Who Let Him Cultivate?!

In the kitchen, amidst a chaos of pots, pans, ladles, and basins scattered across the floor, along with food and medicinal herbs, Song Tianjing's dark circles under his eyes were pronounced; he had not slept for five days, completely engrossed in the "Complete Culinary Compendium," having completely lost track of time.

Of course, this also had to do with his inability to differentiate between dreams and reality.

Song Tianjing opened the window; the morning sunlight, though not too strong, still seemed harsh to his eyes.

"Damn, I was so absorbed in studying the recipes that I nearly forgot there's a Spirit Chef exam today!"

One had to become a Spirit Chef first in order to compete in the Spirit Chef competition—the exam was something he absolutely couldn't miss!

He didn't bother to tidy up the kitchen and dashed straight to the site of the Spirit Chef exam.

...

"Qian'er, the Clan Leader has already agreed to our marriage. He will soon come to propose to the Jade Rabbit Clan, and it will surely breed a Tribulation Crossing Demon Emperor!"

"Young Master Wu, you should give up on that idea. There's no possibility between us!" Qian'er, dressed in a white skirt and socks, her white hair shining, even the long ears atop her head were snow-white without a single blemish, extremely rare.

Young Master Wu, agitated upon hearing this, grabbed the wrist of the girl named Qian'er: "Qian'er, do you still not understand my feelings for you? I truly like you!"

"Let go of me!" Qian'er struggled, feeling repulsed by the contact with Young Master Wu.

"Qian'er, actually I..."

"Make way, make way!" Song Tianjing, looking disheveled and dirty, rushed to the registration desk. He had intended to bypass Young Master Wu and Qian'er, but with five days devoid of sleep, his sense of distance and direction were somewhat out of control, and he accidentally bumped into Young Master Wu.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

"Are you blind to bump into me, do you know who I am? I am the Saint Heir of the Five Poison Clan!" Young Master Wu was furious to see Song Tianjing mess up his prospects, but Qian'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief, using the opportunity to escape from Young Master Wu.

Song Tianjing internally cursed his luck, as since coming to Demon City he had made a few acquaintances among the Cultivators of the Demon Race at the Foundation Establishment Stage. They all said the one person not to offend among the Foundation Establishment Stage was this retaliatory Saint Heir of the Five Poison Clan.

The girl standing next to Young Master Wu was someone he had met once before, Yu Qian'er of the Jade Rabbit Clan.

"My apologies, Saint Wu. It's almost time, I need to go and register. After the exam, I'll come to your door to formally apologize!"

Song Tianjing finally managed to sign up for the exam in the nick of time, just as the incense stick burned out.

Watching the anxious figure of Song Tianjing as he scrambled to register, a cold smile formed on the corner of Young Master Wu's mouth: "It seems he wants to become a Spirit Chef, just like you and me."

"I will let him understand the cost of offending me!"

"Wu, I warn you, you better not lay a hand on him!" Qian'er said anxiously. Although it was unintentional, Song Tianjing had indeed helped her out of a tight spot, and she could not just stand by and watch Young Master Wu trip him up.

Seeing Qian'er defending Song Tianjing stirred even more displeasure in Young Master Wu.

"Don't worry, Qian'er, he's just a fool; I'm not that trivial," Young Master Wu said with a benign smile, but inwardly he scoffed with contempt.

It was too late to argue; while Song Tianjing was registering, Young Master Wu used a poisoned needle and secretly poisoned him. The poison was mild, but it was timed to take effect right during the Spirit Chef exam—collapsing on the stove would certainly be an interesting scene.

Seeing the darkness around the kid's eyes, a clear sign of lack of sleep, if he fell asleep during the exam, nobody would think anything of it.

However, when the exam ended and he saw Song Tianjing emerge unscathed from the examination hall, sporting a two-star sleeve badge, he was astounded.

How could this be; the kid wasn't poisoned?!

"Young Master Wu, so you're still waiting here for me. I am truly sorry for before!" Song Tianjing, seeing that Young Master Wu was still there, hurried over to offer his sincere apologies.

"I don't know why, but before the registration I was all groggy, and after it ended, suddenly my mind was clear, and I performed exceptionally well while cooking. The examiner couldn't stop praising my dish."

Mr. Wu was startled. Absorbing poison as power, the characteristic of the Poison Immune Body?

What a joke, this kid has the very Poison Immune Body that restrains their Five Poison Clan?

Qian'er blinked her eyes; she wasn't foolish and guessed that since Mr. Wu was the kind to seek revenge for the smallest grievances, he must have poisoned Song Tianjing, yet it was easily neutralized by him.

Song Tianjing was unassuming in appearance, but he had quite a few secrets.

After Song Tianjing and Qian'er had left, Mr. Wu also revealed a two-star sleeve badge.

"The Spirit Chef Competition is tomorrow, and I personally will take action. I really want to see just how capable you are!"

...

"The Spirit Chef Competition is tomorrow, Little Lotus, aren't you participating?" Yun Mengmeng, as usual, bought a large quantity of Spirit Food to share with Little Lotus. These were all things she had tried and found delicious.

She'd share them again with the Second-in-command once she got home at night.

Yun Mengmeng felt sweet inside; sharing once could bring double the happiness, and sharing twice meant quadruple the joy!

"Unfortunately, I can't leave this place." Little Lotus sighed. Since the battle at the Western Paradise Temple, she had been restricted by Ashy Bean and couldn't leave the shop.

"What a pity. Our Second-in-command is joining the competition, and I wanted to introduce you to him."

"Your Second-in-command is also entering the competition?" Little Lotus frowned upon hearing this. Mengmeng had mentioned that the "Second-in-command" had reluctantly come to Demon City just because of her. Now, he even qualified to participate in the Spirit Chef Competition? Could that be called reluctant?

This Second-in-command even deceived such an innocent person as Mengmeng; he surely was not a good person!

...

The Qiongqi Clan has been eating well these days, under the guidance of a Nine Star Spirit Chef, supervision by the ancestor, and a Five Star Spirit Chef handling the knife. They had a variety of Demon Beasts to eat, never repeating a single day.

In the Green Blade Sword Small World, only white bones remained on the ground; all the meat was consumed by the Qiongqi Clan, and Lu Yang's cooking skills visibly improved before one's eyes.

"It's time to join the competition."

Lu Yang put on his sleeve badge, ready for departure. The badge had five black pentagrams, signifying his prestigious status as a Five Star Spirit Chef.

Lu Yang was considered, more or less, a Cultivator who possessed the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, even though this identity was secured through backdoors by the Taotie Clan.

After emerging from seclusion at the Qiongqi Clan, Yun Mengmeng waited at the clan's entrance, accompanying him to the competition.

Fairy Eternity had shown her skills twice, and Jin Caiwei unfortunately suffered food poisoning and couldn't accompany Lu Yang there.

"So many Spirit Chefs! There are way more than at the market." Yun Mengmeng had never seen so many Spirit Chefs in her life; she just wished she were a judge so she could taste all those delicious foods.

The competition registration site was crowded; the Spirit Chefs had varied appearances. Some Spirit Chefs shaved their heads clean and went shirtless, with two cleavers hanging around their necks; some carried a large pot on their back and a complete set of kitchenware at their waist; others, although they looked young, had fingers darkened and arms as withered as if petrified.

Compared to these people, Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng looked too normal and seemed somewhat out of place.

"The Spirit Chef Competition is the grand event of the Spirit Chef World, once every ten years. The champion will receive a Red Sleeve Badge, representing that you are the best among your peers."

"The Spirit Chefs we saw at the market a few days ago were only a part of them; many more hadn't left their homes, sharpening their skills at the last minute."

"I see."

Including myself, Lu Yang added silently.