You can’t exactly call home and say, “Dad, Mom, I’ve recently started cultivating immortality, and I can eat enough food for a hundred people in one sitting. My living expenses aren’t enough—could you give me some more money?” The result would most likely be his parents sending him straight to a mental hospital.

Henry Clark isn’t stupid, of course he’d never say something like that. Besides, the option of asking his family for money was ruled out from the very beginning.

All in all, he’s still a filial and good son. He knows how hard his parents work for their money. Even though his family isn’t badly off, they’re not exactly wealthy either—his parents are just ordinary salaried workers. Even if they were willing to give, how much extra could they possibly provide each month?

If he wanted to embark on the path of cultivation, the amount of food he’d need would be outrageous. Relying on his parents’ help would be like a drop in the bucket.

Chapter 9: Dogged by Bad Luck

Besides, he could at least be considered to have set foot on the path of cultivation now. He’d never seen a real cultivator in real life, but he’d read plenty of web novels online.

Whether it’s fantasy or xianxia, which protagonist doesn’t achieve enlightenment and bring glory to their whole family? He’d never heard of a main character who, after gaining a miraculous encounter, still had to ask their parents for money.

You have to rely on yourself for everything. So, Henry Clark was extremely worried about his future living expenses.

Wealth, companions, methods, and location—wealth comes first. For cultivators, this usually refers to all kinds of rare treasures, but for Henry Clark, it was all about his future college living expenses.

Thinking about how, as his strength grew, he might one day eat a ton of food every day, Henry Clark’s liver ached just at the thought.

A ton—two thousand jin—even just buying rice would cost a fortune. Not to mention, to cultivate faster, he’d need a balanced diet: vegetables, fruit, eggs, meat, fish…

Just the cost of food for cultivation would be astronomical.

Henry Clark never imagined that one day, no matter how much he ate, he wouldn’t gain weight. For girls, that would be a happy problem, but for him…

Forget it, better not to think about it for now.

Right now, he was still too weak, so there was nothing he could do. In the future, once he made some progress in cultivation, there should be a solution.

A dignified cultivator—how could he be troubled by mundane money forever?

Enough thinking. Time for breakfast.

Henry Clark looked up, only to realize that, without noticing, he’d already arrived at a familiar corner.

What came into view was an unremarkable little shop.

Yu’s Private Kitchen!

The name was ordinary, nothing to complain about. Simply put, it was a small eatery run by someone with the surname Yu.

Since it’s called “private kitchen,” it was clear the owner was confident in their cooking skills. The food here should be pretty good.

And it was. It was still early, but by noon, there would always be a long line outside this little shop.

These days, there are more and more foodies. As long as a restaurant tastes good, it’ll never lack customers.

“So it’s here—what a coincidence.”

Looking at the sign for Yu’s Private Kitchen, a complicated expression appeared on Henry Clark’s face. Everything has its cause and effect. The reason he’d inexplicably started on the path of cultivation could be traced back to that strange dream.

But why did he have such a dream?

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Thinking it over, it was all intricately connected to that takeout order he’d placed that day.

He’d found a ring in his takeout, and that ring had melted and fused into his hand. Only then did he start having those strange dreams about cultivation.

In other words, Yu’s Private Kitchen was the place where his fate had changed.

A complicated look flashed across Henry Clark’s face. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have left such a detailed, two-hundred-character negative review with pictures.

Thanks to him, Yu’s Private Kitchen’s business had quieted down a lot, and the owner didn’t have to work day and night anymore… He just didn’t know, if he were recognized, would the owner be grateful, or would they rush over to beat him up?

Maybe he should delete the negative review?

Henry Clark’s fine habit of correcting his mistakes kicked in. He took out his phone, opened the takeout app, and was about to do it, when a crisp voice reached his ears.

“Henry Clark, you’re here too? That’s great!”

Henry Clark’s expression froze. He turned around with some difficulty, only to see a fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged girl in his line of sight—youthful and radiant, drawing countless stares from passersby.

Over ninety percent of people turned to look.

But Henry Clark was shocked, a wary look appearing on his face.

The girl’s name was Grace Bennett, also from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, in a different class from Henry Clark.

There weren’t many girls in science and engineering, and even fewer who were fair-skinned and beautiful. Grace Bennett was the goddess in the eyes of all the boys in the materials department… except for Henry Clark.

It wasn’t that Henry Clark’s taste was different from others. In his eyes, Grace Bennett was definitely an eighty-plus-point beauty.

Not a stunning beauty, but still pleasing to the eye.

But Henry Clark always kept his distance.

It was a sad story.

He didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but Henry Clark found that his fate seemed to clash with this long-legged girl… Every time he ran into her, nothing good happened.

He remembered the first time they met, Henry Clark stepped into thin air and fell into an open manhole without a cover.