Chapter 520: Food Eating Competition – Fluttering Boat Fried Rice
“Wow, this is delicious!”
"MasterChef cooking skills truly make a difference. Even without transcendent ingredients, achieving such incredible flavor is unbelievable."
“The pickled fish was freshly sliced, so its tangy flavor is intense, yet it doesn't overpower the fish's natural sweetness!”
“The fish is incredibly tender and melts in your mouth. My entire palate is filled with pure bliss.”
"After the tangy and spicy notes, the fresh, sweet aroma of the rice floods your senses. Even though it's just ordinary rice, it's cooked to perfection, so smooth and silky it adds an extra layer of exquisite texture!"
The crowd savored each bite, their praise flowing endlessly.
“Huh? How did it all disappear?”
“Mine! Save some for me!”
The last few fish sushi pieces sparked a scramble.
Those who had tasted it were left wanting more, glancing toward Ci Hai Shen only to find him already preparing other dishes.
“It's so popular—why not make more?” In the observation room, the Sea Bird Bishop took a bite of the pickled fish sushi before setting it aside.
As a VIP in the viewing chamber, he needn't queue; freshly prepared delicacies were personally delivered to him.
“Though merely an ordinary dish, it is indeed delicious.” Remarked the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord beside him, also leaving his portion unfinished.
Mei Lan Du explained, “This relates to the specific rules of the eating contest.”
“Participating magic chefs must prepare dishes meeting minimum standards for diners across all life levels.”
“Starting from mortal level, only after satisfying the minimum requirements can they advance to the higher bronze level.”
“Similarly, after producing a certain quantity of bronze level dishes that meet the requirements, they can then prepare iron level dishes.”
“Lord Ci Hai Shen's strategy is clear: abandoning the pursuit of mortal level points to swiftly create higher level dishes and secure greater personal points.”
“Personal points?” inquired the Sea Bird Bishop.
Mei Lan Du explained, “The eating contest is a method of competition among magic chefs, distinct from actual combat. Therefore, alternative methods are used to calculate the outcome.”
“Each type of magic chef contest employs different scoring systems.”
"Take the current eating contest as an example: each mortal consuming one portion equals one point. Each bronze level transcendent consuming one portion equals ten points. Iron level earns one hundred points, silver level one thousand points, and gold level ten thousand points!"
The bishop understood: “Points increase tenfold with each level. Naturally, crafting higher level dishes is more profitable.”
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord added, “However, from what I know, the higher the level of the transcendent dish, the harder it is to create. If a creation fails, the magic chef loses more than just morale. Their transcendent powers are deeply involved in the cooking process. Much like casting spells or alchemy, failure brings backlash."
The bishop glanced at his leftover pickled fish sushi and subconsciously rubbed his stomach. “I'm already looking forward to gold level delicacies, hahaha.”
Mei Lan Du poured cold water on his enthusiasm: “Tasting a gold level dish in an eating contest won't be so easy.”
“What do you mean?” the bishop asked.
Mei Lan Du explained: “Gold level dishes are extremely difficult to prepare. Failure deals a severe blow to both the physical and mental state of the magic chef.”
“In a culinary contest like this eating challenge, the magic chef only needs to defeat their opponent.”
“Therefore, once one side gains a significant lead in points, they won't risk preparing a gold level dish to play it safe.”
"If the contest is evenly matched, neither side will take such risks. They'll typically compete at the silver and iron levels, producing large quantities of dishes at those levels."
“Only when the remaining transcendent tasters among the audience can no longer eat, and the points left to be earned are scarce, do the points for gold level dishes become most valuable. It is at this moment that magic chefs will prepare gold level dishes on the spot.”
“Another scenario is when the magic chef's own strength is overwhelmingly superior, making gold level dishes mere trifles for them.”
With this explanation, the bishop finally understood.
Because the competition was points-based, the primary battleground for eating contests remained within the iron and silver levels.
For gold level magic chefs like Ci Hai Shen and Da Dou, preparing dishes of this level offered greater certainty, they faced no risk of failure or backlash. Moreover, this level contained the largest number of transcendents, making it the most crucial group to compete for.
The city lord suddenly asked, “Can points be counted for both sides?”
Mei Lan Du nodded. “If someone eats both Lord Ci Hai Shen's dish and Da Dou's meal, both magic chefs will receive corresponding points.”
"But don't forget, transcendent dishes aren't to be consumed lightly. Consuming any transcendent dish places a burden on the body. The potent energy and abundant nutrients within transcendent delicacies require timely digestion."
"Therefore, in eating contests, magic chefs select dishes with three characteristics. First, they cater to popular tastes. Second, they are easy to prepare with high success rates. Third, they are substantial and filling—once you eat mine, you'll struggle to eat my opponent's."
Hearing this, the city lord furrowed his brow slightly, sensing an anomaly: “That holds true for transcendent dishes, but for mortals, the burden of ordinary meals is solely on the stomach.”
“Precisely,” nodded Mei Lan Du. “This is a unique advantage of mortals. Mortals can consume vast quantities of food, unlike transcendents who typically feel full after just one or two servings of dishes of the same level.”
"Thus, food duels usually involve two tactics. The first, chosen by Lord Ci Hai Shen, is rapidly advancing in level. The second involves delaying advancement, remaining at the mortal level to produce vast quantities of meals. Though mortals earn only one point each, they can consume multiple portions. Moreover, mortals are the most numerous!"
“Hmm...” Mei Lan Du paused abruptly, staring at the magic projection. “It seems Lord Da Dou has adopted the second tactic.”
In the projection, Da Dou also retrieved rice and poured it into a sizzling oil-filled wok.
Bucket after bucket of rice poured into the iron wok, yet it remained unremarkable.
The iron wok possessed spatial magic, though it was only one vessel, it could store vast quantities of ingredients.
After Da Dou poured over a dozen buckets of rice, the audience finally saw the white grains cover nearly half the wok's base.
Holding the iron handle in one hand and a long ladle in the other, Da Dou continuously stirred and tossed the rice within.
“So, he's making fried rice,” the crowd realized.
Da Dou then produced eggs with colorful shells, vegetable eggs.
He placed them on the pot's rim, cracked them open, and with deft finger movements, skillfully separated the yolks, whites, and green yolks into the pot.
Unlike regular eggs, vegetable eggs contained not only yolk and white, but also green yolk. This green egg yolk possessed the same nutritional elements as fresh vegetables.
Hundreds of vegetable eggs were cracked one after another, their liquid pouring entirely into the large iron wok.
The liquid solidified rapidly, then was broken up by an iron spoon into small yellow, white, and green chunks or grains.
The rice was stir-fried until golden brown.
With each toss of the large iron wok by the chef, the tri-colored rice flew up like grains of sand, then cascaded down like a golden waterfall, a truly spectacular sight.
"Oh! Its fluttering boat fried rice!" Many recognized it at this sight.
Like the pickled fish sushi from Ci Hai Shen, fluttering boat fried rice was a common dish, a staple on countless family tables.
Both the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord and the Sea Bird Bishop knew this dish.
Mei Lan Du chose to share lesser-known details: “This dish was created by Ou You Wang.”
“He was a magic chef and also a great adventurer of the human race.”
"Once, after weathering a storm, his sea vessel entered a windless zone. A vicious pack of magic beast fish targeted them."
"Without sea winds, Ou You Wang's vessel lost two-thirds of its propulsion. The shipwright had already perished in the earlier tempest."
“Though the crew exhausted every possible means, they could only watch helplessly as the magic beast fish closed in.”
“Despair gripped nearly all aboard, yet Ou You Wang alone clung to his fighting spirit, refusing to surrender prematurely.”
“He gathered the ship's last remaining provisions, some oil and leftover rice from the night before.”
“Using these meager ingredients, Ou You Wang miraculously created the fluttering boat fried rice.”
“After eating the fried rice, the sailors and crew not only regained their morale and fighting spirit, but each stroke of their oars now stirred up waves.”
“Wave after wave propelled the ship forward. With high spirits, it navigated the windless seas, ultimately shaking off the magic beast fish swarm and escaping death!”
“After this battle, Ou You Wang's fame reached its peak.”
"In the end, they returned safely to their point of departure. Their adventurous tale spread far and wide. The method for preparing fluttering boat fried rice was thus passed down."
"To this day, in many places, people eat a bowl of fluttering boat fried rice when a ship sets sail. This tradition carries blessings for the vessel and its crew—wishing them courage and hope, urging them never to give up prematurely, no matter how difficult the journey."
The bishop listened to this tale, already relishing it before even tasting the fried rice.
He murmured softly, "Fluttering boat fried rice, not bad. I rather like this story. I look forward to its flavor."
Soon after, two portions of mortal level fluttering boat fried rice arrived in the observation room.
The Sea Bird Bishop picked up his spoon, took a bite, and his eyebrows twitched.
He took another bite before setting the spoon down. “Not bad. To me, it tastes better than the pickled fish sushi.”
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord added, "I agree. Perhaps... the story behind the fried rice simply appeals to my palate more."
The next moment, the two gold level powerhouses shared a knowing smile.
Mei Lan Du, the commentator, witnessed this exchange and let a faint smile touch his lips.
This was precisely why he had shared the story.
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord had chosen him as commentator for reasons far beyond his reputation as a magic chef!