Chapter 300: The Cook Has a Brighter Future Than Bandits

As the shadows around him grew larger and a pressure seemed to build above his head, Cheng Bao looked up. An iron ball with a diameter of over twenty meters was expanding rapidly, hurtling down toward his head with terrifying force. Even with Cheng Bao’s resilience, he was terrified—his spiritual energy surged as he rushed to the side.
“Trying to escape? You don’t have my speed.”
Above Lin Dong’s head, shadows covered everything as well. He bent his legs slightly and instantly moved to a spot bathed in sunlight. At the same time, he swung his right arm, sending a bench flying after Cheng Bao, who was trying to escape from the massive iron ball.
The golden knife flashed, shattering the bench, while the enormous iron ball crashed down above them with a deafening roar.
As the iron ball hit the ground, the entire world seemed to shake—sky and earth changed color, the ground trembled violently, and debris flew everywhere. In the distance, Liu Hua and Wu Guang hugged each other, trembling, while their horses neighed frantically.
“He shouldn’t be dead, right?” Lin Dong doubted his own judgment. A ball that big—even for a powerful person, avoiding it might not be hard, but being hit would likely turn them into flesh paste.
Next to him, Yun Lan shook her head slowly. “I can sense his energy. If we can’t move that iron ball soon, his life will be in danger once his spiritual energy runs out.”
Lin Dong was stunned—it really hadn’t killed him?
As if to prove Yun Lan’s words, the massive iron ball began to tremble slightly. Though not noticeably, Yun Lan and Lin Dong could sense it—the ball was indeed moving.
Little by little, the iron ball moved slowly, like an elderly person climbing a slope. Finally, as if reaching the top, its speed increased slightly. Not much, but clearly faster than before.
Roar…
A beast-like roar came from beneath the iron ball, causing it to stop trembling abruptly.
Lin Dong took a deep breath, his gaze focused. The huge iron ball shrank rapidly—within moments, its diameter was less than twenty centimeters. Then it stretched out quickly, turning back into a bench in his hands.
Looking at the road again, a huge crater had formed. Inside, debris had been crushed into powder, making the surface much smoother and flatter than the surroundings. On the side of the crater, a small human-shaped pit was clearly visible. Next to it, Cheng Bao lay on his back, gasping for breath. The golden knife beside him still emitted a bright light, unobscured by the gray dust.

Lin Dong couldn’t help but swallow hard. How incredibly tough—nothing could kill him.
“You… you…” Cheng Bao stared at Lin Dong, gasping for breath and unable to utter a word. The sudden appearance of that huge iron ball, which vanished in the blink of an eye—either scenario was beyond his understanding. He wanted to ask to figure things out clearly, but he simply didn’t have the strength.
Lin Dong exhaled sharply, took a copper coin from the mobile cabinet, and walked slowly toward Cheng Bao. He showed him both sides of the coin before saying calmly, “Is it still light?”
Cheng Bao was stunned, unable to grasp Lin Dong’s meaning.
Without explaining further, Lin Dong snapped his index finger against the bottom edge of the coin. Under the faint golden light, the coin rapidly flipped and rose into the air.
Cheng Bao instinctively looked up, following the coin as it climbed higher. As the stool in Lin Dong’s hands began to rise as well, he suddenly understood something.
Without time to think further, Cheng Bao hurriedly said, “Light!”
The flipping coin ran out of strength, paused mid-air, then fell back down. The raised stool stopped. Lin Dong said casually, “I thought there weren’t many cowardly bandits. I thought you’d disdain taking this gamble!”
Cheng Bao smiled bitterly, lying sprawled on the ground, panting. “I can’t die yet.”
Clang…
With a crisp sound, the coin rolled to the ground, hit the flat, solid surface of the stone powder, bounced back, spun, and even slipped into a small gap.
Lin Dong was astonished, staring at the coin with half of it sticking out vertically. He was stunned for a long time.
Over by the side, Yun Lan was also at a loss—was it neither characters nor light?
Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before slowly raising the Ruyi Stool.
“Wait, should this count as another round?” Cheng Bao said unhappily.
“I originally planned to let fate decide. Since fate refuses to make a decision,” Lin Dong said slowly, “then I’ll have to decide. Let’s see if I’m willing to use the stool to reverse the attack despite the backlash from spiritual energy!”
“Say it! What do you want? As long as you agree to one of my conditions, I’ll agree to everything.” Seeing the Ruyi Stool rising higher and higher, Cheng Bao didn’t dare gamble anymore and blurted out, “If it weren’t for something you value about me, you wouldn’t hesitate about killing me.”
Lin Dong held the Ruyi Stool high above his head, unsure whether to strike.
“Spiritual skills, a golden sword, selling myself…” Cheng Bao looked up at the sky, facing the scorching sun without flinching, and said calmly, “Or all of them—anything will do!”
“The condition is to help you, or let you go and save your comrades who’re destined to be executed later?” Lin Dong asked.

Cheng Bao kept his gaze fixed and said, “That’s right!”
“That’s impossible!” Lin Dong replied without hesitation.
Cheng Bao frowned slightly before relaxing again and said bluntly, “Then why are you wasting words? Kill me while my spiritual energy hasn’t recovered—it would be so satisfying.”
Lin Dong shook his head and said, “I wanted to ask if you’re interested in being a chef.”
“A chef?” Cheng Bao was stunned.
“As long as you can stay honest and just be a chef,” Lin Dong continued slowly, “You can set your own salary. I guarantee you’ll break through to the Mental Realm before you turn forty.”
Cheng Bao frowned and asked, “You know my spiritual skill?”
“The Immortal Art,” Lin Dong nodded.
“You don’t want a sword? Not the Immortal Art? Just that I be a chef?” Cheng Bao laughed loudly. “That sounds rather absurd.”
“In my eyes, being a chef is what makes you most valuable. Of course, that’s on the condition that you work for me as a chef,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Our Lin’s Inn is still in its developmental stage. If you’re willing to join, once Lin’s Inn spreads across the Great Han Kingdom, you’ll be a founding elder of the inn. Without mentioning anything else, it will be more glorious and comfortable than being a bandit.”
Cheng Bao was confused. Could there really be someone in this world who thought his cooking skills were more valuable than his strength?
“Come on! Join our Lin’s Inn! Let places like Maple Forest Restaurant and Jiang Yi’s Kitchen go to hell!” Lin Dong continued to tempt him. “As long as you’re willing to be the head chef at Lin’s Inn, I guarantee I’ll promote your cooking skills throughout the Great Han Kingdom—for centuries even. If you can develop a thousand dishes of the same type, you can become the founder of a whole cuisine. Even if you can’t create that many dishes, at least you’ll be the founder of a branch. What’s there to like about being a bandit? Getting scolded and hunted down, earning only eighty or ninety thousand silver taels a year, most of which goes just to feed your subordinates. If you really want to save money, I guarantee your average annual salary in the second half of your life won’t reach ten thousand silver taels.”
Cheng Bao was astonished, his eyes filled with confusion. It seemed he didn’t understand Lin Dong’s words, and it also seemed he couldn’t quite believe that this young man before him could be the second leader he had chosen.
“Another option: if you crave bloodshed,” Lin Dong said leisurely, “I can give you a few days off each month. I think killing spiritual beasts must be more satisfying than killing humans. At that time, first-tier, second-tier, third-tier spiritual beasts… whatever tier you want to kill, I’ll provide them for you. Eventually, you might even be able to specify the exact names of the spiritual beasts.”
Cheng Bao opened his mouth wide, wanting to say something but unable to speak.

“Finally, join our Lin’s Inn—good life, lots of fun, high pay… and better security in the next life,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Since you’re such a good cook, you must be extremely interested in it too, right? Maybe your childhood dream was to become the best chef in the Great Han Kingdom.”

Cheng Bao remained silent, struggling internally.

Seeing Cheng Bao’s expression, Lin Dong grew confident and continued, “If you’re going to be a bandit, you need to be prepared for that. As for me, since I’ve decided to run an inn, I’m ready to face losses from poor management, pressure from competitors, and fraud by officials. I’ll deal with it as best I can. If the inn really can’t survive, it’s my own fault—no one else to blame. Similarly, if you become a bandit, you should be prepared to be beheaded or killed. Death is your own fault—no one else to blame.”

Cheng Bao opened his mouth to speak, but Lin Dong waved his hand to stop him.

Taking a few steps forward, Lin Dong lifted his foot slightly, and a golden knife spun into the air before being caught by him and stored inside the mobile counter.

He took out several ropes from the counter and, under Cheng Bao’s puzzled gaze, tied him up tightly. Then he looked up at Yun Lan and asked, “Have you ever heard of any pills that can suppress the spiritual energy in someone’s dantian?”

Yun Lan nodded and took out a small blue porcelain bottle from her storage ring, tossing it to Lin Dong.

“It’s the Spirit Stagnation Pill. If you take one, you won’t be able to use your spiritual energy for three days unless you resist. At the fourth level of the Mental State stage, even if you force your spiritual energy to emerge from the dantian, you can only hold on for just over a day.”

“How many are there in total?” Lin Dong asked, holding up the small porcelain bottle.

“Fifteen. If you want them, I can brew a batch. I should be able to gather the materials.”

Lin Dong nodded and pulled out the bottle cap.

Cheng Bao finally understood Lin Dong’s intentions. He struggled to get up, but before he could stand firmly, he felt a sudden pain in his neck as Lin Dong grabbed him.

At this moment, though strong and robust, Cheng Bao was no match for Lin Dong—like a chicken ready to be slaughtered. Lin Dong easily forced open his mouth and poured the pills in.

Forcing Cheng Bao to swallow the entire bottle of Spirit Stagnation Pills, Lin Dong sent his energy into Cheng Bao’s body. Confirming that, as Yun Lan had said, the spiritual energy in Cheng Bao’s dantian was trapped by a faint barrier, he clapped his hands—half the task done.

Lin Dong knew it was impossible to make Cheng Bao give up saving people, but he could also see that Cheng Bao was clearly tempted by his words.

In that case, by controlling Cheng Bao and preventing him from saving anyone, no one would have to go through trouble.

The only downside of doing this is that Cheng Bao might not accept it later and even seek revenge. As for this, Lin Dong had no choice but to take a gamble. Fortunately, the inn system allowed him to check loyalty levels, so he could figure out a plan if things didn’t go as planned—there was no need to worry about Cheng Bao playing a double game.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll hold it against you later?” Cheng Bao struggled a few times. After failing to break free from the ropes, he glared at Lin Dong with fury in his eyes.

Since he could check loyalty levels, Lin Dong wasn’t afraid of Cheng Bao’s revenge. Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud. Trying to appear sincere, Lin Dong looked into Cheng Bao’s blazing eyes and said slowly, “You should understand that their deaths have nothing to do with me at all. If I’m not mistaken, you know full well that whoever can take away the golden sword from you also has enough strength to kill you. They still came after you because with your abilities, you have no chance of saving them. The only hope is to rise to a higher level by using the Golden Armored Snake’s inner core. In other words, even if I release you now, they are doomed.”

Cheng Bao tried to argue again, but Lin Dong interrupted him with a wave of his hand. “If you really can’t figure it out and think it’s more fun to take it out on me than to be a chef, go ahead and try. For now… it’s better if you stay quiet until after the execution.”

Cheng Bao snarled, “There’s no need to think. Either kill me today or release me, otherwise—”

Lin Dong, tired of nonsense, picked up the Ruyi stool in his hand and smacked Cheng Bao with it, knocking him unconscious.

Putting the Ruyi stool back into the mobile counter, Lin Dong grabbed Cheng Bao and headed toward the carriage.

“M-Master…,” Liu Hua and the others stammered, not sure which question to ask first.

“There’s nothing to ask. Things like spiritual techniques and spiritual artifacts are beyond my ability to explain,” Lin Dong said with a smile as he threw Cheng Bao’s sturdy body into the carriage. If they had been warriors, he believed the sight of the iron ball would have shocked them forever. But since they were just ordinary people, hearing about spiritual artifacts’ wonders before seeing them in person wasn’t as impactful as it would have been for warriors. Not explaining would yield better results.

Filled with doubts, the two could only swallow them back. As Lin Dong had expected, though they were shocked by the terror of the iron ball, they didn’t doubt at all that it was a spiritual artifact.

Once in the carriage, Lin Dong took out a water bag filled with the Golden Armored Snake’s inner core and handed it to Yun Lan, asking, “I’ve reached the fifth level of the Mind Spirit Phase. How much should I drink?”

Yun Lan took the water bag and gave the answer she had already calculated in her mind: “Half a bottle should be enough. It’s best to drink it in small sips.”

Lin Dong smirked. Good things really couldn’t be consumed in excess. He had only risen to a new realm once, yet this time he had improved so much. Helplessly, he took out a small porcelain bottle containing the Golden Armored Snake’s inner core, shook it a few times to confirm its capacity, then pulled out the stopper. Tilting his head back, he dropped a few drops into his mouth before sitting cross-legged.

Over by the side, Yun Lan no longer helped Lin Dong refine the Golden Armored Snake’s inner core as she had before. She pulled out the cork from her water bag, took a sip, and also sat cross-legged.

The carriage moved swiftly, its wheels spinning so fast that it was impossible to see the path of the axle’s rotation.

Four days later, the carriage finally arrived at Mountain Leaf City. At the still-unopened Lin’s Inn, after confirming that it would become a branch of the inn system, Lin Dong sent Liu Hua and the others away. He knocked Cheng Bao out with a stool again and then went alone to Autumn Wind City through the storage room.

Night had fallen. Lin Dong walked to the front yard. Seeing no one there, he directly knocked on Ma Chun’s door.

Yawning as he opened the door, Ma Chun was delighted to see Lin Dong outside. “Boss, have you arrived in Mountain Leaf City?” he asked.

Lin Dong nodded. “We’ve arrived. We can send a new manager there early tomorrow.”

Ma Chun nodded eagerly. “Both the staff and the management methods are already ready.”

“How do you plan to operate it?” Lin Dong asked.

“It’s a bit different from Jiu Hu City and Jiao Yi City,” Ma Chun explained. “Since Fenglin Restaurant entered Mountain Leaf City, it has been in fierce competition with the city’s former largest restaurant, Yuanke Restaurant. Over the past year, both have been severely weakened. In my opinion, there’s no need to take things slowly. With our inn’s various advantages, if we compete for three to five months, with thirty to forty thousand taels of silver, as long as Fenglin Restaurant doesn’t invest more, we should be able to seize seventy to eighty percent of the business.”

“Alright, handle it as you see fit! Has Old Huang arrived?” Lin Dong nodded. Compared to a gradual approach, spending money to gain popularity had its own advantages and disadvantages. With only one or two branches out of a dozen, there was no need to worry about money, so it was worth trying.

“He arrived at the inn the day before yesterday,” Ma Chun said with a smile. “In just one day, he sorted out our inn’s accounts completely. These past two days, since Old Huang felt bored, I simply handed him the task of arranging for Huang Lian and Huang Xiang to enter the academy.”

“If Old Huang has nothing to do, let him handle the record-keeping personally. Once all the branches are open, it should keep him busy for a few more days.” Lin Dong smiled and asked, “How’s things with Fenglin Restaurant?”

A look of anticipation flashed in Ma Chun’s eyes as he said excitedly, “After the boss left last time, we launched red wine and health seminars the very next day, along with various brochures everywhere. The results were good—Fenglin Restaurant saw a sharp drop in customers the next day, and by the third day, we had to lower the price per customer to 900 wen and 1.8 taels of silver. In less than five days, the price dropped further to 500 wen and 1 tael of silver. Yesterday, Fenglin Restaurant announced that it would revert to its original business model, with food and drinks priced at just half.”

Lin Dong asked further, “Were there any other actions taken?”

“We also gave out more small gifts with the VIP cards. Oh, right…” Ma Chun suddenly remembered something and said, “The day before yesterday, Ling Zhengyang came by, saying he had business with the boss. I sent him away. It seems like he’s at a loss now.”

Lin Dong nodded. Ma Chun’s judgment was usually accurate.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Dong looked up at Ma Chun’s expectant gaze and asked, “Is everything ready for the Spirit Stone Fan?”

“Everything’s ready,” Ma Chun replied excitedly. “With just the boss’s word, we can start selling it tomorrow.”

“Then let’s do it tomorrow!” Lin Dong said firmly.

Ma Chun clapped his hands in joy. “Tomorrow, I’ll definitely knock Ling Zhengyang out with one swing!”

“Let’s hope so!”

Lin Dong turned to look at the closed door and took out all the worldly treasures he had obtained from the treasure vaults of the Ningjizong and Xinglizong sects from the mobile cabinet. In an instant, the room was filled with dazzling light—pearls, agates, paintings, and antiques piled up like a small mountain.

“B- boss…” Ma Chun stared wide-eyed, his voice stammering.

“I got these from Qingmei Mountain. I forgot to give them to you last time,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Sort through them. Keep what’s useful in the inn, and sell the rest when you have time.”

Ma Chun swallowed hard. What a windfall!