Chapter 1082: Fish Non-Fish

The Spirit Chef Alliance certainly couldn't invite Ao Ling.

Who is Ao Ling? She is an ancient ancestor of the Dragon Race, the strongest demigod. Among the demon races, only the Qilin Immortal surpasses her in prestige; Zhu Tian is no match for her. Lu Yang was fortunate enough to awaken Ao Ling in the East Sea and is qualified to meet her. How could the Spirit Chef Alliance possibly have such an ability? Furthermore, there's no need to invite Ao Ling to verify its authenticity. Lu Yang's reputation and status are enough to explain everything. If Lu Yang says this is an Immortal Fruit of Immortality, then it is an Immortal Fruit of Immortality.

"Lu Yang is also a Spirit Chef?" The audience had not yet recovered from the shock of Lu Yang's identity.

"Of course! Have you forgotten? Sect Master Qiu of the Five Elements Sect greatly praised Lu Yang's cooking skills!"

"Wait, do you remember the Battle of Sword Tower?"

"The battle between Ying Tian Corpse and the mysterious immortal? Of course I remember. Why?"

"I know a sword cultivator who participated in the Sword Inquiry Ceremony. According to him, before the mysterious immortal appeared, Lu Yang told Ying Tian Corpse that he had inherited the legacy of the Immortal Ying Tian!"

"It all fits! Everything aligns! Lu Yang is the Immortal Chef's successor!"

The audience discussed excitedly, finally believing Yun Mengmeng's words. As the Immortal Chef's successor, Lu Yang held absolute authority within the Spirit Chef Alliance!

"See, what did I tell you? I said he was the Immortal Chef's successor!" Seeing more and more people acknowledge the second-in-command's strength, Yun Mengmeng was happy for Lu Yang.

"He is Lu Yang, truly extraordinary," Daoist Mingyuan said, looking at Lu Yang. His original intention for inviting Lu Yang was to promote the Spirit Chef Competition, but he hadn't expected Lu Yang to actually become a Spirit Chef himself.

Liu Xing was unsure what the half-golden fruit was and had to consult Daoist Mingyuan. Soon, Liu Xing returned and announced the final results.

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

Granny Poison was crestfallen. She had roughly guessed this outcome ever since Lu Yang appeared.

Two Great Xia constables appeared, handcuffed and shackled her, and prepared to escort her back to Great Xia to continue serving her sentence.

"Wait, sirs, can I please watch the final round?" Granny Poison pleaded. Despite her nickname, she was also a Spirit Chef who loved food. She absolutely had to watch this upcoming peak showdown representing five-star Spirit Chefs!

The two Great Xia constables conferred. Returning so early would likely mean new assignments, so there was no real need to rush back. They might as well finish watching the competition here before heading back. Although they didn't understand Spirit Chef competitions, they also wanted to witness the legendary Lu Yang in action.

"Alliance Master, it seems most of the Spirit Chefs advancing to the third round are Jintan's people," Liu Xing observed with concern, noting the disadvantageous situation for Daoist Mingyuan. "Aside from Daoist Lu Yang, who is sure to win, the other four groups' situations seem worrying." Jintan only needed to acquire four ingredients to create his ultimate dish.

"No matter," Daoist Mingyuan said with a chuckle, seemingly unconcerned about Jintan. "I see a promising young fellow in the Two-Star Spirit Chef group."

Everyone's attention was focused on the Five-Star Spirit Chef group; very few noticed the Two-Star Spirit Chef competition.

The Two-Star Spirit Chef group was the first to enter the third round of the dish competition, with the theme being "Fish, Not Fish."

Young Master Wu watched Song Tianjing, who was lost in thought, and secretly snickered. *Have you realized it, kid? The pufferfish you chose has been poisoned with my Five Poisons. Even if you have the Hundred Poisons Saint Body and don't get poisoned, what about the judges? Can they avoid it? By then, you, as a Spirit Chef, will be utterly disgraced, with no chance of recovery, while I will win the championship and the beautiful lady! Blame yourself for offending me!*

Song Tianjing did indeed realize that Young Master Wu had poisoned his pufferfish, but he was lost in thought not about how to break the stalemate, but whether this was a dream or reality. The events from his dream were unfolding one by one. What he had experienced before didn't seem like a dream, but rather a premonition of the future.

*Does this mean that revealing I possess the "Culinary Compendium" will trigger a pursuit by the Spirit Chef Alliance? Although in the future I would escape the pursuit, acquire the complete "Culinary Compendium" legacy, defeat the Alliance Master, and become the new leader of the Spirit Chef Alliance, along the way, Qian'er would unfortunately be poisoned, my younger brother would take a blade for me, the elder brother who pursued me but was later moved by my actions would lose an arm in a confrontation with the Spirit Chef Alliance, and my sworn brother, despite escaping the Alliance, would still meet his fate... If I simply avoid being pursued by the Spirit Chef Alliance, all these future misfortunes can be averted! The future! I must rewrite the future!*

"A good look in his eyes," Daoist Mingyuan commented. Although he didn't understand why Song Tianjing had such a look of heroic self-sacrifice.

The first dish in the "Culinary Compendium" was called Pearl Fish Soup, with fish and the Five Poisons as its main ingredients. Young Master Wu poisoning the fish had coincidentally helped Song Tianjing. The second dish was called Eight Treasures Chicken, Duck, and Fish, which required the fish bones from the Pearl Fish Soup as a culinary "primer" to draw out the full flavor of the second dish.

However, he couldn't prepare the Eight Treasures Chicken, Duck, and Fish exactly as the recipe dictated now; even too much similarity would arouse suspicion! *He had obtained a forbidden book, and if exposed, he would become an enemy of the Spirit Chef Alliance. This was a trade-off, a gain and a loss.*

The Eight Treasures Chicken, Duck, and Fish required thirty-six ingredients, and its preparation was extremely intricate and complex. What he needed to do was drastically modify the recipe! *Ancestors of Yangyuan Restaurant, bless your descendants! If his ancestors could recreate some dishes from an incomplete "Culinary Compendium," then he could also use the "Culinary Compendium" to recreate parts of dishes! Why should modern people be inferior to those of old?*

Within the Spirit Chef Alliance, flame control techniques were divided into five levels: Novice, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection. As Song Tianjing's cultivation advanced to the late Foundation Establishment stage, his flame control techniques also transformed, reaching the Proficient level! With one hand, Song Tianjing controlled the flames to simmer the fish soup to a creamy white, while with the other, he chopped auxiliary ingredients to better enhance the flavors!

As the last grain of sand fell from the hourglass, Song Tianjing finally completed his Three Treasures Chicken, Duck, and Fish.

Young Master Wu was the second-to-last to finish. He had absolute confidence in his own abilities; Song Tianjing couldn't possibly win against him! He lifted the lid of the serving dish, revealing a dazzling light. When the light subsided, what lay on the plates of the five judges were individual golden ingots.

Among the five judges were professional Spirit Chefs, gourmets, and ordinary people. They each picked up a golden ingot and their eyes widened suddenly.

"These are deep-fried dumplings!""No, it's not that simple. The dumpling wrappers aren't made of flour; they're made of fish skin!""The filling is a mixture of diced squid and minced pork, with the pork serving a minor role as a binder!""Fish, not fish! It truly is 'Fish, Not Fish!'"

Young Master Wu clasped his hands, smiling modestly, and introduced, "This is my Golden Fish Skin Dumplings!"

"Golden Fish Skin Dumplings, indeed excellent." The five judges nodded in unison. This was clearly a notch above the previous three dishes!

Song Tianjing lifted the lid of his serving dish, revealing a whole mature duck. However, there was no dazzling light, making it seem less impressive than Young Master Wu's dish.

"This is my Three Treasures Ruyi Soup." Song Tianjing cut open the mature duck, revealing an old hen wrapped inside. The aroma wafted out, whetting the appetites of the five judges.

They eagerly took a sip of the soup, displaying surprised expressions. Young Master Wu smirked, thinking, "Did they realize they're poisoned?"

However, to Young Master Wu's astonishment, the judges, who had only taken one bite of the previous four dishes, began to drink the soup, mouthful after mouthful, at an increasingly rapid pace! 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 life. Although no fish was visible, the subtle aroma of fish meat gently permeated the soup, dissolving in their mouths. Their blood seemed to turn into seawater, with countless fish swimming within it!

The lead judge, who was the champion of the previous-previous Two-Star Spirit Chef Competition, nodded to the other four, reaching a unanimous agreement without a word. He stood up and announced the competition results.

"I announce that the champion of the Two-Star Spirit Chef group is Song Tianjing!"

On Song Tianjing's sleeve insignia, two black stars were covered by dazzling gold!