Chapter 657: Chapter 656: The Resurgence of the Soul Suppressing Bun (Part 2)

“The deepest secret of the Bai Luo Family!”

Yan Qi said, the camera focusing on him, the judges, Wise Man Karl, and Senemon all watching him.

“The ‘Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul Suppressing Bun’!”

He finally uttered slowly, this heart-stirring name.

That layer of paper had been punctured.

No one doubted the judgment of this Dark World leader, and besides, seeing was believing—it was just too familiar. The people and chefs of the Chinese Realm had figured it out, but they were too shocked to assert it outright.

But now, as Yan Qi revealed the answer, many people slumped in their seats, breathing out long breaths in front of the live broadcast.

The ancient supreme delicacy had been recreated!

“Soul Suppressing Bun! Soul Suppressing Bun!”

The information was overwhelming.

Not to mention the general audience, Yan Mo, the Red-clad Lin Giant, their minds were a mess, completely muddled.

“Yes, the Soul Suppressing Bun!”

Xia Yu answered Yan Qi, meeting the gaze of the Dark World leader whose eyes conveyed a strong desire to probe and a searing intensity that Xia Yu chillingly couldn’t understand.

Was this guy after our “Golden Recipe”?

No wonder Xia Yu was confused. The “Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul Suppressing Bun” was not just a supreme recipe dwarfing all others within the realm of pastries, but it also inherently carried “Meaning,” similar to the ultimate culinary technique “Bursting Flame,” studying which one could master the true deepest secret of the Bai Luo Family—

The essence of “Soul Stabilizing!”

“Do you all remember the ‘Golden Mouthful of Joy’?” Xia Yu said with a smile to the camera, “Happy and joyful, that’s the essence of the ‘Golden Mouthful of Joy,’ which lies at the heart of this recipe.”

“But the ‘Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul Suppressing Bun’ is different, its essence is to stabilize the soul! You might understand it as… transcending!”

Transcending?

Karl and Senemon first frowned, but after a while, their expressions eased.

Yan Qi further explained for Xia Yu, “Here, ‘transcending’ merely means dispelling negative energy and tranquilizing the soul…”

“No!”

A deep voice interrupted him unexpectedly.

“To us, ‘transcending’ means exactly what you think it does!” Nuliang spoke out and pulled out a golden plaque, placing it beside the bamboo boat, “This vote, goes to the Soul Suppressing Bun!”

His tone was full of resolve, no regrets.

“Ding!”

A crisp sound followed as the second golden plaque landed on the countertop.

The red-haired judge laughed, “The legendary bun, known as the deepest secret of the Bai Luo Family, I never thought I’d have the fortune to taste it in this era.” He gave Xia Yu a thumbs up, “Just like the legend, truly worthy of the title King of Pastries, you’ve succeeded. Its flavor, its fidelity, they perfectly match the fantasy accumulated in my mind! This is the ‘Soul Suppressing Bun’ I had envisioned, and you, with your hands, have fulfilled my dream, thank you for the treat!”

In the blink of an eye, Cooking Station No. 1 had secured two gold medals, representing the judges’ voting support!

Guests only tasted, having no gold medals to offer, so there were a total of five similar medals available, and which team would triumph in the second round depended on who obtained the most medals.

And now, the team of Xia Yu and Zhu Qing was leading by two votes!

In fact, considering how the judges raved about the “Soul Suppressing Bun,” it seemed likely that the team might sweep all five votes.

The audience clenched their hearts!

The venue was silent, countless eyes inside and outside fixated on the third judge, the monk judge, as he slowly took out his own golden medal, about to place it on the countertop, but a voice called out:

“Wait!”

The camera shook, focusing towards the periphery of Cooking Station No. 1.

Li Han and Lan Chuhai were present, as were Tang Shan and Tang Yuqiong.

“Before the results are revealed, could we first have a clear understanding?” Li Han stopped the judge about to vote, his face displaying a helpless wry smile, “If we are to lose, let us at least lose with clarity.”

Lan Chuhai’s eyelashes quivered slightly; though she said nothing, her keen gaze fixed on the bamboo boat, and the undeniable thirst in her eyes revealed her desire to taste the legendary “Soul Stabilizing Bun.”

There was no helping it.

“The Phoenix Egg” recipe was an ancient culinary treatise, but it was merely one of Liu Maoxing’s many specialties from the past.

But the “Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul Suppressing Bun” was different; it had been passed down from the distant Three Kingdoms era for over a thousand years, constantly being refined and perfected by generations of Bai Luo Family chefs, inherently the ultimate secret manual within the pastry field, with countless pastry chefs longing to learn it.

To put it bluntly, “The Phoenix Egg” was from the Purple Recipe, but the Soul Suppressing Bun absolutely suppressed it in terms of level.

Tang Yuqiong’s face slightly paled, and she also bit her lip, insisting, “Right, I don’t believe our dishes would be thoroughly defeated! What of the legendary ancient recipes–if their fidelity isn’t high, we still stand a chance to win!”

Seeing this, the monk judge gave a slight smile, retracted the medal he was about to hand out. Without saying much, he stepped back, affording both competing teams enough space for a trial tasting.

The other four judges also stepped back.

“Hehe…” the red-haired judge stamped his foot, “Trying to counterattack over fidelity, very tenacious! Indeed, an outstanding ancient recipe doesn’t necessarily mean the actual dish is also outstanding, but let me say, these two chefs have truly embodied the essence of the ‘Soul Suppressing Bun’ in these four colored buns in the bamboo boat. Just give it a try!”

“Having the opportunity to taste the legendary pastry, fulfill your dream, this is your good fortune,” the judge tsked in admiration.

“Please—”

Xia Yu didn’t bother with unnecessary words.

Then, Li Han and Tang Yuqiong went first, grabbing a bun each, Li Han took the white and blue ones, Tang Yuqiong took the red and black ones, and they simultaneously bit into them. Plop! Juice flowed into their mouths, the soft dough and tender seafood combining, their expressions collapsed.

“This one has scallop filling!”

“Shark’s fin! My bun has shark’s fin, wow, so much shark’s fin broth, it’s overflowing, the broth is dancing in my mouth!”

“Your ‘transformation’ culinary spirit cannot match the essence of the Soul Suppressing Bun!” Lan Chuhai said softly, her eyelids twitching.

Hearing that, Zhu Qing stretched leisurely and said, “My culinary spirit might be flawed, but hey, I have the most outstanding, most perfect, most adorable little partner…”

“Hey!”

Xia Yu felt so embarrassed and ashamed that he quickly spoke up to stop her, “Now, shut your mouth first!”

Zhu Qing pouted, “Since you’ve contributed the most, I’ll listen to you!”

Lan Chuhai silently gritted her teeth, and finally reached out to grab a bun that was still very hot. She only took a small bite, and whoosh, an inexplicable ‘energy’ stormed into her mouth.

Her fair and delicate neck stiffened, blue veins popping out.

The unbelievably soft bun skin, in harmony with the sea delicacies, was the ultimate delicacy of the mortal world!

Her scalp exploded.

There was no ultimate taste, no Ultimate Treasure Vault was unlocked.

A strange current, hidden within the lung organ of her body, Lan Chuhai introspected, discovering a white flash in her lung that resonated with the ‘White Tiger Bun’ in her hand… She continued to eat; the ‘Azure Dragon Bun’ corresponded to wood, making her liver glow green, then the ‘Xuanwu Bun’, her kidneys shone with a dark glow, and finally the ‘Vermilion Bird Bun’, her heart leapt with flames! Her heart pounded like never before!

Four colors, four energies, four organs!

“Boom!”

Before her eyes, it seemed like a spinning Yin-Yang symbol had descended, and Lan Chuhai was lost.

“Where is this?”

She opened her eyes, aboard a warship.

The river water was turbulent, and the mist obscured her view. Lan Chuhai looked back and her pupils shrank—a deck filled with armored soldiers above and below, and she stood beside a large altar on the deck.

“Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, the four spirits of heaven, align the four corners…” the scholar with the ceremonial script recited loudly, the river water lifting several large waves as if responding to him, “May peace reign over the seas, the winds be calm, and the waves not rise!”

“Wow!”

The exclamation came from Li Han and Tang Yuqiong, also on the same warship.

The two transformed into kitchen helpers, unable to control themselves, picking up basket after basket of hot buns and throwing them into the boiling, howling turbulent river water.

Tang Shan also arrived, standing next to Lan Chuhai at the railing, staring blankly into the river mist at the faint shadows fighting for the buns.

Before long, the mist cleared, and all the turbulent shadows vanished.

The far bank of the river finally appeared in view.

“Soul Suppressing, Soul Stabilizing!”

A calm voice at her side, Li Han, Tang Yuqiong, Tang Shan, Lan Chuhai all looked up—the chef standing next to the scholar lifted his cape hood, revealing a young face, smiling at them, radiant.

The scholar also looked up, his lips red and teeth white, playfully winking at Lan Chuhai, “Did you see? This is my ‘transformation’…”

Reality.

Thud!

Lan Chuhai’s legs went weak, her hand catching the edge of the kitchen counter for support.

Her body trembled, her eyes shifting unpredictably, eventually settling into a profound tranquility.

The four energies inside her body were not as distinct as before; the glowing organs nourished her limbs and body with their essence.

A mood named serenity flowed through every pore, every cell.

Quietly.

Her view of the competition venue turned into a plain scene, Lan Chuhai discovered that her desire for that top spot, for the ‘Jade Dragon Pot’ in the nearby showcase, even her stubborn dream to follow in the footsteps of the Lan ancestors, all faded to insignificance…

If there were a monk who had attained enlightenment, she was it now, without desire or wants.

“No!”

Shaking her head vigorously, Lan Chuhai forced herself to stand, her eyes finally clearing.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three golden medallions fell before her, joining two others, representing the judges’ votes, all congregating at cooking station number 1.

There were no surprises in the final outcome!

Lan Chuhai slightly bowed her head.

Tang Shan and Li Han then awoke, exchanging silent glances.

Tang Yuqiong couldn’t believe it, looking at Xia Yu, “This, this ‘Soul Suppressing Bun’ is even more powerful than your last ‘Golden Open Smile’…”

She hesitated, struggling to describe the shock she felt.

“More powerful, right?” Xia Yu smiled.

Nodding and then shaking her head, Tang Yuqiong conflictedly said, “It just moves my soul in an irresistible way!”

“Ah, I’m overwhelmed, damn it!” she covered her head.

Xia Yu silently nodded.

That’s more like it!

In the first round of the competition, his ‘Golden Open Smile’ had low completion, just barely touching the true meaning of joy and happiness.

After the first round of finals, he battled Li Han using a perfected Bursting Flame, for the first time imbuing a dish with a complete culinary spirit, and managed a small success in depicting the ‘sense’.

Ever since, Xia Yu felt he was on the path toward the Qilin Domain.

This time, recreating the ‘Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul Suppressing Bun’ was Xia Yu’s summary of the past month’s competition—

He displayed all the understanding and progress gained from defeating each strong opponent in the ‘Soul Suppressing Bun’!

Looking down at the five shining gold medallions on the table.

Then looking at the ‘Jade Dragon Pot’ in the showcase.

Taking a breath, Xia Yu thought to himself, “I won’t fail you!”