Shocking! The female protagonist unlocked her powers by killing people!

"They're inside the room." Ye Qingshuang asked, "Why did you take so long?"

"I bought a few extra things." Lin Chengtian looked at the other two: "Go and rest. I'll call you when it's time to eat."

"Brother Lin, we're not tired."

Lin Chengtian: "There's nothing else going on right now."

The two exchanged a glance; "Then let's go back and rest for a while."

"Brother Lin, call us when you need to cook, we can help out."

"Okay." Lin Chengtian nodded, and the other two left with peace of mind.

After the two left, Lin Chengtian walked to Ling Yi's room and knocked on the door.

Ling Yi opened the door and looked at Lin Chengtian: "What's up?"

"I bought you some things." Lin Chengtian said, taking out several small boxes from his spatial storage: "These are some boxes of pastries. I saw they were selling well when I passed by, so I bought a few boxes. Each box has a different flavor, so you can try them all."

Ling Yi: "I don't want to."

Lin Chengtian looked at Ling Yi: "You'll need it."

Looking into Lin Chengtian's eyes, Ling Yi had a strange feeling that she might really need him.

The feeling came from nowhere; it was just a few pastries, but Ling Yi accepted them.

Lin Chengtian took out two banknotes and gave them to Ling Yi: "There are still a few days until the competition. If you don't want to cultivate these days, you can go out and have some fun. You don't have any money on you, so take these."

Ling Yi glanced at Lin Chengtian and accepted it.

Lin Chengtian said, "I'll go prepare lunch. You can read or cultivate as you like."

After saying that, Lin Chengtian left.

Ling Yi carried several boxes of pastries back to the house, and Ye Qingshuang also went back to her room.

...

While Lin Chengtian was cooking, Teacher Mu and Teacher Li returned. After their return, they gathered everyone together and talked about some things that needed attention, as well as some information about their team members participating in the Empire's competition.

After the group finished chatting, Lin Chengtian had just finished cooking the meal, and two students helped bring it over.

When a wooden basin was placed on the dining table, everyone in the room fell silent.

Ye Qingshuang got up and looked inside. The wooden basin contained rice, and meat and vegetables were chopped and stir-fried.

If the vegetables were a brighter green and the meat was colored with sauce, this pot of rice would look alright. Unfortunately, the vegetables were overcooked, turning a dark green and becoming a soft, mushy mess.

The meat must have been cooked and then chopped up and stir-fried without anything else added. It was pure white, blending together with the dark green vegetables and pure white rice. Ye Qingshuang glanced at it and sat down, then turned to Ling Yi and asked, "Have you eaten your pastries?"

"I bought some since you didn't eat them."

Ling Yi: "..."

She finally understood why Lin Chengtian had said she needed it back then.

Lin Chengtian placed the bowl and chopsticks on the table: "If it's cooked and edible, that's fine. Otherwise, you can make it yourself."

Ye Qingshuang silently picked up the bowl and chopsticks. If she were to make it, it certainly wouldn't be this pure white; it would be the other extreme, a black, gooey mess.

But you can't blame them. They spend most of their time cultivating and have no time to study food!

Teacher Mu said, "Eat."

No one else at the table said anything more, and each of them added another bowl.

It had no other flavor besides salt, but it was soft enough for the two alchemists to eat.

Teacher Li ate about half a bowl, then put down the bowl and looked at Lin Chengtian: "Chengtian, you are a contestant, you should rest well these few days. I'll take care of the cooking, you don't need to worry about it."

Ye Qingshuang: "That's right, that's right. Let's take advantage of these few days to prepare properly."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chengtian was about to say something when he saw that Ling Yi had finished eating, so he added another bowl.

It wasn't that Ling Yi ate a lot, but rather that the bowl was too small and delicate. At sixteen, he was still growing; how could he possibly be full?

"Ling Yi." Ye Qingshuang looked at Ling Yi: "Do you...do you like this kind of flavor?"

Ling Yidao: "It's fine."

The others at the table were somewhat surprised to hear this.

To be honest, Lin Chengtian's cooking can be summed up in two words: edible.

Forget about color, aroma, and taste.

But what they didn't know was that Ling Yi's world was a post-apocalyptic world, where food was precious, and when Ling Yi was initially an experimental subject, the laboratory prepared nutrient solutions for him.

The nutrient solution provides what the body needs, so it doesn't matter how bad the mixture tastes.

In comparison, Lin Chengtian did a really good job.

Although Ling Yi thought it was a good idea, the others didn't. They directly deprived Lin Chengtian of his right to cook and kicked him out of the kitchen.

For the next few days, Teacher Li was in charge of cooking for everyone. Teacher Li wasn't a chef, so her cooking wasn't particularly delicious, but compared to Lin Chengtian's cooking, it was already quite tasty.

When Ye Qingshuang first ate it, she ate an extra bowl, but Ling Yi still ate two bowls, the standard for being full.

Teacher Mu would occasionally go out and bring back news, which she would tell Ling Yi. After all, in Teacher Mu's eyes, Ling Yi was the only one who had a chance.

And just like that, the day of the official competition arrived quickly.

Early in the morning, Teacher Mu and Teacher Li woke everyone up. After washing up and having breakfast, the ten of them rented a carriage and headed to the Imperial Academy.

When they arrived at the Imperial Academy, the academy had already opened three passageways, one for students as well as for noble families, court officials, and people from the imperial palace who came to watch the competition.

The other two are for checking the identities of imperial participants and for small countries.

The distinctions are quite clear.

Ling Yi and his group arrived early, and there were few people outside the academy, so they quickly passed the check and entered the Imperial Academy.

After entering the academy, a designated person led them to the square.

At this moment, most of the Imperial Academy Square has been transformed into a competition area. Entering through the passage below, you reach the central platform, which is the competition arena, while the audience seats are stacked in layers around the arena.

The audience seating is divided into four sections, each representing one of the four empires. The contestants from smaller countries are seated in their respective empire sections.

Lingyang Kingdom is located in the Dongyang Empire District, but in the first row, regardless of which empire they belong to, all the seats are occupied by elders of the Dongyang Empire Academy. This is to prevent problems with the barrier during student battles, so that they can take immediate action if any issues arise.

Starting from the second row, the seats were occupied by members of the royal family and college professors.

The third row is for the Imperial students participating in the competition. There is an empty row behind the third row, which not only highlights the gap between the Empire and small countries, but also prevents any bad things from happening and harming the Imperial students if they sit too close.

The fifth row was reserved for imperial courtiers and members of aristocratic families to watch.

Students were arranged starting from the sixth row. On the Dongyang Empire's side, Ruoshui was in the sixth row, and Lingyang was in the seventh row.

The eighth and ninth rows are two other small countries close to the Dongyang Empire. The tenth row is for imperial students to watch the battle. The eleventh and twelfth rows are for sale to anyone interested in watching.

After Ye Qingshuang finished speaking with Ling Yi, she asked, "Are you nervous?"

Ling Yi: "There's nothing to be nervous about."

Teacher Mu said, "The key is to have a good mindset. As for winning or losing, just do your best."