Is that a Wisp?

Krune's idea was quite simple. He would have three waiters taking care of the orders, one to care about payments, and one helping him in the kitchen. He did a serious interview with the first four low-level cultivators to guarantee that they knew what to do. After confirming that their information was as stated in their applications, he hired them. They were two females and two males.

He then called Nina, who was the last one he needed to interview. He wanted to confirm her words first before allowing her to work in the kitchen with him.

Truth be told, Krune's restaurant was relatively small; there were no more than 20 tables total. That being said, he was more than confident enough to be able to cook all dishes on his own. After all, he could manipulate his Spiritual Energy and his Mind Splitting Technique to do several dishes simultaneously. If not that he read Nina's application by coincidence, he wouldn't have used anyone in the kitchen.

"So, I took a look at your information, and I saw that you wanted to become a Spiritual Chef. Was that true, or was it just so that you could get a job? To be honest, your cultivation is really low compared even to the younger kids. It shows that you have no talent whatsoever."

Nina dropped her head before saying.

"It's true. I really want to become a Spiritual Chef."

"Why?"

Krune noticed that Nina seemed a little reluctant to talk.

"The kitchen is my heavens, the food my happiness. I won't allow any half-assed cultivator to enter it just because they say they want to. That being said, I want an honest answer. Why you want to become a Spiritual Chef?"

Nina then nervously replied.

"Be-because..."

Krune narrowed his eyes.

"Last chance! Otherwise, you can go back from wherever you came from."

Nina bit her lips and told the real reason.

"Because I liked the look on my little brother's face when he had eaten it for the first time."

Krune brows raised a little.

"That simple?"

Nina was taken aback. She thought that Krune's first reaction would be to throw her out straight away. Even she knows how screwed this reason looked like. Nina had said the same things before, but she was instantly ignored after that in previous interviews.

"It's... It's not simple. Sir might not know this, but there are a lot of cultivators who have no family or background. For the majority, even reaching the Divine Path Realm is very hard before dying--"

Krune cut Nina's words right there.

"Very hard? With the Godly Energy and the lifespan, unless you die or something serious happens, everyone would reach it sooner or later."

Nina then looked at Krune as if he had said something unbelievable. It was then that Nina thought about a possibility.

"Sir, it probably was very easy for you to reach the Divine Path Realm with your background. However, I'm talking about those who don't have one. For us, reaching the Divine Path Realm before our lifespan ends is truly difficult."

Krune was taken aback again. What lifespan is she talking about? If a 12 years old kid is already in the Core Formation Realm, lifespan should be the least of their problems.

'Wait! Could it be...'

It was then that an idea struck Krune's mind.

"Before the Divine Path Realm, what is the average lifespan of cultivators?"

Nina was taken aback by that question. Her expression was obviously saying, 'you don't know?'. Still, she composed herself before answering.

"50 to 60 years."

Krune was shocked! That's is pitifully low. Even with Godly Energy, it would be hard to achieve the Divine Path Realm before the end of that time. First of all, what happened to the lengthening of lifespan with each breakthrough?

Krune then spread his Mental Energy around, covering an entire 35 kilometers. Before, he had not paid attention since he wasn't looking into this issue. However, he made sure to look into it this time. As the overall picture appeared in his mind, he could finally see that there were indeed many elderly people below the Divine Path Realm in the city.

'I'm such an idiot! How didn't I notice it before? If their lifespan worked as the same as the lower realms, what would be the chances of seeing so many elderly people here? After all, with Godly Energy to cultivate, it made no sense that any of them would look that old if the lifespans were the same.'

Krune was right. In the Lower Realm, right from the Foundation Establishment Realm, the higher your cultivation, the slower your body ages. That being said, considering how incredible Godly Energy is for cultivation, there should be almost no 'elderly looking' people below the Divine Path Realm. However, with just a simple Mental Energy Scam, Krune had seen tens of thousands of them!

It was at this moment that another issue appeared in Krune's mind, so he immediately asked Luvile.

"Luvile, does the Divine Path Realm makes one 'immortal' in the Higher Realms?"

Luvile, who hadn't been paying attention until now, answered as if it was nothing.

"Of course, not. Here in the Higher Realms, you only gain 'lifespan immortality' once you reach the Godly Fusion Realm. Before that, everyone has lifespans. That's how the laws of the Higher Realms work. Oh, Right! Anyone below the Divine Path Realm will not have their lifespan increased with breakthroughs. Only after you reach the Divine Path Realm will it grow. Just like the Lower Realms, it will double at each breakthrough after that Realm."

Krune's mouth twitched.

"Couldn't you tell me earlier? Doesn't that mean that my lifespan is running low at this very moment?"

Luvile didn't seem to care, though.

"I simply thought that there was no point in saying it. With your talent, there is no way you will run out of lifespan. That being said, why should you care? It is a problem that has nothing to do with you."

Krune couldn't help but sigh. It's true that with Godly Energy, he isn't afraid of running out of it. Still, he preferred to know it beforehand.

Krune then looked at Nina, who seemed to be puzzled by his expression.

"Cough, cough... You can continue. You said that you wanted to become a Spiritual Chef because of your little brother, right?"

Nina's eyes shined when she thought about him.

"Yes! I only have my little brother as a family. Anyway, before the Divine Path Realm, everyone needs to eat too."

Krune was taken aback again. He didn't know that they also couldn't survive with Godly Energy alone before the Divine Path Realm. Nevertheless, he didn't stop Nina this time and let her continue.

"However, we were pretty poor, so we often starved. To be honest, people dying of starvation isn't anything uncommon in our region. There was a time that we really got close to die as well. But just then, a man who was passing by offered us some food. Not only to us but to the other kids around as well."

Nina's memories of that time were still as clear as water.

"That was the best food we had ever eaten in our lives. It was delicious, and above all, full of energy. Because of our low cultivation, it was enough to restore our bodies by the time we finished eating. I will never forget the eyes of my little brother and the other boys and girls around."

Nina couldn't help but laugh a bit at this point.

"My little brother was only six that year, so he was quite naive. He looked at the man and asked. 'Are you a saint?' The man, of course, laughed out loud after hearing that. He just patted my little brother's head before answering. 'I'm just a low-level Spiritual Chef who happened to be passing through here. Since I had some food remaining, I simply decided to share it with you. It was much better than letting it go to waste.'"

"Still, my admiration for what that man did, especially by the food he cooked, is vivid today. I had decided at that moment that I would definitely become a Spiritual Chef in the future."

Krune nodded. Such an event would really fire up one's determination. His own reason to become a chef wasn't that dramatic. Still, he will never forget the head chef in the village beside Katiu Forest. Just like Nina, Krune deeply admired that man. He still remembers how he helped his son, Darten, with his foundation to pay for the recipe book.

Krune was just about to take Nina in when someone knocked on his room's door. Right after, a young man called Bai Lakkeu entered. He was one of the previously hired employees that Krune got. He was also the guy who would take care of the payments.

"Sir, there is a boy outside who seems to be looking for this lady."

"Ah!"

Nina immediately got up and apologized.

"Sorry, Sir. I told him that I would be doing an interview for a job today, so I also gave him the address to come after he finished his work. I didn't expect him to come so early."

Krune smiled and shook his head.

"That's not a problem. Bai, you can bring him in."

Bai nodded and quickly went out. A minute later, the boy arrived in the room.

When Krune saw the boy, he couldn't help but feel surprised. After that, he laughed out loud.

"Aren't you the boy who guided me to the Heavenly Tastes Restaurant?"

The boy was also surprised to see Krune again. There is no way he would forget that man's rainbow-like hair and eyes.

Nina quickly introduce him.

"This is my little brother, Lino Lavaneg."

Krune then looked at Nina and could tell that they indeed had similar features.

'I wonder if this is what others call fate.'