Who are you calling a stable boy?!

It's been a while since I've had braised pork knuckle rice, so how about today?

Zheng Jing, still struggling with decision-making difficulties, smacked his lips and patted his chocolate-bar-like abs.

Whether it's the Ripple Breathing Technique or the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, both are techniques that can give practitioners a good appetite. Carrying these two with you when you go out to fight is much more effective than taking digestive pills.

While he was busy with Tanjiro, he didn't realize it, but as soon as he had some free time, Zheng Jing immediately felt an uncontrollable hunger in his stomach.

In addition, because of the accident while he was out shopping, he hasn't been able to have a hot meal for dinner yet...

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

-

"Xiao Zheng, you...you're not going to overeat and hurt yourself, are you?"

Seeing Zheng Jing swallow the rice, which was already his tenth bowl, mixed with meat gravy, Liu Ran couldn't help but speak up.

"Auntie isn't worried about the rice, but this...this..."

Her family's braised pork trotter rice always has the rule of free refills. No matter if you are a manual laborer or a growing teenager, you can get as much rice as you want when you come here. She piles up the fragrant white rice into the bowl until it's overflowing before she stops.

If a regular customer comes to ask for more rice and they don't get enough, she'll tease them a bit, asking if they've been slacking off while working or studying that day.

But today, for the first time, she stopped people.

The person who stopped her was Zheng Jing, a regular customer who had been patronizing her shop on this old street for over ten years and whom she had practically watched grow up.

There was no other reason than that Zheng Jing had eaten far too much, to the point that she was genuinely worried he might die.

You should know that the kind of ceramic bowls her family uses are not the palm-sized kind, but large bowls that are almost the size of a person's face!

Zheng Jing piled the bowls up until they were overflowing, and ate ten bowls of rice in one go.

This was the first time in Liu Ran's life that he had ever seen someone eat like this.

In fact, it wasn't just her; most of the shop's regular customers were also meeting her for the first time.

"It's nothing, Aunt Liu, I just... have a better appetite today. Don't worry, everyone, I'm really fine."

Zheng Jing put down his bowl and gave a slight smirk.

Ever since he was eight years old when his mother first brought him to Aunt Liu's restaurant to eat and he tasted Aunt Liu's cooking, one of the underlying behavioral logics of boys has been activated, and he has remained one of the permanent NPCs in this restaurant ever since.

Therefore, most of the regular customers in the store are also his acquaintances.

Everyone here is a good person, and it's understandable that they'd be worried seeing him act like such a "good-for-nothing" today.

He himself didn't expect to be able to cook so much rice. By the time he realized it, Aunt Liu's rice cooker was already empty.

"I'm full, Aunt Liu."

Sitting up, Zheng Jing took out his phone and scanned the QR code to pay for the meal.

"Hey? Are you really alright? Should we send someone to give you a ride? You just got back from the hospital..."

The fact that Xiao Zheng from the temple had an accident today is already common knowledge in the neighborhood.

After all, when Zheng Jing collapsed to the ground, more than 80% of the middle-aged and elderly people in the neighborhood were at the scene of the street parade.

"It's really nothing! Why would I be so polite with you, Aunt Liu? By the way, Ningning said she'll be back in a while?"

"Yes, she should come back after she graduates. It's a mess abroad. It's fine to study, but she can't find a job overseas!"

"Okay, I'll come find her to play later."

"You young people can figure it out yourselves. Anyway, with you here, Auntie is at ease."

After watching Zheng Jing walk away, Liu Ran returned to the shop.

"You're even giving up the shop? You cherish your future son-in-law so much?"

As soon as she returned, a regular customer in his fifties greeted her with a smile.

Liu Ran rolled his eyes.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What era are we living in? When it comes to matters of the heart, it's up to the young people themselves!"

"Madam, please settle the bill!"

"Here I am! Okay, I'm not going to argue with you anymore!"

Back behind the counter, while greeting some unfamiliar young customers, Liu Ran casually picked up his phone to check the payment information.

"Oh dear! This child, why did you give him too much?"

Looking at the money transferred in from the previous order, Liu Ran blinked and realized that it was exactly the amount to buy ten bowls of braised pork trotters rice.

Liu Ran, realizing what was happening, smiled and shook his head.

"This child is just too honest..."

"Ha—cough."

Having stopped himself from sneezing, Zheng Jing touched the tip of his nose as he returned to the temple and closed the main gate.

He had imagined that after he mastered his supernatural skills, there would be some new and strict requirements regarding food expenses, but he never expected them to be this "strict".

To be honest, Aunt Liu, he wasn't actually completely full...

We really need to find a way to earn some money for food.

Thinking about how he came from the campus of his youth to the infinite universe, only to find himself worrying about food expenses, Zheng Jing couldn't help but scratch his head a few times.

That's why it's said that chivalrous heroes who can casually throw away silver, eat meat, and drink wine all have some ability to rob the rich and help the poor.

Zheng Jing shook his head and raised his eyes.

Once the five internal organs are satisfied, it's time to get down to business.

Given his current savings, he'd better focus on one thing at a time: leveling up or practicing martial arts.

Both of these have their own advantages and are of their own importance.

First, let's talk about job level. In the courtyard, there are many functions that require players to meet certain job level requirements before they can use them.

For example, the courtyard's trading post is not just a cross-dimensional shop like ○bao; it also has a real, dedicated dimension that allows players from the multiverse to enter and interact in various ways.

For example, you could post a commission to other players, or you could negotiate directly face-to-face...

To use this feature, players must first meet the condition that their highest class level is at least level 5.

Chapter Sixteen: The Passionate Young Monk Will Not Give Up Stacking Armor

Of course, besides that, leveling up one's job level is still one of the main ways for most players to quickly learn new job characteristics and skills and obtain free attribute points.

It can be said that the level of a player's profession can basically represent the lower limit of their strength.

Although Zheng Jing cannot obtain rewards related to free attribute points from the courtyard by increasing his job level due to the version features of the [Tianwu] panel, he can still learn the various characteristics and skills of the martial monk profession from the courtyard by increasing his job level.

Of course, if conditions permit, the characteristics and skills of various professions can also be acquired through apprenticeship or even self-study using textbooks.

If a player successfully learns all the characteristics and skills of a certain job level through this method, the courtyard will simply determine that the player's job level has been improved, helping the player to obtain permanent proof.

But in the multiverse, how many beings possess talents that can rival the one-click upgrade of the courtyard panel?

At least Zheng Jing doesn't think he has that kind of ability at this stage.

However, if he could actually find a master on the path of a martial monk, then perhaps he really could—

"Ok?"

As if suddenly remembering something, Zheng Jing raised an eyebrow, first opening the Heavenly Martial Furnace, then stuffing in the unarmed attack (white) skill from his class...

[Should I enhance unarmed attacks (white)?]

Seeing the prompt that popped up on the panel, Zheng Jing clicked "No" and then quickly opened the exchange, entering a line of text in the search bar.

"Wow."

Looking at the search results that popped up on the screen, Zheng Jing grinned.

-

The Path of the Monk: How Steel Was Tempered (Spoken)

Quality: Ordinary Bone

Synopsis: This biography, written by the legendary Sanda monk Paulo Iron Fist, recounts his experiences before becoming a legendary monk, showcasing how an ordinary person, through countless trials, transformed into a monk with a will stronger than even Orichalcos. Upon its publication, the book quickly became considered one of the essential introductory texts for young monks.

Even a mortal body can harbor a heart of steel – Paulo's Iron Fist

Price: 1 Garden Flower Coin

-

After browsing through a few pages of results from the exchange's search engine, Zheng Jing finally spent 1 Courtyard Coin to buy the biography.

Opening this book, so thick that it would take two Xinhua dictionaries stacked together to compare, Zheng Jing glanced at the table of contents, then quickly flipped through the pages.

Soon, he found in the biography written by this legendary monk what class skills a monk needed to master at level 2.

There aren't many, just two: [Internal Force] and [Unarmored Quick Step].

Internal strength, or inner power, is a force that martial monks cultivate by harmonizing their spiritual and life energies. This power circulates within the monk's body, and when a monk needs to unleash certain abilities or techniques, he largely relies on this inner strength. For the vast majority of martial monks, this is an indispensable foundation for their future path to extraordinary achievements.

Unarmored swiftness is relatively simple to understand. As the name suggests, it is a technique that allows one to move more quickly and nimbly without wearing armor.

Zheng Jing quickly found books in the trading house that contained knowledge about these two professional skills. Each book cost only 10 Courtyard Coins, and two books together cost only 20 Courtyard Coins, which was much cheaper than the Ripple Breathing Technique and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.

This is not surprising, as the latter two are complete [techniques] compared to the former two.

To use an analogy, it's like comparing the statement "three times three equals nine" to a complete multiplication table.

However, regardless of the type, Zheng Jing was certain, based on the experiments, that the Tianwu Furnace would accept them all.

In other words, if the experience required to learn these professional skills using the Heavenly Martial Furnace is less than the experience required to directly increase the professional level using the panel, he can save a lot of experience points in this way and use them for other purposes.

After confirming that there was some truth to the professional level system, Zheng Jing looked at the little over a thousand courtyard coins he still had, gritted his teeth, and bought two cultivation techniques that he had particularly wanted when he was fiddling with the shop.

-

Eight Gates Formation (modified, green)

Quality: Premium

Introduction: Originally a taijutsu technique from Konoha Village, it allows the user to temporarily gain astonishing power by releasing the channels binding chakra within the body. After improvements, it adopted the theory of the Eight Gates, becoming a technique that allows the user to exchange their own life force for powerful bursts of energy. This handwritten manuscript records the methods for opening the first five gates, from the Opening Gate to the Closing Gate.

Price: 400 Courtyard Coins

-

Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill (Green)

Quality: Premium

Synopsis: Originally a Buddhist martial art created by Bodhidharma, the founder of Shaolin Temple, this technique is extremely powerful and yang. Upon mastery, it grants the user immense strength, immunity to all poisons, and invulnerability to water and fire, making them indestructible. This scroll is one of two secret manuals hidden at the bottom of Tianchi Lake by the eccentric swordsman of Tianchi. Improved by this extraordinary figure, it complements the yin-yang, yang-powerful, and yin-soft Taoist martial art, the Star Absorbing Technique. It is said that anyone who can simultaneously master both techniques will become a martial arts master like the eccentric swordsman of Tianchi, unparalleled in the world, and a new number one in martial arts.

Price: 600 Courtyard Coins

-

Who says a young, passionate monk can't stack armor?

I, Zheng Jing, am determined to shatter the prejudices of the world!

Looking at the two new martial arts manuals he had just received, Zheng Jing, who was eager to practice, originally wanted to go straight back to his room, climb into bed, and lie down.

Having had the experience before, I know I'll probably just fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, so why not just lie down and go to sleep?

As Zheng Jing passed by the main hall, he couldn't help but look up and saw the brightly colored statue of the Great Sage standing on the platform, shading his eyes with his hand.

Their lifelike appearance makes it seem as if they will ride on auspicious clouds and leap out of the temple at any moment, frolicking freely in the sky and sea.

After pausing for a moment, Zheng Jing entered the hall.

"May the Great Sage protect us, so that this time there won't be so much trouble."

Muttering to himself, he bowed deeply to the statue of the Great Sage on the prayer mat, then pulled over another prayer mat next to him, turned around, crossed his knees, and threw the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill into the furnace.

The next moment, Zheng Jing's head tilted, his body swayed, and he fell straight down with his eyes closed.

The vast hall fell silent for a moment, except for the wisps of smoke rising from the sandalwood incense burner, swirling around the statue of the Great Sage, from bottom to top, and finally turning over its surface.

Bathed in the slivers of sunlight filtering through the hall, the gold pieces inlaid in the eyes of the Great Sage statue gleamed and flickered...

He looked like the Great Sage who had been smoking incense, and winked at Zheng Jing, who had fallen asleep as soon as he lay down.

Chapter Seventeen: You're here to take a dump, aren't you?!