Chapter 2786 Old Friends Reunited!
The Dead Spirits Wells were built in the Radiance Federation"s various cities. The ones around the Royal Capital were the toughest to tackle.
Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Xia Qing, and Gao Feng all trained at the same Dead Spirits Well. They relied on each other while helping and saving others.
The members of royalty who sent their disciples to the Dead Spirits Wells to train also gave them ample measures to save themselves. This was because they were concerned that accidents would befall Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Gao Feng, and the rest while they were in that dangerous environment.
As Iron Prison"s disciple, Long Tao was also sent to the Dead Spirits Well at the beginning.
However, he was not only Iron Prison"s disciple but also the head of Coiling Dragon"s Valley. His father had officially pa.s.sed on the position to him a year ago.
As Coiling Dragon"s Valley"s new head, Long Tao had things to do daily. Iron Prison could understand that.
The disciples of aristocratic families always placed their family"s honor above all else.
There were many times that Long Tao wanted to chase his dreams. However, his dreams were eventually all grounded by reality before they could take off.
The instant he took on the role of the head of Coiling Dragon"s Valley, Long Tao sensed the pressure that his father and grandfather felt.
Although he had cultivated many helpers and could delegate trivial tasks, he needed to make decisions on serious matters and also needed to remain in contact with the other elders.
The elders who used to get along well with Long Tao now regarded him differently. As a result, friction arose.
In order for a powerful faction to develop along the right trajectory, it could not follow the direction of a single individual. The elders existed to watch over Long Tao"s utilization of his power and support him so that he could be a better leader of Coiling Dragon"s Valley and the Long family.
When Lin Yuan heard what Long Tao said, he could not help but think that it was a pity. Given Long Tao"s talent and hard work, he should not be restricted to this Cla.s.s 2 world.
However, he had clearly made his choice and decided his future path.
All Lin Yuan could do was wish him the best.
With Long Tao managing Coiling Dragon"s Valley, the faction would definitely be able to prosper in the main world.
Long Tao was using his means to help his family.
Given Lin Yuan"s understanding of Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Gao Feng, and Xia Qing, the latter would decide to remain in the Radiance Federation to protect it, regardless of how badly she wanted to go to the Sky Beyond the Clouds. She might take over her grandfather"s role a few decades later.
Gao Feng did not have any lofty ambitions, nor did he have a burning pa.s.sion for increasing his power. He preferred to enjoy life. Moreover, it was said that Gao Feng now had a girlfriend. It was almost impossible he would decide to go to the Sky Beyond the Clouds.
The only people who would possibly be going to the Sky Beyond the Clouds were Zong Ze and Gu Lang.
Lin Yuan had interacted the most with Zong Ze and knew that Zong Ze had an intense craving for battle. Hence, the Sky Beyond the Clouds would be the best place for him to exist. In the Sky Beyond the Clouds, Zong Ze could increase his power endlessly and battle against powerful enemies. Zong Ze would definitely want to accompany Lin Yuan there.
Lin Yuan had known Gu Lang the longest. However, compared to Zong Ze, Lin Yuan had not interacted much with Gu Lang. However, given that Gu Lang and Zong Ze could get along, it meant they were the same kind of people.
Lin Yuan could just discuss the matter of the Sky Beyond the Clouds with Zong Ze and Gu Lang.
If Zong Ze and Gu Lang were willing to head with him to the Sky Beyond the Clouds to develop, Lin Yuan would help them to increase their strength.
Lin Yuan would need a few trustworthy helpers in the Sky Beyond the Clouds!
Zong Ze and Gu Lang were not only powerful but also possessed decent management abilities.
Lin Yuan intended to take some time to see, given the provision of opportunities, the extent to which Zong Ze and Gu Lang"s management abilities could be unleashed. They might be able to surprise him!
Lin Yuan looked at the messages from Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Gao Feng, and the rest on the Thoughts Letter Paper and responded to them.
[Lin Yuan]: All of you have just finished training. Why don"t we gather together? But this time, we won"t prepare our own food. I heard that after reopening after the end of the dead spirits crisis, the Spirit Food Pavilion is even busier than before. Why don"t we go there to eat? That is Zong Ze"s territory, and he knows all our tastes, so he"ll also know what to order.
Ever since Liu Jie"s power reached pinnacle spirit fire, he was fully focused on Elegance"s increase in power.
After communicating with Keira, Lin Yuan finally found what she had been trying to help Liu Jie to obtain. He was going to use this gathering to tell Liu Jie the news and make his day.
Regardless of whether Gao Feng, Xia Qing, Long Tao, and the rest decided to head to the Sky Beyond the Clouds, Lin Yuan would help them to increase their strength.
If they went to the Sky Beyond the Clouds, they would become the companions who explored new worlds with him.
If they did not want to go and stayed behind as the main world"s protectors, Lin Yuan would still be able to trust their characters and dispositions. They would not step out of line even if their strength was increased.
In the past, Lin Yuan and Zong Ze were the ones who decided when and where the gatherings were held.
The previously suspended Spirit Food Pavilion had been renovated and was no longer managed by Xia Chen. Instead, Li Changlin had taken over.
This change was not because Xia Chen had not done a good job of managing the Spirit Food Pavilion but because, after attaining an endless lifespan, Chef Supreme gained a new understanding of the words" to wash a pig was a waste of both water and soap".
In spite of all the time that Chef Supreme had put into nurturing Li Changlin, the latter was unable to stand on his own two feet. As such, Chef Supreme decided to stop putting Li Changlin on the spot and allow him to do what he wanted to do.
Li Changlin"s culinary skills were pa.s.sable, and it went without saying that he was capable of managing Spirit Food Pavilion.
Chef Supreme felt that, regardless of what happened, Li Changlin would not be able to fail at such a simple matter as managing the Spirit Food Pavilion!
It turned out that Li Changlin and his management of the Spirit Food Pavilion indeed did not disappoint Chef Supreme.
In the past, the Spirit Food Pavilion"s menu consisted only of Kitchen Fragrance Palace"s 300 dishes.
Chef Supreme had established his Creation Master path through his cooking, and the 300 dishes were suitable for nurturing feys and combining spiritual ingredients.
There were numerous skills that were not suited for cooking delicacies. Xia Chen was aware of this.
However, in order to express his respect toward his Master, he stubbornly carried on with these methods during his management of the Spirit Food Pavilion.
After Li Changlin took over, he got rid of these complicated techniques that did nothing to help with the food"s flavor. Nothing was more important than flavor and the building of a complementary nutrition profile.
Lin Yuan also wanted to visit the Spirit Food Pavilion to support Li Changlin.
Ever since taking over the Spirit Food Pavilion, Li Changlin had invited Lin Yuan to visit the restaurant more than once. He had also said that when Lin Yuan came, he would cook for him personally.
In truth, Lin Yuan had not tasted Li Changlin"s cooking in a long time. It was the best food that Lin Yuan had ever eaten.
Zong Ze was very happy when he saw that Lin Yuan wanted to eat at the Spirit Food Pavilion.
[Zong Ze]: Okay, let"s go to the Spirit Food Pavilion now! Allow me to be in charge of ordering this time. I know all of your tastes. I will go and give Senior Brother a heads-up. Ah Yuan, he has been waiting for you for a long time. His skills at cooking red-braised meat have improved significantly of late.
Lin Yuan and Zong Ze"s conversation on the Thoughts Letter Paper could be seen by Wen Yu, Liu Jie, Xia Qing, and the rest.
All of them were greatly looking forward to this gathering.
During the last gathering, they had all been under immense pressure.
This time, they were all free of pressure and could properly catch up and enjoy their time together!
…
When Li Changlin received Zong Ze"s message, he made a beeline for the kitchen and put on his chef"s uniform.
Zong Ze had said that they would only be ordering after they arrived. However, Li Changlin called Zong Ze every three minutes to rush him. Eventually, Zong Ze became so frustrated that he ordered over the phone!
Chef Supreme took Zong Ze in when he was very young. However, Zong Ze did not have a close relations.h.i.+p with his Senior Brother, Li Changlin.
For almost as long as Zong Ze could remember, Li Changlin was absent after eloping with his Senior Sister. He only returned to Kitchen Fragrance Palace with Senior Sister a few years ago. It was only then that Zong Ze and Li Changlin began forming a bond.
Li Changlin treated Zong Ze exceedingly well. However, Zong Ze could sense that Li Changlin was clearly closer with Lin Yuan.
…
All of them were punctual people. When the time for the meal arrived, they were all present and waiting outside the room that Zong Ze and Li Changlin had set aside for them.
When Li Changlin saw Lin Yuan, his eyes welled up with tears.
The independent and resilient boy who had to struggle to make ends meet while taking care of his sister had come so far! Li Changlin was both happy and proud of Lin Yuan.
Li Changlin did not express his feelings often. But this time, he could not help but stretch out his arms toward Lin Yuan.
"Little Yuan, you are much taller and buff now! Let me see if I can still lift you up! Auntie Zhang"s fey is currently on the cusp of transforming its bloodline. Otherwise, she would have definitely come here to see you!"
Li Changlin, who used to be Lin Yuan"s neighbor, would lift him up and shake him whenever he pushed his wheelchair into Lin Yuan"s shop. This expressed his affection for Lin Yuan and was also his way of proving his strength. Despite being wheelchair-bound, he was still a real man!
Lin Yuan always had the soul of a mature adult in him. He was never a child, so he used to dislike Li Changlin"s way of displaying his friendliness.
But now, Lin Yuan walked over to Lin Yuan with sincerity written all over his face.
Lin Yuan was very thankful to Li Changlin for taking care of him and Chu Ci in the past. The food he would occasionally bring them was only a small portion of the care he provided. He had also helped Lin Yuan to advertise his store and encouraged other neighbors to patronize the store. Otherwise, with Lin Yuan having to consume medicine daily, there was no way he could have saved up so many Radiance dollars to buy a fey for Chu Ci.
Li Changlin"s care for Lin Yuan was exemplified through daily deeds.
He had also been Lin Yuan"s parents" comrade in battle. They had asked him to take care of Lin Yuan and Chu Ci.
Li Changlin"s care for Lin Yuan was an extension of his parents" love for him.
When he saw all the friends by Lin Yuan"s side, one of whom was his Junior Brother, Li Changlin waved his hands and said, "All your food has been ordered. Given your spirit qi professional ranks, you need to take in more energy daily. I will add more dishes for you!"
Li Changlin did not linger and returned to the kitchen.
If he remained there, he would interfere with their conversations. As a senior, Li Changlin was well aware of his circ.u.mstances and which lines not to cross.
Lin Yuan"s question was of paramount importance. He could ask after the meal was done.
During the meal, the group caught each other up with what was happening in their lives.
As Lin Yuan listened to Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Xia Qing"s experiences training near the Dead Spirits Wells and the growth and transformations they had experienced, he could not help but think, Maybe it"s just as Zong Ze, Gu Lang, and Xia Qing are saying. They were sent to the Dead Spirits Wells to train because Chef Supreme, the Bamboo Monarch, and the rest hope that they will remember this epoch and not forget how the fifth epoch s.h.i.+fted to the sixth epoch.
It"s likely that Master also thought this way when she decided to keep the Dead Spirits Wells in the main world.
The wine flowed, and dish after dish was consumed.
Even Wen Yu was stuffed.
Lin Yuan cleared his throat and said seriously, "We haven"t sat together and talked about our dreams in a long time.
"The last time we were together was a few years ago in the Return from Faraway Mansion. Back then, the dead spirits crisis and Radiance Hundred Sequence selection were about to begin. We weren"t thinking about the future at all. Now, we are all gathered together and have time. Why don"t we talk about our dreams?"
Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Xia Qing, Gao Feng, and the rest glanced at each other.
It was common for young people to discuss their dreams when they were gathered together.
Back then, Lin Yuan had been 18 or 19 years old, while Zong Ze, Gu Lang, Xia Qing, and the rest were just over 20 years old.
But now, they were all fully grown adults. Gao Feng was the oldest at 27 years old.
All of them had their accomplishments. However, some had achieved more than others.
While they were discussing their dreams, those who were doing better could not help but feel proud and want to show off.
However, it was true that Lin Yuan could help anyone achieve their dreams.
All of them knew that the Radiance Federation"s resources were supplied by Lin Yuan.
Apart from the Radiance Federation, Lin Yuan also provided resources to the entire main world. He was the one who allowed the main world to change and develop.
Zong Ze said seriously, "My dream is to constantly increase my power and fight pa.s.sionately. While I"m increasing my power, I will protect those I need to protect and hold up the responsibilities I need to undertake."
Zong Ze spoke resolutely, just like he had done a few years ago during the Guard Ye Banquet.
Gu Lang was silent for a moment before he said with a smile, "It just so happens that I have the same dreams as Zong Ze! But rather than combat, I am more interested in becoming stronger!
"I am less enthusiastic about raising my Creation Master cla.s.s than I am about increasing my power. So, Zong Ze has always been one step ahead of me in terms of Creation Master abilities!"
Gao Feng and Xia Qing"s dreams aligned with Lin Yuan"s guesses.
However, Lin Yuan had not expected love to change a person this much.
Gao Feng had a girlfriend, but they were not married. Yet, he was already coming up with plans to take his future wife and children on vacation around the world and enjoy life as a family man.