Chapter 819: Chapter 818: In the Name of the Demon King

The task has arrived!

Upon hearing this prompt sound, Xia Yu immediately shut his mouth and went to check the system information.

As expected.

His eyes showed a hint of excitement.

“New task available – ‘In the Name of the Demon King’.”

“Description: As you return to the ancient land, the title of ‘Demon King’ gradually spreads, but you must become more recognized, letting the Chinese Realm know of you. Therefore, charge towards the younger generation’s tournament king and claim the crown of a champion!”

“Requirement: Reach the summit in this year’s New Year’s Hunting Festival.”

“Reward: To be determined.”

Xia Yu quickly read through it, and pondered playfully, “Is this a royal decree to engage in a culinary duel?”

Without a doubt.

If he wants to earn the honor of the tournament king, he must engage in a life-and-death showdown with Ye Feizhou, which will be as intense and brutal as a culinary duel.

After all, whoever loses will be trampled under the other’s feet, and all past glory will become just the golden ornaments decorating someone else’s throne. It’s like the lyrics of “Ordinary Road,” how do they sing it, “Everything I once owned scattered like smoke in an instant…”

Falling from the clouds is a failure that neither Xia Yu nor Ye Feizhou could tolerate.

“What does ‘reward to be determined’ mean?” Xia Yu complained.

“Hint: please choose recipes developed and created after returning to your country for the critical battles; this increases the task’s performance level, and the reward will be more substantial.”

“Is that so?”

“So, it’s asking me to use a new-style recipe to defeat Ye Feizhou?”

Xia Yu understood the system’s hint.

The problem is, recently he’s been engrossed in spice techniques, with only new works in this field as it’s an evolved formula of ‘The False of Xuanjing.’ Would the system recognize it?

He couldn’t help frowning.

“Do I need to buy new recipes from the system? System, open the mall interface, show me unlearned advanced recipes, but they must be from the ‘Chinese First Class’ system!” he shouted.

After a while, Xia Yu’s expression changed, and he cut off communication with the system.

“Using a Purple Recipe against Ye Feizhou, wouldn’t that underestimate this leading disciple? But going upwards, there are no freely purchasable recipes!”

Thinking it over, he still felt unsure.

At this moment, Ye Feizhou probably knew his culinary level too and was preparing for the showdown. Xia Yu thought about how in the past he used to prepare big moves when planning to challenge offs; now, the situation is reversed, with him being the high-up BOSS, hailed as the “Demon King,” while Ye Feizhou is the challenger, a brave one…

Xia Yu didn’t want to end up pierced by Ye Feizhou like those famous chefs he had overturned, suffering a miserable and humiliating defeat.

As he thought, his eyebrows suddenly lifted.

His thoughts drifted away, “Fermented black beans, garlic, scallion, perilla, gardenia, mint, burdock, almond… this combination of 8 ingredients looks haphazard and without structure but somehow feels off.”

In a flash, Xia Yu squatted down swiftly, rummaged through the waste bin by his desk, and soon grabbed a crumpled paper, spreading it in his hand and staring closely at the writing on it.

He trusted his first instinct, and while quickly looking at the recipe, there was a faint touch on his heart, as if a golden complete spice culinary skill sent him a slight hint deep within his soul.

“Well, since I’m idle, I’ll study it carefully. Let’s start with analyzing the medicinal properties.”

Thus, Xia Yu stopped thinking about his tournament showdown with Ye Feizhou and immersed himself in the world of spices.

…

In a flash, three days passed.

The third round of the hunting selection opened.

In the car heading to the venue, Zhu Qing was chatting with Zhao Tong and Zhao Qi.

“This time’s hunting venue is in Tang Family Town,” Zhao Qi glanced at the young man with closed eyes beside him, “It’s a historic culinary competition venue called Dragon Gate Hall. For over a hundred years, it has been jointly managed by the Tang Family and the Shanghai Chef Union, and it only hosts significant culinary duels and gourmet competitions. Local chefs in Shanghai consider performing in Dragon Gate Hall a lifelong honor…”

Zhao Tong checked the rearview mirror and saw the boy in silence the whole way, secretly curious about whether he’s not worried about the upcoming selection match.

In this round of selection, 300 will advance to 30, and outsiders are speculating whether he can advance to the top 30 with the full score of a Demon King.

Simply put, the people in the Chinese Realm are secretly raising their expectations for Xia Yu’s performance from merely advancing to achieving a perfect score.

If he’s a true “Demon King,” shouldn’t he advance triumphantly without any hindrance?

Dragon Gate Hall.

The competition hall’s backstage, the judge’s resting room was as silent as the grave.

Wei Qinglian knocked and entered, making the two middle-aged male judges inside stand up hastily, “Mr. Wei!”

“Is the first match you’re overseeing as the chief judge?”

Li Quan asked.

If Li Han were here, he would definitely call uncle respectfully.

Xia Yu didn’t know yet another acquaintance would be a judge, tasting his culinary work. In terms of qualification, Li Quan, who once led the White Jade Tower Special Team in the Sapporo event, wouldn’t face any doubters sitting as the chief judge.

Wei Qinglian coldly glanced at Li Quan, “Chef Li, you should know by the hunting regulations, in this round and the next 20-strong contention battle, there will be a Lin Chef present as a judge. You seem surprised I’m presiding over this competition?”

“No, not at all!” Li Quan broke a cold sweat and waved his hand.

In his heart, he held a bad premonition for Xia Yu.

From his nephew Li Han, Li Quan knew about Wei Qinglian’s recent venture to Japan to deliver the head dragon’s orders, which made it apparent, Xia Yu had tangled with Wei Qinglian.

If the main judge, who has a grudge, catches Xia Yu slipping even a little bit, the full-score Demon King myth could be shattered.

Before going on stage, Li Quan hurried to a corner, pulled out his phone, and shot Li Han a message: Wei Qinglian is presiding over the judge’s booth, be careful!

“Beep beep!”

At the same time.

In a private room in Dragon Gate Hall, Li Han, Zhao Zhen, Tang Yuqiong, and Wu Yingying gathered together.

This indoor venue, with a classical setup like a grand opera house, had basic audience seats set beneath stacked floors of private box seats. In the light, each box bustled with shadows, and looking at the seats below, a massive crowd sat, at least 20,000 to 30,000 people waiting in this arena.

“I bet one of my self-created Li Family Special Grade Recipe that he can breach with full marks!” As soon as Li Han banged the table to his companions, his pocketed phone buzzed with a message.

Hmm?

Taking out his phone, Li Han’s eyes widened, “This match has Wei Qinglian as the chief judge?!”

“No betting anymore!”

Li Han promptly withdrew his table-banging wager, “This is a no-go! I’d lose everything, not even leaving a pair of underpants!”

Tang Yuqiong laughed out loud, placing her hands on her hips and pointing at him, “So what if Wei Qinglian is the chief judge, Yu can subdue her once, he can do it a second time. Won’t you bet? I will, I’ll bet my Tang’s Double-edged Saber!”

She gritted her teeth and put her life-bonded culinary tools on the table for gambling.

Zhao Zhen and Wu Yingying watched her with a gaze that suddenly turned ambiguous.

There are three matches today, with Xia Yu in one, and it’s still a hundred people sharing the stage together.

Underground parking.

“Hey, wait a moment—”

Zhu Qing pulled aside the wooden-faced, expressionless Xia Yu who was advancing to the elevator with Zhao Tong and Zhao Qi, “You’ve been distracted for three days, have you even prepared for this selection?”

Xia Yu seemed not to hear, mumbling,

“Fermented black beans, garlic, scallion, perilla, gardenia, mint, burdock, almond.”

“Strange, what’s the internal connection in this combination? Fermented black beans have a long history in Chinese culinary usage, a traditional fermented bean product, known in ancient times as ‘Youshu,’ praised from a culinary perspective in the Han Dynasty by ‘Explanation of Food and Drink’ for its capability to ‘harmonize the five flavors.’ The ancients used fermented black beans not just for seasoning but also medicinally…”