At the backstage area of the Spirit Chef Competition, Vice Alliance Leader Liu Xing anxiously awaited the arrival of the alliance leader.

“The competition is about to start. Why hasn’t the alliance leader arrived yet?”

Since coming to Demon City, the alliance leader has been nowhere to be seen. I have practically been organizing both the Spirit Chef Exam and the competition myself.

“Liu Xing, what’s the hurry? Am I not here now?” A hearty, aged laugh rang in Liu Xing’s ear. A cool breeze swept through, morphing into an elder with a white beard. It was none other than the Daoist Priest Mingyuan, the Spirit Chef Alliance Leader.

Daoist Priest Mingyuan hailed from a small island in the East Sea, with no particularly noteworthy background. He had simply encountered a few fortuitous opportunities. After cultivating to the Fusion Stage in the East Sea, unlike other human cultivators who would claim a large island and become its island lord, he instead chose to travel far and wide, exchanging pointers with renowned chefs from various great restaurants, seldom returning to the East Sea.

It was precisely because of this that he gained sublime culinary skills and fostered good relationships with others, allowing him to become the alliance leader of the Spirit Chef Alliance.

“Alliance Leader, you’re finally here. Where have you been all these days?” The moment Liu Xing saw Daoist Priest Mingyuan, he felt like he had found his anchor, and the burden weighing on his heart eased.

“I was taking care of some matters outside the city. It was a bit troublesome, but in any case, it’s almost resolved. You have worked hard all these days.”

Liu Xing let out a long sigh. “Working hard is nothing. The thing is, I’ve heard that Jin Tan is planning to challenge you for the position of Alliance Leader—he wants to take your place!”

A flicker of surprise crossed Daoist Priest Mingyuan’s eyes. “The last time Jin Tan lost to me was three hundred years ago, wasn’t it? It seems his culinary skills have improved considerably over these three centuries.”

“I don’t know whether his culinary skills have improved, but I do know that he has developed an exceptional dish. The only problem is that it is extremely difficult to prepare and requires legendary-grade ingredients from our alliance’s ingredient repository. That has delayed him in challenging you.”

“This is the first time I’m hearing about it. Does that mean he’s also sending people to this competition, hoping to obtain those ingredients through the champions’ rewards?”

“Yes. It’s said that he has spent a full three hundred years preparing for this day.”

The more Daoist Priest Mingyuan listened, the more confused he became. “Then why didn’t he exchange for them directly? We didn’t know his exceptional dish required legendary-grade ingredients. If he had requested them, we wouldn’t have stopped him, right?”

“Perhaps he thought we already knew?”

The two exchanged puzzled looks.

“By the way, Alliance Leader, you know Lu Yang, right?”

“Of course. Wasn’t I the one who invited him?” Daoist Priest Mingyuan looked at Liu Xing as if the latter were an idiot. If I weren’t the alliance leader, the Spirit Chef Alliance would truly be beyond saving.

“Oh, right, you were the one who invited him. You’ll never guess who he met after I escorted him to the inn!” Liu Xing had been holding this in for days since Lu Yang met the Zhu Tian. Now that he was with the alliance leader, he simply couldn’t contain it any longer.

“Who did he meet?”

When the words reached Liu Xing’s lips, the command from Zhu Tian’s Law of the Jungle Incipient Dao Fruit took effect. He couldn’t speak of the meeting, whether directly or subtly.

“I can’t say who he met, but I saw many beautiful dancers at his door. They were likely meant to be given to him!”

“You mean that Lu Yang is a lascivious person and that we also need to bribe him with beauties?”

Liu Xing had originally wanted to say, “Guess who sent them to Lu Yang,” but that would constitute a subtle hint.

Under the effect of the Law of the Jungle Incipient Dao Fruit, Liu Xing couldn’t speak, so he simply nodded vigorously.

Seeing Liu Xing nod, Daoist Priest Mingyuan drew a sharp breath. Could it be that the rumor about Lu Yang visiting the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace and causing many fairies there to become pregnant is actually true?

~~~

“Look, that’s Master Golden Knife! He’s here too!” Master Golden Knife had been deboning cow demons in the market every day, tossing them into the air and wielding his knives with great fanfare. After several days, he had the most resounding reputation in the market.

Master Golden Knife was bare-chested, with two golden knives hanging before his chest. The knives carried a baleful aura, having been stained with the blood of countless demon beasts. Among the five-star spirit chefs skilled in ingredient preparation, this baleful aura stood out, and many fellow chefs kept their distance.

“And that one in the hood—that’s Granny Poison! Rumor has it that she cultivates both pills and poison. With her medicinal cuisine, she can cure any illness, but if she wants to poison someone to death, it’s only a matter of a word!”

“I see two cultivators behind her. Judging by their attire, they’re from the Great Xia authorities, and they seem to be taking orders from her. Has she defected to the imperial court?”

“She’s wearing shackles on her hands and feet. Could it be weight training? When the competition formally begins, she’ll take them off for a huge boost in power?”

Listening from the sidelines, Lu Yang couldn’t help but comment, “Wait, doesn’t it look more like she was arrested by the Great Xia and is competing while serving her sentence?”

“Now that you mention it, I recall hearing that she was arrested by the Great Xia on suspicion of poisoning.” The passerby paused, realizing something was off.

“Wait, who are you?”

Their conversation had been so natural, like that of friends, and it took him a moment to realize he didn’t know this person.

“Hello, my name is Lu Yunyang.”

“Oh, hello, hello, I’m Ma Bin... Wait, no, who are you?”

“I’m here to participate in the competition, but I’m not familiar with these people, so I figured I could learn about them from you.” Lu Yang pointed to his five-star armband as proof. He was contemplating how he should write his article afterward when he happened to run into a passerby who seemed to know everything.

Ma Bin rolled up his sleeve, revealing his own five-star armband, and said disdainfully, “As fellow competitors, do you think I’d give you any intelligence?”

Lu Yang pondered for a bit. It’s indeed a bit inappropriate to directly ask for information without offering anything in return. He prepared to pull out something as a gesture of goodwill.

Noticing Lu Yang’s action, Ma Bin sneered. “Don’t think you can bribe me with spirit stones. This is a sacred spirit chef competition. Don’t sully it with your measly spirit stones!”

Lu Yang hadn’t been planning to offer spirit stones at all. Instead, he produced his identity jade tablet as proof. “Actually, I’m Lu Yang of the Dao-Seeking Sect. I’m here to write for the newspaper. If you help me identify all the participants, I’ll put in a good word for you in the newspaper.”

Ma Bin looked at Lu Yang coldly, straightened his collar, and introduced himself solemnly.

“My name is Ma Bin. I am an imperial chef in the Great Xia’s imperial kitchen. I specialize in steamed and boiled dishes, such as pastries, as well as creating complex flavors using various seasonings. I was born in the Pastry Ma Family. Since childhood, I have been passionate about cooking and have read extensively. My culinary path began with my family’s traditional recipes.

“As time passed, I not only inherited my family’s pastry-making skills but also continuously learned new cooking techniques and strengths, making my culinary abilities more exquisite. After joining the imperial kitchen, I trained diligently in knife skills, ultimately reaching a level of perfection. People call me ‘Blade of the Imperial Kitchen.’

“My purpose in taking leave to participate in this Spirit Chef Competition is to become a gold-star spirit chef and make the Pastry Ma Family renowned in the spirit chef community. Just a few good words will do—best if our Pastry Ma Family is mentioned.”

Lu Yang silently wrote down a single line: Ma Bin, from the Pastry Ma Family.