The Spirit Chef Alliance naturally wasn’t capable of inviting Ao Ling over.

Who was Ao Ling? She was the Dragon Tribe’s ancient ancestor and the strongest half-immortal. Among demons, her prestige was second only to the Qilin Immortal, far beyond what Zhu Tian could compare to.

Lu Yang had been fortunate enough to awaken Ao Ling in the East Sea and was qualified to meet with her. But how could the Spirit Chef Alliance have such an ability? Moreover, there was no need to bring Ao Ling here to distinguish truth from falsehood. Lu Yang’s reputation and identity were sufficient to prove everything.

If Lu Yang said this was the Everlasting Immortal Fruit, then it was the Everlasting Immortal Fruit.

“So Lu Yang is also a spirit chef?” The audience had yet to recover from the revelation of Lu Yang’s identity.

“Of course. Have you forgotten? Sect Leader Qiu of the Five-Elements Sect praised Lu Yang’s culinary skills effusively!”

“Hold on, do you remember the Battle of the Sword Tower?”

“The battle between the Heaven Mandate Corpse and the mysterious immortal. Of course, we remember. What about it?”

“I know a sword cultivator who participated in the Sword-Seeking Ceremony. According to him, before the mysterious immortal appeared, Lu Yang told the Heaven Mandate Corpse that he had obtained the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s legacy!”

“It all matches up, everything fits! Lu Yang is the Successor of the Immortal Chef!”

The audience discussed fervently, finally believing Yun Mengmeng’s words. With the identity as the Successor of the Immortal Chef alone, Lu Yang held absolute authority within the Spirit Chef Alliance.

“See? What did I say? I told you he was the Successor of the Immortal Chef!” Seeing more and more people acknowledging her Second-in-Command’s abilities, Yun Mengmeng was happy for Lu Yang.

“So he is Lu Yang. He’s indeed extraordinary.” Daoist Priest Mingyuan gazed at Lu Yang. His original intention in inviting Lu Yang had been to publicize the Spirit Chef Competition. Never did he expect Lu Yang to become a competing spirit chef.

Liu Xing wasn’t certain what this half of a golden fruit was either, so he could only consult Daoist Priest Mingyuan. Soon, Liu Xing returned and announced the final results.

“Granny Poison is eliminated. Xie Qi, Lu Yang, and An Tong will advance to the final round!”

Granny Poison hung her head dejectedly. She had roughly guessed this outcome when Lu Yang appeared.

Two Great Xia bailiffs appeared and placed shackles on her hands and feet, escorting her back to Great Xia to continue serving her sentence.

“Wait, big brothers, could I watch the final round?” Granny Poison pleaded. Although her nickname was “Granny Poison,” she was also a spirit chef who loved good food. She absolutely had to watch this final showdown between the top five-star spirit chefs.

The two Great Xia officials discussed. Returning this early would just mean receiving new assignments anyway; there was indeed no need for them to rush. They might as well stay and watch the competition before heading back.

Although they didn’t understand the Spirit Chef Competition, they also wanted to witness the legendary Lu Yang in action.

~~~

“Alliance Leader, it seems most of the spirit chefs entering the third round are Jin Tan’s people.” Liu Xing noticed that the situation was unfavorable to Daoist Priest Mingyuan and voiced his concerns.

“Aside from Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, who will likely win, the situation in the other four categories looks grim.”

Jin Tan only needed to redeem four ingredients to make his ultimate dish.

“No matter. I see a promising little fellow in the two-star spirit chef category,” Daoist Priest Mingyuan remarked cheerfully, as if he was completely unconcerned about Jin Tan.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the five-star spirit chef category; few watched the two-star spirit chefs’ competition.

The two-star spirit chef category was the first to proceed to the third round—the dish competition. The theme was “fish is not fish.”

Young Master Wu looked at the dazed Song Tianjing and secretly snickered.

Have you noticed, brat? The pufferfish you picked has been poisoned with my Five Poisons. Even if you have the Hundred Poisons Sacred Body and can’t get poisoned, what about the judges? Won’t they be poisoned?

When that time comes, you’ll be disgraced as a spirit chef with no chance of turning things around, while I’ll seize the championship and win the beauty!

You have only yourself to blame for offending this young master!

Song Tianjing had noticed that his pufferfish was poisoned by Young Master Wu. But he wasn’t in a daze because he was thinking of a way out of the situation; he was wondering whether this was a dream or reality.

The events from his dream were unfolding one by one. Those hadn’t felt like a dream but a premonition of the future.

Could this mean that after revealing that I possess the Comprehensive Culinary Compendium, I’ll be hunted down by the Spirit Chef Alliance?

Although I’ll evade the pursuit, obtain the complete legacy of Comprehensive Culinary Compendium, defeat the Spirit Chef Alliance Leader, and become the new alliance leader, along the way, Qian’er will be poisoned, my younger brother will take a blade for me, and the elder brother who once hunted me down but was later reformed will lose an arm in the final confrontation, and my sworn brothers will escape the Spirit Chef Alliance only to still be unable to escape their fates...

As long as I avoid being hunted down by the Spirit Chef Alliance, all these futures can be avoided!

I will rewrite the future!

“That’s a good look in his eyes,” Daoist Priest Mingyuan remarked, though he didn’t understand why Song Tianjing looked ready for a heroic sacrifice.

The first dish in the Comprehensive Culinary Compendium was called “Pearl Fish Soup.” Its main ingredients were fish and the Five Poisons. Young Master Wu’s poisoning of the fish had inadvertently helped Song Tianjing.

The second dish was called “Eight-Treasure Chicken Duck Fish.” It required the fish bones from the Pearl Fish Soup as a dish primer to bring out all the flavors of the second dish.

However, he couldn’t follow the exact recipe for the Eight-Treasure Chicken Duck Fish now. Even making a dish too similar could arouse suspicion.

I’ve obtained a forbidden book, and being exposed will make me an enemy of the Spirit Chef Alliance. I suppose this is what they mean by “you gain some, you lose some.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The Eight-Treasure Chicken Duck Fish required thirty-six ingredients, and the preparation process was extremely complex. What he needed to do was drastically modify the recipe.

Ancestors of Essence-Nourishing Tower, please bless your descendants!

If my ancestors could recreate some dishes from the incomplete Comprehensive Culinary Compendium, I can also recreate dishes from the complete one.

Why must people of today be inferior to those of the past?!

Within the Spirit Chef Alliance, flame control techniques were divided into five tiers: entry level, proficiency, minor mastery, major mastery, and great perfection.

As Song Tianjing’s cultivation advanced to the Advanced Foundation Establishment Stage, his flame control technique had also undergone a transformation, reaching the Proficiency Tier!

With one hand, Song Tianjing controlled the flame to simmer the fish soup to a rich white; with the other, he finely chopped the supporting ingredients to better bring out the flavors.

When the last grain of sand fell in the hourglass, Song Tianjing finally completed his “Three-Treasure Chicken Duck Fish.”

Young Master Wu was the second to last to finish. He had absolute confidence in his abilities. Song Tianjing can’t possibly beat me!

He lifted the cover of his dish, and blinding light rays shot out. When the light faded, what lay on the judges’ plates were small golden ingots.

The five judges included professional spirit chefs, gourmands, and ordinary people. They picked up a golden ingot, and their eyes widened in astonishment.

“This is a deep-fried jiaozi!”

“No, it’s more than that. The wrapper isn’t made from flour. It’s made from fish skin!”

“The filling is a mixture of diced squid and minced pork. The pork accounts for only a small portion, serving primarily as a binding agent!”

“Fish is not fish... Indeed, fish is not fish!”

Young Master Wu cupped his fists and smiled modestly as he introduced his dish. “This is my Golden Fish Skin Jiaozi!”

“Golden Fish Skin Jiaozi. It’s not bad indeed.”

The five judges nodded one after another. This was clearly a level above the previous three.

Song Tianjing lifted the cover of his dish, revealing a whole old duck. But there was no radiant light, and it didn’t look as impressive as Young Master Wu’s.

“This is my Three-Treasure Ruyi Soup.”

Song Tianjing cut open the duck, revealing an old hen stuffed inside. The fragrant aroma whetted the judges’ appetites.

They eagerly drank the soup, their faces showing surprise.

Young Master Wu sneered. They’ve discovered the poison, have they?

But to Young Master Wu’s shock, the judges, who had only taken a single bite of the previous dishes, began drinking the soup mouthful after mouthful, faster and faster.

The judges closed their eyes, savoring the shock and satisfaction this soup brought them.

They felt surrounded by chicken, duck, and fish, sensing their vibrant vitality. Although no fish was visible, the aroma of fish slowly seeped into the soup, dissolving in their mouths. Their blood seemed to turn into seawater, with countless fish swimming through it.

The lead judge was the champion of the two-star spirit chef category from two tournaments ago. He nodded to the other four, and without a word, they reached a unanimous decision.

He stood up and announced the result.

“I declare the champion of the two-star spirit chef category to be Song Tianjing!”

On Song Tianjing’s armband, the two black stars were covered by dazzling gold!