Chapter 1093: Inquiring for Intelligence

Behind the scenes of the Spiritual Chef Competition, Deputy Alliance Leader Liu Xing anxiously awaited the arrival of the Alliance Leader.

"The competition is about to begin, so why hasn't the Alliance Leader arrived yet?"

Ever since their arrival in the Demon City, the Alliance Leader had been completely missing from sight, leaving him to organize essentially all of the Spiritual Chef examinations and competitions.

"Liu Xing, what is the great hurry? Have I not arrived?" A hoarse, hearty laugh echoed in Liu Xing's ears as a cool breeze swept past, materializing into a white-bearded elder. This was none other than the Leader of the Spiritual Chef Alliance, Daoist Ming Yuan.

Daoist Ming Yuan hailed from a certain small island in the Eastern Sea and possessed no background worth mentioning. He had simply encountered several miraculous fortunes, and upon cultivating to the Body Integration Stage in the Eastern Sea, he did not occupy a large island to become its master like other human cultivators. Instead, he chose to travel far and wide to exchange culinary arts with famous chefs from various grand restaurants, rarely returning to the Eastern Sea.

It was precisely this conduct that granted him not only superb culinary skills but also excellent relations with others, allowing him to smoothly become the Leader of the Spiritual Chef Alliance.

"Alliance Leader, you have finally arrived. Where on earth have you been these past days?" Seeing Daoist Ming Yuan was like finding his pillars of support, and the great boulder in Liu Xing's heart finally settled.

"I was handling some business outside the city. It was a bit troublesome, but it is finally nearing completion. You have fretted quite a bit these past days."

Liu Xing let out a long sigh. "My fretting matters little, but I have heard that Jin Tan intends to launch an Alliance Leader Challenge to seize your position!"

A flicker of surprise flashed through Daoist Ming Yuan's eyes. "The last time Jin Tan lost to me was three hundred years ago, was it not? It seems his culinary skills have improved considerably over these three hundred years."

"Whether his skills have improved I do not know, but I do know he has researched a supreme dish. However, the difficulty of making it is immense, requiring the use of the legendary ingredients from our alliance's ingredient treasury. That is why he has delayed challenging you."

"This is the first I have heard of it. So he sent someone to this competition as well, hoping to obtain those ingredients through the champion's reward?"

"Yes, it is said that he has prepared for a full three hundred years just for today."

The more Daoist Ming Yuan listened, the more bewildered he became. "Then why did he not exchange for them directly? We did not previously know that the supreme dish he researched required legendary ingredients. Had he wished to exchange for them, we would not have stopped him, would we?"

"Perhaps he thought we knew?"

The two looked at each other in mutual bewilderment.

"Right, Alliance Leader, you know of Lu Yang, correct?"

"Of course I do. Was he not invited by me?" Daoist Ming Yuan looked at Liu Xing as if looking at a fool, feeling that if he were not the leader, this Spiritual Chef Alliance would truly be beyond saving.

"Oh right, you invited him. You certainly cannot guess who he met after I escorted him to the inn!" Ever since Lu Yang met the Demon Emperor, Liu Xing had been holding it in for several days, and upon seeing the Alliance Leader, he could finally contain it no longer.

"Whom did he meet?"

The words reached the tip of Liu Xing's tongue, but the command issued by Zhu Tian under the embryonic form of the Law of the Jungle Dao Fruit—'the matter of the meeting must not be spoken of'—took effect. Neither direct speech nor subtle hints would work.

"I cannot say whom he met, but I saw many very beautiful dancing girls at his door. They should all be gifts intended for him!"

"Do you mean to say that this Lu Yang is inherently lustful, and we also need to bribe him with female charms?"

Liu Xing originally wanted to say 'guess who sent them to Lu Yang', but that would turn into a hint.

Under the influence of the embryonic form of the Law of the Jungle Dao Fruit, Liu Xing could not speak and could only nod his head vigorously.

Seeing Liu Xing nod, Daoist Ming Yuan hissed softly. Could it be that the rumor of Lu Yang visiting the Laurel Fairy Palace and causing numerous fairies to become pregnant was not a mere rumor, but the absolute truth?

...

"Look quickly, that is Master Golden Knife. He really came as expected!" Master Golden Knife spent every day in the market skinning and boning cattle for the bull demons, tossing cows into the sky and brandishing his blades with the greatest commotion. After these few days of fermenting, his reputation was the most resounding in the market.

Master Golden Knife was bare-chested with two golden knives slung across his chest. The blades bore an extremely heavy baleful aura, showing no telling of how many demonic beasts' blood they had been stained with. Among the crowd of five-star spiritual chefs who excelled at processing ingredients, this baleful aura was exceptionally striking, causing many five-star spiritual chefs to consciously distance themselves from him.

"And that one wearing the hood is Granny Poison. It is rumored that she cultivates both alchemy and poison. A single hand of her medicinal cuisine can cure a hundred diseases, but if she wishes to poison someone to death, it is merely a matter of a single word!"

"Look behind her, there are two more cultivators. Judging by their attire, they belong to the Great Xia government. From the looks of it, she is the leader. Could it be that she has now defected to the imperial court?"

"She is even wearing handcuffs and shackles. Could it be a form of weight-bearing cultivation, and when the official competition arrives, she will remove them to experience a sudden surge in strength?"

Lu Yang listened from the side and could not help but complain, "No, how does this look like anything other than her being captured by Great Xia and participating in the competition while serving her sentence?"

"Now that you mention it, I remember. I did seem to hear that she was suspected of poisoning and was captured by Great Xia." The passerby realized something was amiss halfway through his sentence.

"Wait a moment, who are you?"

The previous conversation had carried an air of familiar ease, as if the two were friends, and he had not realized for a moment that he did not know this person.

"Hello, my name is Lu Yunyang."

"Oh, hello, hello. My name is Ma Bin... wait, still not right, who are you?"

"I am here to participate in the competition, but I am not familiar with these people, so I thought I would get to know some from you." Lu Yang pointed to the five-star armband that could prove his identity, pondering how to write his article upon his return, having coincidentally encountered a passerby who seemed to know everything.

Ma Bin rolled up his sleeve, revealing a five-star armband, and spoke with disdain.

"As fellow competitors, did you think I would disclose intelligence to you?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment. To inquire about intelligence directly without offering any benefits was indeed somewhat inappropriate, so he prepared to pull something out to offer a benefit.

Catching sight of Lu Yang's slight movement, Ma Bin sneered, "Do not think you can buy me over with spiritual stones. This is a sacred spiritual chef competition. Do not tarnish this competition with your few wretched spiritual stones!"

Lu Yang had not intended to take out spiritual stones at all. He produced the identity jade plaque that could prove his status. "Actually, I am Lu Yang of the Ask One Sect. I came here to write for the newspaper. If you help introduce who is participating in the competition, I will praise you with a few words in the newspaper."

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

"My name is Ma Bin, an imperial chef of the Great Xia Imperial Kitchen. I excel in steaming and boiling methods such as pastry making, as well as utilizing various seasonings for complex flavor blending. Born into the Ma family of pastries, I have been filled with passion for cooking since childhood and have read extensively. My culinary enlightenment began with my family's traditional recipes."

"With the passage of time, I have not only inherited my family's pastry-making skills but also continuously learned new culinary techniques and trends, making my culinary arts even more exquisite. After joining the Imperial Kitchen, I practiced blade work bitterly, eventually training it to a state of superb perfection, known to others as the 'Blade of the Imperial Kitchen'."

"Taking leave to participate in the Spiritual Chef Competition this time is precisely to become a Gold Star Spiritual Chef and make the Ma family of pastries renowned in the spiritual chef world. You may just praise me with a few words as you see fit, though it would be best if you could mention our Ma family of pastries."

Lu Yang silently wrote down a sentence: Ma Bin, from the Ma family of pastries.