Chapter 99

"Hmph." Tang Cheng seemed very satisfied with everyone's reactions and said proudly, "The essence of nature is reproduction. Whether it's humans or animals, reproduction is the fundamental that sustains all life in this world, and food is the foundation for life to survive. Now, I have combined the essence of nature and the foundation of life to create this ultimate dark dish, which is absolutely unique in this world... I am confident that no one in this world can make such a dish, not even the founder of luminous cuisine, Liu Hengxing, could do it!"

"Who in their right mind would make such a perverted dish!" Meng Qi roared loudly.

Tang Cheng pointed at himself, "Isn't that me?"

"..." Meng Qi was speechless, suddenly feeling that her previous evaluation was a complete mistake. This person's terrible dish was a disgrace to cooking!

"This isn't cooking at all, it's a fail, a fail!"

"Miss, you are mistaken." Tang Cheng wagged his finger and gave the angry girl a charming smile, "In my eyes, cooking should not just be a type of food, but also a pursuit and a reflection of human nature, like a hunter. Nowadays, too many dishes are monotonous, lacking personality and uniqueness, just mass-produced within a framework..."

"It's like the new anime series we've been following these years, all harem, harem, harem! Harem is fine, but a harem with personality is still a good harem. The problem is that the male protagonist, whether strong or weak, is always a little bottom, getting weak at the knees at the sight of a girl. The girls, whether commoners or princesses, whether ordinary schoolgirls or student council presidents, all fall in love with the male protagonist at first sight! The entire plot revolves around the hero saving the beauty, like the recent Lizard Knight of Star刻 and the Sword Dance of the Fairy. Damn, can't we have something new?!"

"The culinary world is the same. Dishes that adhere to a framework were still edible ten years ago, but in today's world, they should be eliminated! If we don't change, the culinary world will inevitably rot. When everyone makes dishes just to eat, those dishes will no longer be dishes."

"So we should pursue innovation and individuality, not be bound by the framework, but break out of it to pursue the eternal path of cooking!" As he spoke, Tang Cheng pointed at his dish, "Take my Dragon and Phoenix Roast Pig, for example. It perfectly combines the essence of nature and the foundation of life. This is innovation that breaks the framework, the prelude to a culinary revolution! In terms of emotion and reason, in terms of cooking and the cook, as a gourmet hunter, you should not suppress this, but encourage this innovative spirit. Only then can our culinary world welcome a more splendid future. Don't you think so?"

"..." Meng Qi was speechless, completely at a loss for how to refute him.

The candidates who didn't understand cooking all had the expression of "though I don't understand, it seems very impressive."

Tang Cheng smiled faintly and continued, "Furthermore, as a dish, no matter how it looks, the most important thing is the taste. You haven't even tasted it and you say my dish is a fail, isn't that a bit inappropriate? Come, please taste it. I guarantee you will never forget it."

After saying that, Tang Cheng casually tore off a piece of pork and stuffed it into Meng Qi's mouth, who was still in a daze.

The pork was oily but not greasy, tender on the outside and soft on the inside. When the teeth bit down, the aroma instantly filled the mouth, stimulating all the senses. It felt as if the soul was elevated, making the girl feel as if she was floating in the clouds, or swimming in the sea, with an endless sky before her eyes, and the beautiful notes of nature in her ears. This... was simply the highest realm of cooking—a dreamlike taste!

Finally, when the pork was completely in her stomach, the dissatisfaction on Meng Qi's face had completely turned to fascination. All her words were reduced to two characters, "Delicious!"

"Really... really?" Bu Halala was greatly surprised. He knew Meng Qi's character; if the food wasn't particularly delicious, she would never give direct praise. When she said the simple words "delicious," it meant the dish was absolutely exquisite.

Without waiting for Meng Qi's response, he grabbed one of the roast pigs and took a big bite, then he, like Meng Qi, showed a fascinated and moved expression, devouring the roast pig without stopping!

The candidates were stunned again: Could that bizarre dish really be so delicious?

The two roast pigs were quickly devoured. Although Meng Qi had eaten some, most of it went into Bu Halala's stomach. Savoring the dreamlike taste, he felt that coming to be an examiner was the luckiest thing in his life.

"So, what's my score?" Tang Cheng asked with a smile.

"Of course, you pass!" Bu Halala patted his stomach and said cheerfully.

Meng Qi, however, scratched her neck, looking a bit unhappy, "Putting aside the innovative appearance, the culinary skills that can reach the highest realm of cooking are among the best in the world. But in comparison... the dishes of the other 99 people are completely不合格."

As she spoke, her gaze turned to the other candidates.

"Meng Qi." Bu Halala called out.

"Fine, fine." The girl waved her hand, lacking enthusiasm, "The first question is your responsibility, you decide, I won't interfere. But for the second question... hmph, I won't let you pass easily."

When she said the last sentence, her eyes had a demonic expression, making the candidates shudder.

At this moment, a rumbling sound came from the sky. Everyone instinctively looked up and saw a huge airship flying over from the distance. When it reached above their heads, it slowly descended.

Meng Qi looked at the puzzled candidates and smiled, "For the second question, we need to change our location. Everyone, please board the airship with me."

The candidates looked at each other, seemingly confused. Even Tang Cheng was slightly stunned... in his distant memory, the second question should have been making sushi. Since no one made sushi that satisfied Meng Qi, she declared no one passed, which led to the president of the Hunter Association stepping in, and she changed the question to boiling eggs.

But from the current trend, sushi was definitely out, and they were heading straight for the boiling eggs.

"What a pity, I was planning to show off my real skills."

Tang Cheng muttered, following over a hundred people onto the airship.

Soon, everyone arrived at a mountain shaped like a steamed bun. In the middle of the mountain was a deep, bottomless crack, like a valley. Meng Qi stood at the edge of the valley and said to everyone, "My second question is to fetch the eggs of the grape spider from this valley and make them into boiled eggs to pass."

Everyone instinctively leaned forward to look. They saw a huge web tens of meters below, with countless egg clusters hanging like grapes. The eggs Meng Qi mentioned were clearly those. But that wasn't the main point; the important thing was... the valley was extremely steep, with no place to climb on either side. Even if someone could get the eggs, they would have no way to climb back up, almost a suicidal act.

Looking at the deep, bottomless valley that resembled a monster's mouth, many people immediately backed off. Some even protested, "What a joke, are you sending us to our deaths? There's no such unreasonable question!"

"This is my question, if you don't like it, don't play!" Meng Qi glared at him and then said to everyone, "Let me demonstrate first."

With that, the girl jumped down, her small body hanging on a spider web. She then leaped again, plucking an egg from the cluster, and climbed up another web, using the elasticity of the web to stick to the side of the valley. She held the egg in one hand and climbed with the other, quickly reaching the top of the valley.

"See, it's that simple."

"..." Even though she made it sound simple, many people still hesitated, lacking the courage to fetch the eggs from such an environment. Meng Qi's ease in going up and down also earned respect from many candidates who had previously looked down on the profession of gourmet hunters.

Of course, those who gave up were in the minority. More people, like the main characters and others who were confident in their abilities, eagerly jumped down the valley. As for Tang Cheng, it was even easier for him. Even without a mini-mobility device, such a valley posed no challenge to him.

Tang Ya, with her wind elemental bloodline, also felt no pressure. Although her combat ability was far from the top among the candidates, in terms of agility and flexibility, she could at least rank in the top ten.

In the end, 68 people successfully fetched the eggs.

...

To be honest, recent harem anime are really getting worse. Only the extremely dark and abusive ones are still worth watching. Not being dark means no happiness!

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