Just now, they were content with what they had achieved. The six-hundredth step was a threshold, so as long as they reached it, they were considered to have reached the standard of the Divine Chef’s assessment. Therefore, they could stop climbing further.
They were qualified for the next test.
However…
Was this really good enough?
Ying Ya and Ye Yun clenched their jaws, exchanged a glance, and saw a hint of regret and hesitation in each other’s eyes. In the end, they still decided to give up. They breathed sighs of relief and lay quietly on the stairway, motionless.
They fixed their eyes at Bu Fang. They wanted to see how far this young man from the Immortal Cooking Realm could go.
The nine-hundredth step was a whole different level. At this height, with every step taken, the pressure that weighed down on one’s body was as heavy as a mountain.
The Heart of Cooking Path kept beating, and the pressure it pumped out kept doubling.
Bu Fang took another step up the white jade stairway. The Vermilion Chef Robe was pressed tightly against his body, and his hair waved messily in the air as the velvet rope that tied them up had broken away. Beads of sweat kept rolling down his cheeks and fell to the steps, while the pressure that weighed like mountains pressed on his body, making his legs tremble and his bones creak.
“The nine-hundredth-and-tenth step…” Bu Fang murmured under his breath, panting.
Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed into a vision and surrounded him in an instant. A golden recipe emerged. It only existed for the span of three breaths, and Bu Fang carefully studied it during this short time. After that, the recipe disappeared, and the vision transformed into a cooking bench and many ingredients. To pass this step, he needed to cook a dish according to the recipe.
Bu Fang concentrated his mental force. In his spirit sea, the spirits of the God of Cooking Set were roaring, while the divine will phantom spirit hovered in midair, exuding a terrible aura with a bright sun suspended behind its back.
Rumble!
All the people on the stairway felt that Bu Fang’s aura had changed. Then, they saw him open his eyes and resume climbing again, taking one step at a time at a very slow pace. It took him a very long time to take each step.
When Bu Fang reached the nine-hundred-and-twentieth step, the scene before him changed dramatically again. It was still a recipe, but this time, it was a recipe for a spice. It took him a longer time to solve it because he was not familiar with spices, and he rarely used them. However, he still passed it.
“He made it again! This guy…”
“When did the Immortal Cooking Realm become so strong?! He has passed the nine-hundred-and-twentieth step…”
Ying Ya and Ye Yun swallowed at the same time.
Down below, Meng Qi looked at Bu Fang with gleaming eyes.
‘Is the Great Demon King, who always creates miracles, going to do it again by climbing straight to the top of this Stairway of Culinary Arts?!’
Maybe it was possible…
At the nine-hundred-and-thirtieth step, Bu Fang was already soaked with sweat. He stood in silence for about the time it took for an incense stick to burn as the scene before him kept changing. His mental force had become more compact, and the vague divine will phantom spirit in his spirit sea seemed to have completely condensed its physical form at this moment.
At the nine-hundred-and-fortieth step, Bu Fang laid his hands on the stairway and gasped for breath.
After a while, he reached the nine-hundred-and-fiftieth step…
It felt as if half a day had passed.
After that, he came up to the nine-hundred-and-sixtieth step.
Everyone saw that Bu Fang could hardly lift his legs, but he made it through with difficulty. If truth be told, he was a little dazed at the moment. Only his indomitable will kept his body from falling apart.
Bu Fang was a proud man, and his pride didn’t usually show. However, on this Stairway of Culinary Arts, it was on full display. He wouldn’t yield easily, and he wouldn’t let the skies cover his eyes.
After taking another step, he grunted, while blood trickled down from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth.
Plop.
A drop of blood from his nose fell onto the step.
Bu Fang widened his eyes, but he lifted his head and stepped on the blood, not in the least deterred from reaching the top.
Boom!
He passed the nine-hundred-and-seventieth step!
There were only thirty steps left, but the pressure on each step was doubled that of the previous one.
Ying Ya and Ye Yun were right. At this point, any ordinary person would be crushed to death under the pressure. The pressure pumped out by the Divine Chef’s heart was not something that average people could resist.
Just when Ying Ya and Ye Yun were sucking in cold breaths while watching Bu Fang climb, a figure approached them from below at a steady pace.
It was Realm Lord Di Tai. He was soaking wet as if he had just come out of the water, and his eyes had become somewhat blurry.
Ying Ya and Ye Yun turned around abruptly as they sensed the realm lord’s arrival. They saw his miserable look.
“You…”
“How did you get up here?!” Ying Ya sucked in a cold breath and felt incredulous.
Realm Lord Di Tai didn’t even have the strength to talk to Ying Ya at the moment. As if he didn’t hear the question, he continued to climb. He was careful and meticulous. His legs trembled as he took the next step, and his bones seemed to break. However, he made his way through and went on up.
In addition to Bu Fang, who was standing on the nine-hundred-and-seventieth step, Realm Lord Di Tai was also slowly catching up. It completely refreshed Ying Ya and Ye Yun’s understanding of the Immortal Cooking Realm.
When the realm lord came to the seven-hundredth step, one of his legs twisted grotesquely, causing him to fall onto the step. His leg bone had broken with a crack. However, he didn’t grunt nor make any sound. He just lay there and gasped for breath.
‘Damn it… I’m exhausted…’
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Realm Lord Di Tai couldn’t even move a finger now. He had reached his limit. If he tried to climb further up, it would cost his life.
‘I’m done for now… Let’s see if that boy, Bu Fang, can pull off another miracle…’
…
With his body stooped and struggling against the pressure, Bu Fang came up to the nine-hundred-and-eightieth step. As soon as he reached it, a chanting echoed out and various strange phenomena appeared. It was an awesome sight.
Despite the tremendous pressure on the Stairway of Culinary Arts, Bu Fang felt his mental force had improved considerably after reaching this height. Besides, his fleshly body was also being strengthened subtly. Starting at the nine-hundredth step, each additional ten steps he climbed was a great sublimation of his fleshly body. He could even feel his true energy rising.
However, these were not the most important. His greatest gain was the additional knowledge and insights about the Culinary Arts in his mind. Like everything else, one needed to have a brave heart and indomitable will to achieve extraordinary results in Culinary Arts.
Rumble!
As soon as Bu Fang reached the nine-hundred-and-ninetieth step, he felt a mighty force smash at him as if it was about to throw him off the stairway.
Ying Ya and the others, who were watching from below, gasped. They saw Bu Fang, who was about to reach the top, suddenly fly up and float in midair.
Fortunately, the force didn’t throw Bu Fang off the stairway because he managed to grab onto the step. He stared coldly at the heart, which was only ten steps away from him, and slightly twitched the corner of his mouth. After that, he put his strength into his hand and pulled his body back to the step.
Boom!
Bu Fang stood on the stairway, then he continued climbing.
The last ten steps appeared to be a short distance, but it took a tremendous effort to climb them. Bu Fang felt as if he had exhausted all his strength.
He walked up the nine-hundred-and-ninety-fifth step, then the nine-hundred-and-ninety-sixth, nine-hundred-and-ninety-seventh… He climbed every step as if he were crossing one whole world. All that was left in his ears was the sound of his own violent gasps.
Pak.
His palm touched the nine-hundred-and-ninety-eighth step. The golden heart was right in front of his face. The beating heart was covered with a layer of golden brilliance and looked as if it had endless power.
With a straight face, Bu Fang placed his palm on the last step, the nine-hundred-and-ninety-ninth step.
Lub-dub! Lub-dub!
The beating of the Divine Chef’s heart stopped.
After a brief silence, a golden beam of light shot out of the heart and shone on Bu Fang. At the same time, a gash opened on its surface, where a wash of blinding white light came pouring out.
Rumble!
Bu Fang did it. He reached the top of the Stairway of Culinary Arts!
What a monster!
What a genius!
Ying Ya and Ye Yun watched with mixed emotions. They couldn’t believe that there was such a formidable genius in the Immortal Cooking Realm. They knew that if he were allowed to grow up, he would surely become a Divine Chef.
Meng Qi was extremely excited, and her eyes gleamed with bright light.
‘The Great Demon King has once again created a miracle! He has reached a height beyond the imagination of ordinary people! He has walked through all the nine hundred and ninety-nine steps of the Stairway of Culinary Arts!’
Realm Lord Di Tai lay on the stairway. He had exhausted all his strength, but he still grinned from ear to ear. “He’s truly worthy to be the man I appreciate so much…”
Suddenly, the bright light from the Divine Chef’s heart grew stronger, dazzling everyone’s eyes and making them feel as if their consciousnesses had fallen into complete silence.
Boom!
After a long time, they recovered their senses and slowly opened their eyes.
ROAR!
A deafening roar rang out. It was so loud that it seemed to break the skies.
Bu Fang looked at the scene before him with a somewhat dazed expression.
It was a huge stone cage, and inside was a black creature who had a pair of leathern wings on its back and a sharp horn on its head. The aura of this creature was terrifying. Its pair of dark golden eyes could send a shiver down one’s heart.
“This is… an Abyssal Demon!” Ying Ya’s voice came from a distance, filled with great shock.
That gave Bu Fang a pause. He turned to look in that direction and saw Ying Ya, Ye Yun, and Realm Lord Di Tai.
City Lord Meng Qi wasn’t here. Since she didn’t reach the six-hundredth step, which was the minimum requirement for the assessment, she was excluded from the inheritance.
“This is an Abyssal Demon?” Bu Fang frowned.
Abyssal Demons were not human beings. They had wings, tails, and black skin. They looked more like some intelligent savage monster.
The golden eyes emerged again in the sky, and a deafening voice rang through the void. “Congratulations on passing the Stairway of Culinary Arts. You are now facing an Abyssal Demon. We regard Abyssal Demons as food, while they regard our flesh as food. This is a competition and the choice of the Great Path. In the second test, you will be battling Abyssal Demons for survival. The winner will qualify for the next round, using the Abyssal Demon as an ingredient. As for the loser, he will become food for the Abyssal Demon.”
The next moment, the scene before their eyes suddenly changed.
RUMBLE!
The ground cracked open as skeletons piled up into several arenas, with each arena having an Abyssal Demon trapped in a stone cage.
Every one of them was transported and brought to an arena.
As the golden eyes’ voice faded away, the stone cages that trapped the Abyssal Demons slowly crumbled and fell apart.