Chapter 278 - 253: Seeing Yinuo Again_1

It took ten days to successfully cook one dish, from which an avatar was formed.

Instead of swallowing the Immortal Bone to enhance his abilities, Lu Yan took out the low-energy Dao Foods and consumed them.

After ingesting these scattered Dao Foods, his Martial Food avatar was elevated to the realm of Man and Food Integration.

With two third-level Martial Foods integrated with man and food, Lu Yan’s understanding of Martial Chefs had risen to a new level.

One test led to a hundred principles, and one example led to many inferences. Understanding other Martial Foods had become much easier.

Therefore, when he learned the third type of third-level Martial Food, it took him only three days to successfully form a Martial Food avatar.

The subsequent three days were spent forming avatars for the fourth kind of Martial Food.

He then had the Dao Book consume an Immortal Bone equivalent to twenty meritorious points, elevating two Martial Food avatars to the realm of Man and Food Integration together.

At this moment, Lu Yan felt his understanding of the way of Martial Chefs had reached an extremely high level, although not quite on par with a Martial Chef Grandmaster, he believed he was not far behind.

He went out and bought some Mutated Heart Meat and ancillary Spiritual Medicine. In one try, he was successful in cooking them.

He then asked Feng Yuanyi for a third-level Martial Food recipe and the ingredients. The first time he started cooking, he was successful in cooking a completely unfamiliar third-level Martial Food and formed a Martial Food avatar.

"Third-level Martial Food no longer poses a challenge," Lu Yan remarked with a smile.

However, cooking a third-level Martial Pill was something he couldn’t do just yet.

The difficulty of preparing Martial Pills far surpassed that of Martial Foods. Even Martial Chef Grandmasters couldn’t accomplish it. Only Honor-level Martial Chefs could cook Martial Pills.

Days passed by.

The number of people in Xuanhuo City was increasing steadily.

All were Martial Chefs rushing from various places to participate in the Martial Chef Conference.

Half a month in advance, Lu Yan began his preparations. He disguised himself and moved into an inn, pretending to be a Martial Chef who had come from a different place. He also went to the Yan Clan to register and received an invitation.

Soon, the day of the conference arrived.

Lu Yan went to the Yan Clan, showed his invite, and was led to a large square.

Various chef tools were arranged in the spacious square.

Lu Yan examined their quality, they were all top-notch and extremely meticulous.

There were already hundreds of Martial Chefs who had registered for the conference on the square, and the number was still increasing.

"That is..." Lu Yan’s eyes lit up as he spotted a woman.

The woman, who was in great shape and wearing a skirt showing off her slender legs, was a stranger to him.

But her figure was extremely familiar.

Shen Yinuo.

Indeed, the woman’s figure was very similar to Shen Yinuo’s.

Although there was no wok on her back, there was a spatula attached to her waist, unmistakably Shen Yinuo’s.

Lu Yan smiled, he was certain, this woman was Shen Yinuo.

It was perfectly normal for Shen Yinuo, who loved Martial Chefs, to participate in the Yan Clan’s Martial Chef Conference.

The woman was also looking around everywhere, her gaze suddenly met Lu Yan’s.

At first, she was slightly stunned, she took a good look at Lu Yan, and then she showed a gentle smile. She skipped over to Lu Yan, leaned in to sniff him, and whispered, "How did you get here?"

"Miss, you must have mistaken me for someone else. Men and women shouldn’t be too close, what will others think of this?" Lu Yan pretended to be stern.

Shen Yinuo grinned, "Still pretending? You think your shallow disguise can fool me? I would recognize you even from ashes."

Lu Yan gave a wry smile, and whispered, "Yinuo, could you be a little nicer in how you speak?"

Yinuo laughed, "Why did you come to participate in the Martial Chef Conference? You’ve travelled all the way from Lingdong, couldn’t possibly be that you missed me that much and came specifically to find me, right?"

"You guessed it."

Lu Yan sighed, his eyes instantly filled with affection, confident that he could rival Wang Tianyu, "Ever since you left, I’ve been missing you terribly. I’ve lost my appetite and had sleepless nights. I’ve lost so much weight. So, here I am, searching for you miles away."

"Really missing me that much?" Shen Yinuo, looking at Lu Yan’s robust figure, clearly did not believe.

"I haven’t even tried it, how would I know if it’s tight or not?" Lu Yan mumbled in his heart, and quickly changed the topic, "When you left Lingdong, you didn’t encounter the alien beast uprising, did you?"

"No, there was an uprising later?" Shen Yinuo blinked, curious.

Lu Yan nodded. Calculating the time, Yinuo indeed left before the alien beast uprising.

"Some things did happen in Lingdong afterward, but they’re all resolved now."

"By the way, you said before you left that you couldn’t thank me for saving your life unless you broke through to the Martial Marquis. Now not only have you broken through to the Martial Marquis, but you’ve also stepped into the Grandmaster stage. How are you going to make up for it?" asked Lu Yan.

Shen Yinuo looked at Lu Yan up and down, "I really didn’t expect you to reach this step so quickly. As for paying me back, we can talk about it later. Tell me what’s been happening in Lingdong these years?"

Lu Yan briefly recounted, and Shen Yinuo asked for details from time to time.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in over ten years, there wasn’t the slightest sense of alienation. They chatted casually, relaxed and comfortable.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." A voice echoed across the field.

"It’s starting."

Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo stopped chatting, and looked towards a high platform to the north of the square.

An old man was speaking loudly.

"This Martial Chef Conference will consist of three rounds, selecting the top 30 at the end, who will receive rewards provided by our Yan Clan, as well as a chance to receive guidance from Honor-level Martial Chefs."

"There are various cooking tools placed on-site, each of you should choose a set for yourself."

Once the old man finished speaking, everyone chose their cooking tools.

"For this first round, cook the most common second-level Martial Food, Braised Blood Pig Meat. We will provide the ingredients. After you cook, we will have someone taste it, the top two hundred with the best presentation will advance to the next round."

When the old man finished announcing, the Yan Clan’s people brought out the Blood Pig Meat and its auxiliary Spiritual Medicine, enough for each person to have a portion.

If their cooking failed, they’d naturally be eliminated at once.

Of course, this isn’t absolutely fair.

Some people may already be familiar with this type of Martial Food, while some have never cooked it before.

But in this world, there is no such thing as absolute fairness.

Sometimes, luck matters a lot.

Before long, everyone started cooking intently.

This kind of Martial Food was something that Lu Yan had never cooked before. He didn’t know the recipe, but he could ask the Yan Clan for guidance and learn on the spot.

And like Lu Yan, there were many in the same situation.

After observing once and rehearsing it in his mind, he started gaining confidence.

It was just a second level Martial Food, something that wasn’t a challenge for Lu Yan.

Setting the fire, adding Spiritual Medicine, removing the blood poison...

Each step was carried out methodically, not too fast nor too slow, but rather smooth and fluid.

Shen Yinuo, who was watching from the side, had a sparkle in her eyes.

Suddenly, someone had successfully cooked their dish, presenting it for the Yan Clan’s tasting.

Those with such speed were certainly Martial Chef Grandmasters.

Soon after, Lu Yan noticed that Shen Yinuo also finished cooking. She was among the fastest as well.

Without rushing, Lu Yan successfully finished cooking in the middle of the pack.

"Ah, I failed."

Some sighed, beating their own chests in disappointment.

Variety was the spice of life.

After a day, almost everyone had finished cooking.

The people from the Yan Clan tasted every dish and selected the top 200 participants.

Naturally, both Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo advanced to the next round.

"In three days, the second round will begin. The competition will be to cook the Martial Food you are most skilled at. Eighty people with the best appearance and taste will advance to the third round,"

"You can bring your own ingredients or, if they are hard to find, inform us at the Yan Clan, and we will help to source them."

Announced the old man from the Yan Clan.

Suddenly, many people approached, asking the Yan Clan to help collect Alien Beast meat and Spiritual Medicine.

Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo did not linger, they headed out.

"Where do you stay?"

Shen Yinuo asked quietly.

Lu Yan told her the name of his inn.

"I’ll move to your inn then."

Said Shen Yinuo.

Soon, the two returned to the inn, and Shen Yinuo rented a room next to Lu Yan’s.

In Lu Yan’s room.

Both had returned to their normal appearances.

Compared to more than a decade ago, Shen Yinuo looked slightly more mature, around her early twenties, even more beautiful and captivating.

Looking at her familiar face, Lu Yan’s mind drifted back to his memories of her as a young girl. The image surfaced in his mind.

"Lu Yan, you’ve broken through to the Grandmaster level. What level are you at?"

Feeling Lu Yan’s intense stare, Shen Yinuo blushed slightly and broke the silence.

"Not too long ago, I broke through to the Fifth-level Master."

Lu Yan didn’t hide anything.

Shen Yinuo’s eyes blinked, seemingly surprised.

She knew Lu Yan had some secrets, but she never delved too deep. After all, didn’t she have a couple of secrets herself?

"What about you? What level of Grandmaster are you?"

Lu Yan retorted.

He noticed that Shen Yinuo had also broken into the Grandmaster level, but he couldn’t determine her exact level without a confrontation.

"Sixth-level Master."

Shen Yinuo replied.

"What?"

Lu Yan thought he had heard wrongly.

Sixth-level master?

He obtained the Dao Book and cultivated various types of martial arts up to the Unity of Man and Martial Arts. Despite his cultivation speed far surpassing normal people, he was still at the Fifth-level.

Shen Yinuo was actually a Sixth-level Master?

What kind of cultivation speed was that?

"What? Are you feeling upset that I’m at a higher level than you?"

Shen Yinuo clenched her fists and said, "I am going to be the woman of a Martial Chef God, I can’t be ordinary."

Then she lowered her voice: "I am an Internal God-man, my spleen and stomach hide miracles. They are like the Great Sun Melting Furnace, capable of refining everything. This accelerates my process of refining Martial Food and Martial Pills by a hundredfold. As long as I have enough Martial Food and Pills, my cultivation level can rapidly increase."

"Of course, the Great Sun Melting Furnace can also help in cooking Martial Food. That’s why my martial cooking skills have improved so rapidly. I’m already a Martial Chef Grandmaster."

Lu Yan was astounded by this miracle. It was quite incredible.

The two chatted for several hours before Shen Yinuo returned to her room to rest.

The next day, they went out together to purchase the Alien Beast meat and Spiritual Medicine needed for the competition.

Three days later, the second round of the competition began.

The dish Lu Yan cooked was naturally a third level Martial Food he was proficient in. He pushed the quality to its limits by integrating Man and Food, ensuring his seamless advancement to the next round.

As a Martial Chef Grandmaster, Shen Yinuo naturally advanced without any suspense.

"Tomorrow will mark the start of the third round. The Yan Clan will present a newly developed third level Martial Food. Other than a few people from the Yan Clan, no one knows how to cook it."

"Then, you all will cook this third-level Martial Food on the spot. We will consider your overall performance and the top thirty individuals who finish quickly and have excellent quality will advance."

Announced the old man from the Yan Clan.

The next day, the third round began.

With Lu Yan’s experience, cooking an unfamiliar third level Martial Food wasn’t a challenge. He and Shen Yinuo both advanced to the top thirty without any issues.