Chapter 534: Gold Level Dish

The big guy's body once again radiated a dark iron-colored battle qi. As he channeled the battle qi technique, his bulging belly rapidly flattened.

The audience fell completely silent.

The looks they cast at the big guy grew increasingly thick with envy and admiration.

In a culinary showdown between magic chefs, vying for diners was expected.

But for a gold level magic chef to go to such lengths, using gold level ingredients and even voluntarily downgrading the dish's level, was exceptionally rare! Not even Snow Bird Harbor City Lord received such treatment under normal circumstances.

Yet upon reflection, the audience quickly understood: Ci Hai Shen had compelling reasons for this.

“That giant's appetite is truly enormous.”

“His digestion speed is too fast.”

"Bloodline... I'm curious, what exactly is his bloodline? He cultivates the Mindless Sleeping Posture battle qi technique, which doesn't aid a fighter's digestion. His ability to eat so much and digest so quickly must stem from his bloodline. The higher the bloodline level, the more efficient the refinement of battle qi."

Thus, more and more people began to wonder what exactly the big guy's bloodline was.

The big guy awoke once more.

“Have you noticed how much faster this giant wakes up now?” Many spectators observed this change.

Of course, it was so.

Though still stuck at the iron level, the big guy had consumed so many dishes and absorbed such vast amounts of external energy that his strength had surged dramatically. This change increased the reserve of battle qi within his body and also accelerated the speed at which he could refine it.

The big guy continued eating.

He didn't need to walk around the long table or even pick up a tray.

Ci Hai Shen directly used his spirit power to send all kinds of dishes into the big guy's mouth.

This service was far superior to what was offered at Da Dou's place.

The big guy tilted his head back, chewing and swallowing ceaselessly, accepting everything without refusal.

A subtle, icy glint flickered in Ci Hai Shen's eyes.

“This brute... his intelligence is indeed lacking. His bloodline is at least gold level.”

“What if... I prepared a gold level dish for him to eat? What would happen then?”

Ci Hai Shen knew nothing of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps; he had no connection to them whatsoever. His idea of creating a gold level dish for the big guy wasn't out of concern for him, but solely for victory.

As long as the big guy consumed the gold level dish, it counted as points, even if he ate himself to death afterward.

This wasn't exploiting a loophole in the eating contest rules; it was precisely where a magic chef's true power shone. Couldn't compelling a diner to lose all reason and devour a dish be seen as a demonstration of strength?

Ci Hai Shen harbored malicious intent. He'd heard of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps but couldn't care less.

In fact, he'd seen the magic footage of that heroic duel.

“So what if a silver level defeated a gold level?”

“I'm gold level too. If I don't want to fight Long Fu, I'll just leave.”

Just as Tripleblade had feared, even with such an impressive victory, the dragonman youngster remained merely gold level in battle strength. His deterrent effect simply couldn't match that of a true gold level.

Ci Hai Shen wanted to win desperately. The stakes were the Preservation Knife, which significantly impacted his strength.

But soon, Ci Hai Shen dismissed the idea of crafting a gold level meal altogether.

“Creating a gold level dish carries risks.”

No transcendent cuisine was merely a simple stacking of ingredients. Instead, it required the magic chef to employ various techniques during preparation, unifying the ingredients into a cohesive whole where they harmonized, thereby balancing the magic.

"Now is not the time to risk creating a gold level dish. I should prepare a large quantity of food. The more the giant eats, the more it benefits my points to overtake the lead."

Ci Hai Shen began designing a menu for the big guy.

Menu design and recipe development were among the core skills of a magic chef.

Designing menus wasn't straightforward. A magic chef had to consider each dish's function, how they interacted and complemented one another, a task that truly tested their skill.

“Of course, we can't neglect the others. We still need to prepare some of the previous dishes to maintain appeal for the general crowd.”

Ci Hai Shen understood the situation clearly: the other diners were the foundation, while the big guy was his weapon for catching up on points.

He kept churning out dishes.

At this stage, the pressure from the crowd's continued consumption was minimal, freeing up more of his energy to focus on preparing meals for the big guy.

The big guy didn't disappoint Ci Hai Shen. Ci Hai Shen slowly caught up, the gap between them steadily narrowing.

Mei Lan Du discerned the pattern and analyzed, "Lord Ci Hai Shen has been thoughtful. The transcendent dishes he fed the giant could already form a menu. Each dish contains copious amounts of digestive aids, and he repeatedly uses time sand salt, which accelerates the flow of time within the giant."

"Keep a close watch and take good care of this young giant. After all, he belongs to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps." Snow Bird Harbor City Lord ordered.

Da Dou's expression darkened.

The sole reason he'd been caught by his opponent was because of the big guy.

Yet his gaze toward the big guy remained gentle. As fellow giants, Da Dou felt an innate kinship and goodwill toward him.

“If all else fails, I'll just have to make some gold level fried rice!” Da Dou had already made up his mind.

Within Snow Bird Harbor City, a small alchemy workshop.

“Finally... it's over.” The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' members stood on the blood-soaked battlefield littered with corpses, panting heavily, their expressions generally dazed.

Every single sacrificial warrior had perished.

Most had fallen at the entrance to the alchemy workshop.

The final charge had been truly terrifying. The fierce determination and battle will unleashed by the sacrificial warriors had shaken every mercenary to their core.

The dwarves had fulfilled their duty to the utmost, ultimately forging a line of defense with their own flesh and blood, buying crucial time for the reinforcements led by Men Shi and Chi Lai.

At the very end, Tripleblade attacked with almost no defense, channeling every ounce of his power into the assault.

The two silver level sacrificial warriors fell first.

Expecting the sacrificial warrior's morale to plummet, they were instead met with an even fiercer onslaught.

Dwarves kept falling to their charges, though the narrow gate proved easier to defend than to breach.

Finally, seeing defeat inevitable, the last few bronze level sacrificial warriors bit through the poison sacs embedded in their teeth and took their own lives.

“These men were sacrificial warriors. They feared death not at all.”

“We were hoping to take a few prisoners alive, but they chose death instead!”

“Damn it! Where did these men even come from?”

Many mercenaries still trembled with lingering fear.

“We've won!”

“That's right, we've secured the last workshop.”

"But what about Bu Quan? And where is our giant?" Tripleblade asked Men Shi and Chi Lai respectively.

The dwarf shook his head. "Miss Bu Quan vanished suddenly from her spot. She disappeared in exactly the same way as the assassin who ambushed us earlier. She still hasn't reappeared."

Chi Lai was more direct: "Though your order was to retrieve the giant, I chose not to. Rushing to support you was the wisest decision! As things stand, my choice was correct."

"What?!" Tripleblade's eyes blazed with fury, his hands itching to slap Chi Lai across the face.

So after all that, Bu Quan's gone, and the big guy's lost too?

“Cough cough cough!” Tripleblade forced himself to stand despite the pain, coughing up blood as he staggered toward the exit.

“Wait! You need rest and healing.” Men Shi blocked his path.

This battle had made him look at Tripleblade with new respect.

In truth, all the surviving mercenaries had elevated their opinion of Tripleblade significantly.

Tripleblade had shone brightly in this fight. His fearless, fierce fighting spirit had given morale a massive boost.

Tripleblade sighed inwardly: "The big guy is one of us. Even if he went mad, he was still hunting down the enemy. We can't abandon any member lightly!"

These words lit a spark in the mercenaries' eyes, and they eagerly volunteered to follow Tripleblade in searching for the big guy.

“Hurry up! Sometimes, just a little faster support can rewrite the outcome of a battle!” Tripleblade was impatient.

He needed to keep the big guy's potential a secret, so he couldn't reveal the exact reason to Chi Lai, Men Shi, and the others.

Tripleblade understood Chi Lai's choice.

After all, the latter didn't grasp the big guy's true value!

“Hope we're not too late... big guy, hold on...” Tripleblade bolted out, a group of mercenaries trailing behind.

The big guy couldn't hold on.

He collapsed to the ground once more.

Snore... snore...

He began snoring contentedly.

As the Mindless Sleeping Posture battle qi technique cycled once more, the delicacies within his belly transformed into nourishment for his rising strength.

Soon, he awoke again and resumed eating.

In the observation room.

The bishop's eyes flashed. Finally unable to contain himself, he ordered, “Find out this giant's name, where he comes from, and his specific faith!”

The bloodline the big guy displayed was at least gold level.

This fact had been confirmed in the bishop's mind.

A future gold level!

This stirred the interest of the powerful bishop, who sought to convert the big guy to the Sea Bird Church.

Yet Snow Bird Harbor City Lord, seated nearby, harbored no such thoughts.

“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is backed by arms dealers. Did they truly recruit this giant aboard on Snake Rat Island?”

"Perhaps it's merely a disguise. The giant could well be the arms dealers' arrangement."

“Much like the golden-hued Shi Qi, or the silver level Long Fu who slays foes beyond his level.”

The situation in the arena had now become clear.

Only a dozen or so contestants remained capable of consuming more dishes.

Ci Hai Shen and Da Dou's scores were once again neck and neck.

“He holds the key to victory!” The gazes of both gold level magic chefs simultaneously locked onto the big guy.

"No, and the two gold level observers too. Watch my gold level fried rice!" Da Dou resolved, using gold level ingredients to risk the refining process!

This move instantly sent shockwaves through the entire venue.

“The decisive battle has begun!” Almost simultaneously, Ci Hai Shen also began preparing his gold level dish.