"I can smell it."

Jiang Lu said with a look of utter delight.

Huanfeng stared blankly at his advisor, not understanding what he meant by those words.

"Master, what do you smell?"

Jiang Lu looked at him with disdain and said, "With this level of skill, you still have the nerve to come to the Mountain Peak Cottage to eat every day? What do you mean by smelling? Of course, it's the rich aroma of the next dish. I estimate the second dish will be served in about 3 minutes. But it's normal that you can't smell it with your trash nose."

Huanfeng glanced down at the Cantonese-style pickled plum duck he had eaten, which was about two-thirds of the way through. According to the usual practice at Shandian Xiaozhu, the next dish would usually be served when only about one-fifth remained. And indeed, it had been about three minutes.

But this is clearly a natural phenomenon; what does it have to do with the nose and smell?

Seeing the strategist's inscrutable expression, Huanfeng decisively chose to remain silent. Interrupting elders while they're showing off could result in being interrupted himself. Whether it's a broken hand, leg, or back depends on the level of the elder's anger.

"Master, you're amazing! All I ever thought about was eating and eating, and I never even considered the next dish."

The disciples who had come along to freeload shouted, "Grandmaster is mighty!"

Jiang Lu admonished Huanfeng, saying, "How can you only look at what's in front of you? You must always think about what's next! Eating is the same as cultivation. You all need to remember this."

After saying that, he picked up another piece of duck meat and ate it.

Having been scolded for no reason, Huanfeng channeled his grief and anger into his appetite, quickly devouring the duck leg meat on his plate. The disciples, on the other hand, didn't have so many thoughts. They were all shrewd and kept their mouths and ears shut, pretending to be deaf and mute unless absolutely necessary.

Just as the group had eaten about a fifth of the food, there was a knock on the door of the private room. Jiang Lu's face immediately switched to an expression of "I knew it."

Jiang Lu looked somewhat surprised when he saw Qi Ye walk in. After a moment of hesitation, he said uncertainly, "Young friend, has your Shu Mountain Sword Sect become so extravagant that you, a master like you, have to serve the dishes?"

After saying that, she glared at Huanfeng with dissatisfaction. The implication was clear: "Look at the Shu Mountain Sword Sect! People with that kind of strength are still serving dishes. In our sect, someone like that would already be a hall master or elder. How did you become the sect leader?"

Huanfeng felt that he was really wronged. In the entire cultivation world, the only sect that dared to use high-level cultivators to serve meals and water was the Shushan Sword Sect. Even the invincible Wanhua Sect could not do this!

Qi Ye replied with a smile, "My strength is still far from sufficient. By following Junior Uncle and learning more, my cultivation and combat power will improve much faster."

Jiang Lu remarked with admiration, "Many people know the principle that there is no end to learning, but it is truly commendable that someone as young as you has already achieved such mastery and remains so humble and eager to learn."

Qi Ye hurriedly waved his hand and said in a flustered manner, "Honored guest, please don't say that. In my Shu Mountain Sword Sect, who would dare to say they are young in front of Junior Uncle? If my fellow disciples knew what you said, they would definitely laugh at me to death."

Qi Ye thought that if his junior brothers found out what Jiang Lu said today, he might as well just find a place to bury himself.

Is a 50-something-year-old in the Fusion Realm very strong?

Junior Uncle is already in his twenties and can shatter the void at any time and even kill immortals with a flick of his wrist! What is there to be proud of with such a small achievement? Is it because the Shu Mountain Sword Sect has no one you care about that you dare to say such shameless things so recklessly?

The other disciples in the private room looked at Qi Ye with curiosity, puzzled. They wondered what realm this seemingly young man was at, that he could receive praise from the immortal ancestor, and that he seemed to resist the praise, though it didn't seem like sarcasm. This only made them more curious about Qi Ye's realm and age.

After Qi Ye left the private room, Jiang Lu didn't rush to lift the lid of the plate. Instead, he leisurely finished the last piece of duck leg meat.

Wiping his mouth, Jiang Lu said calmly, "What? Are you curious about that Shushan Sword Sect disciple? Want to ask about his cultivation level and age?"

The dozen or so disciples shouted in unison again, "Our Grandmaster is truly a master strategist!"

Huanfeng really wanted to slap himself in the face. How did his disciples become such a pathetic bunch?

Jiang Lu looked around and slowly said under the expectant gazes of everyone, "He is around fifty years old, with a margin of error of no more than two years. His cultivation level is at the middle stage of the Integration Realm. He is the one who was rumored to have defeated the Mahayana Realm cultivator in the Integration Realm of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect a while ago."

hiss……

All the disciples gasped in shock.

Of course they knew about that incident. They had heard of the legend of such an unparalleled hero who could win a one-sided battle against enemies from two different realms and had long regarded him as an idol. They had even put themselves in his shoes more than once, imagining what a cool, awesome, and awesome existence he must be.

However, because he didn't know much about the Shushan Sword Sect, he didn't know that the person he had just met was the legendary master.

In their minds, such a person would be someone eight meters tall with an eight-meter waist, clad in golden armor and wielding a divine sword, exuding boundless pressure at first glance. How could they possibly associate him with Qi Ye's current role as a servant, bringing him food and water?

"Does Grandmaster mean... that even the most peerless experts and geniuses can only serve tea and water at the Shu Mountain Sword Sect?"

"That's a peerless genius who could rival a Mahayana cultivator even at the Integration Realm! How could you just treat him like this?!"

“Master, how about we try to win him over? If that doesn’t work, we can offer him a vice sect leader position and then marry our junior sister to him. This kind of peerless genius is still so young. If we marry our junior sister to him, it will feel like an old woman feeding a young cow. If all else fails, we can offer him a few more junior sisters.”

Jiang Lu slammed his fist on a table and said, "I'm telling you this to tell you not to be so complacent about your genius titles. Compared to others, you're nothing. You're all so arrogant and haughty. What kind of achievements can you possibly have if you keep this kind of mentality?"

The disciples, having been reprimanded, sat upright and silent, none daring to refute. However, they were still somewhat resentful. After all, such prodigies were few in number, and with the endless delicacies of the mountain retreat, they felt they had already achieved a great deal through hard work without such luxuries. Moreover, compared to the disciples of other major sects, they absolutely did not consider themselves inferior.

Jiang Lu saw their dissatisfaction and sneered, "Don't be so unconvinced. Not to mention the disciples of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, even your master Huanfeng was far stronger than you at your age. His opponents were not as monstrous as the Shu Mountain Sword Sect. If you still have this mentality when competing with such people, you will only be able to die with regrets in your cave in the future!"