Chapter 1424: A Fluke?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Bu Fang continued to cut the piece of tofu. However, since his rhythm was interrupted, he had to spend a little time to prepare his mood again before he waved his knife.
The counter, which had stopped, began to change, jumping rapidly. Five thousand, five thousand five hundred, six thousand… At this point, the increment sat firmly at five hundred cuts.
As time went by and as Bu Fang’s familiarity with the knife technique grew, the cuts he made with each slash slowly increased—from five hundred cuts per slash to six hundred, then to one thousand. It was incredibly fast!
The crowd’s breathing quickened as Bu Fang’s cuts per slash increased. Some rehea.r.s.ed the slashes with their divine senses by following his movements, trying to imitate his knife technique. However, as they rehea.r.s.ed, they felt their divine senses were torn apart, and they grunted as blood trickled down from their nose and mouth.
That terrified them, and they dared not to go on rehearsing but just looked at Bu Fang, aghast. They could not understand why his divine sense could withstand this level of rehearsing when it was impossible for them, even though they were all DemiG.o.ds.
They then realized that geniuses could not be judged by common sense. Through simple comparison, they could guess how strong Bu Fang’s divine sense was. At the very least, it was not weaker than some of the top DemiG.o.ds in the Divine Dynasty. He might be slightly weaker than the princes, but he would be on par with the sons of the kings.
Luo Sanniang had returned, twisting her slender waist as she walked and bringing with her a gust of sweet scent. She lightly rubbed her delicate hands with an indifferent face, then leaned against the railing and stared at Bu Fang and the counter showing the number of cuts over the array. She knew nothing about the knife technique, but she knew that with every increment of the counter, it meant Bu Fang was one step closer to success.
“Ten thousand already!” someone said incredulously in a low voice.
“How long did it take him?!” Luo Sanniang turned to a Divine Chef beside her and asked hastily.
The Divine Chef had been counting the time. When he saw it was Luo Sanniang who asked him, he quickly said, “About a quarter of an hour! I think he might complete the second test!”
Luo Sanniang’s eyes lit up. Biting her red lip, she stared at Bu Fang with excitement.
Bu Fang did not stop waving his kitchen knife, which flashed brilliantly. The tofu was s.h.i.+vering, but not even a bit of it flew out. His movements were steady, not too far nor too slow.
“Look! Eleven thousand already!”
“Thirteen thousand!”
“Fifteen thousand!”
…
As the Divine Chefs looked at the changing numbers, their eyes gleamed with shock. At this point, the cuts Bu Fang made with every slash were fixed at about two thousand. That was the limit his divine sense could withstand.
The Kitchen Knife of Affliction was amazing, but it would be very difficult for Bu Fang to reach its peak, with which he could make nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine cuts in a slash, unless he broke through to the G.o.d Realm and his divine sense made another breakthrough.
Master Cheng had returned, but this time he dared not to shout again. His face was dark as he stared at Bu Fang, the young man who had broken his record. What made it more difficult for him to accept was that this was the same young man who had beaten him up!
‘It’s him!’
Anger surged within him, and the jealousy in his eyes grew as he watched the increasing number on the array. He knew that once this young man completed the second test, he would replace him as the key cultivating subject of the Divine Chef Temple.
Once that happened, the Divine Chef Temple would provide the young man a significant amount of resources, and all those things belonging to him would be taken away. He could not let that happen!
Master Cheng’s eyes flickered, but he was not in a hurry to strike. He could complete the second test as well, so he waited patiently. Bu Fang was still some distance from success. ‘He might fail, and when he does, I’ll stand forward and solve the second test. Perhaps I’ll get more resources from the Divine Chef Temple!’ he thought, fixing his eyes at Bu Fang.
Luo Sanniang glanced at Master Cheng as if she was guessing the old man’s thoughts. She did not have a good impression of Master Cheng. This old man took advantage of his seniority and had wasted countless resources in the Divine Chef Temple. He had even used up many source gems.
‘It will be great if Bu Fang could replace this old man as the distinguished guest of the Divine Chef Temple. At least it’s more comfortable to face a cute young man than an old fool!’ she thought. Now, she only hoped that Bu Fang would not let her down.
“Eighteen thousand!” said a Divine Chef in a low, shocked voice.
Nineteen thousand!
Nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety!
Only nine cuts left!
The crowd held its breath and stared fixedly at Bu Fang. No one dared to move. Even Master Cheng narrowed his eyes and dared not breathe too loudly.
The last slash fell gently. The counter over the array finally completed its last jump. With a humming sound, it stopped at nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.
“Suc… succeed?!”
“Heavens! He’s done it!”
“The second test… is solved?!”
The Divine Chefs all looked in a daze at the lean figure standing in front of the black wok. The array flashed as Bu Fang paused the task. With that, the crowd erupted into an uproar, their excited voices instantly flooding the whole place. Luo Sanniang’s great bosom heaved as she giggled.
Bu Fang turned around and breathed a long sigh of relief, but his brows were tightly furrowed. The exhaustion of his divine sense was a little overwhelming. The Kitchen Knife of Affliction was comparable to a divine power, and with his mental force, he could probably use it once. It was indeed the legendary knife technique left behind by an ancient HeavenG.o.d.
He produced a teapot, which contained steaming tea. A refres.h.i.+ng aroma filled the air in an instant as he took a sip of the Nine Revolution Great Path Tea to recover his mental force.
With the improvement of Bu Fang’s cultivation base, the level of everything inside the Heaven and Earth Farmland had increased as well. The grade of the tea was now comparable to that of a divine-grade food ingredient. As it entered his stomach, his divine sense rapidly recovered like dried land absorbing the long-awaited rain.
Luo Sanniang came next to Bu Fang. She was holding a spirit fruit, and she handed it to him. “Mister, this is a Spirit Rejuvenating Fruit, a supreme-grade spirit herb that helps recover divine sense. Please eat it quickly,” she said with a smile, looking at Bu Fang with excitement.
A Spirit Rejuvenating Fruit? Bu Fang took the fruit, glanced at her, and took a bite of the greenish fruit. Its juice oozed out as his teeth sank into its skin and flesh, which tasted sweet and fresh. As he chewed, the vast essence in the flesh rushed into his body and combined with the Nine Revolution Great Path Tea, causing his mental force to rotate at great speed. In just a flash, his mental force had fully recovered.
“This fruit is… excellent!” Bu Fang looked at the fruit in wonder. After finis.h.i.+ng it, he kept the seed and quietly sent it into the farmland so Niu Hansan could grow it into a tree. He just had to plant a seed today, and he would have an endless supply of Spirit Rejuvenating Fruits in the future.
“The Divine Chef Temple is lucky to have you, mister. This second test had hindered us for about five years, but as soon as you arrived, you solved it,” Luo Sanniang said, winking. “It’s a pity that although you have completed the second test, you have spent too much time. Mister has only one hundred breaths left, and I think it’s impossible to complete the third test in one hundred breaths.”
She then secretly gave Master Cheng a hateful look, who was approaching from a distance. Had it not been for this old fool’s interruption, which caused Bu Fang to pause for about ten breaths, he would have a longer time to complete the third test. Perhaps the ten breaths were the key to complete the task!
Master Cheng walked over with a dark face, his eyes fixed on Bu Fang. “I didn’t expect that a boy like you would have such a deep understanding of knife techniques! I’ve underestimated you… It is indeed not easy for a mere Spirit Divine Chef to come this far!” he said coldly.
“But that’s all you can do… In fact, I’ve long come out with the way to solve the second test…”
Before Master Cheng could finish, however, he was cut off by Bu Fang. “Stop talking… You’re disturbing me. I need to think of a way to solve the third test.”
Master Cheng was almost choked by his own words. His eyes went wide as a flush crept up his neck.
“You…”
He was furious. With his bad temper, he could not bear to be humiliated like this.
“That’s enough, Master Cheng. If you wish to watch, stay, but if you try to disturb this young mister, I’ll have no choice but to ask you to leave…” Luo Sanniang said coldly. She had no good impression of this bad-tempered old fool at all.
“Steward Luo, do you really think this boy can complete the third test? Why do you still put your hope in him when he merely completed the second test by a fluke? I can complete the second test too!” Master Cheng glared in anger. As someone who comprehended the Law of Fire, his temper was as hot as fire.
Luo Sanniang’s face froze. Her disgust for this old fool grew stronger, but at the same time, she knew what he said was true. Of the three tests in the first seal, with each more difficult than the last one, the third one was almost impossible to complete. It was wishful thinking for Bu Fang to complete the third test in one hundred breaths.
She sighed and thought she had better not offend Master Cheng too much. After all, the Divine Chef Temple’s higher echelon still attached great importance to him. They thought he was the key person who could break the inheritance seals.
“A fluke?”
Bu Fang glanced at Master Cheng as if he was looking at an idiot. His gaze gave both the Earth Divine Chef and Luo Sanniang pause.
“A real chef never has ‘fluke’ in his dictionary. We only wave our knives when we are confident… Don’t you understand such a simple truth? It is a shame for that word to come out of a chef’s mouth,” Bu Fang said indifferently.
The next moment, the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife appeared again, glinting goldenly as it spun in Bu Fang’s hand. Holding it firmly, he walked toward the array, his Vermilion Robe fluttering in the wind.
“Steward Luo, I’m going to solve the third test now. Please send those troublemakers away. He will soon realize that the fluke he mentioned is so… laughable.”