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

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

Many people heard the staff member's exclamation in front of the monitor screen.

Wang Sheng was discussing something in hushed tones with Hu Xi when he heard the voice and was startled. He subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Someone's asleep standing up?" Wang Sheng felt a little dazed. He turned to Hu Xi beside him and asked, "Am I seeing things? The competition should have started, right?"

"The competition has been going on for over ten minutes. With only two hours allotted, time is extremely tight, and it really tests the athletes' speed." Hu Xi looked bewildered and asked, "Did someone drop out due to too much psychological pressure?"

Because the semi-finals used a blind judging mechanism, the judging panel and the contestants' operating areas were separated, and they were prohibited from watching the live monitoring to avoid affecting the fairness of the judging. Only a few staff members were in the monitoring area to keep an eye on the competition and prevent accidents.

Clearly, this was an accident.

The host walked quickly to the monitor screen, and after just one glance, a vein on his forehead throbbed involuntarily.

In the video, the contestant wearing the Ultraman mask is indeed asleep, leaning against a pillar next to the control panel.

Alright, alright, it's you again, Ultraman.

The host was practically laughing in exasperation, gritting his teeth as he looked at the screen, "Putting on masks for the preliminary rounds was one thing, but sleeping standing up in the semifinals? Are you trying to turn this into performance art?"

He was originally complaining to the staff around him, but he forgot that his microphone was still on.

So, all the judges who had been whispering among themselves turned to look at them, and then a murmur of discussion arose.

"Sleeping standing up? Is he a contestant?"

"How could a player like that advance?"

He could almost feel his cheeks burning slightly. He subconsciously raised his hand to his forehead, with only one thought in his mind: I can't bear to look, I really can't bear to look!

At first, he just thought Lu Feng was a little unreliable, but now it seems he was wrong, terribly wrong.

He had previously thought Lu Feng was just a self-taught player, but after seeing him reach the semifinals, his opinion changed. He now harbored a sliver of hope that Lu Feng might actually have some skill, and even felt that he had a chance to reach the finals.

Now it seems I was terribly wrong. This wasn't just being unconventional; it was completely disregarding the competition and everyone present!

Hu Xi, who was drinking salted soda next to him, heard the word "mask" and realized who it was. He couldn't help but spray a mouthful of salted soda all over Wang Sheng.

He frantically searched for tissues, wiping himself as he sighed under his breath, "I thought he was already outrageous enough. Now I admit, I was too naive, I underestimated him."

"These young people nowadays, I really can't understand them." On the judges' panel, judge Fu Shandong turned around at the sound of the commotion, amusement on his face, before continuing to ask his old friend Qi Baiwei, "You just said there was one more?"

Qi Baiwei was just thinking that there was another contestant named Lu Feng. Although he was a bit strange, he had worked hard and was quite rare.

But now that he's been humiliated, he doesn't dare say anything. Isn't that a bit strange? He's a complete oddball.

Qi Baiwei tried to keep his voice calm, "There's one more? You must have misheard."

He quickly changed the subject, "As the old saying goes, in a battle between masters, the details determine the outcome. Lao Fu, your question not only responds to the country's call for thrift, but also better tests the contestants' skills within a limited space. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone, and your intentions are truly commendable."

These words struck a chord with Fu Shanyang. He immediately forgot about the previous incident, stroked his beard, and replied with great interest, "Exactly! These days, young people always have something to say about heretical cultivation. They don't follow the proper path; they're always thinking about getting things done quickly. This trend is very bad!"

"The current trend is very bad!" Yang Song said with a serious expression. He didn't even need to guess who the masked person was; there wasn't another person wearing a mask in the entire venue.

His aversion to Lu Feng stemmed partly from his feeling that Lu Feng's behavior was unserious. On the other hand, it was also mixed with his displeasure at being refuted by Qi Baiwei earlier.

He couldn't directly refute Elder Qi, but denying this eccentric contestant favored by Elder Qi would at least salvage some of his reputation.

Yang Song curled his lips, making no attempt to hide his disagreement. His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for more people to hear him clearly: "This kind of contestant, to put it nicely, is unconventional; to put it bluntly, he's just impatient and restless. Or rather, he doesn't take the competition seriously at all."

He looked around, his tone becoming more serious, "These national professional competitions are serious platforms for showcasing skills and exchanging knowledge, not child's play! I don't think those who engage in this kind of performance art will amount to much."

The "professional judges" nodded repeatedly, "Professor Yang is right."

Some judges found it amusing. A female judge wearing a name tag that read "Song Zhihui" took out her phone and sent two messages.

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): The contestants these days are so interesting."

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): Haha, the host just said that there was a contestant wearing a mask who fell asleep while standing up."

The group chat started buzzing with messages like, "If you don't lose weight in October, you'll be fat and die in winter." Clearly, Song Zhihui was the group admin.

"Liu Genghong's fans: Really? He can fall asleep standing up?"

"Only prone: Please pay attention to the important part, the one wearing a mask. There was only one person wearing an Ultraman mask at the stalls we were looking at, could it be him?"

"Shrimp doesn't blink: We've never seen that where we're from."

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): I've never seen anything like this in this direction either."

"Only the prone position: That's definitely him! I only bought one steamed bun, and @刘耕宏girl and I shared it. Personally, I think it's second only to the white sugar shortbread!"

"Liu Genghong's girl: I also think it tastes great, but it's a bit strange."

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): I actually think his approach is more interesting. These days everyone talks about professionalism, but in my opinion, it all comes down to one thing: it tastes good."

"Only prone: I want to be there too! @Paper-wrapped Chicken King, boss, how did you sneak in?"

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): Keep it low-key. If you were a Level 6 professional food critic on the Meizhong platform, you could do it too."

"Liu Genghong's Girl: Versailles! I've reported you! Group admin. If you consider bringing some of the leftovers for us to eat, we can forgive your Versailles act."

"Shrimp Without Blinking: Exactly! Ever since I started hanging out with the group leader, my palate has become quite picky, no, it's become... ordinary food tastes like cardboard to me now."

"Only lying face down: It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Boss, beg for food!"

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): Okay, okay! When I see something delicious, I'll post a high-resolution picture so the group members can eat it first. Looking at the picture makes it easier to lose weight."

"Only lying face down: Damn it, jealousy has made me unrecognizable."

Lu Feng couldn't hear any of the discussions or noise outside.

[Dream Study Room Opens]

Unlike his previous dream cultivation experience, when Lu Feng closed his eyes and opened them again, he found himself in a small house.

Inside the house, there was a familiar stove, cutting board, and kitchen utensils.

The only thing missing was Master Ba Dan's two banging blows.