Chapter 489: Chapter 488: Golden Light Spell (Thanks to the Alliance Leader gifted by Undying Reincarnation, a dear reader)

“It’s quite a coincidence that this topic came up during the Spirit Chef Sect’s competition.” Jiang Li took a glance at the trial topic, feeling quite lucky.

Commander Liu didn’t know that Jiang Li would also participate in the Human Emperor candidacy. His assigned trials were not randomly picked by Jiang Li, but were chosen from a list he provided. Some of the trials would become quite challenging if their corresponding time had passed.

…

All the Human Emperor candidates from around the world were summoned by Jiang Li to the consciousness space, two new faces were added to the group, Luo Ying and Luo Zhu.

Jiang Li nonchalantly greeted everyone, without any pretexts: “Hello everyone, we meet again.”

“Seeing me, you’re probably aware of what’s to be done, yes, it’s time for another Human Emperor candidacy test.”

“After the last fishing competition ended, I left you a task, to guess which two Human Emperor candidates caught the most fish. Does anyone have a conclusion?”

Jiang Li gave a smile and scanned the bunch of young and inexperienced youths. They all shook their heads in confusion. They had thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out who it could be.

Seeing this, Jiang Li gently shook his head, pretending to be disappointed in everyone.

Lucky no one recognized me, so I can continue pretending to be a Human Emperor candidate.

“This test doesn’t involve cultivation.”

“People often say, food is the god of the people. For any sentient beings, food is essential. Even though cultivators won’t need to eat at a certain stage in their cultivation, is food just for filling bellies?”

“Of course not.”

“Eating is an enjoyment, a form of entertainment, a method of cultivating. Eating delicious food can make one happy, while consuming food full of spiritual energy can enhance one’s cultivation.”

“Because of this, Spirit Chefs were born.”

“The Spirit Chef Sect is currently holding a competition that any cultivator can participate in. For this Human Emperor candidate trial, you must win this competition.”

“Considering the sensitivity of the candidates’ identities, it is best to maintain anonymity for the competition to avoid unnecessary commotion.”

“I will bring you near the Spirit Chef Sect, and you can proceed from there.”

With that, Jiang Li sent everyone away.

…

Seven Killings was conveniently just around the Spirit Chef Sect so Jiang Li did not need to transport him.

He informed the little princess of the Mermaid Tribe and the Little Princess of the South Jiao Dragon Tribe about the Human Emperor candidate trial, both ladies seemed a bit regretful.

“What a shame that we are not among the candidates for the Human Emperor, otherwise, with both of our culinary skills, we could easily win.”

On hearing this, Seven Killings shivered, not wanting to recall the food prepared by the two ladies during an outdoor camping trip.

On their journey, Seven Killings was adamant about not spending the night outdoors. He always insisted on finding an inn to stay, not for a place to rest but to find somewhere to eat.

…

“Do any of us know how to cook?” Yu Yin looked at Bai Hongtu and Jiang Li, thinking in her heart that she didn’t know how to cook and had not seen either of these two cooking either.

Yu Yin has only prepared simple dishes like salt roasted rabbit. While she knew the theories behind complex dishes, she had never attempted them.

Yu Yin wasn’t really interested in food. As long as it was edible, it was sufficient for her. After starting her fasting phase, unless she was dining with Jiang Li or Bai Hongtu, she hadn’t eaten any meals.

Yu Yin had read books about Spirit Chefs. The novel was about a Mahayana Realm cultivator who was a hidden Spirit Chef. His culinary skills were superb, even without using spices, he could make intoxicating dishes just by controlling the heat.

He met a female foodie in the forest and won her heart with his barbecuing skills. At the end of the novel, the heroine died. The Mahayana Realm Spirit Chef, disheartened, ascended to the Immortal Realm. There, he found out that the female foodie was actually a test body of a food fairy and that she hadn’t actually died. Instead, she had returned to the Immortal Realm, waiting for the Mahayana Realm Spirit Chef’s arrival.

The couple lived a happy, joyful life in the Immortal Realm and even had three children.

After finishing reading, Yu Yin rubbed her forehead, feeling as if she had just wasted a whole day. She couldn’t make sense of the story.

“I can eat,” Bai Hongtu spoke truthfully. He hadn’t dealt with cooking before.

Jiang Li was no better than these two.

Commander Liu’s test topic was chosen brilliantly. It perfectly targeted the three’s blind spot.

They all started from the same line, Yu Yin felt that she might have a chance to surpass Jiang Li this time.

Jiang Li smiled indifferently, “Are you suggesting that just because one can’t cook, they can’t participate in the Spirit Chef competition?”

Jiang Li took out his Grandmaster of Alchemy certificate, “Look, I came in first place in the Alchemy Conference, even Su Wei was ranked behind me.”

Yu Yin felt that the Alchemy Conference was a deep pool.

She had seen Jiang Li’s alchemy skills. When they were candidates for Human Emperor, the old Emperor had set a task for them to execute a certain Demon Cultivator.

While the three of them were battling the Demon Cultivator to the point of exhaustion, Jiang Li took out an Explosive Blood Elixir, which could draw forth potential and increase strength by fifty percent in a short time.

Just as Jiang Li was about to take this elixir, victory was sure to be theirs.

Unexpectedly, the Demon Cultivator used the Empty Hand technique to steal the Explosive Blood Elixir and swallowed it.

Just when the three were despairing, the Demon Cultivator’s strength unreasonably dropped to just half of his original. The three of them saw this and collectively attacked, slaughtering the Demon Cultivator.

Afterwards, when Yu Yin asked about the Explosive Blood Elixir, Jiang Li told her that it was his own concoction. Even though he followed the elixir composition step by step, something went wrong and the elixir turned out to have the reverse effect.

Not only did it draw forth potential, it made strength regress.

Since then, every time Jiang Li was refining elixirs, Yu Yin always walked away.

When the three of them arrived at the Spirit Chef Sect, they found the place teeming with people. There were many cultivators carrying chef knives going to and fro. The huge number of Spirit Chefs was enough to overturn most people’s perception.

These were the renowned Spirit Chef masters from across the Nine Provinces.

In the impression of most people, Spirit Chefs were rare. It is unusual to even encounter a real Spirit Chef. This impression is not wrong, it’s just that the number of Spirit Chefs is small in comparison to the total number of cultivators.

Now that the Spirit Chef Sect is holding a convention that attracts Spirit Chefs from all places, naturally it would seem like there were a lot.

“I heard that some accomplished chefs emit golden light as they lift the lid off their dishes?” Yu Yin had heard some rumors. Since the Tianyuan Emperor Dynasty didn’t even have an imperial kitchen, she had not had much contact with Spirit Chefs.

“Yes, that’s the so-called ‘Golden Light Mantra’ passed down among the Spirit Chefs. Before placing the lid, you silently recite the ‘Golden Light Mantra’ to the food, then it will shine brightly,” Jiang Li had eaten glowing sugar-coated hawthorns before.

“What’s its use?”

“It’s impressive.”

“Why do I remember that when I was young, Spirit Chefs didn’t have this skill?” Bai Hongtu, being an original member of Dao Sect, had attended many banquets in his childhood and had seen Spirit Chefs cook but never encountered such a situation.

Jiang Li said lightly: “That’s because I wrote the ‘Golden Light Mantra.’”

“…”

While the three were chatting leisurely, Jiang Li noticed all the Human Emperor candidates, with their identities concealed, had arrived and completed their registration.