Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 132: The Last Dish

Southern hot pot focuses on its base ingredients, with the flavors melding in the pot, while northern hot pot relies on dipping sauces, with the flavors caught in the bowl, yet Chen Nuo mastered both.

Despite its spiciness, Ao Ling adapted quite well, showing only a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead.

The spiciness seemed to clear her body quite a bit.

Swallowing her saliva, she felt as if it let her savor the taste once more, having eaten just a slice, yet her internal desire intensified.

Clearing her throat tentatively, she couldn’t resist, and Ao Ling reached out with her chopsticks towards the meat platter again.

Snap!

Before Ao Ling could touch it, her delicate hand was struck by Chen Nuo’s chopsticks.

Ao Ling winced in pain, quickly withdrawing her hand with a hint of grievance in her heart. Didn’t her master say she could eat?

Why did she still get hit?

"Ah, that was just a taste test. Eating now isn’t free," Chen Nuo spoke indifferently, savoring a slice of meat and greens with delight.

Meat and vegetables in balance, and not greasy. But scoring free food from him was virtually impossible!

"I’ll pay!" Ao Ling hurriedly said, pulling out a gold coin.

Good lord, she was indeed wealthy.

Chen Nuo nodded secretly. Though Dragon Palace was minor in strength, it had some wealth, especially in mortal wealth, which, of course, had nothing to do with strength.

There was no helping it, since the Dragon Clan had a natural love for luxury, especially shiny things.

Chen Nuo shook his head and pointed to the Crystal Ball positioned on the new counter. "Place your hand on that, it’ll tell you something."

Ao Ling stepped forward, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the Crystal Ball. So big, so shiny!

A longing appeared on the beautiful face of Ao Ling. The ball was so pretty; she really wanted to take it.

Reaching out her hands towards the Crystal Ball, her actions seemed less like paying and more like a small thief.

However, as soon as she touched the Crystal Ball and received the information, Ao Ling’s mindset shattered.

This thing demanded her to pay with a gemstone she treasured like a prized possession!

No, that was absolutely not happening!

Ao Ling shook her head as if it were a bobblehead, her stance very firm. Each gem had been carefully selected and treasured after a long accumulation.

She would feel better just by looking at them occasionally; she wasn’t about to bend her morals for some food!

However, she inadvertently glanced at Chen Nuo, and just this one look made it impossible to look away.

Is that... prawns?

Her favorite prawns were also available to be tossed into the mix?

Watching the prawns turn an enticing red, Ao Ling felt her heart race.

The meat was already delicious, but if it were her favorite prawns, wouldn’t that be...

Maybe, just try it?

After a moment of internal struggle, Ao Ling yielded to her hunger. After all, she still had many gemstones; she’d use a less perfect one just this once.

It’s fine, just this meal and no harm done.

Ao Ling mentally cheered herself on and then reluctantly took out a small gemstone, placing it on the Crystal Ball.

After watching the gemstone disappear, Ao Ling knew she had successfully paid, putting all thoughts aside, with only two words left in her mind: Chow down!

Taking two steps as one, Ao Ling hurried to the table and sat down, excitedly asking, "Master, may I eat now?"

Chen Nuo nodded.

With joy written all over her face, Ao Ling couldn’t wait to grab a prawn and drop it into the spicy pot, proficiently swishing easily cooked slices of meat and vegetables.

Her tongue tingled delightfully spicy, utterly adorable.

But Ao Ling didn’t want to stop; it was simply too thrilling. After waiting a good long while, the prawn was ready.

Licking his lips excitedly, Ao Ling scooped up a big shrimp and gently blew on it by his mouth before skillfully peeling it. The bright red shrimp flesh was then completely exposed.

Unable to wait, he dipped it in ginger sauce and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes immediately lit up.

Mmm! So delicious!

It not only retained the taste of the shrimp but, with the seasoning of the sauce and spicy soup, it became wonderfully flavorful. It was a lingering taste that tantalized the palate!

Ao Ling instantly entered foodie mode.

Chen Nuo’s lips curled into a proud smile, "With such little resolve, did he really think he could skip a meal?"

However,

Although the dish was tasty, it wasn’t easy for one to awaken their Divine Skills.

According to information from the system, perhaps because he didn’t need to cook it himself, even if he ate this hotpot, the probability of awakening Divine Skills was very low.

It was far less than the previous dishes.

Who knows what kind of outlandish luck one would need to awaken Divine Skills by eating hotpot?

Chen Nuo thought to himself and also began devouring the food, since, after all, he himself could not awaken any Divine Skills.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court, the final dish was presented. As he watched the row of Immortal Attendants approaching, Tian Peng complained, "This is really slow."

However, he was soon distracted by the odd-shaped pots held by the Immortal Attendants.

"What is that?" Tian Peng asked curiously.

Nezha shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Who knows? When it comes to eating, you’re the expert here."

Although it was meant as a jibe, Tian Peng took it as a compliment and puffed out his chest.

"I don’t deserve such praise," Tian Peng chuckled, clearly taking it as a compliment.

As the Immortal Attendant approached closer, they placed a cooking pot on each table, which took a good deal of effort when it came to Maitreya Buddha’s turn.

After all, the gaps between ten tables were quite narrow, and it wasn’t easy to place a cooking pot on each.

"Thank you," Maitreya Buddha said politely, struggling to lean over with a pair of chopsticks to reach into the pot.

There was nothing there!

Maitreya Buddha fished out nothing but solitude.

Looking at the separated soup in the pot, red and white, he was quite puzzled. Could this be for drinking?

Without hesitation, Maitreya Buddha picked up a bowl nearby, scooped several spoonfuls from the pot—five spoonfuls each of the white and the red.

He carefully stirred it in the bowl. After thoroughly mixing it, Maitreya Buddha picked up the bowl, fanned it gently with one hand, and leaned in to smell it.

Quite stylish, he then gulped it down!

"Cough, cough!" Immediately, Maitreya Buddha nearly met Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

The salty and spicy taste almost exploded in his throat, rendering the soup undrinkable.

Maitreya Buddha’s face showed pain as he coughed harshly, choking embarrassingly.

He quickly grabbed some clear water from the side and gulped it down, feeling slightly better—a sight that even astonished the Immortal Attendant bringing up the charcoal.

Maitreya Buddha was too brave, wasn’t he?

That thing was intensely red, obviously exceedingly spicy, not meant for drinking!

Stepping forward, charcoal was added to the cooking pot, and subsequent Immortal Attendants did the same.

"This pot is quite interesting," Nezha commented, intrigued by the pot now heated with charcoal.

Tian Peng looked at Maitreya Buddha’s distressed state across from him, then at the heated cooking pot, and hesitated, "Could it be that this thing needs to be heated before it can be drunk?"

It was lucky that Maitreya Buddha went first; otherwise, he might have been the one making a fool of himself.

Since the Three Xiaos and the Golden Spirit were sitting together, they used two cooking pots among the four of them.

"This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a peculiarly shaped pot," Bixiao commented, warming her hands in front of the charcoal fire—quite comfortable.

Golden Spirit nodded, "Looking at this, could the final dish be a soup?"