Chapter 1084: This Chef Cooks Like He's Fighting

The spirit chefs gazed enviously at the golden star armlet Lu Yang wore. It was the supreme honor every spirit chef yearned for, yet when compared to his identity as an Immortal Chef's successor, the armlet seemed to pale in significance. In fact, if Lu Yang hadn't earned the golden star armlet, it would have diminished the armlet's prestige.

"Be more confident, Little Yang. You're a spirit chef personally trained by this immortal. It's only natural for you to come first," the Immortal Fairy boasted, radiating self-satisfaction. Lu Yang's victory in the final round, she believed, was entirely due to her Yin-Yang Tofu!

Despite some unexpected twists and turns, Lu Yang's victory in the Five-Star Spirit Chef group was now a confirmed fact.

With all five group competitions concluded, Song Tianjing, the victor of the Two-Star Spirit Chef group, stepped onto the podium under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Yu Qian'er's gaze sparkled as she looked at him.

"Song Tianjing, what ingredient reward do you desire?" Daoist Mingyuan asked.

Song Tianjing had originally intended to request Jianmu, a mythical tree, as three recipes in the "Culinary Compendium" specifically called for it as firewood. However, Jianmu didn't seem to be classified as an ingredient, and the Spirit Chef Alliance likely didn't possess it anyway.

"A star core. I want a star core."

"Oh, interesting." Daoist Mingyuan handed Song Tianjing a square wooden box containing a star core.

"Lu Yang, what ingredient do you desire?" Daoist Mingyuan's attitude towards Lu Yang was noticeably gentler than towards the other winners.

"The Immortal Fruit." He still needed to retrieve that embarrassing Immortal Fairy.

Daoist Mingyuan solemnly presented Lu Yang with half of an Immortal Fruit, saying, "Our alliance failed to recognize this immortal item, mistakenly believing it to be merely a spiritual object. We are truly ashamed. We hope this immortal fruit will radiate extraordinary brilliance in your hands."

"It certainly will!" Lu Yang replied with an equally solemn tone.

The winners of the other three groups were all Jin Tan's people. Following Jin Tan's instructions, they obtained three legendary ingredients from Daoist Mingyuan.

"Lord, we have not failed our mission!"

The three winners knelt before Jin Tan and presented the three legendary ingredients.

"A Bodhi Glazed Fruit, a Nine-Turn Coiled Dragon Bamboo Shoot, and a Zhen Fish... Is the one from the Five-Star Spirit Chef group still missing?" Jin Tan's eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't anticipated Lu Yang's ability to "devour heaven and earth," allowing him to impersonate one of their members.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter if one is missing!" Jin Tan, with the powerful stride of a tiger and a dragon, approached Daoist Mingyuan, pointed at his nose, and declared, "Old man Mingyuan, I want to initiate an Alliance Master Challenge! Do you dare to accept?"

His three centuries of dormancy had been entirely for this day. He just hadn't accounted for the unexpected emergence of Lu Yang and Song Tianjing. He wasn't naturally a master of schemes, yet he had engaged in a three-century battle of wits with Daoist Mingyuan for the Alliance Master position. Now, he was unwilling to continue the prolonged struggle. Since their animosity was already out in the open, he decided to fight until the very end!

The crowd, which had started to disperse, became excited.

"What, what? Is Jin Tan going to issue an Alliance Master Challenge?!"

"I heard he was soundly defeated by Daoist Mingyuan three hundred years ago. His return today must mean he's well-prepared."

"There's a show to watch!"

"Will Alliance Master Mingyuan accept the challenge?"

"He definitely will! If he doesn't, he'll lose the prestige of an Alliance Master, and there'll be no point in him continuing as one!"

Daoist Mingyuan gazed at Jin Tan's resolute eyes, then sighed and lowered his head. "So you've finally come to this point. Very well, I accept the challenge."

The entire venue erupted in a roar of excitement. A duel between two Eight-Star Spirit Chefs was a spectacle many spirit chefs might never witness in their lifetime!

"Second Leader, I knew you'd win!" Yun Mengmeng exclaimed excitedly. With the First Leader personally providing guidance, how could he possibly lose?

At this point, everyone seemed more excited than Lu Yang himself.

"Thank you," Lu Yang calmly replied, taking a bite of the half Immortal Fruit, which was 400,000 years old. Hmm, it was quite delicious, plump and juicy, as if it had just been picked.

"Let's watch the competition for a bit before leaving." Lu Yang was also curious what an Eight-Star Spirit Chef duel looked like.

The judges' platform had been temporarily repurposed into cooking stations. The two formidable Eight-Star Spirit Chefs stood facing each other at their respective positions, the atmosphere heavy with anticipation. As a gong sounded, both began to move simultaneously.

Processing ingredients, chopping vegetables, extracting juice, stir-frying... The aroma quickly permeated the entire venue.

"Look, there's something behind them!" someone exclaimed.

Behind the two chefs, phantoms of a black dragon and a white phoenix arose. The air filled with the cries of dragons and phoenixes as the phantoms engaged in a fierce battle!

"What is this?" Lu Yang stared, bewildered. "Fairy, do you know what this is?"

"I've never seen such a thing. Cooking wasn't done this way in ancient times."

Just then, Ma Bin leaned closer to explain to Lu Yang: "According to ancient records, when ancient immortal chefs cooked, they were often accompanied by the phantoms of dragons and phoenixes, whose roars and cries resonated ceaselessly."

"The founders of the Spirit Chef Alliance speculated that this was a sign of reaching the Nine-Star Spirit Chef realm."

"To emulate this Nine-Star Spirit Chef realm, the founders of the Spirit Chef Alliance devised a unique spirit chef cultivation technique. Upon reaching Eight-Star Spirit Chef level, one's essence, qi, and spirit would infuse into the dish. This would summon partial phantoms to engage in battle, and the side whose phantom triumphed would indicate the superior flavor!"

"...The founders of the Spirit Chef Alliance truly went to great lengths, even developing such a technique," Lu Yang couldn't help but mutter.

"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist Lu Yang," Ma Bin said, seizing the opportunity to get closer. He rubbed his hands together with a fawning smile, but Lu Yang dismissively pushed him away.

"Just say what you want."

"Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, since you are an Immortal Chef's successor, might you consider teaching me a skill or two? My Ma family of pastry chefs would offer a substantial reward!"

"I remember you're from the Imperial Kitchen?"

"Yes, the Blade of the Imperial Kitchen!"

Lu Yang considered it. Emperor Xia was, after all, the Prime Minister of the Soybean Dynasty. It wouldn't do for him to die before even assuming office. If word got out, it would look like internal strife within the Soybean Dynasty, which would reflect poorly.

"No."

Ma Bin's face fell in disappointment, though he quickly realized his presumption. Immortal Chef techniques weren't to be casually imparted to others. "I apologize for my rudeness," he said.

At this moment, the two Eight-Star Spirit Chefs were engaged in a fierce, peak battle, utterly focused with only the purest desire for victory or defeat in their eyes.

"Old man Mingyuan, this Alliance Master position rightfully belongs to me! Behold my ultimate dish, which I have painstakingly researched!"

"Jin Tan, you are still too young and not steady enough. The Spirit Chef Alliance, in your hands, is destined to decline!"

"Behold my Devouring Life Blade Technique!"

"Willow Leaf Breeze Blade Technique!"

A devouring power surged from the cleaver in Jin Tan's hand, absorbing all impurities from the ingredients as he sliced them. Daoist Mingyuan's blade technique was like a gentle breeze caressing the face; it wasn't intense, yet it imparted an incredibly soothing and comfortable feeling.

"Heavenly fire, heed my command, burn!"

"Water from the extreme northern ice layers, appear!"

As the dragon and phoenix battled and water clashed with fire, countless ripples spread through space. The roars of dragons and cries of phoenixes echoed a thousand miles away, startling Zhu Tian in the imperial palace.

"Scared me to death. I thought Big Sisters Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had come over here to fight."

"Why are these chefs cooking as if they're fighting?"

He knew he couldn't possibly stop two top-tier Half-Immortals fighting, especially when one of them was Jiang Lianyi, who shared the same nascent Dao Fruit as him. However, a mere two Tribulation Transcending cultivators wouldn't cause a stir in the demon city under his governance!