Chapter 493: Chapter 492: Smashing the Place

Yu Feng used spells to create Spirit Beef Jerky and Spirit Pork Jerky, both of which attracted a substantial following.

Ji Kongkong encouraged cultivators to venture this great wilderness as part of their trials. In this expansive Zhou nation, there was no lawless land. Even in the wild, there were vendors selling takeaway food; there was no need for cultivators themselves to cook. It was safe and healthy.

The Sect Master of the Spirit Chef Sect was calculating which team attracted the most cultivators.

He thought he would have to carefully compare each team. In previous contests, the difference in the number of cultivators each team attracted was negligible. Until the last moment, the winner could not be certainly determined.

But this time, it was clear. He noticed the team led by Feng Li attracted the most cultivators.

Then he saw a scene which almost made him choke on anger- Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were encouraging cultivators to consume Fasting Pill.

Indeed, compared to cooking in the wild, cultivators preferred to consume Fasting Pill. One pill could keep a person full for three days.

Moreover, after the Spirit Medicine Sect modified the Fasting Pills, they became cheap and came in various flavors, from fruity to barbecue to stir-fry, it was all available.

But the problem was this was the territory of the Spirit Cooking Sect, not Alchemy Peak or the Spirit Medicine Sect.

These two were here to stir trouble.

For a long time, their Spirit Chef Sect’s market share for food in the wilderness has been monopolized by the Spirit Medicine Sect, all because of the Fasting Pill.

Don’t let the Spirit Medicine Sect’s act of poverty fool you. They may always complain about not being able to compete with Alchemy Peak, but they are actually immensely wealthy. The only thing is they are trying to compete with Alchemy Peak, which is why they seem less significant.

The Spirit Medicine Sect was much wealthier than the Spirit Cooking Sect.

Cultivators could opt out of the meals prepared by the Spirit Cooking Sect, but they couldn’t do without the pills refined by the Spirit Medicine Sect.

In cooking, taste is priority. In alchemy, the priority is how much it assists in cultivation.

The Master of the Spirit Chef Sect thought he could use this competition to inspire an idea that would put the Spirit Chef Sect ahead of the Spirit Medicine Sect, but after all that, they found themselves back to square one. The cultivators’ favorite still turned out to be the Fasting Pill.

“This is a culinary competition, not an alchemy contest” The Spirit Chef Sect wished to call out Jiang Li and his companion for breaking the rules.

“We know, these aren’t pills, they’re food,” Jiang Li said seriously, fully aware he was not breaking any rules.

“Look, this is steamed Fasting Pills, boiled Fasting Pills, braised Fasting Pills…”

“Just like some use spirit herbs as ingredients, we also use pills as ingredients, these are also considered food after being processed.”

The Master of the Spirit Chef sect who had lived for over a thousand years was speechless, even with his great wisdom he had no rebuttal for this genius strategist who had managed to tie culinary art with alchemy.

He was completely defeated.

Jiang Li made his point so convincingly, the Sect Master of the Spirit Chef Sect was at a loss for words.

The Master of Spirit Chef Sect silently ate a piece of steamed Fasting Pill.

Damn it, it’s no different than the original fasting pill. The whole steamed and braised thing is just a gimmick.

Whoever made the fasting pills must be highly skilled because the pill was perfect without any flaws, not a trace of taste could penetrate into the pill.

Obviously, the pills were refined by Bai Hongtu. Jiang Li could not mass produce Fasting Pills in all these flavors.

Unlike frivolous Grandmaster Alchemist Jiang Li, Bai Hongtu’s level of alchemy, although not as good as Su Wei, was good enough to make him one of the top ten alchemists.

With the presence of Alchemy Peak, Bai Hongtu didn’t need to practice alchemy; his only reason for learning was to have an extra reason to mock Jiang Li.

Trashy Jiang Li, can’t even refine a pill… He kept repeating this sentence in his mind, but never had the chance to say it out loud.

Primarily, because he didn’t dare.

The Sect Master of the Spirit Chef Sect and the elders discussed this and concluded that Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu’s actions were indeed compliant to the definition of a Spirit Chef.

Hence, the Sect Master was forced to declare Jiang Li victorious.

There were two rounds in the competition and the winner should have been selected based on the scores. But, because the performances of Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were impressively superior, they pushed the other teams far behind making these two non-cooks emerge as the ultimate winners.

Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were not surprised by this outcome.

Yu Yin finally understood how Jiang Li had won and gained the title “Grandmaster Alchemist” in the first place. Similar to this competition, he must have not used any alchemy skills at the Alchemy Conference.

Jiang Li didn’t care about this empty honor. He graciously offered the trophy to Yu Yin.

Yu Yin refused to accept it.

He then offered it to Bai Hongtu, but Bai Hongtu wasn’t as strong as Jiang Li and failed to hold onto the trophy. So it was back in Jiang Li’s hand.

Since no one wanted it, Jiang Li reluctantly accepted the trophy.

All the Human Emperor candidates gathered in their conscious spaces feeling down. The winner of this match was someone named Feng Li. The Human Emperor candidates were completely defeated.

They were the cream of the crop of the youngest generation, how could they have lost so badly?

Jiang Li slowly stepped onto the stage.

“The Human Emperor.”

“Mr. Jiang.”

“Uncle Jiang.”

“This competition didn’t test your culinary skills, I know only a few of you have great culinary skills.”

Except for Li Nian’er, everyone else hung their heads in shame.

“A genius named Feng Li won this round. It’s not your fault; you don’t have to blame yourselves anyway. The important thing is to learn from this competition, not where you placed.”

“You should have all learned to think from other’s perspectives after the first round. Tell me, what should you learn from the second round?”

Everyone hesitated for a bit before Qin Luan finally said, “Mr. Jiang wanted to say that we should reduce the conflict between Spirit Chefs and Alchemists, and get them to work together?”

Jiang Li shook his head.

Luo Ying said, “You mean that we need to think from the perspective of low-level cultivators?”

Jiang Li shook his head again.

After a long discussion, Ji Kongkong finally said, “Uncle Jiang meant that we should not compare with things that we are not good at. Instead of wasting away at the fields where Spirit Medicine Sect has a natural advantage and Spirit Cooking Sect has a weakness, we should focus our energy on other fields.”

“Kongkong got it right.”

“Each of you has your own advantages and strengths. Establish and magnify your strengths and for your weaknesses, try to overcome and make up for them. But don’t think that once you’ve overcome your weaknesses, you’ll be able to compete with someone else’s strengths.”

“For instance, Seven Slayer Dao Child, your advantage is Sword Dao (swordsmanship), but you’re not good at close combat. You should train your body, so when you’re in close combat, you can at least defend yourself without losing badly. You don’t need to spend too much effort on this.”

“Don’t suppose that after learning body cultivation for a while, you’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with someone who has been cultivating their entire life.”

“I am deeply grateful for your teaching, Human Emperor,” said Seven Slayer Dao Child. Being singled out by Jiang Li was not a point of distress, but joy.

The other Human Emperor Candidates began reflecting their strengths and weaknesses.

Jiang Li nodded. Training and combat skills can gradually be cultivated. Right now the most important thing is to shape these people’s values while they are still young and let them understand what is right and what is wrong.

“By the way, Kongkong, how did you figure this out?” Jiang Li thought Ji Kongkong must have foreseen the future and found the answer using Dao of Time.

“Because I know Uncle Jiang does not practice Dao of Time and would never waste his time on it.”

Jiang Li nodded. Indeed, as expected from someone from the Ji family.