Chapter 492: Chapter 491: What Low-Level Cultivators Eat in the Wild

With no suspense, the two of them won the first round of the competition through their head start.

Yu Yin, after finding out how they won, felt that she had grasped a third of Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu’s essence. She thought it was due to them using up all the ingredients so that the other contestants had none left. The reality, however, was that they had fed the mortals earlier, leaving no room for the other contestants.

This strategy was quickly learned.

The Human Emperor candidates, upon learning that Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu had truly put themselves in others’ shoes, began to reflect on why they themselves had not thought of this.

They certainly did tackle problems from different perspectives, but it was far from thorough.

In reality, both Yu Yin and Bai Hongtu, who had been spoiled since birth, never considered the round trip issue. Only Jiang Li, who had worked his way up from the bottom and seen the struggles of many people, knew what they needed most.

Having meals as early as possible to not delay the midday rest, ensuring energy for work in the afternoon are the most crucial things.

“Congratulations to Team Feng Li for being the first round winners, the second round begins now.”

Yu Yin did not need to guess to know that Jiang Li had changed his surname again.

“It is known to all that low-ranking cultivators cannot practice Fasting. They can’t rely entirely on nature’s spiritual energy for energy and have to eat. However, low-ranking cultivators often adventure in the wild, either for self-improvement or to search for Heavenly treasures. In such situations, food supplies aren’t guaranteed.”

Upon listening to the announcement, Qi Shaker nodded approvingly.

The Sect Master of the Spirit Chef Sect didn’t notice Qi Shaker’s reaction and continued: “Therefore, the second round requires the contestants to make food that can easily be eaten by low-ranking cultivators in the wild. The one who gets the most positive feedback from low-ranking cultivators is the winner.”

Upon hearing the topic, Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu looked at each other, understanding they were both on the same wavelength and began to take action immediately.

With such a topic, they could say confidently that it was far lesser of a challenge than the test of the old Human Emperor.

The three groups of people, Spirit Chefs, Yu Yin, and Human Emperor Candidates, were all pondering where to start.

“Low-ranking cultivators can’t practice Fasting, the most common food they eat in the wild is the barbecue. Once I figure out a standard barbecue process, unify the barbecue taste, I will make the low-ranking cultivators satisfied.”

This was the most common thought.

Barbecuing seems simple, but the variety of ingredients, heat, and seasoning can result in vastly different flavours.

Qi Shaker felt this deeply.

Yu Yin analyzed: “In comparison to mortals, low-ranking cultivators have a relatively abundant supply of spirit stones. However, the spirit stones they can use aren’t too many, so they can’t use too expensive ingredients. I remember Jiang Li mentioning something called ‘compressed biscuit’—the food which is small in volume but can fill the stomach. Perhaps I can imitate this compressed biscuit.”

“But Jiang Li didn’t tell me how to make compressed biscuits. The literal understanding is to compress the food into a block as much as possible.”

This was easy for Yu Yin.

“How would Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu do it?”

Yu Yin thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with any ideas.

“Maybe they will play straight in the second round?” At the end of her thought trail, even Yu Yin wasn’t sure.

…

“Time’s up; the competition’s over. All contestants, place the food you’ve made in front of these cultivators, and they will judge how the food tastes.”

The hundreds of participants proudly presented their dishes, each believing they made the best one.

Among them, half of the contestants chose barbecue.

However, some people had put considerable effort into their barbecues.

Qi Shaker loudly introduced his barbecue to attract the crowd: “Everyone, look. As long as you follow our steps, with the time accurate to the second, the flame temperature accurate to the degree, and the seasoning accurate to the gram, you can make barbecued dishes that taste exactly the same.”

A cultivator tasted Qi Shaker’s team’s barbecued rabbit and found the taste mediocre, but it wasn’t cloying after eating for a long time.

“Are we just eating barbecued rabbit?”

“Of course not.” Yuan Wuxing stepped forward to explain. “Rabbits, wild chickens, wild boars can all be barbecued. If there’s no meat available, certain leaves can be barbecued as well.”

Yuan Wuxing took out a small booklet: “It lists all the types of animals and plants in the wild that can and cannot be eaten. We’ve added the steps for barbecuing each type of food to the booklet.”

The cultivators passed around and referred to the booklet and found that the content in Yuan Wuxing’s booklet was practical and very useful.

Yuan Wuxing’s wilderness survival experience trumped both Qin Luan and Yuan Wuxing’s combined.

“Fairy, what have you made?” The cultivators looked at Yu Youxian’s instant noodles, not sure how to eat them.

“These are noodles made from spirit grain which have been deep-fried. They can be stored for a long period and taste great.”

“These are dehydrated spirit grasses. Soak them in hot water, and they’ll dissolve. The spiritual energy content and nutrients inside won’t be lost too much.”

“This is soup base I made from beef bone and pig fat. It also requires hot water to soak.”

Yu Youxian made some improvements based on the previous round and used more expensive ingredients.

After she finished making the instant noodles, the cultivators tried and found them novel and delicious.

“Master was right. All the preparations were not in vain. Although there wasn’t an opportunity in the first round, the chance arose in this round.” Yu Youxian memorized Bai Hongtu’s teachings.

Bai Hongtu sincerely taught her only a few things, so Yu Youxian remembered all of his valuable instructions.

Yu Yin’s compressed biscuits were also pursued by many cultivators. Though they tasted mundane, they were hunger satisfying. In the wilderness, the pursuit couldn’t be too high, being able to be satiated was enough.

Did they expect to increase their cultivation level by eating in the wild? That was impossible.

The biggest problem with the compressed biscuits was its hardness. Many cultivators found the biscuits harder than spiritual treasures, and it would be better used as a weapon than food.

Qi cultivators could never withstand the attack of this compressed biscuit.

Only then did Yu Yin realize she had compressed too much food into one biscuit.

She remade the compressed biscuits on the spot, using brute force to compress less food, turning the biscuit into something that could be bitten by teeth, thus gaining more cultivators’ favor.

“Come and try our self-heating rice if you will.” Luo Ying enthusiastically solicits the cultivators.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, self-heating rice was an extremely popular commodity. Without the need for fire or electricity, people could have warm rice. Although the rice made this way may not taste as good as steamed, with zombies roaming around, no one cared that much.

People only started eating compressed biscuits one to two years after the apocalypse.

Luo Zhu, her younger sister, was not aware of the food changes during the apocalypse. In her timeline, the zombie crisis ended in just half a year.

“As you can see, even in the wild, you can still cook delicious stir-fry.” Li Nian’er laid out a set of outdoor cooking utensils. Low-ranking cultivators could afford storage rings; these cooking utensils were not too much of a burden.

Li Nian’er showed the cultivators how to cook in the wild, her options were much more diverse than what Qi Shaker prepared for the barbecuing demonstration.

“The most important thing is to make a clear distinction between what’s crucial and what’s not. Some things can be simplified because the wilderness is not the same as home cooking. For example, tomatoes do not need to be peeled; they can be directly chopped and fried.”

Li Nian’er is always on the move, often going out to play. She enjoyed the view and cooked at any corner of the world.