After they exited the sacred realm, the door shut on its own.
Hei Shisan was not surprised that none of the staff that were looking for him checked the sacred realm, because he had gone out of his way to avoid it during his free time. It was the last place they would ever look for him, because they never saw him show any interest in the place.
Being unable to fly, Shen Wuyou and Jin Huang relied on him to take them back up to the academy, and he dropped them right back where they had initially jumped from.
"Alright, I'm gonna go get in trouble now. Thanks to you," he nodded at Jin Huang, "this was all worth it. One day I'll explain just how much I owe you, and thank you properly."
Jin Huang gave him a sincere smile and nodded, "Sure. I'll take some food."
"Haha!" Hei Shisan laughed as he flew away, not getting very far before he was spotted by Law Enforcement staff and a few deans.
"Hei Shisan! Stop, you bastard!"
"Mwahaha! You'll never take me al- Hey! That's not fai- OOF! OUCH!"
Hei Shisan was assaulted from all sides by various staff members with higher cultivation levels than his own. He did not even put up a fight and was swiftly beaten beyond recognition before being hauled away to somewhere the two young men could not see.
To everyone else looking at this scene- aside from the first-years- this was a pretty common sight.
"Well," Shen Wuyou patted Jin Huang's shoulder, "it seems my gamble paid off. My father would be proud if he were here and not at the Five Hells Casino Hotel."
Jin Huang fiddled with the spatial ring in his hand, "Thanks for helping me out. I'd have never figured this thing out."
"Don't mention it," the thinner boy said, running a hand through his black and white hair. "Just like Hei Shisan said, thanks to you, we both gained a lot. That key of yours is something else. If you ever wanna go on another adventure to try figuring it out, I'm there."
Jin Huang extended his hand and Shen Wuyou took it, giving it a firm shake.
"See you in class," he said.
"See you," Jin Huang replied.
The two parted ways, a budding bond between them that would surely continue to grow into something firm and unshakeable from the moment they met up in their next class, which would be their Alchemy class the following day.
Shen Wuyou was looking forward to seeing how Jin Huang would surprise him again; Jin Huang was excited to see what kinds of things he would get to eat in a class like that.
Jin Huang went home, washed up and went to bed, thoughts of the next day's class flittering through his mind.
Jin Huang did not wake up for four whole days.
...
He missed Class 4's Alchemy, Formation Array, Weapons and Martial Arts classes.
When he woke up on Saturday morning, Jin Huang felt incredible hunger. His body had completely assimilated all of the divine energy, and now there was nothing in it for him to digest anymore.
Requiring sustenance, even more so now that he had undergone a bodily change, Jin Huang headed off to Madam Cho's.
When he got there, he was immediately met with a large crowd. Pushing through, he saw a sizable stage constructed near the counter where they usually took orders, and saw some of Madam Cho's employees standing on it. Among them were a few large tables packed with food, and a number of people sitting at those tables.
A massive banner hung above the stage: Madam Cho's First Ever Pizza-Eating Contest.
The smell hit him before the sound did.
Rich cheese, sizzling meat, dough kissed by spiritual fire. It was the kind of aroma that made lesser mortals abandon philosophy, family, and their life savings.
Jin Huang's pupils shrank. His stomach made the noise of a war drum.
The crowd, meanwhile, was vibrating with excitement and fervent discussion.
"Look at those pizzas…" someone whispered reverently. "Each slice is infused with high-grade vital energy. I heard one fourth-year advanced half a minor realm just by licking the crust."
"That's nothing," another replied. "My cousin's boyfriend's neighbor's pet tortoise smelled one and had an epiphany about life."
"Is that scientifically proven? Can we get a fact-check on that?"
"No, it's cultivator-proven and that's way better."
Jin Huang stepped forward without realizing it, guided by instinct older than reason. Someone noticed him.
"Hey, isn't that the guy who ate more dumplings than any student ever has?"
"No way, that was an urban legend."
"I was there. My cousin Su Yun started crying after one bite of those dumplings. He ate seven servings."
Word rippled through the crowd the way gossip always outruns spiritual sound transmission.
"That's that crazy first-year!"
"The dumpling freak."
"The hungry one."
"The lad who stares at food like it owes him money!"
Madam Cho herself emerged from behind the counter, eyes narrowed, aura of culinary authority swirling around her. She looked him up and down.
"You entering?"
Jin Huang swallowed. "Yes."
"Have you signed the waiver?"
"What waiver?"
She smiled kindly and chuckled a bit deviously. "Perfect."
There was actually no waiver.
Moments later he was seated at the end of the table among the other warriors of dough. A gong sounded suddenly, marking the start of the contest.
Food vanished, plates blurred as they were grabbed up from the trays.
Onstage, Madam Cho's employees were lined up like executioners, except instead of axes they held more steaming trays to replace empty ones.
A stout student was already red in the face even though he hadn't even started eating. That aroma was packed full of so much vital energy that he was already feeling himself becoming full.
"I will not… lose…" he gasped, "I came here… without breakfast… and without dignity!"
After a few moments, Madam Cho's beefy employees had to toss him off the stage. He lost before he even took his first bite.
Beside him, a muscular senior student slammed down his tenth slice and roared, "Witness me ascend through cheese!"
A scholarly-looking girl in glasses adjusted them solemnly, cheeks full like a chipmunk. She raised a hand and tried to speak with dignity. "I would like to remind everyone that this is not gluttony-" She swallowed a stack of slices. "This is research."
The crowd cheered.
The rules were simple: eat until you couldn't. The prize was simpler: a year of free pizza and bragging rights so powerful they counted as a social weapon amongst the students of the Academy.
The muscular senior broke into tears around slice fourteen. "I can see my ancestors… they're holding breadsticks. Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather... is there mozzarella in those?"
The scholarly girl was scribbling frantic notes between mouthfuls. "I have discovered… the perfect cheese-to-insight ratio…"
The stout uncle twitched on the floor in front of the stage.
But Jin Huang?
He was calm. Peaceful. Transcendent. Pizza entered his mouth and ceased to exist. He didn't shovel, didn't stuff. He simply ate with the smooth inevitability of a natural disaster.
Each slice dissolved as if agreeing with him philosophically.
The crowd went slowly silent as they realized something horrifying. He wasn't slowing down, or sweating. He didn't even seem to be trying.
One student whispered, voice trembling, "He's not competing. He's just..."
Another student finished that student's thought. "He's just enjoying a free meal."
Another clutched his friend's sleeve. "Is this how spiritual beasts feel when you watch them eat?"
Stacks of plates built beside him like a small architectural project. The employees could barely keep up; they were delivering trays like terrified priests feeding a volcano.
Madam Cho stared, then began laughing under her breath.
"Oh, I see. So there's been a change in him, somehow. Nagira said that he hadn't attended any other classes, though. Curious."
Hei Shisan appeared at the back of the crowd at some point, watching with mismatched eyes sparkling in delight while trying to hide his face.
"That's him," he said to no one in particular. "That's the walking enigma, causing another ruckus."
Shen Wuyou was also among those in the crowd, both hands on his head.
"He's not even burping…"
Qin Shuyue was at the front of the crowd, staring in awe at Jin Huang. She knew exactly what Jin Huang's limit had been before, and was shocked to see him surpassing that limit by so much.
She knew that something had changed.
Finally, the gong sounded again. The contest ended.
The other contestants slumped, defeated by sauce and destiny.
Jin Huang blinked, looked at the empty table, and said in confusion: "Is the contest starting now?"
Silence.
Then the crowd exploded.
"MONSTER!"
"LEGEND!"
"I want to sponsor his stomach!"
"Marry me, pizza god!"
Madam Cho hopped up onto the stage and walked over, expression one of amused interest. She grabbed his wrist and lifted it like a referee announcing a champion.
"Winner: Jin Huang!"
Applause thundered through the cafeteria. Someone fainted. Someone else achieved minor enlightenment regarding carbohydrates.
Jin Huang rubbed the back of his head shyly as his stomach purred in post-divine satisfaction.
He still wasn't full, but he was content.
For now.
Madam Cho leaned in slightly and whispered to him. Surprisingly, he heard her loud and clear even with the crowd's uproar.
"Find me in the kitchen after. We need to talk."