Who Let Him Cultivate?!

In the backstage of the Spirit Chef competition, Vice Alliance Hierarch Liu Xing anxiously waited for the Alliance Hierarch to arrive.

"The competition is about to begin, why hasn't the Alliance Hierarch come?"

Ever since arriving in Demon City, the Alliance Hierarch had disappeared without a trace, leaving most of the organizing work for the Spirit Chef examination and competition to Liu Xing himself.

"Liu Xing, what's the hurry? Haven't I arrived?" A hoary and hearty laugh sounded by Liu Xing's ear, followed by a cool breeze that transformed into a white-bearded elder—it was the Alliance Hierarch of the Spirit Chef Alliance, Daoist Ming Yuan.

Daoist Ming Yuan had an ordinary background from a small island in the East Sea; there wasn't much remarkable about his origins. However, after several strokes of fortune, he cultivated to the Body Integration Realm in the East Sea. Unlike other human cultivators, he didn't take over a large island to become an Island Master but chose to travel and exchange culinary arts with master chefs from renowned restaurants, rarely returning to the East Sea.

And it was precisely because of this conduct that he not only excelled in culinary skills but also had excellent relations with others, allowing him to become the Alliance Hierarch of the Spirit Chef Alliance smoothly.

"Alliance Hierarch, you've finally come. Where have you been all these days?" Seeing Daoist Ming Yuan was like finding his backbone, allowing Liu Xing to feel as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I was handling some matters outside the city, a bit troublesome, but it's almost sort to out now. You've worked hard these days."

Liu Xing heaved a long sigh: "I don't mind the hard work, but I've heard that Jin Tan plans to launch a challenge for the position of Alliance Hierarch, to take your place!"

A flicker of surprise crossed Daoist Ming Yuan's eyes: "It's been three hundred years since Jin Tan lost to me, hasn't it? It seems like his culinary skills have improved considerably during these three hundred years."

"I don't know about his culinary progress, but I do know that he's concocted an exceptional dish. Its preparation is extremely difficult, necessitating the use of legendary ingredients from our alliance's food stores, which is why he has yet to challenge you."

"This is the first I've heard about it. So he sent someone to this competition, hoping to win the prize and get those ingredients?"

"Yes, apparently, he's been preparing for today for a full three hundred years."

The more Daoist Ming Yuan heard, the more he became bewildered: "Then why didn't he just exchange for them directly? We didn't know he needed the legendary ingredients for his exceptional dish—surely we wouldn't have stopped him if he had wanted to exchange?"

"Perhaps he assumed we knew?"

The two men exchanged glances.

"By the way, Alliance Hierarch, you know about Lu Yang, right?"

"Of course, I know him; wasn't it I who invited him?" Daoist Ming Yuan looked at Liu Xing as if he were looking at an idiot, thinking that without him as the Alliance Hierarch, the Spirit Chef Alliance would truly be beyond help.

"Oh right, it was you who invited him. You would never guess who he saw after I sent him to the hostel!" Liu Xing had been holding in the news for several days, and upon meeting the Alliance Hierarch, he couldn't contain it any longer.

"Who did he see?"

Liu Xing was about to say it when the order from Zhu Tian, in the form of the Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit Outline, forbidding him from speaking about the meeting, took effect. He couldn't reveal it, neither explicitly nor by implication.

"Who exactly he saw, I am not at liberty to say, but I saw many beautiful dancers at his door, all likely to be gifts to him!"

"You mean to say that Lu Yang is a lustful person, and that we should also try to bribe him with women's favors?"

Liu Xing had intended to hint at "Guess who sent the women to Lu Yang", but it turned into merely suggesting the scenario.

Under the influence of the Survival of the Fittest Dao Fruit Outline, Liu Xing couldn't speak; he could only nod vigorously.

Seeing Liu Xing nod, Daoist Ming Yuan hissed, "Could it be true that after Lu Yang's visit to the Laurel Fairy Palace, many fairies are truly pregnant? Not just rumors?"

...

"Look quickly, that's Golden Blade Master. He really came!" Golden Blade Master performs bone trimming for the cow demon daily in the market, throwing cows into the air and brandishing his blades, making the loudest noise. After several days of buzz, his reputation is the loudest in the market.

Golden Blade Master, bare-chested, has two golden blades hanging in front of his chest. The blade edges emit a fierce aura, likely stained with much demon beast blood. Among the Five Star Spirit Chefs skilled in handling ingredients, this fierce aura is particularly eye-catching; many Five Star Spirit Chefs consciously keep their distance from him.

"And that one, wearing a hood, is Poisonous Granny. Rumors say she practices Dual Cultivation of Elixir and Poison. On one hand, her medicinal food can heal any illness, but if she wants someone dead, it would only take her a word!"

"Look behind her, there are two cultivators. Judging by their attire, they seem to be from the Great Xia government office. It looks like she's leading them, could it be that she has now defected to the Dynasty?"

"She's also wearing handcuffs and shackles. Could it be she's engaged in weighted cultivation, and will take them off when the official competition begins, drastically increasing her strength?"

Lu Yang, listening from the side, couldn't help but comment, "No, doesn't it look more like she was captured by Great Xia and is taking part in the competition during her sentence?"

"As you say that, I remember, it seems I've heard she was arrested by Great Xia on suspicion of poisoning," a passerby began, then realized something was off.

"Hold on, who are you?"

The previous conversation had been as casual as between friends, the two of them talking as if they knew each other, and it had totally slipped his mind that he didn't recognize this person.

"Hello, my name is Lu Yunyang."

"Oh hello, hello, my name is Ma Bin... Still not right, who are you?"

"I'm here for the competition. I'm not familiar with these people, just thought I'd get to know some through you," Lu Yang indicated his Five Star sleeve badge, thinking about how he would write his article when he got back, coincidentally meeting someone who seemed to know everything.

Ma Bin rolled up his sleeve, showing his Five Star sleeve badge, and said disdainfully,

"As a fellow competitor, do you think I would reveal information to you?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment. It wasn't quite right to inquire about information directly without offering any benefit. He prepared to take out something to sweeten the deal.

Ma Bin caught a glimpse of Lu Yang's subtle move and sneered, "Don't think you can buy me with Spirit Stones. This is a sacred Spirit Chef competition; don't sully it with your measly Spirit Stones!"

Lu Yang hadn't planned on using Spirit Stones at all. He took out his Identity Jade, "Actually, I am Lu Yang from the Seek Dao Sect, here to write for the newspaper. If you help me find out who is competing, I'll put in a good word for you in the paper."

Ma Bin looked coldly at Lu Yang, straightened his lapel, and introduced himself formally,

"I'm Ma Bin, an Imperial Chef from the Imperial Kitchen of Great Xia, specializing in pastries and steam-cooking, as well as complex seasoning with various condiments. Born into the pastry Ma Family, I've been passionate about cooking since childhood, devouring all sorts of culinary texts. My culinary skills were initiated through the family's traditional recipes."

"As time went by, I not only inherited the family's pastry craft but also continuously learned new cooking techniques and trends, enhancing my culinary skills. After joining the Imperial Kitchen, I practiced my knife skills diligently until they were so mastered they seemed supernatural, earning the nickname 'The Knife of the Imperial Kitchen.'"

"I took leave to participate in this Spirit Chef contest with the goal of becoming a Golden Star Spirit Chef and to elevate my pastry Ma Family's fame within the Spirit Chef World. Just a few good words about me would do; preferably, mention our pastry Ma Family."

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