The entire vegetable sky was swept clean, not only collecting nearly six hundred Ozone Grasses but also obtaining over a hundred other types of vegetables, all rare delicacies unknown in the human realm.
However, half of the fruit and vegetable varieties also existed in the distant Cloud Country, suggesting a similar ecological environment in the clouds.
By the time Zhang Wei was satisfied and withdrew from his plundering state, three days had passed.
It was on the fourth day that he brought everyone back to land, found the Warm Harbor where new beacons were being preserved, and teleported back to the North.
As for the highly anticipated culinary battle, Zhang Wei was already five days late!
He wondered if Cang Ma must be frantic.
The moment the dense fog rose from the extremely low ice plain, everyone looked in that direction.
The Great Glacier was quite lively at this time, with the usual crowd from his last visit joined by numerous merchants who had come from afar.
The previous rumors had spread, and everyone was eager to communicate and collaborate with this emerging merchant guild, hoping to find business opportunities.
The auctions on the thirty-third level and above of the Great Glacier were held concurrently with Zhang Wei's Shokugeki. Countless chefs had gathered to witness this exchange between ten-star chefs.
Among them was an old man, impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, whom Cang Ma had invited.
A Taste Master!
Equivalent to a connoisseur in his past life, he was skilled in culinary arts, possessed considerable wealth, had tasted all sorts of delicacies, and had exceptionally high standards and discernment regarding food.
A Taste Master invited by Cang Ma would undoubtedly be top-tier in both status and skill.
"This time, we are fully prepared. Based on our valuation, we will absolutely be able to sweep up all the high-quality ingredients in the Gourmet Bank!"
"Once their high-quality ingredients are depleted, let's see how they can remain arrogant!"
"Yo, such a grand competition! It was worth traveling all this way. The food here is like a grand exhibition, a veritable garden of ingredients. I must seize this opportunity to broaden my knowledge!"
"I heard that the Gourmet Preservation Academy has already started classes. If Zhang Wei's skills are truly as extraordinary as the legends say, I must become his disciple."
"Did you hear? Zhang Wei is also cultivating Gourmet Hunters and has established a specialized organization for them. I never thought those rough ruffians would have an organization too."
The Gourmet Hunter General Union.
This was a new training institution established by Zhang Wei, which not only issued various ingredient bounties but also trained novice Gourmet Hunters.
Currently, the atmosphere within the team was excellent, and the newly formed departments were full of vitality.
People from all walks of life were paying attention, and many seasoned Gourmet Hunters were volunteering their services, providing valuable advice from their professional perspectives.
Zhang Wei emerged from the Warm Harbor, the electromagnetic waves here were chaotic, yet they exuded an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation.
"Xifeng."
"I'm here."
"These two are wanted criminals from the Cloud Country and the North, True Lord Yunshang and Xie Min. They rendered immense service to me during this journey. I hope their bounties can be removed, allowing them to return to the Cloud Country."
Xifeng nodded and said, "I will forward this matter to Mo Du without delay."
True Lord Yunshang's expression was tense as he quickly added, "Mr. Zhang Wei... what about the amnesty?"
Zhang Wei acknowledged.
He then continued, "Regarding the attitude towards the Cloud Country, the North's approach is too harsh. I believe some criminals with minor offenses can be pardoned, and those who surrender themselves should be treated with leniency."
"Furthermore, the Northern troops stationed in the Cloud Country have been arrogant and have severely impacted the easing of relations between the two regions. I urge Mo Du to establish an inspection team to enforce military discipline and law, and to prevent further war crimes."
"That war was an unfortunate event from the beginning; let's not prolong this misfortune."
Although half a year had passed since the war, relations between the two sides remained strained. The North, once a victim, had now become the aggressor.
Indeed, Mo Cheng had run red with blood at the time, but the criminals who deserved punishment had already faced justice. The remaining people should not continue to suffer this pain.
Moreover, the current Cloud Country had become a paradise for the corrupt elite of the North, and the benefits derived from it rarely flowed back to the common people of the North.
The fruits of this war were being savored by a decadent old aristocracy, something Zhang Wei detested.
True Lord Yunshang was overjoyed and immediately bowed, "Mr. Zhang Wei, the entire Cloud Country will be moved by your benevolence."
Of course.
Zhang Wei was well aware of the idiom involving a stick and a carrot.
The stick had been wielded sufficiently. The villains had already done their worst; now, brandishing the carrot would undoubtedly garner immense prestige.
After settling the matters with Xie Min and True Lord Yunshang, Zhang Wei arrived at the increasingly well-equipped Gourmet Preservation Academy. Compared to a month ago, the furnishings and decor here were more luxurious, and the indoor temperature had reached a pleasant 18 degrees Celsius.
At the very center of the Gourmet Preservation Academy was a structure resembling a Roman Colosseum, a gourmet dueling arena specially built by Zhang Wei, inspired by the Shokugeki battles of his past life.
Its design was inspired by the high standards of the special chef arena from "Chinese Cuisine."
At the lowest center was a circular arena with eight cooking stations, meaning it could support eight simultaneous duels.
All sorts of kitchenware were readily available, hundreds of knives, various pots and pans, as well as unique strainers, carving knives, slicing tools, and weights.
Further outward were ninety-nine tiers of gradually rising steps, like the spectator seats of a colosseum. However, there were no people here; they were piled high with various ingredients.
Below was a cold storage, and the temperature of the eastern pool gradually changed, housing various fish, shrimp, crabs, frogs, abalones, and so on.
Along the edges were piled various seasonings: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, umami, aromatic, numbing... followed by dry powders, pastes, solid small pieces, liquids, and so on.
In the northwest stood various fruits, vegetables, melons, and meats.
The north side featured a high wall, where all the audience and judging seats were located.
The high wall was twenty stories tall, with floor-to-ceiling viewing windows on each level, fitted with soundproof glass to prevent the noisy environment inside from affecting the contestants' performance, while ensuring clear viewing angles for the audience.
Xifeng said, "Boss, the merchants are also very anxious... should we deal with them first?"
"The culinary battle is estimated to be a protracted affair. Let's proceed with the auction first."
"Understood. Then I will invite everyone to enter the Gourmet Bank."
The gates opened wide.
Everyone, filled with questions and curiosity, entered this magnificent architectural marvel.
Exclamations erupted one after another!
A significant proportion of the visitors were chefs, whose discerning eyes for ingredients were sharper than those of Gourmet Hunters and merchants.
Even on the first floor, some people discovered several anomalies!
The ingredients here were not normal!
"Not only are they several times larger, but they are also flawless, ready to be used immediately after a rinse!"
"I'm very familiar with Chocolate Cicadas. This is definitely a large Chocolate Cicada! I understand the principle... but have you ever seen a Chocolate Cicada the size of a basketball?"
"And this Chocolate Cicada is frighteningly plump. My dessert shop uses tens of thousands of Chocolate Cicadas annually, and I've never seen one this fat! No, I must buy it!"
The treasure of the shop!
Similar exclamations came from their companions. All the ingredients were so perfect, they could be considered collector's items!
Even eating them felt like a waste of luxury; their very existence was a divine gift!
Upon seeing the price, more exclamations arose: "Only eleven times the price of ordinary Chocolate Cicadas per kilogram? Isn't this an incredible bargain!"
"I want to buy it!"
Floors 1 to 32 today were designated as free shopping areas.
Due to the limited replication capacity of only a dozen days, the transaction amounts were slightly less than those from half a month prior.
Zhang Wei directly led everyone to the levels below the thirty-third floor.
He introduced them layer by layer.
"This is Ancient Dried Fish, formed when whales from ancient times became trapped in saline land. Under high temperature and pressure, their body fat oozed out to form amber, sealed beneath the earth, only to emerge after thousands of years."
"It can be said that for every piece of this ingredient sold, there is one less. The formation cycle is too long, and its inherent properties are too precious."
"Furthermore, as you can see, the Ancient Dried Fish displayed here is the size of a basketball, while normal ones are only the size of an eggplant. This indicates that the whale sealed within was also quite a premium specimen in ancient times!"
Xifeng stated while listing the data.
In known records, the largest Ancient Dried Fish found was only the size of a beer bottle.
Xifeng held up an Ancient Dried Fish: "It's quite heavy to the touch, with a density similar to gold, indicating that the internal nutrients are exceptionally concentrated. Its capture level is rated at thirty-five."
"Alright, next is the second grade-thirty-five high-quality ingredient."
Within an ice wall, a robust white-haired bull was sealed.
Lifelike!
"This is achieved by anesthetizing it and immediately submerging it in oxygenated water, then rapid-freezing it using the northern wind. If thawed correctly, this bull has a seventy percent chance of coming back to life. This is a little trick for preserving ingredients at our establishment!"
"The White-Haired Cindy cattle, produced in Wolf Valley, is top-tier beef that only chefs of five-star level or higher are qualified to prepare. As is well known, beef contains the most myoglobin, but very little of the more beneficial collagen."
"However, the White-Haired Cindy cattle are different. The abundant collagen within will make the consumer's skin smooth and firm, earning it the nickname 'Venus Beef.' It is highly favored by middle-aged women!"
White-Haired Cindy cattle were considered common,
but never had one been seen so large!
The Coal Boss took out a wooden strip from his pocket, struck a match, and lit it.
The scent of tobacco filled the air.
"Good stuff..."
"All good stuff!"
"Floors 1-32 have also been rebuilt, and all the ingredients are of that abnormally high quality!"
"Why, why does the Gourmet Bank have so many super-high-quality ingredients, even to the point of being rarely seen in a century? Could it be that this is truly the favor of the God of Cuisine?"
The Coal Boss was deeply perplexed.
How did Zhang Wei achieve this? Should he change his attitude towards him?
With such profound strength, who else but the behemoths like the Four Great Merchant Guilds would be respected?
From the thirty-third floor onwards, the variety of ingredients decreased, but the unit price became even more astonishing. The overall price did not decrease significantly after balancing.
After a brief introduction, Zhang Wei ordered people to begin dismantling the ice layers and transporting them to the trading plaza outside the Gourmet Bank, where various flying vehicles were already parked, each loaded with goods.
Here were gold, ingredients, tools, and daily necessities, all serving as assets for trade.
First were the ingredients on the thirty-third floor. After another twenty days, the ingredient reserves here were even more impressive!
Normal grade-one ingredients cost between 1-3 Beli per kilogram.
Grade-ten ingredients cost between 15-70 per kilogram.
Grade-twenty ingredients cost between 100-350 per kilogram.
Grade-thirty ingredients cost between 400-2500 per kilogram.
These prices referred only to conventional ingredients. Some types of meat were indeed difficult to swallow, while others were exceptionally delicious.
For example, the grade-twenty-seven Exploding Pufferfish had a terrifying selling price of 6,000 Beli per kilogram!
And Zhang Wei's perfect-grade ingredients were priced even more astronomically high!
"The thirty-third floor has a total of 85 types of ingredients, with an average price of 20,000 Beli per kilogram. The current ingredients have a total weight of approximately 185 tons!"
Compared to the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of tons on the previous floors, the total weight of ingredients on the thirty-third floor was pitifully small.
And this was after the combined effect of over fifty factors!
Taking the grade-thirty-three Golden Salmon Roe as an example, one portion was less than fifty grams, and its unit selling price reached 600,000 Beli per kilogram.
Despite such a high selling price, it took twenty portions to make up one kilogram.
There were also grade-thirty-three Grape Lizards; the meat itself was inexpensive, but the parasitic grapes growing on their skin were an exceptional delicacy, with a selling price no less than that of Golden Salmon Roe!
Of this 185 tons, the truly valuable ingredients accounted for less than 80 tons; the remaining parts were priced quite cheaply!
However, relying on their powerful collector-grade quality, Zhang Wei could attract a crowd regardless of how high he set the prices!
"The auction begins!"
"Each type of ingredient on this floor has approximately 80 portions, totaling eighty-five types."
"To ensure that everyone can possess semi-rare ingredients and establish a monopoly for substantial profits, from this floor onwards, they will be divided by type. There are eighty-five types, with 17 portions per type, for a total of five lots!"
"The starting bid for each lot is 300 million!"
The price was so high!
He had expected the average price to be around 150 million.
"Bring them!"
"Move the gold!"
The Coal Boss had come prepared, bringing three large ships in total, carrying 1,200 tons of gold!
One ton of gold was priced at 8.5 million Beli, making this gold worth 10 billion!
However, for transactions of this magnitude, gold was merely an appetizer; the other bosses also started with this pocket money.
The truly expensive items were yet to come.
There were several unfamiliar faces among the participants this time. Zhang Wei did not know their identities, but they remained silent in their seats, perhaps due to insufficient strength or because the grade-thirty-three ingredients were beneath their notice.
Thirty-fourth floor, starting bid 320 million!
Thirty-fifth floor, starting bid 580 million!
Thirty-sixth floor, starting bid 250 million!
The quantity of goods on the thirty-sixth floor was too small, which slightly lowered its value.
At this level, each bid was extremely rational. The bosses were supported by professional teams responsible for assessing the prices of auction items, calculating profit ratios, and planning fund allocation.
The ostentatious displays of wealth by spoiled brats would not occur in such high-end events!
Thirty-ninth floor, a total of ten lots, with a starting bid of 880 million per lot!
BB Corn was also a grade-39 ingredient, but only perfect-grade rare ingredients would be selected; otherwise, 1,200 tons of BB Corn alone could fetch an exorbitant price.
Forty-first floor, a total of ten lots, with a starting bid of 1.3 billion per lot!
Finally, someone had used up their gold and began unloading ingredients from their ships.
An Arab elder, wearing a turban and with a similar appearance to someone from India, was the first to request an inspection.
[Detected Capturable Ingredient: Venomous Zombie Snake]
[Capture Level: 25]
[Description: 3-5 meters long, weighing approximately 300 kilograms, an extremely fierce venomous snake found only in the Poisonous Snake Valley of the Western Continent.]
[Description: The Venomous Zombie Snake has well-developed venom glands, capable of producing 150 grams of neurotoxin daily. If it enters the bloodstream, one gram of snake venom is sufficient to kill a grade-twenty Gourmet Hunter.]
The Arab elder rubbed his hands and said, "I heard that the Gourmet Bank acquires ingredients without limit. I wonder if you can take this batch of mine?"
The others cursed vehemently.
This old man was too cunning.
Venomous Zombie Snakes had strong reproductive capabilities, low utility value, and were difficult to capture. They were a species that few outside of professional snake catchers could easily encounter, and these venomous snakes were quite common in Snake Valley.
With professional snake catchers, thousands could be caught in a single day!
Supply exceeded demand.
This old man was actually trying to sell off his surplus goods here, converting the unsold snakes from his shop into more marketable products!
Too cunning!
Zhang Wei, however, was unconcerned and said without hesitation, "No problem, as long as it's something the Gourmet Bank doesn't have, I'll buy as much as you sell!"
Zhang Wei believed that as long as the Treasury was there, even the most worthless ingredients could have their merits extracted, provided there was sufficient quantity.
However...
This old man's quantity was quite substantial!
It perfectly met Zhang Wei's needs!
The old man provoked again, "Anything is fine?"
"Stop the nonsense, can we hurry up?"
"Yes, yes, of course."
Then the Arab elder turned and shouted, "Hurry up and unload! Fast!"
Professional snake boxes, each containing fifteen Venomous Zombie Snakes.
The appraisers at the Gourmet Bank commented, and finally agreed that the edible value of this item was even lower than grade-ten ingredients, with a maximum selling price of 25 Beli per kilogram. Based on the meat yield, they would acquire each snake for 3,500 Beli.
And this old man, with one transaction, brought a staggering one hundred thousand!
"Damn it, has this guy brought the entire Venomous Snake Valley here?"
A total of twenty large ships, carrying nothing but Venomous Zombie Snakes!
Then, Zhang Wei continued, "How much for your ships? I can buy them too!"
The Great Glacier was severely lacking in transportation capacity, and these aerial spacecraft, capable of traversing all sorts of dangerous terrain and withstanding extremely harsh environments, were exactly what Zhang Wei needed!
The Arab elder coughed lightly, "This... this cannot be sold!"
"For such matters, you should contact the Tower of Scholars on the Eastern Continent. They sell all aerial spacecraft, but high-end aerial spacecraft are in short supply, so I doubt you will be able to obtain them."
Just then,
a voice rang out from the merchants' seating area.
"Mr. Zhang Wei wants ships?"
"Oh? And who might you be?"
The speaker was a young and handsome man, dressed in a neat and luxurious suit, exceptionally elegant and poised.
Simple wristwatch and ring, clearly of considerable value.
The handsome man smiled politely, "The Tower of Scholars sends its regards, Mr. Zhang Wei!"
The Tower of Scholars?
After the Four Great Salt Merchants and the Blade Forging Villa, this was the third top merchant guild he had encountered. The only one yet to reveal themselves was the most mysterious and powerful Gourmet Merchant Guild!
The handsome man continued, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a doctor from the Tower of Scholars and possess 15% authority for external transactions regarding ships, as well as some influence over internal policies. You can call me... Dr. Caron!"
"I heard that ships from the Tower of Scholars are in short supply and buyers are flocking. Why are you specifically giving me the procurement authority?"
"Mr. Zhang Wei, do you have no self-awareness regarding this matter?"