Crying out, Jin Huang slowly got used to the feeling of being carried through the air by invisible strands of energy.
Ms. Sinclaire laughed cheekily at him as she took them toward the cafeteria, telling him about the daily deals and special items. "Today is Thursday, so that means they'll be serving all-you-can-eat oden for just 5 spirit stones."
Jin Huang gulped, suddenly finding his balance and a watering mouth at the same time. "Sounds good."
"Do you have spirit stones?" Ms. Sinclaire asked, looking slightly concerned.
"What can I get with this," Jin Huang removed the necklace and showed the pendant to her. With a frown and a puzzled face, she stared at the stone key before shaking her head.
"A smack to the head, most likely. That doesn't look like its worth anything," She said while passing the necklace back to him.
He sighed and put it back on, pouting.
"Don't sweat it. Since today's your first day, Big Sister Sin will pay for you to have all you can eat!"
She winked.
The image of a young woman winking at him with her sly fox eyes and pretty features would have affected Jin Huang, but now all he could think of was food. His stomach was preparing itself to go to work, and started to make excited noises.
They flew across one more district before landing on a singular flat cloud decked out with tables, chairs and benches. At the far end was a somewhat large structure with a counter and glass displays packed with food. There was a lot of signage as well, with the main one saying 'Madam Cho's Heavenly Haven.'
"Good day," Ms. Sinclaire said to the person behind the counter, waving her hand and producing 5 spirit stones. "This is for today's deal. My little friend here is starved."
The woman behind the counter snorted coldly before taking the spirit stones and pointing to the seating area. "Hmph! Another starving student here to waste the Madam's time. Sit then, and let's get it over with."
"What was that about?" Jin Huang asked as he followed Ms. Sinclaire to a table.
"The Head Chef- Madam Cho- is a bit eccentric. She gets pissed when people can't finish her food, but then when people do actually finish a plate or a bowl, she gives them more and gets mad if they can't finish that."
A sparkle found its way into Jin Huang's eyes and he licked his lips. "She sounds like my kind of lady."
Soon enough, the server brought out the first serving- a wide iron pot.
She was a large woman, stocky and burly, with a round face and an intense expression of annoyance plastered on her face. She looked at Jin Huang with a 'hmph,' and slammed the pot onto the table without spilling a drop.
Ms. Sinclaire flinched slightly and decided to get up and take a walk; Jin Huang had been staring at nothing but the pot of food.
His stomach grumbled once again as the server placed his chopsticks down for him and left.
"Thank you for the food!" He said enthusiastically.
Steam rolled lazily from the wide iron pot, carrying the gentle scent of broth and kelp. Floating within were pale rounds of daikon, glossy eggs, tofu soaked to the core, and strange springy blocks that looked unassuming but radiated nourishment.
Jin Huang took one bowl.
Then another.
Then realized, with a shock bordering on reverence, that no one was stopping him. There was no one around to tell him that he needed to slow down. This was all his.
All of it.
By the time Ms. Sinclaire noticed, he was already on his fourth serving—chewing thoughtfully, eyes unfocused, posture straightening as warmth spread through his limbs. Spiritual energy gathered around him in thin, invisible threads, drawn not by cultivation techniques, but by appetite alone.
"…Is he still eating?" Ms. Sinclaire asked slowly.
"Yes," the counter worker replied, equally slowly. "He finished the pot. I refilled it."
Jin Huang lifted his head and shouted over to the woman behind the counter. "Thank you! This one is also very good!"
The fifth pot went faster than the fourth.
Bowls stacked. Ingredients vanished. The broth level dropped at a visible rate. As Jin Huang ate, a few students of the academy who were second-years or above had showed up.
Some of the nearby students stared, torn between disbelief and envy. Someone whispered that Madam Cho's culinary genius allowed the internal energy in her food to easily be enough to feed hundreds with one serving, causing a silent uproar to fill the seating area.
Some students started to take out their jade slips and other communication tools, relaying the information to more of their friends, which soon caused a small crowd of second and third year students, with even a few fourth and fifth year students showing up as well.
No one could believe that someone was actually rising to Madam Cho's challenge.
The counter worker swallowed, turned, and quietly sent a sound-transmission through a jade slip.
"Madam Cho," she said. "You may want to come see this."
Ms. Sinclaire was at a loss, her eyes sparked with a newfound intrigue for this new student. This reminded her of the fact that he had showed up with, at the very least, a Celestial-grade Stamp of Approval.
Moments later, the air thickened.
A tall, thin woman stepped out from behind the stall as if she had always been there—robes immaculate, sleeves rolled just enough to suggest practicality rather than sloppiness. Her gaze passed over the empty pots, the dazed onlookers, and finally settled on Jin Huang, who was politely biting into an egg.
Madam Cho watched him eat, something in her eyes as they narrowed.
She saw the way the internal energy imbued in the food was being manipulated by him, subconsciously. It lingered in the air as though it couldn't wait to be consumed.
For most students and even Academy staff, the internal energy from her food would largely escape, with only about 10% of it being retained and absorbed. However, Jin Huang was greedily taking in all of the energy, and when his body was overwhelmed, it somehow forced the energy to stick around to be absorbed later.
Most mesmerizing of all was the fact that, no matter how much he consumed, it never seemed to be enough.
"Interesting," she decided.
Jin Huang noticed her stare and paused. "Um. Is this… too much?"
Madam Cho smiled.
The onlookers all froze, even Ms. Sinclaire was speechless. When had Madam Cho ever smiled at someone eating her food?
"No," Madam Cho said lightly, not a trace of the usual anger in her tone. "It's rare."
She turned to leave then stopped and added, as if it were an afterthought, "If you ever find yourself short on spirit stones- or food- come find me. I always have a place for people with… special talents."
Then she was gone.
Jin Huang looked down at his empty bowl. His stomach growled.
He wondered if it would be rude to ask for seconds again.
Just as he was wondering that, the server came out again with another pot, this time the steam rolling off of it seemed thicker. The scent was more potent, and the broth looked richer. Even the quality of the ingredients seemed to have been raised a tier.
Finding himself more excited than anything else, Jin Huang indulged in yet another pot of oden.
As for his small crowd of spectators, they soon chalked it up to him possessing some sort of special constitution, and eventually categorized him as yet another monster among the newcomers. Most of them didn't even bother ordering food and just left.
Ms. Sinclaire returned to sit at his side, putting her jade slip away as she adjusted her chair.
"Hey, so, you missed orientation," she said with a nervous chuckle.
Jin Huang shrugged, picking up his bowl and drinking down the last of it.
"Mm! So good!"