Night descended from the heavens, extracting every ounce of light from the sky, leaving only darkness and loneliness.

Xing Feng sighed and straightened out the soft rag he called his bed, yet another day had passed but his begging remained fruitless, he was completely exhausted and depressed.

He lay down and watched the starry night sky as he imagined himself flying through it, not a worry in the world. That simple thought had always been enough to knock him into a deep sleep while nothing else could.

But today it was not substantial.

He was only eight years old when he was discarded from his family as he was apparently too much for them to handle. At this point, two years had passed and most of his home memories had since vanished and the only ones that remained were ones of abuse, hardship and neglect.

Now, he was ten years old with nothing but a rag he had found outside one day and a couple of bronze coins imparted to him by pitying civilians.

"This world is cruel but yet, I still cannot blame anyone but myself. If I was strong enough, I could charge right back to my family's house and take it for myself, the only thing holding me back is my own weakness." Xing Feng thought to himself, getting up with a reformed look of determination present in his unfathomably deep black eyes.

After getting up, he walked to the nearest shop and asked the owner which way the city was. The owner got a piece of paper from the back and quickly drew a map with directions. The map didn't have much detail at all, but it was still adequate for Xing Feng.

He was currently in a fairly populated area of the world, a countryside. However, the countryside was also around four hours away from the biggest city in the world, Chao Great City.

Xing Feng walked alone, his only companion was the sound of his own footsteps resounding against the cobblestone path or the tall, uncut grass.

His only pair of shoes became wet from the grass, and his feet began to hurt as well. He wanted to lay down but then he realised that he had left his rag back at the corner shop.

What an idiot! That was his only possession!

Xing Feng was shocked at his own stupidity, he had at least gone to school before he was abandoned.

"Now, this is where I turn right, isn't it?" Xing Feng thought, looking at the poorly drawn map intently as if it was his only hope in life.

After turning right, he noticed a large gate and many people coming in and out. He also noticed building that seemed to penetrate through the skyline and vibrant lights and colours, like an everlasting party.

"This is the city? According to that man, there are countless possibilities here, there are even those so called 'cultivators'!" Xing Feng recalled.

One day, he had been begging as usual when an individual looked at him with disdain and even spat at him, saying: "In the city, there are none of these beggars, that is because there are countless possibilities there, who would be poor in such circumstances? There are even cultivators!"

From that day onwards, Xing Feng had been wanting to go to the city, but he didn't possess the courage to embark upon the journey.

Now, he had a sudden flash of motivation and after undergoing a gruelling journey, he had reached Chao Great City.

He walked through the gate which surprisingly had no security and walked straight.

"You there! You look much too malnourished for your age! Come here, the best food in the city!" As Xing Feng walked deeper into the city, people began to call out to him, promoting their businesses.

"Sorry sir, I do not have any money." Xing Feng replied as he had to everyone else.

"Oh?" The man suddenly grinned. "Since you don't have any money, why not earn some and get free meals at the same time? We are coincidentally looking for a cleaner, you came at the perfect time."

"Are you being serious?" Xing Feng looked pleasantly surprised as he took a few steps closer to the man and his restaurant.

"Of course, what is your name?" The man chuckled and asked.

"Xing Feng."

"Xing Feng, welcome to the best restaurant in Chao Great City, the Royal Sea Palace!"

"Thank you so much, sir!" Xing Feng was almost brought to tears as he bowed and exclaimed.

"Haha, it's no big deal, kid." The old man laughed and escorted Xing Feng inside.

The Royal Sea Palace had a total of five floors, and the fifth floor was reserved for the wealthy and powerful.

Even thought it was extremely late at night, many people were still eating at the restaurant.

A waiter came over with a brush and handed it to the owner, who then handed it over to Xing Feng.

"Clean each floor. I want it spotless." The owner said.

Xing Feng nodded his head and got to work.

This was his life every single day for the next three years, eat, clean, sleep, repeat.

Until one day, something unexpected happened.

"Where's my chefs?" The owner screamed at the head of staff.

"They are all on strike against your 'lack of pay'. I don't know what to do, honestly."

"I have a member of the Yu Clan up there, he's already ordered for fuck's sake! Xing Feng! Can you cook?" The owner barked.

"Uh-". Xing Feng was cut off before he could finish.

"Get the fuck in that kitchen and cook something. If it's amazing, I'll fucking promote you to a chef!" The owner ordered. "Wei Yan! This is all your fucking fault! Fire all of those chefs and after you do that, I'm demoting you to a waiter!"

"But sir-" Wei Yan, the former head of staff, begun.

"Shut the fuck up and do what the fuck I say, got it." The owner was extremely profane today.

Xing Feng was bewildered, he was still standing there with his brush, staring at the owner.

"Who the fuck are you helping by standing there? Didn't I tell you get into the kitchen?" The owner shouted, pointing at kitchen.

Xing Feng gulped and nodded, leaning the brush against a wall and entering the kitchen.

The kitchen was pristine and clean, but there was nobody there. There was a wall in the middle inset with six shelves, each holding many ingredients. To the left of the wall was another wall with a hole in the middle and the top of bottom side of the wall was protruding forward, it was the serving desk where waiters took the food from the kitchen to the customer. At the top side of the wall, there were pieces of paper that hung down into the hole, they were orders for the only three people in the restaurant at the moment, the young man from the Yu Clan and his two female acquaintances.

They each wanted the finest delicacy in the restaurant, the seared olive wagyu steak. The restaurant barely had ten cuts of the meat in their stock.

Xing Feng retrieved three pieces of the steak from the freezer and using the knowledge he had gained of cooking from being homeless and needing to cook, and also his late mother, he let them acclimate to room temperature before patting them dry, seasoning them well and searing one at a time.

Then, he prepared the salad, cucumber, lettuce, red cabbage, chilli peppers and of course, a hefty amount of olives while also constantly flipping, checking and changing the meat.

Surprisingly, the customers did not ask for sauce and they simply wanted the meat on its own.

After an hour of cooking, the food was finally finished.

"Finally! It better be good or you're done!" The owner said.

"Let's see what they say." Xing Feng replied, exuding confidence.

The meat was a perfect medium-rare, exactly what was asked.

"This is well worth the wait! At the next gathering of the Clan, make sure to tell everyone about this place, the food is delicious. I'll be coming here regularly."

That one meal cooked by Xing Feng not only promoted him to the position of a chef, where he kept developing to the point of becoming the head chef, but it also promoted the restaurant greatly.

***

"This food is amazing!"

A young man who was eating at the top floor of the Royal Sea Palace stood up and exclaimed.

He turned to the the owner and asked, "Who cooked this?"

The owner smiled confidently as he replied: "Lord Yuan, this meal was cooked by our ace chef: Xing Feng."

"Is this Xing Feng a cultivator?" The young man asked out of the blue.

"Not that I am aware of. Why do you ask, my Lord?" The owner was confused.

"This meal actually helped me overcome a bottleneck in my cultivation, it is definitely infused with spiritual properties!" The young man replied, a burning passion and excitement in his eyes.

"Huh?" The owner was incredulous.

"Xing Feng created a meal with spiritual properties and allowed a member of the Heavenly Chao Clan to break through a bottleneck? His cooking is good, but to the level of being a spiritual meal? Xing Feng must really be a cultivator!" He was shocked, while Xing Feng's body had improved and he was quite muscular now, it was nothing major, his aura hadn't changed at all. "Could he be at the realm of aura concealment? That is not possible, even Lord Chao Yuan has only just reached that realm. I do not understand what is happening right now."

"Wei Yan, fetch me Xing Feng!"

The waiter Wei Yan nodded his head and hurried rushed down the stairs and entered the kitchen, shouting for Xing Feng.

"Xing Feng, the owner wants you!"

"What's wrong?" Xing Feng, now seventeen years old emerged from inside the kitchen and nonchalantly asked.

"Chao Yuan is complimenting your food, apparently it helped him break through a cultivation realm!" Wei Yan replied.

"Haha, how is that possible?" Xing Feng shook his head and sighed. "Alright, I'm going."

He began to walk up the stairs and once he reached the top floor, he noticed the anticipation in the air and on the owner and Chao Yuan's faces.

"You are Xing Feng?" The owner was about to speak but Chao Yuan cut in before him.

"Yes, that is correct. Why does Lord Yuan want to see me?" Xing Feng replied and was about to bow in respect before Chao Yuan dissuaded him.

"No need to bow, and you can call me Chao Yuan. I have been stuck at the bottleneck between the eight and ninth layer of the Martial Origin realm for around three years now and the meal you have cooked has allowed me to break through. I have eternal gratitude for you, Xing Feng, to the point where I am willing to allow you to become my personal chef!" Chao Yuan proclaimed.

Everyone on the top floor gasped in shock, envy and for one person, rage.

"Master, I have been your personal chef for over ten years! Surely you wouldn't abandon me for this unknown chef?" The person was Chao Yuan's current personal chef and he was quick to try to convince Chao Yuan to let him keep his role.

"Haha, who dares to call my personal chef an unknown chef?" Chao Yuan coldly snorted and looked around, noticing an open window and smiling.

He reached over the table and grabbed his old chef by the collar, launching him out of the window with no hesitation at all.

"Hmph, like he has ever cooked a meal that not only tastes that good but also advances my cultivation. Oh right, what realm are you at?" Chao Yuan asked.

"Um, if you are referring to cultivation realms, I am not a cultivator. Otherwise, I do not know what realm you are talking about." Xing Feng replied.

"Not a cultivator… To be honest, I do not sense an aura from you. But how did you create that spiritual meal then?" Chao Yuan was visibly confused.

"What spiritual meal? I just cooked like I do for everyone else, I believe that is simply Lord Yuan's power that allowed him to advance unknowingly." Xing Feng did not know anything about cultivation.

"That is not possible, it is definitely your meal. Come to the Chao Divine Clan's palace and cook me dinner in a few hours, then I will be able to confirm if your meals really hold spiritual power. Even if they do not, they still taste amazing, you are more than qualified to be my personal chef." Chao Yuan proposed proudly.

Xing Feng looked at the owner of the Royal Sea Palace, he was smiling and made a pushing gesture with his hand, he was encouraging Xing Feng to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Yes, Lord Yuan."

"Haha, haven't I already told you? Call me Chao Yuan." Chao Yuan laughed and pointed at the seat of his former personal chef, clearly beckoning Xing Feng to take it.

Xing Feng was somewhat hesitant, after all, he had worked as a part of the Royal Sea Palace for seven years. Rising up from a simple cleaner and then filling in for a chef and surprising everyone with his cooking skills, eventually becoming the ace chef of Royal Sea Palace and elevating it to what the owner had said all those years ago, the best in the city.

But then again, the Chao Divine Clan was too powerful. If he could join it and learn cultivation, could he, one day, fly through the skies and heavens and even face his father again with no fear in his heart, destroying him with a single strike? The prospects were too great to resist.

The old man wanted him to go, he was content and he most likely wouldn't be if Xing Feng declined the offer.

Xing Feng took the seat and Chao Yuan smiled: "From now, your name will be Chao Feng and you will be my personal chef!"