The beginning is only when you become a chef

Chapter 208: Extreme Knife Skills! (6K)

"Option ①: Basic Knife Skills [Perfect] → Basic Knife Skills [Extreme]"

"Option 4: Gourmet Cell Sequence 3 [Universal] → Gourmet Cell Sequence [Universal]"

"Option ③: [Dark Gold (Legendary) Treasure Box] *2"

……

Xia An's temples were throbbing, and he was secretly amazed that the reward list was worthy of being upgraded twice. Every option made him drool.

After scanning the area, Xia An's eyes were fixed on option ① and he couldn't move away:
"The 'limit point' that I didn't get at the Cat Island Festival was actually achieved at the feast in the Monster Country."

He opened his personal panel and checked the basic skills column.

The two items [Heat Temperature] and [Pastry] have undergone a transformation, now coated with a faint pseudo-gold border.

There is no doubt that if option ① is taken, [Knife Skills] will become the third basic skill to be transformed to the ultimate level after the first two!

But don’t forget…

After his basic skills have been transformed to the extreme, he can also gain new talents.

For example, Jijing Pastry gave rise to the [Palace of White Pastry].

The extreme fire temperature gave rise to [Hell of Fire].

In other words, option ① means "take one, get one free" for Xia An, and he can immediately obtain two pseudo-gold frame talents.

So, is it worth considering?
Even if option ② could allow him to be promoted directly from a Sequence 4 Pseudo-Lin to a Sequence 3 True Lin.

But Xia An has never worried about the bottleneck in the rank of the Food King route.

After all, he is the owner of a volcanic island and has plenty of high-quality ingredients to squander. By cooking and eating, he doesn't have to worry about the accumulation of cellular energy.

What's more, he has now successfully recorded the coordinates of the Monster Land.

Just like unlocking a teleportation point on the advanced map of the food world and the Dark Continent, are you still worried that there won’t be enough high-end ingredients to help you advance?

As for option ③, it’s that love-hate gambling box again…

Cheyenne has already won once.

When settling the Cat Island Festival objectives, I opened the treasure chest and was extremely lucky to get the level 95 ingredient [Meteorite Garlic].

But how can you win every time if you gamble?
Once you start to take chances, you will soon lose everything.

After thinking it through, Xia An no longer hesitated and made his choice decisively.

On the personal panel, the icons and columns belonging to [Basic Knife Skills] burst into brilliant light.

……

[Basic knife skills (perfection) → Basic knife skills (extreme)]

[Evaluation: Basic moves can also be used to achieve divine power! ]

……

wow-

A stream of information shining with a faint golden light poured into Xia An's head.

Human figures appeared before his eyes.

Some people are busy carving carrot heads at their desks;
Someone was holding a live fish in his palm, with the thin blades flying, and the silky sashimi dancing;

Someone was banging a kitchen knife rapidly. I didn't see the person, but just heard the sound of the knife falling, and my heart seemed to beat to the rhythm.
There are also people standing in front of huge prey like mountains, holding a large machete, demonstrating the magical "Pao Ding's butchering" technique.

These people are undoubtedly knife masters and legendary chefs who have left their names in the history of the food industry.

This was the third time Xia An had seen such a scene, but he was still shocked:
"In the history of the culinary world of Blue Star alone, there have been so many masters of knife skills!"

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of two familiar figures——

The tall and burly Ryan wearing the "Seven Star Sword".

Xiang En, also wearing the "Seven Star Sword" and with a mature and charming style.

Xiang En cut a knife at the shadow of the fish floating in the air, and without the fish noticing, he took the fish eggs out of its abdominal cavity.

Ryan, with a compassionate look on his face, affixed a salvation talisman to an old cow that had knelt down on its front hooves, and then performed a set of compassionate salvation sword techniques -

Fierce Bull and Blue Dragon Slash!
Xia An stood nearby, watching in fascination:
"Both of them are top talents in the field of knife skills, but Ryan's character determines that he will only go higher and further."

"Xiang En will think of crooked ideas and use shady tactics."

"And Ryan has been working diligently for a hundred years!"

With outstanding qualifications and unremitting efforts, you can become a culinary god.

Xia An sighed, watching Xiang En and Ryan's figures disappear from his sight one after another.

However, the whole process of Ryan performing the ancient stunt "Bull Blue Dragon Slash" seemed to be engraved in his mind, which not only shocked him, but also made him vaguely capture some unprecedented "inspiration".

Soon, a crisp prompt sound came from the panel, bringing Xia An back to reality.

A pale golden light appeared on the retina.

"Is the derived talent... coming?" Xia An couldn't wait to check.

Exclusive extreme knife skills talent——

【Tianhui Sword Heart】(Fake Gold)!
The name is kind of cool...

Xia An subconsciously clicked on the details, but to his surprise, the information was blank.

He frowned. "Just like the [Inferno] of the Ultimate Fire and the [Palace of White Case] ​​of the Ultimate Pastry, do I need to explore the effects and uses myself?"

He has tested it out.

[Inferno] can strengthen the micro-control of fire, making him like a son of fire;

[White Case Hall] can greatly improve the quality of finished dishes.

So, what will be the effect of [Heavenly Sword Heart], a talent derived from the ultimate swordsmanship?

Xia An couldn't help but replay the scene of Ryan performing the ancient stunt in his mind, and the "aura" in the knife skills field that had just disappeared was triggered again.

Countless unfamiliar perceptions came to him, as if it was not the first time he saw Ryan perform "Bull Blue Dragon Slash", but he had been practicing it secretly for several years.

"Could it be that... this is to strengthen my comprehension? To make it easier for me to comprehend and learn profound knife skills? An incomparable comprehension?"

……

The next day, the atmosphere in the main hall of the shrine was solemn.

The three demon kings sat behind the lacquered table, fidgeting, glancing towards the door from time to time.

Da da da…

When footsteps were heard on the stairs.

Swah——

The three demon kings stood up at the same time and looked at each other warily.

Fox Girl Long reminded: "Just follow what we agreed last night and don't influence Chef Xia's decision!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Shion priestess appeared at the entrance of the hall, leading Xia An.

Cat God Spot opened his eyes on the altar and asked with interest, "Chef Xia, have you decided which demon king in the demon land you want to sign a contract with?"

Hearing this, the three demon kings' eyes were full of eager anticipation as they stared at Xia An closely.

However, don't forget Shuten-doji——

This little girl, who was less than 1.5 meters tall and was completely drunk, did not have a hangover and was waiting in the hall on time.

Xia An looked over and his eyes met Shuten-doji's.

While she was slightly puzzled, Xia An said slowly: "I want to make a contract with Shuten Douji."

Cat God Spot:?

Three Demon Kings:? ?
"Are you sure--" the cat god asked in astonishment, "Why did you choose this little girl instead of the big monster?"

Xia An replied: "I heard that there are many kinds of contracts. I want to sign a master-servant contract with her."

"Master-servant contract..." Cat God Spot was silent for a moment, as if he understood Xia An's thoughts.

Compared to the uncontrollable and unruly demon king, it is indeed worthwhile to gain the absolute loyalty of a great demon.

But... for Xia An who can cook glowing dishes, will the Demon King really disobey?
Cat God Spot couldn't help but say: "You are a chef who can cook glowing food, so you don't have to worry about not being able to tame the demon king."

Shuten-doji wiped the wine oozing from the corner of his mouth and shouted:

"Hey - who said last night that we can't interfere with Chef Xia's choice today?"

As she said that, she put away the wine gourd and happily jumped in front of Xia An, "Come on, let's sign the master-servant contract! I won't lose out if I recognize a glowing cook as my master! Hehehe!"

A strong demonic power suddenly surged out of her small body, which was less than 1.5 meters tall.

These demonic powers surged in the air and condensed into a brand new [Yokai Notebook], with Shuten's true demon form revealed on the cover.

slam-la-

This monster notebook flew to Xia An by itself.

"This notebook... has a lot of pages? It looks very thick?" Xia An took it in his hand curiously.

He had just read the monster notebook of senior Lei Xiang last night. In comparison, the notebook created by Shuten Douji using his monster power and soul had more pages and was thicker.

"Hehe, of course!"

Shuten-doji put his hands on his hips and said proudly, "My demon power is top-notch among all the great demons, so the number of pages and thickness of this 'Yokai Notebook' are almost the same as the notebook condensed by the demon king!"

"And the number of pages in the notebook represents the number of lives that can be contained and controlled."

"In other words, the more pages there are, the more spacious the 'Yokai Notebook' that you, the Master of the Spirits, or the Spirit Space, will be!"

Xia An nodded: "What should I do?"

"Cut your finger and draw the spell..."

Xia An did as he was told.

During this period, the three demon kings were blocked outside the barrier by the cat god Ban. They stared with wide eyes and clenched teeth, watching Xia An and Shuten Douji complete the contract.

Seeing the blood-colored spell glowing, the three demon kings instantly became like deflated balls, looking at each other in frustration.

At this time, Cat God Spot removed the barrier.

Fox Girl Long took the lead and approached Xia An, saying sincerely: "Chef Xia, I am willing to divide part of my soul and create a true spirit clone for you to use under the contract."

Xia An put the [Monster Notebook] into his body. Hearing this, he was secretly delighted. He said that the fish had been hooked, and turned around in surprise:
"Is this okay? If your true spirit clone enjoys the glowing dishes, can your real body also eat them?"

Fox Girl Long replied:
"Of course, in addition to the shared memories and senses, the progress of the True Spirit clone's cultivation will also be fed back to the original body."

Xia An asked tentatively: "Then is it okay to sign a master-servant contract?"

"I'd love to!"

The fox girl Long answered without hesitation.

Xia An: “…”

I used the luminous food to catch the demon king and turned it into a black carp?
Cat God Spot narrowed his eyes and watched this scene: "..."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This boy is such a damn good fisherman. Fortunately, he strictly ordered Long, Bai and Yu not to use their real bodies to make contracts, otherwise the three top leaders of the Monster Town would have been poached today.

Great Tenguha and Kujo Bird White also stepped forward in unison:

“We want to sign too!”

……

Outside the main hall, Shion Miko quietly withdrew after seeing that the contract was completed. In the front yard of the shrine, she ran into Asakura Ritsuki, who was holding a broom and looked dazed.

“Liyue-chan—” Shion shrine maiden stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Asakura Liyue’s eyes. The genius shrine maiden came back to her senses, “Sister Shion?”

Asakura Liyue calmed down, bit her lip and looked towards the main hall, then turned back and looked at the Shion Miko seriously:

"Have the three demon kings already made a contract with him?"

Seeing Shion Miko nod, Asakura Liyue was clearly unconvinced: "The three demon kings favor him so much?"

Shion Miko whispered, "Haven't you already tasted the glowing, crispy fried crab legs?"

“Even without mentioning the glowing version, how would you respond if he showed that perfect or 100% perfect dish in a cooking competition?”

Asakura Liyue was speechless for a moment. After a moment, she pretended to be stubborn and said:
"But as long as you give me perfect and pure ingredients, I believe that the dishes I can make will not be worse than his."

Shion Miko frowned and looked serious: "He personally handled the pure ingredients, and all the steps before officially cooking also showed his cooking skills."

"If you're still not convinced, go and do it yourself, remove the pollution, and get pure ruby ​​crab ingredients!"

Asakura Riyue was left speechless.

"You disappoint me, Liyue-chan." Before leaving, Shion Miko said coldly, "You will be punished to clean the shrine for a month. You are strictly forbidden to enter any kitchen. Calm down for a while."

……

The Spirit Master Market.

This is actually the main street where the spirit masters live in the demon town.

Dong Yegang brought Xia An over: "Usually, the spirit masters who don't have hunting missions will set up stalls here in their spare time to sell all kinds of food and snacks."

It can be said that the main street in front of us is like a miniature version of the Cat God Festival on Cat Island, with food stalls lined up on both sides of the cobblestone road.

Some shop doors were closed, but most were open, emitting the tempting aroma of food.

Residents patronize various businesses, and the noise and people coming and going make the street seem very lively.

"Of course, this is also the vegetable market in the Demon Land." Dong Ye Gang pointed to a stall where a woman was taking out a few Cat God coins to buy a bundle of fresh vegetables.

However, there is no sunlight in the Land of Monsters all year round, and the cultivation method of these "vegetables" seems strange, and the leaves are actually pitch black.

The stall owner put away the cat god coins, looked up and saw Dong Yegang and Xia An, his eyes suddenly lit up:
"Isn't this Chef Xia? Welcome!"

Dong Ye Gang introduced: "This is Master Kitano Yuling, who is also a planter."

Xia An looked carefully at the fantasy vegetables on the stall.

Ignoring the dark pollution, the characteristics of the ingredients are very obvious.

"Level 1 [Ham Flower]...Level 2 [Lacquer Cabbage]..."

"Level 10 [Red Wine Flower]...Level 15 [Skin-Rejuvenating Bean Sprouts]..."

"Level 20 [Hairy Scale Strawberry]...Level 20 [Crystal Ginger]..."

"Hey, you're actually selling level 30 ingredients... Is this a Shiny Peach?"

Kitano Yuling Master gave a thumbs up:

"Good vision! All 30 capture levels of Shiny Peach are added to the rarity."

"Hehe, in the entire Dark Continent, I'm the only one who can grow it!"

This middle-aged spirit master has dark skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looks like a laborer who has been working in the fields all year round.

Xia An was surprised: "Can you grow a level 30 [Shiny Peach]?"

Kitano Imperial Spirit Master said proudly: "Haha, this is all thanks to the special monster I contracted, plus the old planting technology I obtained."

"However, we can only grow plant ingredients within level 30."

Xia An's eyes twitched slightly.

Level 30 is not enough?

This is the top level of the Platinum Stage (20-30), and is a hot commodity in the food malls of various associations in the Blue Star food industry.

Dong Yegang saw that Xia An was very interested in these deputy positions, and took him to the stalls selling livestock and animals:

"In the Monster Country, in addition to planters, there are also breeders."

Xia An asked doubtfully, "Dongye-san, aren't you going to choose a deputy position?"

Dong Yegang waved his hand: "Hey, being a hunter and a cook is tiring enough, where do we have so much time? These spirit masters who can make a name for themselves in their secondary jobs are not simple. They don't need to go on missions, they just need to pay food to the shrine regularly."

Xia An came to the market mainly to understand the overall grade and quality of the food sold here.

He discovered that the ingredients here were mainly platinum-grade and emerald-grade, and the diamond-grade ingredients corresponding to Pseudo-Lin were almost invisible.

Higashino Tsuyoshi explained: "It is extremely difficult to hunt and capture Pseudo-Scale Diamond Grade ingredients, and it is even more impossible to grow and breed them in large quantities. You can only buy them at the shrine supply and marketing stalls by spending cat coins."

Xia An suddenly realized.

This also explains why the spirit masters set up stalls to earn Maoshen coins whenever they have free time.

You can also earn Cat God Coins by completing various tasks issued by the shrine.

Standing in front of the task bulletin board set up by the shrine at the entrance of the village, Xia An's expression gradually became strange.

These missions are like bounty missions of the mercenary guild, and are divided into combat, security, intelligence, logistics, etc.

At this time, a witch came hurriedly and posted an urgent task on the bulletin board:
【Fireline Support】

[An unusual number of large life gatherings were observed at the coastal lighthouse station]

[Help the stationed team find out the reason]

Soon, several familiar spirit masters teamed up to take on the team's mission.

In addition to the official shrine missions, there is also a dedicated private commission mission column.

[Urgent! Need a grinder to help! ]

[I have a unicorn horn, and I want a grinding master to help me forge it into kitchenware]

This commission has been hanging there for what seems like a long time, and has even become a message board for the spirit masters.

[Kitano: The horn of a level 63 'Unicorn'? Tsk tsk, good stuff, but there are no grinders in our demon country who can process such high-level materials.]

[Takahashi: I asked Ms. Ayako to make a handy kitchen blade out of the material of the level 42 'Medusa'.]

[Mori: @Takahashi... But Ayako Miko only accepts commissions for materials below level 50. She can't do anything for materials above level 50! ]

[Takahashi: I declare that Miss Ayako is the strongest grinder in the demon village... If she can't do it, no one can! ]

Oh, a level 63 [Three-headed Unicorn]?
Xia An was secretly astonished. This level corresponds to the Grandmaster Zhenlin rank, and the rank of the person entrusting the task is quite high.

At the same time, he felt a little itchy and wanted to give it a try.

Quietly open the secondary occupation panel.

……

[Life side job: Melk grinder]

[Inheritance level: Gold (50%)]

[Proficiency: Perfect]

[This inheritance is not complete, only 50%. If you practice to the "perfect" proficiency, you can forge and refine materials up to level 90.]

……

"I am a tough guy who can forge level 90 materials."

Xia An was secretly happy, thinking that it was worthwhile for him to spend multiple food skill points and recharge a lot of gold to acquire the deputy position of grinder.

Look at the commission board, these spirit masters in the Demon Land are eager to have a skilled grinder to help them forge kitchen utensils.

Compared with growers and breeders, grinders are undoubtedly more popular and can directly help chefs improve their equipment level.

At this time-

A voice came to my ear:
"Most of these high-end ingredients come from the remains of the 'gourmet pyramid'."

Lei Xiang, a fellow villager and senior, seemed to come to see Xia An specifically, and said in a leisurely tone:
"If you are interested and want to explore the huge ruins, ask Shion Palace Master for a map and guidebook."

Xia An temporarily put aside the idea of ​​accepting the commission and decided to keep a low profile.

His demonstration of glowing cooking skills was enough to make him a treasure in the demon country.

If he showed off his skills as a grinder who could forge level 90 materials again, he was worried that Cat God Spot would develop some bad intentions.

Sometimes, it is wise not to test human nature.

Xia An asked with interest: "What is the highest level of food that can be hunted in that ruins?"

Lei Xiang: "Go to the 'Gourmet Pyramid' ruins. In the deepest part of the secret realm, you will encounter a 'Salamander-like Sphinx'. You can capture the level 92 [Sweet Cola] from it."

Xia An was stunned for a moment, then pondered, that 'salamander-like lion-faced beast', its real scientific name is 'Salamander Sphinx'!

He pursed his lips and said calmly:

"So, have you passed the level, Senior?"

“I got it, but after researching it, I found that [Sweet Cola] didn’t match the sequence of my life menu, so I didn’t delve into cooking.”

"Then can you trade the remaining [Sweet Cola] to me?"

Lei Xiang looked at Xia An in surprise: "Why are you trading level 92 ingredients... Forget it, why should I bother about this, you are an outlier anyway."

"You can trade if you want. Bring ingredients of the same grade and barter."

Xia An smiled slightly: "Is level 95 [Meteorite Garlic] okay?"

Lei Xiang: ? ?

He had never expected that Xia An could not only initiate the transaction immediately, but also take out the [Meteorite Garlic] of a slightly higher level.

Dong Ye Gang watched a wave of PY transactions among the big guys and was secretly shocked and trembling in his heart.

Is this what I can hear? A trade of level 90 ingredients...

Two hours later.

Xia An walked out of the cold cellar in Lei Xiang's house with a satisfied look on his face.

Lei Xiang had already come out of the cellar. He walked down from the second floor with a serious expression and handed a box to Xia An:

"I've thought about it. I don't know when Blue Star will be fully integrated into the food industry, so I would like to entrust you to bring some of my personal cooking notes that I have compiled over the years back to Blue Star and make two copies. One copy will be delivered to the Forbidden City headquarters, and the other will be delivered to the Lei clan members."

He paused, then continued, "As a reward, I can teach you an ancient sword technique called 'Fierce Bull Blue Dragon Slash'."

Ah this?

Xia An was a little confused.

He had just witnessed Ryan performing this unique skill last night, and today, Ryan's descendant, a senior contemporary dragon chef, actually offered to teach him.

"Senior... do you know the "Bull Blue Dragon Slash"?

Xia An was very surprised. This was the first time he saw a chef other than himself master ancient skills.

Lei Xiang smiled and said, "I didn't know how to do it originally, but after staying in the demon land for these years, I gradually became out of the scope of ordinary people, so I learned it."

Xia An was full of black lines on his head: "Gradually out of the scope of ordinary people... and then you learned it?"

Lei Xiang said meaningfully: "So I understand why the inheritance of luminescence and ancient skills was cut off... It turns out that the 'rules' no longer allow it."

"You are an outlier, Swansong."

“But this era of swan songs will end when Blue Star is fully integrated into the food world.”

(End of this chapter)