Chapter 521: Prosperous Fire
“So fragrant, so fragrant!”
People poured into the area where Da Dou was stationed. The moment they entered, they were hit by the rich aroma of fried rice.
Their footsteps quickened instinctively as they rushed eagerly toward the long table.
Da Dou's fried rice was served in large bowls, the grains piled high into peaks. This stood in stark contrast to Ci Hai Shen's delicately plated pickled fish sushi, arranged on small, elegant dishes.
Mere mortals scooped up a bowl, took their first bite, and their eyes lit up. With the second bite, saliva began to flow. By the third bite, their spooning motions grew frantic.
“Wow wow wow, this is seriously amazing!”
“I've had fluttering boat fried rice plenty of times but never imagined it could taste this good!”
“With every chew, you fully appreciate the unique texture and delicate flavor of fluttering boat fried rice. Even after swallowing, the lingering taste in your mouth is utterly unforgettable.”
Da Dou's stir-frying never paused, pot after pot filling the wok.
Endless streams of fluttering boat fried rice flowed onto his long table. Mortals lined up orderly, finishing a bowl before patting their full bellies. Reluctantly satisfied, they returned to the end of the queue for seconds.
Lord Da Dou is still making mortal level fried rice?”
“Lord Ci Hai Shen has already prepared three bronze level dishes.”
“It seems that Lord Da Dou's strategy is to dominate the common dishes? He intends to earn massive points from the mortals!”
“This is fantastic! As a mortal, I can finally eat until I'm stuffed this time.”
Cheers erupted throughout the arena.
Compared to the transcendents, mortals were naturally the majority.
Right now, in the hearts of these mortals, Lord Da Dou was far more endearing than Lord Ci Hai Shen!
Conversely, many transcendents held no interest in mortal dishes. Faced with Lord Da Dou's tactical choice, they felt as if they'd been abandoned.
They whispered among themselves.
“Lord Da Dou's approach isn't very wise.”
“Yeah, in past eating contests, few have won relying solely on mortal dishes.”
“Or is he trying to secure his base before pushing for a higher level?”
"Tough. One step behind, and you fall further behind. In terms of level, Ci Hai Shen has already started building an advantage."
"Most bronze level eaters are being severely stuffed by Ci Hai Shen's dishes. Even if Da Dou changes tactics later, he won't gain many points."
Just then, Da Dou pulled out the bronze level ingredients.
Copper-green lobster, flame radish, jet corn...
One hand flipping the wok, the other handling these bronze level ingredients. He multitasked with fluid, natural movements, not a hint of hesitation.
He dumped all the ingredients into the iron wok.
This single action drew gasps from many spectators.
It was an unusual sight.
The wok was meant for stir-frying mortal fluttering boat fried rice, yet fresh ingredients were being added.
What’s going on?
In the observation room, the Sea Bird Bishop asked Mei Lan Du about it.
Mei Lan Du shook his head, admitting he rarely witnessed such a situation. But it likely wasn't a mistake, Da Dou had done this deliberately. What exactly he intended to achieve would become clear soon enough.
Sure enough, before long, a bronze level aura began emanating from the iron wok.
With each toss of the wok, scattered flashes of green light flickered among the golden grains of rice.
Battle skill - Prosperous Fire.
Da Duo publicly unleashed a rare battle skill. The flames it generated merged into the original blaze, paradoxically dampening its intensity.
Yet soon, the green sparks within the fried rice multiplied exponentially!
From mere scattered grains, they grew to dozens, then hundreds, nearly a thousand!
The dense cluster of green specks embedded within the golden cascade of rice shimmered in perfect harmony, neither element overshadowing the other.
"How is that possible?"
"What kind of battle skill is this!"
"He only added those few bronze level ingredients. How did the bronze level fried rice he cooked become so much?"
"Could it be that this massive iron wok holds a vast quantity of bronze level ingredients within its interior?
If that's the case, then Da Dou's actions seem rather pointless..."
The audience gasped in astonishment. Many transcendents could no longer remain seated, rising to their feet to get a better look.
Such a scene was utterly astonishing, defying all logic.
Even Ci Hai Shen paused his movements, staring at Da Dou with astonishment and doubt.
Regardless of the surrounding curiosity, Da Dou showed no desire to explain. Upon noticing Ci Hai Shen's gaze, he burst into laughter and shouted once more: “Ci Hai Shen, I told you, this time, you're bound to lose!”
In the observation room, the Sea Bird Bishop also exclaimed: "Even as an outsider, I know this is highly suspicious. If he could transform ordinary materials into bronze level materials, that alone would make it unnecessary for Da Dou to continue as a magic chef. Directly crafting transcendent materials would instantly make him the world's richest man!"
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord turned to look at Mei Lan Du standing behind him: “Can you discern any clues?”
Mei Lan Du's eyes were wide, his gaze sharp and intense. He shook his head slightly. “All I can tell so far is that Lord Da Dou is still making fluttering boat fried rice.”
"But generally speaking, the recipes for mortal level and bronze level fluttering boat fried rice are absolutely different. To prepare two fried rice dishes of different levels, one would typically use two separate pans for distinct cooking processes. Cooking them together in one pot is a common mistake made by novices. Yet Lord Da Dou chose precisely this method. He must have done it intentionally, which also explains the earlier inexplicable phenomenon."
"I'm sorry, City Lord. I can't decipher or explain the situation clearly."
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord waved it off: “No matter.”
He found this unconventional eating contest even more intriguing.
Tripleblade's focus, however, lay elsewhere. He anxiously asked through the clamoring crowd: “What are the current odds?”
As long as the duel wasn't over, many betting windows remained open.
Tripleblade quickly got his answer.
As he'd anticipated, Da Dou's earlier baffling display had caused many to place bets on him.
“So, who should I bet on?” Tripleblade raced through his options.
Ci Hai Shen took a deep breath, immediately steadying his emotions.
“Though I don't know what tricks you're playing, I intend to win this duel!”
The Preservation Knife was crucial to him; losing it would be like losing an arm.
Ci Hai Shen couldn't afford to lose!
His bronze level dish already met the standard, so he immediately began preparing his first iron level dish.
“Even if you churn out tons of bronze level fried rice, you're still far behind me in level!” Ci Hai Shen kept a firm grip on the situation.
What reassured him was that the earlier scene never repeated itself in Da Dou's iron wok.
Da Dou retrieved large quantities of bronze level ingredients like the copper-green lobsters from his storage gear and tossed them into the iron wok.
His iron wok held an astonishing capacity; each batch of fluttering boat fried rice he poured out filled an entire bucket.
Da Dou never emptied the entire wok at once. Instead, he poured out only a portion each time, immediately adding fresh ingredients.
This cycle repeated many times until Da Dou's bronze level fried rice finally met the standard.
He could now advance to the iron level competition.
By this point, Ci Hai Shen had already completed over half of the iron requirements, still holding a clear level advantage.
Da Dou methodically retrieved the iron level ingredients.
Though it was a meager portion, he tossed it into the wok and stirred relentlessly.
Then, the astonishing scene repeated itself!
Despite the meager quantity of iron level ingredients, as the fried rice cooked and bubbled, the volume of iron level fried rice within grew exponentially—far exceeding the original amount added.
“It's happening again!”
“What on earth is going on?”
"What recipe is Da Dou using? Is it a hybrid recipe he specifically modified from fluttering boat fried rice?"
The crowd gasped in astonishment.
In the observation room, Mei Lan Du narrowed his eyes. “I've discerned something.”
"Lord Da Dou deliberately mass-cooked those low level dishes. He used them to establish a relatively intense base flavor, boosting the success rate of higher level transcendent dishes and shortening their preparation time."
“Did you two notice? He's already narrowed the gap between himself and Lord Ci Hai Shen.”
Though Mei Lan Du still couldn't fathom how Da Dou's iron level fried rice production far exceeded the ingredients invested, he understood that Da Dou was gradually catching up to Ci Hai Shen.
The iron level transcendents were in for a treat.
They all took their seats, sampling the delicacies prepared by the two magic chefs.
The gold level magic chef's craftsmanship easily satisfied these iron level participants. For a moment, praise poured in like a flood.
Ci Hai Shen's composure faltered.
“What's going on?”
“This can't be Da Dou bluffing. His personality wouldn't let him pull something like this.”
Ci Hai Shen felt an ominous foreboding.
“Its all fluttering boat fried rice... His recipe must have been modified.”
“He also used that battle skill earlier. Could the secret lie in that?”
While pondering, Ci Hai Shen retrieved silver level ingredients.
Having met the iron standard, he immediately advanced to silver level!
Though Da Dou had closed the gap significantly, a difference still remained.
“This is bad!” Tripleblade shared Ci Hai Shen's unease.
Having staked heavily on Ci Hai Shen, he now felt his heart race with anxiety.
He longed for Da Dou to falter, but Da Dou wouldn't grant him that wish.
Da Dou roared, “Ci Hai Shen, your Preservation Knife is mine now, ha ha ha!”
As he spoke, he tossed in a massive amount of silver level ingredients.
Within mere seconds of hitting the wok, they transformed into silver level fluttering boat fried rice.
Piles of fried rice were served onto the long table. This spectacle left countless onlookers wide-eyed in astonishment.
In terms of silver level dishes, Da Dou had just overtaken Ci Hai Shen!
Silver level transcendents descended one after another. After eating a bowl of fluttering boat fried rice, they were stuffed.
At this moment, the fried rice demonstrated its true power!
“Ahhh, too much energy! I must immediately refine my battle qi to digest this!”
“I tried to hold back, but I just couldn't resist eating a huge bowl.”
“It's so delicious, I want more... burp.”
Ci Hai Shen visibly quickened his pace, yet still couldn't match Da Dou's appetite. The latter brought out pot after pot, quickly leaving Ci Hai Shen behind.
“Am... am I losing?” Cold sweat covered Ci Hai Shen's forehead.
“It's over!” Tripleblade's face also turned pale.
He had bet on Ci Hai Shen, but now the situation looked dire.
Da Dou's points had surged far ahead.
Rumble...
Suddenly, a series of explosions echoed from beyond the arena.
Then, a towering column of smoke billowed skyward.
“That direction...”
“What happened?”
“The docks are under attack!”
“Could it be...” Tripleblade's face paled. Just then, his communicator buzzed.
Tripleblade activated it to hear a mercenary wailing: “We're under attack! The Deputy Commander... the Deputy Commander has been assassinated!”
Tripleblade's expression twisted in horror. He leapt to his feet and, accompanied by several mercenaries, charged toward the arena gates.
"Someone attacked my dock?!" In the observation room, the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord received the same report.
His face turned ashen.
But then, intelligence from the mage tower clarified: the attackers targeted only the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ ships, and no gold level fighters were deployed—the highest level combatants were silver level.
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord exhaled a breath of stale air, relaxing.
This group of enemies seemed to know their limits - they hadn’t touched his property, and the highest level fighter was only silver level.
Without any gold level fighters involved, this was merely a minor skirmish. Not a military incident, but a public security matter.