The morning mist of Qingniu Academy wrapped around the scent of fresh wheat. Xiaotao was finally performing the Tai Chi sword routine with some semblance of form—though her "cloud hands" still looked like she was kneading dough, at least she didn't flip over the steamer basket when wrapping up the stance. The Protagonist stood under the couplet by the door and nodded; the four characters "Never Stray from the Original Aspiration," stained yellow by garlic skins, looked as though they had been plated with a warm glow.
Morning Exercise: The Culinary God's "Graduation Ceremony"
"You've finally managed to get three-tenths of the essence into this set of 'Qingniu Tai Chi,'" the Protagonist said, handing over a glass sword tassel adorned with an Abacus Bead. Xiaotao had just taken it when she suddenly squatted down into a "scooping the moon from the sea" stance, only to pull out a freshly steamed bun from nowhere. "Look, Master! This move can double as a way to retrieve buns from the steamer!"
Huwa walked by munching on a garlic-scented flatbread, getting a face full of sesame seeds from Xiaotao's "Tai Chi bun-splitting style." "You call this graduation? You've clearly just unlocked a 'new Culinary God skill'!" The pet yak suddenly charged over, using its horns to butt the bun into a Tai Chi shape. Xiaotao's eyes lit up. "I know! From now on, whenever we practice the fist forms, we'll steam Tai Chi buns—left hand drawing a circle steams one half, right hand drawing a circle steams…
Chapter 587