“My child…” High above the roaring crowd, seated in the absolute highest row near the towering outer walls, the three figures clad in unassuming robes sat shrouded entirely in the shadows.
They blended perfectly into the darkness, having remained entirely motionless since the early morning.
It was only now that one of them finally spoke.
The voice belonged to a woman, and it was trembling heavily.
“Sniff…
sniff…
to think our Little Leo has finally found a true friend,” the woman murmured, suddenly overcome with intense, maternal emotion as she watched the veiled girl near the judges’ table laughing brightly with Elisi.
“Keep your voice down,” the largest shadow beside her hissed, his rugged voice laced with a naturally commanding aura.
“What if she senses our presence?” Despite just giving a practical warning, the rugged man instantly felt a terrifying, freezing glare pierce through the woman’s cloak, forcing him to immediately cough dryly and change the subject.
“Anyway…
did you notice?” “Hmm?
Notice what?” The woman, not wanting to sully her rare good mood, humored him.
Suddenly, the smallest shadow sitting between them spoke up.
“Father, are you talking about those armed men in the crowd who are harboring malice?
Should I eliminate them secretly?” “Ah.
That too.
Just ensure you leave no traces,” the rugged man replied casually.
The small shadow gave a brief nod, and without a single ripple in the air, he completely vanished from his seat.
“Anyway, I was talking about Little Leo’s cultivation,” the rugged man continued, refocusing on his wife.
“Huh?” The woman instantly became alert.
“Tell me, you stinky man.
What did you notice?
Is something wrong with her?” The Patriarch hurriedly waved his hands to clear the misunderstanding.
“No, no!
I was just observing that our Little Leo has already perfectly established her physical foundation and has officially stepped into the Skin Tempering realm.” “Truly?!” The woman was overjoyed.
Because they were seated too far away and absolutely could not use their Spiritual Sense to avoid alerting Leo, she hadn’t been able to closely inspect her daughter’s aura.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Wait a minute.
What do you mean our Little Leo?
She is my Little Leo!
If you ever dare to try and take her away from me…” The warning in the air became thick and deadly.
The rugged man could only hurriedly avert his gaze, sweating profusely beneath his hood.
A mere moment later, the small shadow reappeared seamlessly between them, as if he had never left.
“Father, Mother.
I have sent them to the Yellow Springs.
It is done.” “Good,” the man nodded.
With all the possible threat to his daughter quietly erased, he finally voiced his lingering worry.
“What I meant to say earlier…
is that Leo is not using any of the manuals you gave her.” “What?
Then what manual is she using?” “I do not know.
It is something entirely new,” the Patriarch muttered, his thick brows furrowing beneath his hood.
“Structurally, it seems to be of a high grade, as it tempers the entire body evenly without leaving a single blind spot.
But regarding its internal density…
it is the weakest, most pathetic, I have ever seen in my life.
I am worried it will ruin her future potential.” He was absolutely terrified that his precious daughter was practicing a crippled technique that would render her foundation unstable in the long run.
The hilarious reality was, he had absolutely no idea that his genius daughter had currently only practiced the first stage of a Top-Grade manual!
“Should we intervene?” the Patriarch asked hesitantly.
“No.
Don’t even think about it,” the woman firmly rejected the idea.
“I promised Little Leo I would not interfere with her travels, much less reveal her location to you buffoons.” However, after watching her daughter for a while longer, even she couldn’t hide a trace of helpless worry.
“We will let her play for now.
We can ask her about it when she returns home for the New Year.
At worst, we will simply feed her a Foundation Cleansing Pill and rebuild her foundation from scratch.” “Understood.” Having settled the matter, the three figures quieted down again, happily watching Little Leo enthusiastically intercept the presented food from the stage and whisper her opinions to Zani.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the grand stage was reaching a fever pitch.
“Only a single minute remains!
Everyone has presented their dish except for our dark horse, Julian!” Chief Sythe roared, successfully hyping the audience into a frenzy.
Unlike the preliminary rounds where he roamed the stage, the bulky Chief was currently seated comfortably at the end of the judges’ table, shamelessly stuffing his face while describing the flavors to the drooling crowd.
“Will Julian be disqualified?!
No!
He pulls his iron pan from the fire at the very last second!” After a while, it was time for the three judges to announce the victor.
“Sye, I favored your roasted meat the most,” Mayor Salam spoke first, giving his dignified review.
“The sauce you created possessed an excellent, rich flavor.” Zani nodded in agreement, maintaining his unfathomable persona.
The roasted dish was indeed technically flawless.
“I agree with Mayor Salam’s assessment of your technique,” Roasty added, crossing his arms.
“However, I have tasted roasted meat so often that it leaves absolutely no impression on my palate.
And your sauce, while good, lacked any true innovation.” As the primary VIP judge, Roasty’s words carried immense weight.
Hearing his dish dismissed so casually, Sye could only grit his teeth, cup his fists, and bow humbly in defeat.
One by one, the finalists’ dishes were reviewed and scored.
Finally, it was time to judge Julian’s creation.
Mayor Salam took a small bite, and his face instantly flushed bright red.
He reached for his teacup, coughing violently.
“The dish is…
incredibly unique.
And I must say, overwhelmingly spicy!
I have never eaten anything with such fierce heat in my entire life!” Clearly, the Mayor was not a fan of chili.
Zani, however, took a bite and felt his eyes widen.
The explosive, burning blend of wild spices forcefully awakened his dormant memories of modern Earth.
For the first time since transmigrating, he tasted something that felt like home.
“I am extremely satisfied with this dish,” Zani declared, offering Julian a rare, genuine smile.
Now, all eyes were turned to Roasty.
The culinary giant from Slaughter City took a bite, chewed slowly, and then his eyes flashed with a sharp, predatory light.
“Young man,” Roasty said, his voice echoing across the silent stadium.
“Come work for my restaurant in Slaughter City.
I will instantly make you the Sous-Chef, second only to the Head Chef himself.
What do you say?” GASP!
This brazen offer instantly sent shockwaves through the crowd.
Even Julian stood frozen in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Zani’s expression darkened.
This shameless bastard!
“Brother Roasty, you are truly not giving me face!” Zani intervened smoothly, his voice carrying a subtle, oppressive weight.
“This is highly inappropriate.
Julian has already pledged to work for our Iron Core Gym.” Zani turned his piercing gaze to the chef.
“Right, Julian?” Although they had an ironclad agreement beforehand, who could blame the young man if he chose to act ignorant in the face of such massive temptation?
Zani had to actively remind him of his place.
But despite the heavy hint, Julian remained completely quiet.
This gave the sly VIP the perfect opportunity to strike again.
“Think about it, young man!” Roasty pressed, completely ignoring all basic etiquette.
He knew the immense commercial value of this dish.
The Dao of Commerce is simple: spicy food makes patrons incredibly thirsty, which means they will purchase mountains of expensive wine!
“I will pay you a staggering ten silver coins a month!” Roasty declared.
The crowd nearly fainted.
Ten silver a month?!
That was equal to the prize money for the top three!
It was enough money to buy a good house in any village.
“Julian, do not listen to him.
You already gave us your word,” Zani countered fiercely, pulling out his ultimate trump card.
“Furthermore, if you join our Gym, you will not just be a cook.
You can train in our martial arts entirely free of charge!
We will fully support your foundation on the martial path!” Both Roasty and Zani glared at the poor young man, their auras clashing invisibly on the stage.
Roasty knew he was entirely in the wrong for poaching talent at another man’s event, but as a ruthless businessman, he simply couldn’t let such a goldmine slip away.
Julian, however, had already been convinced to join the Iron Core Gym from the start, so he wasn’t even listening to Roasty’s silver.
But the moment Zani officially brought up martial arts in public, his eyes burned with a fiery passion.
He became even more determined, and without a single second of hesitation, Julian dropped to his knees and kowtowed deeply toward Zani.
“Master Zani!
Please accept this lowly one into your Gym!” “Hahaha!
Good!
Good!
Good!” Zani laughed heartily, his eyes curving into crescent moons with happiness.
____________________________________ [Question: what is the name of winning dish.
Tell me I want to eat it!]