city. Yulinglong shook her head. “I’m still a bit short. It should take another three months.” Lin Dong rubbed his chin, feeling a bit troubled. Both Yulinglong and Yumudan had grudges to settle, which meant they would eventually need to take a long leave someday. With Yulinglong’s cooking skills, a too-long leave would significantly weaken the inn’s strength. Such a leave should only be taken after the inn has fully established its advantages. Given their current strength and training speed, to seek revenge from a mid-tier sect, even with ninth-tier spiritual artifacts and techniques, they would need to reach at least the Heart Reversal stage. According to Lin Dong’s estimate, unless there are major setbacks, about three years should be sufficient. The problem is that even the slowest-developing Lin’s Inn will have enough time to start expanding into the capital city in two years, and ideally, it could set off in a year. However, whether the inn develops quickly or slowly, both Yulinglong and Yumudan will have to leave for a while while Lin’s Inn is making its mark in the capital. If Lin’s Inn doesn’t interfere, this period could be one to two years at most, but at least half a year at the least.

The Lin’s Inn couldn’t afford to waste so much time.
Lin Dong had checked the map before—the sisters’ enemies, the Taqing Sect, were not on the official road from Lingnan City to the capital, but the journey was only six or seven days off. In other words, if the sisters could gain the strength to avenge themselves before marching to the capital, they could definitely set off ahead at full speed. Without any accidents, they could almost catch up with the main force along the way; at the very least, they could catch up before the inn could launch its propaganda campaign.
This meant that to prevent the Yu Linglong sisters from wasting too much time on revenge, they had to accelerate their cultivation speed.
The cultivation bonuses from the inn system, the Mutated Golden Armor Snake Inner Elixir, the Blue-Green Fruit… aside from the Lingyun Tree and the Heaven and Earth Cave, Lin Dong hadn’t given them all of these, but he had already factored them into their cultivation speed.
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Dong suddenly said, “Go to the back yard with Yu Mudan tonight and wait for Ma Chun. When he arrives, go to my room with him—I have something to tell you.”
Yu Linglong felt a stir in her heart. The innkeeper was asking about cultivation matters, and asking her and Yu Mudan to go together undoubtedly also had something to do with cultivation.
At the side door, Qiao Tianhao dragged the unconscious and ragged Huā Wúyuè in, walking with his head held high and a proud demeanor, like an arrogant rooster.