The once in a century culinary competition had yet to begin, but delectable aromas already pervaded the entire venue. At the center of the venue was a stage, but unlike normal arenas, it wasn’t empty. Instead, it had all sorts of tables, containers filled with ingredients, and stoves.

Surrounding the cooking arena were three layers of seating. The first layer was the closest to the stage and the lowest. Each seat was like a private box, decadent to the extreme. The second layer was a bit higher than the first to allow the people to gaze into the competition. It didn’t have the same luxury as the first layer, but each seat had a table and a comfortable amount of room.

The third layer of seating was the highest, but it was undoubtedly the poorest. There were no individual seats, and there was no barrier to guard against the chill of the mountaintop. The uninvited guests, Zou Chang, Yaoting, and the cultivators they brought were seated here.

Qi pulsed from Yaoting’s body, blasting away the thin layer of snow forming on his body. His eyes scanned the other cultivators that sat in the third layer. Unlike his group, most of them were only in the Foundation Establishment Realm, so they had to wear thick robes to combat the chill. However, none of them paid attention and stared at the arena with unblinking gazes. For immortal chefs like them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness the peak immortal chefs.

Zao Chang snorted. He whispered in a low voice, “What’s the use of a woman’s trade? Once we rise up, these stupid chefs will know how powerless their so-called skills are in front of true might.”

“Quiet,” Yaoting said. “If you want to mock them, do it with your spiritual sense. We still don’t know the origins of that lord. If you displease him, we definitely won’t be able to get away scot-free.”

During their month-long stay, rumors already spread that the mysterious couple were surnamed Xi. Aside from that, no one knew their true names.

Zao Chang frowned. In truth, he held a bit of resentment toward that mysterious couple. If they hadn’t shown up, they wouldn’t have needed to pay such a high price to attend. Still, he perfectly concealed those thoughts. He just hoped that the mysterious visitors would leave as soon as possible. He had a feeling that even if the entire world went against the visitors, they would still fail.

The hushed conversation suddenly stopped. Yaoting glanced toward the arena just in time to see Chef Kuai leading the unknown couple to one of the best seats. For a brief moment, his gazes connected with the princely man in purple. Upon staring into those bedeviling eyes, he lost all sense of space and time.

It was as if he had been transported into the Vast Void. All he saw was the unimaginably large and empty void with tiny glittering light in the distance. It made him realize how insignificant and powerless he was.

“—ting? Yaoting!?”

Yaoting broke out of his trance and turned toward Zao Chang. He shook his head at the latter’s inquiring gaze. “It’s nothing.”

He resumed his observation of the event, but he dared not gaze into the unknown expert’s eyes again.

Regardless of Yaoting’s thoughts, the air heated up as the immortal chefs gazed at Chef Kuai with heated gazes. He had already seated Lord and Lady Xi at the seats of honor. Only then did he walk onto the stage. He began his speech, but in the middle, he changed the narrative. “As some of you may have already heard, the competition was delayed because we received a rare and precious material. It would not be an exaggeration to say it will be rare to see once in a thousand years.”

“Of course, I’m talking about the Fire-Water Duality Duck!” At Chef Kuai’s words, the immortal chefs roared in excitement. “An esteemed guest offered it as ingredients, so to express our thanks, we have refined the feathers into this feathered-cape artifact!”

Chef Kuai took out a mantle made of feathers. It perfectly displayed the beautiful design of the Fire-Water Duality Duck. Not only that, it exuded the aura of a nascent soul-ranked artifact.

However, he did not see any joy on Lord Xi’s face, only stiffness. Lord Xi stayed silent, and just as Chef Kuai thought he had done something to offend him, the mysterious lord spoke. “I appreciate your thoughts. However, in light of the competition, I think you should offer the artifact to the winner.”

Upon hearing Lord Xi’s words, the participating chefs couldn’t help but become excited. In terms of artifacts, culinary types attracted them the most, but that didn’t mean the feathered cape didn’t attract them. Chef Kuai only hesitated for a moment. It seemed the mysterious Lord Xi wasn’t interested, so he could only obey.

If he knew such a thing would have happened, Chef Kuai wouldn’t have expended so much effort and resources to refine this cape. Although immortal chefs were the most prestigious occupation in the Shi Realm, the Immortal Chef Association still employed many artificers. Someone had to make their cooking tools for them, after all.

“Without further ado, let the Century Cooking Competition begin!” Chef Kuai said after placing the feathered cape with the other prizes. “First up, the elimination round!”

Over a thousand chefs had come to participate. Most of them were in the core formation realm, and a small minority were in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Because of the vast number, a hundred would go onto the stage at a time to compete. Each chef had to make enough food for a hundred people within six hours. Only the top five would move onto the next round.

Only when the number was reduced to a certain amount would the competition change to an elimination style tournament.

Soon, the delectable aroma already filling the venue increased and intensified. It was like a hundred different fragrances were competing for dominance. In this battle, one smell rose atop. White hazes drifted from the wok Mei Shiwu was controlling. The blue fire underneath burned brightly, causing crackling sounds to pop within the wok itself.

An hour later, a hundred bowls of ordinary rice were plated. Aside from the grains looking fifty percent larger than ordinary rice, it didn’t look all that special. However, even just a whiff of the aroma caused the judges to salivate. Ten bowls were presented to the ten judges, while an additional two were present to the mysterious couple.

Mei Shiwu cupped his hands as he presented his dish. “Mutton Jade Rice, please have a taste.”

Chef Kuai picked up his chopsticks first. He grabbed a small mouthful of the rice that glistened like mutton fat jade and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed a few times and then said. “Each grain has a crispy exterior, but the inside is still soft and has just the right amount of chew. There’s not much flavor, but each bite makes you want to have more. It is the perfect accompaniment for any dish. Not only that, each grain releases a gentle flow of qi. Even a mortal can safely eat a few bites.”

The nine other judges also picked up their chopsticks at this time and savored the rice dish. Unlike Chef Kuai who only took a few bites, they finished their small bowl. They sang all sorts of praises, but Mei Shiwu only accepted them without much change in expression. Instead, he glanced toward the mysterious couple, but to his disappointment, they didn’t even lift their chopsticks.

The rest of the eighty-eight bowls were distributed to the audience sitting close to the center in the second layer.

Mei Shiwu finished his dish so fast because of his skill and cultivation base. For the other chefs, it took them at least three days to present their dish. Some dishes, Chef Kuai didn’t even touch and directly disqualified the chef who cooked it.

The time allotted to the chef was only six days. If they couldn’t finish their dish within the time limit, they would be disqualified, no matter how delicious their dish was. The times Chef Kuai moved his chopsticks were less than the number of contestants on the stage.

As expected, Mei Shiwu was admitted to the next round, along with four other chefs. After the first elimination, the second elimination began. When that ended, the third elimination started and so on, until the contestants numbered less than ten percent of the original numbers.

Most of the food went to feed the audience. The first layer got the best dishes. The audience who sat in the second later received what the judges rated as top-rate dishes, just slightly below the peak dishes. While the third layer received everything else.

Of course, Yaoting and his group received the worst. It wasn’t even hidden. Even so, the cultivators he brought wolfed down the food as if they had been starved for months. Which was technically true. Even if they only ate the worst dishes, the taste was still beyond most immortal chefs they could come into contact with, and the gentle spiritual qi within was also extremely beneficial to them.

During this time, the mysterious couple watched the cooking technique with great relish. If the two did not pick up their chopsticks even once, the chefs would have thought they were technique thieves.

The elimination-style tournament began. As the first one to pass the first elimination round, Mei Shiwu entered the stage first. Unlike before, the number of ingredients had increased, while the table and stoves decreased so that it could only accommodate two cooks.

Once the match began, Mei Shiwu walked towards the container full of ingredients. The meat and organs harvested from the Fire-Water Duality Duck were not present, as it would only be used at the semi-final and finals.

Mei Shiwu waved his hand and turned some unknown grains he picked into dust. With another wave, he dried them out and made flour. Along with water, he added many other ingredients that numbered over a hundred into the dough mixture. Once it was done, he covered it and allowed it to rise.

Next, he took out large red meat. His butcher knife flashed and the beef turned into a collection of cubes. Each one was exactly the same size, as if all of them had been machine cut. He waved his sleeves again, and they all flew into a giant stock pot.

The stock pot had already been prepared ahead of time by Mei Shiwu. The fire under it roared and boiled the large bones that the chef had dunked inside. Every minute or so, a thin layer of scum would accumulate, but Mei Shiwu would wave his sleeve and blow the brown scum away.

While the stock boiled, Mei Shiwu wasn’t done. He placed a white radish-like vegetable on the chopping board. His butcher knife spun again, and the vegetable turned into circular disks. With another flash, they turned into long strips of equal size. Like the meat before them, they also flew into the stockpot.

Mei Shiwu continued his performance. Each swipe of his sleeve, each knife cut, was like a performance. The sounds from his movements also resembled an orchestra, and even made a few chefs close their eyes and listen. With just the sound alone, they could hear the confidence in Mei Shiwu’s movements, as well his precision.

A week later, Mei Shiwu presented a simple bowl of noodles. Despite using over a hundred ingredients for the stock, what remained was a clear broth. The only embellishment was the small layer of fat atop the soup. The noodles were also formed from the dough by pulling. He only sliced them at the end, right before cooking.

“Thousand Year Longevity Noodle, please have a taste,” Mei Shiwu said.

Like before, Chef Kuai ate first. He first sipped the soup. “It has an incredible depth of flavor despite its lightness. I can taste over a hundred ingredients. The oil doesn’t feel greasy at all, and just one sip fills my body with energy.”

After sampling the soup, he took a bite out of the noodle. “Incredibly soft, and it has perfectly absorbed the flavor of the broth. Yet, the flavor isn’t a pure repetition of the broth. I can feel my vitality—?!”

For the first time, Chef Kuai finally looked shocked. “What is this? I can feel my vitality overflowing and even feel a sense of vigor that I haven’t felt in years. What did you do?”

Mei Shiwu smiled. “There’s a reason I called it the Thousand Year Longevity Noodle. A single bowl can extend the lifespan of the person who ate it by a hundred years.”

Chef Kuai couldn’t help but stare at Mei Shiwu. Not just him, but everyone, including Yaoting, stared at the immortal chef. No matter the cultivator, things that could extend lifespans were extremely alluring to them. There have been many immortal chefs who could create such dishes, but Mei Shiwu was only hundred of years old. And it would take the immortal chefs countless times more ingredients and time to prepare a dish that could even extend one year.

Undoubtedly, most people thought Mei Shiwu was a shoo-in for the champion.

Mei Shiwu basked in the cultivators’ gazes. He turned his head toward Lord and Lady Xi, but to his disappointment, they still didn’t move their chopsticks. Fire erupted in his eyes as he vowed to make the duo understand the greatness of his cooking.