As Shanqiu decided to expose the fraud, Xifeng continued to announce the results.
"Sixth place, the man behind the scenes of the underground culinary world, Mr. Golden Tooth Brian, who possesses imperial power, with a personal score of 2.1 million."
Golden Tooth Brian's recording of his "Blissful Bloom" was full of humorous moments. Golden Tooth Brian hadn't lifted a finger himself; it was countless assistants who were in action.
Was this truly a competition he was participating in?
Shanqiu incited a group of eliminated chefs to shout out!
They vehemently criticized the unfairness!
This was not a chef's true skill, merely a gambit. If this was how it was done, wouldn't it depend on who had more resources?
What did it have to do with culinary skills?
Golden Tooth Brian said dismissively, "It's just the jealousy of the mediocre."
Shanqiu exclaimed, "You don't deserve it!"
The host, Xifeng, merely smiled and didn't get involved.
When emotions ran high, why should he put himself in the line of fire? It was perfect for the questioned Golden Tooth Brian to handle it himself.
Golden Tooth Brian had risen from a minor character to the emperor of the underground culinary world, his composure unshakable. With just a few words, he made Shanqiu's face turn red with anger.
Shanqiu indignantly said to Xifeng, "Does the organizing committee not manage such matters!"
Xifeng spread his hands. "I'm afraid I couldn't find any rule violations by Mr. Brian in the competition regulations."
As he spoke, he showed a few lines of the competition rules. They were too simple to be considered anything more than precautions.
In general, the objective was to feed the disaster victims by any means necessary and earn points. Those with more points would win.
Shanqiu was speechless, at a loss for words.
Brian sneered, "You foolish people don't even understand how to compete. You might as well go home early. Perhaps the kitchen in that tiny shop is purer and simpler."
"I refuse to accept this! This should have been a test of culinary skill!"
"Yes, we refuse to accept it too!"
"We couldn't see the level these guys should have possessed. To say they defeated us was child's play!"
The crowd was enraged.
Brian shook his head. "You've probably misunderstood something. The reason I had my assistants participate was that I didn't want my own dishes to be tainted by the disaster victims. It would be like a beautiful flower being chewed by beasts."
"However."
"This doesn't mean my culinary skills are inferior to yours, you weaklings."
Weaklings?
We are distinguished nine-star chefs, and you, a world-class ten-star chef, are just one step away.
Just as the two sides were at each other's throats, Xifeng continued to announce.
"Fifth place, the head chef of Hong Maru Restaurant, the man with lightning-fast culinary speed, far from the bustling city. The most enchanting and sexy man. Personal score: 5.1 million."
Another burst of exclamations!
They thought the gap between seventh and eighth was already huge, but the difference between fifth and sixth was a staggering 3 million.
Golden Tooth Brian's score of 2.1 million was already outrageous. How was 5.1 million achieved?
"We demand to see Blissful Bloom!"
What followed left everyone speechless.
In the "Blissful Bloom" recording, Hong Maru's lightning-fast movements and knife skills instantly impressed everyone. Even frame by frame, they couldn't capture a tenth of Hong Maru's movements.
This was definitely not cheating; it was truly well-deserved.
Shanqiu's face turned pale. Each slice had yielded him ten times his score.
So, the world... was actually this vast.
The arguing chefs stopped their clamor and lost the desire to compete with Golden Tooth Brian.
Even the audience, after witnessing Hong Maru's artistic movements and knife skills, lost interest in the competition among these nine-star chefs.
Shanqiu understood that with Hong Maru present, he had no chance of winning. For a moment, many chefs were dejected, while others were spurred to greater effort.
But Hong Maru's expression was grim, his fingers clenched white.
"With my speed, I only managed to get fifth place?"
"I... damn it, a lot of time was wasted searching for disaster victims, I couldn't focus on cooking."
"If it were purely a speed competition, I wouldn't have only gotten this many points!"
Shanqiu, Hog, and Sister Zhi En had just approached when they heard Hong Maru lamenting.
For a moment, they didn't know what to say.
Ten times faster than them, and he hadn't even fully displayed his strength...
This was too demoralizing.
The tenth, ninth, and eighth places were all chefs from the mortal realm. To be precise, they were all certified nine-star chefs aiming for ten stars.
But they hadn't expected to encounter so many monsters in just the preliminary rounds.
"Fourth place: The King of Northern Chefs, the actual owner of Food City, Delicious Collection Academy, and the Food Bank, my boss, Mr. Zhang Wei!"
A thunderous cheer erupted. Despite only being fourth place, the applause was greater than all previous combined. This was perhaps the advantage of being a home-field player.
"Mr. Zhang Wei's personal score: 5.2 million!"
Zhang Wei waved his hand gently. "Under the circumstances where I set the rules and was on home ground, I only managed fourth place. There's nothing to boast about."
If he hadn't devoured the four ancient gods, Zhang Wei wouldn't have had enough power to create the Thousand-Year Elixir. He might not have even secured fourth place.
It was evident that the mortal realm was indeed the low-tier zone of this planet, and Zhang Wei had just gained the power to interact with the upper world.
"Third place, an exotic chef from the Purple Bamboo Forest of Mount Luojia, the great chef with panda blood, Hei Mao!"
"Score: 6.8 million!"
The score was equally astonishing!
"Blissful Bloom" showed Hei Mao using exclusive ingredients from the culinary world, bamboo from Mount Luojia, to create a dish that could only appear in epic sagas.
A Thousand-Mile Bamboo Rice!
In the video, immortal cranes with wingspans of hundreds of meters circled the sky, while Hei Mao roasted slender bamboo stalks before a bonfire.
In the blink of an eye, this bamboo pierced through more than a dozen rivers and leveled countless mountains.
Compared to Hong Maru's technical prowess, Hei Mao was like a god.
They... could actually do such things?
The chefs from those so-called renowned restaurants turned pale.
They couldn't even imagine doing such a thing, let alone actually doing it.
So, culinary skills could be presented in such a manner!
"Second place, an exotic chef from the Crystal Dragon Palace across the vast ocean, the dragon chef of the Sea Dragon tribe, Ao Xing!"
"Score..."