Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
The scene appeared weird and sluggish.
The screen seemed to be a little strange, and those people who did not know better thought that there was something wrong with the projection array, which had been set up to broadcast this year’s Magical Hand Conference.
Five grand master alchemists… Five highly respected grandmasters were gorging on skewers in front of everyone. Not just that, they were also snatching skewers from each other, right in front of the audience.
The flushed expressions they had while they ate was extremely embarrassing!
There were many alchemists who couldn’t control themselves and smacked their foreheads.
Duan Yun was somewhat speechless as he watched his senior sister An and his master snatch food from each other. Was it really that good? I am extremely embarrassed to be your junior brother and apprentice!
Bu Fang, however, seemed not to care at all. It was as though this outcome was within his expectations.
He had chosen to do a barbeque skewer in this round of the competition because he wanted to experiment. Originally, one had to cook each ingredient separately when making barbeque skewer. Although that was the most original way to make it, it was extremely easy for the spirit energy in the dish to dissipate.
Bu Fang had managed to obtain some inspiration from the Gourmet Array. It made him realize that if he combined the barbeque with the Gourmet Array, they would complement each other.
As such, Bu Fang used crystals in place of charcoal to prepare the barbeque. Using his immense mental force, Bu Fang controlled the direction of the spirit energy, and it did not manage to leave the dish. The spirit energy was smooth and steady under Bu Fang’s control.
Furthermore, the disparity in the grades of the ingredients Bu Fang chose was not far off from each other. Even the amount of spirit energy in the ingredients was almost the same, and this resulted in an amplification of the fluctuation of spirit energy.
This was actually the key to setting up a Gourmet Array. Bu Fang’s barbeque skewer could be considered a simplified version of the Gourmet Array. Although it wasn’t anything too amazing, the effects were great. According to Bu Fang’s estimations, the effect caused by the combination of the nine dishes would be equal to a two-mark spirit pill.
Being able to use ingredients on the same grade as supreme beast meat to create a dish with the same effects as a two-mark spirit pill….was a horrifying thought beyond the imagination of the alchemists.
To the surprise of the audience, Bu Fang didn’t pack up his instruments; instead, he remained at his bronze platform and continued to place skewers to barbeque on the iron mesh covering the Black Turtle Constellation Wok.
Is he still cooking?
The audience recovered from their reveries and subconsciously turned their heads to look in the direction of Bu Fang’s platform.
This chef… Has he not achieved victory already? Why is he still cooking? Could it be that… he is addicted to grilling meat?
Of course, Bu Fang was not cooking because he was addicted to grilling meat; he was cooking because he did not wish to let his ingredients go to waste. He had prepared two portions of ingredients before the competition, and he would not waste them.
As such, Bu Fang continued to cook, and in just a short while, fragrant aromas filled the air again. It continued to spread and soon reached the audience.
On the judicators’ table, the five grandmasters had eaten till their faces turned red. They kept gasping for air and exhaling breaths of hot air.
Bu Fang brushed some Abyssal Chilli Sauce onto the skewers, and although it wasn’t a huge amount, it still made the skewers pretty spicy. If a skewer wasn’t spicy, what would be the point of eating it? Wouldn’t that be the same as eating salted fish?
“Wu… There is no more left?”
When the last piece entered Sorceress An Sheng’s mouth, the other six looked at each other; they had no idea what to do.
Suddenly, their noses began to twitch, having perceived a fragrant aroma in the air. A light flickered in their eyes, and they all turned to look at the stage.
That was when they spotted smoke rising in the sky as Bu Fang barbequed another batch of skewers.
The chief judge, who was supposed to stick close to them, had fled over to Bu Fang’s platform at a time unbeknownst to anyone. The area around his bloodshot eyes was still covered in black soot as tears dripped down his cheeks.
Bu Fang felt that something was off… Was this chief judge retarded? Why was he standing within the surging thick black smoke?
Could it be that there really were people in this world with a smoke fetish?
“Cough cough cough…” The chief judge coughed as he looked at the supreme beast meat Bu Fang was barbequing.
Bu Fang was stunned for a moment, but the corners of his lips soon curled upwards. He reached his hand out and randomly pulled out a stick of skewered meat. The supreme beast meat pierced by the skewer was golden and had oil dripping from it. It also emitted a dense aroma that reached the chief judge.
The chief judge’s eyes instantly lit up!
He immediately felt like crying. Sure enough, Bu Fang was the person who treated him the best!
The chief judge reached out his hand to grab the skewer, but his entire body suddenly froze.
A figure instantly appeared in front of him with a flicker and grabbed the skewer meant for him, and with a loud chomp, the figure bit into a large chunk of golden spirit beast meat, which was dripping oil.
“You have pretty good techniques for a chef, and the food is really good. Its taste really makes this old man unable to extricate himself! It’s much more delicious than the Multi-Taste Fasting pill!” Grand Master Gu He held the skewer in one hand as he spoke, with a smile on his face.
It was as though he completely didn’t notice the chief judge behind him, even though the chief judge was covered in black soot.
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Sorceress An Sheng appeared in front of Bu Fang and stared at the eggplant-like spirit herb on the iron mesh. Bu Fang used the brush to smear the spirit herb with Abyssal Chilli Sauce.
A dense fragrance surged from the finished barbeque, and it filled the area instantly. Sorceress An Sheng couldn’t help licking her lips. It complemented her charming appearance, even though she was filled with anticipation at that moment.
As the chief judge watched more people appear in front of him, his face gradually turned black.
He reached out his shivering hand slowly, and the edges of his mouth trembled. As he watched Grand Master Gu He chomp down on the supreme beast meat, he felt his heart shatter. He was so depressed, it became difficult for him to breathe.
The chief judge bit his lips and took a deep breath, but he began to choke and cough because smoke went up his nostrils. It made tears begin to stream down his face once more.
The audience was somewhat speechless… Why were they still eating?
This competition had originally started out seriously. Why did it suddenly turn into a farce?
When they saw Sorceress An Sheng eating with a joyful expression on her face, the audience began to wonder why she had not expressed any sadness after her defeat.
“Alright… There are no more ingredients, so I’m knocking off now.”
After the last skewer was snatched by a grand master, Bu Fang’s bronze platform was finally empty; he was finally done with the barbeque. He clapped his hands together and breathed a sigh of relief.
He wiped his wet palms and put away the Black Turtle Constellation Wok and his other items, then turned and calmly looked at the grandmasters, who had all eaten till their faces were red.
“That is it? You don’t have any more food? Come on… Keep barbequing skewers.” Grand Master Gu He glanced at Bu Fang in shock. His voice was laced with unwillingness.
“There are no more ingredients… Also, I don’t feel like barbequing anymore.” Bu Fang looked at Grand Master Gu He out of the corner of his eyes, then his lips curled upwards.
Had this old man become addicted?
“There are no more ingredients? I can provide ingredients… I have a stalk of divine spirit herbs here. You can grill that,” grand master Gu He said.
An Sheng, who was eating a meat skewer, began to choke. A few dry coughs escaped her lips, and she was left speechless after hearing her master speak without integrity.
Those were third-grade divine spirit herbs.
Using them to barbeque? How was he able to think of something like that?
“Oh… Take it out, and I’ll take a look.” Bu Fang’s interest seemed to have been roused. He did not possess many divine spirit herb, so this was a chance for him to widen his horizons.
Grand Master Gu He was shocked. A burst of dry laughter escaped his lips, and he quickly waved his hand in dismissal and said, “This old man can see that you are tired after this round of the competition. Next round… I’ll take them out in the next round.”
Bu Fang’s lips curled upwards, but he did not mind it too much. After packing up his stuff, he grabbed his advertisement board and looked at the several old men in front of him.
“Does this mean that I won this round?” Bu Fang calmly asked.
They looked at each other and nodded their heads in affirmation.
The taste of Bu Fang’s barbeque was excellent, and its effects were remarkable. The skewers were barbequed using a method similar to the “pill array”, and its effects were comparable to a two-mark spirit pill. This left them greatly shocked.
“Our little friend wins this round… However, there is something this old man doesn’t understand. Is our little friend an alchemist? The method you used to cook this barbeque… It’s very similar to a peculiar technique used by us alchemists,” grand master Xuan Ming said in a serious tone of voice as he stared at Bu Fang.
The surrounding spectators were shocked. No one expected grand master Xuan Ming to ask this question so suddenly. Hence, they all turned to look at Bu Fang, with serious expressions on their faces.
“I’m not an alchemist… I’m just a chef,” Bu Fang replied expressionlessly.
After he’d said that, he turned around and left the stage with his large signboard.
Grand Master Xuan Ming and the rest were not convinced. How could a chef grasp a method even they didn’t dare to use?
The retreating figure of Bu Fang carrying the huge signboard on his back became more and more mysterious in their eyes.
“This chef… is an interesting person.” Grand Master Gu He laughed and stroked his beard as he stared at Bu Fang’s retreating figure.
“Wu… Owner Bu is very interesting,” An Sheng said, joining in on the conversation even though her mouth was filled with food.
Grand master Gu He turned and stared at her. “This lass dares to speak? After losing this round you won’t be able to enter the top 50! I’ll cut your allowance of crystals for three months! Humph!”
Sorceress An Sheng’s eyes bulged as though she had been struck by a lightning bolt.
“Alright; chief judge, you should announce the results of this match… The other matches in the competition of the top 100 will continue,” Grand Master Xuan Ming said to the chief judge, after giving Bu Fang’s figure one last deep glance.
However, the chief judge did not reply to him. His face was extremely black, and his expression was murderous. His nostrils flared as he stood in place as though he was stuck.
Snatching my food… This judge is depressed right now!