Not long after Krune went to the kitchen, he asked Bai to take the customers' orders and list new ones. With that, the higher level Spiritual Dishes had finally come back to the Rainbow Restaurant once more, immediately causing an uproar. Those who knew Krune didn't waste time and asked for their dishes nonstop. As for those who didn't, they soon heard from the others about him.
"Let's go. Let's make everything for everyone. Hahahaha!"
Krune delightedly worked as he also watched Nina and Jilin work. Every now and then, he would give the two his opinions and point out their mistakes. However, Jilin and Nina had improved a lot since he was gone, so they were also able to give Krune quite a few new ideas.
Feifei just watched all of that from the corner of the kitchen. Nina thought she was there so she wouldn't try anything against Krune. However, Feifei was purely enjoying seeing everyone. After all, it's not every day that she and Krune got to relax like this.
Iem took the chance of him being already there and asked for a few dishes as well. A few hours later, Krune's restaurant was jampacked with customers. Sure enough, the word that he had come back quickly spread, bringing all of his old customers back.
It wasn't before night time that Bai finally closed the doors, not allowing anyone to enter anymore. The customers waiting outside hated that, but Bai didn't care at all.
"We also need to rest, you know? Go home and come back tomorrow. That's all."
The customers who were still inside finished their dishes one after the other. As time passed, their numbers decreased until eventually, the last customer left, leaving only Krune's group behind. All the waiters couldn't help but finally sit and rest a little. Jilin, Nina, Jalo, and the others also did the same.
"Such a busy day..."
"That's the prestige of Chef Krune for you."
"Well, our wage is based on the sales. So the more, the better."
"That's true."
Krune smiled before returning to the kitchen. Thirty or so minutes later, he had prepared a bunch of Divinity Stars dishes for everyone in the restaurant. The old employees had already expected that. As for the new ones, they were delighted to see that. Feifei and Iem also joined the group.
"Thank you, Chef Krune!"
Krune nodded, not minding it at all.
"It's fine. Let's eat."
Everyone nodded.
"So, tell me, how have things been during the years I was out?"
Bai, Nina, and Jilin then began to recount the things they went through. Not everything was sunshine and rainbows. Problems also came and went. Sometimes it was the restaurant, other times, it was the dishes. There were a few customers causing trouble from time to time as well. Nevertheless, it wasn't anything they couldn't deal with.
Hearing everything, Krune nodded, satisfied.
"It seems like my presence here is completely unnecessary already. Hahaha!"
Nina and Jilin immediately shook their heads.
"Definitely not! We would like for Chef Krune to stay with us forever!"
Krune shook his head in response.
"That won't happen. At some point, I'll need to leave again. Then again, I'll probably stay around during the next few years, so you better be ready to cope with me."
Lino, Nina's brother, couldn't help but ask.
"Where are you going after this, Krune?"
"I can't tell you that."
Nina then asked something else.
"Can I go as well? Please?"
Feifei laughed after hearing that.
"Keep dreaming, little girl. Do you think I would let you stay close to my Krune for that long?"
Of course, Feifei was just pouring oil in the fire since she found it funny. It's just that Nina couldn't tell that it was the case.
"Hmph! That's not for you to decide. Right, Master?"
Krune shrugged his shoulders as he replied.
"You can go wherever you want to go. However, you won't be able to follow me. Simply put, you don't have the cultivation necessary for that. Besides, there are many dangers in our path. You're not someone used to battle, let alone killing. That being said, I can't allow you to come with us."
Nina didn't give up.
"What if I focus completely on cultivation?"
Iem was the one to shook his head.
"It's not that simple. Your cultivation speed will never match Krune, Feifei, or mine. Considering your pace at the moment, you would take over two hundred years at the very least to just reach the Peak of the Divinity Realm. Let alone the Peak of the Transformation Realm, which is the level that Krune, Feifei, and I need."
Nina felt dejected, but there was nothing she could do about that. It was simply a problem of talent. Also, she didn't have a Heavenly Core or a Major Divine Soul like Krune's group. Nina was, after all, just an ordinary girl.
Lino looked at that and asked.
"Then, how long will you take to reach the Peak of the Transformation Realm?"
Krune and Feifei then looked at Iem, who was already in the second stage. He would have a better idea about the time necessary since he also had a Heavenly Core and used the Myriad Energies Technique. Not to mention the Soul Cultivation Technique and the fact that he was a Heavenly Race member.
"Hmm... I would say that it would take at least twenty years for us to reach that level."
Feifei couldn't help but exclaim.
"That quick?! Krune and I took much longer than that to reach the peak of the Divinity Realm."
Krune understood why and told Feifei through a Divine Sense Message.
'It's because this is the Godly Path Realm. Even though we used up a lot of Godly Stones since we had that much in the Mortal Realm, that was still a Spiritual Energy-inclined place. It can never compare to what we can do in the realms above.'
Feifei then calmed down and nodded.
'I understand.'
Lino and the others noticed that Feifei and Krune were talking secretively but didn't say anything. Everyone had their secrets, and perhaps that topic had something they couldn't tell in the open.
The problem was that Krune had mentioned the Mortal Realm. No one knew that Krune went down in the past. Even Nina and Jilin only saw Krune leaving through that portal. They didn't know where it sent him.
Krune then looked at the stairs that connected to the next floor before asking.
"Nina, Jilin, is anyone living in the restaurant at the moment?"
Nina scratched the back of her head before saying.
"After Chef Krune left, I moved with my brother up there. However, there's no need to worry. The two of us will leave immediately."
Krune smiled before shaking his head.
"It's fine, it's fine. I just need to build a new floor."
"Build a new floor? Don't you need the City Management's approval to change the structures of the building in the commercial area?"
Krune was taken aback.
"You need something like that?"
Nina and Jilin nodded as one of them replied.
"You do. Otherwise, everyone would go overboard, making the city look too chaotic."
Iem and Feifei laughed after hearing that.
"That's fine. All we need to do is create a separate dimension connected to the stairs. That way, we can have a lot of space without changing the outside structure."
Iem nodded.
"The Formations Guild use this kind of set up everywhere in their building."
Feifei's eyes lit up as she looked at Iem.
"Iem, I'll have you bring me to that guild later. I won't accept a refusal."
Iem didn't mind, of course.
"Sure. However, let's take care of the extra dimension first."
Feifei and Iem then got up and moved to the next floor. As for Krune, he just stayed at the table with everyone else.
"Is it fine to let them do whatever they want? Shouldn't you be looking at it as well, Chef Krune?"
Krune shrugged his shoulders as he said.
"I'll just get in their way. I had only practiced formations for a very limited time when I was very young. However, I didn't have the time to do it anymore, so I stopped. However, Feifei and Iem had focused on it the majority of their lives, so they're more than capable enough of making it work. I trust them on it."
Jilin then thought about a problem.
"But what about the Godly Energy necessary to keep the formations working?"
Krune laughed.
"I'm even less worried about that. Considering that it's those two, they'll definitely make something that can work with the surrounding Godly Energy alone."
Everyone looked at Krune and then nodded. Since Krune was that certain, they didn't say anything else. Around one hour later, everyone finished their dishes and helped clean the restaurant before leaving. In the end, only Krune, Feifei, Iem, Nina, and Lino stayed behind.
Not too long after that, Feifei and Iem came down from the stairs, talking with one another.
"Iem, that method of expanding the dimensional realm is amazing. I didn't think Godly Energy could be used like that."
Iem nodded.
"I didn't know either. I only learned about it after I arrived here. Don't worry, you're very skilled yourself. You will get used to it after you visit the Formations Guild here in the city."
Krune smiled at the two before asking.
"I guess the expansion formation worked pretty well, right?"
Feifei confirmed.
"It did. If nothing wrong happens, it should sustain itself for a few hundred years on its own."
Iem then stretched his body a bit before saying.
"Alright, I'm going back to the sect. If you need something, let me know."
Krune and the others nodded.
"Let us head out as well. See you tomorrow, Nina."
Krune and Feifei then left for the new spatial area of the building, leaving Nina and Lino alone.
"Sister, it's quite hard for me to say it, but... I don't think you stand a chance at all."
Nina sighed and didn't say anything before she also went upstairs with Lino.