"Humph!"
Song Bai suddenly flicked his sleeves and left, leaving the audience looking at each other in confusion.
Before, many people had left after losing, but they were all stopped by their people. They had to admit that they had lost, or that they were not as good as Song Bai. Now Song Bai lost and left without saying anything.
"You cheated! Pay me ten million yuan!"
Wang Dong hurriedly shouted. At this moment, many people remembered that they could win ten million yuan if they defeated Song Bai, and the Kunlun Hotel had vouched for them. Without this gimmick, so many people would not have come to the arena at the beginning.
Not every chef who participated in the competition had their own businesses. Even if they ran restaurants, not all of them had a lot of assets. Ten million yuan was definitely a big fortune for many people, so they were attracted by it.
Of course, some people believed that it would be very easy to defeat Song Bai, and the ten million yuan was very easy to earn, so they came to the arena. However, the result was beyond their expectation.
Now that they knew that Song Bai cheated, many people did not think that they had lost. They asked for a rematch or to announce that they had won, but still wanted to pay them ten million yuan.
The staff of the Kunlun Hotel hurriedly came out to maintain order, and the scene was in chaos.
Some people even posted the photos of the scene on the forum and Weibo. Many people were shocked after seeing this. Song Bai had won for so many days. Although people in the gourmet circle were not convinced by him, many passers-by had been cheering for him.
The passers-by thought that if you did well, they would believe in you.
But no one expected that Song Bai had won so many people by cheating. Now they could not accept it. Cheating was a behavior that many people despised, and Song Bai was caught cheating on the spot.
The Internet was also in full swing now. The staff of the Kunlun Hotel and President Gou of the Food Association worked together and finally stabilized the order of the arena.
As for those who cheated and lost, the Kunlun Hotel would definitely give them an explanation, but after all, they did not win at that time, so it was impossible for them to win ten million yuan now. As for Gu Zheng, he was the one who defeated Song Bai on the spot.
No one could say anything about Gu Zheng's victory.
Gu Zheng's 10 million was given on the spot. However, it was the amount after tax was deducted. It was 8 million in cash and cheques. Gu Zheng could collect it at any time.
After receiving the money and completing the test, Gu Zheng left.
Soon, other people also left. This match could also be regarded as a collision between the two most powerful dark horses of this year. In the end, Gu Zheng, the youngest dark horse, won a complete victory. Song Bai, who was very powerful, was completely defeated by Gu Zheng.
Not only did he fail to learn his culinary skills, but he was also exposed by Gu Zheng for cheating. His reputation and status plummeted.
Regarding his cheating, the Food Association and the competition's organizing committee would hold a meeting to discuss whether to give him the harshest punishment. After all, the impact of this matter was not small, and it was very bad.
Gu Zheng's appraisal meeting was still going on. Today, only eighty people were invited. First, many people had already been invited. Second, Gu Zheng was going to visit Song Bai this morning, so fewer people were invited.
Although only eighty people were invited, there were actually one hundred and twenty people, which made Gu Zheng very busy.
Among these 120 people, more than half of them were not the ones invited by Gu Zheng yesterday. They were the ones who had been invited before but didn't show up. They all shamelessly came in the afternoon. The influence of Gu Zheng's victory over Song Bai had already shown.
After all, even Yu Yong and the others lost in the arena. Even if Song Bai cheated, it was not easy for him to win.
Many people were very curious about the food made by Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng's appraisal meeting was still going on. They had been invited before, so they decided to come. That was why so many people came.
Although there were many people, all the food was made by Gu Zheng alone, so each person had less food.
The appraisal meeting did not guarantee that they would be full. This time, most people were not full, but they did eat well. They were full of praise for the food made by Gu Zheng.
On the same day, many seniors and famous chefs praised Gu Zheng's cooking skills. Now Gu Zheng's fame had surpassed Song Bai's, and he became the first of the three hundred contestants. Not only was he the first of the three hundred contestants, but also among the contestants who had participated in the previous China Food Competition, there were not many who were more famous than Gu Zheng.
After all, they had been so active in the past few days that they even participated in the arena. It was hard not to remember their fame.
"Gokusen's successor, congratulations on completing the temporary test!"
When he got home, the voice of the device spirit immediately sounded. The temporary test was completed. Without the announcement of the device spirit, Gu Zheng knew that he had completed the two requirements.
However, he had also completely offended Song Bai. He didn't know what Song Bai's background was. At noon, he sent a message to Emei and asked them to check Song Bai's information and find out where he came from.
With such a cultivation at such a young age, he believed that they could definitely find out.
"The reward for the temporary test will be given out together with the normal test. Please wait for the completion of the fame test!"
The device spirit said that the reward would not be given out for the time being because it would be given out together with the fame test. In fact, the fame test had now been completed, but it had to be on the last day, before the competition. If Gu Zheng could maintain his fame, he would be considered to have won.
There were still four days before the competition. After four days, if Gu Zheng could maintain his fame, he would be considered to have won.
Now that Gu Zheng was so famous, as long as he didn't do something like what Song Bai did and was defeated by someone else, his fame and ranking wouldn't be affected. Therefore, he was confident that he would win the competition.
Thanks to Song Bai, after Gu Zheng defeated him, his fame rose a lot, and it was a good reputation, which was more stable. Unlike Song Bai, although he was famous before, it was a bad reputation. After being defeated by Gu Zheng, he suddenly returned to his original status.
He was even worse than before. Many people despised him when they talked about him.
The next afternoon, the Food Association and the organizing committee of the competition announced the punishment for Song Bai. Yesterday, President Gou took the item for identification, and the result came out this morning. The fried eggs indeed contained the ingredients in the brocade sachet.
This was a rare thing that could greatly enhance the taste of food, and it had no impact on the safety of food, which surprised President Gou.
For this reason, President Gou specially contacted Song Bai and asked him what it was, and if it could be made public to provide it to other food professionals.
Anyone who had such a thing could enhance the taste of food without any side effects, and it was even beneficial to the human body. Such a good thing should be promoted for the benefit of all people.
President Gou's wish was good, but the result was destined to disappoint him.
This was an ordinary flavor-enhancing flower. Not to mention that it was very rare, even if it existed, ordinary people could not find it at all. Such a thing could not be mass-produced.
It was a pity that President Gou did not know this and still had hope. However, Song Bai ignored him, which disappointed him and made him very angry.
Later, they held a meeting and made a decision to expel Song Bai from the competition. The missing person would be replaced by other candidates, making up the total of three hundred contestants.
Song Bai was expelled. The punishment was expected, but also unexpected.
Since Song Bai had cheated, he was bound to be punished. However, the punishment of being expelled was indeed a bit severe. After all, his ring had little to do with the Food Contest. If anything, it was because he had restricted the contestants who had participated in the Food Contest from entering the ring.
If he was not punished, the public would not be convinced, but if he was punished, it would be a little severe. This was the contradictory mentality of many people.
Although Song Bai was infamous, many people still wanted to see him participate in the competition and compete with Gu Zheng again. After all, Song Bai had always cooked other people's dishes in the arena, and he had never cooked his own food.
In any case, many people acknowledged Song Bai's culinary skills. Sometimes, it was impossible to win by adding one ingredient to a dish.
If that was the case, there was no need for a famous chef. As long as there was such a thing, one could make the best food. No one could become a famous chef.
"A disciple of Kunlun?"
Gu Zheng also received a message from Emei, who had found out Song Bai's background.
This Song Bai turned out to be a disciple of the Kunlun Sect, the top orthodox sect. No wonder the Kunlun Hotel had been supporting him. This Kunlun Hotel must also be the property of the Kunlun Sect.
Song Bai was not only a disciple of the Kunlun Sect, but also an outstanding disciple of the Kunlun Sect. He had been well protected before, so the outside world knew very little about him. This time, Emei tried to inquire about Song Bai, but she got nothing at first. Therefore, she started from the Kunlun Hotel and found out that Song Bai was a disciple of the Kunlun Sect.
The top sect, which was even bigger than Mount Shu, made Gu Zheng frown again.
"Head, why don't you let the Grand Elder stay with you? You can take care of him!"
Wuyou said in a low voice. As long as the Grand Elder of the Kunlun Sect was not with him, there would be no problem to protect Gu Zheng. They were also worried about Gu Zheng. After all, Gu Zheng had thoroughly offended Song Bai before.
Who knew if the Kunlun Sect would shield him and make trouble for Gu Zheng because of this?
Facing the Kunlun Sect, not to mention Emei, even Mount Shu, the main branch of the Kunlun Sect, would be extremely cautious.
"No, it's better for the Grand Elder to stay in Emei. I'm afraid of this and that. I don't have to go out anymore, and it's not helpful for my cultivation in the future!"
Gu Zheng shook his head. It was indeed a big fuss to call the Grand Elder over just because he had offended Song Bai. However, one should always be vigilant. Gu Zheng still asked Emei to pay more attention to the Kunlun Sect.
In Emei, the Grand Elder Wuyou was still worried after hanging up the phone. However, what Gu Zheng said made sense. It was indeed not good for one's cultivation to be so afraid of such a small thing. In the end, he simply asked Wuchou to go there and observe Gu Zheng secretly. Once he found something wrong with the Kunlun Sect, he would immediately inform the sect.
With Wuchou there, as long as the Kunlun Sect didn't send out cultivators, he and Gu Zheng would definitely be able to hold on until the Grand Elder's support arrived.
As for cultivators, it was not so easy to send them out. The Kunlun Sect had a big business and a good reputation. It was impossible for them to send out cultivators just for a cultivator at the third level of internal force.
Gu Zheng didn't know Wuyou's plan. After hanging up the phone, he continued to do what he was supposed to do.
There were still three days before the competition, so his evaluation meeting was stopped. There were still many people who hadn't come, but it didn't matter anymore. He was now the most famous person, and if there were no accidents, he would definitely be able to maintain his position.
If there were any accidents, the fame brought by the evaluation meeting couldn't make up for it.
Without Song Bai, Gu Zheng became the most popular person again. President Gou had once praised Gu Zheng in a high profile post. At that time, everyone was not convinced and thought President Gou was exaggerating.
But now, after Yu Yong, Lu Yong, and the others had all lost to Song Bai, Gu Zheng had won. This alone was enough to prove that Gu Zheng was indeed stronger than them.
Song Bai did cheat, but he also cheated in the competition with Gu Zheng. Even though he cheated, he still didn't win Gu Zheng, which showed Gu Zheng's strength.
Now in the forum, many people were cheering for their supporters, especially Lu Yong's supporters. They persuaded Lu Yong and Lu Yong to pay attention to this competition and give it their all. Otherwise, this competition would really make history.
It would make history for the youngest contestant to win the competition.
Some of the betting stations outside the forum even started to bet on this. The odds of Gu Zheng winning were the lowest. It could also be seen that they were all optimistic about Gu Zheng and believed that Gu Zheng had the highest chance of winning the competition.
"Gu Zheng, I'm sorry that I couldn't help you this time!"
In the villa, Changfeng came back. When he saw Gu Zheng, he apologized with a frustrated look.
"What's going on?" Gu Zheng was very puzzled.
"I didn't expect the Kunlun Hotel to have such a strong background. I wanted to mess with them this time, but I failed!"
Changfeng lowered his head and said sadly. He had also heard that Gu Zheng defeated Song Bai. He was not a member of the gourmet circle. The only connection he had with the gourmet circle was that he was also the owner of Guji Chicken Blood Soup.
He paid attention to Gu Zheng, so he paid attention to these things. After Gu Zheng won, he didn't like the attitude of the Kunlun Hotel and Song Bai, so he didn't tell Gu Zheng. Instead, he used his influence to make some trouble for the Kunlun Hotel.
It would be best if he could make Song Bai apologize to him and publicly admit that he was not as good as Gu Zheng.
But he didn't expect that his connections didn't work. The Kunlun Hotel had more powerful connections than him in many aspects, so he couldn't mess with them at all.
That was why he came to Gu Zheng's place and said these things.
"You don't have to do this at all. Okay, don't do this in the future!"
Gu Zheng shook his head helplessly after hearing this. This guy actually went to make trouble for the Kunlun Hotel, which was backed by the number one sect in the cultivation world. It would be strange if he could mess with them.
Fortunately, Changfeng didn't force him to do anything, otherwise, it might have brought him trouble.
As for Song Bai, he was a cultivator, so Changfeng would never force him to apologize to him. However, Gu Zheng was very touched by his kindness. As a result, Gu Zheng cooked delicious food for dinner.
The next morning, the second last day before the start of the competition, the Food Association announced the names of the substitutes.
Song Xiu, 30 years old, unknown place of birth, unknown origin, and unknown results. He was another contestant who had nothing like Song Bai and had the same surname as Song Bai.
According to rumors, it was not the Food Association's idea to put Song Xiu in, but the result of their superior's department. President Gou couldn't stop it at all and was so angry that he even smashed his cup.
"Song Xiu?"
Gu Zheng was outside, strolling in a big shopping mall. It was Wang Dong who told him the news with a tablet. Gu Zheng's instinct told him that Song Xiu was definitely related to Song Bai, and it was a close relationship.
If Song Xiu and Song Bai were both from Kunlun, it was absolutely possible that they had the strength to suppress the Food Association and force them to give in.
The Kunlun Sect was the number one sect. It not only had great influence in the cultivation world, but also in the secular world. Although they didn't pay attention to everything in the secular world, there were always disciples who went into the secular world to gain experience, so it was inevitable that they would retain some power in the secular world.
What Changfeng did to the Kunlun Hotel before also proved this point.
However, these had little to do with Gu Zheng. He just needed to participate in this Food Competition with peace of mind. He didn't think that he would definitely win the competition. He just needed to do his best and compete seriously.
This Gourmet Food Competition wasn't just his competition alone. His father, Uncle Hu, and even Wang Dong were looking forward to it. Besides, the Chinese Gourmet Food Competition was once a dream of his. Although he didn't choose to be a chef previously, Gu Zheng still fantasized about participating in such a world-famous competition.
This was also to fulfill his own dream.
"Stop, stop, you haven't paid yet!"
Gu Zheng was currently shopping in a supermarket. He was buying ordinary daily necessities.
They were near the cashier. When they heard the shout, he and Wang Dong both raised their heads and were soon stunned.
In front of the cashier, there was a beautiful girl who was being stopped. She was still holding a pile of things in her hands and was standing there in a daze.
"Pay for what?"
The girl looked very innocent and didn't seem to be pretending. Even the security guard who stopped him was stunned when he saw her appearance. It took him a while to come back to his senses.
"You haven't paid for these things you chose. You can't take them out!"
The security guard's voice became a lot smaller. The beautiful girl's lethality was really not small. If it were someone else, I'm afraid the security guard would scold them fiercely and even suspect that they were stealing.
"Why?"
The girl looked even more confused. Gu Zheng took a few steps forward, and the corner of his eyebrows suddenly frowned.
Just now, the weapon spirit told him that this girl was also a cultivator, and her strength was higher than his. She had reached the early stage of the fourth level. She was a cultivation master who could release internal strength.
This girl, who looked to be in her early twenties, was actually stronger than him.
However, the other party was a cultivator. Gu Zheng had no doubts in his heart. He didn't know which sect this disciple was from. She only knew to cultivate in seclusion and had never come to the secular world. She should have just come out, so such a thing happened.
In their consciousness, there was no word to pay at all.
"I'll pay for her!"
Gu Zheng walked over and said. Since they were all fellow cultivators, paying the bill was just a small matter.
"Sorry, sorry!"
At this time, there were already many people watching. Two girls suddenly squeezed through the crowd, sweating profusely. When they saw that the girl was fine, they heaved a heavy sigh of relief. These two were ordinary people, but they were very afraid and respectful when facing the girl. Gu Zheng understood that these two should be the people who accompanied the girl in the secular world.
However, the two of them didn't accompany her just now, and in the end, this cultivator girl ran out by herself.
"It's you, Gu Zheng!"
After learning about what happened just now, the two girls came to thank Gu Zheng. In the end, when they saw Gu Zheng, they showed a vigilant look and even called out Gu Zheng's name.
"You know me?"
Gu Zheng was baffled. He was sure that he had never seen these two girls and the cultivator girl before.
"You are Gu Zheng?"
The cultivator girl blurted out. She even walked in front of Gu Zheng and sized him up. However, she was too close. When she was sizing him up, she was almost sticking to Gu Zheng's body, making Gu Zheng feel very awkward.
"Miss, let's go first. Otherwise, Sir will be angry!"
The two girls hurriedly pulled the cultivator girl. Regardless of whether the cultivator girl was willing or not, they took her away. When the cultivator girl left, she kept looking back at Gu Zheng.
"Brother Gu, you know them? Is that girl a celebrity? She is so beautiful!"
Wang Dong came over and whispered. His eyes were still staring at the direction where the cultivator girl disappeared.
"I don't know them!"
Gu Zheng smiled bitterly and helplessly. He really didn't know them. He didn't know who they were or why they knew him.
However, this was just a small episode for him. After shopping, he and Wang Dong returned home. The competition was going to start in one day. Gu Zheng didn't plan to go out tomorrow. He stayed at home to adjust his state and prepare well.
Early in the morning the day after tomorrow, Changfeng personally came to pick up Gu Zheng. Today was the day of the competition. Changfeng was also very interested in this Chinese Food Competition and wanted to participate with Gu Zheng.
The Chinese Food Competition was held in Beijing, but it wasn't in a restaurant or a hall. Instead, it was held directly in a prince's mansion. Previous food competitions were held here, so those who had participated were very familiar with it.
The antique Ming and Qing dynasty buildings added a lot of sense of time to the food competition.
The Chinese Food Competition wasn't open to the public. Only those with an invitation or contestants could enter. Wang Dong and Changfeng, as Gu Zheng's assistants, could enter, but others couldn't.
"Shao Ye, Shao Ye!"
Before Gu Zheng got out of the car, he heard someone shouting from the other side. It was a supporter of one of the chefs who had come to support them. It was just like how many of Gu Zheng's supporters had come to support him during the Hangzhou Food Contest.
The difference was that only Gu Zheng had supporters at that time, but many chefs here had supporters.
Just because they all had supporters didn't mean that they were all true. Some were purely hired for the sake of face and couldn't be taken seriously. This was also an unspoken rule that everyone knew, so no one paid special attention to it.
"Gu Zheng, Gu Zheng is here!"
As soon as Gu Zheng got out of the car, hundreds of people suddenly rushed towards him, giving Wang Dong a fright.
"Xu Song?"
Gu Zheng's eyesight was much better than Wang Dong's. He had already seen that the person running in front was Xu Song from Ningbo. That time in Hangzhou, Xu Song was his supporter. Gu Zheng even went to buy his roasted chicken.
As for the other people, Gu Zheng also looked familiar. They were basically people who had supported him outside the Hangzhou Food Competition. He didn't expect these people to come to Beijing and continue to support him here.
"Gu Zheng, Gu Zheng!"
Hundreds of people shouted together. It was much better than the dozens of people before. Some contestants who came to participate in the competition looked at Gu Zheng with jealousy and quickly entered the venue.
"Why are you all here?"
Gu Zheng walked over and asked loudly. None of these people were in Beijing. They were either in Hangzhou or near Hangzhou. It wasn't easy for them to come here.
"You came to participate in the competition, so we definitely have to support you. Gu Zheng, good job. The competition hasn't started yet and you're already so powerful. You're the favorite to win the championship. We all believe in you. You'll definitely get first place!"
Xu Song shouted excitedly. They were actually all in the same group. After supporting Gu Zheng last time, they didn't disband and were still in contact.
Originally, no one wanted to come to the Chinese Food Competition this time. After all, it was too far away. However, as more and more news about Gu Zheng appeared on the Internet, especially when he did something that no one else could do in the arena and defeated Song Bai, their minds started to move again.
Since Gu Zheng hadn't become famous, they were Gu Zheng's supporters. At this time, they should come and support Gu Zheng. Then, someone suggested that everyone continue to support Gu Zheng in Beijing. Soon, it received a response from the crowd.
These people who ran over even put up more than a dozen banners. They were all words of support for Gu Zheng. There was even one that encouraged Gu Zheng to win the championship.
These people had started to prepare long ago. Those who had money contributed money, those who had strength contributed strength.
Those who had money would exchange some money for the expenses of this event. Those who didn't have money but had time would come to Beijing to support Gu Zheng. All the expenses for coming to Beijing this time were pooled together by everyone.
Not only did Xu Song come, but he also exchanged ten thousand dollars. The expenses of six to seven hundred people in Beijing weren't small. He wasn't the one who exchanged the most money. The rich man who provided everyone with boxed lunches in Hangzhou also supported Gu Zheng this time. He couldn't come because he had something to do, so he covered all the accommodation.
Although it was just an ordinary express hotel, it was still quite expensive for so many people to stay together. Moreover, it wasn't just for one day. It wasn't a small expense.
The Chinese Food Competition was slightly different from the Hangzhou Food Competition. The Chinese Food Competition had a total of three days of competition. On the first day, three hundred people participated. The top thirty would advance to the next competition. The top thirty would be held on the second day.
On the second day, the top ten would be decided. The top ten would continue to compete on the third day.
The third day was the ultimate final. After the top ten competed, there would be a ranking from the fourth to the tenth. The top three would continue to compete. The person with the highest total score in the last four competitions would become the first place of this Food Competition, followed by the second and third.
The top three of each competition would have to participate in four competitions and cook at least four dishes.
Therefore, in the past Food Competitions, the top three were one level, the top eleven were one level, and the top thirty were another level. Each level was different. Some people thought that they could advance to the next level, while others aimed at the top three. They had to get the top three no matter what.
This Food Competition, because of Gu Zheng's sudden rise, had now become even more chaotic.
Lu Yong, Yu Yong, and others, who were originally the most promising in the top three, had now dropped in ranking. They lost to Song Bai, but Gu Zheng beat Song Bai. Now Gu Zheng's ranking directly surpassed the two of them and became the most promising person to get the first place.
Not only was he most likely to get the first place, but he was also ranked first in the top three.
There were also people who predicted that with Gu Zheng's strength, even if he did not perform well, he would not be able to escape from the top ten. As for the top thirty, many people did not even think about it. A contestant who performed better than Lu Yong, Yu Yong, and others, and who was praised by President Gou, could not get such a bad ranking.
This result also encouraged Gu Zheng's supporters. Many people were more willing to come to the scene to support him.
They hoped that this time, like last time, they would wait outside for the news of Gu Zheng's victory. After Gu Zheng won the championship, they would celebrate with them.
"Thank you, thank you!"
Gu Zheng was very excited. He really did not expect that these supporters would come so far to support him, and so many of them came at once.
These supporters never thought that Gu Zheng would repay them in any way. They really hoped that Gu Zheng could win and that Gu Zheng could get good results. If Gu Zheng could get good results, they would be very happy, just like if they got the same results.
Perhaps, this was the attitude of fans towards their idols.
"Gu Zheng, come on, we believe in you!" A fan raised his hand and shouted.
"Yes, we believe in you!"
Six to seven hundred fans raised their hands and shouted together, attracting the attention of countless people.
"No matter what results you get, we will support you!"
"It's best if you can get the first place. We hope to hear the news of you winning the championship outside!"
"That's right, I will always remember the moment when you won the championship. How excited we were!"
Gu Zheng's supporters shouted. They were the people who came to the scene. Even if they were not there, there were more people who paid attention to them.
Last time in Hangzhou, four to five thousand people waited outside for Gu Zheng's competition to end, waiting for Gu Zheng's results. When they knew that Gu Zheng really got the first place, the scene of the supporters shouting outside was something that everyone would never forget.
At that moment, they were the happiest and the most excited.
This time, they also came, wanting to recreate that moment. However, in order to not give Gu Zheng too much pressure, not many people said so. Moreover, they knew that this was the national stage, the most famous and highest level competition in the country. It was hard to say whether Gu Zheng could get the first place.
It wasn't as if the contestants who had been easily predicted and ranked high had never been overthrown before. In a competition like this, anything could happen.
"I will work hard, do my best!"
Gu Zheng clenched his fist and said loudly. This was his promise to the supporters outside. He would do his best to participate in this competition and display his greatest strength.
If he lost because of his strength, he would have nothing to say. However, he would not allow himself to lose because of his own lack of effort. If he did, not only would he let himself down, but he would also let down his friends who came to support him outside.
"Come on!"
"Come on!"
Six to seven hundred supporters sent Gu Zheng into the Wang Mansion. They soon quieted down outside, holding their plaques and banners. They wore the same clothes and sat quietly outside, waiting for Gu Zheng's results today.
The Wang Mansion was very big. The first competition would be held separately in three places, with 100 people in each place. It would be too crowded if 300 people were to be together.
The Wang Mansion had the front and back courtyards, which were separated into three venues. The three venues were all open-air. Today's competition would be held in the open air.
The open-air competition was a great test of the contestants' mentality. Many of the contestants had never cooked in the open air before. Moreover, it was easy to be disturbed by the surroundings when they were together in the open air. People with unstable mentality could easily perform poorly.
Changfeng and Wang Dong accompanied Gu Zheng into the courtyard, where the competition would be held.
There were three venues, and each venue had 20 judges. Only the top ten contestants in each venue could advance. The first day of the competition was a cruel knockout with a score of ten to one. This kind of competition required a high psychological endurance. Although the contestants were all famous chefs, some of them had weak psychological endurance and collapsed before the competition was over.
They cared too much about this competition. The more they cared about it, the worse their performance would be.
Gu Zheng was number 53. Coincidentally, Song Xiu was also in the same venue. Song Xiu was number 52, which was very close to Gu Zheng.
"You must be Gu Zheng!"
As soon as Gu Zheng returned to his seat, Song Xiu, who was sitting next to him, said faintly to Gu Zheng. Song Xiu was thirty years old and looked a little like Song Bai. They were both handsome, but more mature than Song Bai.
"Song Xiu!"
Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes. This Song Xiu gave him a dangerous feeling. Soon, the device spirit told him about Song Xiu's situation in his mind.
Song Xiu, an internal strength cultivator, the middle stage of the fourth level.
Song Xiu was an expert who had cultivated to the fourth level, which was one level higher than Song Zhe. The two looked so similar, so it was obvious that they were related.
"Gu Zheng, you have to pay attention. The ingredients Song Xiu brought are all of the ordinary level. One of them is of the medium level!"
The device spirit suddenly said to Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng was slightly stunned and narrowed his eyes.
A medium level ingredient. This Song Xiu actually brought a medium level ingredient.
Although there was only one medium level ingredient, it was much better than the ordinary level. Needless to say, many chefs brought inferior ingredients for this competition.
They also knew the importance of ingredients. They knew that better ingredients could make better food. However, good ingredients were not so easy to find. They were not Gu Zheng, who had a device spirit that could identify ingredients.
On Earth, naturally grown ingredients could not reach the medium level without special circumstances.
This meant that many chefs could only bring out ordinary level ingredients at best. Song Xiu's cooking skills aside, he brought out a medium level ingredient, which meant that he was better than his competitors. As long as his cooking skills were not bad, his results would not be bad.
Moreover, many ordinary people had never seen or tasted a medium level ingredient before. The shock of the taste was even greater than that of the ordinary level ingredients.
Gu Zheng did not expect Song Xiu to have a medium level ingredient.
"What is his medium level ingredient?"
"Hidden Fragrance. It is a plant that can enhance the fragrance!" The device spirit quickly answered Gu Zheng.
"Hidden Fragrance!"
Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes even more. A medium level ingredient that can enhance the fragrance? Gu Zheng secretly had an idea.
Originally, in the first match, Gu Zheng had planned to make a newly learned cooking skill, which was a reward given to him by the artifact spirit after he became famous and passed the test. Now that he learned that Song Xiu had an intermediate ingredient, and one that could increase the fragrance, Gu Zheng suddenly changed his mind.
For today's first competition, he decided to make chicken blood soup.
It was not an ordinary chicken blood soup.
The competition time was two hours. There were special circumstances that could be deduced. Generally speaking, the competition had to be completed within two hours. Those who could not complete the competition would be regarded as having no results.
Without results, it was equivalent to losing.
Song Xiu began to cook his food. His knives and cooking utensils were different from others. Gu Zheng asked the device spirit and the result surprised him. This set of tools were actually immortal tools.
Kunlun was indeed rich. They actually had a set of immortal tools and even gave it to an inner strength cultivator to use. It was really inconceivable.
The tools were good, much better than Gu Zheng's, but no matter how good the tools were, it depended on who was using them. If this set of tools belonged to Gu Zheng, it could enhance his cooking skills and achieve twice the result with half the effort. However, it was hard to say how much effect it would have on Song Xiu.
After all, Song Xiu did not have immortal power. Without immortal power, he could only use a passive method to activate immortal power. Activating and activating are definitely two different concepts.
What Song Xiu wanted to make was actually a soup. Moreover, it was a very common soup.
Winter melon and pork ribs soup.
However, his winter melon was harvested from Kunlun and its grade was ordinary. His pork ribs were also from pigs raised in Kunlun Mountain. The grade of the pork was also ordinary.
Not to mention Common Grade pork, even Inferior Grade pork was very rare. Even Common Grade pork would be much more fragrant than Inferior Grade or Trash Grade pork when used to stir-fry vegetables.
Even if there was no oil, the taste of this pork was much better than the pork on the market.
Moreover, Song Xiu had added oil. His oil was rapeseed oil, and it was an ingredient that had reached the normal grade. The Kunlun Sect was originally located in the Kunlun Mountains. Even Emei could produce many normal grade ingredients, let alone Kunlun.
Outside, ordinary grade ingredients were very rare, but in Kunlun Sect, they could be seen everywhere.
Song Xiu's winter melon and pork ribs soup was made according to the most traditional method. First, the ribs were soaked in hot water and then stir-fried with oil.
Song Xiu was very fast. After Gu Zheng was done with the celestial chicken, he had already begun to pour the oil.
The fragrance of the ordinary grade oil spread throughout the venue. Not only their venue, but even the front and back venues could smell the oil fragrance.
"It smells so good. Who made this?"
"It smells so good. What is this fragrance?"
"It smells like oil, but it's not greasy at all. It's amazing!"
Many people in the three venues were discussing. Song Xiu's ordinary grade rapeseed oil was indeed very fragrant, but this was only oil. After he poured in the hot water soaked ribs, the fragrance became even stronger.
And this time, it was not the fragrance of oil, but the fragrance of oil with the fragrance of meat. Many people who smelled it suddenly felt very hungry. This was a kind of fragrance that could attract their appetite, making them very eager for this kind of food.
The fragrance spread so far that even some supporters who were waiting at the door smelled it. Many people were sniffing and trying to smell this delicious smell.
"It's worthy of being a national food competition. Who made this? It smells so good!"
"Could it be Gu Zheng? His food is very fragrant!"
"I don't think so. This is the fragrance of meat. Gu Zheng has never made such a fragrance!"
This was what Gu Zheng's fan club was discussing. The aroma was indeed good. Even Gu Zheng felt hungry after smelling it. Normal grade pork, all normal grade ingredients. He had never eaten something like this before.
Soon, everyone found the source of this fragrance. It was Song Xiu.
This contestant was a bit like Song Bai. He had an unknown origin, and even President Gou couldn't resist the pressure to enter the competition. At first, not many people paid attention to him, but no one expected that he could make such fragrant food. Especially President Gou and the others, such a fragrance seemed to be comparable only to Gu Zheng's chicken blood soup.
Gu Zheng's chicken blood soup was an extremely fragrant and transformative delicacy.
Song Xiu quickly added water to the pot, and Gu Zheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
After Song Xiu added the water, his immortal cooking utensils actually moved. It was unknown what method he used to activate them, but the water he added actually quickly fused with the pork ribs in the pot. Not only did the cold water not affect the meat of the pork ribs, but it also better released the meat of the pork, making the meat more tender.
Gu Zheng could also do this with the Water Control Art, but the Water Control Art was a high-level immortal technique. Song Xiu didn't have any immortal technique, nor did he know any immortal technique, but he could do it with an immortal tool. This idea and ability alone were worthy of recognition.
This also made Gu Zheng have the idea that he had underestimated others. He had always been proud of having immortal techniques and better cooking skills. Although he didn't look down on others, he was certainly proud in his heart.
His skills couldn't be copied, and others couldn't learn them even if they wanted to. However, it didn't mean that there was no way to do it. For example, the immortal tool in front of him had the ability of the Water Control Art. Not only that, Song Xiu was using his internal strength to control the fire, and the immortal tool was also assisting him. Although his control of the fire was not as good as Gu Zheng's, it was not much worse.
The wisdom of human beings was really endless. Without immortal techniques, they used other methods to help achieve the effect of immortal techniques.
After Song Xiu added water, the fragrance faded. Gu Zheng also calmed down and cooked his chicken soup.
This Song Xiu's culinary skills were not bad. Even though he made the simplest food, the simpler the food, the greater the explosive power in the end. It was precisely because his cooking was simple that many people knew how to do it. Therefore, it was very competitive and easier to get high scores.
After a while, the water on Song Xiu's side boiled. As soon as it boiled, he began to add ingredients to the soup.
Every five minutes, he would add ingredients. Each time, he added ordinary ingredients. His pot of soup was the same as Gu Zheng's, ordinary ingredients.
All of them were of the normal grade, even the table salt. The table salt was the mineral salt produced by the Kunlun Mountains. If even salt could be produced at the normal grade, Gu Zheng had nothing to say. He was also of the normal grade, but he knew very well how difficult it was for him to reach the normal grade. He had used several Great Desolate Space to upgrade his qualifications to reach the normal grade.
Other people's ingredients had not been upgraded. They were all naturally grown. For natural growth to reach the ordinary level, and so many of them, it was really difficult to find them in other places besides these cultivation sects.
The fragrance of the soup in front of Song Xiu began to spread again.
He added one ingredient every five minutes. He added five ingredients in a row. For the sixth ingredient, he took out the middle-grade Hidden Fragrance.
Hidden Fragrance was only a middle-grade ingredient. It was not considered a high-grade ingredient. Its biggest function was to increase the fragrance. Such an ingredient, even if its grade was very high, was rarely noticed by other sects. After all, it was not helpful for cultivation.
Only Gu Zheng or cultivators like Song Xiu would pay attention to it.
After adding the Hidden Fragrance, the fragrance of the soup in the pot suddenly increased. Waves of fragrance slowly spread along the edge of the pot. This time, the fragrance was different from the previous meat fragrance. It did not have the rush of the meat fragrance, but it retained the delicacy of the meat fragrance.
This fragrance was not as overwhelming, but the temptation was increased.
It was like there was a bowl of Red Braised Meat in front of you. It was not greasy at all, and it was not greasy at all. It made people want to bite it, bite it until their mouth was full of juice, and then swallow it.
Smelling the fragrance, they had this feeling. Everyone who smelled this fragrance became even hungrier.
It was not only them. Gu Zheng was the same. As expected of a middle-grade Hidden Fragrance, the fragrance was really strong. However, it could not reach the level of Extreme Fragrance Transformation with only one ingredient. Song Xiu's soup was not like Gu Zheng's. There was no white mist condensing.
Gu Zheng's chicken soup was ready. He prepared the small pot. Gu Zheng put in the chicken soup and began to make the real chicken blood soup.
This time, Gu Zheng did not add five ingredients like before, but six. Six ingredients was the limit of the chicken blood soup. It was a pity that he did not have any middle-grade ingredients. He had the Chaos Space, the Immortal Apricot Fruit, the Ocean Flower, and the Lightning Bee, which were all middle-grade ingredients.
It was a pity that these ingredients could not be used now. The Ocean Flower was still two days away from ripening. As for the Lightning Bee and the Immortal Apricot Fruit, it would take even longer.
He could not ripen the middle-grade ingredients now, so he could only wait.
Six high-grade ingredients was the limit of the chicken blood soup. He could only add this much. The six high-grade ingredients were added in order. A layer of white mist quickly formed above the small pot. The white mist turned into the shape of a chicken and walked back and forth.
"Extreme Fragrance Transformation!"
Song Xiu's eyes narrowed. This was a legendary consummate skill, a consummate skill that had been lost for generations. He had heard of it a long time ago and wondered if he could make it. However, he failed every time. This time, he saw it on someone else.
He had just left the mountain, so he did not ask too much about Gu Zheng. He only knew that Gu Zheng had defeated Song Bai and was also a cultivator. Later, he asked around in the sect and knew that Gu Zheng was the new Sect Leader of Emei Sect. He did not know anything else.
If it were other people, they would not be surprised by Gu Zheng's Extreme Fragrance Transformation. Many people had seen it many times.
The fragrance of the chicken blood soup began to spread, spreading out together with Song Xiu's pork rib soup. The two fragrances were invisible, but there was a strangulation and a battle in the air.
The two fragrances wanted to suppress each other, but no one succeeded.
The pork rib soup had middle-grade ingredients, and the other ingredients were not bad. His cooking skills were also very good with the help of immortal kitchen utensils. However, the chicken blood soup was, after all, Gokusen's cooking skills.
Gokusen's cooking skills were unsurpassable by other cooking skills. This was Gu Zheng's advantage.
Song Xiu's advantage lay in the ingredients. Neither of them had the strength to completely suppress the other. In this way, the two fragrances kept entangling and suppressing each other. In the end, no one could suppress the other.
As a result, the people nearby were in trouble. They had just smelled this fragrance, and then smelled another fragrance. The two fragrances were so attractive, so tempting, and they could only be smelled but not seen.
Many people's stomachs were protesting and growling. Whether they had eaten or not, it was the same.
Some people wanted to eat something else to fill their stomachs, but no matter what they took out, they could not eat as soon as they smelled the two fragrances. No matter what they ate, it was like chewing wax.
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