Chapter 496: The Public Enemy of Alchemists
Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
When the judge saw the array inspection results, his expression stiffened, and his delight from a moment ago disappeared.
All the surrounding spectators were dumbfounded; they found it really incredible.
The pupils of the alchemists from the Heavenly Pill City and Heavenly Shine City dilated, and their bodies shuddered.
They had failed!
They all failed… The elixirs they had refined did not reach the stipulated requirement, causing them to get eliminated in this elimination round.
Despite all that, Bu Fang remained indifferent. He grabbed the Cloud Mist Restaurant’s board with one hand, he exerted some strength and hoisted it onto his shoulder before slowly walking down from the arena.
The spectators looked on at him in shock as they made a path for him.
Only one person had passed the eighth arena’s round, and that person was the only chef in the Magical Hand Conference.
Hiss!!
They all couldn’t help sucking in mouthfuls of cold air. The events that had just occurred, to them, were incredulous and extraordinary. Such as result was too outrageous.
At that moment, the alchemists from the Heavenly Pill City and Heavenly Shine City slipped into a reverie, albeit not a pleasant one. They were highly talented geniuses and had garnered some fame in the world of alchemists. However, they still couldn’t pass this elimination round and were eliminated. This was a grave blow to them.
“If not for the disturbance caused by the fragrance, then how would I have ended up refining such a thrashy elixir…” An alchemist from Heavenly Shine City was so angry that his expression became somewhat distorted, and he almost flew into a rage. His entire body could not stop trembling with rage.
Unlike him, the alchemist from the Heavenly Pill City just shook his head and sighed. He was more open-minded than his counterpart from the Heavenly Shine City, however, it would be a lie if he said that he didn’t resent Bu Fang. If it were not for the alluring fragrance that was emitted while Bu Fang was cooking, he would not have been eliminated in this round. After all, he was a genius who had the possibility of reaching the top fifty.
However, there was no such thing as “only if” in this world.
“We failed… and we can only blame ourselves since our skills weren’t good enough. We must continue to strive hard in the alchemy path.”
All the alchemists sighed, and then they turned around, walked down from the stage, and left.
Out of all of them, the judge suffered the most. As he took back his jade talisman, he felt as though a torrential storm of curses were rushing at him from the chief judge.
The day before, four people had passed, at least; but now, only one person passed. This was something that had never happened in any Magical Hand Conference.
As the judge clutched his head, he suddenly felt fear at the thought of running into Bu Fang again. As long as that guy climbed up the stage, nothing good would occur.
“F*ck! If I run into him again, I’ll quit being a judge, else he really will cause me to have a cardiac arrest.”
At that moment, the judge had tears streaming down his cheeks, while the spectators clamored in excitement.
An extremely exciting piece of news had spread out of the eighth arena once again.
From out of the group of fifty-one competitors, including genius alchemists from the Heavenly Pill City and Heavenly Shine City, who had just competed in the arena, almost all of them were eliminated. Only one person had managed to pass the round.
Furthermore, the competitor that passed the round wasn’t an alchemist, a doctor or a poison master.
He was just a… chef.
A chef had participated in the Magical Hand Conference and managed to stand out in the elimination round by passing it.
Were the alchemists with him all morons?
When the news spread, the spectators became excited and exclaimed in surprise. People were usually attracted by the appearance of such dark horses in the competition.
Unlike the spectators, the alchemists stood in solidarity against Bu Fang. They were alchemists, after all, so they had to protect the dignity of alchemists on their own. The chef, to them… was a common enemy of all alchemists.
Although the alchemists who were defeated by Bu Fang in that round were angry, the person who had suffered the most was the judge.
As the judge had expected, he got scolded by the chief judge, leaving him feeling so aggrieved that he almost choked.
This was especially true after he was suspended from his duty as a judge because countless complaints about him were received.
How pitiful was that?
The judge was quite aggrieved at that moment because he really was innocent and free of guilt.
However, as he mulled over his ordeal some more, he calmed down and relaxed; after all, if he hadn’t been relieved of his position as a judge, he would once again run into that chef who carried a board, Bu Fang.
…..
“Was our senior brother Liu… eliminated?”
Duan Yun’s pupils dilated when he heard the news.
A genius who had placed among the top fifty of the Heavenly Pill City’s Pill Tower’s ranking was actually eliminated in the elimination round. That piece of news thoroughly shocked Duan Yun.
Senior brother Liu sat dejectedly in the Heavenly Pill City’s warship; he seemed dazed and beside himself.
The Magical Hand Conference was an event for alchemists to prove themselves. It was an extremely important stage for all alchemists. They had made countless preparations in order to showcase their skills and amaze everyone. However, senior brother Liu got eliminated before he had managed to display his true skill. This was an extremely grave blow to him.
“It’s said that out of the fifty people who had participated alongside our senior brother Liu, only one managed to pass the round, and furthermore, that person wasn’t even an alchemist…” One of the alchemists from Heavenly Pill City’s alchemists said while sighing in regret.
Duan Yun was taken aback by the alchemist’s words. Had the round been that brutal and difficult? Out of fifty-one contestants, only one person had managed to pass? How did such a matter occur?
From the fifty participants in his arena, around fifteen people had managed to pass that round and head to the second elimination round.
“That’s just the way it is… Do you know how shocked I was to learn that the guy who defeated our senior brother Liu was a chef?”
“A chef?” Duan Yun was taken aback once again by his words. Even chefs could participate in the conference?
“That’s right, a chef. The chef cooked an extremely fragrant dish that prevented the others from concentrating while they refined their elixirs. It was said that more than forty people blew up their furnaces. That chef was really demented,” said the alchemist from the Heavenly Pill City in a tone of surprise.
When Duan Yun heard that, he breathed in deeply because he found it somewhat hard to believe.
Was that chef trying to challenge every alchemist? If he wasn’t, why would he dare to be that rampant?
“Junior brother Duan Yun, I still must tell you the most important part: every dish the chef made was equivalent to a ninth grade elixir, and they let him pass the matches. This was the most incredible aspect. Can’t you see that the emergence of such dishes is a bare provocation to the prestige of alchemists?”
Hold on… Duan Yun heaved in another deep breath, and his body shivered when he heard that. A dish that had the same effects as an elixir?
Why did he find that really familiar?
Suddenly, the image of a small restaurant within a small empire in the Land of Southern Border appeared in Duan Yun’s mind.
That small restaurant was located in a really remote area, but it was still very prosperous…
All the dishes at that restaurant were similar to elixirs, and the effects one would gain from eating them weren’t any weaker than what one would gain from an elixir.
Was the person participating here one of the Owner Bu’s junior or senior brothers?
F*ck!
If it was the case, then there would be a tough and bitter fight awaiting him.
Duan Yun’s body shivered involuntarily, while his hair fluttered in the wind. He deeply understood how formidable Owner Bu’s skill was.
“Senior brother, do you know when that chef’s next match will be held? I want to go and watch it,” Duan Yun asked.
That alchemist was taken aback by the question, but he shook his head in affirmation, nevertheless. “All the matches that the chef participated in had been lively and bustling. This… no… the next elimination round will be held in the fifth arena, and the chef will be participating, as well. Another piece of news which I got through my own information network reveals that the next elimination round will be personally supervised by the chief judge.”
The fifth arena? When Duan Yun heard that, he was so surprised that his expression turned ugly.
“Senior brother Zhang… won’t you also compete in the fifth arena?” Duan Yun said, with a small voice, to the youth in front of him.
“Eh? I’m competing in the fifth arena? What the f*ck… I was only concerned with that chef’s match location, and I ended up forgetting to check my own…” The youth’s complexion turned pale, and he turned around and sprinted toward the outside.
After a while, Duan Yun heard the loud and miserable wails of someone.
“What the f*ck!!”
…..
The second elimination round in the fifth arena.
Four hours quickly passed. Bu Fang arrived in front of the fifth arena, and he was carrying his Cloud Mist Restaurant’s board. He was somewhat surprised when he saw the large number of people that surrounded the arena, sealing it.
What happened?
Nethery, who followed beside him, coldly looked at the spectators surrounding the arena.
She seemed to have understood Bu Fang’s current predicament because, as her hair fluttered in the wind, she strode forward and stood in front of Bu Fang; after which, she raised her fair and thin arm.
“Make way.” An indifferent voice echoed as black true energy surged out of Nethery’s arm. A rumble resounded, and a path was forcefully created within the sea of people. Two large masses of people fell onto both sides of the path.
Bu Fang was taken aback by the development, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help twitching. Nethery was truly domineering. She looked at him and proudly flung her black long hair around.
The spectators were somewhat stupefied, but they could only look on as Bu Fang slowly strode forward and ascended to the arena.
The cold and aloof Nethery stood beside the arena, and no one dared to step within several meters of her because she was emitting an extremely terrifying and stifling aura.
Bu Fang walked to his bronze platform and placed down the board he had been carrying. He proceeded to take out his Black Turtle Constellation Wok as usual; as the heavy wok fell onto the bronze platform, a sonorous rumble resounded, and the platform trembled slightly.
All the other competitors proceeded to ascend into the arena.
Bu Fang’s current fame wasn’t the same as before; he wasn’t as unknown and obscure as he was when he just arrived.
When the alchemists discovered that Bu Fang would be competing in the same round, their hearts lurched as though ten thousand black dogs were galloping within them.
As for Heavenly Pill City’s senior brother Zhang, his complexion grew paler, and his face brimmed with despair.
“It will soon start. I wonder how many people will be eliminated this time.”
“Competing with this chef is the most tragic and pitiful situation that someone can encounter in this Magical Hand Conference.”
“I’m really looking forward to the chef’s entry into the top fifty and for him to compete against the truly talented alchemists. Don’t you all think that it will be quite interesting?”
…
The spectators chatted amongst themselves in excitement, while the nerves of the alchemists in the arena tightened; however, they didn’t dare loosen up.
At this time, the chief judge came over. He was a dignified-looking man who was one of Heavenly Mist City’s Pill Tower’s Three Clouds alchemists.
The man arrived wearing a solemn expression at this moment. When he stepped into the arena, with his hands clasped behind him, his gaze, which seemed as sharp as a sword, immediately fixated on Bu Fang.
Was this guy the chef who caused two great elimination of competitors?
He really wanted to see what kind of trick the chef would use now. There was no one who dared to use cheap tricks in front of him.
Bu Fang seemed to have sensed the chief judge’s gaze, and he raised his head to meet the sharp gaze headlong. Bu Fang curled up the corners of his mouth and rolled his eyes at the chief judge, then began to twirl his Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife before hacking his cutting board with it.
Just after that, in front of countless shock-filled gazes, he took a giant crab from his system’s dimensional storage. It was a giant crab that was tied up with ropes. There was still foam coming out of its mouth.
Everyone present was shocked.
What the f*ck! Will this chef make a new dish?