Food: Randomly set up stalls, even the little guy is drooling.

Before arriving, Lu Feng was already an intermediate apprentice (experience points: 2878/3000). Just now, the system notified him that he had been promoted to advanced apprentice (experience points: 0/5000).

From apprentice to junior, intermediate, and now senior apprentice, all lead to the job transition task—skill is the only way.

This is a phrase mentioned in a junior high school textbook, "The Oil Seller," which tells a story of how practice makes perfect.

The same applies to culinary skills. Heaven rewards diligence, and that reward is for your relentless efforts.

But the system's requirements are completely out of sync with my own! Lu Feng sighed. In the eyes of the 996 Blessing System, one cannot be considered truly proficient without developing the extreme precision of a robot.

However, speaking of which, novice apprentices have unlocked dream cultivation, intermediate apprentices have unlocked dream replay, so what will advanced apprentices be like? The light screen flickered.

[Activate Dream Training Feature: Self-Study Room.]

[Dream Study Room: You can enter the Dream Study Room monthly to begin in-depth dream-based self-study. The time flow in the dream is 1000:1 compared to reality (1 year in the dream is approximately 8 hours in reality). You can enter and exit the dream study room at any time. Currently, you have 1 month of remaining time.]

Dream replay is a sub-function of dream cultivation, allowing him to re-enter the dream, replay and observe what he has learned in the dream, and fill in any gaps in his knowledge.

The same applies to self-study in dreams. He can practice his cooking skills in his dreams. What he lacks most is time, isn't it?

But before his excitement had even worn off, he was faced with his current predicament.

The requirement for the semi-finals was 100 small portions. According to the rules, the principle of thrift and frugality was to be upheld, meaning each judge was only given a single bite.

He initially thought it was just a matter of making things smaller, how difficult could it be? But when he actually started thinking about what to do specifically, he realized he was doomed.

"These rules are totally targeting me!" Lu Feng felt like he had been backstabbed by the organizing committee.

Although there were no restrictions on the theme, it actually limited his creativity. Items like pancakes and meat buns, which were not easy to break down into smaller portions, were immediately eliminated.

This rule is no problem at all for the other contestants, let alone a challenge. In fact, it's simpler because it involves less work.

"But for me, it's beyond the scope of the curriculum, I have no idea how to do it." Lu Feng appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.

He initially thought his only limitation was the availability of ingredients. Now he realizes that standards are both his strength and his nightmare.

In the eyes of a big shot like Qi Baiwei, excellent basic skills are not his true strength, but rather the result of mastering the S-level Jie family meat bun recipe.

If we compare it to playing a game, the initial casting speed of basic skills in Lufeng is 1 point. For example, if the pastry skill is upgraded to Lv.2, it only becomes 2 points, which is not a significant leap.

It's like playing a shooting game. If you don't have good eyesight, you can't hit people, but if you're given an 8x scope, you can accurately hit the target.

The system recipe is like an 8x scope, automatically correcting his actions and optimizing him to a master level.

So even though the ingredients were just ordinary in the preliminary round, which suppressed his performance, it was just a matter of replacing the "armor-piercing bullets" with "ordinary bullets," and he was still able to impress the diners.

But now, making him prepare the so-called small portion is like removing his 8x scope, leaving him completely clueless.

Because none of his recipes were for small portions. Lu Feng only had five recipes in total. Fried chicken cutlets were out of the question because they weren't a noodle dish, and spicy chicken noodles were only semi-finished products and couldn't be served.

The Xie family's meat buns and vegetable buns he knew were all standard portions, two ounces each, and could at most be broken in half, so they couldn't be served on the table.

The smaller portion of meat buns is called xiaolongbao; the two are different sizes and are not in the same category at all.

All that's left is a wild vegetable bun. Are we supposed to cut it into small cubes and feed it to the judges? That image is too horrible for me to bear.

"No wonder the buns I make always look the same. If the buns are different sizes, it's not because the system is helping me. I just can't make them."

Lu Feng's initial confidence shattered instantly.

He desperately wanted to pull out his phone and post a plea for help on Xiaohuangshu (a Chinese social media platform): "I participated in a national competition, but halfway through, I realized I had absolutely no idea how to answer the questions. Is it too late to withdraw? Nobody told me the questions were this difficult or challenging before I came! I need help urgently!"

Regardless of Lu Feng's urgency, the judges outside weren't in a hurry. After all, it was still a long time before lunch.

Yang Song, a food reviewer on the Meizhong platform who was incredibly lucky to be selected as a special guest judge, is chatting happily with the other judges.

He spoke eloquently and with his usual professional and serious expression. "I think that the preliminary round is open to the general public and focuses more on universal tastes and the atmosphere of the event. Once a long line of people forms, it is easy to get into the semi-finals."

"To some extent, some contestants have an element of luck involved. But the semi-finals are different. Of the one hundred judges, eighty are peers, and twenty are knowledgeable professional judges like us."

The other invited judges, who were selected, nodded in approval when they heard the words "professional judges."

Feeling increasingly pleased with himself for receiving recognition from his peers, Yang Song continued, "The essence of good food lies in its perfect combination of color, aroma, and flavor. This means that looking good or smelling good is merely a foundation."

"Thinking like in the preliminary rounds, relying solely on a flashy appearance or strong aroma won't get you past our group of professional judges."

Upon hearing the words "professional judges" again, the other judges nodded repeatedly.

"Teacher Yang is right," one of them chimed in. "Which contestants do you think will advance to the finals?"

"Number 100, that white sugar shortbread, in terms of color, aroma, and taste, is the best of all the similar pastries I've ever tasted. And..."

Hearing such insightful observations, everyone nodded in agreement again, saying, "Teacher Yang is right."

"This guy surnamed Yang is really good at bragging," Wang Sheng couldn't help but complain to Hu Xi, who was also from Xingcheng.

He and Hu Xi listened for a while, thinking this guy had some profound insights, but it turned out to be just some generally accepted rules and facts.

"The contestant he just mentioned, the one wearing the Ultraman mask, was he talking about Lu Feng?" Hu Xi asked.

Wang Sheng suddenly felt indignant on Lu Feng's behalf, "Yes, even though Lu Feng can't compare to Cao Jianjia, he's still a contestant who advanced from such a remote corner! How dare they say that although he has potential, he doesn't have the strength to be in the top ten."

Hu Xi gave Wang Sheng a strange look. Before, when you were belittling Lu Feng, you were clearly the one who was most enthusiastic about it.

Hu Xi said, "He said that Gao Mian, who made the pancakes, had a lot of luck involved, and his analysis is quite correct. So I think that although he was rambling, he was still quite objective."

Wang Sheng, however, was unconvinced. "How so?"

Hu Xi said, "Lu Feng was able to break through in that position, which shows he has a solid foundation. But as this teacher Yang said, firstly, most of the contestants are very solid, so he doesn't have an advantage; secondly, he attracted attention to some extent by using the mask as a gimmick, so it's not entirely based on his strength; and thirdly, potential is not the same as strength."

"We all brought out our best dishes in the first round. I remember Master Xie Zong saying that he runs a steamed bun shop, so this stuff wouldn't be presentable in the semi-finals, right?"

Hu Xi's words laid bare Lu Feng's predicament, and after listening, Wang Sheng began to think that they made some sense.

Seeing the lively discussion in the room, Fu Shanwen, president of the National Pastry Chefs Association, chuckled and said to Qi Baiwei sitting next to him, "The younger generation is having a very enthusiastic discussion. Brother Qi, I heard you also did the tasting in the preliminary round. Which contestant do you think has the best chance?"

"Personally, I'm quite optimistic about Cao Jianjia, Xiahou Ting... and there's another one, Lu..." Qi Baiwei had only finished answering halfway when someone shouted.

"One of the contestants fell asleep standing up?!"