When the judge saw the array inspection results, his expression stiffened, and his delight from a moment ago disappeared.
All the surrounding spectators were dumbfounded; they found it really incredible.
The pupils of the alchemists from the Heavenly Pill City and Heavenly s.h.i.+ne City dilated, and their bodies shuddered.
They had failed!
They
all failed… The elixirs they had refined did not reach the stipulated
requirement, causing them to get eliminated in this elimination round.
Despite
all that, Bu Fang remained indifferent. He grabbed the Cloud Mist
Restaurant"s board with one hand, he exerted some strength and hoisted
it onto his shoulder before slowly walking down from the arena.
The spectators looked on at him in shock as they made a path for him.
Only one person had pa.s.sed the eighth arena"s round, and that person was the only chef in the Magical Hand Conference.
Hiss!!
They
all couldn"t help sucking in mouthfuls of cold air. The events that had
just occurred, to them, were incredulous and extraordinary. Such as
result was too outrageous.
At that moment, the alchemists from
the Heavenly Pill City and Heavenly s.h.i.+ne City slipped into a reverie,
albeit not a pleasant one. They were highly talented geniuses and had
garnered some fame in the world of alchemists. However, they still
couldn"t pa.s.s this elimination round and were eliminated. This was a
grave blow to them.
"If not for the disturbance caused by the
fragrance, then how would I have ended up refining such a thrashy
elixir…" An alchemist from Heavenly s.h.i.+ne City was so angry that his
expression became somewhat distorted, and he almost flew into a rage.
His entire body could not stop trembling with rage.
Unlike him,
the alchemist from the Heavenly Pill City just shook his head and
sighed. He was more open-minded than his counterpart from the Heavenly
s.h.i.+ne City, however, it would be a lie if he said that he didn"t resent
Bu Fang. If it were not for the alluring fragrance that was emitted
while Bu Fang was cooking, he would not have been eliminated in this
round. After all, he was a genius who had the possibility of reaching
the top fifty.
However, there was no such thing as "only if" in this world.
"We
failed… and we can only blame ourselves since our skills weren"t good
enough. We must continue to strive hard in the alchemy path."
All the alchemists sighed, and then they turned around, walked down from the stage, and left.
Out
of all of them, the judge suffered the most. As he took back his jade
talisman, he felt as though a torrential storm of curses were rus.h.i.+ng at
him from the chief judge.
The day before, four people had
pa.s.sed, at least; but now, only one person pa.s.sed. This was something
that had never happened in any Magical Hand Conference.
As the
judge clutched his head, he suddenly felt fear at the thought of running
into Bu Fang again. As long as that guy climbed up the stage, nothing
good would occur.
"F*ck! If I run into him again, I"ll quit being a judge, else he really will cause me to have a cardiac arrest."
At that moment, the judge had tears streaming down his cheeks, while the spectators clamored in excitement.
An extremely exciting piece of news had spread out of the eighth arena once again.
From
out of the group of fifty-one compet.i.tors, including genius alchemists
from the Heavenly Pill City and Heavenly s.h.i.+ne City, who had just
competed in the arena, almost all of them were eliminated. Only one
person had managed to pa.s.s the round.
Furthermore, the compet.i.tor that pa.s.sed the round wasn"t an alchemist, a doctor or a poison master.
He was just a… chef.
A chef had partic.i.p.ated in the Magical Hand Conference and managed to stand out in the elimination round by pa.s.sing it.
Were the alchemists with him all morons?
When
the news spread, the spectators became excited and exclaimed in
surprise. People were usually attracted by the appearance of such dark
horses in the compet.i.tion.
Unlike the spectators, the alchemists
stood in solidarity against Bu Fang. They were alchemists, after all, so
they had to protect the dignity of alchemists on their own. The chef,
to them… was a common enemy of all alchemists.
Although the
alchemists who were defeated by Bu Fang in that round were angry, the
person who had suffered the most was the judge.
As the judge had expected, he got scolded by the chief judge, leaving him feeling so aggrieved that he almost choked.
This was especially true after he was suspended from his duty as a judge because countless complaints about him were received.
How pitiful was that?
The judge was quite aggrieved at that moment because he really was innocent and free of guilt.
However,
as he mulled over his ordeal some more, he calmed down and relaxed;
after all, if he hadn"t been relieved of his position as a judge, he
would once again run into that chef who carried a board, Bu Fang.
.....
"Was our senior brother Liu… eliminated?"
Duan Yun"s pupils dilated when he heard the news.
A
genius who had placed among the top fifty of the Heavenly Pill City"s
Pill Tower"s ranking was actually eliminated in the elimination round.
That piece of news thoroughly shocked Duan Yun.
Senior brother Liu sat dejectedly in the Heavenly Pill City"s wars.h.i.+p; he seemed dazed and beside himself.
The
Magical Hand Conference was an event for alchemists to prove
themselves. It was an extremely important stage for all alchemists. They
had made countless preparations in order to showcase their skills and
amaze everyone. However, senior brother Liu got eliminated before he had
managed to display his true skill. This was an extremely grave blow to
him.
"It"s said that out of the fifty people who had partic.i.p.ated
alongside our senior brother Liu, only one managed to pa.s.s the round,
and furthermore, that person wasn"t even an alchemist..." One of the
alchemists from Heavenly Pill City"s alchemists said while sighing in
regret.
Duan Yun was taken aback by the alchemist"s words. Had
the round been that brutal and difficult? Out of fifty-one contestants,
only one person had managed to pa.s.s? How did such a matter occur?
From
the fifty partic.i.p.ants in his arena, around fifteen people had managed
to pa.s.s that round and head to the second elimination round.
"That"s
just the way it is... Do you know how shocked I was to learn that the
guy who defeated our senior brother Liu was a chef?"
"A chef?" Duan Yun was taken aback once again by his words. Even chefs could partic.i.p.ate in the conference?
"That"s
right, a chef. The chef cooked an extremely fragrant dish that
prevented the others from concentrating while they refined their
elixirs. It was said that more than forty people blew up their furnaces.
That chef was really demented," said the alchemist from the Heavenly
Pill City in a tone of surprise.
When Duan Yun heard that, he breathed in deeply because he found it somewhat hard to believe.
Was that chef trying to challenge every alchemist? If he wasn"t, why would he dare to be that rampant?
"Junior
brother Duan Yun, I still must tell you the most important part: every
dish the chef made was equivalent to a ninth grade elixir, and they let
him pa.s.s the matches. This was the most incredible aspect. Can"t you see
that the emergence of such dishes is a bare provocation to the prestige
of alchemists?"
Hold on… Duan Yun heaved in another deep breath,
and his body s.h.i.+vered when he heard that. A dish that had the same
effects as an elixir?
Why did he find that really familiar?
Suddenly, the image of a small restaurant within a small empire in the Land of Southern Border appeared in Duan Yun"s mind.
That small restaurant was located in a really remote area, but it was still very prosperous...
All
the dishes at that restaurant were similar to elixirs, and the effects
one would gain from eating them weren"t any weaker than what one would
gain from an elixir.
Was the person partic.i.p.ating here one of the Owner Bu"s junior or senior brothers?
F*ck!
If it was the case, then there would be a tough and bitter fight awaiting him.
Duan
Yun"s body s.h.i.+vered involuntarily, while his hair fluttered in the
wind. He deeply understood how formidable Owner Bu"s skill was.
"Senior brother, do you know when that chef"s next match will be held? I want to go and watch it," Duan Yun asked.
That
alchemist was taken aback by the question, but he shook his head in
affirmation, nevertheless. "All the matches that the chef partic.i.p.ated
in had been lively and bustling. This… no… the next elimination round
will be held in the fifth arena, and the chef will be partic.i.p.ating, as
well. Another piece of news which I got through my own information
network reveals that the next elimination round will be personally
supervised by the chief judge."
The fifth arena? When Duan Yun heard that, he was so surprised that his expression turned ugly.
"Senior
brother Zhang... won"t you also compete in the fifth arena?" Duan Yun
said, with a small voice, to the youth in front of him.
"Eh? I"m
competing in the fifth arena? What the f*ck… I was only concerned with
that chef"s match location, and I ended up forgetting to check my
own..." The youth"s complexion turned pale, and he turned around and
sprinted toward the outside.
After a while, Duan Yun heard the loud and miserable wails of someone.
"What the f*ck!!"
.....
The second elimination round in the fifth arena.
Four
hours quickly pa.s.sed. Bu Fang arrived in front of the fifth arena, and
he was carrying his Cloud Mist Restaurant"s board. He was somewhat
surprised when he saw the large number of people that surrounded the
arena, sealing it.
What happened?
Nethery, who followed beside him, coldly looked at the spectators surrounding the arena.
She
seemed to have understood Bu Fang"s current predicament because, as her
hair fluttered in the wind, she strode forward and stood in front of Bu
Fang; after which, she raised her fair and thin arm.
"Make way."
An indifferent voice echoed as black true energy surged out of
Nethery"s arm. A rumble resounded, and a path was forcefully created
within the sea of people. Two large ma.s.ses of people fell onto both
sides of the path.
Bu Fang was taken aback by the development,
and the corners of his mouth couldn"t help twitching. Nethery was truly
domineering. She looked at him and proudly flung her black long hair
around.
The spectators were somewhat stupefied, but they could only look on as Bu Fang slowly strode forward and ascended to the arena.
The
cold and aloof Nethery stood beside the arena, and no one dared to step
within several meters of her because she was emitting an extremely
terrifying and stifling aura.
Bu Fang walked to his bronze
platform and placed down the board he had been carrying. He proceeded to
take out his Black Turtle Constellation Wok as usual; as the heavy wok
fell onto the bronze platform, a sonorous rumble resounded, and the
platform trembled slightly.
All the other compet.i.tors proceeded to ascend into the arena.
Bu Fang"s current fame wasn"t the same as before; he wasn"t as unknown and obscure as he was when he just arrived.
When
the alchemists discovered that Bu Fang would be competing in the same
round, their hearts lurched as though ten thousand black dogs were
galloping within them.
As for Heavenly Pill City"s senior brother Zhang, his complexion grew paler, and his face brimmed with despair.
"It will soon start. I wonder how many people will be eliminated this time."
"Competing with this chef is the most tragic and pitiful situation that someone can encounter in this Magical Hand Conference."
"I"m
really looking forward to the chef"s entry into the top fifty and for
him to compete against the truly talented alchemists. Don"t you all
think that it will be quite interesting?"
...
The
spectators chatted amongst themselves in excitement, while the nerves of
the alchemists in the arena tightened; however, they didn"t dare loosen
up.
At this time, the chief judge came over. He was a
dignified-looking man who was one of Heavenly Mist City"s Pill Tower"s
Three Clouds alchemists.
The man arrived wearing a solemn
expression at this moment. When he stepped into the arena, with his
hands clasped behind him, his gaze, which seemed as sharp as a sword,
immediately fixated on Bu Fang.
Was this guy the chef who caused two great elimination of compet.i.tors?
He
really wanted to see what kind of trick the chef would use now. There
was no one who dared to use cheap tricks in front of him.
Bu Fang
seemed to have sensed the chief judge"s gaze, and he raised his head to
meet the sharp gaze headlong. Bu Fang curled up the corners of his
mouth and rolled his eyes at the chief judge, then began to twirl his
Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife before hacking his cutting board with it.
Just
after that, in front of countless shock-filled gazes, he took a giant
crab from his system"s dimensional storage. It was a giant crab that was
tied up with ropes. There was still foam coming out of its mouth.
Everyone present was shocked.
What the f*ck! Will this chef make a new dish?