Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 108: Bloodstained Blade, Guan Chongyun, Inheritor of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of "Big Blade Noodles" (3K Second Update)
"Two days later, at the Canton Fair venue in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen area."

Xia Ming stood in the check-in area waiting in line, while Gao Yonghao next to him was looking at a form with great interest, having somehow obtained it.

"Brother Xia, look, this is a list of outstanding contestants posted by the well-known blogger 'Shi Ping Dao'."

"It basically includes young masters from all over the country!"

"Take Guan Chongyun from the 'Great Jin District' for example. He's young, yet he wields an unusually broadsword—his distinctive features are quite striking!"

"And then there's this 'Qian Youdao' from the 'Taiwanese District,' who's said to be a rare genius there, skilled in Minnan cuisine, Hakka cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and some Fujian cuisine."

"Although he is only at the Hua 2 level, he has defeated a Hua 5 level senior in a formal competition and is known as the strongest newcomer in the Taiwan region."

As Gao Yonghao muttered to himself, he also marked the chefs based on the information displayed on the screen.

"And then there's He He, the granddaughter of 'Pastry King' He Sheng. I've heard that she inherited her grandfather's lifelong skills at a young age, showing extraordinary talent. And I've also heard that she's exceptionally beautiful."

"And this one, the legendary young man of Wumeng Town, 'Miao Zeyang,' was born in a barren region but possesses exceptional culinary talent. I heard that the legendary knife maker Deng Xiaowen forged two knives for him."

"They're called 'Yin' and 'Yang' respectively. The box is very conspicuous; it has a flame symbol."

"Sigh, if only I could get my hands on Old Master Deng's knife."

As he spoke, Gao Yonghao glanced at the suitcase Xia Ming was carrying.

The box is rectangular in shape, with a matte black frosted metal base, giving it a cold, quenched black appearance.

The four sides are decorated with blood-red flame patterns, and the top has a "blood droplet" shaped "dark red steel stamp".

The corner protectors are exquisitely crafted, with two anchors with dark red shimmering light on the bracelet and high-quality encrypted buckles on both sides.

In the middle of the buckle, where the lid of the box connects to the box, there is a thin red line.

This knife storage box looks very trendy, with a feel of "Devil Knight" fan merchandise.

Gao Yonghao was taken aback.

"Brother Xia, where did you get this box? I didn't see you carrying it the other day!"

Xia Ming glanced at the box and nodded.

"It was in the mail a couple of days ago, and I picked it up yesterday."

Gao Yonghao circled the box.

"Brother Xia, this box of yours doesn't look like something a chef would use; it looks more like a cosplay prop from a comic convention."

"But I must say, he looks really cool. With your personality, he almost looks like the final boss."

As he spoke, he held up his box.

Compared to Xia Ming's, his box was much simpler.

It's a common "knife storage box" with a combination lock that you can buy on the market. It's relatively long and thin, and looks a bit like an electrician's toolbox.

His suitcase has a high plagiarism rate; a quick scan of the queue reveals many people carrying similar suitcases.

Although the boxes hadn't been compared, Gao Yonghao still spoke with pride.

"These six knives were all brought back from overseas by my father, including one from BLAE - BrightCook."

"You should know BLAE kitchenware, right? It's that really popular brand from Canada!"

"BLAE - BrightCook is its sub-brand. I must say, this knife is a bit pricey, but it's really good!"

Xia Ming sighed slightly as he listened to Gao Yonghao's story.

He never expected that this guy, who seemed honest, unsmiling, and energetic during the competition, would talk so much after the competition!
Of course, it's also possible that the conversation touched on something he likes, in which case he'd talk more about it.
In Xia Ming's opinion, it was just a box; whether it was aesthetically pleasing or childish was not that important.

What he valued was the box's performance. According to Mr. Deng, it was the best quality box they had ever made. Even if a heavy truck were used to weigh it down, the knives inside would remain intact.

Of course, a good box won't be cheap. With Giddens Ko's material and labor costs, Xia Ming spent over 16 yuan in one go.

Basically, a knife costs more than 1 yuan.
No wonder Deng Fangqing was so confident in front of Qian Youdao; it turns out that urban forging is so profitable.

However, this is most likely due to Mr. Deng's influence; after all, a craftsman's reputation should be considered an added value.
I heard that Deng Chundao's brand of kitchen knives sells for around 300 to 800 yuan apiece, so it doesn't seem particularly expensive.
Just then, Xia Ming felt the line open ahead of him; it turned out he was in the front of the queue.

At this moment, the staff in front of him asked him to place the knife on the conveyor belt next to him for inspection, and he needed to go through the security check machine by himself.

He had nothing on him except his house key, cell phone, and a little change, so the scanning process went smoothly.

But his knife malfunctioned.
The staff looked at the color of the blades on the scanner with some confusion.

Other people's knives appear either "blue" or "black" on a scanner, but Xia Ming's knife is black with a hint of red.

If this color appears during a security check, it usually indicates ultra-high density metal.

The problem is, a normal knife, even if it's made from a meteorite, would only have that density. How could it possibly have the color of a gun or bullet?
"Excuse me, we may need to open the case and check your knife."

Hearing what the staff said, Xia Ming raised an eyebrow and then followed them to the side.

After the staff put on dust gloves, Xia Ming opened the box and took out three knives, handing them to the three staff members. Under the light, the staff members' eyes lit up as they looked at the silvery-white knives, tinged with a hint of blood red.

"What a fine knife! This knife must have been made by a master craftsman. Its weight and design are extraordinary!"

Xia Ming simply smiled and nodded.

The staff member was half right; Deng Xiaowen's skills were indeed those of a master. The knives he made were exactly the same as the blueprints, capable of cutting hair with ease while also possessing aesthetic appeal.

However, the blood-red sheen of these knives under the light indicated that they were not the work of Deng Xiaowen.

This is a strange reaction that occurred when Xia Ming used the "Blood Fusion Demon Cultivation Method" to refine the sword with the blood essence from pig's blood.

In fact, this was the first time Xia Ming had seen such a reaction, because the materials used in the Kyushu Continent were different from those in the city, and the shapes of the knives on both sides were also quite different.

He was initially worried about whether the city's swords could withstand the refining process, but the actual situation was much better than he expected.

After more than a week of relentless refinement, these knives could all gleam with a hint of blood under the light. From this perspective, these knives were no weaker than the standard knives from the Blood Blade Sect's kitchen.

It's also possible that the refining of knives doesn't consume spiritual energy, which makes it particularly smooth in the city.

Of course, this only slightly increases its strength. If you expect it to generate a sword spirit or have its own sword aura, that's pure nonsense.

The staff thoroughly inspected the knife and the box, and finding no problems, they allowed Xia Ming in according to regulations.

As Xia Ming and Gao Yonghao entered the waiting hall, they were immediately greeted by a dense crowd.

What I initially thought was just the state of a high-speed rail station waiting area now looks more like the scene during a tourist attraction on a major holiday.

Gao Yonghao touched his buzz cut, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"So many people? Won't the calling numbers cause a huge uproar?"

Just then, I heard an announcement coming from inside the hall.

"Dear contestants, please take out your ID cards and begin the facial scanning process. All entrances lead to the subsequent allocation rooms. Please do not crowd. There is still plenty of time before the competition, so please enter in an orderly manner."

Upon hearing this, the crowd at the front began checking their ID cards, and the security guards on the side began maintaining order.

Xia Ming and his group waited for about 20 minutes before entering the inner area.

Unlike the outer field, the inner field A area has a clear landmark display as soon as you enter. More than 1 people are divided into 300 grids, with 50 people standing in each grid.

To prevent contestants from going to the wrong spot, the staff even thoughtfully marked their numbers on the ground.

Gao Yonghao was number 7516, quite a distance from Xia Ming. Seeing everyone starting to look for seats and line up, he greeted Xia Ming and then went to find his own seat.

Xia Ming's number is 1444, which is relatively early in the rankings.

After walking forward for a while, he found his location and determined his full number.

【XC1Z0291444—Contestant Xia Ming】

Once a group has settled in place, staff will come over and distribute the corresponding armbands and name tags.

The name tag had the player's name on it, and the armband had the number on it, but after putting it on, Xia Ming felt that the armband on his left hand, though thin, was slightly cold.

Just as he was wondering if there was some kind of mechanism involved, two contestants next to him suddenly started arguing and began tearing at each other right there in the arena.

Staff members tried to intervene but couldn't stop the fight. One of the young men got red-eyed, pulled out a knife from the knife box, and was about to strike forward when, before he could even stand up, the knife was slashed at him with a "snap".

When the staff saw that he had been electrocuted, they quickly took action. After discovering that the person lying on the ground had started the trouble, they immediately disqualified him from the competition. If the allegations are verified later, he will be banned from competition for life.

As for the person he hit, since there was no evidence of wrongdoing from the perspective of those around him and from the camera footage, he will be temporarily exempted from punishment and will continue to wait for further investigation.

"So this armband has a hidden stun switch that will activate if someone causes trouble."

"They really took precautions against all sorts of situations in advance. It seems that the higher-ups are taking this live broadcast match very seriously."

Just as he looked away, he suddenly noticed that someone in his group was carrying a portable toolbox.

Compared to other people's "box-style" toolboxes, it appears incredibly thin and light, yet it is quite large in size.

It's even bigger than a blood-red glutton.
Raising his eyebrows slightly, Xia Ming looked at the owner of the box and found that it was a young man wearing glasses.

The young man had an average appearance, a wheatish complexion, a slightly flat nose, high brow bones, somewhat prominent joints on his hands, average skin condition, and firm, thick arms. Xia Ming guessed that this was probably due to frequently kneading dough or lifting heavy objects.

"Could he be that so-called star player Guan Chongyun?"

Just then, they saw the resident reporter arrive in their area and stop in front of the young man.

"Hello everyone, we have now arrived at Section 29. In this section, there is an intangible cultural heritage inheritor who uses magical knives."

As he spoke, the reporter smiled and greeted the young man.

"You must be Mr. Guan Chongyun, the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of 'Guan's Knife-Cut Noodles,' right? Say hello to everyone in front of the camera!"

(End of this chapter)