The Emperor of Zongmen Workers is here

In Wuliang Sect, Jiang Qingwu's life had gotten back on track, her daily routine filled with practice and study. As time passed, she celebrated her first birthday in Wuliang Sect.

On the eve of his birthday, Jiang Qingwu came alone to the altar of Wuliang Sect, where the sect's disciples paid tribute to their ancestors and deceased relatives.

In the moonlight, her figure seemed exceptionally lonely, but her eyes were resolute. The candle in her hand swayed slightly in the night breeze, and the flames illuminated her tender face, revealing a hint of sadness and determination. After the memorial service, she did not linger any longer, but returned directly to her Miaofeng Residence and began a night of meditation and cultivation until dawn.

"Host, happy birthday!" The Tiandao System said happily. It was not a serious system, and Jiang Qingwu was accustomed to frequent loss of contact. As long as it didn't cause any trouble for her, it would be fine.

"Thank you. How come you have time to show up today?" Jiang Qingwu teased.

"Ahahahaha, host, I see that you have reached the peak of Qi Refining, and there are signs of a breakthrough." The system didn't understand, the system laughed it off, and changed the subject.

"It's a sign of building a foundation." Jiang Qingwu said lightly. After half a year of hard training, Jiang Qingwu's cultivation has reached the peak of Qi Refining. She can feel that the flow of spiritual energy in her body has become smoother, as if she may break through to the Foundation Building stage at any time. She has been practicing Qi perfectly for a week, but for some reason she has not been able to find the critical point to break through.

"Go ask your master later?" the system said.

"That's fine," she thought to herself. After her master repaired her spiritual roots, he entered a state of seclusion, a full year already. Whether he'd be able to break out today was still unknown. Once she successfully established her foundation and reached the stage of Bigu, she could follow in his footsteps and practice in seclusion. Thinking this way, her life was becoming more and more hopeful.

Yet, at this moment, the system hadn't responded. Jiang Qingwu knew this guy had vanished without a trace again. This so-called system was truly absurd. At first, it was only occasional disappearances, with no news every now and then. Then it progressed to only appearing once every ten days or two. Now, it was even more outrageous, with no contact for months on end. Shaking his head, he decided to stop thinking about it. As long as this system didn't cause him any trouble, it would be fine.

By the time Jiang Qingwu finished her daily meditation, the sun was already high in the sky. She happily planned to visit her Senior Brother Pei, the chef, to see what delicacies he had prepared for her today. After all, she had provided him with many exclusive recipes over the past few days!

Especially remembering my past life as an athlete, when so many delicacies were taboo, a strong desire welled up in me—I must savor all the delicacies I'd missed in this life! Whether it was mouth-watering chicken, delicious pickled fish, steaming hot pot, fragrant barbecue, sizzling meat, or all sorts of sweet desserts... just thinking about it made me excited, as if every cell in my body was cheering.

Thinking of this, Jiang Qingwu quickly activated the Star River Escape Technique. Her figure flashed like lightning, and she arrived in front of Sishan Building in an instant. Before she even stepped through the threshold, a tempting sweet aroma already hit her face, like an invisible hand, pulling her, who rarely had sweets in her previous life, eager to explore.

"Brother, what delicious food are you making?" With a clear, melodious cry, like a yellow oriole's call from a valley, Jiang Qingwu's tender voice drifted in from afar, like a spring breeze brushing against my ears. Hearing her voice before seeing her, this unique entrance was truly captivating.

Pei Yi was immersed in the joy of success at this time. He said excitedly: "I am trying to make you the 'cake' you once mentioned! After countless failures, I finally realized the key to controlling the temperature and successfully made a perfect product!" As he said, he happily handed the results in his hand to Jiang Qingwu.

"Junior sister, happy birthday! May you be safe every spring, and may you always be as beautiful as a beauty when we meet." Pei Yi's eyes were full of sincerity and love, which made Jiang Qingwu feel endless warmth.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Jiang Qingwu joyfully accepted this gift, a gift that seemed to transcend time and space and was imbued with Pei Yi's heartfelt efforts. Her movements were as gentle as if she were cradling a rare treasure. She gently took a small bite and was instantly captivated by the soft and delicate texture. The cake had just the right sweetness, not overpowering or cloying, yet perfectly appetizing. Every hint of sweetness flowed like a trickle, slowly flowing into her heart and nourishing her soul. At this moment, she was filled with gratitude to her master and felt fortunate to have been accepted into the Wuliang Sect.

"My senior brother's products must be top-quality! Those so-called defective products must taste good too. Take them out quickly so that I can finish them all!" Jiang Qingwu blinked his bright eyes and looked at Pei Yi expectantly.

However, Pei Yi shook his head and replied with a smile: "Those defective products don't taste good, so it's better not to taste them. I'll bake some more at the right temperature, any amount will do!" As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the kitchen, ready to show off his skills again.

Jiang Qingwu looked around and finally saw a pile of defective products in the corner... and the ones cleaning up the pile were Zhongli Xiu and Feng Ci. Feng Ci heard Jiang Qingwu's ambition to eat the defective products and shouted out, "Junior Master! Are you going to snatch even the defective products from us?" As he said this, he stuffed the pile of "defective products" that looked a little burnt into his mouth...

"Okay, okay, I won't compete with you. Just enjoy the food slowly and peacefully. Don't eat too fast and choke!" Jiang Qingwu looked at the two people in front of him helplessly. While muttering softly, he picked up the teapot with swift movements and filled two large cups of steaming hot tea for each of them.

"Thank you, Junior Master, for your kindness, but could you please remove your hand from my beloved cake?" Zhongli Xiu smiled as he accepted the cup of water from Jiang Qingwu, glancing vaguely at the chubby little hand that was quietly reaching for his plate. Meanwhile, Feng Ci, standing nearby, seemed oblivious to the awkward atmosphere and instead quickened his chewing and swallowing again...

"Hehehe, sorry, I just wanted to give it a try. After all, seeing you guys eating with such relish, it must taste great! After all, Senior Brother Pei is one of the best chefs in the entire Dongxu Realm! Right?" Jiang Qingwu scratched his head slightly embarrassedly and explained with a dry laugh.

"Master Pei has told us not to waste food casually. Although this time the taste may be a little worse because the heat was not controlled accurately, but for us, this flaw can be completely ignored. However, for you who are still young, this overly dry food may have adverse effects on your stomach. So, little master, you'd better wait patiently. Master Pei will definitely prepare a more palatable cake for you later!" Zhongli Xiu finished speaking these words in one breath at an extremely fast speed. Without hesitation, he transformed into a dragon head, opened his bloody mouth, and instantly poured the whole plate of food in front of him into his mouth!

Lin Muci witnessed this scene as soon as he entered the courtyard. He couldn't help but feel happy, but secretly said indignantly: Damn! Zhongli Xiu, this brat, is eating alone behind my back again!

"Senior Sister!" Feng Ci's cry pierced the air, but he saw Lin Muci had already snatched away the last piece of cake in front of him with agility and without leaving a trace.

Pei Yi came out upon hearing the sound, and hurriedly comforted everyone when he saw the situation. His voice was gentle and full of soothing power: "I have prepared enough delicious food, and everyone will have a share." As he spoke, he used his spiritual energy to gently lift up a large round cauldron. The size of the cauldron was so large that Jiang Qingwu couldn't help but marvel at it.

Lin Muci savored the freshly baked and exquisite little cake. Every bite made her feel satisfied. She couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "Uncle Master, what kind of spiritual object is put in this cake? It's so full of spiritual energy."

Pei Yi's eyes flashed with pride when he heard this, and he proudly explained: "This is carefully made with spiritual spring water, so it is naturally rich in spiritual energy. It can not only help you practice, but also strengthen your body!"

Jiang Qingwu ate ten pieces in a row and suddenly felt that his cultivation seemed to have made a breakthrough, and the shackles of his realm began to loosen.

Suddenly, the sky outside the Sishan Building shifted drastically, with dark clouds and rumbling thunder—a sign that a cultivator was about to undergo a tribulation. Jiang Qingwu's heart tightened, and he quickly used the Star River Escape Technique to move outside the building. Pei Yi and the others quickly erected a spiritual shield to protect the Sishan Building from the tribulation.

"Junior sister, run further away! This calamity cloud is so fierce, I've never seen it before!" Pei Yi had never seen such a fierce calamity cloud during the Qi Refining Stage! He shouted from afar at his junior sister, who had just been worried about her stomach upset, hoping that her calamity wouldn't affect innocent people like them. Although he was worried about her safety, he was also worried about the safety of Sishanlou.

Jiang Qingwu followed the advice and retreated a distance before throwing out a stack of defensive talismans and setting up a defensive formation, preparing for the impending thunderstorm. Thunderclouds swirled, and lightning bolts as thick as a baby's arm struck down, striking her defensive talismans and instantly destroying most of them.

The might of the thunderstorm startled Master Chenbai. He gazed at the strange phenomenon in the sky and said in a deep voice, "Not only have you, Junior Brother, never seen this thunderstorm before, I'm surprised too. Its power seems even more outrageous than the thunderstorm Junior Uncle experienced during his Qi Refining period."

Lin Muci and the others were shocked upon seeing this, and worried about Jiang Qingwu's future path of cultivation. The Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation was already so brutal, and the ones ahead would surely be devastating. Junior Master, perhaps you should find a place to endure the tribulation in the future, or they'd have to repair the damaged house themselves! Zhong Lixiu and the other three seemed to have come up with the same idea. After glancing at each other, they nodded secretly, inwardly applauding their own good idea!

Jiang Qingwu, on the other hand, was communicating with the system in his spiritual consciousness. "Host! How come your Tribulation Cloud is so powerful!" The system muttered, "It's more powerful than anything it's ever seen!"

She sneered in response to the system's concerns, "Haha, how would I know? Perhaps this is another test from God? In my previous life, they tested me by abandoning me with my disabled parents, and in this life, they tested me by wiping out my family. If I hadn't met my master back then, I'm afraid I'd be making someone else's furnace by now. Perhaps the test of the furnace that I didn't complete turned into a more difficult test to overcome the tribulation?"

"Well, think positively. You are gifted, a genius in cultivation, and have the kind of physique that spiritual energy is eager to penetrate. Don't be too pessimistic, right?" The system had a connection with the Heavenly Dao because it had created an identity for itself called the Heavenly Dao System. It was afraid that if Jiang Qingwu got angry, it would hit it a few times as well, which would be bad.

"Hehe." Jiang Qingwu sneered. She really had a headache from being struck on the head. Damn it, she heard there were forty-nine heavenly thunders, and her defensive talismans had already died after twenty of them. Now she had been hit by three of them. Okay, okay, she had wanted to use the formation plates and magic weapons given by her eldest and second brothers to resist the thunder tribulation, but then she thought that she was only in the Qi Refining Stage and had to use these external objects to resist the thunder tribulation. What would happen to her future realm? So she prepared to endure it. She decided not to rely on external objects, but to rely on her own strength to resist the thunder tribulation.

She gave up her meditation and simply lay down, letting the thunder strike her. This action shocked all the onlookers.

"Junior sister, are you going to withstand the remaining twenty-nine thunders?" Shi Chenbai asked in surprise.

"Hiss—" Pei Yi, Feng Jingchen, Zhong Lixiu and the others who were watching all gasped...

"Junior Master is too strong! I have to practice hard too. He's only two years old and he's already caught up with me! Heaven is so unfair!" Feng Ci said indignantly, completely forgetting the frustration he had just felt when Lin Muci snatched a small piece of cake from him. He had just established his foundation not long ago, and now he was just barely touching the threshold of building a foundation, but he was already eleven years old! My own Junior Master was only two years old! Establishing a foundation at the age of two! This was rare a thousand years ago, let alone now! How could the gap between people be so huge!

Accompanied by deafening roars, powerful lightning bolts descended from the sky like silver snakes, fiercely striking Jiang Qingwu. Each lightning strike inflicted excruciating pain, as if her body were being torn apart, yet she gritted her teeth and persevered.

Jiang Qingwu's young age and petite frame made it easier for her to dodge the fierce thunderbolts. She nimbly weaved between the lightning bolts. In this thrilling ordeal, she fully utilized her superb Star River Escape Technique, successfully dodging all nine thunderbolts!

However, the remaining twenty thunderbolts continued to bombard her relentlessly. Facing such a powerful onslaught, Jiang Qingwu gradually felt powerless, but she didn't give up. Instead, she used every last ounce of her strength to fight the thunderbolts to the end. Finally, when the last thunderbolt gradually dissipated, it meant that this terrifying thunderbolt tribulation had come to an end, and Jiang Qingwu had successfully entered the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Jiang Qingwu was already exhausted and covered in wounds, but she forced herself to cheer up and, using her last bit of strength, raised her middle finger to the sky—this was her final protest against her fate! Then, a gentle spiritual rain poured down, scattering over Jiang Qingwu and the surrounding land.

This life-giving spiritual rain, like a magical potion, quickly seeped into Jiang Qingwu's body, nourishing her battered form. Simultaneously, the spiritual energy began to slowly repair the horrific wounds inflicted by the lightning, and revitalized all the damaged surroundings.

Lin Muci quickly brought out several large vats to catch the rare spiritual rain from the tribulation-surviving period; it was excellent material for alchemy! Pei Yi also luckily brought out seven large vats to catch the spiritual rain; it was also a rare and valuable resource for the kitchen cultivators! Shi Chenbai saw this and realized that he needed it for his own weapon refinement! Zhong Lixiu also collected a lot for his master, Shi An; don't ask, it's for feeding the spirit beasts! Jiang Qingwu, seeing everyone else collecting, quietly took out a large vat too. Perhaps his master would need it for his talismans, too? Right!

The spiritual rain stopped after a quarter of an hour, and everyone came over to ask about her injuries.

"Junior Master, are you seriously injured?" Lin Muci and others asked worriedly.

"Congratulations to the junior sister on successfully building the foundation, and I wish the junior sister a happy birthday!" Shi Chenbai and others congratulated her calmly. The person is standing here well, what is there to worry about?

"Thank you!" Jiang Qingwu curled his lips, thanking his generous senior brothers...

However, after being washed by the spiritual rain, not only did Jiang Qingwu's wounds from the lightning strike during the tribulation heal, she could also feel that her physical strength had also increased. The tribulation was indeed a double-edged sword. If she could overcome it, there would be no harm, but if she couldn't, she would die and her spiritual path would be destroyed. It seemed that her future training should focus on physical training! Otherwise, how could she withstand this deadly thunder tribulation?

Everyone happily surrounded Jiang Qingwu and returned to Sishanlou. Pei Yi also brought out dishes such as boiled fish, pickled fish, and boiled cabbage that had been improved by Jiang Qingwu, to celebrate both her birthday and her foundation building!

The laughter and joy in Sishan Tower drifted everywhere in the mountains and forests of Wuliang Sect...