Chapter 16: The Pudding War and the Astral Tomb
Location: The VIP Cafeteria – "The Golden Palate"
After the Monster Ecology class—where Jiang Chen received an immediate "S+" grade and an exemption from homework—the trio headed for lunch.
The Imperial University had five cafeterias. Four were for normal students. The fifth, "The Golden Palate," was reserved for the Top 10 Rankers and the Student Council. It served dishes made from A-Rank monster meat and Spirit Herbs.
"I smell sugar," Feng Xi announced, her nose twitching. She kicked the heavy oak doors open.
Inside, the atmosphere was refined. Elegant classical music played. Students in expensive silk uniforms ate with silver forks.
They all stopped and stared as Jiang Chen walked in, looking relaxed, while his two devastatingly beautiful wives scanned the room like predators.
"There!" Feng Xi pointed to the dessert counter.
Sitting on a velvet pillow under a glass dome was a single, wobbling, golden pudding.
[Item Analysis]
[Golden Slime Essence Pudding]
[Grade: A-Rank]
[Effect: Permanently increases Mana Capacity by 1%. Limited to 1 per day.]
"Mine," Feng Xi declared. She flashed across the room, leaving a trail of light. She snatched the pudding, glass dome and all.
"Hey!"
A voice shouted from a nearby table.
A young man with crimson hair and eyes like burning coals stood up. He wore a uniform embroidered with a Phoenix crest—but a red fire phoenix, not a solar one.
This was Zhu Yan, the Third Prince of the Capital's Royal Family (Rank S - Fire Mage).
"That pudding was reserved for me!" Zhu Yan snarled, his hand igniting with flames. "Put it down, Freshman."
Feng Xi looked at the Prince. She looked at the pudding.
Gulp.
She swallowed it whole. Without chewing.
"Burp," Feng Xi patted her stomach. "It tastes like victory."
The cafeteria went dead silent. Zhu Yan's face turned the color of his hair.
"You... you dare?" Zhu Yan roared. "Do you know who I am? I am of the Royal Bloodline! I possess the Fire Phoenix Spirit!"
Feng Xi tilted her head. "Fire Phoenix?"
She leaned forward, sniffing him. Then she sneezed.
"Ew," Feng Xi wrinkled her nose. "You smell like a burnt chicken. You aren't a Phoenix. You're a spicy pigeon."
"PIGEON?!"
Zhu Yan exploded. Literally. A pillar of red fire blasted the roof off the cafeteria.
"I will incinerate you!" Zhu Yan launched a massive fireball straight at Feng Xi's face.
It was an S-Rank spell. Enough to melt a tank.
Feng Xi didn't dodge. She opened her mouth.
"Thanks for the second course!"
WHOOSH.
She inhaled the fireball. The S-Rank spell vanished down her throat. She swallowed, hiccuped a puff of smoke, and looked disappointed.
"Not spicy enough," she critiqued. "Do you have any S-Rank fire? This tastes like microwave leftovers."
Zhu Yan froze. His strongest attack... was eaten?
Jiang Chen sighed, walking over to the table. He grabbed a napkin and wiped Feng Xi's mouth.
"Stop eating people's attacks, Feng Xi. It's bad table manners."
He looked at the trembling Prince Zhu Yan.
"Send the bill to the Jiang Estate," Jiang Chen said dismissively. "And next time, order takeout. My wife doesn't share."
"You..." Zhu Yan gritted his teeth, humiliated. He drew a flaming sword. "I challenge you to a Duel! Right now!"
"Enough."
A voice echoed through the cafeteria. It wasn't loud, but it felt like the gravity in the room increased tenfold.
An old man in a wheelchair rolled out from the kitchen. He was holding a mop. He looked frail, his skin spotted with age, but his eyes were like swirling galaxies.
Dean Star. (Rank: EX - The Void Walker).
"This is a cafeteria, not an arena," Dean Star wheezed. "Zhu Yan, sit down. You lost the moment she ate your fire."
Zhu Yan paled. "Dean Star! But—"
"Sit."
Zhu Yan sat. Immediately.
Dean Star rolled his wheelchair toward Jiang Chen. He looked at Mo You, then at Feng Xi, and finally settled his gaze on Jiang Chen.
"Interesting," the Dean murmured. "The Abyss. The Sun. And the Container."
Jiang Chen stiffened. 'He sees it.'
"Jiang Chen," Dean Star said. "Come to my office after lunch. We need to discuss your... curriculum. Specifically, the Void Defense class."
The Dean rolled away.
"Oh, and Feng Xi?" The Dean called back. "The pudding cost 50,000 credits. Don't forget to pay."
Location: The Dean's Office – The Astral Tower
The office was located at the very top of the highest floating island. The walls were transparent, offering a 360-degree view of the Capital.
Dean Star sat behind a desk made of meteorite iron.
"I won't beat around the bush," Dean Star said, lacing his fingers together. "I know about the Grandmist."
Jiang Chen's hand went to Nightfall. Mo You stepped out of his shadow, dagger ready.
"Relax," Dean Star chuckled. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have teleported you into the sun five minutes ago."
The Dean tapped his desk. A holographic map appeared. It showed the Solar System. But on the edge, near Pluto, there was a red tear in space.
"The Void Invasion is accelerating," Dean Star said grimly. "The Luo Clan incident in Shanghai was just a probe. The real army is gathering here. The Gate of Entropy."
"Why tell me?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Because you are the only one who can close it," Dean Star looked him in the eye. "The Grandmist Energy is the only thing that can neutralize Void Energy permanently. Everyone else—even me—can only push it back. You can delete it."
Jiang Chen looked at the map. "I'm SS-Rank. I can't fly to Pluto yet."
"No. But you need to prepare."
Dean Star swiped the map, changing it to an image of a shattered planet floating in a pocket dimension.
"This is Dungeon 001: The Astral Tomb," Dean Star explained. "It is the remains of a planet consumed by the Void a thousand years ago. The University controls the entrance."
Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. "A dead planet?"
"Yes. It is rich in Star Metal and Cosmic Dust."
Jiang Chen remembered his Territory Upgrade requirements. Star Metal.
"I need to go there," Jiang Chen said instantly.
"I figured," Dean Star slid a black keycard across the desk. "This is a Level 5 Access Pass. Usually restricted to Professors. I'm giving it to you as a 'Freshman Scholarship'."
"What's the catch?"
"The catch," Dean Star's expression darkened, "is that we lost contact with our research team inside the Tomb three days ago. S-Rank professors. Gone."
"So it's a rescue mission?"
"It's a investigation," Dean Star corrected. "If they are dead, bring back their ID tags. If they are... corrupted... bring back their heads."
Jiang Chen took the card.
"Star Metal and a murder mystery," Jiang Chen stood up. "Sounds like a field trip."
"Be careful, Jiang Chen," Dean Star warned. "The Astral Tomb has low gravity and zero atmosphere. And... there are things in there that eat light."
"Good thing I have a flashlight," Jiang Chen patted Feng Xi's head.
Location: The Astral Tomb – Entrance
The entrance to Dungeon 001 was a massive Stargate located in the basement of the Academy.
Jiang Chen stood before the swirling blue vortex. He was wearing a new combat suit—The Void Walker Suit (SS-Rank)—gifted by the Dean. It provided oxygen and pressure regulation.
Mo You and Feng Xi didn't need suits. Their bodies were conceptually immortal.
"Are we ready?" Jiang Chen asked.
"I sense delicious metal," Mo You licked her lips. "Star Metal tastes like mint."
"I sense ghosts!" Feng Xi shivered excitedly. "Can I burn ghosts?"
"Only the bad ones," Jiang Chen said.
He stepped into the gate.
ZAP.
The world shifted.
Gravity vanished.
They were floating in space.
Around them, massive chunks of a shattered planet drifted in the void. The sky was a tapestry of distant stars and purple nebulas. It was beautiful and terrifying.
[Entered Dungeon: The Astral Tomb]
[Environmental Hazard: Vacuum (Rank A)]
[Gravity: 0.1G]
Jiang Chen activated his mag-boots, landing on a large asteroid with a metallic clang.
"Look," Mo You pointed.
Floating in the distance was a ruined space station, tethered to the largest asteroid fragment. The lights were flickering.
And swarming around the station were hundreds of creatures. They looked like manta rays made of starlight and bone.
[Monster: Astral Ray]
[Rank: A+]
[Ability: Phase Shift (Immune to physical damage 50% of the time)]
"Hundreds of A-Rank monsters," Jiang Chen grinned, drawing Nightfall. "This is going to be a point feast."
"Husband," Feng Xi floated upside down, her hair defying gravity. "There is something else."
She pointed deeper into the asteroid belt.
There, resting on a throne made of dead starships, sat a creature. It was humanoid, twenty meters tall, wearing armor made of black holes.
[Boss Detected: The Stellar Lich]
[Rank: SS (Elite)]
[Loot Drop: Heart of the Star (Star Metal Core)]
"That's him," Jiang Chen's eyes glowed purple. "That's my Territory Upgrade."
"He looks tough," Mo You critiqued. "He is channeling the gravity of this entire sector."
"Plan?" Feng Xi asked.
Jiang Chen kicked off the asteroid, propelling himself toward the swarm.
"Plan A," Jiang Chen laughed, his voice transmitted via mana. "We crash the party."
[Grandmist Art: Sovereign's Gravity.]
Jiang Chen didn't fight the zero-G environment. He commanded it.
He increased his own gravitational pull to that of a neutron star.
WHOOSH.
Hundreds of Astral Rays were sucked toward him uncontrollably.
"Dinner time, ladies!"
Mo You and Feng Xi launched themselves into the swarm.
The Battle for the Star Metal had begun.