Time passed and a week went by. Krune's restaurant proved to be up to the standards, and his clients increased. Finally, it reached the same point as Oclo's restaurant, where there were no more tables available while it was open. Without another choice, Krune could only create a waiting list like everyone else.

Krune could also increase the number of tables or look for a bigger place to rent. However, he preferred to not do so. Increasing his workload would bring no good. The way things are, he could always get the best results when cooking. He wasn't willing to trade quality for quantity. Besides, it's not like his income is low.

​​

Krune had been providing Nina with Godly Stones to cultivate every day. She would spend four hours in the Energy Gathering Formation, and the next six helping Krune in the kitchen. With her own past experience at those levels, she quickly reached the 8th Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

"Wrong! You missed the time to turn down the fire. Put it aside and start again."

"Good! Can you feel the little bitter taste in the soup? That's the idea behind this dish. Next time, try to repeat the same process."

"Hum? I see... that's not a bad idea at all. Note it down, and we can try it after the restaurant closes."

Krune was both spartan and gentle while teaching Nina. Still, he was very satisfied with her progress. She learned fast and obviously liked to cook. It was easy to see her eyes shining when a new idea popped out in her head. Krune had to admit that he got quite a talented lass.

Suddenly, Krune felt a ripple inside his Wisp Core.

'Good!'

After that, he called Bai over.

"Bai, advise everyone who comes from now on that the restaurant won't open for the next three days. I have something to do outside."

Bai immediately acknowledged the order and left the kitchen to tell the waiters too.

"Chef Krune, is something wrong?"

Krune smiled and shook his head.

"There is nothing wrong. In fact, it's something good. I'll let all know once I come back. While I'm out, make sure to not only cultivate. Working to build a strong foundation is also important. You still remember the instructions I gave you, right?"

Nina nodded.

"I have been following it at home. Also, thank you for helping to create a training schedule for my brother. I can see that his cultivation rate improved a lot after he began to follow your notes."

Krune laughed after hearing that.

"It wasn't only you two. I also gave some help to Bai and the others. The better your cultivation progress, the better will be your work here. I just hope you guys don't find another job so soon. It's quite annoying to look for new employees."

Nina immediately shook her head.

"I can guarantee that none of us will leave. Not only you pay us better than other restaurants, you even give us some bonus every day. We are making at least four to five times more in your care than anywhere else. Especially me, who had been shamelessly wasting your Godly Stones."

Krune didn't mind.

"Even though a lot of the Energy of the Godly Stones is lost due to your cultivation, it doesn't change the fact that it improves your speed a lot. I need someone to help me in the kitchen, and the earlier you increase your level, the better it will be for me. You can consider it an investment."

Still, Nina was extremely grateful to Krune.

At the end of the day, Nina's brother had come once more to fetch her up.

However, ever since the third day, Krune felt like Lino had some grudge against him. It puzzled him very much since he couldn't tell why he was like that. However, every time he asked, Lino would say that it was only Krune's imagination.

Lino's sister insisted that she only felt admiration for Krune. But Lino didn't feel like it was just that. His brotherly sixth sense kept busing alarms in his head.

After everyone went back home, Krune closed everything and returned to his room.

"Luvile, my foundation has finally reached the peak of the Divine Path Realm. I also finished transforming all the Spiritual Food energies into my own, so I'm going out of the city to make a breakthrough."

Luvile felt puzzled by that, though.

"Why would you go out?"

Krune was even more puzzled than Luvile now after hearing his question.

"Isn't that obvious? If I breakthrough here, the Heavenly Tribulation will blast my restaurant away. The building isn't even mine since I just rented it. I can't possibly pass through it here, right?"

Luvile finally understood what the problem was.

"Hahaha! Don't worry, there will be no Heavenly Tribulation. It only happens after you reach the Mortal Rejection Realm."

Krune was surprised by that.

"Why?"

Luvile then explained.

"Isn't that obvious? Just how many Core Formation Realm and above breakthroughs happen in the Godly Path Realm compared to the Mortal Realm? If every single one receives heavenly tribulations, the realm will run out of energy in no time. There are way too many Cultivators and Demon Beasts before the Mortal Rejection Realm, after all."

Krune nodded in realization.

"I see... No wonder I haven't seen a single Heavenly Tribulation so far. So that was the case. Well, since I won't receive any Heavenly Tribulation, let's start straight away."

Suddenly, Luvile felt a chill in his mind when he heard those words.

"WAIT!"

Krune almost jumped after such a sudden shout.

"Wh-What is it? Where is the enemy?"

Luvile let out a sigh of relief before explaining.

"There is no enemy... Let's just... leave the city."

Krune, obviously, was as puzzled as he could be.

"Why...?"

"Chances are that the city will be wiped out of the map if you make a breakthrough here. I just don't know how you will do it."

Krune's mouth twitched.

"Fuck you! Why would I do something like wiping the city out of the map? Are you messing with me?"

"Messing with you?"

Luvile then laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! Tell me, how many of your breakthroughs had been 'normal?'"

Krune's heart skipped a bit as Luvile continued to speak.

"Are you telling me that you REALLYYYY believe that nothing will happen? Alright then, go ahead."

Krune rolled his eyes to the side. Luvile's argument was simply undeniable!

"Cough, cough... I think we should go out of the city, just to be safe."

Luvile chuckled and didn't say anything else.

Krune then called Iem over. It was better to have someone to protect him too. However, when Krune saw Iem again, he found that the later had entered the Divine View Realm!

"Congratulations on your breakthrough. Brother Iem's cultivation is really fast."

Iem's mouth twitched, and he felt like Krune was pulling his leg.

"You were only in the 7th Stage when we arrive. Now you are about to enter the same realm. Are you trying to humiliate me?"

Krune immediately shook his head.

"Of course not. It's just that I was lucky."

"Then give me some of that luck, I'm going to make good use of it."

Knowing that dwelling about this would only make him more depressed, Iem decided to change the topic.

"Anyway, why do you need my protection during the breakthrough? There are no Heavenly Tribulations before the Mortal Rejection Realm. Is someone trying to assassinate you?"

Krune nodded.

"You could say that... I guess."

"Really? Who is it?"

Krune pointed to the sky above before saying.

"Probably Heavens..."

Iem looked at Krune with a weird expression.

"Is your head okay?"

"Cough, cough... Anyway, I just need you to protect me during my breakthrough. If nothing happens, then it will be even better."

Iem narrowed his eyes for a moment but nodded his head in the end. It's not like Krune asked anything absurd anyway. Besides, he had indeed gone to his restaurant to eat Spiritual Food without having to care about queues. This can be considered as a repayment for the exclusive service.

"Just so that you know, there is a place where people and beasts at the peak of the Transformation Realm go. It is also used by others at lower cultivation levels to test their abilities. As long as you pay the price, you can rent a space for yourself, and no one will touch you during that time."

Krune's eyes lit up. That's what he needs at the moment exactly.

"Great! Let's go there then."

Iem nodded, and the two departed straight away. At the center of the city, the Formations Guild had a building constructed for the use of Teleportation Formations alone. After taking one of those teleportations, Krune and Iem appeared inside another building a few thousand kilometers away from Immai City.

The cultivators and demon beasts working there looked at them for a moment and continued doing whatever they were before.

After going to the counter, Krune talked with one of the employees and rented a place for him and Iem. Inside the same building, there were several other small Teleport Formations. Krune checked the number of the area he rented and used the equivalent formation.

"Alright. I doubt anyone will try anything in this place. You can start now."

Krune nodded, and he returned to his Wisp Form. The place was concealed from the outside with formations, so he didn't need to keep it secret.

Finally, Krune brought out over a thousand Godly Stones and began his breakthrough.