Chapter Thirty-Five: The New Year Has Arrived

At the headquarters of Tang Corporation atop Feiyun Peak of Changbai Mountain, inside a grand and luxurious conference room—

“All right, the Tang Corporation is now up and running. The raw materials for the next three years of our planned production are already in place. What we need to focus on now is the business of the Accelerated Cultivation Institute!” After half a month of training and adaptation, the three hundred newly hired employees had fully mastered their required skills, which filled Tang Yi with confidence.

“Other than Liu Mingde, who will stay at Feiyun Peak, Daoist Qiu and the other two will also remain here to develop new products. The rest of you will accompany me to Shencai Peak to build the Accelerated Cultivation Institute. Here are the construction plans in these jade slips—everyone going must memorize them thoroughly. We aim to complete construction within two days. The New Year is just around the corner. After the holiday, the students of the Institute will begin to arrive. I want you all to throw yourselves into this with absolute dedication—understood?” Tang Yi grew more and more impassioned as he spoke.

“Yes…” The crowd responded, their voices lacking energy. Tang Yi…

“And one more thing, Mingde—during the New Year, you’re responsible for making the buildings of our company light up according to the design in this jade slip.” Tang Yi tossed a jade slip to Liu Mingde.

“No problem! Just wait and see!” Liu Mingde glanced at the jade slip and replied with a confident smile.

Shencai Peak of Changbai Mountain was a majestic sight. Each time sunlight filtered between two neighboring ridges, rings of seven-colored rainbows would appear like a divine miracle, hence the name Miracle-Colored Peak.

Looking at the newly transformed Shencai Peak, Tang Yi placed his hands on his hips and burst into laughter. “Ha ha… Another great work of art! It's perfect! So beautiful! So—” Before he could finish his words, he realized everyone else had collapsed to the ground.

“Am I really so overwhelming?” Tang Yi asked the crowd. Zhang Qiang raised his hand and said, “Brother Tang, we’re just exhausted…”

…

“The New Year is here—red envelopes, red envelopes for everyone!” On New Year's Eve, at the crack of dawn, Tang Yi roared lion-voiced from Tang Plaza at Yunfei Peak. Everyone was jolted out, including Daoist Qiu and his two companions, who were still meditating and nearly suffered a mishap from the interruption.

To distribute red envelopes for the New Year, Tang Yi had especially refined a pile of red storage pouches. Seeing the more than three hundred people gathered in the square, his heart swelled with pride as he handed out the pouches one by one, beaming with happiness.

“Dear colleagues, as the Spring Festival arrives, thank you for your support. These small red envelopes are tokens of my appreciation. Now for a few announcements: First, Tang Corporation will begin a seven-day holiday starting today. You may return home to be with your families or attend to your own affairs. Second, after we resume work, each month we will select ten outstanding employees, who will be rewarded with a free session at the Accelerated Cultivation Institute the following month. Third, now, please join me for the New Year’s Eve banquet. After dinner, you may all go your own ways.”

A New Year’s Eve dinner at dawn? The crowd was speechless—this was more like a New Year’s breakfast, and a very early one at that.

“Now, let me introduce the head chef of Tang Corporation—please welcome Yi Ya, the Culinary Deity!” Tang Yi called out from the podium. Soon, a figure strode onto the stage, waved to the crowd, and spoke.

“Dear colleagues, I am Yi Ya, the Culinary Deity. Please take care of me!”…

It turned out that not only were Hua Shaojie and his companions anxious about the chef, but Tang Yi too. As Tang Corporation grew ever larger in the cultivation world, it was necessary to find a true professional to handle the cuisine. When Feiyun Peak was completed, Tang Yi had asked Daoist Qiu about Yi Ya’s background, only to learn that this Yi Ya was very different from the one in his original universe. This Yi Ya had no son; the so-called ‘human flesh’ dish he once made for Duke Huan of Qi was actually just the meat of a newborn piglet. What set this Yi Ya apart was that he had attained the Dao through gastronomy and pioneered the culinary path. For over two thousand years, he had practiced cultivation through cooking and had now reached the middle stage of the Tribulation Crossing realm. The medicinal dishes he prepared were highly sought after by cultivators, as they not only stabilized one’s cultivation but also nourished spiritual energy.

“Yi Ya!” The crowd collectively drew in a sharp breath. To cultivators in the Spirit Silence stage, Yi Ya was a master of elusive prowess. And now he would be cooking for them—unbelievable! Tang Yi had once asked Yi Ya why he accepted the job, and Yi Ya replied simply, “Because I like it. Isn’t that enough?”

The New Year’s Eve banquet was a joyous affair for all. Tang Yi, however, felt a pang of regret, for this meal cost him more spirit stones than all the red envelopes he had handed out—the ingredients Yi Ya required were extraordinarily expensive, and feeding three hundred and twenty people was no small feat.

…

“There are still so many loopholes in the Accelerated Cultivation Institute's training sessions,” Tang Yi sighed. Zhang Qiang’s earlier remark had given him pause: if someone took advantage of the time-stopping effect to settle scores with their enemies, it would take but a moment. Tang Yi’s mind raced—what if someone used the opportunity to rob, steal, or commit other crimes? After all, all those coming to train were cultivators. Even though each session would have only thirty people and occurred once a month, and to keep things fair, each student could only attend one session within three years, Tang Yi himself was no match for any cultivator while time was frozen. Of course, it was impossible for them to harm or kill Tang Yi, as he could always escape using his unique power to travel through time and space—or, better yet, restore the normal flow of time, which required no physical contact with anyone or anything, unlike entering the time-stopped state. Once Tang Yi restored time, everyone and everything that had entered the frozen state with him would return to normal simultaneously.

Because of this, Tang Yi announced a postponement of the Accelerated Cultivation Institute’s opening—the exact date would have to wait until he’d resolved every potential issue.

…

Far away, at the base on Saturn's resource moon in the Pegasus star system—

“My lord, according to our spies, the seal on the Blood Demon Cavern on Earth has begun to show signs of weakening,” a figure in black reported to the person on the throne.

“Oh?” In the darkness, the eyes of the person on the throne flashed with a sharp light, then faded. “Even if the seal weakens ahead of schedule, what of it? We too are restrained by those things from the Celestial Maiden system. Just keep monitoring for now—our hands are full as it is.” With a wave of the hand, the black-clad figure was dismissed.

At the Divine Sword Hall of Divine Sword Sect—also the sect’s council chamber—

A disciple of the Shushan Sect hurried into the hall. Lu Changsheng saw him and asked, “What’s the matter? Does your sect master require urgent assistance?”

The Shushan disciple bowed respectfully and said, “Elder Lu, this is a matter of great importance. The sect master has written this jade slip in his own hand—please read it.” He handed over a jade slip…