499 The Scheming Chef

The chief judge was shocked and could not help but stand still, looking dumbstruck and somewhat sluggish.

The audience below was also startled and unsure of what was happening. They were all stupefied.

What had happened just then?

How did the furnaces of every alchemist explode simultaneously? Didn't they say that they wanted to refine perfect elixirs?

What the hell happened?

One alchemist let out a breath of cold air. He seemed to think of something and turned to look in Bu Fang's direction. As he had expected, he spotted some dishes which were exuding dazzling radiances atop Bu Fang's bronze platform.

A dish that could glow?

Wasn't that miraculous?

And as expected, it just had to come from Bu Fang! Everyone was surprised. They had all expected Bu Fang to get knocked out in this round, but unexpectedly, he was able to persevere to the final moments and complete a dish that emitted an exhilarating aroma!

The aroma permeated every cranny of the arena like a hazy cloud. The spectators could not help narrowing their eyes as they sniffed in deeply. They all looked to have been captivated by the aroma.

The aroma was really fragrant. It was a lot richer than the Oyster Pancake's fragrance from the previous day. Furthermore, the aroma also brought with it the natural fragrance of the ocean.

The aroma was exhilarating enough to captivate just about anyone. The people living in the inland cities found the smell of the ocean really enticing.

The chief judge snapped out from his reverie, and his body began to tremble; his anger had reached the zenith.

It really happened! Such an unimaginable development had happened right in front of his eyes!

Unforgivable!

It was not emitting any aroma just a moment ago, right? Why had it suddenly brought forth such an intense fragrance? This guy… definitely did that on purpose!

This chef's thoughts are, unexpectedly, so deep. When everyone was filled with anticipation, this guy's dish did not release any aroma. But, as soon as everyone relaxed and forwent their anticipation, he chose to unleash his dish's fragrant aroma, causing the competition alchemists to involuntarily blow up their furnaces!

What a scheming chef!

Bang Bang Bang!

Explosions rocked the arena, and flames shot into the sky. The magnificent scene made many members of the audience gasp in admiration. They could not contain their excitement. Being able to watch such the magnificent scene of multiple alchemy furnaces exploding was really rare!

At that moment, the entire central plaza was engrossed in the scene. Explosions and flames kept rocking the entire arena, making for a really cool scene. How could such a scene not attract the gazes of everyone present?

Senior Brother Zhang's face was beet red. The thunder-like alchemic flames kept bombarding his elixirs, which was just about to take form.

However, at that moment, a pleasant aroma drifted over and drifted into his nostrils, quickly traveling down his nasal cavity.

What aroma is this? Why is it so fragrant?

Is this the smell of the ocean? Wave after wave… Senior Brother Zhang could not help narrowing his eyes immersed himself in the misperception. He felt as though he was in the ocean, with gentle waves caressing his skin.

Such a feeling was too splendid… splendid your balls!

Senior Brother Zhang's mind trembled. He suddenly opened his eyes wide, and they had turned bloodshot!

The scene of the ocean and its waves vanished, and it was replaced by the view of violent explosions going off on the stage. The resounding rumbles caused his heart to shudder. It was just too terrifying! Simply too terrifying!

No wonder Junior Brother Liu was eliminated. The effects of the aroma were practically fatal to alchemists.

It caused their minds to wonder, and this made it difficult for them to control their alchemic flames. When their alchemic flames became irascible, it caused their furnaces to explode!

Puchi!

In another remote location, the alchemists from Heavenly Shine City were trying to persevere. They stubbornly coughed out a bit of essence blood onto the alchemic flame, and this caused the alchemic flame to stabilize.

"Ah! My furnace has exploded! My furnace had also exploded!"

"I knew it. I knew the furnace would certainly explode! Why did I have to compete against such a person?!"

"Arghhh… Why is it so fragrant?! Why is it so fragrant?!"

...

The alchemists whose furnaces exploded all wailed in anguish atop the stage. Some alchemists grabbed their hair and pulled as their eyes turned bloodshot. Some other alchemists flew into a rage and vented their anger on their exploded furnace, trampling its pieces as hard as they could. 

They all reacted differently to the situation.

Bu Fang, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to everything that was happening around him. He heaved in a deep breath, and the aroma from the sea crab was pulled into his nostril, making his body and mind relaxed.

It really deserved to be eight grade ingredient; after cooking it, it's aroma was simply too fragrant.

The audience below the stage were so excited, they had difficulty breathing. This was especially so for the temporarily dismissed judge, who had been swindled by Bu Fang twice. He was so excited, he felt like leaping onto the stage and rushing forward to give Bu Fang a kiss. 

When the temporarily dismissed judge spotted the unsightly expression on the chief judges face, he felt as though he had finally released a fart that had been stuck in his chrysanthemum for half a day. It was truly satisfying.

"Back then, I said that the blame can't be placed on me! This chef is a freak! Whoever encounters him is out of luck!"

The judge laughed happily in his heart.

"Did you see those furnaces explode? The explosions were loud, and flames soared up into the sky; it was just too magnificent!"

"This is the first time I have seen such a spectacular sight. In a split second, the alchemists' furnaces all blew up!

"Could that chef be the nemesis of every alchemist? No wonder there are no longer any chefs in the Heavenly Pill Cit; it seems like they have been eradicated."

...

The audiences whispered to each other.

At that moment, the chief judge's heart was dripping blood. He swept his gaze across the arena, and the scene that met his eyes left him downcast.

The furnaces of almost every alchemist on stage had blown up at the very last minute. Only two alchemists were still refining their elixirs.

One was the genius of Heavenly Pill City, and the other was the genius of Heavenly Shine City.

This was within his expectation. If these two alchemists were to fail, he would vomit blood.

Buzz...

A fluctuation sweep across the entire arena.

Senior Brother Zhang uttered a loud cry. He had finally finish refining his elixir. A line moved around his elixir, forming a fuzzy patter. It was very obvious that he had refined a one mark spirit pill.

Although the pattern was fuzzy, it was complete.

The alchemist from the Heavenly Shine City had also finished refining his elixir. His countenance was dispirited, and his eyes were dark. They were signs of overexertion.

The chief judge was finally able to relax. Two one mark spirit pills… It seemed there were now three people who could advance from this elimination round.

This time, he did not taste Bu Fang's dish first. Instead, he walked over to Senior Brother Zhang and the alchemist from Heavenly Shine City Alchemy. The chief judge wanted to test their elixirs first, so as to prevent undue delays.

The final result did not disappoint him.

Although the aroma of Bu Fang stage had plagued these alchemists at the final stage of their elixir refinement, the coagulating stage, almost causing their furnaces to explode, they were able to persevere and completely refine their elixirs. They were genius alchemists, after all.

Moreover, there was no need to elucidate the quality of a one mark spirit spill.

Thus, both alchemists really had advanced.

The chief judge heaved a sigh of relief. His turned his gaze towards Bu Fang, or rather, his gaze focused on the dish atop Bu Fang's bronze platform.

A big steamed red crab. The crab had been deshelled and filled with a piping hot fragrant broth. It appeared extremely enticing. The white crab meat and tangerine yellow crab egg were so distinct as they released rich fragrances.

It was so enticing…

The chief judge could not help admitting that the dish was visually captivating, and with the fragrant aroma wafting out of it, he just could not contain himself. 

He walked up to Bu Fang and looked at him profoundly.

"This is the dish you made for this round? What is it called?"

"Steamed Ocean Crab," Bu Fang replied nonchalantly.

Steamed crab?

The chief judge sucked in a mouthful of air. The fragrance of the crab stimulated his nasal cavity, causing him to gulp a mouth of saliva.

The aroma is just too fragrant... Can a steamed dish really be this aromatic?

As if he had noticed himself losing his self-control, the head judge coughed lightly. Subsequently, he took out a golden talisman. The moment the talisman was activated, a magic array appeared and enveloped the Steamed Ocean Crab.

Buzz…

A slight fluctuation spread out. The magic array instantly began to emit a bright radiance. Thereafter, the bright light began to rotate, and with each rotation, it glowed brighter!

"As expected... the spirit energy contained in this dish is so rich, it has exceeded a ninth grade elixir! It is simply unfathomable!"

When he saw the response from the magic array, the chief judge narrowed his eyes. It seemed that everything the previous judge had told him was actually the truth!

This chef… was no ordinary chef. His culinary skills were simply too abnormal!

Senior Brother Zhang and the alchemist from Heavenly Shine City also narrowed their eyes and involuntarily exhaled breathes of cold air.

The spirit energy in this dish was not any inferior to the spirit energies in their one mark spirit pills? Was this a joke?

"You can try it. You will only know its effects after you've tried it," Bu Fang indifferently said to the astonished chief judge.

The head judge finally made a move. He took a quick glance at Bu Fang and grabbed a pair of chopsticks. The hand holding the chopsticks was visibly trembling.

How many years had it been since he tasted such a dish…

From the moment the Multi-Taste Fasting Pill Fasting Pill emerged, he had stopped eating food. However, he had gotten the opportunity to taste such an aromatic dish.

This had faintly stirred his emotions!

The crab meat was being irrigated by a piping hot broth, and a few crab legs were floating atop the broth, making the dish look rather adorable.

The chief judge inserted his chopstick into the dish and prod the crab meat. During the cooking process, Bu Fang had controlled the fire so well, the crab meat ended up extremely soft. One did not need much strength to peel the shell off the meat.

He pulled the shell off the meat, and the heat from within burst out. Within the white crab meat, there seemed to be translucent water vapor condensing. The vapor went on to form a misty ball that made the dish look captivating.

The chief judge used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of fair crab meat, which he proceeded to dip into the broth that Bu Fang had poured atop the crab. The fragrance was so rich, the spectators could not help gulping down mouthfuls of saliva.

The members of the audience below stretched their necks higher, impatiently watching the chief judge move that bit of fair crab meat into his mouth.

"Ah…"

Some members of the audience were licking their lips, while others were drooling. 

Do you have to make it so enticing?!

The audiences grumbled. They could look at the dish, but they could not taste it. This kind of sorrow was hard to describe.

Nethery's gaze was fixated at the dish. Her black hair fluttered in the wind, and she tapped her exquisite foot on the ground. Instantly, she floated over to the stage, landing right beside Bu Fang.

"You can't eat this...This dish is for the competition," Bu Fang said. However, he was taken aback by her sudden appearance. Why did this woman run over here?

The chief judge was completely captivated by the flavor of the dish. The delicate crab meat easily crumbled in his oral cavity, and its fragrance burst forth like a dragon, assaulting every part of his oral cavity. With his taste buds being assaulted, his breathing intensified.

The rich ocean flavor that had burst forth from just this mouthful of crab meat made the chief judge feel like he had been submerged in the ocean; the waves rushed at him, and their hazy moisture cleansed his body.

At that moment, he felt his corporeal body become extremely sturdy, and its muscles bulge. Only a mouthful of this crab meat was enough to strengthen his corporeal body by leaps and bounds!

The dish's overwhelmingly delicious taste aside, its effect alone was extraordinary!

It was simply... godlike!

Too delicious!

Taking advantage of the fact that the chief judge was still immersed in tasting his dish, Bu Fang whipped out the horizontal signboard and ruthlessly smashed it onto his bronze platform and his advertisement for the day.

While Bu Fang was advertising, no one knew when Nethery, who had been standing beside him, grabbed the huge steamed crab and began to eat it.

That scene, coupled with Bu Fang's advertisement, caused the enticement to increase dramatically!