As soon as he heard Ji Dong say that he could make hundreds of different flavors from the same ingredients, Du Ming's gaze towards Ji Dong changed. His expression grew colder as he said, "Before I left the Bartenders Guild, I was a six-star bartender. With just my skills, I could only make three or five different flavors from the same ingredients. Even the God of Wine, Du Sikang, couldn't make so many different flavors from the same ingredients. Ji Dong, your lack of ability isn't a problem, but if you think too highly of yourself and think too highly of yourself, then there's no need for us to continue this conversation."
Ji Dong smiled. "How do you know that the God of Wine, Du Sikang, can't make hundreds of different flavors from the same ingredients?"
Du Ming sneered. "Because he was the one who chased me out just now. He is my father, and I am his only son. Isn't that enough to prove my words?"
Ji Dong had long since guessed his identity. Smiling, he said, "I don't want to defend myself. The truth is the best way to prove everything. Just because Du Sikang can't do it doesn't mean others can't. Why don't we give it a try? How about we make a bet?"
Du Ming frowned. "A bet? I've never gambled, and I hate it. Gambling will only make people fall. "
Ji Dong said, "Don't worry, I'm not betting money with you. Let's do as I said just now. If I can make more than a hundred different flavors using the same ingredients, then I win. If I can't do it, then you win. If you win, then I'll immediately take you as my teacher, and vice versa."
Ji Dong's expression was calm as he spoke. Looking into his eyes, Du Ming could feel the pride and confidence in his bones. Could it be that he could really do it? No, that was impossible. How old was he? Even though his father was stubborn, as the God of Wine, he couldn't possibly do what Du Ming said.
Du Ming said, "Alright, since that's what you want to bet on, then I'll bet with you. I don't lose anything anyway. However, if I win, I can't guarantee that I'll take you as my disciple. I don't like people who like to brag. If you win, then there's no doubt that you'll be my teacher in the art of bartending. Where do you plan to start?"
Ji Dong pointed at the table in front of him and said, "Let's do it here. You can choose whatever base wine and ingredients you want."
"I can choose?" The way Du Ming looked at Ji Dong became even colder. It was as if he was questioning him. Even if you're arrogant, there should be a limit.
With a flick of his wrist, a crystal flask appeared in Ji Dong's hand. He said, "I have most of the base wines on the market. I also have some ingredients. This teahouse should also be able to provide some fruit juice ingredients. You can choose." At this moment, Ji Dong wasn't just trying to understand what had happened in the Bartenders Guild from Du Ming. After a simple conversation, he had a general understanding of this young man's dedication to bartending, as well as his own character. With the Fire of the Soul, Ji Dong was able to see through people very accurately. Du Ming didn't put on any pretense during their conversation, and he completely revealed his true nature.
Du Ming slammed his hand on the table and said, "Alright, let me see what you're capable of. We'll use the standard cocktail — the Sunrise base wine and ingredients."
Ji Dong nodded and said, "Please ask the waiter for lemon juice and pomegranate juice. I have tequila here."
Du Ming called the waiter over and told him not to bring tea just yet. Instead, he wanted a glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. Of course, the waiter was more than happy to let them change drinks. Compared to tea, these two types of fruit juices that weren't in season were much more expensive.
After a while, two glasses of freshly squeezed fruit juices were brought over. One was a pale yellow lemon juice, while the other was a ruby-like pomegranate juice.
Ji Dong took out a bottle of ordinary tequila from his Vermillion Bird bracelet, as well as two standard cocktail glasses. He poured a little of the tequila into one of the glasses, and with a light flick of his fingers, he held the glass in his hand and handed it over to Du Ming.
Du Ming naturally knew that Ji Dong wanted him to taste the tequila to see if there was anything unusual about it.
Taking the glass, Du Ming only sniffed it for a moment before Hyōhime nodded, indicating that there was no problem. He was once a six-star bartender. If he couldn't even smell a common base wine like tequila, then he didn't need to work in the industry anymore.
Ji Dong didn't immediately start mixing the drink. Instead, he stretched out both his hands. With two whooshing sounds, two red flames appeared on each of his palms, enveloping his entire palms. A simple third flame surrounded his palms, but Ji Dong's expression didn't change in the slightest. He cleaned his hands, unwilling to waste time washing them with water. Using Yang flames to burn them was the same.
Seeing the flames on Ji Dong's palms, and his eyes gradually focused, Du Ming's previously angry emotions gradually calmed down. He sat there, silently watching Ji Dong's actions.
At this time of day, there weren't many people drinking tea in the teahouse. There were only two or three tables on the second floor. Although the flames attracted attention, magicians weren't that rare. Those who could come here to drink tea were all wealthy nobles, so they didn't find it strange. They thought it was just a young man showing off, so it didn't cause any trouble.
After the flames were extinguished, Ji Dong shook his hands. The temperature of his palms quickly dropped. Only then did he open the crystal flask and pour the base drink, tequila, into it. As the saying goes, one small clue can reveal the whole picture. Watching Ji Dong pour the drink, Du Ming's gaze instantly became more serious. Four tenths of tequila, no more, no less. Most importantly, not a single drop leaked out. When Ji Dong put away the bottle of tequila, there was only four tenths left.
Next was five tenths of lemon juice and one tenth of stone juice. That was all the ingredients for a standard cocktail, Sunrise.
After putting the cap back on the flask, Ji Dong said to Du Ming, "Do you need to check again?"
Du Ming shook his head and said, "Let's begin."
Ji Dong tilted his head slightly. He raised his right hand and pinched the cap of the flask. Just when Du Ming was wondering what Ji Dong was going to do, the flask suddenly flew into the air. Or rather, it was flung into the air by Ji Dong.
The crystal flask spun rapidly in the air. It even made a humming sound. One could clearly see the base drink and the two ingredients fusing into one in that instant. The speed at which the flask spun was spinning was breathtaking. It looked like a golden-red disc dancing in the air.
Seeing this scene, Du Ming no longer looked down on Ji Dong. Just now, Ji Dong had only flicked his wrist to fling the flask into the air. It was done with the strength of his fingers and wrist. This wasn't a matter of strength, but rather, precise control. Du Ming realized that this young man named Ji Dong didn't even raise his head to look at the flask. From start to finish, his expression was calm, as if everything was under his control.
The flask spun rapidly as it fell from the sky. With a soft thud, it landed smoothly on the table. During this entire process, Ji Dong didn't use his hand to touch the flask. The flask was as stable as a nail. There wasn't even the slightest bit of movement. His control over his strength could be said to have reached the pinnacle of perfection.
With a light flick of his fingers, the flask was opened. Ji Dong flicked his finger on the flask, and a wisp of golden-red juice flew out, falling steadily into another clean highwave glass. The amount of wine that flew out was very small. If one looked closely, they would see that it was exactly one percent of the wine in the flask.
"Original Sunrise, please." Ji Dong pushed the highwave glass over.
Du Ming was very sure that during the entire process, Ji Dong definitely didn't use any magic. He was a magician himself, so he could naturally feel that it was all due to the skill of his hands. Earlier, when he made the flask spin rapidly in the air, he was sure that he could do it. However, when he flicked the wine into the glass, he didn't even think about it. Still, not a single drop was spilled, and it was exactly one percent. Just these two points alone were enough to make Du Ming break out in a cold sweat. Just a moment ago, he had said that he wanted to teach Ji Dong how to mix drinks, but he couldn't even do such a simple thing. Could it be that Ji Dong's claim about the same ingredients having a hundred different flavors was true?
As he thought about it, Du Ming had already taken a small sip of the "Sunrise".
The mellow taste, the fiery taste of the tequila, the perfect balance of the two juices, and the rich aroma all perfectly displayed the Sunrise. The taste was even more mellow than the one he made himself. As a six-star bartender, the son of the God of Wine, he understood that the simpler a cocktail was, the more skillful it was.
The same ingredients, but made by different people, could produce vastly different flavors. Although it was only a small mouthful, he was certain that only a handful of people in the Bartender's Guild could make such a thick Sunrise, and that included his father, the God of Wine, Du Sikang.
Just as he took the first sip, Ji Dong had already covered the shaker again. Without another word, the shaker flew into the air again. Du Ming was still savoring the taste of the Sunrise in his mouth when his eyes were completely attracted by the flying shaker.
It was still spinning, but this time, the rotation was completely different from before. Ji Dong turned the shaker upside down. The lid was on his palm, and as it spun rapidly, it formed a conical shape. Amidst the dazzling scene, the shaker stopped once again. He flicked the bottle lightly, and once again, a sliver of wine appeared. "Please."
Du Ming picked up his glass once again. This time, his expression couldn't help but become even more interesting. The mellow taste from before had disappeared, and what entered his mouth was actually a thick sweet aroma. With his sensitive taste buds, he could naturally taste that it was a mixture of two different fruit juices. But, why didn't there even a hint of tequila?
Cocktails didn't necessarily have to be alcohol. There was a unique type of cocktails, and that was non-alcoholic cocktails. They were made with various juices and ingredients. Therefore, Du Ming couldn't say that the second sip that Ji Dong gave him was not a cocktail.
Before he could think about how Ji Dong did it, the shaker flew into the air for the third time.
"Please."
"Please."
"Please."
"Please."
"Please."
…
Every time the shaker flew into the air and dropped down, Du Ming would reflexively pick up the glass and drink it. Just as Ji Dong had said, these three same ingredients were mixed in thousands of ways. In the end, Du Ming vaguely understood Ji Dong's train of thought. During the mixing process, he combined the three ingredients in different proportions. This way, the resulting taste would naturally be different. But, what kind of exquisite technique was required to achieve this?! After all, all the wine was in this shaker. To separate the excess, to create a new combination, and to create a new taste, there couldn't be a single mistake.
Moreover, no matter how Ji Dong combined the three ingredients, every sip of the cocktail that Du Ming drank was mellow and sweet. He couldn't help but be intoxicated.
This was supposed to be the amount of a cocktail, and he drank a total of more than a hundred sips. However, this one glass of cocktail was enough to make him drunk. It wasn't just his body that was drunk, it was his heart that was drunk.
Ji Dong's mixing technique was sometimes simple, sometimes complicated. Every time he waved the shaker, it was full of mystery. Every time he waved the shaker, he was deeply immersed in a wonderful feeling of enjoyment.
The customers at the next few tables also focused their attention on the shaker. Each of them seemed to be frozen in place, unable to speak. They never thought that a bartender could be so amazing. The dazzling light emitted from the shaker even made them hallucinate.
At this moment, Ji Dong was completely immersed in the joy of mixing drinks. It had been a long time since he had mixed drinks to his heart's content like this. He didn't use any of his magic. He was mixing drinks purely based on his skills. When he mixed drinks for the Flaming Bar, he would pour all of his emotions into the glass of wine. He would use the most brilliant techniques to make a top-notch wine, so he wouldn't be as carefree as he was now.
This mixing technique was the absolute foundation of Ji Dong's bartending skills. It was like a mathematician reciting a calculus, calm and relaxed, yet full of freedom. He didn't need to think at all, nor did he need to pay attention to anything. He just mixed drinks based on his feelings.
As Ji Dong's speed increased, Du Ming didn't even have time to hold his glass. Every time Ji Dong said the word "please", that strand of wine would be directly shot into his mouth.
Finally, the final moment arrived. Ji Dong stood up abruptly. The chair behind him bounced off his leg muscles, and he took a step back. At this moment, the entire teahouse seemed to light up. No one could see Ji Dong's arm clearly anymore. In an instant, nine crystalline silver halos with a faint red glow bloomed in the air.
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