Chapter 167: The Bootlicking Immortal Lord Who Wants to Live Off a Woman.33

The Grand Competition had officially begun.

But aside from the participants currently dueling, everyone else was clearly distracted.

Though they appeared to be watching intently, their souls were practically sneaking glances at the High Platform, fixated on the Ancestral Master’s every move.

After Shen Xiuyan waved his hand, a White Jade Table materialized in front of Su Mingyue and Ning Cui.

On the table were tea, fruits, and snacks. If it weren’t for the fact that this was the Grand Competition, the scene would’ve looked like a leisurely afternoon picnic.

Su Mingyue whispered, “Ancestral Master?”

Shen Xiuyan gave her a soothing smile. “Nothing to do at the moment—might as well enjoy some refreshments while we watch.”

Sect Master Xia, seated not far away: “…”

The Elders: “…”

Sect Leaders from other sects: “…”

Everyone was momentarily speechless. If their eyes weren’t deceiving them, those fruits were on par with spiritual elixirs—rare treasures aged hundreds of years. And he was just letting a junior disciple eat them like snacks???

Wasn’t this pure, unfiltered waste?

What kind of household was this, that dared to squander like this?

But the problem was, this man had the strength to back it up. Everyone looked on with envy, but no one dared to say a word.

Feeling the burning gazes around her, Su Mingyue gave an awkward laugh. “M-maybe I shouldn’t…”

Wuwuwu… So many people were staring—she was afraid she’d die before she could finish eating.

Shen Xiuyan picked up a fruit and leisurely peeled it. Then he handed the flesh to her. “Eat.”

With no choice, Su Mingyue took the fruit from the Ancestral Master’s hand. Under his unwavering gaze, she took a solemn bite.

Hmm… okay, not gonna lie, it was delicious. A flavor she’d never tasted before.

She couldn’t help herself—her eyes squinted in bliss.

Sect Master Xia couldn’t bear to watch. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was a Spring Blossom Fruit. One had gone up for auction recently and sold for ten thousand high-grade Spirit Stones. And she was just… eating it???

Pain. Suffocating pain.

His eyes involuntarily locked onto the fruit peel in Shen Xiuyan’s hand. Even that peel, if used in alchemy, could produce pills of immense value. He wondered… would the Ancestral Master be willing to gift him that peel…

Perhaps Sect Master Xia’s gaze was just too intense, because Shen Xiuyan looked over. “You want it?”

Sect Master Xia flinched and nodded timidly.

The fruit peel floated over and landed in front of him. He picked it up in disbelief, eyes brimming with tears as he looked at Shen Xiuyan. “Thank you, Ancestral Master, for your generous gift. This disciple is unworthy.”

Everyone above turned to stare at Sect Master Xia with eyes full of envy and jealousy.

How did this old guy get so lucky?

“It’s nothing,” Shen Xiuyan said coolly with a wave of his hand, utterly indifferent to the peel that held no value to him.

After all, if Sect Master Xia hadn’t taken it, the peel was headed straight for the trash.

Shen Xiuyan turned back and began peeling another fruit with full focus.

Suddenly, Su Mingyue didn’t feel so good about the fruit in her hand anymore. Just how valuable was this thing? A Sect Master was overjoyed just to get the peel, and here she was, devouring it bite by bite like it was nothing.

Her emotions were a chaotic mess of guilt and anxiety.

But Sect Master Xia had already chosen to completely ignore Su Mingyue, who had eaten the fruit flesh.

He sat there with a silly smile, gently caressing the fruit peel, thinking to himself how kind the Ancestral Master was—to actually gift him the peel.

He must be extremely satisfied with his conduct.

Otherwise, with so many people present, why give it to him and no one else?

As for Su Mingyue—he’d already decided to pretend she didn’t exist.

He couldn’t compete. Not even close.

This girl clearly held a special place in the Ancestral Master’s heart. He’d be a fool to try and compare himself to her.

Shen Xiuyan finished peeling another fruit and instinctively held it out.

But the person across from him didn’t take it. He looked up and saw Su Mingyue spacing out.

“Mingyue, take it.”

“Ancestral Master, you eat it. I’ve had enough, really,” Su Mingyue said, waving her hands in refusal.

Shen Xiuyan chuckled softly. “I don’t like eating them. Be good—just eat.”

Su Mingyue reluctantly took the fruit again. Why did it feel like the Ancestral Master had gotten addicted to feeding her?

Off to the side, Ning Cui rested her chin on her hand and sighed. She really shouldn’t be here—she should be down below.

She’d figured it out by now: once again, she was just an afterthought.

Sure, she had called for the Ancestral Master to hurry over earlier, worried that her little junior brother might steal Su Mingyue away.

But she definitely hadn’t meant for him to show up and start force-feeding them this much dog food.

Sweet? Yes. But also incredibly awkward.

With a huff, Ning Cui grabbed a fruit from the table and took a big bite without a second thought.

No one was paying attention to her anyway—why shouldn’t she eat?

Even if she was just a tagalong, she still had to take care of herself.

From that point on, Shen Xiuyan, just as Su Mingyue had suspected, seemed to become addicted to peeling fruit. He was completely focused on feeding Su Mingyue.

Everyone watching was stunned, unable to focus on the match happening below.

It was just too much. Seriously, too much.

They’d all heard that the Ancestral Master had a treasure trove of rare items, but they hadn’t expected this level of extravagance.

Judging by his attitude, the things they would fight tooth and nail over weren’t even worth mentioning in his eyes. It really made one wonder—just how deep were the Ancestral Master’s pockets?

Could it be that his wealth surpassed that of the entire Cultivation World combined?

Sect Master Xia looked at the growing pile of thick fruit peels on the table with a pained expression, hesitating to speak.

Noticing his look, Shen Xiuyan asked, “Want some?”

Sect Master Xia nodded like mad, eyes shining with joy.

The next moment, the pile of fruit peels appeared right in front of him.

He carefully sorted and stored each one into his Storage Bag with utmost reverence.

He had completely changed his tune.

Every time Su Mingyue looked like she was about to refuse another bite from the Ancestral Master, Sect Master Xia would chime in with concern, “Oh come on, Mingyue, don’t be shy with the Ancestral Master. Eat a little more, be good.”

The more she ate, the more fruit peels he could get.

Su Mingyue’s scalp practically went numb as she was forced to swallow fruit after fruit.

Her stomach felt bloated, and her body was so full of Spiritual Energy it was almost spilling out.

Then, all at once, a wave of comfort washed over her, like she was basking in warm sunlight. An unprecedented power surged toward her dantian. She quickly focused, guiding the Spiritual Energy through several cycles. As it circulated, the energy spread outward from her body.

Su Mingyue stared blankly at her slender fingers still holding a piece of fruit.

Did she… just break through?

She was in the Golden Core Stage now???

And it had been at least a hundred times easier than any of her previous breakthroughs.

Sect Master Xia immediately jumped in with sycophantic enthusiasm. “Amazing! Mingyue, you broke through so effortlessly—truly a prodigy blessed by the heavens!”

The onlookers couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

This little junior sister had just devoured a mountain of rare treasures. If she hadn’t broken through easily, then all that would’ve been wasted on a dog.

If only they had been the ones eating… they’d have broken through too!