Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
Spicy and fragrant fish head with chopped spicy peppers…
A thick aroma which was spicy and fragrant floated around the entire place. With a thick layer of chili laid on top of the fish head, the contrast of the red and green with the gravy on top of the fish gave it a unique look.
There was a hint of smoothness in the aroma which was in the air. The spicy flavor continued to spread into the surroundings.
Bu Fang was very satisfied with this dish. The fish meat was glistering with luster and there was spirit energy floating about in the dish. All of these were signs that he had controlled the fire exquisitely. All of the essence in the medical herbs had been successfully absorbed into the meat of the fish.
However, the alchemists on the stage completely hated Bu Fang’s dish.
When the Chopped Pepper Fish Head was completed, there was a thick aroma which lingered in the air. In the midst of the aroma, there was a hunt of an eerie spicy flavor.
The spicy flavor continued to float about, covering the surrounding alchemists.
Since the alchemists had already sealed their sense of smell, they were not able to smell the fragrance coming from the Chopped Pepper Fish Head. However, they didn’t seal their mouths as they still had to breathe through it.
In the split second that they opened their mouths to breathe, the spicy flavor entered them and went down their throat.
The alchemists were determined to not allow their furnaces to explode. However, they were afraid of the spicy flavor from the bottom of their hearts.
What the f**k? What in the world that dude cook?
In an instant, all of them felt as though their tongue became numb. They felt as though they were thrown into a pit of fire as a burning feeling engulfed their body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At that moment, the sound of furnaces exploding could be heard again. This time, the sound was even more thoroughout. Along with the first explosion sound, it was as though a domino effect was unleashed. Almost all of the alchemists caused their furnaces to explode with the slightest error.
In fact, none of them wanted to cause their furnaces to explode. However, they were unable to concentrate with the burning sensation in their mouths.
Their eyes became red and huge droplet of tears rolled out from them. It was as though a downpour was occurring on their faces. The tears landed onto the ground with a loud plop.
The sadness in their heart was so painful that it became difficult for them to breathe.
Failed… They really failed!
The enemy of the alchemist guild! Indeed, he deserved his name. It wasn’t just a joke.
The spicy flavor was basically sending them to heaven.
The head judge cried as though he was a little kid. When the smell of the Chopped Pepper Fish Head started to spread out and enter his nose, he cried even more. He hated this spicy flavor from the bottom of his heart. Like those alchemists, he sealed up his sense of smell. However, the spiciness had seeped into his mouth and drifted into his eyes.
His tears began to fall like raindrops during a thunderstorm.
Why was life so difficult? He didn’t want to cry, however, he was unable to stop his tears from falling.
In an instant, the scene on top of the first arena caused the surrounding spectators to drop their jaws in shock. The audience below the arena were blinking their eyes in shock. Bean-sized tears were rolling down their faces.
The alchemists on stage were crying and exploding their furnaces at the same time.
The head judge was sprawled on the ground, crying. He cried to the point where he couldn’t breathe properly.
What in the world was going on there?
Such a huge scene attracted the attention of many other people. The audience who were gathered at the other arena looked over as all of them were curious about what had happened. When they all saw such a scene on the first arena, an odd look appeared on their faces.
Not only were the alchemists crying, but the audience below the arena was also crying as well… Even the usually serious judge was crying. Could it be that something devastating happened on the first arena?
All of the curious audience members went toward the first arena in order to take a look at the situation.
There were some members of the audience who left, however, many of them took their place.
When the new members arrived at the bottom of the first arena, they started to cry as well.
In the instant they were assaulted by the spicy aroma, they felt as though their noses got separated from their bodies. It was as though a heavy punch landed on their faces and an unbearable burning sensation covered them. They were unable to stop the tears rolling out from their eyes when the stinging aroma of the chili entered their eyes.
All of them finally realized why there were so many people crying! Everything was because of that chef in the first arena! The chef was said to be the enemy of the entire alchemist guild!
The spicy fragrance… was simply too scary!
They had never smelt anything like that before. It was a smell which would cause some people to die.
After quite some time, the head judge finally got up from the ground. His eyes were swollen and bloodshot from crying. His nose was completely red and it appeared as though he was drunk. His lips were red, swollen, and hot. After he wiped the tear stains off his face, he was extremely tempted to strangle Bu Fang.
This dude actually dared to release poison in public!
The main point was whether he actually gave them a warning before releasing his poison.
He trusted this kid too much… He was sure that whatever Bu Fang cooked would be fragrant… However, what in the world did he make?
It was seriously too spicy!
What kind of chili did he use? How was it so spicy?
After they were assaulted by the spicy aroma from the Chopped Pepper Fish Head, all of the furnaces had exploded. This time, there wasn’t a single surviving alchemist.
All of the alchemists on stage were crying non-stop. They had swollen red lips on their faces as tears dripped down them.
As the luster slowly dissipated, the meat on the Chopped Pepper Fish Head quivered under the fierce movement of the steam around it.
The head judge shot a look of hatred toward Bu Fang as he slowly walked to where Bu Fang was standing.
He knew that this elimination round was completely f**ked. On top of that, it was even worse than the day before. There were at least three people who passed the elimination round the day before… However, there was only a single one today.
On top of that, the only person who was qualified was the culprit… He was not even an alchemist, he was just a chef.
A group of alchemists was wiped out by a single chef.
It was a huge embarrassment.
“Duo yu noe wot yu’ve dune?!” * With his mouth swollen, the head judge furiously shouted with some messed up sounds coming from his mouth. He felt mentally tired after saying a few words.
(TLN: Do you know what you’ve done?!)
He regretted his actions. Why did he not guard against Bu Fang’s trick?
“What did you say? Can you speak clearly?” Bu Fang furrowed his eyebrows as he was confused. He asked for the head judge to repeat himself.
With his eyes wide open and bloodshot, the head judge repeated himself in an unclear voice.
Bu Fang moved his mouth, “You should speak clearly! If you don’t speak clearly, how would I understand the words coming out from your mouth?”
Looking at Bu Fang’s confused appearance, the head judge wanted to spit blood. Due to his intense breathing, not only was his mouth swollen, but his tongue also became numb. He couldn’t talk properly.
“Just start judging my dish.” After thinking about it, Bu Fang said.
The head judge wanted to cry. He was extremely tired in his heart.
Giving up on speaking to Bu Fang, the head judge took out a Talisman. As his true energy surged into the Talisman, a light flashed. A huge magic array appeared and covered that Chopped Pepper Fish Head.
The audience who were below the arena finally stopped crying. Some blew their nose and all of them watched as the test on the stage was carried out.
The audience members became depressed. They were just passing by… Why were they affected by the dish?
However, their interest was piqued at this dish which emitted a thick and extremely spicy aroma. Could that thing actually be qualified to pass this stage?
This was the exact same thought in many alchemists’ mind.
Something with such a thick and spicy aroma… The spiciness was so strong that it burned their eyes. Could it actually pass this round?
However, those people who were skeptical were soon disappointed.
The radiance from the magic array was so bright that it nearly blinded them. Looking at the light emitted from the magic array, it could only mean that the dish contained an extraordinary amount of spirit energy. The spirit energy in the dish was many times more than that of an elixir.
A dish with way more spirit energy than elixirs!
Was he really a cook? It was too terrifying.
The head judge was unable to believe the results shown by the magic array. He didn’t think that the dish Bu Fang cooked would be so rich in spirit energy.
“Give it a taste… It should taste pretty good… The effects of the dish wouldn’t be bad either,” Bu Fang said gently.
The head judge blanked out for a moment and his heart jerked.
Raising his head, he glanced at Bu Fang. He noticed Bu Fang’s gaze which was filled with encouragement.
Encouragement? Screw your encouragement!
This thing… Would he even dare to eat it?
Just the aroma coming from the dish caused him to lose hope. As for the taste… Wouldn’t it be so spicy that he would start to question the purpose of his own life?
“Eat it! Head judge, we believe in you!”
“Sob sob sob… It’s too spicy! Head judge, just give it a taste! You can’t let us suffer for nothing!”
“It’s such a huge pile of chili… My mouth feels numb just by looking at it!”
…
Even though the audience had red and puffy eyes, they didn’t forget to kick up a fuss. Every one of them was hyped as if they were injected with chicken blood.
They were all there in order to join in on the fun. In order to watch a good show, they had to go through so much… How could they leave before the real show started?
Even the smell of the dish was spicy enough to make them shed tears. If someone ate it, would they turn into an idiot?
“Try it.” Bu Fang coaxed the head judge. He knew that after the head judge ate his dish, he would be able to give Bu Fang’s store a free advertisement. After the advertisement, Bu Fang could easily continue to do business in his store.
The head judge swallowed his saliva. In his heart, he was really rejecting Bu Fang’s idea.
Why did he have to volunteer himself to be the judge for this round of elimination? Was he retarded?
Right now, he really regretted his decision.
However, there was no medicine for regret. He wasn’t able to go back in time to change his decision. He could only pick up the pair of chopstick on the table with shaky hands.
Shooting a glance at Bu Fang, he looked at the audience below the arena. His heart was shivering as he thought about what he was about to do.
Did he really have to eat it?
He slowly reached out and scraped off the chili on the fish head. The red hot chili oil instantly flowed out of the chili when he pushed them away. The spicy fragrance rushed out and drilled into the head judge’s nose again. In an instant, his eyes lit up. The red gravy immediately flowed out of the chilies. The fragrance began to rush out. This caused the head judge’s eyes to light up.
Even though there was a spicy flavor coming from the smell of the dish, it wasn’t too scary when he was so close to the dish.
With a slight force, he stabbed the chopsticks into the fish meat. He lightly picked up the meat, which was still emitting steam, and could see that the meat of the fish was extremely soft and tender. It was as though the meat was quivering as he held it in between his chopsticks.
The meat was shining like a crystal. There was still spirit energy churning around the dish and it appeared as though it was a piece of white jade.
It seemed as though it was going to taste pretty good…
The head judge was surprised and looked at the piece of fish meat in awe. Looking at the white and tender meat, it was as though the meat wasn’t affected by the chili at all.
In the instant he stuffed the fish meat into his mouth, a warm sensation started to spread out. The meat was extremely tender. It seemed as though it was going to break apart with a slight movement from the head judge. He had the feeling that the fish meat was sliding into his stomach without much resistance.
In his mouth, the fragrance exploded along with an extremely thick spicy aroma. Within his mouth, the spicy flavor wasn’t choking and there was no irritating smell either. However, the burning hot sensation caused the pores on his body to open up in a very comfortable way.
“This… This is delicious!” The head judge’s eyes glittered and it seemed as though his eyes lit up. It was completely out of his expectations. The dish Bu Fang made was extremely delicious! The spicy aroma which came from the dish suddenly became not that hard to accept.
He picked up another piece of fish meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
The fish meat contained both fragrant and spicy flavor. The spiciness seeped into the fish meat and became quite gentle. It wasn’t too strong which made it seem just right for consumption.
The audience watched the head judge with a shocked expression as they saw that he became more excited the more he ate. The script wasn’t supposed to be like this…
Shouldn’t the dish be extremely spicy? Why did the judge become more and more excited the more he ate?
Looking at the way he ate, it didn’t even seem as though the dish was spicy at all!
Thump!
As the head judge continued to eat the Chopped Pepper Fish Head excitedly, Bu Fang took out his giant board and smashed it onto the bronze platform. With a serious face, he began to advertise his store to the audience below.
By this time, the audience members were already familiar with Bu Fang’s advertisement.
This dude would definitely make an advertisement every round. As of today, many people had already known about the existence of the Cloud Mist Restaurant.
After this round of competition, the Cloud Mist Restaurant would definitely become famous in Heavenly Mist City.
The third round of eliminations was over.
Bu Fang was the only qualified competitor from the first arena…
Although it seemed somewhat surprising to everyone that only one person passed this round, it was still within expectations that something like that would happen.
However, when the elimination round was over, the atmosphere of the plaza changed. In the skies, a huge warship which blocked out the sun appeared out of nowhere. It gave out an oppressive aura as it hovered above the plaza.
A few human figures slowly walked out from inside the battleship.
