Chapter 489: Jiang Li’s Other Work

At this moment, the Spirit Chef Sect Leader stood on the high platform enthusiastically delivering the opening speech, while Jiang Li spoke to the two people below.

“So it was the Spirit Chef Sect Leader who asked me to write the ‘Golden Light Mantra.’ Hmm, why are you looking at me like that? You didn’t think I wrote it for them just because I was bored, did you?”

“I’m not that kind of idle person.”

“Come take a look, come take a look! Essential classic technique for every food lover! Only five low-grade spirit stones, just five low-grade spirit stones!”

The loud hawking from nearby was impossible to ignore.

Bai Hongtu was naturally drawn over.

“What are they selling here?”

“This is the ‘Convenient Eating Technique,’ a must-have manual for every gourmet. Simple to learn, easy to master, guaranteed proficiency!”

Gathered at the Spirit Chef Sect weren’t just spirit chefs, but also food enthusiasts who loved dining. During competitions hosted by the Spirit Chef Sect, one could often witness absolutely marvelous delicacies.

Food lovers came specifically for this.

Bai Hongtu became interested: “Give me one copy.”

“Add two more low-grade spirit stones for the tutorial package.”

“No need.” Bai Hongtu waved his hand. How difficult could a technique worth five low-grade spirit stones be?

“Why are you standing so far away?” Yu Yin looked puzzled at Jiang Li, not understanding. Logically, Jiang Li should be very interested in such things, so why was he standing even farther away than her this time?

Jiang Li remained silent.

Bai Hongtu quickly finished cultivating this technique.

“This technique is so ingeniously conceived! It uses very little spiritual energy and skill—even someone at the third level of Qi Refining could cultivate it. From my perspective, I can’t find any room for improvement.”

“After cultivation, it can automatically separate fish meat from bones, crab meat from shells, chicken meat from bones. Let me see who the author is… Jiang Someone?”

Bai Hongtu looked toward Jiang Li.

Yu Yin looked toward Jiang Li.

Jiang Li turned his head away.

“You didn’t write this technique, did you?” Yu Yin asked hesitantly.

“Ahem, mainly because as the Human Sovereign, I should understand the people’s hardships and help them achieve better living conditions. That’s why I wrote this technique.”

“So you admit you wrote it?”

“You should focus on the main point.”

“The main point is that you wrote this technique.”

“…”

“All contestants, please proceed to the designated locations. The competition is about to begin.” The Spirit Chef Sect Leader’s words redirected the trio’s attention.

“This competition will adopt a free grouping format. You can form solo teams, pairs, or teams of up to three people. Contestants may choose freely.”

“Now begins the first test. The most fundamental purpose of food is to satisfy hunger. Currently, our Spirit Chef Sect has over a thousand mortals working in the fields. They will gather here in an hour and a half. What each contestant needs to do is prepare food that will satisfy these mortals.”

“The ingredients used by contestants cannot exceed what our sect provides.”

Nearby were the ingredients prepared by the Spirit Chef Sect, piled up like small mountains.

“If it’s just about satisfying hunger, there’s not much technical challenge. Even non-spirit chefs could complete this competition.”

“Want to form a team?” Bai Hongtu and Jiang Li asked Yu Yin. Needless to say, the two of them would definitely team up.

“No need.” Yu Yin refused. If she teamed up with these two, would victory count as hers or as all three of theirs?

Yu Yin’s goal was to defeat Jiang Li.

…

“Feeding over a thousand people—then the most important thing in this competition is quantity, with taste being secondary.”

After seriously analyzing for a while, Yu Yin switched to thinking from Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu’s perspective.

“The most delicious food is what’s made by family. Should we find their family members to cook? That doesn’t seem realistic.”

“Pay them to say they’re satisfied? Give one spirit stone for each ‘satisfied’? That probably violates competition rules.”

“Steal all the ingredients first so others can’t compete? That sounds more like their style.”

Yu Yin glanced at the two who were cooking and found they didn’t seem to have that intention.

…

“Brother, you’re better at this.” When it came to cultivation talent, Luo Zhu surpassed her brother Luo Ying, but comparing cooking skills was asking too much of Luo Zhu.

Luo Ying had survived ten years in the apocalypse and had rich experience in survival, knowing how to maximize resource utilization.

“I think there are three key points: first, use strong flavors—be generous with salt; second, make it filling so they have energy for afternoon farm work; third, keep it affordable. Not only should we satisfy them this time, but we need to make it so affordable and replicable that they can prepare it themselves at home next time and bring it to the fields.”

Luo Zhu nodded repeatedly. Her considerations weren’t as thorough as her brother’s.

…

“Teams of three are allowed?” The Mermen Tribe Princess and South Flood Dragon Clan Princess’s eyes lit up at this news, considering whether to sign up temporarily.

“Fugui, let us compete! We guarantee you’ll become number one!”

Seven Kill Daozi was so frightened he quickly teamed up with Qin Luan and her master Yuan Wuxing.

He was a kind-hearted person who couldn’t bear to subject the mortals who had worked hard all morning to such torture.

“Why did you come over?” Qin Luan asked, puzzled that Seven Kill Daozi would take the initiative to show weakness and play assistant to her.

“Don’t ask so many questions. I’ll handle the chopping. Just say yes or no.”

Qin Luan naturally agreed. When it came to chopping, who could surpass a sword cultivator?

“Master, what should we do?” Qin Luan knew that Yuan Wuxing had more knowledge in this area.

“On the surface, this tests how to cook large pot meals, but don’t forget this is also a Human Sovereign candidate test. The Human Sovereign set this test—there must be deeper meaning.”

“Put yourself in their shoes: satisfying mortals isn’t just about filling their stomachs. Anyone can do that—we’d have no advantage. To stand out, what’s more important is making them find it delicious and want to eat it again.”

…

“To satisfy mortals, the most important point is probably that the food isn’t poisoned.” Yu Feng put himself in their shoes. Having died from poisoning dozens of times, any non-poisoned food would satisfy him.

…

Xia Chao and Little Green Snake looked at each other, completely at a loss.

The most memorable food in Xia Chao’s memory was the gelatinous mixture Jiang Li made from various heavenly treasures—the fact that it was edible was a miracle.

“The dragon bloodline inheritance only contains seafood dishes.”

Xia Chao thought for a moment and said: “Then we’ll use seafood. This place is three thousand miles from the East Sea—mortals rarely get to eat seafood.”

…

Ji Kongkong was considering whether to use her Double Pupils to see the competition results. Uncle Jiang didn’t seem to have said anything about prohibiting Double Pupils—did he forget to mention it, or was he testing her self-discipline?

…

Wuzhi felt this competition was too difficult. As a monastic, he could only prepare vegetarian meals, but how could vegetarian food satisfy mortals?

…

“Cooking? Can we have nearby restaurants prepare food and deliver it?” Yu Youxian had worked as a streamer in the Mingzhong World for a while, where takeout was what she ate most frequently.

She found it very convenient.

…

“Cooking? That’s easy—it’s my specialty.” Li Nian’er excelled at cooking.